Appreciating What We Have While We Have It

For a while now, these Sunday missives have risen in my throat with a lump, because I am more at ease out enjoying this precious Earth than calling attention to the ongoing (preventable) destruction of it; but the gravitational pull of that appreciation pulls me back with a klaxon wail every time.

A few weeks ago, I vocalized a thought on taking a pause so my weekend mornings could go back to Ian and Q, but it was Ian who responded with, “You shouldn’t have to be writing about it, but you should continue all the same. It needs to be said.”

The week had a background swell and today’s crest is just as swollen, so the post will be mostly infographic/photographic so I can get back to the souls and plants in need of time. I sigh to think of sitting back, washing my hands of the howling, but no one should be silent about the climate emergency because there are solutions to be applied, and we have the power to rectify the damage that will harm our kin’s future (and that of every other species on this planet)… we just need to wake up now. Not some dreamy, passive day in the future. Now. And knowing that (and ebbed along by the motivational tide of Ian), I slog on even when at maxed bandwidth.

Hopefully more renewable/sustainable technology ( <—that we all need desperately) will get subsidized in the years to come; but I’m going to take a guess that like ourselves, most of y’all don’t have the funds to transition your house to solar or geothermal yet, can’t get rid of your car (and/or don’t have the ability to transition to a greener car yet), but the immediate inexpensive/massively-impactful thing you could do right now to push back on our climate emergency (and better your health) is to start eating less and less animal products.


Continue for: snapshots from the crossroad of a global diet that could help humanity prevent climate tipping points and start healing the only planetary home we have while also preventing/reversing the #1 cause of death (<— cardiovascular disease <—What a razzle-dazzle win-win (throw-saving-a-soul-from-suffering in too) WIN!!!); ways this family ate Plant-Based Whole-Food and ways we dabbled/wallowed in some we-aren’t-pregnant-again junkfood (<-- no one is perfect, and thank goodness for the Hobbit balm of Plant-Based ice cream and grilled sandwiches); and our favorite free joy: exploring Central New York nature and appreciating what we have while we have it.


Live Kindly, Feast Kindly Grow Forward.

Q sitting in on my pediatric nutrition class with Nutritionist Kiran Sidhu.

Physician’s Committee

“Delaying action as is assumed in high emissions scenarios could result in some irreversible impacts on some ecosystems, which in the longer-term has the potential to lead to substantial additional [greenhouse gas] emissions from ecosystems that would accelerate global warming,” the report said.

Our climate crisis is growing each day, but it’s not insurmountable. As the report explained, by acting across sectors, we can curb climate change while seizing the benefits of sustainable development, like bolstered economies, reduced inequality and better health.

The power is on your plate. Join Earth Day Network’s Foodprints for the Future campaign to learn how you can reduce your carbon footprint, one bite at a time.

“Studies show that eating a diet high in fatty foods can cause fat particles to build up inside our cells. These fat particles interfere with insulin’s ability to move sugar out from our bloodstream and into our cells. Instead of powering our cells, the glucose remains in our bloodstream, eventually leading to diabetes. A plant-based diet is low in fat, which allows insulin to function properly.”

I’m one of those souls who had RA pain and was taking ibuprofen’s every day just to move without pain, and now I’m never stiff in the morning, cruise through days without pain, and haven’t taken an ibuprofen since I was recovering from hernia surgery (and even then I refused the opiates) and hadn’t taken them for a year before the surgery. You’d be amazing at how much pain in your body is coming from your diet.

And we don’t need to be doing any of the above. We could just as easily transition to a way of feasting that is better for our bodies and better for the earth, and KIND to other species.

What a positive path forward, eh?

A Quillan breakfast sandwich this week: “Berry Butterbean Bars” (whole oat flour, flax, dates, butterbeans, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries <— taskes like a fruity pebbles bar) with crunchy peanut butter.

Ethiopian Style Red Lentils, Balsamic Tomatoes, Turmeric & Pepper Brown Rice, Mixed Greens.

Q devours this so quickly he has to be urged to slow down. Give it a try. <3

Brown Rice and Quinoa Noodles, Lentil Bolognese, Mixed Greens with Balsamic, and Almond Parm.

Similar, but with black bean pasta and with sprouted bread with almond parm.

Lentil Taco Salad Bowls (with cashew queso, and quick-pickled cabbage)

Similar but did Pumfu tostadas.

Same rice blend from above, braised broc, quick-pickled cabbage, green onions, pumfu, and peanut sauce.

Q’s absolute favorite lunch.

Frozen/Pureed: banana, blueberry, strawberry.

Blueberry smoothie hiding some chia.

Banana, Mango, and Almond Butter.

Roasted/Seasoned Chickpeas

Stovetop Popcorn

And what junkfood looks around here: diced up Beyond Sausages (delicious, but full of so much fat we tend to avoid them <— in this case we were having a “we aren’t pregnant again” pity party (<—and I am devastatingly regular, so it looms like a faithful/heartless monthly commitment) and ate the kind of foods I tend to avoid anytime else in my cycle) I seared with mushrooms and bell peppers and a mix of garlic/aminos/sriracha; threw that on some bread that had also been toasted in the pan; served with seared potatoes and a balsamic dressed salad.

Plant-Based Avocado Ice Cream with our 30-second chocolate sauce.

Some glimpses of homeschool-life paired with big-love-at-home life.

Quill (describing his drawing) - "I know that if people don't start caring about the environment and transitioning to plant-based diets & stop burning up gas, that the ecosystems for carnivorous plants (and every other species) is going to go away and I won't get to see all of them before I die. This is how it could be if we protected the earth, and the other side is the same scene if we keep destroying it. You can see the same pitcher plants have fallen down and there are no more trees because we cut them all down to have more room for cows that we don't need to be eating."💔😫

We had to hand in his quarterly Homeschool report this week, and I found myself thinking about where he was at this time last year (when he came home during the pandemic and never went back to traditional schooling.)
Above is a sheet that came home with him in March of last year (we subsequently filled it in as we worked from home.)

Where he’s at now. <3

Newest passion to do at night.

The butterworts he loves like pets and talks about here.

That particular petalled joy in that span of spring where flowered trees are popping.

Q has a particularly rich blessing of having a neighbor within walking distance who has a yard out of a storybook. Roaming these woods (and dropping off food and chatter) is a new weekly jewel.

A free Syracuse spot —and one that brings as us much contemplation as it does pure joy— is The Rand Tract.

It is situated in the woods behind the Valley Cemetery and as such, it readily offers a respectful contemplation of the souls/loved ones who roamed these lands before, and making the most out of the time we have while we’re here. Biology and how that plays into death & dying has long been a topic around here with Q; and spiritually, you can’t really have a clear grasp of Biology and the dying process if you can’t deeply appreciate the preciousness and brevity of the time we do have.

One of the things that early bonded Ian and me, was a dual appreciation for what was around us. We were the kind of nerdy college students who watched nature documentaries together, and Rivers & Tides was our shared favorite movie and possibly the most impactful/loved movie of our young lives. We have never been sporty folks together (he has it in his past, though), but we share a love for roaming/scrambling/wandering a wood while soaking in the ever-changing landscape and beauty that can be found; and luckily for us, Q loves it too.

It’s the shared family love of it that grew to a shared ache for its preservation.

Here are some photos of a wood that is dear to us and free to any who want to roam.

Ian’s view.

My view. <3 (There’s 2 sets of Q: right and left.)

Q ran down this path and then kept hiding behind trees in the distance so that it felt like we were in a Wes Anderson movie and I couldn’t stop laughing.
This view is one of the things I love about Rand, though: it is so hilly that the visual landscape is expanded, because you can see so many different levels and hills through the trees.

This rock is smooth because it’s a leaping point for mountain bikes, so if that’s your thing Rand has you covered.

Ian and I both took note and appreciation of these differently formed rocks: one so linear/layered, the other chunky and smashed. <3

What’s the most impactful thing you can do as an individual to help your kin, community, millions of species, and planet? Transition as plant-based as possible.🌎♥️

Why? Plant-Based foods are environmentally imperative 🌎. They also promote ideal health💪 (which takes stress off our overburdened health care system), are inexpensive🙌, delicious🤤, & compassionate. 💕  

Why imperative, though? 🤔We’re approaching (& have crossed) climate tipping points that will doom our kin & millions of other species. 😱📣Reducing/eliminating animal products is the *most impactful thing an individual can do* to prevent worse. 🌎🔥

Why? Animal Agriculture creates more emissions than the entire transportation sector combined, it’s tied to water waste/loss/pollution (<-- freshwater is our most precious resource💧), land loss/deforestation (<-- exacerbates climate change by reducing our ability to sequester carbon🔥🌎), ocean acidification (<-- FYI 50-85% of earth’s oxygen originates from oceanic plankton🌊) & vast species loss/extinction/suffering💔📣🌎

Plus, consuming animal products is tied to increased risk of cardiovascular disease❤️‍🩹, diabetes👎, cancer👎, and chronic disease👎; whereas Plant-Based feasting is linked to preventing/reversing some of our most common diseases (<— like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer); plus it promotes ideal health & robust strength (ie Olympians, Weightlifters, Endurance Athletes are thriving via PBWFs too). 🎉🙌♥️

What organizations are promoting plant-based diets for best health and environmental stability? National Institutes of Health,  Mayo Clinic, Yale, the United Nations, Harvard School of Health,  American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, National Kidney Foundation, even the Parkinson’s Foundation.

We’re all overwhelmed in one way or another, but for the sake of our kin (and the millions of species we share this planet with) we need to start pivoting forward. As someone who once rarely ate green things & used to eat animal products at every meal, I can assure you that is possible, affordable, enjoyable, & purposeful to pivot Plant-Based. In fact, our whole family is now healthier/stronger than ever. 🙌♥️

Anecdotally, our son had failure-to-thrive, was also plagued with perpetual ear-infections/sinus-infections, and had an omnipresent runny nose. What was he eating? Grass-fed milk, organic/antibiotic-free/grass-fed/local meats, eggs from organic-fed/well-loved chickens from a neighbor, every meal came with vegetables, and we limited junkfood. He was healed via a plant-based diet: he’s launched out of that diagnosis and the last time he had a sinus-infection (or was sick at all) was in 2019 when he had some cheese at a school Christmas party. Before shifting to PBWF’s he was sick every month, and how he’s a robust, vital, thriving kiddo. 🙌🎉♥️

If you think any of the above sounds over-reached/absurd/impossible, please go read the links above. I understand the inclination to hackle-raise (<—because I was once totally there) but the science is clear: any step we make forward is imperative (<—and again “STEPS” is the focus. Don’t leap, just start making steps!). It’s as simple as starting with one meal a week and growing from there.💕

We have the ability (deliciously, healthfully, kindly, inexpensively) to *preserve/protect* the planet we share with millions of species & our kin. How are we going to use that power today?✌️🤟🖖