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Intentionally My Time!

by ladypbwiggins

It’s amazing how a health scare will bring your life choices into perspective. You would think with all that we have been through with Carl’s health issues this would be something I would have done before. But it was his health that was the focus. Everything that was done was done to improve his health and any benefit I received was tangential. Recently I had a scare. Blood vessels in my eye bled and filled the viscous fluid with blood. It also formed a blob that is still present but seems to be diminishing. I hope it is not wishful thinking. A vitrectomy was performed to remove the fluid and replace it. I have limited vision in my left eye because of the blob. What other damage may have been done is unknown at this time. More assessments will be done soon. So what caused this? I thought it was caused by a reaction to some medication that I was taken for polyneuropathy in my feet. No I am not diabetic. I did have other reactions to that drug but it did not cause the bleeding. I discovered on the day of the procedure that I had been living in a hypertensive crisis state. That is stroke or death level. My blood pressure was so high they couldn’t perform the surgery. The surgery was delayed to get that under controlled. In the mean time I had to live with the thought of possibly losing my sight in that eye. Getting proper medication to accommodate the surgery was an adventure in itself. The first medication interfered with the anesthesia so I had to quickly get it changed so my pressure would be down in time. The meds that worked made me sick so after the surgery I went back to the first one. All that time I thought I was just extremely tired. I knew I needed rest but the blood pressure made it critical.

The Change

My son asked a question of me today that made me really think about my level of self care. He said mom why are you so intent on worrying if I’m comfortable. I told you I was fine. Is it because you are insecure? The truth is deep down inside I have always felt I was not worth it. Everyone else was more important. Looking back on my life I realize I have given all my energy to taking care of someone else. It’s not a bad thing, It’s just a “didn’t prioritize me” thing. I gave me the leftover energy and usually there wasn’t very much left. I don’t regret giving myself to others. I just regret I didn’t take care of me at the same level.

So what am I going to do about it. My daughters, especially the youngest has been preaching the mom you are worth it sermom for a while now. I had intention to change my self care but I guess I needed this to kick me into gear. I am going to be selfish. Some say I already am but they don’t really know me. I am going to be intentional about the choices for my own health and well-being.

Several years ago we changed our dietary lifestyle for Carl’s health. We have slacked a little but now there will be intentional focus for my health. I hate taking pills and I refuse to be on blood pressure medication the rest of my life. I will be under a doctor’s care, so don’t freak out. I know blood pressure can be regulated with food. Dr. Montgomery, Carl’s cardiologist will now be mine. I am going to him to check my heart. I want to be sure that hypertensuve state didn’t damage my heart. I will rely on him to help me wean off the blood pressure meds. I have alreay begun PRP therapy for my back. It seems my spine is in bad condition. I will resume the hobbies I put on hold for my mental health. This is my intentional beginning.

My vision is blurring now so I will end with this.

Don’t wait for something dangerous to happen to get you to accept your worth. Take care of yourself.

MY TIME INTENTIONALLY!

Chickpea & Mushroom Burger or Not

by ladypbwiggins

Took a break from jackfruit to use my baby portabella mushrooms before they went bad. Trying to change the mushroom lose paradigm. I chopped the chickpeas and mushrooms together in the food processor. I added some leftover cooked oatmeal from breakfast to aid in binding. I used onion powder instead of fresh onions because I am trying to determine the source of a bitter taste in my veggie burgers. It was suggested by another vegan to soak the fresh onions before using but it didn’t help. I added my spices and herbs. It was a little too moist so I added some rolled oats. I set the mixture aside while I made jackfruit dinner. 😄. After dinner I decided to wait until the next day to cook the burgers. I put the mixture in a glass container. I noticed it looked like a meatloaf so I thought, why not? The next day I cooked the”meatloaf”. Dinner became black-eyed peas, mixed veggies and meatless meatloaf. Burgers will have to wait.

I am not adding a measured recipe because I didn’t measure. This was totally a “my senses determined how much and what” kind of dish. The flavors were correct but the texture was a little dry. It will definitely be tried again with a little more scientific precision 😄.

Ugh Those Brown Bananas

by ladypbwiggins

I think everyone, at least vegans, have experienced those too ripe bananas that just look terrible and a breath away from the banana graveyard. I keep telling myself that I’m going to make banana bread before it’s too late. I have never made. Today I did. I searched the internet for a vegan recipe and I found quite a few. I then had to narrow it down to those who matched the ingredients I had in the pantry. I landed on Nora Cook’s recipe. Of course I didn’t have everything required. I don’t use all purpose flour. Subtitue number 1. I didn’t feel like softening up my brown sugar. Substitute number 2. I had ground so much today that I didn’t feel like grinding flax seeds to make the flax egg. Subtitute number 3. Had no almond milk. Substitute 4.

The resulting recipe: 2 cups of buckwheat flour, 2 TBLs chia seeds, 12 Tbls Water to make chia eggs. Add more water if needed to get an egg like texture. 1/4 cup flax milk, 1/3 cup melted vegan butter, 1/2 cup Agave nectar, 1 tsp Baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Jackfruit Tacos

by ladypbwiggins

Yes I’m on a jackfruit journey. As I mentioned in my last post I discovered an authenic vegan Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood, #VEEGOS. They are my motivation. I decided to try making taco meat from jackfruit. I use young jackfruit packed in water. The only preservatives are lime juice and sea salt. That gives it a salty taste. For those who want to minimize or eliminate that, I suggest rinsing the jackfruit. I haven’t tried it but I think it would work.

I also decided to make my own Mexican spice mix. I did not add salt because of the saltiness of the jackfruit. My mix was cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and oregano. I put the jackfruit in the food processor with the mix. Just a note. I was out of chili powder so I ground some chili pepper flakes. While that was marinating I made some pico de gallo. I had no salsa. I used the chili pepper flakes in the mix so I skipped the jalapenos in my pico. Hey use what you got. I used roma tomatoes, green onions (white and green parts), parsley and a pinch of salt. I must say here thank God for food processors. I could have chopped all of this including the jackfruit but the processor made it so easy and quick.

When we were ready to eat, I took the jackfruit mixture out of the fridge and tasted it. Hmm it was good. It could have been eaten raw on a romaine leaf wrap but I added more cumin and it gave it a slightly bitter taste, I added some olive oil and cooked it in a nonstick skillet just like I would have used ground beef or ground turkey. I lightly fried my tortilla shells. I placed grated vegan mozzarella and cheddar cheese, the jackfruit and the pico de gallo on the tortillas. We enjoyed a very good late lunch.

Jackfruit Tacos

I told you VEEGOS was my motivation but it wasn’t just because of the jackfruit. I wanted their nachos. They are loaded and very good. I was all set to go and get them when I realized today is Monday. They are closed on Monday. As a result I made jackfruit tacos. So glad I did. Now I have a raw and cooked option. Give it a try.

Beginning Anew Again

by ladypbwiggins

Over our 44 years of marriage we have started over several times. We changed avocations, we’ve made geographic changes and we have made dietary lifestyle changes. All of these changes caused something to begin again; Start over. In the last 3 years we have moved to a new state, moved back into apartment living and become vegans.

I am the primary caregiver for my husband. At one point I became physically challenged myself. People told me I looked and sounded tired. I couldn’t see it. When you do what you have to do you don’t think about it. I had chest pains and went to the hospital. All my test were normal. Thankfully it was just stress and I had an overnight stay and rest. That’s when I realized how tired I was. Everyone said rest but figuring out how to rest created more stress. And then Covid 19 dilema arrived. I didn’t get the virus but months of isolation caused depression to sneak in. Just what I needed, a mental health issue. Another thing to battle. I was getting a handle on that and then the Houston deep freeze. Thirty-six hours of no power and below freezing temperature just added to the stress. We stayed in bed for 30+ hours. I only arose to prepare food. Good thing we knew how to eat raw vegan. Oh yeah and to use the bathroom. You would think that was a good time to get some rest but it wasn’t. We were fully dressed in sweats and beanies under several heavy blankets. I felt buried alive but it was necessary. We were still cold. One night it was 9 degrees outside and it felt like all of that inside. So tell me how do you rest from that. I feel like I aged over this last year. My body hurt in places it hasn’t before. Recovery made it very clear that our 2nd floor living must come to an end.

The search began for a first floor, one level home. Change One. Change Two. During the pandemic I gained weight. I miss my size 12 and I plan to begin our dominantly raw vegan lifestyle again. At least that’s the plan. I know many aches and pains will be diminished or eliminated. I will see my size 12 again this year. Change Three. I am resuming my hobbies because I need the outlet. I had put them aside for a while but I have to begin again.

Back to Change One. We moved into that 1st floor home. Love it but it is taking longer to unpact because my bosy is still recovering. Change Two is proving more difficult than I thought. We are eating raw sometimes but the consistency is proving to be hard. Hence, I don’t know when I will see my size 12 but at least I haven’t gained more. Hobbies are still on hold.

Still beginning again but still moving forward. We have begun again and it is exciting. Always new. Beginning again brings new and exciting experiences.

Well, here I am two months after the move. I have spent the time trying to get adjusted: unpacking and organizing. I have not completely gone raw vegan or begun my hobbies but I am moving in that direction. My mental health has improved thanks to my kids and grandkids. They have blessed us immeasureably. I have so much for which to be thankful. So inspite of quarantine, deep freeze and body pain beginning again has been a blessing.

Contagious

by ladypbwiggins

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:44 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.5.44.NKJV

I have come to realize this is what I have been learning for the last 5 years. Inspite of their behavior, I must act like Yeshua. There are people who have told me that I am not a Christian or a real American because I don’t support Trump. I have been called names, basically cursed bcause I am not a Republican. They don’t know if I am a Democrat, Independent or Undeclared but because of how I look they have decided. How do I bless them?

This is one of the hardest things I have had to learn. Just like most other people I don’t partiularly want to show love much less acually love those who hurt me or threathen me. How do I love KKK members knowing what their stance is toward people who look like me? How do I love people who are determined to destroy me psychologically and emotionally? How do I love policemen who are inclined to kill my son and daughter just becasue of their skin color? Then there are my grandsons. Some are old enough to be targets just because they walked out of their house. One is a former marine. He was willing to give his life for a group of people who have decided he is a criminal just because of his skin color. This is one of my realities. Then there are those I have trusted. They said they loved me and as long as I agreed with them or did what they wanted they acted like it. But as soon as I stepped out of my place as they defined it, I was no longer loveable. I was the enemy. I want to follow Yeshua’s teachings to love my enemies but it is so hard.

I thought I had forgiven and gotten over the hurt from the ones I trusted but looking at myself through the lens of loving my enemies, it seems I haven’t. I don’t hate them but I discovered resentment and hurt are still present to some degree. How can I truly love them if those feelings are present. I believe pure love would not be resentful and would have forgiven. Remembrance would not have hurt attached. How can I love those who admit that they hate me when I can’t completely love those who have committd comparably lesser offenses? Lastly, how do I pray for those who spitefully use me?

I have a ways to go. This growing in the image of God is a neverending, involved process. I know I haven’t grown to say Father forgive them as they nail railroad spikes in my hands but maybe I can love them through hateful words and degrading actions. I am trying.

How are you handling this commandment?

Can you pray for them?

Can you do good to them?

Can you forgive them?

Can you LOVE them?

My Vegan Burger

by ladypbwiggins

When I first began to prepare raw vegan dishes I searched out appealing raw vegan recipes. I spent some money on cookbooks. Later I discovered internet and YouTube chefs. Today I prepared to make some raw veggie patties. I whipped out one of the cookbooks and i checked some chefs i liked on the internet. One of the recipes I made few weeks ago but I didn’t like the bitter after taste of the white onion. An experienced cook suggested I soak them. This time I soaked them for a few days. (Not on purpose. It just happened. 😄) I was walking through the house thinking and decided to try green onions. The bitterness is much milder. And then💡. I know the flavors I like so why don’t I make my on recipe. If the other cooks did, why can’t I? So I did.

I cannot give you a measured recipe because this was a taste it till you like it exercise. I may make a larger batch and record my measurements. The ingredients are mushrooms chopped small, carrots chopped, green onions, ground flax seed, soaked chopped coarsely sunflower seeds, chopped seedless jalapeno, liquid smoke, Kirkland salt-free seasoning, a pinch of sea salt,and water. I mixed all the ingredients and let the mixture sit awhile so the flavors could meld and the flaxseed and water could do their thing. I made the patties and put them in the dehydrator. One hour at 145 degrees and then 4 hours at 115 degrees. Flip them and dehydrate for another 4 hours. I tasted them this morning. I like. I am pleased.

My Mushroom Sunflower Seed Veggie Patties

Bacon! Glorious Bacon!

by ladypbwiggins

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that everything is better with bacon. I miss the flavor of bacon. Early in our raw vegan journey I tried an eggplant bacon recipe. I was disappointed. I don’t know if it was the recipe or if I expected too much from the eggplant. I may not have seasoned the eggplant properly. In any case, I walked away with no bacon tasting eggplant. Here we are four years later and I decided to try it again. I found another recipe from #TheRawChef. He has videos on YouTube. It sounded good so I gave it a try. Don’t laugh at my cuts. I tried to show you the best of them. The mandoline and I are still working on our slicing consistency. 🙂 I adjusted the recipe a tiny bit. I added liquid smoke to give a smokier flavor. The smoked paprika did well but I wanted more. I also adjusted the maple syrup. I didn’t want it too sweet. First I put very little in the marinade but it was bitter from the paprika; regular and smoked. That had to be balanced so added a little several times until I was satisfied with the taste. What can I say. The chef knew what he was doing. I put the eggplant slices in the marinade for an overnight stay. I then dehydrated them according to instructions. The results were satisfactory. They are a little spicy but I am okay with that. I have bacon. Oh glorious bacon. I put some slices on my veggie burger and it was a good lunch. Now for those of you who are purest and can’t understand why this is important, that’s okay. I am a southern girl who grew up with bacon. I don’t want the pig but I like the flavor in certain sandwiches and meals. If you desire the taste of bacon, try The Raw Chef’s recipe. He has several others I would like to try.

Vegan – Raw Vegan Again

by ladypbwiggins

I wrote this post in February 2021. I was trying very hard to get back to raw veganism but I failed. I didn’t realize how fatigued and depressed I had become in that last year. So my next post will be my beginning again. I must fight through all of this. Our mental and physical health depend on it.

It has been a few months since we have done a completely raw eating plan. It was mainly because of my fatigue amd the ease of eating vegan but not completely raw. Have been preparing foods to eat that need to be dehydrated to get ahead of the game. The plan is to wean ourselves from processed vegan foods and return to clean. The next step is majority meals raw without nuts until detoxification has had ample time to accomplish its job.

I had wanted to make a recipe that would be a great snack. It was called a raspberry buckwheat crumble. I didn’t have raspberries so I used dried cranberries instead. Success.

There has been much talk about juicing during detoxification. I made some juice and my juicer died. I purchased a new one. I decided to try the Caynel masticating juicer. I discovered I could make juice with pulp and without pulp. I made graepfuit juice. Great job. I then made nut milk with it. Almond milk to be specific. I didnt have to strain it and I had dry pulp to be used in a veggie burger recipe. All that’s left is to try the sorbet/ice cream maker.

Today breakfast was raw and dinner was raw. But every meal was vegan.

Intangible Wealth for the New Year

by ladypbwiggins

Many are waking up this morning with a deep sigh of relief. We made it to 2021. The hope is high that everything is going to be better than 2020. I have seen memes and cartoons expressing the expectations for 2021. But there was one that really stood out to me. The basic message was we were putting too much pressure on 2021. What magically changes because the calendar flipped a page?

I woke up this morning with this thought. I pray for all of us the intangible wealth that is available to us. I pray that we all are blessed with peace of mind, good health, love, true and honest relationships, a focus on those things that benefit not only ourselves but society at large. When we do this one person at a time within our sphere of influence, 2021 stands a chance at giving us all those things for which we hope. In other words, give to others what you hope to get. Sounds familiar doesn’t it. “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” Love your neighbor. The scripture says as you love yourself but many of us don’t love ourselves. So learn to love yourself but while you are learning, love others.

Eliminate the hate speech. We can disagree and discuss without it. Stop the name calling and labeling. You don’t like the negative adjectives used to describe or label you, so don’t lay on others. “Christians” stop with the self-righteous attitudes and behaviors. We have just as much sin in our lives as those we condemn. Let he who has no sin cast the first stone. He gave His life for those you condemn just as He did you. We were instructed to love not condemn. Condemnation hasn’t worked so let’s try His plan, Love. Loving someone doesn’t mean you necessarily agree with the person but you stand a greater chance of them hearing you when you are kind and nonjudgemental. The more I study Y’shua, the more I realize we have been doing it all wrong, so I proffer a change. If His Spirit really lives in you, allow Him to manifest His fruit in your lives and watch what happens to you and those around you.

So let’s give 2021 a chance and let’s do better. Let’s treat each other well. Let’s enjoy that intangible wealth that awaits us and brings more joy and enjoyment in our lives.