Raising Vegetarian Kids

Image via Wikipedia

NPR: Raising Vegetarian Kids

This was a nice article that showed that it is definitely possible, with some work, to raise vegetarian children.  I do not feed my daughter any meat, however, due to contradicting opinions with her father and other family members, I do not put up too much of a fight if she has meat at his house or someone’s house occasionally.  I’d prefer she didn’t, but she’s getting old enough that she can make her own decisions.  And I think that is the most important thing when raising a child period.  When they are old enough to decide something, let them!

 If my daughter decides she doesn’t want to be a vegetarian, then that is her decision (although, honestly, I would be very disappointed).  I will never buy or serve her meat, but if she decides to eat it at someone else’s house, then that is up to her, she is almost 5 years old and can make small decisions like that.  My main concern is that she is eating as healthy as possible.  I make sure she takes vitamins every day and eats as much healthy food that any kid can handle.

Check out this NPR article…

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129137062&sc=emaf

Rock Climbing

I figured I’d write about something I know for this next post…rock climbing!  I have been climbing for about a little over 10 years (but took 5 off in the middle) and I’m really getting back into it, hopefully hardcore!  I love climbing outside, but for now I climb at gyms like this one:

North Summit Climbing Gym                                           

www.northsummitclimbing.com

 Climbing inside is much different than climbing outdoors, but it can be great exercise and a challenge.  Climbing routes (or problems) are ranked on a scale called the Yosemite Decimal System.  This is a way to challenge yourself to climb harder routes and learn difficult moves, but climbing is about patience, so it may take months or years of practice to become a skilled climber.

Climbing is great for kids too!  I have taken my daughter, who is almost 5 and she loves  just climbing and not paying attention to the marked routes.  Anyone can climb and it is not as scary as you may think.  You can boulder, which is just free climbing up to 6′ and this is great practice for skill and strength-building.  If you want to climb to the top, you get harnessed in and a person controls the other end of the rope.  This person is “on belay” and they will take up the slack in the rope as you climb up and if you fall, the almost pulley-like system assures that you don’t fall. 

Here are some great links to learn more about climbing:

 http://www.rockclimbing.com/

http://www.doylestownrockgym.com/

http://www.philarockgym.com/

Pet Peeves

So, pet peeves, everyone has them, how about we share some!  My main pet peeves are with horrible grammar or using words that are not even words.  I’ll give some examples and then everyone can share some of theirs!!!

• Your and You’re are different…if it belongs to you, it’s your, if you are saying “you are” then you use “you’re”
• Irregardless…this is NOT a word, the word you are trying to say is “Regardless”, there is no “ir” in the word
• Libary…there are 2 r’s in there for a reason, it is “LibRary”, you do need to pronounce that first R, it is not silent
• Exspecially…there is no X in especially, you do not say “ex” you say “es” pecially
• Same goes for espresso, no x people!
• When one goes to orientation, they get oriented, not orientated
• (last one, promise)…For the love of Pete, please realize that there are 3 ways of saying there: There is when something is “over there” or “there is no reason to be so stupid”, They’re is when you are saying “they are” and Their is when something belongs to someone

Ok, I did not mean for this to turn into a George Costanza-style rant, but these things just annoy the poopy out of me!  Please, share your pet peeves!!!

Puppy Mill Awareness

Image via Wikipedia

In May of 2008, I started a group to educate people in my area about puppy mills.  It is now a 501 (c)(3) charity and we have a website:

www.lvpmwatch.org

I will be posting more about puppy mills and the website will also have more soon…if anyone has questions about puppy mills, please visit the site or ask me!

Glenn Beck – Just Too Funny to Not Post

Glenn Beck

If you can’t laugh at this, I think your funny bone may be broken…

http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Glenn_Beck

GOP John Boehner Takes Speaker’s Gavel from Pelosi

House of Representatives

It is very disturbing to me that this man is taking over as Speaker of the House…

http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=John_Boehner

Granted, yes, this is a comical site from one of my favorite news sites (Huffington Post), but it does have some reality mixed in with actual facts 🙂

Here’s what NPR had to say…

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131052930

I wasn’t completely thrilled with Nancy Pelosi, especially her support of the big bank bailouts, but, anyone is better than John Boehner!  Come on people!!!

Sweet Potato Souffle

While I’m on a sweet potato kick, here’s my receipe for Sweet Potato Souffle…

http://allrecipes.com/PersonalRecipe/62493114/Best-Sweet-Potato-Souffle/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 5-6 Medium Yams
• 1/2 C. Sugar
• 1/3 C. Milk (I use Almond Milk)
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 C. Melted Butter

Topping:

• 1 1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts
• 1/2 C. Flour
• 1 C. Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 C. Melted Butter

Cube the yams and boil until fork-tender. Mix in butter, eggs, sugar and milk. Pour mixture into an oval casserole dish. Combine topping ingredients with a fork (helps to eliminate lumps) and crumble over top of yam mixture. Bake in 350 for 30 minutes.  I use almond milk, but any kind will work.

Sweet Potato Minestrone Soup Vegetarian Recipe

Hi Everyone,

I know several people want to see some recipes and since I’m a vegetarian, I’ll be posting vegetarian recipes!  Here’s the first one and it is sooo good I make it several times during the cold season…

Sweet Potato Minestrone Soup

3 medium/large yams (orange sweet potatoes)

1 lg can of green beans (with juice) or 1 lb fresh

1 can dark red kidney beans (drained)

1 can light red kidney beans (yes, they do taste different)

1 can canellini beans (drained)

1 can diced tomatoes (with juice)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 red onion (or your fav flavor onion)

3 cloves garlic

1 med zucchini

1 med yellow squash

5 cubes veggie bouillon w/ 10 cups water

(or 3 cans veggie broth w/ 6 cups water)

sea salt & fresh pepper

2 tbl italian spice blend (I use Pampered Chef)

First I saute the onion and carrots (on med/high heat) in the bottom of  nice big soup pot in water or veggie broth (you can use EVOO too).  Then I cube the sweet potatoes and throw them in with some more water/stock.  I then add the kidney & canellini beans because no one likes crunchy beans in their soup!  I add the rest of the broth or water with bouillon cubes and cook on medium/high heat until I get a nice boil.

Then, I add the zucchini, squash, tomatoes & green beans and reduce heat to simmer (low/medium).  I will add water if necessary, you just have to go by how thick you’d like the soup.  If you add too much, just add more boullion cubes.  I then will add the sea salt (about 2-3 tbl for a big pot of soup) and pepper (to taste).  I always add my garlic towards the end, maybe during the last 20 minutes of simmering so that it doesn’t get bitter (if you overcook garlic, it can taste bitter), plus it’s healthier for you if it’s fresher/rawer.  The soup will be cooking/simmering for a total of bout an hour or so, but the longer you let it sit on low, the better it will taste!  It’s even better the next day, because everything sits in the broth…mmmm!

I got this recipe from All Recipes.com, however, I always end up changing it…http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-Minestrone/Detail.aspx

Enjoy!

Interactive Midterm Election Map 2010

Just found this on NPR if anyone is interested…

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130514037

I was disappointed with the PA results, it was so close! Ugh 😦

Why be a Vegetarian?

I have a lot of people ask me why I am a vegetarian, so here are a few reasons:

• I love animals and just don’t want to eat them
• I don’t agree with factory farming in the United States
• I prefer to eat healthier items
• I like to do my part for the environment and eating/buying less meat does my part in the fight against greenhouse gasses
• The grain grown in one year for feeding poultry and cattle in the U.S. could feed the entire world’s poverty population
• I never liked beef or most red meat (had my first steak & hamburger at age 25 and never again since)
• I don’t want hormones, steroids and antibiotics in my system

So, now you know…as for those of you who ask me if I’m vegan or why I’m not, basically I love ice cream and cheese, so I’m too selfish to give those up.  But, I do not drink cow’s milk, I buy almond milk (it’s so good) and I try to only buy yogurt or ice cream that is made organically with no hormones, antibiotics or steroids.

 http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

 http://www.vegetariantimes.com/