Lifestyle Change

I have been flirting with the idea of going vegetarian again.  I did it once several years ago and it was total failure.  My husband hates vegan and I don’t see any real reason to go there unless I can stop cooking meat altogether so this is going to be a major challenge.  I frankly don’t see the point to trying to eat a plant based diet if I have to cook meat for him. 

At any rate, the other day a coworker, who is vegan, loaned me a book called The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  The coworker loaned it to me because I had asked her for a recipe for granola and it is in the book.  Also in the book is a whole narrative of how Silverstone went vegan and why she supports it.  There are medical testimonials in there from various doctors as well touting the benefits of a plant based diet. It seems to make sense so I am willing to "dip my toe in the water", as she says, and learn more about it. 

The last time I did this, I gained a lot of weight because I ate way too much pasta.  Now that I have the vegetable garden going and we have been enjoying wonderful salad greens and some other things maybe things can be a little different.  In addition I have learned to control my eating issues and hold them at bay and eat healthy, natural foods with the Mediterranean Diet Plan.  I had tried to cook Tofu in the past and disguise it from my husband but that didn’t seem to work all that much.  I do cook one or two vegetarian meals a week now but if I can somehow phase in more, that would be great.  I do know that the whole meat production is a huge drain on the planet and by doing one or two meatless meals a week we can help reduce that a little.  The bottom line is that it is all about being healthier and doing my part to treat the earth with respect and love. What can be wrong about that?

Age

They say that when men get old, they get distinguished and when women get old, the just get old.  Well I don’t know about that because some men I look at look really old.  But what I think it comes down to is lifestyle.  The rich and famous have the resources to live fabulous lives; they travel, they are able to exercise when they want to (and often have home gyms and trainers), but most importantly they are able to eat well.  They can afford good, nutritious, healthy food that is cooked from scratch and doesn’t contain hug fructose corn syrup and a myriad of chemicals.  Those chemicals preserve food, not humans.

As I have gotten more and more into my garden and buying fresh, local food, I take note of the people who shop at various markets.  Those who shop at Wegman’s for example, look better than those who shop at Shop Rite.  The ones that shop at Wegman’s seem healthier, they seem more put together, and they look less weathered.  I am totally convinced that it is because of money and that’s a shame considering the majority of us are in the 99% and don’t have a lot of money.  Is it because we have to be concerned with every cent and if you don’t shop carefully you will end up buying highly processed foods because they are cheaper?  Yes, good, organically grown vegetables are more expensive and fresh ingredients to make a meal can end up being more expensive if you aren’t careful, but look at the back end and the cost of the health problems if you eat highly processed foods as a daily fare.  I think it all weighs out in the end.

The bottom line is that we all need to continue the fight to make every American aware of the importance of real food.  In the long run it will save money on health care and I think it will make us happier.  We can all be a nation of people who age like George Clooney and reduce the possible prediction that 42% of our population will be obese by 2030.