"Baking Day At Grandma's", Tara, Sarlaccs, Gut Health & Mental Health (again)
6.12.20
Q chose “Baking Day At Grandma’s” as part of last night’s reading lineup, and it got me to thinking that we were long overdue for a send-up of his amazing grandmother.
In a world of tales and tropes vilifying the mothers of our spouses, I could not have found a greater antithesis on that common theme. Not only is Tara one of sweetest souls on this planet, she also has a hearty sense of humor (silly, irreverent, witty); her heart is open to all, but she’ll also pushback on nonsense; she is forever learning/growing forward; and there isn’t a soul who knows Tara who hasn’t been bettered by having her within their realm.
As this branch of the Cappello tree has grown forward through dietary choices, Tara has continuously evolved along with us. Like most Grandmas, she loves to spoil Q with treats and cook meals for her son (Ian), and she learned to do so without gluten, then without animal products, then without refined sugars. She could have wiped her hands of the whole affair and declared us “militant” (<—a new favorite moniker assigned to this passionately protective Mama Bear), but she understood how much it meant to us and moved forward.
Are you worried that changing your foods toward health means than you can no longer join in that cultural comfort of eating with the ones you love? Tara is an example of how that is not at all true. Not only does she love what we cook, she’s always coming up with new recipes and treats we would’ve never thought of, and Q’s world is made all the brighter for it: the healthier food and additional time with this precious woman.
Continue for: Sarlaccs through the ages, how our mental health is ruined by the foods we willingly throw down our gullets (plus how diet is associated with ADHD, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Parkinson’s, and Bipolar Disorder) and a full day of Plant-Based Whole-Food Family Feasting: the only diet proven to reverse the #1 cause of death in America (heart disease), the diet that improves mental health, the only diet that will help fight back against environmental collapse, and the cheapest diet of them all.
Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.
Q’s morning chalkboard: he needed to fill in the spaces. :-)
Plant-Based Kiddo Breakfast he fixed himself: berry bread, apple, cashew cream, and peanut butter.
Current black raspberry status. Thanks again, to my brother for letting us dig up some of his black raspberry plants. <3
Red Jasper tomato and some strawberries. We have strawberries peppered all over the yard and they came from some plants we got from Tara years ago. We brought the over with us when we moved, and as they’ve grown runners, we’ve dug them up and added them to pots and pockets all over the yard.
Prepping a plant-based whole-food taco lunch.
Participation and color draw kiddos in and engage them with healthy eating.
What do I never miss? Carcass in my taco.
There is so much flavor, vibrancy, deliciousness in our current realm, I don’t spend a speck of a second wailing over those foodstuffs hurting the environment and previously hurting our bodies. Our current tacos are as amazing as they look.
Another thing I don’t miss? Refined sugar. You don’t need it. There are plenty of delicious options out there that’ll fuel you with health, and not fill you with disease and mental wailing.
Here seen: Cappello Brownie with cashew cream and peanut butter.
Q is drawing just about all day everyday lately, so while I worked away in the garden he set up a drawing station on the porch. What was he working on? Yet another Sarlacc drawing.
“It’s an amusement park when you get to leap over a Sarlacc with a fake lightsaber…and if you want, you can buy a lightsaber before you leave.”
Plant-Based Whole-Food Dinner for Two: black rice, brussel sprouts, peas, apple, quick pickled cabbage, and peanut sauce (minus the sweeteners and aminos: we’ve been adding more curry and berbere instead. NEED TO REMEMBER TO REWRITE THAT RECIPE)
Again, Ian was out working late because he spends his day working from home and then wants to accomplish outdoor tasks during the remaining daylight hours; and neither of us want Q eating dinner at 8. :-)
Dessert: green smoothie with spirulina, mangos, banana, orange, and oatmilk.
Outdoor evening cardio was followed by spotting all these roses we somehow missed behind the hydrangea bush! <3
Nightly Reading
“Rex” is a gem Ian spotted, and is yet another book we’ve purchased from the river’s end bookstore (just like Dune, and Fiber Fueled).
“Baking Day at Grandma’s” was compliments of the amazing, heart-swelling generosity of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
What is that? “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income.” Through this program, Q has received all sorts of books we would’ve never known about. It’s broadened his outlook and opened his mind. (I’ll start sharing other ones we’ve gotten that he loves.)
The below is some more mind-opening info from Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s book “Fiber Fueled”. How many folks do you know who have the following conditions? My grandfather (one of my favorite souls to ever grace this earth) died from Parkinson’s, I know more folks with depression/anxiety than I know without, my old caseload was overflowing with ADHD and Autism, and Bipolar is a painful cord throughout souls I love.
Personally, migraines, anxiety, and depression were all things I once had. How are they now only a painful blip in my history? I started eating plant-based whole-foods and started feeding myself mental health, not mental disease.
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?✌️🤟🖖
