The City Mouse in the Country

     So I got back from the doctor's the other day.  He was happy with my progress as my weight was down, my blood pressure was down and that affected every thing else that we were worried about, like my blood sugar.    I'm still not exercising the way that he wants me to do...but honestly I have a lot of life changes going on as it is, and I don't need another source of stress in my world right now.  I am also lazy.     I am however fascinated in the change that I've experienced since trying to eat healthier or a Plant Based diet.   I still eat meat, and most likely always will, but I find myself craving something like a full rich salad more than a steak.   Or something with a meat substitute like paneer or tofu or seitan .  I've not tried anything made with tempeh yet but I'm looking forward to that day.       I actually find myself craving something plant based, so much so that I've gone out of my way to buy it.   My energy level seems a little better

      I'm done with this series after this.   I'm still trying to eat more plant based items and I do have a few more products stored in the fridge and freezer, but I find that I'm limited on what's available to me here in the country.   The only supermarket that sells vegan/vegetarian items near me regularly is Aldi's and the selection varies week to week.      While I enjoy Aldi's items I really don't want this series to turn into just being about the products of one store.   That being said, I've been able to find items from Beyond Meat, Impossible foods, the Jackfruit Company,  and other products at other stores, but not on a regular basis.     So I'm trying to eat healthier and plant based where ever and when ever I can.   It's simply a matter of being able to do what I can do and when I can do it, for example the other night I stopped at Burger King and ordered their impossible burger not because I wanted it so much as it was the only c

     Thanks to the wonders of algorithms if I try to eat a little healthier or try to eat a bit more plant based, my social media feeds (have you checked out our Facebook page yet) explodes in a variety of articles and recipes.  Which I don't mind so much in that I like to learn about different things that interest me.   What I do mind is that I have more than one interest and my feed is full of nothing but vegan and plant based info now.        For example, Kentucky Fried Chicken's new plant based nuggets.  No, I've not tried them yet but I'm planning on it.  My social media feeds are full of stories, reviews and general information about this one product right now.      Any company that is offering plant based foods I think deserves kudo's and our cash; because if they see it's a profitable market, they will continue to support it.   It's not a bad thing as such, although please note that KFC's plant based offering is technically not vegan or vegetar

      It's a classic family scene, perhaps going back to the first family - Greg and his wife Oola as they tried to get their kids to eat veggies.  I can hear it now: " Your mother Oola spent all day slaving in the hot sun gathering those berries and green twig things for you!   She almost got trampled by a giant ground sloth!  So no one leaves the rock till they finish their green twig things!"       So it was that in mind that I decided to try Yummy Dino Buddies.   Originally made by a Canadian company but now owned by Purdue , these are being marketed as Vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian friendly, however not all of their products under the Yummy Dino Buddies name are meatless, so let the buyer beware.       It's up to the indivdual consumer to buy items that they feel comfortable with, however I believe that the only way to move these companies towards an environmentally friendlier product is by supporting their efforts to make plant based products.   With this

           Although no one asked for it, I thought it might be fun to do another food review (my blog, my rules).  I figure that eventually we American's are going to have to adapt to a more plant based diet and if I do nothing more than convince two people to try something new...then they can convince two people to try something new...I've done my job as concerned and decent human being.    In some ways we are already moving that way as the sale of plant based food items recently reached a peak.   I think it has dipped currently due to a lot of different reasons, but the market will only rebound in the future.       So yesterday I decided that it was a good day to try and go meatless for the entire day.  I've been trying to incorporate a few more meals per week into my "Meatless regime" and thought I would make some Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes as a quick late lunch/early dinner.            I found these before in my local grocery store and this is actually the th

       **I actually wrote this piece a few days ago, but recently found that I'm part of a growing trend towards a more "Plant based" diet.  You can learn more about this trend here.**        Thanksgiving came and went and we have one major food holiday coming up soon...and my scale was showing me going the opposite way of where I wanted to be.   Due to inactivity and snacks I had gained back about half of what I worked so hard to lose over the last several months.        Part of my plan for losing weight was changing my diet and trying to eat a bit healthier and greener.  I've already written about some of the vegetarian and vegan dishes I had tried.  "Meatless Monday's" were just part of the calendar now, and I often found myself having a salad, or trying a vegetarian or vegan item when out to dinner.  Recently I tried Seitan "chicken wings" for example at a bar and restaurant in Pittsburgh.     An example of Seitan wings     I took the

     September has always been a harbinger of change for me.   From season to season, from vacation to school, from bachelorhood into married life.  Now I find myself three weeks at least from my last entry and thinking about change once one.  I've tried to start this blog four, five or seventeen times now because this is a hard post for me to write      Because I got a lot on my mind...and I'm not sure who my audience is.  Any one that writes needs an audience.  Are they people interested in country and rural life?  It's not really a homestead blog, nor is a food and recipe blog even though I've covered all that in the past.  Although I've played around with the idea of making it a "learn to cook" blog.     If only I had people that would not mind eating my "weird" creations .  It's one of  the reasons I concentrate on cheese.  Most people like cheese.     So a cooking blog is out.     Or is it about my health journey?  I got some blood work

      My girlfriend and I are trying to lose weight and she is succeeding at it at a much faster pace than I am.   That's okay, our health is NOT a competition.   We are both trying to cut down on sugars.  We are both trying to watch our portions of what we eat.     That's all good.   Were we differ, and it has lead to some conflict, is that I am trying; slowly but surely to move away from a strictly meat diet.   I've been trying to incorporate some more plant based dishes into my life.  I've been attempting to not eat any meat or dairy products at least one day a week, although I am not always successful at this task..   I do have some healthy substitutes in the fridge such as tofu and jackfruit even though I've no clue what to do with them.      I am even thinking how I could use paneer is a substitute for meat like it is in a lot of Indian dishes..  Plus it's a cheese I've not made in a bit.      Where the conflict starts is that even though she has a b

         Ever since I was told by my doctors that I would have to make some changes - and this time that "talk" actually took hold, I've been trying to live a healthier lifestyle .   It's been a bit of an uphill battle as both Sue and I are stuck in our ways.     If change is inevitable then why not start with easy and fun things?   Then move on to some of the harder stuff later on?  So one way that I've decided to try and incorporate a healthier lifestyle is through my love of cheese making.  Never in a million years did I think I would choose this as a hobby, but I do have a love of cheese, experimenting in the kitchen and a love of trying new things.      Thus vegan cheese.     To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect, and I can truthfully say that some of them I really enjoyed.   So I'm going to talk about my experiences making some of these cheeses and my taste tests.  Your mileage may vary.   Vegan Mozz      It was also an adventure trying