Skip to main content

Healthier Living

     I'm going to keep this simple.   One of the reasons why Sue and I moved back to Western Pennsylvania was due to our desire for healthier living.  

    Sue has had some various health problems through the years and has managed to fight them all.  She's a strong resilient woman and one of the many reasons I love her is that she is a fighter.   Many people would have given up, but she keeps on keeping on.  For privacy, I will not go into what ails her. 

    I, on the other hand, have a pretty strong constitution and want to keep it that way.  So when my doctor starts telling me he's worried about "cholesterol" and "high blood pressure" I can't help but pay attention.  Both my parents have heart disease and it's something that I've been aware of my whole life.  Both Sue and I actually try to maintain a low salt diet for example.  

    That's tough to do when your a hedonist and a foodie at heart.  Living out here in the country does lead to more exercise.   The mere fact that I have to cut the grass, rake leaves, cut wood and power wash the house is a type of gym membership in itself.  Living in Western Rural PA also cuts back to the food that we have available to us.   

    We are simply not going to have access to something like Mofungo here.  Much less Arepas which can only be described as gooey goodness.  A soul warming combination of meat, white cheese, and potato or soft plantain served in between cornmeal biscuits.

    Don't misunderstand me, I'm not mocking the basic steak and potato.  However there is a wider culinary world out that that most Americans barely scratch.

Apera - stock photo

    Having a garden should help with our diet however.  Fresh greens would help us cut back on the amount of meat we eat, and we have had "Meatless Monday's" in our lives once before that fell by the wayside.  That needs to make a comeback.

  Two really good meat substitutes are jackfruit and paneer.  I actually enjoy the taste of Jackfruit - your actually better off buying it fresh if you can find it (try a Latin or Asian market) as you will get more bang for your buck.

    Speaking of paneer, while I'm not sure if I would call myself a "Cheese maker" I knew of several recipes for a variety of vegan cheeses.  I've been tempted to make myself some.  Although I have been having trouble finding nutritional yeast, and figured I would probably have to order some online eventually.  Also unsalted cashews; which seem to be the "go to" ingredient in vegan cheese, are not cheap

      Add to that that Miso paste, which can be found in Asian markets but not in rural Pennsylvania, and Agar Agar - which runs about $3.25 an ounce, and making vegan cheese quickly becomes a pricey option.  

    And frankly, once ordered..would I ever use this stuff again?  Of course, I'm an idiot that can't let go of something once it gets into my head...so I will probably order it.  Just not now.

    An other thing to consider was that these cheeses were made out of plant proteins, so they break down differently than dairy cheese, and that can lead to a "smelly" cheese.  Or a forgettable taste.  

    As much as the idea of making a vegan cheese just to try it, it will not happen anytime soon.

    So Sue and I are going to have to move to a more plant based diet.   We will take baby steps.  It takes time to change a lifestyle.  Getting out now that the warmer weather is here to walk is a start towards a healthier lifestyle as well. 

    I'll tell you what.   Send me your veggie based friendly recipes by putting a link or recipe in the comments, then sign up for notifications about when the blog is updated.  Remember to check out the Facebook page for this site also!

    Let's see what's out there.  There has to be good easy to make food out there somewhere!!!   Remember that I'm a complete and total idiot in the kitchen (and have been banned from the kitchen once before) so lets keep it simple.

Labels:
Location: Stoneboro, PA 16153, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

What all the cool kids are reading.

When it rains....

Bad things they say; happen in groups of three.  Lately we feel that this has been multiplied by at least three, then that by three.  Nor was this the article I was hoping to publish this week, but here it is warts and all! Thankfully there is nothing seriously wrong with my family health wise, and this is nothing that some more hard work and dedication will get us though.  There is one big personal item that I can not go into details on to protect her privacy but what is affecting us right now is that we are again faced with decisions on what to do concerning some major purchases.   I've already written about having to buy a "newer" car but I'm not going to bore you with details about replacing the water heater or unexpected tax bills.  At the beginning of May, our riding lawn mower died.   This in itself is not that big of a deal because I got a good five to six years out of a used machine, and the fact that it has started to give up the ghost ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Digging in the dirt

In a lot of ways I feel rejuvenated.  It's a glorious morning as I am driving down to Pittsburgh with the local radio station playing a mix of old and new that elevates my mood, the sun shining strong through the sun roof.   I am on my way to buy plants.   I have a list in my pocket and I expect that I'll be coming home with a few of them.  I had hoped to buy spicebush and maybe serviceberry , in addition to what I did end up buying.  As I talk to people there, I use the term " food forest " because that's about the closest definition to what I'm trying to do, although it's also not the best one.     What I'm more interested in doing is creating a refuge.  A place for a weary traveler in the future to stop, rest under the trees and have access to wild strawberries and blueberries (which sadly didn't take last year), apples etc.   A place of respite rather than a place that can self maintain itself over time, although I do...
Post a Comment
Read more

When it rains - The conclusion

The month of May for what ever reason seems to be passing slowly, but the year seems to be flying by.   Suddenly we are nearing the end of the month and I'm only now getting to work on the yard.   I did go in search of an electric powered riding lawnmower, for the same reasons that I went in search of an electric car.    Both searches failed, as the local hardware, lawncare and "big box" stores simply didn't carry any electric riding mowers.  I could have ordered an electric mower off of Amazon, or similar site, and had it shipped but then I would be looking at a two week delivery timeframe, and would have exceeded t he budget that I had set for myself. The grass, though high and feeding a variety of pollinators and other insects would simply not wait much longer.  Plus ticks are always a concern in Western PA at this time of year, and one way to control them is to keep your grass cut.   I had already had a few instances of dealing with...
Post a Comment
Read more