Happy Herbivore Blog

Hi, Mama & Papa Herbivore here with a update on how we are doing.  It's hard to believe it has been 15 months plant-based and we can honestly say it is not a transition anymore, but a lifestyle of eating healthier.  Our daughter's recipes have become our bible of cookbooks.  We still make a lot of our old favorites from HHC, have new ones in EHH and get a different taste of many countries in HHA. 

Our taste buds took us to Thailand for Thai Pineapple Curry (p. 94), which was bursting with the sweetness of pineapple and coconut milk with a nice blend of ginger, cloves and curry. We served it over brown rice.

Another favorite from the Asian cuisine is Spring Rolls (p. 77), which we enjoy. I like that many different vegetables can be used to make them. 

On to France, where we make double batches of Cassoulet (p. 18), which is truly a comfort food when the weather is cloudy and raining. Leftover, the flavor is even more enhanced.  

Then to Mama Herbivore's favorite country, Italy, for the divine taste of savory Lasagna (p. 177) like my mama use to make — but healthier.  As we continue to savor many more recipes from HHA, I do also have to mention some of the wonderful desserts:  

The great smell of Cranberry Bread (p. 279) (made into muffins) on a relaxing Sunday morning.

Everyone loves a Chocolate Doughnut (p. 155) with a glaze — need I say more? 

A beautiful Blueberry Bundt Cake (p. 151) with a cup of tea.

Last but not least, Pineapple Upside Down Cake (p. 280), to top off any amazing meal from HHA.  [Editorial Note: My Dad made this for my mother for her birthday!] 

That was the Thai Noodle Soup (p. 29), which I added mushrooms & carrots to.  We like a lot of veggies in our soups.

We now have another favorite Indian dish in the Vegetable Korma (p.100). We made the curry version and loved the creamy sauce and combination of vegetables that the spices brought out, and one vegetable that is a favorite of ours, peas, that we don't get to use that often. 

[Editorial Note: before being plant-based, my parents (especially Mama Herbivore) wouldn't even try Indian, but changing their diet has really opened their eyes to so many new foods and flavors. Indian is now one of their favorite cuisines to cook. I'm very proud of their journey and exploration of new tastes!]

German Lentil Soup (p.14). The lentil soup was a smooth combination of spices to give it that hearty comfort food taste and flavor.

You know how much Dad loves Queso (p.198) dip, and this was the closest you can get as far as the cheesy flavor and all the right spices. We like to add a can of Rotel tomatoes. [Editorial Note: She says "Rotelli." I think my mom's Italian upbringing comes out with her words ;)]

From the other books:

We love the Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie in EHH, but I serve it over noodles instead of biscuits.

We also made and enjoyed the Vegan Deviled Eggs recipe. I added some potato into the "filling" and it was delicious.

Now that we're more comfortable with this way of eating, we've also started to make our own recipes or adapt recipes we see in magazines or the newspaper. Cooking from Lindsay's books has taught us a lot and given us confidence to try out our own ideas. Here are some successes:

We made a Vegetable & Barley Stew recipe I got from Anne Marie [the daughter of my parents' best friends]. It was in "Today's Woman Magazine," but we adapted it to be plant-based and more to our tastes. 

This was Aunt Connie's Hamburger Soup. Obviously, we made it without the hamburger! It was delicious. We've made it several times. We use lots of vegetables: cabbage, carrots, green beans — no meat needed.

Split Pea Soup made by us. I just made it the way my mom made it without the ham. I use some smoked paprika to give it the smoked ham flavor, a trick I learned from my daughter's Swedish Split Pea soup in HHA.

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What we enjoy the most is after eating all this healthy food every day is how wonderful we continue to feel. Don't get me wrong, cravings still happen — but not quite as often. For me, it was bacon and for the Mr., it was egg salad or sausage, which is only natural after so many previous years of eating that way.  We continue to thank our daughter for her great recipes and her support.  It means a lot to us that she cares so much about our health.  

We would also like to thank our generous daughter for our fabulous food processor and pressure cooker, which make it so easy and much faster to make our favorite recipes. 

Lastly, we want to again thank all the Herbies for all your kind comments and supporting us these last 15 months. It means more to us than we can ever truly express. 

I have to admit, I was a little giddy when I realized Earth Day was on a Monday! I've wanted to do a minimalist post on reducing (vs. recycling) for ages. I've also been dying to do a post on living more eco-friendly (i.e., plastic-free) since that's a (green) road my minimalism has taken me down, too... and, well, the stars aligned! (Or at least my calendars did!)

A little back story: The core of minimalism is to live with less. By nature, being a minimalist also makes you more conscious of the things you do buy. I don't mindlessly shop anymore. When I buy, I buy with intention and purpose.

Even before we were minimalists, Scott & I self saw ourselves as environmentalists. In fact, "the environment" is (and was) a big motivator for why we adopted a plant-based diet!

Being eco-minded and a minimalist — those two lifestyles just seem to fit together. We buy less; therefore, there is less waste, less use of resources, and so forth. We also buy purposefully and when we can, opt for the organic, sustainable, fair trade option.

But still something didn't feel quite right when I was taking bags and bags of recycled goods to the recycling center every few weeks.

We had very little household trash. I could probably go a month without filling a trash bag of "trash," but the amount of recyclables was alarming. "This isn't very minimalist," I thought.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a proponent of recycling and I still recycle. I just came to realize there was still more I could do — that not having a plastic bottle to recycle was better than recycling it.

I realized I could be and needed to be more minimalist with my waste. I decided to go on a plastic-free diet (or at least, try to live with less plastic). At the root of it, I wanted to take less to the recycling center each month.

At first it started with reusing my old glass jars (i.e., the jar that my salsa came in) for new purposes -- such storing marinara sauce I just made in it, or soups for lunch, etc. Basically instead of plastic bags or Tupperware, I started re-using my jars. I also found other interesting uses for them.

Our memory jars!

I also fell deeper in love with baking soda. Instead of cleaning supplies, I used baking soda and vinegar to clean my home. I even started using baking soda for my teeth, skin, hair, deodorant and body scrub.

Minimizing cleaning and "personal hygiene" supplies has saved me hundreds of dollars. We were spending so much money on eco-friendly cleaners, wipes, fancy salon shampoos and organic body washes. Baking soda is cheap, comes in a cardboard box and works better than anything else I've ever tried!

I also have more space under the sink and "switching to baking soda for everything" was an easy, minimalist way to cut down on plastic and recycling. Win-win-win!

From there, I stopped buying plastic (to the extent possible) when buying groceries. For example, instead of buying the salad blend we love (but regrettably comes in a plastic tub), we started buying whole heads of lettuce instead.

Similarly, instead of buying mustard that comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, we started buying the mustard that comes in a glass jar with a metal lid.

All of these little "tweaks" have made a huge impact. I have drastically less recycling to take to the recycling center and I find it's made me even more minimalist.

When I decided to tackle this topic on Minimalist Monday I reached out to Beth Terry who runs the blog My Plastic-Free Life. Beth's story is incredible and one that hits to the heart of minimalism, even if she had no intent on being a minimalist. Her book, Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, has a wealth of information on how you can (and why you should) live with less plastic. It's a great read and I highly recommend it!

I also had the chance to chat with Beth and ask her some easy things you can do right now to reduce and live a little more plastic-free. (Remember: progress, not perfection!)

Beth's Easy Ways to Cut Back on Plastic:

*Carry a bamboo spork.
*Carry a glass straw.
*When ordering takeout, tell the restaurant that you don't need extra stuff (i.e., condiments, napkins, etc.).
*Carry a container (i.e., one of your old salsa jars) for leftovers.
*Buy in bulk.
*When you order pizza, tell them you don't need the plastic table in the middle.
*Shop with small companies; often they will accommodate — ask them not to send plastic packaging.
*Shop on Etsy.

Beth & I also got to talking about personal care and hygiene — and how maybe not everyone is as eager to use baking soda as we are. Thankfully, there are still non-plastic options for you! You can try "bars" of shampoo, for example. In addition to looking on Etsy and at the farmers' market, Beth also recommends LUSH, Chagrin Valley and Rex Apothecary.

Giveaway: For a chance to win a copy of Beth's book, share a way you plan to reduce your use of plastic and other recyclables. (Limited to U.S. residents — Sorry!)

After sharing my recipe for a homemade sports drink on Friday, a few people emailed asking how much water we need to drink every day.

"I was wondering your take on the saying, 'Drink 8 glasses of water a day" and what the benefits are :)??? Thanks :)"

Before getting into specifics, I think we can all agree that hydration is important — and the more water we drink, the better (although drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia which is rare, but can be fatal).

If it's hot outside, you're being active, or you're at a high altitude, it's especially important to make sure you're drinking enough water to prevent dehydration.

As for how much water you should drink, there is no easy one-size-fits-all answer, and the standard "8 glasses of water a day" isn't necessarily accurate. (It's popular because it's easy to remember).

The Institute of Medicine determined the adequate fluid intake for a man living in a temperate climate (with no medical issues) was 3 liters (about 13 cups) of liquid per day. For a woman living in a temperate climate (with no medical issues) it was 2.2 liters (about 9 cups).

My "rule" has always been the color of my urine. The clearer, the better. If my urine is very yellow or dark, I know I need to go drink some water.

The Mayo Clinic agrees, "If you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 6.3 cups or more of colorless or light yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably accurate."

While it's a great idea to keep water within reach at all times, I wouldn't go to extremes trying to ensure you're drinking 8 cups of water a day. Remember: you take in fluid from food, too.

Here's the good news! If you're eating a whole foods plant-based diet, you're consuming a lot of water through the foods you eat. Most plant foods have a very high water content. For example, many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and tomatoes, are 90 percent or more water by weight. Other fluids, like herbal tea, also count.

Staying Safely Hydrated:

Exercise. If you exercise or engage in any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to compensate for the loss — 1.5 to 2.5 cups of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise (exercise that lasts for more than an hour), requires much more fluid. The Mayo Clinic also recommends drinking fluids that contain sodium to help replace the sodium lost in sweat and reduce the chances of hyponatremia. (Add some salt to my sports drink recipe above).

Environment. Hot and humid weather can make you sweat, thereby requiring you to replenish fluids. Heated indoor air can also cause your skin to lose moisture during the cold, winter months. Further, altitudes greater than 8,200 feet may trigger increased urination and more rapid breathing, which also deplete your fluid reserves.

Health. Fever, vomiting or diarrhea (as unpleasant as they are to begin with) can rapidly deplete your fluid reserves, so it's important to hydrate when you're sick. Other health conditions such as kidney disease, may also require you to limit (or increase) your daily fluid intake. Additionally, women who are expecting or breast-feeding will also need to take in more liquid. The Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women drink 10 cups of fluids per day; 13 cups for women who are breast-feeding.

Lastly, if you find water a little too boring on it's own — try our suggestions for jazzing up water.