Then & This Week (Channel 3 News, Volcanoes & The Great Dying, Snow Days, Plant-Powered Feasting)

Growth & Time are big themes around here, because one is a pillar in our life’s aim and the other is only second to love in preciousness.

This week was a flickering with a thunder of then-and-nows, but the biggest flashes were Crystal in my kitchen this time last year (coming over to learn how I was feeding our family of three with plant-based whole-foods, because she was inspired to make changes in her own home) to Crystal the same time this week (getting filmed by Channel 3 News’ Brandon Roth for a segment on our PBWF kitchen <—now Crystal and her children are also all PB and they —and anyone you want to follow through studies or Forks Over Knives— are now healthier than ever, shedding meds, and never want to go back to the old diet), and Q’s physical (<—first time we’ve had to go in there in a year <—after years of going at-least-quarterly with his myriad sinus/ear infections & viruses <—Spoiler: that plant-based whole-food diet has him healthier than ever and now his pediatrician AND cardiologist say, “Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing! He is healthy and accelerating way beyond his age!” <— So what are we “doing”? We’re following Lifestyle Medicine Guidelines and eating the most environmentally-sustainable diet… which also happens to be immune-boosting (<—important in a pandemic) and tied to lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer: a plant-based whole-food diet.)

Continue for: a lot of examples of how once couch-potato/animal-product-loving Hobbits (who would have told you we could never live without meat/cheese) are now: thriving, bursting with energy, loving everything we eat (14 food ideas within), taking old TV moments and using them instead to send light out into our community.

Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.

Crystal last January when she came over to see how I’d process a CSA pick-up into meals to get our family-of-three through the week.

Crystal this week: getting filmed for a segment on Channel 3 focusing on Your Kind Kitchen’s aim to help out community eat kinder (to the earth, to themselves, to the animals and species obliterated by animal agriculture).

Within this year, Crystal started to try PBWF feasting, went deep into the research/books-by-doctors/podcasts-with-doctors harking here there and everywhere the dangers of eating a diet dense of animal product and the BENEFITS of PBWF feasting, and (like us) knew she was never going back to animal products again.
Enough so, that she also started harking out how great she and her family felt (the health impacts in Crystal’s family-of-four are amazing!), and so many folks started asking us to cook for them that we found ourselves leaping out of our comfort zones and launching a plant-based zero-waste fully-prepped meal delivery service that got such a swell of demand we had to pause until we can create a bigger kitchen.

2020 was a YEAR-of-heck and I’m dearly grateful I was riding through the storm with this forward-beaming soul. We’ve been stumbling forward together since we first met, and that’s my favorite/dearest kind of friendship. <3

We were gobsmacked that Brandon Roth wanted to interview us and let Crystal & I talk about the health benefits, environmental benefits, and deliciousness of plant-based feasting. Our one anxiety was the glare of live TV, but good ol’ CNY Winter Weather Warnings pushed the interview to later in the morning which avoided live-airing, gave us the space to have a long-form interview with that sweet man, and what we assumed would be a polite in-and-out stretched to almost 3 hours of talking and feasting! 🤯

He was enthusiastic about everything he ate, hollered “Wow! This stuff is even BETTER than cheese!” 🙌♥️ to both the Cashew Queso and Crystal’s AMAZING Plant-Based Whole-Food Potato “Cheese” Soup, and we ended up sending him home with a small tower of leftovers and a brain full of our chatty environmental/health passion.

Speaking of the environment, there are two odes within (photos on Instagram): those lentil VS beef facts, and the solar system necklace I was wearing (<--made by Q in summer camp 2 years ago) is to remind us all that this Earth is precious, there is no Plan(et) B, and we need to focus our energies on the gifts we have and stop destroying them for momentary mouth-fun.

Taco Tuesday is also a terrific day to sound repeated klaxon clangs of “Lentils are just as tasty as beef and significantly kinder to your body, the environment, and the cow who had no desire to be strung up by its legs and slit/gutted just to give you cardiovascular disease and increase your risk of diabetes/cancer.”

Shifting plant-based is the best thing you can do for your (& your children’s) health and it’s the best thing an individual can do for this planet (<--even the United Nations says it lowers your environmental impact by 70% or more ←animal agriculture produces more emissions than THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR COMBINED! ← cars, trucks, buses, planes, boats, etc).

It starts with small steps --like one meal (Taco Tuesday!)-- then one full-day, then on and on. There’re no regrets: just health, kindness, & deliciousness.

As soon as we have a link/time for the segment we’ll post it on our site. 👍

Showing how we made quick rice or quinoa bowls with a rainbow array of toppings, and then use this through the week to fill meals.
This is easy to prepare! You set aside a few hours on the weekend and you make a big pot of rice and/or quinoa, you dice up some fresh veg (like peppers, cucumbers, greens, etc), quick-pickle one or a few (in this case we have QPC, but today I’ll be doing that same brine over some radishes too), and we also have one or two roasted items too (in this case squash and broccoli).

You then whip up Peanut Sauce and/or Sesame Dressing (both take under 5 minutes) and you have the makings for many meals.

And here’s a handy visual for why you want to avoid the Standard American Diet and/or Keto Diets.

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in America and it is rampant on our families. In the case of Q, there is so much CVD in his family tree, that even though Ian and I have exemplary cardiovascular health and Q showed no signs of issues (and we’re all eating the diet tied with preventing/reversing cardiovascular disease), he was still ordered to a cardiologist (by his pediatrician) this summer to make sure.
What did we learn? That he’s robustly healthy and we’re doing exactly what the cardiologists is urging his patients to do: eat a plant-based diet and keep active.

We had years where Q was sick for weeks-to-months straight (just accumulating virus after/and-on-top-of virus and throwing roaring sinus/ear infections in for good measure, he developed failure-to-thrive, he had a slurry of tests right on up to an endoscopy, and for the first 5 years of his life we visited his pediatrician in a frustratingly frequent loop.

I was feeding him organic-everything, local/antibiotic-free animal products, and the only thing he drank besides milk was water. When his sweet pediatrician was at his wit’s end (and enough tests had been done to ensure there was nothing calamitous going on), I started using my free-time to focus on nutritional research, we transitioned the whole family plant-based, and it redirected/bettered his (and our) whole health. It became the best thing that ever happened to this family.

Q isn’t an outlier. There are a feast of pediatric nutrition klaxons out there sounding the howl that we need to start our children with solid nutritional footing so we don’t send them off toward the diseases in our family trees; and MOST IMPORTANTLY: plant-based diets are the only sustainable diet for our children’s future!

There’s so much to gain in transitioning your diet, and so much to lose in standstill.

Q’s Kindergarten Journal Theme of the Week: Volcanoes

This theme was lit by him seeing (an edited version of) Dante’s Peak followed by (a similarly edited) Volcano, and he blasted into Monday keen on drawing lava from top to bottom.

I wasn’t sure how on-this-(tectonically tenuous)-earth I was going to lob this back to the environmental imperatives of transitioning plant-based, but good ol’ Jonathan Safran Foer wrapped this week up with two facts that’ll hopefully klaxon your skull like a dropped cup.

Sweet thing about Q, if he’s about to draw an animal, he always wants to see it with its mother.

In this case, that mother-baby connection adds even more heartbreak to the picture he spent over an hour working on.

“We Are The Weather” by Jonathan Safran Foer

Q multiple times though that hour: “I just don’t understand it. If people know even a part of this, why do they continue to eat animal products? How could they even do it? I’d be so sad thinking about those animals, and those babies, and just look at the Earth!”

And as Jonathan Safran Foer writes in that beautiful book: saving the earth starts at breakfast.

Transitioning is so easy these days! Start with one meal a week, then maybe one full meal a day, on and on.

In spirit of the Volcano Theme of the Week, Q got a simple volcano: whole-grain bread with peanut butter & peach preserves (made by his uncle), and Pink Lady apple slices.

Another volcano with berry sauce (pick whatever fruit you like, simmer it, reduce it, puree it, Voila!) on whole-grain bread with oranges and pistachios.

The cub loves peanut butter. :-)
Here’s a change-up: curried peanut sauce over rice with applies.

We’ve been delivering plant-based meals to our friend Kelly (<—another person Q happy-fainted at when she said she was shifting plant-based <—she was hearing my early klaxons and stepped away from meat months ago.)

Here seen: pulled BBQ Jackfruit sandwiches with greens and homemade BBQ, QPC, rolls.

Arepa Pizzas: I make a dough out of Arepa flour, bake it, top it with a seared/pureed mushroom and garlic sauce, roasted broccoli, and VivoLife Plant-Based Cheese, with homemade marinara.

And here’s two different things you can do with plant-based whole-food cheese sauce: you can wrap it around some quinoa-and-brown-rice noodles, top it with almond parm, and have yourself one heck of an awesome Mac and “Cheese”

Or you can puree some bell peppers and mix that in with the cheese and mix that up with some leftover rice, and you get yourself what we call “Stuffed Pepper Casserole” and it tastes great with marinara or in an Mexican Food vector.

Given that that sauce is hiding potatoes, carrots, and celery, you’re getting added veggies into yourself and kiddos too. :-)

Black Bean Soup, cornbread, mixed greens, QPC, and peppers.

Cucumber, QPC, pepper, roasted squash, peanut sauce, and topped with furikake.

Potato Soup with roasted squash, mixed greens, QPC, and bell pepper.

Am just realizing I never added in the Green Onions within this soup to Q’s Weekly Diversity seen further on.

One of the ways we get a lot of microbiome diversity into Q, is to try a lot of different greens, and we dice them up small so he doesn’t have to wrestle them into his mouth.

Thanks to Stone’s Throw Farm CSA, diversity is never an issue.

And the favorite, most-requested meal of the month: Taco Salads. “I’ve decided I like these better than tacos, because I’m not chasing it around and you give me more lentils this way.” :-D

Crystal’s PBWF Fig Cake and Cashew Cream

Leftover chocolate cream (cocoa, coconut milk, oatmilk, maple) and peanut butter cream (oatmilk, peanut butter, dates, vanilla).

Stove top popcorn. You can season however you desire, but our usual blend is: salt, garlic powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, pepper, and turmeric.

Post Omega Green Smoothie Goofball. <3

Q’s Doctor-Driven Fiber-Fueled Week of Plant Diversity.

Doctors are urging all-of-us (<—omnivores alike) to get at least 30 different plants a week (<—to get enough fiber and antioxidants), and as seen above it wasn’t hard to get to 80+.

And what does that food power him up to do? Hop and dance all over the house all the livelong day (<—he even works from standing desk), and joyfully send out these little South Onondaga Bird of Paradise photos to his life’s-love and fellow-dancer Aria. “Oooh! Send this to Aria right now, please, or as soon as you can!”

This week, though involved a lot of outdoor time because we were blessed with one heck of a snow wallop.

Him: wakes up, squeals in joy, says "Hold on! I gotta jump to make sure this isn't a dream. In my dreams I just kinda float down. *Jumps* *SQUEAL* IT'S REAL!!🙌🙌🙌” 😄 Man do I love having a cub who gets as excited about snow as I do. It never gets old!❤️

Snow Days are our favorite days! <3 We were out for over 2 hours in the morning, and out for another 2 in the afternoon.

Breaking trails around the yard for Q.

And while he ran around in freshly broken trails and rolled down piles, I plant-base powered through shoveling all but the tail-end of our driveway. Just as I was about to work on the heaviest patch, our new neighbor walked down and asked if he’d like me to go over it with his snowblower. <3

And we then walked this down after lunch.

And Q came up with the idea of making a snowman where “Papa could see it while he’s doing dishes [Ian does the dinner dishes while he listens to podcasts at the tail-end of the night], and it’ll have a note that says ‘Hi, Papa! Love, Quillan”.

…but he ended up making it a Snow Cthulhu

Making the best out of the pond pit: mini sledding spot.

He spent the following day turning it into a Sarlacc. :-)

“Call Grandma and see if she can come over right now. She’s going to want to see the Sarlacc and this sunlight.” <3

Snowballs with Papa.

And when we’re not moving our bodies or feeding our bodies, we’re learning (he’s fully homeschooled) and using our art skills and writing craft to send messages to loved ones.

Ian’s morning note to Q, paired with what was on Q’s mind that morning: the life cycle of a sundew.

“From seed, to adolescent, to adult, to decomposing, to soil that worms can’t wait to gobble up.”

My sweet aunt gifted Q a book of facts for his birthday, and he sent her a “thank you” card with a fact from inside of it, and then said, “I think we should start sending her a card with a new fact each week, because now that Uncle Gary died she could probably use a little smile.”

David sent Q some birthday money to pick out an art book, Q asked if we could get one with carnivorous plants, and I stumbled upon this so-very-Q gem.

Letter to his friend Cal. <3

A thank you to Kelly for a Funko Audrey 2 that made him screech in pure joy.

Light and Light and Light

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?✌️🤟🖖