Vegan Momma

Alright I admit it. I totally enjoy cooking. Many times when I enter my domain (yes that’s what I call it) I have no idea what I’m going to make but the end results turns out very good. It should I’ve been cooking since I was four. Thirty three years later I’m still enjoying cooking. Today was different I actually made a vegetarian dish <gasps>. No I didn’t eat it.

I’m still ok and the vegan police didn’t come to take me away for committing that sin. :razz: What did I make? It was an Asian dish. It was a vegetable stir fry. I made two versions one was Vegan the other vegetarian. Nope, it wasn’t the americanized vegetable stir fry either. I’m not too fond of that.

Why did I make a vegetarian version? I have one relative who thinks that all stir fries must have eggs. I wish I had taken pictures before I served that meal. Why? There isn’t any leftovers everything was inhaled. I have greedy relatives. I have to admit the vegetable stir fry was pretty darn good. My daughter and I ate the vegan version. Other family members sampled both. Where did the eggs come from? My neighbor they have chickens.

Guess what my auntie tried the vegan version and realized that she could eat her stir fry without eggs. Well duh I *knew* that but in her head she did not think she could. Why did she try it? Everyone else raved how delicious it was, and being nosy she had to try it for herself. :razz:

Raw Cocoa Nibs

What was for dessert? A raw dessert, fruit sorbet, and a baked dessert, German chocolate cake. Yes I made the frosting. I keep raw cocoa nibs on hand. Sorry no pictures of those lovely desserts since they are gone also. Didn’t I tell you my family is greedy? If they had their way they would be eating at my place several times weekly. :razz:

What I’ve Learned

At times, people make inaccurate assumptions about things they don’t understand. In my aunt’s case, she needed something “familiar”. Hearing the word “vegan” was something she did not think she would like. I provided her with a vegetarian dish. She was happy. I guess you could say today’s meal was a healthy intervention.

You see my aunt’s doctor has told her she needs to change her eating habits but like many people I’ve encountered although she wants to she’s not sure how to go about making a change. She’s overwhelmed. It can be hard to make changes to your eating lifestyle. I’m willing to work with her and yes that includes healthier ways to prepare meals that contain animals.

Shocked? You shouldn’t be. I’m vegan and my reasons for being vegan are two fold I honestly cannot see myself eating animals, and I know I can be healthy without them however I’m not about to make someone feel bad about the choices they make. I don’t think I’m better or more compassionate because I don’t eat animals. Guess what? I would do more harm by attacking a person based on what they choose to eat and some of them might not be open to trying my food if condemned their food choices.

I won’t be making those dishes but I’ll give her meal plans on how she can make her meals healthier in time more vegetables will be included. At this time She’s not willing to make that transition to diet that consists of mainly vegetables even though that is what her doctor has suggested. Knowing how she is I realize she needs to take baby steps to reach her goal. I’m more than willing to help her achieve them.

Over the past several years I’ve encountered many people like my aunt. They are in poor health, and they desperately want to change their eating habits but they are unsure of how to accomplish it. It leaves them frustrated and sometimes the best intentions are just not good enough they lapse back into old habits. Without someone who is supportive and willing to serve as a guide when it comes to making healthy choices why should we be surprised if they fall back into old eating habits. At times we all need mentors.

I’ve encountered many people that automatically assume that people don’t want to change their lifestyles, and I always shake my head unless you’ve interacted with every single person that is facing this issue why in the world would you make such an assumption? You can’t.

Question: Do you enjoy cooking or uncooking? What is one of your favorite dishes?

[tags]vegetable stir fry, vegan, vegetarian, asian cuisine, German chocolate cake, fruit sorbet[/tags]

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National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I had a cousin who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Towards the end her life her doctors told her there was no more that they could do for her. They let her go home. I remember my aunt telling me that the doctors had told her she had only months to live. She died three days later surrounded by family. She wasted away until she was under 100 pounds. Towards the end of her life that she was able to fit into children’s underwear.

At 25 I thought she was too young to die. When I received the call from my aunt (her mom) telling me she had passed away a few moments earlier I was instantly transported to my childhood. “T” was the little cousin that followed me everywhere when they came to visit my family. I was around 14 she was perhaps seven or eight years old. I did not see them often since they lived in Florida. I had a little sister for a few weeks. Sure at times it got annoying but for the most part I enjoyed her company. I have plenty of pictures from those few weeks.

I guess I could write about the feeling I received when I saw her after chemo. I wanted to protect her although I wasn’t sure how I could accomplish this?

As an adult I saw T twice yearly July 4th and Thanksgiving. She wasn’t in the best of spirits.  One of her breasts had to be removed.  Her hair had already fallen out. She was wearing wigs and she was very self-conscious. I wanted to protect her. How was I going to do that?

Her hair used to be extremely thick, and long. She was unsure what to do with this new look. In her mind, she was unattractive. Of course she wasn’t. She was the same beautiful young lady I’ve always known the only change was her physical appearance.

My hair was long at the time also I do remember chopping it off to less than an 1/2″. I distincly remember walking into my brother’s hotel room and telling him to shape it up with a razor. Cutting my hair was not a big deal for me, but then again I had a choice she had no control of her hair falling out. Why did I cut my hair? I wanted her to see that it was ok to have short hair as a woman. Most of the women in my family have medium length to long hair. Soon, afterwards she started wearing her hair in a short style.

Perhaps she thought it was ok since someone she knew was wearing their hair short? I don’t know. I wanted to do something. I do know that I think about her often and she is truly missed. T was extremely active within her local community. She taught fourth grade children, just like her mother. They were extremely close.

A lot of the conversations we had after chemo focused on her making healthier choices when it came to eating. Her doctors told her she had to change her eating habits. She came to me since she knew I was into the “health stuff”. During our vacation there were numerous cooking lessons, lots of laughter, joking. It was great to reconnect with my cousin. I even gave her some of my nutrition/recipe books.

It was tough taking that call from my aunt and I could not think of much else for days afterwards. I knew she was going to die based on things she had said. She had accepted death and went through the steps to prepare for it but it didn’t make the pain any easier. Dang “T” it wasn’t supposed to happen this way!

As I searched the net this morning I came across some resources and I thought I would pass them on to my readers.

Free Resources If you log onto The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website you will find a lot of information about breast cancer. If you are a patient or want to learn more about the disease check out the free resources they have made available.

Arimidex is offering Chicken Soup For The Breast Cancer Patients Soul for free! You need to have Adobe Reader in order to take advantage of this offer. If you don’t have Adobe Reader you can log onto Adobe’s website and download Adobe Reader.

Chicken Soup For The Breast Cancer Patients Soul is a fantastic book filled with inspirational stories. I purchased several copies of this book about two years ago and handed them out to family/friends.

When you get a check please visit Pelf of pelfism is contagious. She has gone pink for October and she is trying to bring more attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[tags] National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Chicken Soup For The Breast Cancer Patients Soul, survivors, pelfism is contagious[/tags]

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