One Small Change

I will be posting here (at least monthly) about a challenge to change one thing each month leading up to Earth Day, and to blog about it. This challenge is at the request of Hip Mountain Mama -

We want to challenge each of you to make 1 change each month leading up to Earth Day (April 22, 2010). It can be small or it can be huge, but all we ask is that you decide on something you will do to make a positive green impact and follow through with it. If everyone makes 4 changes between January and April, this can have a huge effect. If you want to be a part of this amazing and life changing challenge, please see below for details.

I will have to dig deep because I do a lot already see Going Green . So if you have an idea for me, please comment!

Changed my veggie balls recipe

This is starting to feel like a food blog! Since reading so much about the trouble with soy, especially the processed kind, I am now trying to limit my processed soy intake. No more soy milk, it's now rice milk or almond milk. Instead of TVP in my meatless ball or loaf, I have tonight for the first time used quinoa in its place. It changes every time I make it because it depends on what I have in my fridge, and what nuts or seeds in my cupboards. Unfortunately, it wasn't vegan because I used an egg, but here is the super easy recipe from tonight:

• 1 cup of each chopped small or minced veggies- onions, peppers, carrots, mushrooms
  
• 1 cup walnuts chopped
  
• 2 cups cooked stuffing - I used this because it was leftover, but I normally use bread crumbs
• quinoa (4 cups after cooking) I used Bob's Red Mill brand
  
• italian herbs, salt, pepper to taste
  
• 1 egg
  

Mix and let it sit for a few minutes while you get your cookie sheet/pan out and just cover the bottom with vegetable oil. Preheat oven at 400. Use a large melon baller to make the balls, and place on the pan. Cook for 15 minutes, roll them over and cook for another 15 minutes

Yummy, tasty and healthy! Here's some info on quinoa.

Tonights dinner

Well I made pizza for the family again, and here is what I did for my dinner: I took the leftover dough (I make it myself with whole grain white flour), rolled it out. In a bowl I mixed spinach, olives, onions, garlic, tomato sauce, nutritional yeast and some italian herbs. Spread it on the dough, rolled it, and topped with some olive oil. It is baking as we speak! I'm sure it's yummy. :)

So, I think I may have officially detoxed from cheese because I don't really crave it anymore. My breakfasts have become more healthy because I am eating more whole grain cereal, oatmeal and fruit. I used to eat American cheese on an English muffin, on toast, or on scrambled eggs. If I made a sandwich I would have cheese on it, even though I could never really taste it with everything (lots of veggies & hummus) I put on it. I don't think I'm losing weight, that wasn't the motive anyway, but I'm not having as much stomach pain. I used to attribute it to too much coffee, but I haven't kicked that habit yet. I vary how I drink it though, today it was black.

With all the good I'm doing, I shall confess my times of weakness. Thanksgiving was the sour cream and onion mashed potatoes, and on the way to a client's house I was hungry (forgot my granola) I stopped at DD for their Everything Bagel and veggie cream cheese, and I enjoyed every bite! The cake at my cousin's baby shower was from Wright's Dairy Farm, and had real cream frosting. Guess what? I'm OK! At another time if I veered off course just a little I would give up completely and go back to the old ways. It's not black & white, and I will still have a dab of cream in my coffee at times, and maybe even some yogurt....You'll never catch me saying that I am a vegan, I will probably always be a vegetarian that just limits her dairy intake. :) It's all good, with or without Hood. Sorry, for being cheesy! LOL I'm on a roll..... Goodnight, it's been a long day.

Going halfway ....

I am struggling to walk this road.... I have successfully cut out cheese, and even had pizza last night sans mozzarella! I made it the way I would normally, but without the cheese, and when it came out of the oven I drizzled some Olivado oil over it, and added some nutritional yeast. It was YUMMY :)
I even had chilli without my usual cheddar and sour cream. Bagels, and cream cheese I miss a bit, but I am happy to have a reason to not eat bagels because the carb factor isn't so good for my waistline. My roadblock is the little things like going out to breakfast. What the hell can I eat? Toast and jelly? I am not a big egg fan, but I love Belgian waffles! Are the homefries cooked in butter or oil? Animal fat? I can bake things without eggs at home, but what about at restaurants? It would be nice if The Garden Grille Cafe was down the road, but it is in Pawtucket!
So my solution is to not be so black and white - all or nothing. Cheese is out, and this alone is a big step, but for now I am going to allow myself the occasional restaurant Belgian waffle, or a teaspoon of cream in my coffee. It sucks, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy.... so here I go stumbling along this path. Maybe I need to become a vegan chef and open my own restaurant. Ha!

Vegetarian on the road to veganism!

I will document my struggle for my one follower (thanks Kris!), and anyone else who happens to discover my blog. First, let me explain my vegetarian lifestyle because it happened so long ago in my formative years.

I am a HUGE animal lover, and always have been. I don't ever recall a time in my life when I was without a pet, even when we lived in "no pets allowed" apartments. Let's see, we had dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, fish, birds, snakes, toads, and a raccoon! I can recall each of these pets, and probably have a few good stories about them, but I won't bore you with them! I will say that I used to walk my pet hamster Houdini on a tiny leash, specifically made for hamsters. I probably bought it the same day I got the plastic ball for her to roll around in. You may be wondering about the raccoon? Well, one day my Dad comes home saying he has a surprise for me, and it was a baby raccoon! We named him Wylie. Apparently, my Dad was driving and saw a dead mama raccoon, that was probably hit by a car, and two baby raccoons near her dead body. My Dad collected them, gave one to his buddy, and took the other home. Oh my, was he the cutest thing! He was bottle-fed, and litter box trained and we eventually released him on my grandparents property in Pascoag. They had lots of woods, and a pond where he caught crayfish all day. We saw him when we visited too, we just called him and he would come climbing down a tree, and we'd play with him until we left. I think he may have done some damage to their roof, at some point trying to get in the house, but eventually he found love and never returned. Sorry I hope that didn't bore you, I digress.... My Dad has a lot to do with my being a vegetarian. Despite my despising him for most of my life, he had a lot to do with the person I am today, and for that I am grateful. He was a very proud Marine, and Vietnam Veteran that entered as a boy (17 years old when he first enlisted), and had to become a man too quickly. He was awarded the Purple Heart because he was wounded in combat. To cope with PTSD and life, he abused alcohol, and eventually became a full-blow alcoholic, and not a very nice one. I think he lacked a few essential people skills, and a good education which is probably why he ended up doing what he did. He worked in a slaughterhouse. He was the one that had to kill live animals on a daily basis....I think he did mostly cows and pigs. He did this on the side too for buddies, and got paid in meat. My not growing up on a farm, or in the country, and being a "city slicker" as my Dad liked to call me, he wanted to make sure I knew where meat came from. And it is not the supermarket! I will not tell you about the time he brought home a cow fetus, or a hairball.... this post is long enough!

Seeing him come home wearing blood, and seeing a few pictures of carcasses hung from his workplace was enough for me to swear off eating meat. I felt so much empathy for those animals, and every time I would look at my dinner plate all I could see was an animal that had suffered. I remember my Dad saying that at least when he killed he would put a bullet to it's brain first, instead of just slitting their throats like some of the others. Well, really? That didn't console me much. Now I am not saying that from then on I never ate meat. On the contrary. I definitely had my weaknesses, and bacon being one of them. I think I was once quoted as saying "pork fat rules". Speaking of pig, I recall a time when I was about 6-7 and I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and I slipped and fell on pig shit! My Dad was holding a pig in our bathroom (we lived in a 3rd floor apartment) to save him a trip because he was killing it the next day (and no, not in the house!). I will never, ever forget that night! So when I declared that I was no longer eating meat, my Dad forbade me. He forbade me from being a vegetarian! I guess it was an insult to his "profession". I probably just gave my portion to my brother, or dropped it on the floor for the cats. Either way I didn't eat meat for awhile, but there are specific meat eating moments I recall as clear as yesterday; bacon pizza at Pizza Hut in the Lincoln Mall when I was in Junior High, eating the Hickory Farms Beef Stick on the bus ride home from the Lincoln Mall, the skin of the turkey at Thanksgiving. I guess my real weakness is grease, not meat. OH, WAIT! When I was pregnant with my first daughter I ordered a bacon cheeseburger at D'Angelo's, and went to The Pines a few times for the Black Diamond steak....what a mother does for her child. I thought I was having Rosemary's baby!

So let's back-track a bit. I was definitely a full-blown vegetarian in my late high school days and college years. Then I met my now husband in 1997. He was a meat-eater, and not picky at all and I eventually started eating fish, chicken, and ground turkey....blessing my food always and thanking it profusely for it's sacrifice (I am a recovering Catholic). I'm sure I rationalized it some how. Fish don't have feelings, birds are dumb, and I need my protein. I still couldn't eat cow if you paid me (or I got pregnant lol). Now fast forward to about 3 years ago. My husband came home and said that he doesn't think he can eat meat anymore! I was like, what? Why? Then he said, "You got to me, finally." When actually, he went to lunch that day, ordered a steak sandwich, and it was too much flesh for is liking. He was turned off ever since. And so I slid quite comfortably back into my vegetarian lifestyle.

However, I am now still cooking those damn chicken nuggets, and hotdogs for my kids. This is a dilemma of sorts, I guess. I, like my father, make sure they know what they are eating, and when they finally get it, my meal time will hopefully be less chaotic....one can only hope.

Down the road I go, and it isn't easy but it is a choice I must make. If my main motivation is to end animal suffering, or not take part in it, then I must admit that the dairy industry is just as bad if not worse than the meat industry. Think about it. The Mama Cow, we'll call her Bessie, gets pregnant, has a calf, and it is taken from her. If the calf is a male it is turned into veal, if it is a female it too becomes part of the milk production industry. They do not live their lives happily, they are simply exploited for their product that we are so dependent on. It's not like the old days where they graze in vast pastures on nice farms. Agriculture is now industrial to feed the masses. That means high production, which means messing with Nature, using hormones and steroids. When the cow is no longer producing babies or milk, she is slaughtered like the rest, by someone worse than my father. I can only imagine how desensitized these people must be to have to kill on a daily basis for a paycheck. There is a lot of information out there. This industry is also the biggest polluter, and the numbers are staggering. All the feed we feed the cattle, could feed the world... I am not making this up. People choose ignorance, but I can't do that any more. I am putting my grilled cheese down.

I am not on a soap box, and I am not trying to get anyone to be like me. I am simply putting it out there so that I will have more motivation and accountability to follow through. I know it won't be easy, but I hope that once I detox, I will no longer crave the melted stuff, full of pus that came from a Bessie that was raped of her child.

Peace, Love, and Veganase
Stacie

An Anesthesiologist, an OB, and a Midwife walk into a bar

An anesthesiologist, an OB, and a midwife walked into a bar. The

anesthesiologist ordered a pitcher of stout and a double burger; the OB

ordered a Reuben and a bottle of red wine; the midwife ordered their

biggest plate of steak and fries with a margarita. They all sat in a

booth and shared war stories.



A long time passed, and the three realized something had gone wrong

with their order. They decided to find out what the problem was. They

found the busboy just behind the swinging double doors to the kitchen.

He was struggling to get their overloaded cart from the tiled kitchen

to the carpeted dining area. The wheels kept catching on the bump.



The anesthesiologist kneeled down and examined the tires. You

just need to inject something here in the back; he announced. Then

everything will go better.



The OB leaned down to look at the carpet. This part of the

carpet is blocking the cart, he announced. Give me

a knife and I'll just give it a little cut to help it

along.



The midwife leaned over to the busboy and whispered loudly in his ear, "You

can do this! Just PUSH!"

I don't know who to credit, but thank you Georganne of Cloud 9 Doula Services for sharing!

Waste-free lunches

I'm always trying to lessen my impact on the environment, and thanks to an article in Mothering, I will be sending my daughter to school with a bento-box this year! Every morning I would pack Nina's lunch using some plastic baggies, at least two. So in a 185 day school year, two baggies a day equals 370 plastic baggies! If I continued the trend with my youngest daughter, it would be 740 a year. Over their entire school career it would equal 17,760 little baggies!!!!
It always bothered me, packing her lunch with those things, but it never occurred to me to search for another way. There would be one bag with pretzels, one with sliced apples, a container of yogurt etc. I would put as many things in re-usable containers like her sandwich, and she always takes a cloth napkin, but those snack baggies were always on my grocery list. Thankfully the bento-box comes in pink! For a second I thought well, what if she thinks it's 'uncool', or too different because she is the only one? But this is my daughter, and all I had to tell her is that it is better for Mother Earth, and she says, "Cool". Hopefully, when she goes to lunch, and opens her neat little lunch box kids will be impressed, and want to follow in her foot steps. I want to raise a leader, and a conscious one at that. So far she has impressed me with her compassion for the planet and all her creatures. My girls are always quick to notice trash on the ground, and think nothing of picking it up, and putting it where it belongs. I am one proud Mama, and happy to know that I am doing at least a few things right. :) Read more about waste-free lunches here.

Made in the USA

It was the night before Easter (no bunnies were stirring) and I realized that I had nothing to put in the kid's baskets (which have been the same baskets for the past 3 years) . I was totally willing to forgo the basket thing- I know bad Mom! My husband would not let that happen. This is one thing we do not agree on, this whole make believe thing. I don't want to lie to my kids, but he seems to think it would ruin their childhood if they knew the truth. So I pick my battles, and I play along. Although I never actually come out and say "the Easter Bunny is coming", or "Santa Clause is watching, you better be good!" I admit that I do lie about the tooth fairy...I think a fairy flying into you're room like Tinkerbell is much more believable than a huge bunny with a basket full of goodies, or a fat guy in a red suit with a sac of toys. Besides the tooth fairy stops coming after you lose all of your baby teeth.
So my husband says, just go get them a few little things...nothing big. And maybe a piece of chocolate. And oh, make sure it's stuff MADE IN THE USA. Yeah, okay. So I mosey over to Target- nothing. I waited too last minute! I refuse to go to Walmart, so I head over to Michaels, and then to Stop n Shop. So how many things do you think I got that were "MADE IN THE USA"?






TWO!!!!! I searched high and low, and the only things that I found MADE IN THE USA were the fake plastic grass (proudly displaying that fact on it's package), and silly putty!!!! The chocolate was made in Germany! I ended up getting each of them a movie, and some stickers to go along with their silly putty, and a chocolate bunny- which I should've made myself, but it was too late, and the girls would know it was from me because they know the molds I had for Easter. Which is fine because they got so much from their Grammy and Memere to more than make up for what the Easter Bunny didn't bring.
This searching high and low for the good ole' Made in the USA "stuff" has got me thinking that maybe we need a store that sells only things Made in the USA so that I don't have to go searching for hours on end. If that is not possible maybe stores could at least keep everything they sell that is Made in the USA in one aisle, and advertise MADE IN THE USA this aisle only! It would make my life much easier. Although come to think of it, I wouldn't want it to be plastic because that can't be good for the environment. Plastic factories are a big polluter, maybe they SHOULD stay in China.
A funny thing though to add. My seven year-old was asked by someone if the Easter Bunny came to visit, and she shrugged her shoulders, and got quiet looking at me for confirmation. Then she went on to explain that her Mom bought her the BOLT movie. oops

It's a new day, a new year!

Resolutions?
I have stopped making New Year's Resolutions a long time ago. I know it seems like a good idea, but I think it sets you up for failure. Instead I make a decision every morning to put my best foot forward, be mindful, and do everything in kind for myself and others. It's not easy because there are those days when the girls fight, and I just want to put them both in their room and be done with it. It's hard not to react in anger sometimes...that's where being mindful comes in handy. I can take a deep breath, and speak words that will be helpful.... not to just rant whatever comes to mind in the midst of my anger. Besides I will forever resolve to lose weight, and be healthy.... and a lifestyle change is a process not something that is going magically give me motivation, will power, or resolve simply because it is now a new calendar year. There is no time, but the present. Live in this moment. :)