Self-Efficacy, Being Hopeful/Purposeful about Climate Change, Q's Joy Beam, and Easter Eggs

In the same way I knew writing about the global impact/destruction/death-toll of the fishing industry would hit a little harder on the last fish-feasting Friday of Lent; I did so with the hope that over the course of the next year folks may research and start disengaging. (<—As folks who once ate copious amounts of seafood —even my first post-birth meal was raw salmon sushi!— I can assure this is not only possible but you’ll be amazed at how easy it is and shocked when you fully acknowledge the amount of toxic swill found in our almost-fished-to extinction fish.)

In the same vein, despite over a year of harking that ham comes from a pig —that is smarter than a dog or 3 year old— that is suffering its whole life just to fill us with disease (<— is carcinogenic <— was declared so affirmatively back in 2015 by the World Health Organization, via over 800 studies and a host of global scientists), + that ham is ruining our environment (especially in our lowest income communities), all of the above sadly wasn’t enough of a deterrent for most folks. We were (sweetly) invited to a meal that would have sat around this sadness (despite declaring more than a few times that we will no longer do this out of steadfast conviction <— happy to do any other form of gathering/connecting however) and I know many of y’all may be sliding your chairs up to this heartbreaking destruction again today despite the many, many, many reasons not to.

In the spirit of the self-efficacy we’ll read about below, I’ll continue clanging the klaxon because maybe **this year** will be the one where more folks finally go read the resources that are awaiting them, watch the documentaries from octogenarians that could light their whole lives with a protective purpose, and maybe this’ll be the last year you’ll want to gather your family around a plate of cruelty that is ruining our environmental future; because our (PREVENTABLE) climate tipping points are looming and if the apathy continues we’re throwing our children off a cliff (merely for taste). In the same way Christians look at Easter as new-life, I’m hoping we take the metaphor mentally/purposefully further and consider our positions as stewards of this precious planet (and the children in our care). Imagine being the teachers/protectors of their future instead of the destructors.

Q and I are the sort who look at every day as a possibility of being better than the last and it is beyond our passionate means to sit back idly. We know one of these days humans will collectively wake up, it’ll just take a lot of hollering and hopefully won't be too late. Luckily neither of us have a shortage of wind (<— that includes a list of world-renowned doctors/dietitians/nutritionists I follow and reference).

Continue for: what the World Health Organization says about healthy/sustainable diets, what doctors say about the same, a Carl Sagan quote, teaching/modeling/harking self-efficacy, a feast of examples of what this plant-based family of-three was eating this week, and ways we got active/purposeful and found joy.

Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward… and let’s leave this Earth in a better state for the souls/species we love.

Above and below from the World Health Organization.

A fresh reminder that animal agriculture is perpetuating climate change and propelling even Central New York into drought...in MARCH. No matter how much we bury our heads and think this issue will go away or doesn’t affect us, the truth and consequences remain the same. It’s time to act and move forward before it is too late.

What does the United Nations say is the biggest (cheapest) thing an individual can do to pushback on climate change? Transition to a plant-based diet. What do our leading doctors say you should do for optimal health and prevention of our leading diseases? THE SAME.

And another reminder from the World Wildlife Foundation that looking to the oceans for global food distribution (<— ie fish from South African making it to your American plate via gigantic fishing operations is different than starving Somali fisherman paddling out to catch fish to live <— are you the well-fed American or the starving soul?) is causing vast damage as well.

This food and ecosystem, is not meant for us, especially in the large scale application we have wrought. Our family watching Seaspiracy this week, “A Life On Our Planet”, The Plant Earth Series from BBC, the Sylvia Earle Documentary, Chasing Coral, Before The Flood, etc will also drive this message home hard with science and imagery that will slice your heart and hopefully open your mind to the imperatives of moving beyond this destruction, avoiding marine life so we can reset a balance to the ocean, working to preserve what we can (while we can), and adopting a plant-based diet.

Here’s some supporting doctor-lead info (below) from a Dr Muzammil Ahmad who has over 22k followers, I just tend to like his posts early :-)

Here are several essays about The Blue Zones.

The above is why I always call ourselves “Plant-Based” on here and why I am always urging folks to “transition as plant-based as possible” and never say, “You need to be 100% Vegan right now!”

Like Dr Ahmad, we are indeed 100% plant-based and consider ourselves ethical vegans. For me, it started with haunting thoughts about the lack of compassion or kindness in eating an animal I didn’t need to eat, followed by the decision to avoid them for environmental/compassionate reasons, and then bolstered by the staggering statistics of improved health with plant-based diets.

If Plant-Based diets were imperative for environmental sustainability, our health (including our children’s), and simultaneously saved a soul from suffering, it became an easy decision to transition because doing so was putting the needs of many ahead of a selfish focus on personal taste.

***We all need to transition as much as possible for the sake of this earth (including the species we share it with) and the future of our kin.***

A Carl Sagan quote that is a big high-five in this theme. <3

Do we ever like shifting cultural norms? Especially when it involves stepping back/away from a food system we now all crave/love (even if it is directly tied to our leading causes of death and ruining our planet)? Nope. We are stubborn as all heck, and I was one of those stubborn souls.

But that doesn’t make it any less imperative —for sustainability (before we are doomed) and for health— to transition.

Win. Win.

My friend Jen posted a great article this week about self-efficacy and spoke of Q’s strong sense of it. A) I was humbled, and B) I wasn’t aware of this psychological concept, but we act on this theme daily in house Cappello.
Though we may watch many documentaries, read many books/articles, and talk/learn often about the vast destruction human's are causing across the globe, (<— all of those with Q along for the ride) every discussion ends with what we can and should do about it. As such, Q is approaching his environmental future with wide-eyes, an open-mind, and a big-bleeding heart of care and action.

We could project a wail of “There’s nothing we can do!” or we could (and should) learn about ways we can mitigate climate change and then preserve as much sustainability as possible for our kin and the other species on this planet. Over here we approach things with a realistic/optimistic approach (ie we assess the facts of the world and then do our best to appreciate what is seen and/or make it better).

If not to the point of watching nature/environmental docs with your kiddos (<—Ian and I are the kind of folks who dated while watching nature docs, so we understand that is an outlying realm), I recommend the vast array of children’s books out there, but this “Pout Pout Fish Cleans Up The Ocean” is a repeat request. It has engaging/weird illustrations and a good message about pitching in and sorting out solutions.

So to repeat: we are indeed more-than happy to pandemically-safe meet loved ones (and strangers too) anywhere *except* across the table from cruelty and environmental destruction. We're of the steadfast mindset that due to the imperative need for humanity to start shifting Plant-Based ASAP (as harked by the United Nations, American College of Cardiology, Oxford, World Health Organization, etc...), there needs to be a time and a line-in-the-sand when gathering around foods that harm the bodies and futures of our children is no longer seen as socially acceptable or condoned by our presence. If folks choose to eat the foods that are filling themselves with disease while ruining our environmental sustainability and polluting our water ways with wild abandon, that is their human-declared "right", but it can happen privately and maybe not in front of the children learning behaviors/traditions that will directly impact their future health/existence.

The healthier/kinder alternative? Shifting our celebrations to perch around foods that are sustainable, healthy (ie not directly tied to cardiovascular disease and/or cancer), and kind so we show our children (and all other species) compassion and consideration for their future.

So how do you start transitioning plant-based (especially if you’re eating like we once were and having an animal product in just about every single consumption)? If you do coffee or tea, considering swapping in one of the many (delicious/environmentally-kind) plant-based options. These are two of our favorites.

Combine them and you get something Q calls a coffee milk-shake.

And if you don’t do milk in your early morning beverages (or you’re looking for Step 2), try shifting your breakfast plant-based. Pancakes can easily be shifted plant-based (these are also whole grain: oats and flax) as can oatmeal. (<—fave recipe)

Both are fibrous, filling, and packed with that protein society worries about (when they should be worried about fiber :-D) when done with whole-grains.

Oat & Flax pancakes, almond butter, raspberry/strawberry puree, more flax, and some maple from down the road at Cedarvale.

One of Q’s breakfasts this week: banana, peanut butter, cashew cream, and something I’m calling a “Peanut Butterbean Bar” (will work on posting recipe soon). It’s whole oat-flour, flax, peanut butter, lima beans (also known as butterbeans), dates, oatmilk, vanilla, and you can sprinkle choc chips on it. Fiber and Protein dense and gets beans into a kiddo’s belly.

Q’s favorite way to eat broccoli: add broc to a pan, drizzle with aminos/soy sauce (if frozen leave be, if fresh add 1/4 cup water), season per taste (we do paprika, turmeric, black pepper, salt), and grate in some garlic clove; simmer until soft (add more liquid as needed, but it should looked steamed by the end, not soupy); enjoy. :-)

Here seen: with brown rice & millet noodles with bell peppers, broc, sunflower seeds,and sesame dressing.

Kale braised the same way as the broc, seared mushrooms <— once browned I then added in some (cooked) lentils and garlic (seasoned with paprika, black pepper, and salt) and it tasted like crumbled beef, and a simple plant-based mac with quinoa/brown-rice noodles.

Lentil Taco Meat Salads with Cashew Queso, Quick-Pickled Cabbage, Olives, and eventually topped with a few crushed tortillas.

Made a flatbread dough out of (the usual) whole-oat-flour and flaxmeal, and though I worried this test may fail and we’d get a soggy/crumbly disaster it came out perfectly and was crisp on the edges and pliable throughout. Topped it with a garlicky/braised/pureed broc mixture, PMA foods (plant-based) cheese, Pumfu, and bell peppers, and dipped it in a homemade (spicy) marinara.

Salad with homemade hummus, red leaf, Styrian prepped potatoes (garlic, onion, white wine vinegar, and a little oil), roasted pumpkin seed oil (realized we still had a gift bottle of this and needed to start using it!), and tomatoes.

How we served those butterbean bars —with 30 second chocolate sauce— when my (fully vaccinated) father came to drop off Easter gifts to Q.

And he doesn’t just eat the food, he also helps clean the dishes. :-)

And we also show him the importance of cleaning up your community even when it is not our mess. (Ian’s carrying two full contractor bags, a bin we found, and I have a full bag strapped to myself as well).

Cleaning up litter by Red Mill on Saturday (Q and I did it on Tuesday alone, and we met with a group of OCS students on Saturday).

Discovered someone has been throwing their bagged cat litter down there.

Red Mill, a spot with bald eagles, beaver, blue heron, green heron, geese, kingfisher, however-many-fish, many-others-I’m-not-naming, and its within walking distance from most houses in South O. It’s a geographical gem, it is treated with much cruelty (as seen by the trailer full of garbage collected), and it’s our dear hope more folks pitch in to protect this precious space.

And here’s Q blasting through his Spring Break week with joy and gusto. (Not wasting away, in fact he’s in the scientifically-supported best health of his life.)

Above, playing tag in the yard, and demanding to be shirtless despite the 50 degree temps.

Same day, and making a “game” out of running bricks across the yard.

Cleaning up litter with me down at Red Mill.

Running through the backyard of a neighbor.

Investigating skunk cabbages lit like lanterns in the setting sun.

Getting some brotherly-bonding time with his beloved Smorol Brothers (a group of three boys he’s known since birth, and he loves each dearly/differently/equally) which was good for his socially-distanced heart. They ran around (in masks) in the sunny yard for hours and wrapped up their visit giving some love to Wicket.

Though we love her dearly, Wicket will be our last cat because the environmental impact of cats is monumental. If we’d known this 14 years ago, we may have chosen a different pet, but all we can do is make conscious choices while she’s in our care.

He’s rarely moving without running/skipping, and he’s rarely doing those without a big ol’ beam across his face.

We’ve been working on increasing morning laps in the yard, come sun or Spring snow. :-)

And in this case, Ian was simply stretching his back (before doing our recycling) and Q laid down next to him with some weights and made up a little set.

Gotta practice for all those wind-strewn limbs, I guess. :-)

The terrible, joyless life of plant-based living. :-D

And old traditions can still happen within a shift. Here seen: we use reusable plastic eggs (that my father brings every year), fill them with plant-based candy.

Speaking of eggs, when the Smorols brought over some Alien toys he went deep into xenomorph zeal again.

Here seen: a picture he drew after they left. o_0

Frosty window xenomorphs. <3

And his newest carnivorous plant (<— Scott Bennet came over and generously/sweetly gifted three butterworts to Q) and they’ve already started catching those little black flies that start to pop up around this time of year.

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?✌️🤟🖖