We have to be Goliath . . .

Everyone wants to be David. It is cool to be David. Oh I'm David, and I killed Goliath. That's cool, right? I say, we have to be Goliath.

For my lovely friends (Kristine, I mean you) who don't keep up with bible tales, the basic story of David and Goliath is as follows: David is a small person who has to fight a giant (Goliath). All he has is a sling shot and three stones. With this inferior weapon and his diminutive size, he is able to bring down the mighty giant. The point of the parable is that even the small guy can take on the giant.

But what if we were the giant? People hate Vegan activists. I have found this out. They are protective of their food. But ask one person to watch a video of factory farming. Ask people to understand the environmental implications of mass producing animals for consumption. Estimates say that Vegans make up about 2% of the world's population. That isn't very many. Right now we are David. And people hate us. But I can't help thinking . . . what if we were Goliath. What if we could be a giant force of change and good in the world. I know in the parable Goliath loses. That isn't the point I'm making. The point is that we need to be Giants. We need to be fearless.

As a difficult and awkward segue, I got upset with my kids the other day about their school work. I just said, "Life Sucks. It is hard. It is hard everyday. But if you are willing to work really hard and face all the challenges, the rewards are immeasurable." I really believe that. I think that is the same with food. It is hard. It is hard to watch a movie like Earthlings (see tomorrow's post--don't you love my teasers?). But if you are going to eat meat, then at least go into it with your eyes wide open.

Maybe I should dedicate this blog to recipes and the challenges of being a Vegan mom in rural America, and I bet 99% of it will end up being that, but for today, and maybe tomorrow, and maybe even the next day, I'm going to start by being a Giant for Veganism. Maybe I can inspire you.

"It tastes like Spirulina" is what's wrong with the world.

First, I want to open with, "WTF!" I seriously just turned down a pretzel for a piece of romaine lettuce with hummus in it. At first, I was like, "just eat the stupid pretzel." But dang that hummus was good. What is happening to me.

Second, I feel super guilty that I am not forcing my children to go through this change with me. If I care this much about myself, then I should care that much about my children too right? And I am trying. It is small steps. Little changes. I have totally overhauled our house, so that is a good step in the right direction.

I keep going back and forth . . . do I make them, do I not make them? The truth of the matter is that the two little ones have been vegan since I got home because what else are they going to eat?

But when you make this delicious potato/salad bar, who could say no? Not Persephone . . . doesn't she just look totally excited.

In other Vegan news, I found a Vegan restaurant in town. Who would have guessed. The food is pretty tasty. Not as good as it is at home, but it never is, and at least I have a go to place now. So, yeah for that. I also fit into my first (first out of like 20) pairs of goal jeans. First on the road. First on the journey. Well, first thing to be proud of.

Back to Spirulina. I bought this shake mix to mix with my juice in the morning just because I thought it might help me feel fuller. It is vanilla flavored, but it has spirulina in it. So, in the reviews on Amazon, all the negative reviews say things like, "it really tastes like spirulina." So I was not expecting anything great to happen. So I mix it in my juice, and it tastes good. It turns my juice green. It has a little spirulina taste, but nothing overwhelming. I mean come on people, what are you looking for a miracle. I mean, readjust your taste buds for the love of all things green! The point is, there is no quick fix. Spirulina isn't going to taste like bacon, but it also is good for you, and it didn't come out of a deplorable factory farm. So be proud. After two shakes, you won't even notice. Since I live in Longview, we have limited selections, and I didn't want to buy something off the internet without trying it, so here is what I bought:

I have been pretty happy with it. The good old hubby even drink it up with no complaints. When I was in California and had access to other shake mixes, I bought some, but wasn't nearly as pleased, and those really tasted like spirulina!

Stay tuned for my next blog . . . being Goliath. Yeah. That is going to be awesome.

Mystique of Cheap

Should food be cheap? Awhile ago in my public policy class I wrote a paper about Farm Subsidies. Basically, we create a system where we artificially lower the price of food, so we expect food to be cheap. But we should really be asking ourselves, should food be cheap.

What if we spent more on food, but that food was grown locally, in a humane way? I saw an interview with a humane farmer, and he said, "I see people at the farmer's market who freak out about eggs that are $3 a dozen while they hold a 75 cent soda." That makes sense. Maybe we should be paying $3 a dozen for eggs that are farmed in a humane way.

But eating a decent meal doesn't have to be uber expensive even in our fast track world. Here is what I had for dinner.





Here is a break down of the cost (amount is for what is included, for example if I used half of something I only included 1/2 of the whole cost of the item):
Avocado: $1.00
Tomato: $0.35
Cucumber: $0.35
Onion: $0.30
Lettuce: $.0.35
Bell Pepper: $0.50
Various spices: $0.50
Total: $3.35

It was so good! I was really hungry, and now I feel totally full. It tasted like heaven.

Anyway, the point is, if our food is cheap because it is filled with pink slime or because it is made with "carton eggs," then maybe we should be questioning how much money we spend on our food. I recently found out that carton eggs are made from the eggs that "come out" with no shell-- without being graphic, you can imagine what those eggs are exposed to. I think a few extra cents at the farmer's market may just be worth it.

I"m a Vegan

I'm up to no blogging good. I kept writing all these Facebook posts about my eating habits, and I said to myself, "Self." Sometimes, I call myself, self. Anyway, I said, "Self, you are really excited about your eating changes. You are struggling, succeeding, and having all these emotions about it you want to share; but, let's face it, no one wants to read about it on Facebook."

What is a gal to do? Then I remembered that I used to have this awesome blog. So, back to the blog I am. Now, you can read about my awesome food if you want . . . or not. It is really up to you.

Anyway, here is the news. I started taking some new medicine for my migraine headaches, and it made my stomach hurt really bad. One of the side effects was meat made me want to throw up. So, I just quit. When I was a youngin', I was a vegetarian. So, it was kinda easy for me.

Then my lovely husband watched this movie called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead about a guy who started juicing. He got some crazy idea that he wanted to juice. So, we bought a juicer. Well juicing is really hard. It makes you really hungry and it is just really hard.

But juicing did something wonderful for me. Something glorious. Something lovely. It made me get on the Internet and do research. I found this blog called choosing raw. You can find it here: http://www.choosingraw.com/. And then I started reading more and more of the articles she had posted and more and more vegan blogs. And I realized, this is what I wanted to try. I wanted to do it. I wanted to be one of those crazy vegan kids. (I had tried vegan in the past, but had never been able to really stick to it.)

So, I started. And this is what I did. Grrr... I had a hard time. Today is day four of Veganism.

Day one: I only juiced. I had to just quit cold turkey because I am a cold turkey kind of kid. It wasn't so bad. I had a fruit based juice, followed by a greens juice, and then an carrot based juice.

Day two: I was determined to just juice. Nope. I couldn't do it. Well technically , Robert couldn't do it. So I juiced breakfast and lunch and had avocado salad for dinner. Yummo.

Day three: I had juice breakfast, and hummus wrap lunch and dinner.

Here is how I cheated. I had a diet a Dr. Pepper. I did it. I also cried. I mean just cried. I have also screamed a few times and may have threatened to punch someone. I'm not sure. But the point is that I made it through. The reward has been that I have lost 20 pounds (in the past month not in the past four days) and I feel really proud of myself.

I also found out that there are three reasons why I am glad I am doing this:
1. The environment. I care about the environment. Factory farms are bad for the environment.
2. My health and Robert's health. Period it is better for your health. Watch the movie Forks over Knives.
3. Pigs. Pigs are cute. I love Pigs. Pigs are smart. Pigs make me think of my dog, cornbread. I would never want to hurt cornbread. I don't want to hurt pigs.

I promise to post pictures and keep you updated on the new vegan adventures of me.

Christmas spirit?

I don't have my usual gusto of Christmas spirit this year. I haven't whipped out the millions of cookies like usual nor have we totally decorated our house (just the essentials). This year has been so busy and so overwhelming for not only my family but also for many families across the country and world. I think that may have dampened our Christmas Spirit. (Of course, let me say that I don't really believe in Christmas as religious holiday, but rather I believe in the spirit of Christmas as a time to celebrate our togetherness as a family and to be thankful for the good things in our lives.)
I was talking on the phone just the other day with a dear friend of mine. She was lamenting her inability to buy a bunch of presents this year . . . the same thing I had done a few weeks earlier. But the truth is that I have plenty of presents under the tree. So, I decided to switch the focus to more family-centric thinking. Another dear friend of mine is setting up games in her home and doing a bunch of really fun Christmas activities. So, we decided that we are going to have a lovely dinner, a traditional reading of the "Night Before Christmas" in front of the fire place, and we are going to spend some game time... then we will get to presents, but it is really about being PRESENT in the same room, at the same time, and getting the gift of one another's company.
I realize that I am just so happy to get to spend the day with my children and my parents and my husband and his parents as well. How lucky am I? How lucky are we all? I don't know if there are any presents under the tree for me (with the exception of the one from my friend in Texas which I already love just because she sent it), but I do know that I have the gift of family. Gosh, I irritate myself just saying that! I know that all the peace and love stuff gets grating. But really, when times are black, we have to look for the silver lining.
I hope you all find yours this Christmas.

The Rotten Pie

My blog is normally a feel good, love yourself type of blog, but one way we can love ourselves is through empowering ourselves and those around us. Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words.

I have been reading a very interesting book on Feminist theory. Before you boys and girls turn off, I have discovered an interesting dynamic that expands so much further than the stereotypical idea of a bra burning feminist. bell hooks (yes she prefers her name to be lowercase--and it is a pen name) said in her article "Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression" that to look at Feminism as an identity diminishes the true goal of the movement. Instead, it is better to look at it as advocating on behalf of feminism. She also explores how feminism is directly related to the causes that look at ending all discrimination and oppression whether it be based on sex, race, class or any other determining factor.


Bonnie Kreps further develops on this idea when she says, "We . . . do not believe that the oppression of women will be ended by giving them a bigger piece of the pie. We believe that the pie itself is rotten." How profound is that? The pie itself is rotten. Just chew on that.


Isn't that what we are all grappling with right now in America? A rotten pie? And how do we overcome the odds of getting food poisoning while being spoon fed rotten pie? Well we need to look to forming social groups based not on our perceived identities while social aims that benefit only our group, but we need toward benefiting society as a whole. Women in particular face a hard road because we are divided by our loyalty and attachment to the men in our lives and to our social status. There so many other factors that play into our lives. Not only that, in this recession, women have more and more been looked at to be the sole provider for their families and to provide emotional and parental support.

I am a horrible culprit of talking the talk, but not walking the walk. I see MY plight and the plight of those who are like me as superior. Our concerns are paramount and any other concerns interfere with our own struggle, but this is just a confrontational way of thinking that just perpetuates that current system. I know that we are better than that--there is no reason we can't fight sexism and racism while trying to fight against poverty. They all are related... they intertwine, and we can address them at the same time.

But this still leaves the problem what do we do? What can we do? Well I don't know your personal views on issues that are affecting women today, but we can talk about real reproductive health measures not just hear but in the world at large. We can urge businesses, our government, and others to advocate on behalf of oppressed women. We can speak with our dollars. Support a Women's charity, give to charities that support women in impoverished countries, support a charity that tries to end female circumcision.

But like I always say, it starts by being the ripe tomato. I am going to join my local chapter of the NOW organization, and I am going to start being an advocate on issues that matter to me through the auspices of this organization. I am going to advocate to stop human trafficking, to support reproductive health and rights, and to focus on better wages and standing for women in our community.

Revival

It is time to revive the Live, Eat, and Be Well blog. I know that my faithful followers have probably been disappointed that I feel off the blogosphere, but I'm back and I'm ready to ROCK this party!

So, as my Blog says, this is about my journey. As much as I hate to do it, I have to quote Miley Cyrus--"It ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb." So, in that spirit, I am sharing my journey with you. As those of you who know me know, this year has been challenging for me, so I quit writing my blog, but I figured out that we, as a community, work together to better our lives through sharing our journey. Thus, the blog is revived!

Reaching the summit isn't the goal...the goal is enjoying the climb!

I am starting my Ph.D program in January, and I think that it will give me a new wealth of material to discuss in this blog. I hope that by sharing my new insights that we can begin to learn together about how we can find the Mecca of happiness.

In this first, revived blog, I wanted to revisit something I talked about in my very first blog--being the ripe tomato. Being the ripe tomato means that we need to live our lives as an example for others. But something I figured out this year is that part of being the ripe tomato is not just sharing our successes but also sharing our mistakes so that we may learn and grow ourselves and learn and grow through the example set in both success and failure.

I know that I am growing and learning more about myself everyday. I often feel that I fall short of being the positive example that I strive to be for those in my life. But, I think that by sharing my experiences and perspective, I may be able to help you gain perspective on your life.

Ok, so no big didactic message in this first blog... just a revival.