Sunday, May 10, 2009
Colossians Study
The minister commenced a sermon series on Colossians this morning. He covered the first half of the first chapter, 1:1-14. Of particular note to me was the section that begins with verse 9:
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[e] the forgiveness of sins.[My italics]
What has my particular attention is the prospect of "bearing fruit in every good work." That seems to be an important outcome of being filled with "the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
Although our church is all about "spiritual wisdom and understanding" at an important level, it has lost its way to some extent in the matter of "bearing fruit in every good work." What are these works that we are to bear, in addition to obedience in the realm of morals and ethics? Are we to be simply "good people" as many of our non-Christian neighbors appear to be? Is there something more, beyond presenting the Gospel where ever we can? What would "something more" be for FPC Miami Springs?
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[e] the forgiveness of sins.[My italics]
What has my particular attention is the prospect of "bearing fruit in every good work." That seems to be an important outcome of being filled with "the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
Although our church is all about "spiritual wisdom and understanding" at an important level, it has lost its way to some extent in the matter of "bearing fruit in every good work." What are these works that we are to bear, in addition to obedience in the realm of morals and ethics? Are we to be simply "good people" as many of our non-Christian neighbors appear to be? Is there something more, beyond presenting the Gospel where ever we can? What would "something more" be for FPC Miami Springs?
GMOs Everywhere!
Am I wrong, or is the malaria parasite a GMO on account of pesticides and on account of simply moving through the bodies of various victims?
Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto
Saturday evening supper! This is a "one-pot pasta and grain entree" Carol made from Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian. It included with the fettucine and spinach pesto, tomatoes and capers. Carol added side servings of broccoli, sweet potato, garden salad, and some slices of "wheat Italian 5-grain bread" from Publix. We had a smoothie for dessert. (This vegan thing is really tough.)
Saturday, May 09, 2009
What's a GMO?
I really like the Smart Balance Whipped Buttery Spread. It tastes as close to butter as I can remember anything tastes that is not butter. We were using it before I lost my mind.
As I was reading the label (which I am doing a lot these days), I read "100% Vegan - Non-Dairy - Non GMO . . . " There's that GMO thing again. I read that on the Amy's frozen dinner box the other night. Quick, ask the internet.
Genetically Modified Organism. That's a GMO. This is a no-no in Veganland. Go here for the scoop. But I made some money on my Monsanto stock that I sold early enough last year. Oh, well. I guess I won't buy back into Monsanto, although it's at a bargain price these days. This is hard.
As I was reading the label (which I am doing a lot these days), I read "100% Vegan - Non-Dairy - Non GMO . . . " There's that GMO thing again. I read that on the Amy's frozen dinner box the other night. Quick, ask the internet.
Genetically Modified Organism. That's a GMO. This is a no-no in Veganland. Go here for the scoop. But I made some money on my Monsanto stock that I sold early enough last year. Oh, well. I guess I won't buy back into Monsanto, although it's at a bargain price these days. This is hard.
Sabbath
Macon, over on his Unrelated blog, raises the question of the Sabbath.
I have been thinking about what we are to do with Sabbath for most of my grown up life. (I posted on it once before.) I think the day is to be set apart and honored in some way that makes us more like the person that God intended us to be before creation, "back there" when he first thought us up and pictured how we would be, absent a Fall or, now, fully redeemed and restored. Jesus said that the day is made for "man," and, like an American, I would first read that to mean that is is made for "me." But it must also have a huge corporate component, as the commandment itself indicates when it warns us that the people and animals over whom we have control are also to enjoy its special rest.
When I grew up a Southern Baptist, we observed the Sabbath carefully: no movies, no beach going, no games, being quiet, taking a nap. On the other hand, being a Baptist growing up meant a Sunday that got to be very, very busy with church activities, and the inconsistency of that approach struck me as a teenager. Sunday got to be exhausting with the "early [worship] service" that began at 8:30AM, where the Youth Choir sang. This required us us to get to church even earlier so that the choir could assemble, dress in the robes, and do a quick run-over of the anthem.
Following that was Sunday School, which went to about 10:30. Then our family returned home for lunch and a nap. Then back to church for ensemble practice at 3:30PM or even earlier, Youth Choir practice proper at 4:00PM, then a light supper in the church dining room, then "Training Union," followed by the evening service at 7:30PM. After the worship service, which ended about 8:30, we youth went to some one's house for "Afterglow." That meant I got home about 10PM on a school night. Some Sabbath!
That experience has made me jealous of the Sabbath, especially when it comes to church activities. Often our church leadership calls for meetings before or after church, because everyone is there, or later in the afternoon, because the leadership figures that people would not have commitments on that time. And, after all, this is for God, right? Wrong. I just don't go to those things. I will go to worship service, and a Sunday school class, but I really don't want to be involved in church activities otherwise. The Sabbath was not made for Church.
But that begs Macon's question of what should be done with Sabbath. All the delicious time! What's the Plan??!! What would David Allen do? Or should we care? What do you think?
I have been thinking about what we are to do with Sabbath for most of my grown up life. (I posted on it once before.) I think the day is to be set apart and honored in some way that makes us more like the person that God intended us to be before creation, "back there" when he first thought us up and pictured how we would be, absent a Fall or, now, fully redeemed and restored. Jesus said that the day is made for "man," and, like an American, I would first read that to mean that is is made for "me." But it must also have a huge corporate component, as the commandment itself indicates when it warns us that the people and animals over whom we have control are also to enjoy its special rest.
When I grew up a Southern Baptist, we observed the Sabbath carefully: no movies, no beach going, no games, being quiet, taking a nap. On the other hand, being a Baptist growing up meant a Sunday that got to be very, very busy with church activities, and the inconsistency of that approach struck me as a teenager. Sunday got to be exhausting with the "early [worship] service" that began at 8:30AM, where the Youth Choir sang. This required us us to get to church even earlier so that the choir could assemble, dress in the robes, and do a quick run-over of the anthem.
Following that was Sunday School, which went to about 10:30. Then our family returned home for lunch and a nap. Then back to church for ensemble practice at 3:30PM or even earlier, Youth Choir practice proper at 4:00PM, then a light supper in the church dining room, then "Training Union," followed by the evening service at 7:30PM. After the worship service, which ended about 8:30, we youth went to some one's house for "Afterglow." That meant I got home about 10PM on a school night. Some Sabbath!
That experience has made me jealous of the Sabbath, especially when it comes to church activities. Often our church leadership calls for meetings before or after church, because everyone is there, or later in the afternoon, because the leadership figures that people would not have commitments on that time. And, after all, this is for God, right? Wrong. I just don't go to those things. I will go to worship service, and a Sunday school class, but I really don't want to be involved in church activities otherwise. The Sabbath was not made for Church.
But that begs Macon's question of what should be done with Sabbath. All the delicious time! What's the Plan??!! What would David Allen do? Or should we care? What do you think?
Mystery Writers
When I come across a book review or even a reference to a book that whets my appetite, I often jot the title down on a piece of paper or note card or tear out the article from the magazine or newspaper, and throw these bits of someday into my desk drawer or on the current "opportunity" pile on the desktop. Then, every month or so, I go through the drawer and the piles and attempt to straighten up, with the emphasis on "attempt."
This morning I did that and came across a Dear Book Lover column, clipped from the WSJ's Weekend section sometime last year, and there was a letter to its editor Cynthia Crossen looking for a "good mystery, action, and intrigue novel." Well, me too. I'll tell you about the answers Crossen gives in a minute, but the clipping brings to mind two mysteries that I read recently and which I would recommend, though only as mind candy.
One is Rain Fall by Barry Eisler. Eisler's hero is a contract assassin who lives in Tokyo, a Viet-Nam vet of mixed Japanese/American parentage, who, with a little plastic surgery, manages to pass for a native Japanese. Eisler appears to know modern Japanese culture well, and that makes up for whatever credibility problems one might have with the lead character. It reads fast. It's fun. It's a guy book, I think. I also think its a dead-end series, because the next one in Eisler's line, Hard Rain, didn't sing for me.
Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn is about another assassin, although this one works for the CIA. This also moves fast and is even more gripping than the Eisler book. More mind candy here. And, like Eisler's Rain Fall, the next one in Flynn's series, The Third Option, is not nearly as good. So I think I'm through with both Eisler and Flynn, but thanks guys.
The book lover whose letter of inquiry made Cynthia Crossen's column lists his own favorite authors, Lee Childs, Harlan Coben, Gayle Lynds, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn and Bernard Cornwell. I've read David Baldacci and, as I already indicated, Vince Flynn. But I don't know the others.
Crossen, in response, mentions Helen MacInnes, and says she has read of all of hers, as did I years ago. Crossen refers to Helen MacInnes as "maybe the Gayle Lynds of her time." If that's true, then hand me one of Gayle's.
She also mentions "Michael Connelly [read a bunch of his], Robert Crais [nope], the Kellermans (John and Faye)[heard of them, but don't remember reading either], George Pelecanos [nope], to name just a few." She goes on:
Responding to an earlier question about thrillers that didn't feature serial-killers of women, readers suggested Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder mysteries and Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti series (start with "Death at La Fenice"). My mystery-mad friend Jean likes Laurie King.
* * *
I prefer mystery, action or intrigue books to be well written, and fortunately, that's not a problem. I like Dennis Lehane, Martin Cruz Smith, John Burdett and Ian Rankin - polished storytellers who don't always make the airport racks. I also enjoy Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series. Ms. George should put all her books on diets, but her characters make excellent company. Also, look for the just published "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson. That will keep you awake, and it's the first volume of a trilogy.
This morning I did that and came across a Dear Book Lover column, clipped from the WSJ's Weekend section sometime last year, and there was a letter to its editor Cynthia Crossen looking for a "good mystery, action, and intrigue novel." Well, me too. I'll tell you about the answers Crossen gives in a minute, but the clipping brings to mind two mysteries that I read recently and which I would recommend, though only as mind candy.
One is Rain Fall by Barry Eisler. Eisler's hero is a contract assassin who lives in Tokyo, a Viet-Nam vet of mixed Japanese/American parentage, who, with a little plastic surgery, manages to pass for a native Japanese. Eisler appears to know modern Japanese culture well, and that makes up for whatever credibility problems one might have with the lead character. It reads fast. It's fun. It's a guy book, I think. I also think its a dead-end series, because the next one in Eisler's line, Hard Rain, didn't sing for me.
Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn is about another assassin, although this one works for the CIA. This also moves fast and is even more gripping than the Eisler book. More mind candy here. And, like Eisler's Rain Fall, the next one in Flynn's series, The Third Option, is not nearly as good. So I think I'm through with both Eisler and Flynn, but thanks guys.
The book lover whose letter of inquiry made Cynthia Crossen's column lists his own favorite authors, Lee Childs, Harlan Coben, Gayle Lynds, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn and Bernard Cornwell. I've read David Baldacci and, as I already indicated, Vince Flynn. But I don't know the others.
Crossen, in response, mentions Helen MacInnes, and says she has read of all of hers, as did I years ago. Crossen refers to Helen MacInnes as "maybe the Gayle Lynds of her time." If that's true, then hand me one of Gayle's.
She also mentions "Michael Connelly [read a bunch of his], Robert Crais [nope], the Kellermans (John and Faye)[heard of them, but don't remember reading either], George Pelecanos [nope], to name just a few." She goes on:
Responding to an earlier question about thrillers that didn't feature serial-killers of women, readers suggested Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder mysteries and Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti series (start with "Death at La Fenice"). My mystery-mad friend Jean likes Laurie King.
* * *
I prefer mystery, action or intrigue books to be well written, and fortunately, that's not a problem. I like Dennis Lehane, Martin Cruz Smith, John Burdett and Ian Rankin - polished storytellers who don't always make the airport racks. I also enjoy Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series. Ms. George should put all her books on diets, but her characters make excellent company. Also, look for the just published "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson. That will keep you awake, and it's the first volume of a trilogy.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Rethink Church? The Very Idea!
Anyway, the UMC says it's doing so, and has a very attractive website.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
FatFreeVegan
Mary gave me a link to FatFreeVegan. But do they include being free from veggie fat? I think veggie fat is OK. This site has some marvelous photos!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Yum
Tonight I played hooky from our "Wednesday Night Live" evening at church. I haven't been going to the suppers for a number of weeks because they are "traditional American" fare, loaded with animal-based protein and refined carbs. But I have been arriving in time for the Chronological Bible Study. But tonight I stayed home entirely, because I am still catching up from the busy weekend.
That meant I went foraging in the fridge/freezer for supper. I found an edition of Amy's Bowls in the freezer, this one "made with organic black-eyed peas, vegetables and [brown] rice." The veggies included broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, extra virgin olie oil, tamari (wheat free), cilantro, ginger, sea salt, garlic, spices, all "organic" except for the salt. The plastic bowl full of this stuff is covered by some sort of transparent wrap. One is to cut a one-inch slit in the wrap and put it in the microwave on "high" for five minutes. I must say it did not look that exciting, but I proceeded nevertheless.
It was really good! I made some whole wheat toast to go with it and had a banana and an apple for dessert. I recommend Amy's Bowls, if this is an example of what all of the various types are.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Mathewes-Green on "Wolverine"
Macon pointed out this review of the new X-Person movie. Frederica Mathewes-Green wrote the review. Sounds like fun - both the movie and Mrs. Mathewes-Green.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Mr. Wizard in Austin
On a RadioShack visit recently I discovered a display of ScienceWiz kits. I bought two to bring to Austin on our trip this weekend, one for Aidan called "Electricity" and the other for Felicity call "Inventions." We had such a packed weekend that, to my dismay, I did not have a chance to do the Inventions kit with Felicity, but Aidan and I did get a chance to work through the Electricity kit. It was a big success, and I would heartily recommend these little project kits. I am hoping that Walter will be able to work with Felicity on the other kit and give us a report.
These are really good kits! The author is Penny Norman, PhD., and the book that accompanies the parts of the kit is very well done - not only well illustrated but structured in a way to lead the student through a step-by-step illumination process. For example, in electricity, we begin with the concept of a "loop," and the kit piece is a red loop from a pot holder. Dr. Norman has the student form it into various shapes (circle, oval, square, triangle), making the point that it is always a "loop" regardless of the shape. Then she moves to the idea of an electrical loop, and the next project is a battery, some wires with alligator clips and a light bulb. We consider how, when we make a loop with these materials, we have a lighted bulb - later in the narratives she will call this a "loop circuit."
This morning Aidan demonstrated to his mother how something is "on" and "off." For "on," he put his arms in a circle, with one hand holding the other, He said, "Mom, this is 'on'." Then he let go his hands, but keeping his arms otherwise in a circle as before, he said, "Mom, this is 'off'." Four years old. Awesome!
If God gives me another life, then I think I am going to ask him to be a middle-school science teacher.
These are really good kits! The author is Penny Norman, PhD., and the book that accompanies the parts of the kit is very well done - not only well illustrated but structured in a way to lead the student through a step-by-step illumination process. For example, in electricity, we begin with the concept of a "loop," and the kit piece is a red loop from a pot holder. Dr. Norman has the student form it into various shapes (circle, oval, square, triangle), making the point that it is always a "loop" regardless of the shape. Then she moves to the idea of an electrical loop, and the next project is a battery, some wires with alligator clips and a light bulb. We consider how, when we make a loop with these materials, we have a lighted bulb - later in the narratives she will call this a "loop circuit."
This morning Aidan demonstrated to his mother how something is "on" and "off." For "on," he put his arms in a circle, with one hand holding the other, He said, "Mom, this is 'on'." Then he let go his hands, but keeping his arms otherwise in a circle as before, he said, "Mom, this is 'off'." Four years old. Awesome!
If God gives me another life, then I think I am going to ask him to be a middle-school science teacher.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Healthy Journey Day Nine
Instead of the plain yogurt yesterday morning with my oatmeal, I had half a 6 oz. cup of another flavored, soy yogurt, this one the All Natural So Delicious Dairy Free Cream Cultured Soy Vanilla. For flavor, it has "organic evaporated cane juice, chicory root extract (inulin), pectin, dextrose, natural flavors . . . citric acid" I'm no sure what all of that means, and I need to find out. I will go to the plain, soy yogurt when we finish off the flavored cups we bought Saturday. With the oatmeal and yogurt I had a half cup of frozen Publix Blueberries "Healthy, Fun & Firm."
For lunch, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich (hearkening back to my cousin Ken's favorite lunch when we were kids) on whole wheat; a serving of Progresso Vegetable Classics 99% Fat Free Lentil Soup; baby raw carrots; and an apple. The peanut butter was Jiffy Crunchy, and I know people get exercised about commercial peanut butter. It's something I will find out about.
I taught a class at the UM Law School from 5 to 7:45 last night and took a hummus sandwich to eat at the break. It was also on whole wheat bread and had lettuce and tomato with it. When I got home, I microwaved a bag of Act II 94% Fat Free Butter popcorn and had a frozen banana. Yes, the popcorn had some "dairy." I'm not counting it right now.
For lunch, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich (hearkening back to my cousin Ken's favorite lunch when we were kids) on whole wheat; a serving of Progresso Vegetable Classics 99% Fat Free Lentil Soup; baby raw carrots; and an apple. The peanut butter was Jiffy Crunchy, and I know people get exercised about commercial peanut butter. It's something I will find out about.
I taught a class at the UM Law School from 5 to 7:45 last night and took a hummus sandwich to eat at the break. It was also on whole wheat bread and had lettuce and tomato with it. When I got home, I microwaved a bag of Act II 94% Fat Free Butter popcorn and had a frozen banana. Yes, the popcorn had some "dairy." I'm not counting it right now.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Healthy Journey Sunday Evening Supper
Here's Carol just now preparing "quick cooking mushroom-barley soup" from Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian; "roasted asparagus with a balsmic butter sauce" (I concede that the butter is "dairy", but she is cooking up the butter that's left) from Cooking Lite; and "early morning oven roasted new potatoes," mainly, she says, because "we need to eat these potatoes," I guess because they aren't as "new" as they were when she bought them. (Yes, it's not "early morning." Carol's the cook. Are you kidding me?) She got that recipe on line.
[Insert oath], I'm a lucky husband!!!
[Insert oath], I'm a lucky husband!!!
A Healthy Journey
The bout with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma that Carol and I had in 1994 (I had the chemo, she had the sick husband), marked the beginning of our inquiry into how to live more healthy lives. Among the changes we adopted progressively since then were changes in our diet. Carol was already a marvelous cook, and she began to change her approach to meal preparation. We started to move away from a meat centered, refined carbohydrate diet, and each year has seen us make some make progress on that healthy journey. During the course of that journey, Weight Watchers has been a great help, especially for me. For Carol the journey has included the joy she finds in the kitchen learning new ways to feed her family.
I have been reading a book called The China Study, as I have posted before. This book has captured my attention as nothing I have read in the area of nutrition. Its thesis is that a diet based on plant-protein and complex carbohydrates is the one that is most likely to result in one's living his life to its end in a way that is not compromised with an extended, final period of disability. At this point 15 years after Carol and I started our healthy journey, this thesis makes complete sense to me.
Today is the ninth day of my living a dietary life based on that thesis. I feel good, and not particularly deprived. We were very close to this life already, except for the dairy based food that we ate. The proportion of meat products was already relatively small. Giving up frozen yogurt, ice-cream, scrambled eggs and cheese (how we love cheese!) - that's more difficult for sure. But, still, we are getting along fine, even after just a week or so.
The weekend is when Carol goes grocery shopping, so we did the first grocery shopping under this new regime yesterday. On Saturday afternoon Carol brought home from Publix some "vegan" products, and then we went shopping together at Whole Foods and picked up some more.
This morning Carol pulled out of our pantry some relatively healthy canned foods that are not vegan. We took them to church this morning to put in the basket that goes to a church in Hialeah that distributes food to needy families. So now we are ready for week two of this journey.
As we go along, I thought I would let you know how we are doing and what we are eating.
Let me start with breakfast this morning. My usual breakfast has been oatmeal, plain yogurt and a banana or frozen berries. I have been having the oatmeal all week without the yogurt. At Whole Foods yesterday, however, we bought some yogurt substitutes of different kinds and brands. I used a half of a 6 oz. cup of WholeSoy & Co.'s strawberry "soy yogurt," and could not tell much difference when mixed with the oatmeal. I ate the rest of the cup as a snack later in the day, and it was good. It didn't taste exactly like dairy yogurt, but it was tasty and satisfying.
The entire cup has 160 calories, 25 from fat. It was quite sweet, and a cup has 21g of sugar, which is a lot. I am used to plain yogurt with my oatmeal, but I was worried that this product would taste awful. So I hedged by getting the flavored version. The sugars are "organic cornstarch, organic rice starch, strawberries, and natural flavors." I would be glad to skip the corn and rice starch. So tomorrow I am going to try Silk Live! Soy Yogurt in its "Plain" version on my oatmeal. (WholeSoy has a "plain" version too.)
These soy yogurts have "live and active cultures to help your body's natural defenses," according to the Silk container.
Lunch on Sundays has always been problematical, because we have it at church. Often what is served is full of a lot of fat and refined carbohydrates. There are always cookies and cakes, and I find that sort of thing hard to resist, especially when I have eaten sparingly of the "main" courses. But today I took with me an Amy's Black Bean Tamale Verde, put it in the church's kitchen freezer just after we first arrived for Sunday School and then pulled it out and microwaved it after the worship service, when everyone was lined up in Fellowship Hall for the usual spread. (This dish, according to the box is "Gluten free . . . non-dairy . . . no cholesterol . . . no trans fat . . . no added msg . . . no preservatives . . . no GMOs (whatever they are) . . . No Bioengineered ingredients." Whew!).
After I heated up the dish, I put it on one of the paper plates and got at the end of the line and got some tossed salad and some tomato slices, because the dish did not look like it would be enough. I sat down at a table and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the fellowship, and no one seemed to know the difference. The Black Bean Tamale Verde was excellent.
Carol and Mary have been talking on the phone this weekend about vegetarian recipes, and so I am looking forward to more good things from Carol's kitchen.
Carol and I have talked a good bit about the social issues involved with this development. We are not going to be crusading about this, and when social situations with others involve non-vegan dishes, we will certainly join in. The question is more about one's default approach to nutrition and also about developing one's own strategies to make this approach not a burden on others.
I have been reading a book called The China Study, as I have posted before. This book has captured my attention as nothing I have read in the area of nutrition. Its thesis is that a diet based on plant-protein and complex carbohydrates is the one that is most likely to result in one's living his life to its end in a way that is not compromised with an extended, final period of disability. At this point 15 years after Carol and I started our healthy journey, this thesis makes complete sense to me.
Today is the ninth day of my living a dietary life based on that thesis. I feel good, and not particularly deprived. We were very close to this life already, except for the dairy based food that we ate. The proportion of meat products was already relatively small. Giving up frozen yogurt, ice-cream, scrambled eggs and cheese (how we love cheese!) - that's more difficult for sure. But, still, we are getting along fine, even after just a week or so.
The weekend is when Carol goes grocery shopping, so we did the first grocery shopping under this new regime yesterday. On Saturday afternoon Carol brought home from Publix some "vegan" products, and then we went shopping together at Whole Foods and picked up some more.
This morning Carol pulled out of our pantry some relatively healthy canned foods that are not vegan. We took them to church this morning to put in the basket that goes to a church in Hialeah that distributes food to needy families. So now we are ready for week two of this journey.
As we go along, I thought I would let you know how we are doing and what we are eating.
Let me start with breakfast this morning. My usual breakfast has been oatmeal, plain yogurt and a banana or frozen berries. I have been having the oatmeal all week without the yogurt. At Whole Foods yesterday, however, we bought some yogurt substitutes of different kinds and brands. I used a half of a 6 oz. cup of WholeSoy & Co.'s strawberry "soy yogurt," and could not tell much difference when mixed with the oatmeal. I ate the rest of the cup as a snack later in the day, and it was good. It didn't taste exactly like dairy yogurt, but it was tasty and satisfying.
The entire cup has 160 calories, 25 from fat. It was quite sweet, and a cup has 21g of sugar, which is a lot. I am used to plain yogurt with my oatmeal, but I was worried that this product would taste awful. So I hedged by getting the flavored version. The sugars are "organic cornstarch, organic rice starch, strawberries, and natural flavors." I would be glad to skip the corn and rice starch. So tomorrow I am going to try Silk Live! Soy Yogurt in its "Plain" version on my oatmeal. (WholeSoy has a "plain" version too.)
These soy yogurts have "live and active cultures to help your body's natural defenses," according to the Silk container.
Lunch on Sundays has always been problematical, because we have it at church. Often what is served is full of a lot of fat and refined carbohydrates. There are always cookies and cakes, and I find that sort of thing hard to resist, especially when I have eaten sparingly of the "main" courses. But today I took with me an Amy's Black Bean Tamale Verde, put it in the church's kitchen freezer just after we first arrived for Sunday School and then pulled it out and microwaved it after the worship service, when everyone was lined up in Fellowship Hall for the usual spread. (This dish, according to the box is "Gluten free . . . non-dairy . . . no cholesterol . . . no trans fat . . . no added msg . . . no preservatives . . . no GMOs (whatever they are) . . . No Bioengineered ingredients." Whew!).
After I heated up the dish, I put it on one of the paper plates and got at the end of the line and got some tossed salad and some tomato slices, because the dish did not look like it would be enough. I sat down at a table and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the fellowship, and no one seemed to know the difference. The Black Bean Tamale Verde was excellent.
Carol and Mary have been talking on the phone this weekend about vegetarian recipes, and so I am looking forward to more good things from Carol's kitchen.
Carol and I have talked a good bit about the social issues involved with this development. We are not going to be crusading about this, and when social situations with others involve non-vegan dishes, we will certainly join in. The question is more about one's default approach to nutrition and also about developing one's own strategies to make this approach not a burden on others.
World Malaria Day - April 25
Yesterday was World Malaria Day. According to a paper that Mary is writing for her bio class, an estimated 500 million people suffer from malaria each year, resulting in over one million deaths, mostly of children and mostly affecting poor populatons in tropical and subtropical areas.
Experts say one child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. Around the world, malaria kills 3,000 children under 5 every day, a higher mortality rate than AIDS. - New York Times 10-31-1998.
Experts say one child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. Around the world, malaria kills 3,000 children under 5 every day, a higher mortality rate than AIDS. - New York Times 10-31-1998.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Law Firms and Starbucks
Carol sent this to me. I think the difference is that there is no guild controllong the delivery of coffee but there is one controlling the delivery of legal servies. This doesn't necessarily mean that the lawyers' guild should be broken open, but it certainly suggests an inquiry into that matter.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Recalibrating
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
-James 1:27
-James 1:27
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