My son is busy playing in the corner with his new wood blocks and I am enjoying the lull of the afternoon. My vegan cookies just came hot out of the oven as my green tea finished steeping. So far, this year has turned out well. Granted there have only been 8 days of it. But I am hopeful for my little family, that over the course of the seasons, we will be healthier, happier and more at peace than we have ever been. We started out the year with a clean slate of sorts. My husband, Seth, and I sat down and discussed some positive new changes we would like to make for 2008, and even beyond. We came up with the following list for ourselves as a family.
1. No new purchases. Everything will be bought second hand unless necessary. The items we must purchase from a store will be bought from a small locally owned market. And when possible items will be earth friendly, fair trade organic.
2. Nothing is so valuable that it must be purchased with a credit card
3. We hope to replace all of our plastic and leeching metal kitchen items with wood,glass, cast iron, and stainless steel.
4. Sugar will only be consumed in the form of fruit, real maple syrup, and honey. (at least at home)
I have a few items that pertain to myself only
1. No more caffeine. Once a week at most.
2. If it’s not going to better my health, I don’t need it ( there are always exceptions)
3. I will stop biting my nails, this is a habit I’ve had for most of my life. It’s disgusting really.
I’m excited to have this fresh start, I’m also excited that my husband is on board with me. He’s really taking to the lifestyle that I’ve been slowing embracing and learning about. Nothing could make me happier.
Recipe for my vegan cookies (sorry I don’t know how to convert to metric!
2 cups finely ground walnuts (food processor until oils began to come out)
2/3 whole wheat flour (I haven’t tried any other flours, not sure how it would turn out)
approx. 3/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (I substitute 1/2 with chocolate chips, I can’t help myself!)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
mix all ingredients until sticky, shape into 1 in balls, bake at 350 for 10 mins. These cookies are wonderful with tea!
About the Author...
I'm an incredibly blessed wife and mother of one. I live out in the great state of Oregon where it's okay to recycle and hug trees (if I were so inclined). I'm newly beginning my search to find better health and thus live life more abunduntly! I am a personal trainer and I love sharing my new found knowledge amoung my clients. I also enjoy gardening, cooking, painting, surfing, yoga, hiking, and I am always looking for new ways to connect with nature and simplify my life!
Jan 10th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Never mind how to convert to metric. How about how to convert to omnivorous. Maybe serve with a big dollop of cream. You need fat to digest all these carbs.
I feel great love when I read that you’re taking responsibility for consumerism. I hope to do the same also. I takes more time scouring through the second hand options but it’s so much more fun to grab a bargain. And the feeling of saving the world another 1/2 ton of greenhouse gas emissions and probable exploitation of some underage worker in China is enormous. I look forward to hearing more about your adventure.
Jan 10th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from vegan! I suppose having chocolate chips adds some fat to the cookies! Wouldn’t the fat from the walnuts help in digestion? I know it’s not animal fat. I do like your idea of serving with cream though. I think I’ll take you up on that when I sit down for my tea and snack this evening! As for my resolutions I, too, am excited to finally grasp on to a cause that I feel will have a positive impact on the world. I feel a sense of duty and propriety in doing so, since the first part of my life was lived very wastefully and unconsciously. Thanks for being my sound board, nourishers!
Jan 11th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I hear you on all these resolutions! Good for you and your husband. My husband and I share many of the same resolutions. We are thinking about signing on to The Compact, a Yahoo group which started their year Jan. 1 but I don’t think it’s too late. Our local paper just did an article about it. The Compact is a promise to buy nothing new for one year (with the exception of groceries, underwear, and a few other things). It’s hard to make that promise, so we’re still thinking on it. I figure even if I just stock up on a few things first, however, and then buy nothing new for the rest of the year I’d be doing really really great!
I like your point that nothing is so valuable it’s worth putting on the credit card. I’m going to remember that one. It will help. I just stuck my one credit card in a cup of water in the freezer the other day. It’s now frozen in and I’ll have to really think about thawing it out before I can use it.
Good luck with your resolutions. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you cheat. Just get back up and try again. Isn’t that a personal trainer’s advice?
Lisa in Minnesota