Wednesday Chatter.
So, I’ve decided that I need to take the final plunge and become VEGAN. I’ve been without meat for so long (15 years?) that it seems logical to take the next step. I will definitely miss cheese, yogurt and milk chocolate, but beyond that I don’t anticipate too many cravings. I haven’t consumed milk in years and I use eggs only in cakes and such, so they’ll be easy to replace. I never eat them scrambled or anything - bleh. And I did fall in love with Trader Joe’s Soy-Sation shredded cheese over a year ago, and it melts well, so I have a healthy substitute for cheeses.
Some of you may recall that I tried this about 2 years ago, and had a shaky, unsuccessful 2-week stint as an herbivore. However, that was during an extremely stressful period of change in my life, and I’m going slower this time. I anticipate a gradual, well-planned shift into vegandom this time. Plus, I feel ready to give up these last few vices. I’ve noticed that dairy makes the body produce a lot of unnecessary mucus and that personally, I feel bloated and gross when I eat it. And of course, there’s a high probability of at least some weight loss, and peace of mind, knowing that your dietary choices are the most environmentally sustainable.
My first step is to find a good multivitamin for vegans. I want to make sure I’m getting plenty of B12 as soon as possible. I need to pick up some Flax Seed Oil for my salads (omega-3’s) and possibly a bottle of DHA capsules (derived from algae; also omega-3’s) as well. I’m not as concerned over vitamin D; I’m in the sunshine often enough and usually include mushrooms in my salads and sandwiches.
I’ve juiced twice today - can I tell the world how much I LOVE my juicer? It’s amazing. For three years, I held out from buying one because I was so set on getting a Champion and could never spare $400 without charging it. I still plan to buy a Champion in the future, but I am head over heels for this little baby. It works fantastically! The cool advantage with the Champion however, is that you can freeze bananas and berries to run through it and make “ice cream.” When I want quick juice, I run 3-4 carrots through (tops and all) and an apple, sometimes blending it with ice. When I have more time, I blend up radishes and beets and the whole veggie works. Ohhh…and for the best lemonade EVER - I run through lemon wedges, rind and all, followed by a few apples to sweeten, and WHOA. Yum!
In other news, my precious seedlings have grown into small plants and are doing quite well. I keep adding more, too…hopefully I’m not getting in over my novice-gardener head! I’m tending to: heatwave tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers, seven varieties of lettuce/greens, carrots, tons of garden beans, ambrosia cantaloupe, strawberries (but I’m pinching the blooms this year), basil, cilantro, greek oregano, sage (which I will dry and use for cleansing - it’s expensive to buy those bundles!), chocolate mint (mmm!), and of course, a variety of flowers for vases, drying, and pressing. My lavender seeds didn’t germinate and that was upsetting, but I’ve had success with so many plants it’s hard to be sad over such a minute loss. I’m still growing the alfalfa sprouts in cycles in my little windowsill jar and am thinking of adding another so I can sprout clover at the same time. I find that I crave them and can eat them straight from the jar with no dressings.
I’m learning something new everyday - these vintage gardening guides I’ve stockpiled are fantastic! I discovered this morning that mint is one of the few herbs that will thrive in a pot without drainage holes (it likes to stay moist). I transplanted mine into a beautiful, chippy sea green ceramic that I’d been saving for something special. Still, I think I’ll double-pot most of the other plants I try to grow in those older ceramics. I just don’t like the idea of the roots not getting any real air circulation.
Not much going on by way of craftiness lately, although I did finally bust out my Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, which is heaven. It’s old, but man, the pictures are great and everything is SO detailed. I’m trying to pump up my knitting skills so I can make this already! If I can pull it off, I’d like to make one for the midwife I used to apprentice through also. I’m getting motivated though - leafing through pictures of all these fantastic stitches is making me want to try them all out!