scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Sept 20, 2024 13:57:36 GMT
Not that I don't care about the environment, but I feel like an even bigger issue in this country is the amount of complete crap in our food. Things that are flat out banned in other countries, are considered perfectly fine here. There is a reason why we are an obese nation. Just look up what high fructose corn syrup does to the body.
Jeremygirl, congrats on the change in diet! It's amazing how much better one feels just by making some adjustments. Way to go on prioritizing your health!
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 20, 2024 14:00:08 GMT
Not to pick on you, but in my experience, trying to substitute like for like to make a vegan version of a dinner that would normally be made with animal products is more expensive. Like using vegan cheese vs. dairy cheese, for example. Or hamburger vs. Impossible burgers. But I think if people can develop the skills to cook plant based and get out of the mindset of animal products as the thing with which recipes are focused around, then they will see costs be comparable, if not less. My store brand can of coconut cream is actually cheaper than a pint of my store brand heavy cream but by only 6 cents. So it would be a wash for me. Yes, substituting vegan alternatives can be pricy, but it's also not always necessary. As you said, these meals don't always have to revolve around meat. My kids didn't have any idea that most people put meat in tacos for years. They thought everyone ate tacos with rice & beans. And the rice & beans are cheaper than both the plant based meat crumbles and the actual meat.  Our lasagna was made with spinach, and never with meat. DH once tried to throw in plant based meat and my kids were like "What the heck did you do to the lasagna??"  And he never tried that again. This is cute. It's so true that we are products of our environment. I think that's the main reason why people have the pushback on this issue they do. It's not the food for most people, many on my Facebook are like, that looks delicious. My neighbor is wanting to borrow all my new cookbooks and she has never prepared vegan meals (she's a darn good cook too). I just think the way we celebrate is with food, the way we show love is with food, we have secret family recipes, food is comfort for a lot of people. There is an emotional connection. And then suggesting they do something other than what they know and are connected to? That's hard. I get it. I'm one of those people who love to cook and bake. My cookies I've been perfecting for years and my husband is quite a cookie monster. When they say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, they are describing my husband. And I have provided. This was a big change for him too. He is quite a bit pickier than I am and I never give him a hassle about what he chooses to eat, but surprisingly? He has eaten with me 3 or 4 nights a week since I've made this change. I did not expect that. But again, I've tried very hard to make good quality food, just with different ingredients. |
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Post by compeateropeator on Sept 20, 2024 14:08:40 GMT
I am not one that I can see going vegan or vegetarian, but I certainly try and eat more local and with more veggies. Again while not saying it isn’t doable or that I couldn’t, but part of my issue is I do not like beans…none of them really. I will eat fresh string beans but pretty much any other bean is out. So that really limits your protein options.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 20, 2024 14:09:55 GMT
Jeremygirl, congrats on the change in diet! It's amazing how much better one feels just by making some adjustments. Way to go on prioritizing your health! Thank you, I feel quite a bit better. I have had quite a few changes. Around weeks 4-6 my skin broke out like I haven't seen in 30 years. I had to completely change my moisturizer because it was too heavy for my skin anymore. Around week 7, the gas was so bad that I honestly thought I had IBS that this diet uncovered. I called my doctor and she is plant based too (she was aware of what I was doing) and she said, stick with it and that about two months in the gut microbiome is completely changing. I did and by week 9, that symptom had passed. My eczema has been in remission for almost 2 years. But I have two patches of psoriasis on my elbows that have plagued me for years and years. One arm is now clear and the other is very close to completely cleared up. And maybe my bipolar meds are just working really well right now, but I'm not taking for granted that my mood has been very stable. I haven't been this stable in over 8 years. My cholesterol came down. I'm working on other things, like sugar, alcohol intake and exercise to help lower A1C and I hope to have that under better control by my next round of blood work in January. I've also lost just over 12 pounds. So all in all, it's been pretty good. |
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Post by angel97701 on Sept 20, 2024 14:15:51 GMT
Having been in the position for about 15 years of raising my own beef for our family and other's consumption I know what it cost me . . . . Granted I did not include the price of what we paid for our property and home. We had a hobby farm of sorts, where if it were green it was watered. I included the price of water, fertilizer, some upkeep on the irrigation, cost of the 2 cattle on the hoof, butchering and cut/wrap fees. In 2022 my clients paid $5.25 per pound, making my portion of about $1000 per half a head--"free" to me. I considered the labor and care it takes to procure, care for, maintain, make phone calls etc as my payment towards the cost of the beef. I bought from a local rancher who raised organic beef with the minimum of but required vaccinations. The steer were 15-18 months old we they were delivered and we feed them on our grass field from May-Oct. They would also get greens/corn stalks/apples from our garden and property. We would grain them out the last 6 weeks. The year we had an abundance of apples on the ground the beef was very sweet. I am no longer able to do this, and most organic beef I buy nowis not as good and ground had more fat.
Having said that I also must point out that in some states and provinces eat a great deal of wild caught protein--deer, moose, elk, fish, sea food etc. Alaska where I was raised is one such place. Even now my niece's husband catches ALMOST all of the protein they eat on Prince of Wales Island in AK. As I write, he & his parents are on a 10-day moose hunt as they got tags. Alaskan's have salmon, halibut, bass, etc. and all kinds of game in the freezer.
When on the hobby farm I raised and preserved as much as I could. But far not enough to feed my family, but it was always high quality and organic. Beans, corn, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, onions--anything that would survive my difficult gardening zone of the High Dessert of Central Oregon. Oh and we had chickens too. Can't beat fresh farm eggs.
I know that eating this way is not possible for most of the population in the US. But just to point out that one size does not fit all.
I am another that has a food sensitivities and digestive issues. DF, GF, and produce must be mostly cooked. It would be impossible for me to plan meals for both my family (no issues) and myself that would exclude meat.
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Post by melanell on Sept 20, 2024 14:46:34 GMT
I am not one that I can see going vegan or vegetarian, but I certainly try and eat more local and with more veggies. Again while not saying it isn’t doable or that I couldn’t, but part of my issue is I do not like beans…none of them really. I will eat fresh string beans but pretty much any other bean is out. So that really limits your protein options. It's so hard when you dislike a main component of a type of eating. I struggle with not liking anything even remotely spicy and not being able to eat cilantro at all. I also don't really like lentils or quinoa very much, but at least with the last two, I can sometimes hide them in with other ingredients. But I find that those other 2 limitations really kill the variety available to me, because it cancels out entire types of food. Many cultures cook with heavy and/or hot spices, and many love their cilantro. But I agree that not liking beans would make things very difficult. Also, anyone with food allergies I think would struggle, especially nut or soy. |
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 20, 2024 14:47:29 GMT
I will say that I cringe when I grocery shop to suit their vegan diet though, it's very expensive to buy the vegan alternatives they use. Like coconut cream instead of heavy cream, etc. Not to pick on you, but in my experience, trying to substitute like for like to make a vegan version of a dinner that would normally be made with animal products is more expensive. Like using vegan cheese vs. dairy cheese, for example. Or hamburger vs. Impossible burgers. But I think if people can develop the skills to cook plant based and get out of the mindset of animal products as the thing with which recipes are focused around, then they will see costs be comparable, if not less. My store brand can of coconut cream is actually cheaper than a pint of my store brand heavy cream but by only 6 cents. So it would be a wash for me. I think anything we can do to reduce consumption of animal products is better for the Earth and the individual. I don't disagree with your point, I just think asking people to completely relearn cooking and give up their favorite recipes is unrealistic. We'd all be better served by having plentiful vegan alternatives at reasonable prices in every grocery store. My store brand can of coconut cream is $5.26. The similar size store brand heavy cream is $2.39. Last fall my work had a demonstrator from our local Blue Zones project come in and make a plant based meal in our breakroom. She talked all about the Blue Zones lifestyles found worldwide. It was really fascinating. I won a cook book full of plant based recipes. I'll admit I haven't tried any of them because most of them just don't sound good. That's my own picky eater hang up though. You might be interested in the cookbook. www.amazon.com/Blue-Zones-Kitchen-Recipes-Live/dp/1426220138 |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 20, 2024 14:51:01 GMT
Thank you for the cookbook recommendation chaosisapony! I'm not much of a TV watcher but I did watch that documentary on the Blue Zones. I found it so very interesting. If you thought her presentation was good, you might enjoy watching it. It's called something like How to Live to 100. |
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scrapngranny
Pearl Clutcher
Only slightly senile
Posts: 4,813 
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Post by scrapngranny on Sept 20, 2024 15:25:05 GMT
I think the bigger problem is all the processed foods. Eating Whole Foods, whether plant or animal is better for our bodies than anything that comes in a package. Fast food is killing us and the planet.
I live in an ag area and can see where plants and animals take their toll on the environment. I kind of agree that we are trying to sustain more people than the earth is meant to handle. We want cheaper food prices and that can only happen through big business and big business means manipulating the product from beginning to end. Chemicals are involved in the entire process.
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Post by hop2 on Sept 20, 2024 15:32:23 GMT
Not to pick on you, but in my experience, trying to substitute like for like to make a vegan version of a dinner that would normally be made with animal products is more expensive. Like using vegan cheese vs. dairy cheese, for example. Or hamburger vs. Impossible burgers. But I think if people can develop the skills to cook plant based and get out of the mindset of animal products as the thing with which recipes are focused around, then they will see costs be comparable, if not less. My store brand can of coconut cream is actually cheaper than a pint of my store brand heavy cream but by only 6 cents. So it would be a wash for me. I think anything we can do to reduce consumption of animal products is better for the Earth and the individual. I don't disagree with your point, I just think asking people to completely relearn cooking and give up their favorite recipes is unrealistic. We'd all be better served by having plentiful vegan alternatives at reasonable prices in every grocery store. My store brand can of coconut cream is $5.26. The similar size store brand heavy cream is $2.39. Last fall my work had a demonstrator from our local Blue Zones project come in and make a plant based meal in our breakroom. She talked all about the Blue Zones lifestyles found worldwide. It was really fascinating. I won a cook book full of plant based recipes. I'll admit I haven't tried any of them because most of them just don't sound good. That's my own picky eater hang up though. You might be interested in the cookbook. www.amazon.com/Blue-Zones-Kitchen-Recipes-Live/dp/1426220138That is because the dairy industry is price controlled & subsidized by the government. We have never paid the real cost of a gallon of milk in my lifetime. |
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 20, 2024 15:36:51 GMT
jeremysgirl do you truly eat tofu in place of beef? I'm just curious as I've never eaten tofu. (Don't come at me, I'm a midwestern girl raised by a farmer.) I had a coworker who ate it every day at lunch. I tried it probably a dozen times in different meals over the years. She was good about trying to get people trying different options, but I never thought it tasted good. It also never filled me up when she brought dishes of it for potluck. I grew up in the midwest and beef is just so much more satisfying to me. I only have it maybe twice a week, but those meals are my favorites. I do like veggies. I just cannot eat a plant based diet for more than one or two days. After that, I get blah about the meals. I also feel like I need to be mindful of consumption (all kinds of consumption), but I don't have the personality (or whatever the drive is) to go to an extreme (positive or negative) with how I live my life. Could I do it if my health depended on it? Probably, but for now, I eat what I enjoy in moderation and truly enjoy my food. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Sept 20, 2024 15:46:23 GMT
I think the bigger problem is all the processed foods. Eating Whole Foods, whether plant or animal is better for our bodies than anything that comes in a package. Fast food is killing us and the planet. ^^^ this. I grew up with a mom who cooked from scratch (meat and potatoes, mostly), and we had a garden... when I got out on my own, I did NOT cook. I never learned how to actually 'cook' while I was growing up. Processed food items EXPLODED during the 1980s and beyond. During my 20s and 30s, I lived on Lean Cuisines, WW frozen entrees, frozen pizzas, canned soup + grilled cheese (processed American cheese food slices), and the like. My all-time favorite cereals are Lucky Charms and Honey Smacks (previously called Sugar Smacks); my all-time favorite snack food is Cheetos. Cheetos is NOT an actual FOOD. None of what I lived on for most of my adult life was actual food, except the frozen vegetables I added to my frozen entrees. Most of what's in the interior aisles of the grocery store is not actual FOOD that ANY person could replicate with a recipe. MOST of what's for sale in stores nowadays is industrially-processed, artificially sweetened / salted / fattened edible food-adjacent items developed in a LAB to hit the 'bliss point' for addictiveness-- to make us want more, so the companies can make more and more money. The big industrial "food" companies are doing the same thing the tobacco companies did, and most people don't even realize it. eta: maybe my viewpoint on this is too cynical, but I don't think so. Another good book on this topic is The Pleasure Trap by Dr. Doug Lisle and Dr. Alan Goldhamer. (I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard them speak on this topic on a lot of podcasts.) And Salt Sugar Fat is a REALLY good book- and sobering / scary at the same time, when you realize how easily the big companies can manipulate us into buying what they want us to. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 20, 2024 16:10:07 GMT
The big industrial "food" companies are doing the same thing the tobacco companies did, and most people don't even realize it. I don't think people realize just how insidious the problem is. The economics of it, the government's involvement, the marketing, etc. There is more and more discussion of it going on in the media right. On social media too. The fitfluencers are all over Threads, at the very least. The availability of the weight loss drugs has created all manner of online debate about diet again. I think we will see people's knowledge start to increase as they get exposed to some of these things. I've been working very hard to grow my own knowledge. I'm optimistic that the public will eventually start to demand better. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 20, 2024 16:15:51 GMT
I think the bigger problem is all the processed foods. Eating Whole Foods, whether plant or animal is better for our bodies than anything that comes in a package. Fast food is killing us and the planet. ^^^ this. I grew up with a mom who cooked from scratch (meat and potatoes, mostly), and we had a garden... when I got out on my own, I did NOT cook. I never learned how to actually 'cook' while I was growing up. Processed food items EXPLODED during the 1980s and beyond. During my 20s and 30s, I lived on Lean Cuisines, WW frozen entrees, frozen pizzas, canned soup + grilled cheese (processed American cheese food slices), and the like. My all-time favorite cereals are Lucky Charms and Honey Smacks (previously called Sugar Smacks); my all-time favorite snack food is Cheetos. Cheetos is NOT an actual FOOD. None of what I lived on for most of my adult life was actual food, except the frozen vegetables I added to my frozen entrees. Most of what's in the interior aisles of the grocery store is not actual FOOD that ANY person could replicate with a recipe. MOST of what's for sale in stores nowadays is industrially-processed, artificially sweetened / salted / fattened edible food-adjacent items developed in a LAB to hit the 'bliss point' for addictiveness-- to make us want more, so the companies can make more and more money. The big industrial "food" companies are doing the same thing the tobacco companies did, and most people don't even realize it. eta: maybe my viewpoint on this is too cynical, but I don't think so. Another good book on this topic is The Pleasure Trap by Dr. Doug Lisle and Dr. Alan Goldhamer. (I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard them speak on this topic on a lot of podcasts.) And Salt Sugar Fat is a REALLY good book- and sobering / scary at the same time, when you realize how easily the big companies can manipulate us into buying what they want us to. You’re absolutely right, and the fact that the crap is usually cheaper than the good stuff (unless you really do cook from scratch) only helps it jump into people’s carts. I really learned to cook well from scratch during the five years I was a SAHM and we had no money and I had plenty of time. Necessity plus opportunity. People need both to push them in the path of change, and opportunity is lacking for a lot of people. |
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Sept 20, 2024 16:18:04 GMT
So true about our grocery stores. People don't cook from scratch anymore. Processed food is so bad for you.
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Post by hop2 on Sept 20, 2024 19:21:54 GMT
With the necessity for dual income families who has the time to cook everything from scratch anymore?
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Our lasagna was made with spinach, and never with meat. DH once tried to throw in plant based meat and my kids were like "What the heck did you do to the lasagna??" 
And he never tried that again.
