Food

A week ago we were bracing ourselves for really bad weather: snow and sub-zero temps and sure enough, just about everything closed including my own office.  Fun the first day; went stir crazy the second.  After being ill for two weeks with this-n-that and going through the holidays, I was itching for life to "get back to normal" and the storm put "normal" off a couple extra days.  Then the past couple of days it's been warm and rainy and......well, it's Pure Michigan.  So the pic to the left I had posted on Facebook is now down and something else in its place.

Last night I received online the results of my lab tests (in anticipation for an upcoming doctor's appointment now that I have health insurance again!).  Lab results on a Saturday night!  All results are good except apparently I have a Vitamin D deficiency.

I've never had a VitD deficiency.  I do have a history of anemia so I was interested to learn if there was any change in that.  Red blood cells are within normal range but now here's this other thing.  But it makes sense because in the past couple of months I've changed my diet to gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free.  Like I said in my last post, it's not 100%; I confessed to a donut.  Yesterday it was a cheese pizza.  The elimination of dairy is probably why I developed the VitD problem.  Interesting.

When one changes a diet one becomes conscious of 1) "what, therefore, am I to eat?", 2) how to be sure to get the nutrition that is necessary, and 3) why we are making these changes.  I have a chatty tummy; it starts "talking and dancing" at inappropriate moments, such as.....important meetings.  So I thought I would try eliminating some things to see if there would be any improvements to this.  I'm pretty sure that eliminating milk (and I LOVE milk) went a long ways in silencing my stomach.  I cut out sugar because it makes me sick, period.  I've had a life-long struggle with hypoglycemia.  And sugar truly is addicting as we are reading these days; for me it creates headaches, mood swings and general bodily crappiness.  I've taught myself to associate any sugar consumption with feeling bad which helps me to avoid it.  However, I do miss it so I do allow myself some raw honey now and then on a lovely toasted corn tortilla.  Eliminating gluten was also part of an experiment to see how I would feel over all and I was amazed at the energy I first experienced.  Yesterday's pizza crust...as yummy as it was (who doesn't love bread?)...made me feel rather sluggish in the long run.  Today at a church luncheon I scraped my chicken salad off two buns and tossed the buns away...probably to the horror of any onlookers but eh, so what. 

What followed these changes were "what to eat".  I'm still carnivore to the core but am trying to incorporate more plant based meals.  One of these is a lovely yellow split pea dish I found via a blog of a friend of mine: http://fatfreevegan.com/slowmiracle/2013/11/07/bright-yellow-split-pea-and-rice-pilaf/.  It combines yellow split peas, cauliflower, brown rice and spices and it's quite lovely!  Made it again last night. The first time I made it, I threw in baby

spinach leaves in the last five minutes of cooking.  Last night I
made it in the rice cooker and that turned out fairly well.

Like many other silly Facebooker foodies, I also have been posting my cooking pictures.  It's fun to see the comments.  It's fun to "brag" a bit as well.  Hence here are some other creations.

 "Milk" from Brazil nuts

 After making the milk, what to do with the Brazil nut mixture?  Make choco-peanut butter balls of course: into the leftover nuts mix in a glob of peanut butter, a splash of vanilla, a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder and a squirt of honey.  Hubby Brian loves these.

 
Homemade pumpkin soup with corn tortillas topped with butter and honey.


And so it goes.  Anyone out there doing a diet that is helping to save your life, support your community and bless your spirit? Do tell!

Kittycat Bobby watching the cooking dynamo madness from above

In The Beginning

Well, hello there! Silly girl woman me, on the verge of turning 60 in four months (which means a 5% discount at my local health food store...oh SO can't wait). I'd like this to be a blog reflecting on this-n-that: my life with my husband, my job, my aging parents, living gluten-and- dairy free (not 100% mind you; I succumbed to a donut today), spirituality, creative pursuits such as art, sewing, cooking, interior decorating...all of which are done with splash and dash...and commentary on what is going through my mind as I stare at the potentially final 20 years of my life and what I want to do with those years.

Why am I the "Aging Hippie"?  Well, I never was a true hippie...born a few years too late you see...plus I was  'good girl', although I managed to walk my own path in one way or another.  Or shall we say "many paths"?  But the past couple of years I've been channeling my inner boho...the persona I'm becoming most comfortable.  Our apartment reflects it with our decor: patchwork curtains, reflective stars on the ceiling fan, prayer flags, an altar dedicated to the

religions of the world, and my favorite: a sign that says "Hippies use back door - no exceptions".  We don't have a back door.

  I, the aging hippie, am a Facebook addict, was born severely hearing impaired, am the proud momma of three cats (oh, you will definitely meet them), the equally proud aunt of my brother's three kids and his three grandkids, am a "retired" Unitarian Universalist minister, currently a hospice chaplain, am married to Brian (19 years on February 26th; I think that's the date. For some reason he remembers that better than I do!), have lived in and traveled to a multiplicity of places in the U.S., was born and raised in Kalamazoo (yes, there really is that town) and having been gone for 30 years returned to this fantastic city in order to keep an eye on the ol' folks. I'm a photo addict, a "7" on the Enneagram and have historically been ENFP on the Myers-Briggs but now more inclined to be 50/50 on the extrovert/introvert scale, and an Aries.  Purple is my favorite color. 

Welcome!  Glad to have you visit!  

What are your aging hippie inclinations?

18th anniversary: "We've got a groovy kind of love"