Vegan

I've tried it, thought about it, researched it, prayed about it, and finally decided.  I am a vegan.  I know too much now to go back.  Here's why, in no particular order:

1. For health reasons.  I feel better physically, emotionally, spiritually.  I have lost weight and have more energy.

2.  For environmental reasons.  I've learned that animal agriculture accounts for more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels and creates waste that pollutes the waterways and ends up in the oceans. Rainforests are being destroyed to make room for pastureland for animals and the crops required to feed them.

3.  Because I love animals and don't want to eat them anymore.  I've seen videos of how animals are treated in factory farms, and I don't want any part of it.

4.  For hungry people. There is more than enough land on the earth to produce enough food for everyone living on it.

5. I believe it's God ideal for humans.  The first people in the Garden of Eden were vegan, and someday when God restores everything to perfection, we will be vegan again.  God created animals with the breath of life in them and gave us dominion over them, which means we're responsible for taking care of them. 

2 Peter 1:3

In the car, having a discussion with Noah, I came to a conclusion.  The topic was: Why did God design it so that the best time to have children physically is when you're young but mentally is when you're too old to physically bear children anymore?  I think it's so we would be forced to rely on each other (the old on the young and vice versa) and more importantly, so we would have to rely on God.   If young people were as wise as they are strong,  and if old people were as strong as they are wise, everyone would think they have no need for God. We need the strength and energy of the young and the wisdom and experience of the old, and the only One who can provide energy, strength, wisdom, experience, and everything else we need for life is God.

Update/midlife crisis

It's been a full week since I cheated on my vegan diet.  Today I went to the Wellmobile and got my blood tested with shocking results: my total cholesterol dropped  from 278 to 186 (from Oct. 20, 2015 to today), and my LDL dropped from 198 to 116!  Triglycerides are also down from 120  to 96. Blood pressure dropped too. I have lost 20 pounds.  All my numbers were well within the normal range.  I have more energy and feel better in every way.  All this encourages me to keep going.

I think this lifestyle change is my midlife crisis.  I've been evaluating my life and contemplating what changes I need to make for the rest of it.  I don't want to be overweight, unhealthy, and tired for the rest of my time here.

Vegan (almost) pizza

 Cheap fancy mushrooms! 

 I got these free from the food pantry.  When there's an abundance of stuff they need to get rid of, they make it available to church members.  I thought these would make a good pizza crust. 

 Cheap healthy pasta sauce

 I sauteed mushrooms, onions, kale, and Italian seasoning to put on my pizza.  The kale was a mistake.  I won't do that next time.

I intended to go vegan, but when I was putting mozzarella on everyone else's pizzas, I couldn't help putting a little on mine.  Mine also has vegan parmesan cheese (which is even better than real parmesan, in my opinion) that I made by grinding 3/4 c. nuts (cashews and pecans this time) with 3 T. nutritional yeast, 1/4 t. garlic powder, and 1/4 t. salt.

Confucius

We studied Confucius in history, and then I gave the students their writing assignment: "Write down your own personal philosophy about what you believe is true, and the way you think people should live."  They were both a little put off at the idea of telling other people how to live (Sarah said, "If people want to know how to live, they should read the Bible, not listen to a 12-year-old girl.")

Noah wrote:
What is the meaning of life?  To be completely honest with you, no one really knows.  Are we here just to live out our existence, or are we here for a greater purpose?

The way I myself  live is to follow God and to serve others. That's what I believe is the way I'm called to live my own life.

As for others, I feel as only a 14-year-old, I have no place to tell you how to live.  I will respect you as a human being whether or not you agree with my opinions or not.  I don't care if you're gay or straight, Christian or any other religion, as we are all in the race of life as a team of an elite species.

overnight oatmeal

My current favorite breakfast is overnight oatmeal.  Quick and easy to assemble the night before, portable if I need it to be, healthy, and tasty.  Sometimes I do cinnamon-blueberry, but the one below is one I just invented last night.  

The ingredients: 1 T. peanut butter powder (This stuff is a wonder!  Credit to my mom for introducing me to it.), dash of agave nectar, 1/2 cup oats (We volunteer at a food bank once a month, and the last time we worked there our job was to sort a semi load of damaged goods.  If the cans were dented but the food was intact, it was ok.  The seal was open on this container of oatmeal, so I asked the boss about it and he said to throw it away because a mouse could have contaminated it.  I asked him if I could take it take home instead.  I've been using it all week, and so far...no mouse turds.), dash of salt, 1T. chocolate flavored protein powder, dash of vanilla, 1/2 C. vanilla flavored unsweetened almond milk.

This would probably look cute layered in a jar, but I'm not into cute so I just dumped it all into an empty sour cream container.  I notice now that the lid doesn't even match. I've never claimed to be Martha Stewart.

 

After sitting in the refrigerator all night and a quick stir the next morning, my breakfast is ready.  If you close your eyes and use your imagination, you can almost pretend it's cookie dough.  Well, not really, but it IS very good, considering the lack of butter, sugar, egg, etc.

 

The best and the worst

Literature is the best.  It was always my favorite subject in school, and it is a joy and a delight to teach, read, and discuss with my students.  They have deep insights and perspectives.  In today's class I asked them to make up a metaphor for the sky.  With very little effort, Noah spouted out a perfectly beautiful example of a metaphor:  "The sky is a canvas for all the clouds to paint."  

Then there's history.  I always hated that class throughout my career as a student, and now I still hate it as a teacher.  It's so boring and irrelevant.  Who cares whose empire defeated whose in what battle thousands of years ago?  I knew I would struggle with history, so I spent a lot of time researching a good curriculum.  The one I bought came highly recommended.  It has its good moments, but overall, I dread teaching it every day.  I tried not to let my attitude affect the students and did my best to feign enthusiasm for the subject, but it was a constant battle to keep them engaged.  Finally I admitted that it's boring to me too, but sometimes we have to listen respectfully to things we're not interested in, so it's a good practice to learn.  Since I confessed the truth, their own attitudes have been better about it.