Shurik’s Blog

2006+10+20

( Note: If you like my Friendster blog, check out my other blogs on Google Blogger: My All-Purpose Blog, My Tech Blog, My 100 Goals , Esperanto Blog ).

–Shurik

PS In the background of this picture, are wheatgrass trays I’m a-growin’ at home. I also grow mushrooms (shiitake and something-rather; though I think I killed one of the mushroom-incubation containers by not opening the plastic bag for too long and/or watering too much…hey, the instructions said to cut the bag at the top, and that’s what I did! Well, maybe there’s a chance; the instructions say that the reddish-brown residue on the outside of themushroom kit are the spores…so maybe a mushroom head will pop out sometime in the future. I’m not sure that I’m actually saving money by growin my own ’shrooms though. But it sure is fun to tend to your own fungi )
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Shurik’s Blog: Tuesday, May 17, 2005.

Preface:
As promised in my previous blog entry titled "Why I Am a Vegetarian," I create another entry whose purpose it is to provide the newbee struggling vegetarian with a few tips. Why is turning vegetarian a struggle, you may ask? "Isn’t it the beginning of your purification and self-realization, and isn’t it the beginning of wonderful feelings, including increased sense of smell and boundless energy, where you feel as light as a grasshopper, smell like a baby’s just-washed bottom, and your muscles never ache? "  No, and if you don’t  approach the task of adopting a vegetarian lifestyle correctly, you may feel weak, tired, and hungry almost all the time, proclaim vegetarianism as inferior and insufficient means of sustenance, and revert to the dietary habits that you know best. So don’t make the same mistakes I made, and learn from Shurik, who’s been a vegetarian for 3 years now and doesn’t feel the desire nor the need to go back to being a carnivore.

The Blog:
To be continued as time and energy permit.

(fast forward to September 23, 2005; incidentally, today is the day after my only remaining grandma’s birthday–who actually no longer celebrates her birthday because a couple of years ago she became a Jehovah’s Witness–I wonder, how does one, after 64 years of birthday celebrations, just turn off the celebratory feeling when your 66th birthday is coming up? Well, anyhow, to each his own, right, dear reader?)

So let’s get back on track to the topic vegetarianism. Here are some tips.

Tip Number One: Mix carbs and protein to make a "complex carbohydrate".

For example: Cook some rice, cook some beans, slap them together (ratio of about 70% rice, 30% beans), add some flax seed oil, and you’re good to go do your thing. Or, cook some oatmeal (first just with water), then add some (fat-free or low-fat milk), add some nuts or flax seed oil, add some cinnamon, add some maple syrup, and that’s what’s cookin’, good lookin’. (Are these entries getting cornier?) Or else, grab some bread (e.g., whole wheat, kamut, spelt–Trader Joe’s sells wonderful organut non-wheat bread varieties), toast it a bit, slap on some cheese or avocado, and you’ve got a meal in no time.

Tip Number Two: Watch your iron.
Vegetarians often suffer from a lack of iron. My mother, who thinks or has been told that she has a slight case of anemia, and who is a nurse, has gone so far as to view beef as a form of medicine. But of course many nuts, vegetables, and fruit contain iron, so there’s no need to eat any meat to get your iron. When you do your shopping, if there are labels, check to see the iron content of the foods. I notice that red and green products tend to have a lot of iron. For example, Costco’s organic leafy greens are labeled as having 25% of your iron needs per serving. Granted, I’ve heard that not all iron is created equal, and that iron content and iron absorbancy are different things. Well…just chew slowly and hope for the best.

Tip Number Three: Watch your protein.
As the yoga book that I brought up in a previous entry ("Why I Am a Vegetarian") mentions, people in America are obsessed with protein. Having said that, don’t just eat carrots and apples for weeks on end (though even these contain some protein). The diet of the yogi, I am told, is rice and lentils. Nuts have quite a bit of iron (almonds and walnuts are said to be the best kind of nuts–I’m guessing because they are lowest in saturated fat). I think protein only becomes a concern when you are quite physically active, and your body needs to heal ASAP. But even in this case, maybe you’re better off asking yourself, What’s the rush? Why am I wearing myself out (are you growing spiritually or just running away from your demons?)? Bruce Kumar Frantzis, the author of The Big Book of Tai Chi advocates what he calls the "70% rule," which is, don’t do anything at all beyond 70% of your capacity. Which means, maybe you’re better off laying off that exercise regimen, instead of popping protein bars and energy drinks like candy.

Tip Number Three: Fast.
There’s no way around this one, I think. Or maybe there is, but to me, fasting is a must. How often? Some (like Paramahansa Yogananda) advocated a weekly (orange) juice fast. At times in my life when my metabolism was super speedy, this seemed like sheer torture. So I instead listen to my body more than follow a systematic rule for when to fast. And to be frank, I’m not sure I’m the ultimate authority on this. My fasts are usually fruit juice fasts (drink a few cups of juice that day, or those few days, and don’t take in solid food).  Somehow, the yoga book said, choose either fruit or vegetable juice and drink that exclusively–I’ve no idea why one can’t drink both types of juices (obviously not at the same time). The longest that I’ve ever fasted on juice is 3-4 days. I’m sure there is much literature about the benefits of fasts so I won’t go into details here. I will say that fasting makes the body more efficient in general, and this might relate to the question of protein, in that now protein doesn’t seem like such a big deal, because with each successive bite after the fast, one can feel how ones energy grows.

Tip Number Four: Eat natural foods.
Admittedly, when I came to America, I ate a lot of junk food. In fact, I didn’t start thinking about how eating is cheating–yourself that is, if you eat processed, preserved, "unnatural" foods. For example, why eat soup out of a can (unless you’re camping, or starving?) if you can take the time to experiment and make some soup. Come on, grab your lover, or a friend, and make some soup together. Or better yet, eat simply. Cook some potatoes and some beans, drip a little olive oil, and dig in. Or work up an appetite, cook some broccoli, and just eat it raw (something I’ve not gotten used to). Simply, I have respect for people who eat simply. There’s something so pure about it. I like going out and being served something heavily sauced or wonderfully-spiced, but if you make a habit out of it, beware. Case in point: My dad, whose job required him to travel for 3 years, attributes his bouts of gout to exclusively eating out at restaurants during those three years. So what I’m saying is, nothing compares to home-cooked food, no matter how simple it is. And cooking is so relaxing. Imagine, you have the chance to do nothing, except chop and stir and taste. No bills to pay, no email to check, no lives to save, just cook away, and salivate as you anticipate the delicious meal up ahead.

Tip Number Five: Eat Organically-Grown Produce
They say the earth is overfarmed. They say the foods you eat don’t have as many vitamins and nutrients as they used to, because the earth doesn’t have much left to give. They say organically-grown foods contain more nutrients (are organic crops not overfarmed then?).  So decrease your intake of pesticides and get some high-quality food in your life, while at the same time helping support a healthier ecological cycle. Come on, friend, let’s be nice to Mother Earth.

Tip Number Six: Consider Vitamins
I take two vitamins daily: a daily vitamin (from organic sources, advertised for men, from Whole Foods) and vitamin C.  I highly recommend vitamin C, as I (think/suspect/notice) that it gives me a quick pick-me-up. Take it with a meal, as afterall, it is ascorbic acid. I also suspect that vitamin C aids digestion of my meals.

Tip Number Seven: First Eat, Then Wait, Then Drink.
Mixing food and drink, it’s been said, dilutes the naturally-occuring juices of the stomach. Of course, if you’re drinking coke or orange juice (or even tomato juice–also acidic), maybe it doesn’t so much matter.

Tip Number Eight: Don’t Overcook.
It’s been said that overcooking kills vitamins and minerals.

Tip Number Nine: Don’t Forget to Floss.
It may come as a shock to some people in America, but when I grew up in communist Russia, nobody ever showed me floss. The first time I saw floss was at our sponsor’s house in San Francisco. I was presented with this thin white string, and was told to guess what it is that I was supposed to do with it.

I guess I’m running out of tips, because what’s next, Use All-natural Body Wash (from tea tree oil, for example, sold at Whole Foods; or made from palm/peppermint oil, sold at Trader Joes)?

Good luck in your culinary adventures and all the rest.

–Shurik

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 7:37 pm and is filed under Food and Drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.