Bah, Humbug!

I'll say this clearly. I am not a Christian (although I respect my Christian friends' and relatives' beliefs as long as they don't "proselytize" all over mine ;-) ).

That said, what is it with "bah-humbugging" all over the greeting "Merry Christmas," anyway? So okay, Christians intend it as a recognition of Jesus' birth (even though the man wasn't really born then), and what of it?

You may call that "proselytizing," too, but you know? Whether or not it's meant that way, you don't have to take it that way. Plenty of other folks (me included) mean it as an innocuous, cheery greeting representative of the holiday itself: good feelings, good food and once-a-year treats, good times with friends and family, Christmas trees, having fun, presents and Santa, Rudolph's brave plight, all that.

So go on; relax already. And oh, yeah: Merry Christmas. :-)

The fish is ...

... swimming away from my diet, for the most part. I posted a bit ago here that to my chagrin, I felt I had to include some fish in my diet suddenly (after more than 25 years with nary a carnivorous twitch), because for some reason, I just needed the extra protein punch. It's been a couple of months now and I am happy to report that those cravings have eased significantly. Not entirely gone, and maybe they never will be, but I so much enjoy being largely vegan again. That's just me. :-)

Two "flexitarians" in the house?

Hmm. Okay; so I am still feeling a little bit guilty about doing the fish thing a couple of times a week, but I also realized something else. I apparently have had a "veggie" impact on my boyfriend, such that he's become a "flexitarian" himself. He used to be much more of a diehard meat eater than he is now. He still does burgers a couple of times a week (I just leave the room when he's cooking them), but he does a lot more without meat than he used to. And, there are a lot more fresh fruits and veggies in the fridge than there used to be for him -- and we're both actually eating them. So although I've had a slide in the opposite direction, somewhat, he's actually come more toward being vegetarian. Both healthier for it? Most certainly. Cheaper grocery bill, too? You bet.

So for those of us who have had to go back to eating a little bit of meat or fish after many years without, we can at least rest assured that at least we do have somewhat of an impact, apparently, on helping those around us eat healthier even as we strive to. (And of course, this helps our animal friends out as well.)

Gimme a break: Soda's not "food"

There's a TV ad (in the US) running right now against the proposed soda tax where a (slender, natch) "mom" begs the government not to impose it because it's already expensive to "feed" families and this would make it more so. NOT! Soda isn't a real food, and is nowhere near "nutritious"! So just don't buy it if you can't afford it. Problem solved. (And psst, your kids just might be healthier for it, too.)

I'm for the tax, personally. We got soda as a treat every now and then when I was growing up, but we didn't get to drink it like water. (We got to drink *water* like water; funny thing.) Imposing a tax might just offset the healthcare costs that can come from too many unhealthy food choices -- including too much soda -- even if it won't necessarily stop people from buying nutritional "junk" like soda as food staples.

More protein, please

This flies in the face of everything I truly knew as a vegan for 25 years, but as a 40-something woman, protein seems to be of paramount importance all of a sudden. Things have changed drastically. Until now, I actually favored complex carbs over "too much" protein to feel my best (which isn't hard to do, since beans have a nice complex carb mix and fiber along with the protein punch), but now, things are shifting. Before, "too much" protein (even from veggie sources) left me tired, cranky, and craving bread, rice, or pasta. But now, I figure I'm easily getting 20% more protein than I was just a month ago, and carbs are no longer such a favorite. The result is a clearer head, more energy, and (yay!) some pretty decent muscles showing up, finally, from workouts.

Can you do that with vegan sources? Lots of people probably can, and I first tried peanuts, soy, then (at least still vegetarian) eggs to try to get what I needed before I started on the fish. So if you're vegan/vegetarian and just can't seem to shake a hungry "muddled" feeling that's new, you might want to give some moderate protein boosting a try. It just might fix things for you.