Recipe for a Migraine
A day in this American life: got up at 4:30 to start culling/editing/downloading photos (<—I always do this early to limit screen-time in front of Q), chugged through a morning of homeschooling and prep-cooking for Crystal’s and my small-business tasting this Saturday, participated in WISE Women’s Business Center's livestream forum about starting a business within a pandemic, was half-way through documenting how we make our hot sauce and simultaneously about to dig into procuring more paperwork for home refinancing, when I received a letter that the $528 we paid for my 5-year-delayed hernia surgery (<—umbilical hernia I've had since Q was born, but my old doctor had simply scoffed "Mother’s bodies change!” when I had pointed it out, so it stayed around for 5 years and got worse until diagnosed in shock by the new doc) wasn’t —as assured by the hospital beforehand—the full sum.
An hour on the phone with the hospital and insurance company (<—with the rudest/cruelest rep I’ve ever encountered) confirmed that I now owe an unexpected $3,589. My mental gaskets blew at the absurdity of the American Health Care System, and I stress wept myself into the first migraine I’ve had in years.
Back when I had “better” insurance, I still paid out a $2,500 deductible for the joy of having Quillan; America is one of a rare few countries without paid parental leave, so I actually PAID to be on leave because I had to pay for health insurance to continue; and now I guess we got the last crappy-maternity-care wallop in this infuriatingly broken system.
It’s a good thing we eat cheap (<—beans and rice was the meal du jour the last few days) and Upstate has financial plans. Silver-linings, eh?
Continue for: a laconic post born out of equal parts stubbornness and withered spirits; but full of planet-kind/body-kind food from a family living by plant-based example; and our first few days of homeschooling.
Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.
If you want a great open-minded, data-filled/evidence-based podcast interview that goes over nutritional health, but also the bizarre ability for humans to focus on saving money for the future, yet not save HEALTH or protect the environment for the future, give this Dr David Katz one a listen.
An easy way to start transitioning: swap out environmentally harmful cow breastmilk with plant-based milks.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Breakfast: berry bread, omega sprinkle, almond butter, banana.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Breakfast: Crystal’s Fig Newton Bread, grapes, peanut butter
Plant-Based Whole-Food: Crystal’s Sweet Potato Flatbreads, peanut butter, and berry sauce.
Thanks for feeding us so much this wild week, Crystal! <3
Plant-Based Whole-Food Lunch: Tacos with Pumpkin Seed Tofu (the only ingredient is pumpkin seeds! :-D ), queso, swiss chard, kraut, and olives.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Lunch: sauteed cauliflower (with paprika and garlic), mizuna greens, black rice noodles, peanut sauce, and olives.
Plant-Based Whole-Food: beans and rice with bell peppers, balsamic tomatoes, and greens.
Crystal and I are hosting our first tasting Saturday, and spent last weekend prepping/extra-cleaning the store, while Ian worked on a new wall, and Crystal’s son Ewen sweetly kept Q entertained.
And homeschooling started on Monday and is going off swell. We changed up the front room and brought down my own childhood keyboard (that thing has been kicking around since I was about 10!) and Q’s been playing with it for hours. <3
Works as a fun ELA/numbers search too (<— ie “Locate this double-digit number and try to read me the name of the instrument.)
Now his perpetual sandworm artwork is part of school. :-)
When birthday cards also tie into ELA-Art. <3
He worked hard on the detail of this and put a lot of heart into it per her interests:
"This is a 1983 Sarlacc --because I know she likes Star Wars and she may like the original Sarlacc better than the one with extra tentacles-- and its giving her some red flowers, because she also really seems to like the color red." ❤
When you'd usually have off, but you're getting homeschooled now, and your mama makes your ELA work centered around the day's true weight.
I asked him why he didn't fill in the houses with the colors of his usual flare, and he said "because it's sad the houses are where the Onondaga used to live...I do enjoy hiking here, though. That's me out in the forest, surrounded by all the colors of fall."
Awareness & Appreciation.
Art All The Time
Math work and using rulers like his father. <3
ELA book.
Home Ec <3
PE
PE/Science
“Can we go to Rand today and see if this rain has made the waterfall start running again?” Discussed hypotheses and accepting that sometimes our theories don’t pan out; burned a lot of steam while doing so.
“I think the main stream gets enough water for long enough —like it doesn’t dry up like the waterfall— that we may be able to find fish there. My hope is to find at least a tiny one.”
He found a tiny pod and hollered out in pure joy.
Him finding those fish. <3
The exuberant greetings Ian arrives home to. <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?✌️🤟🖖
