In Health

Quite suddenly, we've become vegan.

No no, no we haven't. Not entirely. But kind of we've gone vegan. 

I know that by the very nature of this lifestyle one doesn't kind of do it, but here we are, inching our way in that direction. 

It all started with mac & cheese. I noticed that I was feeling pretty awful after eating the stuff with the kids. And since we tend to eat our fair share, I was noticing it a lot. So I took stock of what happened after each mouthful of cereal, each slice of bread, and you betcha, I had a gluten sensitivity. 

I've always been lactose intolerant, and the gluten business was pretty similar. Had to cut out the gluten, and after one day there was a difference. Two and I was feeling like a new gal. It's been nearly a week and I can't believe how much better I feel all around, outside even of my stomach. 

Two of my friends are also gluten-free, and on a recent evening walk we chatted about nutrition and making the move when the rest of the family doesn't have gluten issues. One of my friends has recently battled breast cancer, and during her treatment and surgeries she found that many of her physicians are vegan. Always a very healthy eater, she was shocked to hear that the general belief behind non-obviously-genetic-type (that's the technical term, I'm sure) cancer is that it's the food we take in and the energy we output (or don't) that does it, or leads to it, or helps it along.

She delved into the subject of vegan eating and immediately her family went in that direction. The other friend on our walk, and several more in our peer group, took their families to the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle soon after, all with tremendous results. Allergies have disappeared, mystery coughs gone, bowels happy to be bowels again. 

I came home and talked to Trevor about it. We talked about his uncle, battling cancer right now, and about our friend, who was the first in our peer group to get it. We talked about what it might be like in that doctor's office, getting a diagnosis, and hearing that it may have been related to diet. Diet! And how, in that moment, we would be horrified that we had not tried harder to prevent it.

And so, now, we are taking a path we never thought we'd take. From a hunting family, Trevor was at first not interested in the least. After our talk, he was the one to suggest we give it a try. 

We're not going to be hardcore - we can't; we know we'd sink and our resolve would be compromised. We're going to lean on fresh fish and continue the eggs. We're not going to force anything on anyone. We're going to walk down for ice cream now and then.

But the other things are big steps for us. Thinking vegetarian is new, and even though we'll continue to make chicken and fish and eggs for the kids, trying to clean up our diets in major ways is hard. We're fumbling a bit right now, but then again, we just started, and we do have a lot to learn. 

We feel great about the adventure of it, though. When we take our long, nearly nightly family walk, we feel like we're doing the right thing, and while I haven't had a chance to talk to Trevor about his energy because he's been working nonstop, I know that I feel lighter and springier already. 

Tonight for dinner I pulled all of our vegetables out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter. I began chopping, and asked Marta and Berit to put them in the pan. Celery and cauliflower, zucchini and edamame, kale and peppers, they all found their way into the girls' bellies before they had a chance with the pan. Our stir-fry was small, but the girls were giddy and full, entirely from our fresh bounty. For dessert they ate gluten-free bread and tomatoes, and the whole time I wondered if it would work. It did.

Birthday Dinner #2, Cafe Sante

Many Chins Mean Happy Life

Since Thursday I have been presented with several thousand calories' worth of deliciousness every day, and I have not turned one down. I'm talking filet with blue cheese butter, many, many bottles of wine, chocolate lava cake (2), pumpkin cheesecake, truffles, chocolate chip-pecan-coconut cookies, pumpkin biscotti, moose mix, raspberry kringle, peanut butter custard, mochas, lattes, coffee with real cream, raclette, Pirate's Booty, sausage, tenderloin rolls, pickled green beans, pickled garlic, pickles, homemade salami, prosciutto-and-cheese rolls, breadsticks, breadsticks with cheese inside them and homemade chicken soup with dumplings.

And those are just the ones I can remember. Let's not forget I have a memory like a hollow cave.

And even though my pants are getting tighter as I sit and type, I think it's going to be OK. Because:

1. I have my first race in two weeks and I don't have a choice but to run faster and longer. (For those of you who might be there, I will be slow. But considering what I've eaten in the past four days, my finishing the race at all will be a triumph.)

2. Fall is in the air. Hence, more clothing.

3. I pledge to eat only lettuce and grapes... starting tomorrow.

4. We had a showing today, and I bought a bunch of flowers from the farm market (something I never do because of my aversion to slowly dying living things in my home), and they really do make the house very cheery. Once you get over the dying thing.

5. Marta is a regular songstress, singing How Much Is That Doggy In The Window, Do-Re-Mi, So Long/Farewell, Ring Around The Rosey, The Wheels On The Bus, Skinnamarink (sp!), Baby Beluga and Rocketship Run constantly. It's freaking adorable.

So, good.

Kale Chips

This is a recipe I've adapted from our CSA newsletter. To be honest, when I started putting this together for the first time I thought, "Well, here goes nothing," sure that I'd be the only one in my family to eat them, and on principle at that. But before I had even transferred the "chips" to a bowl, the whole family -- kids, Trevor, in-laws -- were eating them compulsively. When I told Trevor we got kale in this week's share, too, he was pumped.

KALE CHIPS

1 bunch kale, washed. Use your kitchen shears to cut up the sides of the stems, making strips or pieces. Toss the stems; they're not very tasty.

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

sea salt

Heat oven to 375. Pour the vinegar and oil over the kale and toss to coat. Sprinkle on the cheese and salt, and toss again. If you think you need more of anything, just eyeball it.

Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until crispy and brown around the edges.

We loved them by themselves, but my newsletter suggests crumbling them onto baked potatoes, pasta and salads.

Almond Butter Balls

Berit doesn't eat lately, and Marta eats at least once an hour, all day. Sometimes she wakes up at night starving, too. That means I'm constantly coming up with things to give her that are quick yet healthy -- not always succeeding, but trying anyway. I need more portable snacks, because I hate always handing her a granola bar or crackers while we're in the car or out, but seriously, what else? Yes, raisins, we've been there. What else?

This is one snack that I try to keep in the refrigerator on alternating weeks (she gets sick of stuff easily). I've adapted it from The Toddler Cafe, a cookbook I use every few weeks or so when Berit goes on the random hunger strike. We're lucky that our kids tend to eat what we do, but if you're looking to mix it up a little, The Toddler Cafe is fun. Anyway, this recipe is one we do constantly. The book says it makes 12 balls, but Berit eats lots of the "batter" while we're rolling them, so we typically get about eight. If you want to double it, they keep in the refrigerator for five days, and in the freezer indefinitely.

1 1/2 c. cereal, crushed with a mallet (anything works -- my kids love our whole wheat/cinnamon cereal -- the organic equivalent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch)

1/2 c. nonfat dry milk

1/4 c. + 1 T. creamy or chunky almond butter (the original recipe is peanut butter but we use almond, for no reason other than it's just what we have)

1/4 c. + honey (I usually need a little more for sticking power, that's why I put the + in there)

1/4 c. quick-cooking oats

1/4 c. sesame seeds

Place the milk, almond/peanut butter, honey, oats, 3/4 c. cereal and sesame seeds (everything but some of the crushed cereal) in a bowl and mix with your hands until you can form it into 1-inch balls. Put the balls and the rest of the crushed cereal into a zip-top bag and shake and squeeze gently, coating them.

You could also roll the balls in coconut, cocoa powder, crushed nuts or sesame seeds (we just put the sesame seeds on the inside, for more protein).