Oswego Opa Visits, First Seasonal Strawberry Picking, Saturated Fats & You, and Perpetual Planetary Imperatives
6.18.2020
After months of rarely leaving this corner, it’s been an active few days.
We celebrated my father’s birthday a day early and took a brief day-trip to Oswego; we ventured out for our first berry-picking of the season (and slipped that in between an unexpected writing morning —brought out by a new podcast that makes me mourn for Q’s adulthood— and an afternoon working in the yard trying to shake out that heartbreak); and today we drove over an hour down to Elmira for Q to see the only dentist within the region who will take a 5 year old with his insurance (yes, that is backed by working with his insurance; yes this is America in 2020: no universal health care unlike most of the industrialized world. For me that means I’m on an endless wait-list to see a doctor within Onondaga who’ll deign to take my “metal level” health insurance —yet I still pay $150 a month for that insurance— and dental coverage for me is beyond our ability afford; and for Q it means we drive 76 miles for him to see a dentist that’ll take his CHIP insurance. We recognize the balance of privilege within that system too: fully aware that I’m currently able to make the best out of being laid-off and can do this drive without taking off a day of work, yet also fiery that our second-world country can’t get its act together and start focusing on a health care system that works for all.)
Continue for: perpetual planetary imperatives, 2 full days of plant-based whole-food family feasting; Oswego visits; Strawberry Picking; and how Saturated Fats are not only tied to Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes, they are also ruin your microbiome causing dysbiosis via bacterial endotoxins.
Q’s Morning Chalkboard: another one he needed to complete.
I forgot to take photos of Q’s breakfasts two mornings in a row, because both mornings were whirled with getting ready to leave the house (something we haven’t really done in several months), coupled with my writing (both Tues and Wed were writing mornings), so here seen: a photo Q took of his breakfast a few days ago, but was the same thing he ate for breakfast Tuesday.
Plant Based Kiddo Breakfast: berry bread, peanut butter, and cashew cream.
Tuesday, we headed up to Oswego to see my father for his birthday, weed his front garden, and drop off some healthy foods to get him through the week.
Here seen: Q helping him bring in the garbage cans. He also cleared the table —without being asked— after our snack with Opa. <3
What it looks like when Q is describing the stories behind his drawings. :-)
Opa has a sweet tooth, so we came bearing berry bread and Cappello brownies as a birthday treat.
I didn’t get a photo when they were in a bowl about to be eaten, but they were served with bananas and cashew cream.
Afterward, we doubled down on a day of treats (it’s the Lalande way and we were celebrating the Lalande patriarch) and drove out to Bev’s to throw rocks and enjoy that Oswego Summer tradition of eating ice cream down by the lake… this year Bev’s is now also serving plant-based ice cream, and Opa and my brother both got a plant-based option in solidarity with this passionate Mama Bear’s planetary(health) howling. <3
Q in absolute heaven.
The maple cinnamon gets a big thumbs up. (For zero-wasters: we brought our own spoons —because we always do— and brought that dish home for cleaning and re-purposing.)
Home with Q… who is forever crafting tentacles. <3
Tuesday Plant-Based Whole-Food Dinner for Two (again, Ian chooses to eat closer to 8 when he’s done with yardwork): black rice noodles, shiitake mushrooms, steam-sauteed kale, peas, bell peppers, and peanut sauce (<— AVOIDING SUGARS? [ie, Want it Whole-Food?]: We also now make this without the maple/honey and simply add a little more curry and a few shakes of berbere. )
Nightly Reading for Monday
Yesterday was another day I forgot to photograph breakfast! (Q fixed them and ate them quicker than I could refocus on documentation. Today’s was documented and from here on out I won’t be so scatterbrained on busy mornings.)
Here seen: another example of a plant-based kiddo breakfast: strawberry oatmeal, apple, and peanut butter.
Yesterday’s chalkboard was letting him know that we were going to be heading out soon for berry picking.
This pic obviously taken when we got back, and is a good example of how we use old rags/shirts and store things zero-waste.
We pulled into the parking lot and were so shocked to see it full that we almost turned around and went home.
Here seen: a lot of folks (in the distance) gathered up by the front, and Q so excited by the landscape that he hollered “it is so sandy and hot it is reminding me of the deserts of Arrakis! LOOK MAMA! Wormsign!!!”
We walked by all the folks at the front, headed as far to the back as possible, and found that the area was bursting with fruit so ripe some of it had already gone bad.
Strawberry picking in 2020 with a 5 year old who is so comfortable with wearing a mask that you have to remind him it’s ok to lower it for a spell.
”Mama, coronavirus seems kinda normal now. Like it’s always been here and this is just how we are now. Do you feel that way too?” *deflated sigh*
Told him he could have a strawberry after he finished filling his bucket, and we had 10 lbs in under an hour. :-)
“Mama, can I have your phone? I want to show Papa how strong you are.” <3 (When your son is easily impressed and sweeter than a berry.)
Dust Devil Story (Aftermath)
While waiting in line, we had an unexpected/fun experience. A dust devil developed directly in front of me, then moved quickly to my right to swirl around Q for a few seconds before flying up into the sky behind us. All the folks around us gasped and hollered, “Oh my goodness! Did you see that?! Are you ok?!” (<— to Q) who had a beam from ear-to-ear, his hair all flown up like a mad scientist, and hollered, “That was AMAZING! Can that happen again?! Mama, did you get a picture?!”
Nope! But I took a picture of the aftermath so we could remember the experience.
Plant-Based Hot Day Lunch
j- black rice noodles, peas, kale, apples, bell peppers, and the last of the peanut sauce
Q - pea crisps his Opa gave him, smoked paprika hummus (made by this Mama), bell peppers, and pickles.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Dessert: fresh strawberries, Cappello Brownie, and cashew cream.
When we came back from berry picking I worked in the yard and mowed both inside and outside the fence, to which Ian replied, “Being married to you is like getting both a husband and a wife. How lucky am I?” :-D <3
Also, you can see we’re the sort of folks that will water pollinating plants as much as needed, but watering our lawn is something we view as a waste. It just makes for even more mowing.
Lentil Loaf Tacos for DAYYYYYYYYS :-D
We can’t get enough lentil loaf tacos these days. They are perfect for a hot night when you want a quick meal that is delicious yet won’t heat up your house. Go get yourself a hot sauce you love, make yourself a big batch of quick-pickled cabbage, make a big batch of lentil loaf, and start slicing that deliciousness onto hardshell tacos and topping it with your heart’s delight.
Just like “meatloaf” tastes like saucier ground-up muscle; lentil loaf tastes just-like/but-better muscle-meatloaf, and it holds together better than ground beef. If you add it to a taco, you get all the flavor you want from muscle-meat, but you have it in an easier-to-eat-form. Plus it is healthier for you and better for the planet than the cow carcass.
Win. Win. Delicious win.
Plant-Based Family Feasting: quick-pickled cabbage, lentil loaf, steam-sauteed mushrooms/peppers/onion/garlic, easy avocado, fresh sorrel, and enchilada sauce.
Dessert: berry bread, cashew cream, and more fresh strawberries.
Evening cardio view: more of a sun-scorched earth, saturated pollinators, and a house/property that gobbles up most of our free-time for maintenance projects.
Remember how I kept saying that if you saved the reusable bags from the winter’s/spring’s frozen berries you’d be able to fill them full of fresh summer strawberries? Worked on that last night. :-)
Nightly Reading
I’m not sure who originally gave us “Dream Journey” but this is another longtime Q favorite, and another book I’d rec slipping into your lineup if your kids to see all sorts of spectrum characters within their reading realm. Additionally: it handles migration through metaphor and opens up the window for some interesting kiddo discussions about souls migrating across this scorched/hostile earth.
That Spider book is mine from childhood and works well for this scientific-and-spook living cub.
I read Dune out loud to him and then moved on to Fiber Fueled from good ol’ award-winning gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz.
Want more reading on this?
“Saturated Fats Change Gut Bacteria-and May Raise Risk for Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
“Influence of High-Fat-Diet on Gut Microbiota: A Driving Force for Chronic Disease Risk”
“Impact of Individual Traits, Saturated Fat, and Protein Source on the Gut Microbiome”
“Plant-Based Fat, Dietary Patterns Rich in Vegetable Fat and Gut Microbiota Modulation”
“Dietary patterns reflecting healthy food choices are associated with lower serum LPS activity”
—————————-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?✌️🤟🖖
