Hi everyone! hope you all are doing well and are getting out more since it is springtime, and the weather is at least sometimes kind! Just thought I'd drop by and say hello and tell you what's new for us!

Starting from about the first week in April, our entire household has stopped eating meat, chicken, and fish, which is, I guess, is basically a vegan diet. Our only variation is that we can't give up (or should I say don't want to give up) cheese and eggs! We started this quite naturally after watching the video called 'Food Matters'. It's a video available on Netflix, among other places, and is talks about how many chronic illnesses are a lot less common in countries where the people don't eat beff, pork, chicken, fish, etc, but base their diet on plant proteins. They say that the healthier diet consists of lots of whole grains, fruits, and veggies, especially dark leafy greens. I also read Alicia Silverstone's book called 'The Kind Diet'. That book is available for ereaders like the Amazon Kindle, and others, as well as in book form. Anyhow, we are not fanatics, but it's been really easy to eat this way, and we haven't had the same thing for dinner twice since we started! There are so many good meals and recipes available online and we have a few vegetarian cookbooks which we've been using. As far as being hard not eating meat, etc, it hasn't been hard at all, and we haven't gone hungry, either.

As for grains, we've been eating grains like Quinoa, Couscus, brown rice, etc, mixed with veggies and/or beans. It's kind of fun, actually! We also started a vegetable garden, and started composting, too! The craziest this we've done so far is that my d-i-l found a recipe to make our own laundry detergent, containing only water, one grated bar of soap, washing soda and borax. We made it, tried it out, and it really gets the laundry clean and bright, and smells good, too! It's really cheap to make, as we bought a box of borax and a box of washing soda, and used only about one cup of each. You add these to 2 or 3 gallons of water, mix, let it set, and then it's ready! Just think, how many gallons of laundry detergent you can make after buying these ingredients! We were joking about turning into hippies .

Well, gotta run! We're all well and healthy and doing great, and I hope all the same for all of you!

Dear Jackie,
That is wonderful that the whole family is feeling good doing the vegetarian diet.

Keep having fun discovering new foods.


M

I would like to make a small comment:

Vegan means NO ANIMAL sourced foods at all. NO eggs, no dairy etc. Some Vegans also refuse honey!

Once you give up all animal sourced foods, you have to think about supplying Vitamin B12. B12 is only found in animal sourced foods.

So the distinction is important. If you give up fish, you will not have a source of Omega-3's. This means at least for females in your home, you need to add flax oil or ground flax seed in abundance. Males do not convert to EPA and DHA and so flax is less effective for them.

The bottom line is: you cannot live without Omega-3's and you cannot live without Vitamin B12. Another nutrient often lost is zinc. There are compounds in veggies called phytates, which complex zinc out of the diet. People who do not eat animal protein then can become zinc deficient.

At this point you are following a vegetarian lifestyle. I'd urge you to read up further, so you don't miss out on essential nutrients. Many vegetarian sites have these details on them, and therefore will be easy to find.

Hi Jaquie, SSOOOOoooo Good to hear from you!!!
I called it Spring cleaning my body and mind, a renewal as the leaves came out and flowers bloomed. I can't do anything this drastic, we love our chicken and fish too much.
Our diet does have a lot of Asian to it, the rice, vegtables, spicing, but no salt added or soy.

I have rice crackers, with some ginger spread along with graham crackers with natural crunchy peanut butter as energy bars, and my nibble needs.

Our garden is tilled the harty root plants are in and the "pop corn" corn planted. I take Wegmans Omega 3 for my supplement. An aspirin a day as the neuro request.
He is big on it preventing stokes and clots.

How was your vacation, and the addition on the house? Been waiting to see how you liked the GEM, and did you have a nice time.
Hugs and love
di

you are eating vegetarian, vegans don't eat dairy too.... eggs or cheese.
good luck with your diet!
bizi

bizi, Mrs D and all; I know we're really eating a vegetarian diet, but we are slowly working towards cutting out cheese, too, as we have been using some cheese and butter substitutes. We would easily cut out eggs if there was a vegan substitute . Also trying tofu and other beef substitutes made of tofu, most have been pretty good. I am still reading up on the nutritional aspect of changing our diets this way, but we haven't started any supplements yet. I did tell my doctor about my new diet, and she seemed to think it wasn't a bad idea.

Di, we really had a great time on our cruise! We went Epcot and to Atlantis and took part in the dolphin interaction, which was quite a thrill for all of us! As far as the addition goes, we have done the preliminary work, bought new whole house air conditioners (2 needed because the square footage of house plus addition is over 5000 square feet) and moved them, had the trees cut down,, and now waiting for the permits and then will start construction. Whew, it is quite an ordeal to get everything in place prior to building.

I decided to plant a butterfly garden, and took great care in clearing the area, putting up a decorative fence, and shopped through the Spring Hill catalog to buy a bunch of perennials that attract butterflies. Also bought a butterfly house, I think I put a picture on FB, and it's hanging right next to my garden. I hope it grows well - I have high hopes for it!

Chia - my d-i-l bought Chia seeds, and has used them at least a few times, in food, I think.

Will stop back in again soon!!

Hi, Jacquie,

Periodically I go vegetarian or mostly vegan.
Cheese, I hear on the Internet, is one of the most difficult things to give up -- depending on how much you loved it to start with.
I use Earth Balance Margarine in place of butter:
-- http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/
Here is a recipe for mac and cheese:
-- http://epicureanvegan.com/2010/05/23...-cashew-cheese
You can find simpler ones. The trick for the creaminess seems to be in the cashews. The nutritional yeast is important for taste as well.

Have fun on your family food adventure.
The butterfly garden will bring peace and beauty to your home.

M

Good luck in where ever your nutrition takes you. following any kind of restrictive diet is hard but once you get the hang of it will be like a breeze.
I am hoping your plants arrive safely and that your attract many butterflies in the process. post pictures please!
(((((HUGS))))
that is a big house to have to clean!
bizi

biz - don't I know it ! Most of the living area on the second floor belongs to my son, d-i-l and kids, tho the family room, kitchen, living room and dining room are quite big, too.

The first batch of plants is already in the ground and doing quite well. After everything was planted, I had more open space than I wanted, so I have another smaller batch coming, too.

Here is the butterfly house:



Mari - yes, we have started using Earth Balance, too. And we found a margarine with a coconut milk base - yum . It's not always easy following this path, but we feel good doing as much as we can every day. Thanks for the mac and cheese recipe - will certainly check it out.

I could never give up my turkey, and pot roast. I do like healthy recipes and eating lite. We eat a lot of strange salad makings, and peas and beans. Soups too. I want to find that cabbage soup that I had to use this week as my supper.

Jacquie, I had the most beautiful butterfly bush. Planted the year De passed and had lots of her shrubs that flowered and lilacs moved up to my home from her trailer.
On day ds was cutting the yard, this bush was to be cut back every Fall and would spring up again in the Spring.....until my son ran it over and pulled the roots and all out of the ground and it mulched.....

That house is huge, we have 1600 up stairs, and 1000 sq ft down in the lower bilevel. Built the home when we got married 20 years ago.

That will be nice to think of making a dedicated butterfly area, Did you see the Butterflies at Epcot? Never been to Atlantis, but if it warms the skin and body, it warms my heart.

We are going to Bermuda again in Sept. Peak hurricaine season so rates were 1/3 off season rates. Two weeks after our 20 anniversary. We first started dating in 1979, so together a long, long time. DH's family lived few doors away from my Grandparents. His sister was my Mom's best friend and he use to date my Aunt that is 3 years older than me. I followed them around as a 10 year old.

But, I am excited to hear of your news that the permits are in the working, soon the official ground breaking will begin.
Hugs and love
di