Raw Food Experiment

After a recent visit with my new doctor, one of the joys of rural living, the doctors move on, anyway, he mentioned a raw food diet. No, he wasn’t suggesting I do one. Good thing.

This guy is young, young enough to be my grandson, but he wasn’t too young to have some commonsense. He knew suggesting an all-raw diet to this, ahem, older, overweight woman, who lives in cattle country, and who used to be involved in raising pork,  was not a good idea. Not to mention that at one time we raised chickens and rabbits. I am a carnivore. Yes, my husband had a garden, and I have one of sorts. But the vegetables are an accompaniment to the meat, not a replacement for the meat.

As John Pinot said in one of his routines, “salad is a precursor to the meal. It is a promise that food is coming. It is not the meal.”

Also, a raw diet sounded like another way of saying, all salad. Salads for breakfast, lunch, and supper. Salads seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a month. No thank you.

For those of you who are vegan or vegetarian, I’m happy for you, you can have my extra. I want meat once in awhile, not to mention eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt and ice-cream. No, not going to follow a raw food meal plan at this time. Not to say I wouldn’t do it if needed, just not right now.

However, just because I’m not diving head first into the deep end of the raw food pool, doesn’t mean I won’t play in the shallow end. Besides, I was curious, did raw food people combine their veggies in a way to create the feeling of a main dish? I went exploring.

Did you know there are raw food tacos,  lasagna, burgers,  and even cheesecake? My issue with the lasagna, and burgers was the use of what I call fake meat. Nuts and spices to mimic meat. If I want meat I’ll just eat meat. Okay, not true, I will try one of the meatless meat meals later.

For today, I found these veggie tacos with nary a hint of meat or fake meat at the Minimalist Baker. In fact she doesn’t call them tacos, she calls them taco boats.  There’s very little tacoish about them, except they are served in a romaine leaf which is a little like a taco shell. And they are as messy as real tacos to eat, at least for me. Next time I think I’ll make it into a layered salad. Why not?

The only thing I had to buy to make this was the beets, for the beet hummus. It was so pretty and red in her picture, how could I leave it out?

Her recipe called for roasting the beets and while I do roast veggies, this time I was going for no cooking at all. After conferring with my friends, and checking online, raw beets it was.

Also, the recipe calls for cooked chickpeas, so I cheated a little and used chickpea hummus already in my fridge. But, I didn’t cook it today, so that’s raw, sort of.

After washing and peeling the beet, I cut it into chunks and put it in my little manual food processor.

That didn’t get the beets smooth enough, maybe roasting would’ve helped with that.

I moved the beets to the blender and learned two things, a mason jar will fit on my blender, and I shouldn’t do that unless I’m blending something that won’t need to be pushed down. It took several shakes to get everything blended, but in the end it was, and tasted good too.

After making the tahini sauce, which added to the flavor. It was time to assemble the boats. Lettuce leaf, a little beet hummus, purple cabbage, orange mini pepper (if I’d been thinking I’d have used yellow for more color variety, shredded carrot, tomato (I used a roma tomato from a friend’s garden,) chopped avocado, and topped with the tahini sauce.

The cut up tomato may have added to the messiness of the boat, and not my ineptitude.

There you have it, my first raw meal. Okay, technically it was another salad, and those are eaten on a regular basis at my house. Still, it was something new and different. I loved both the beet humus, in fact I snacked on it later with celery and carrots. The tahini sauce added another level of flavor. Huh, always wondered what real cooks and chefs meant when they said that.

Do you ever experiment with meals or food?

What is one food you were surprised to find you enjoyed?

What is one meat dish you don’t think you want to be made vegetarian?

 

Note:

Yes the Blogging A to Z challenge is over for me. The actual challenge ended April 30, my last challenge post was May 31, just a month late. The Ultimate Blog Challenge is also over until next month. It’s obvious I didn’t post every day.

One thing I’ve learned (finally) I am not a daily blogger.  Goal is weekly, possibly a couple of times a week, but no promises. This blog is a learning process, and some days I’m a slow learner. The important thing is to keep learning and hopefully improving.

Blogging A to Z Final Posts-V to Z

Today, one month late, the Alphabet Challenge of 2019 is officially over for this blog, and the last five letters of the alphabet, V, W, X, Y and Z are taking center stage.

is for VACATION. Which is appropriate since school is out, and people are scheduling time off from work for vacations. Vacations don’t require a lot of time, several days of vacation time strung together is great. However, if all you can manage is a couple of hours of time for you, that will help reenergize and revitalize you.

Time spent away from the ordinary, whether you work at home or away, if you’re a caretaker, or a driver for others, whatever you do on a daily basis, you need a break. Whether you call it a vacation, or just a weekend getaway, it’s time for you and it’s important.

Short two hour vacations, or lengthy month long vacations are beneficial and we all need those breaks.

is for WRITING. Studies have shown that we remember better when we write the idea down. Whether it’s the grocery list, to-do list, dream ideas, whatever is important to you, write it down. Even those wild ideas that seem to come out of nowhere might be important, write it down and see where it goes.

is for XEROX which means to duplicate or copy. In fact, it’s also the brand name of a machine that makes copies. However, for life, we can XEROX or duplicate the positive filling our lives with happy memories and good times. Xerox the positive in life and ignore the negative.

 

is for YOU and YES. Say yes to you. If you want to try something different, say “yes” and give it a try. If you don’t succeed no big deal, but when you do? When you do succeed at something new, different, you’ll be flying. So go ahead, say yes. Whether it’s a new hobby, or project, a new route home, or a new way of doing the every day, say “yes” to the experience.

 

Z is for ZEN. One of the definitions of ZEN is:  An approach to an activity, skill, or subject that emphasizes simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals. Since worry doesn’t solve anything, create your own ZEN zone and enjoy the peace.

Being in the Zen Zone leads to a Zippity Doo Dah day.

A to Z Alphabet challenge From Q to U

 

 

is for QUIRKY. It is our quirks that make us who we are. Whether our quirks are subtle and mundane, wearing mismatched socks painting our toenails ten different colors, or something more obvious, dying our hair purple or wearing mismatched clothing on purpose, it doesn’t matter. Our quirks give us our individuality and make us who we are. Our quirks also make us smile, and sometimes others. Embrace your quirky, it adds color to life.

 

is  RESPECT. Respecting others is good and respecting ourselves is awesome. After all if we don’t respect us, how can we expect others to? Which is why R is for RESPECT.

 

 

is for SENSATIONAL.  Regardless of your age, your height, your width, your weight, your education, your talents, You are sensational. You have skills no one else has. You have the ability to help someone, yourself or someone else, find their way. You are the person you can depend on. Give yourself some credit and remember how sensational you are.

 

is for TERRIFIC. Not traffic, terrific. Although, you are terrific enough to stop traffic. If you think you aren’t terrific, try writing down five reasons, then, write five counter-reasons. reasons you really are terrific. Whatever you think you can’t do, or don’t have, others would disagree. Does your smile lift the spirits of those who see it? Are you skilled at a craft and others enjoy the fruits of your labor? Are you a good to fabulous cook and others enjoy eating your bounty? Consider some of the ways you are terrific.

 

is for UNIQUE. From our size, to our hair color, to our skills, we are all unique and bring something different to our relationships. Rather than trying to fit into someone else’s expectations and smother some of our skills, why not embrace our uniqueness and allow all of our talents to shine? Did you notice a trend today? While the words were supposed to be positive and encouraging, and they are. Turns out they are also positive and encouraging on a personal level.

Embrace your quirks, respect yourself and your talents, acknowledge your sensationalism, enjoy your terrificness, and never forget you are unique.

Tomorrow will finish up the alphabet for the A to Z challenge with five more encouraging, positive words in alphabetical order. June will start a new blogging adventure and I have no idea what direction it will take.

What is your favorite thing about yourself?

What is your favorite positive, encouraging word?

 

 

 

 

 

Be Positive and Make Life a Party

Today I’m on the letter P, and it’s time for quotes or ideas once again. Positive words that start with the letter P and enhance our lives? Gee, how about “positive?” Also added in some ideas for party.

 

Sharing with Ultimate Blog Challenge and Blogging A to Z.

Do you have a positive quote or saying your like?

What makes you want to party?

Have a great positive partying kind of day.

 

Optimistic and Open-Minded leads to Opportunities

Guess what? We are up to the letter O. Once again three words popped in my head when I started thinking of positive words that begin with the letter O. This time it’s Openminded, Optimistic, and Opportunity. 

Being optimistic does not mean we refuse to see, or consider the negative, it simply means that we are hopeful for a positive outcome, and confident we will be able to handle whatever the situation calls for.

Years ago my grandmother had a habit of making a wrong turn. As an adult I sometimes think those missed turns were planned. At the time though, I was sure she made a mistake. Whether on purpose or not, she was always optimistic that the drive would be interesting and hopeful we would find our destination sooner rather than later. I learned some of my optimism from her. Plus, it’s easier to be optimistic than pessimistic. For me anyway.

My grandmother’s adventurous driving also taught me to be open-minded. Going down street Jay may not have been our normal route, but Grandma’s logic was, “why not?” Whether it means going a different route, or trying something new. My grandmother taught me to be open-minded and willing to try new things.

Trying new things sometimes leads to new adventures. Several years ago I needed an outlet. Because while I’m basically an introvert, once in awhile I need to be around people. The people in my life seemed to think I was the same person I’d been when my husband had been living. Except, I wasn’t the same.

To meet people who hadn’t known me before I joined a new group, the Toastmasters. I just planned to join them and attend meetings. That’s all, just be a member. Except, that open-mindedness kicked in when someone signed me up for a speech contest. Oh my goodness. I was so scared. But I did it.

That one contest started me on the path of entering other contests. Those in turn opened up the opportunity to speak to other groups.

We never know what opportunities are around the corner. We just need to remain confident and open-minded.

Are you an optimist or pessimist?

Have you benefitted from being open-minded?

 

 

 

 

Nature, Naps and Nurture

The letter N has several good positive words to adopt and use. Today I’m focusing on three, Naps, Nature, and Nurture. 

NAPS – When my children were young they refused to nap after eighteen months. They would play in their beds, or sneak out the back door. I finally convinced them to just look at a book, or play quietly in their room. Some days their naptime was more for me than for them, I’m not sure they needed to recharge. As adults they sometimes look for ways to rest, if not actually nap.

We all need to recharge sometimes. Whether that means just sitting down, putting our feet up, drinking a cup of tea (or coffee) and enjoying the quiet, or actually lying on a bed (or couch) and closing our eyes. Taking a short break from the hustle and bustle of everyday with a short nap helps us be more.

Sometimes we get so tired we just fall down and take a nap where we are. Remember grandpa having his eyes closed while sitting and “watching television?” Everyone knew not to try and change the channel, because he would quickly inform everyone he was just “resting his eyes.” Actually, he was resting, taking a mini-nape but he heard the click of the channel changing knob.

NATURE

Aristotle is quoted as saying, “In all things of nature

there is something of the marvelous.”

He was right. Sunsets, sunrises, snow topped mountains, deserts dotted with growth, everywhere we look in nature is beauty. Nature can soothe us, excite us, encourage us all be just being. It’s important to take a moment and appreciate the nature in our lives.

Nature indoors can help as much as that growing outside, especially if we can’t get out for some reason. When spending days at a hospital with a loved one, little splashes of nature can be especially soothing. Like these plants alongside the stairway in an OKC hospital. The indoor nature is nurting.

NURTURE – The final positive N word for today is NURTURE. We all benefit from nurturing, we feel better when we nurture others and of course when they do it for us. Nurturing isn’t always taking care of someone, nurturing can be a simple as playing a game, or giving a hug. Take time to nurture yourself or someone else, it will make your day better.

 

Play can be nurturing.

Since today is Earth day we can nurture nature by picking up trash, or planting a flower, picking up the dead leaves in a flower bed, or helping the earth in some way. Afterwards, take a nap and relax.

Do you think we are ever too old for naps?

Do you take a nap from time to time?

How do you enjoy nature?

Playing catch-up on the blogging A to Z challenge. Posting in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

 

 

 

Laughter and Mentors

For the letter J I talked about jokes, joking and the importance of being able to see the jokes of like. Today that continues with L and Laughter.

For me, laughter ranks right up there with gratitude for having a fuller, more enjoyable life. It’s not just me, experts have found that laughter helps in several ways. Here are just five of them:

• Laughter helps lower our blood pressure.
• It helps improve memory and learning. Try laughing the next time you’re trying to learn something new. I often laugh at the mouse on my computer. Who thought it was a good idea to name that little gizmo after a rodent?
•  Laughter wakes our brains up and stimulates us so that we are more alert and creative, not to mention the memory improvement.
• Laughter is said to work our abs. Does that mean I don’t have to do crunches to whittle my middle? Maybe laugh while doing crunches? For sure anyone watching me do crunches will be laughing.
• Laughter helps reduce our stress. After all it’s hard to be stressed out and anxious when we’re laughing.

Whoever said, “laughter is the best medicine,” may have been on to something.

What have you laughed about recently?

Yes, today is a two-letter day since I am a tad behind on the alphabet challenge. The letter M is for mentors, whether you are the mentor or the mentee, we all need mentors in our lives.

According to the dictionary a mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor, someone who can advise and teach us. A mentor can also be an encourager. While others are quick to point out every imaginable obstacle, with no solution, the mentor will mention possible hurdles, as well as ways to overcome them. We need mentors in our lives.

While mentors can help us navigate a path, we can also be mentors for others. Parents and grandparents are often mentors for their children and grandchildren, even the offspring of their friends.

However we can also be mentors to our friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Being a mentor doesn’t mean making a huge cometment of time or energy. If you have a great garden and your neighbor struggles to keep a shrub alive, you could mentor her on growing plants.

Mentors don’t even have to know they are mentors. Jennifer McMurain,a multi-published author, wife, mom, daughter, sister, active in several organizations is one of my mentors. She does (at least she didn’t) know. She lives several miles from me, and I watch her from afar. I watch how she juggles her time between all of her interests, how she promotes her writing, how she promotes others. When I grow up I want to be like Jennifer. In the meantime, I learn from her and have her as one of my long-distance mentors.

Being a mentor ourselves not only helps someone else, it helps us. Explaining something to someone else can remind us of information we knew but had forgotten. Helping another person pursue a similar interest can also reignite our fire if it’s begun to smolder a little.

Whether we are a mentor or a mentee, mentorship is important.

Do you know anyone who can be your mentor from afar?

Do you have a local mentor?

Are you a mentor?

Sharing this with the Ultimate Blog Challenge and Blogging A to Z.

 

 

Kindness and Knowledge Quotes

This week I’m doing Thursday’s Thoughts instead of Wednesday’s Words, mostly because I didn’t post yesterday and I love quotes. For the thoughts I found several quotes about kindness, after all don’t we all need a little kindness in our lives? Also found a couple on knowledge, because the more we know, about anything the better equipped we are to handle life’s curve balls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between storms which caused internet issues and a week of constant going I’m still a little behind on the Ultimate Blog Challenge, but hopeful to catch up this weekend.

What kind act have you done recently?

What kindness have you done for you?

 

J is for Joke

Today is Wednesday, the 11th, and the tenth day of the Blogging A to Z, which means letter J.

The first positive J word that came to mind was Joy. A good word. Since I’ve already talked about the Joy Jar and happiness, why not look for some other positive j words?

How about Jam, or Jelly? A tasty spread for toast in the morning, or combined with peanut butter for a sandwich any time of day. Some people even use it as an ice cream topping.

There is jubilant, jovial and jolly, all perfectly good positive words. They are close to joy, joyous, and joyful. The letter J is just a cheerful letter.

There is also, jester and joker. Not the Joker from  Batman, but someone who tells jokes to make others laugh. The jokes don’t even have to be all that good, and there’s nothing wrong with telling yourself a joke to lift your spirits. Here are a couple of silly, or bad, depending on your viewpoint, jokes.

Do you enjoy telling jokes?

Do you have a favorite joke?

 

 

 

I is for Inspiration

 

It is day nine of the Blogging A to Z challenge, at least I’m on letter nine which is “I.” Actually, I think everyone else is on day 11. No matter, I’ll get there.

In the meantime, I is for inspire or inspiration. The hope is that one or more of these quotes will inspire you.

Today’s Words for Wednesday are all quotes by someone else. I’ve given credit if I know, or if someone is commonly attributed as the author. .

Today’s Wednesday Words are coming out on Thursday due to travel and wind. For some reason my WIFI does not like to fight the wind to connect. Go figure. Which leaves me still two days behind on the blogging A to Z challenge and a three (I think) days behind on the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

A day or two (or three) can be caught up as long as I keep going. No matter what our goals, life often throws wind, activities, family and friends, or other obstacles at us. If we have to slow our progress, no problem. The important action is to keep going.

What do you do when you find yourself overwhelmed and unable to keep up with your goals?

Do you have a favorite Wednesday Word?

What or who inspires you?