G = Garden

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word vegetable garden?

I use to think, boy, that sure does sound like fun. I remember all the summers I spent in Alabama having fun picking tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans. Although if you asked my aunt, she would say I ate more than I picked.

I never thought about how much work she put into her garden. I was young and thought it took care of itself. Boy was I wrong. I found out the hard way the first year I decided to plant a garden.

First it seemed like it took forever to get anything to grow. When it finally did, I was suppose to pull the weeds and trim the plants so they didn’t grow out of control, neither of which I did. And once the vegetables started to come, I had to go into the garden and pull them out.

The picking was the part I was most excited about, until I realized I didn’t have a big open garden like my aunt. Mine was in a small confine space, fenced off so the dogs couldn't get in. I entered the garden area and was greeted by things that crawled, flew and stung. Yes, I'm talking about insects. I failed to plan on those in my garden.

All summer I battled the bugs and weeds and swore up and down I would never, ever plant another garden in my life. It was too much work and it wasn’t worth it. Until November came and I couldn’t just go to the backyard and pick a cucumber for my salad, or grab a tomato for my sandwich, there were no peppers for the salsa. It was then I realized all that hard work was worth it, because nothing taste better than something fresh from the garden.

I've come to appreciated the little things in life after having planted those seeds and watched them grow into something that has helped me survive.

F = Fiber

As I said in my earlier post, B = Benefiber, fiber is a friend to anyone who is trying to get healthy. A few of the benefits, I found on eheathmd.com, are:

• Because fiber demands that food be more thoroughly chewed, it slows down the eating process and helps contribute to a feeling of being full, which in turn can help prevent obesity from overeating.
• Fiber makes food more satisfying, probably because the contents of the stomach are bulkier and stay there longer.
• Fiber slows digestion and absorption so that glucose (sugar) in food enters the bloodstream more slowly, which keeps blood sugar on a more even level.

So how much fiber should you get? According the American Dietetic Association, a healthy diet needs 20-35 grams of fiber per day. It is important to include both soluble and insoluble fiber in that amount. A great tip on how to identify whether a food is considered fiber, also from ehealthmd.com: only plants produce fiber.

My favorites are fruits and vegetables. I can tolerate eating some whole grains, like bread and cereal. What I can’t eat is whole-grain pasta and brown rice. They just taste too bland to me (so if anyone has a recipe that incorporates these to make them tastier, please share!) And finally what I would rather starve than eat (okay, maybe I’m being a little melodramatic, but it disgusts me nonetheless): beans. I haven’t tasted a bean by itself or in a recipe that I liked.

But like all things, it is best to ease into increasing fiber. The ehealthmd.com website suggests introducing high-fiber foods gradually, over two to four weeks. And to drink plenty of water. They say eight glasses a day, but I’ve never been able to reach that amount so I’m not going to push it here.

E = Exercise

Exercise: a love story.

Exercise is not my friend, at least not anymore. If it’s anything, I would say it’s my nemesis. It’s not that’s it hard, because really it’s not, but for me it’s so exhausting. Just thinking about it right now literally makes me tired. But like most things in life it’s something you have to do.

Many of us were first introduced to exercise at a very early age, grade school to be exact. Just like a good love story, at first it’s new and exciting. You get to run around and burn off all the energy you have. It’s fun.

I remember this big parachute we use to play with by running under it in grade school. Just like any new relationship, you don’t have to work at it. Yet. Then came middle school. There was still some fun involved, but as you start to grow your body starts to go through some changes. In this love story the same thing happened. 

Next comes high school. Anyone that went or is going knows peers can be cruel. So there you are, in gym class, dreading that awful game called dodge ball. This is the worst form of exercise I can think of. Who, in their right mind, thought it would be a good idea to hurl a ball at someone purposely trying to hit them. You are running for your life as the gym teacher just sits back and watches. This is the point where exercise became my nemesis and this love story ends.

Nowadays, I try to get my exercise by walking my dogs. My co-pilot on this A to Z Challenge, Amy, must have had a similar love story with exercise. Because she gets her exercise the same way I do. You can follow her adventures on her other blog: If Barking Burned Calories.

So whether it’s running under a parachute for fun or running for your life from a ball hurled at your head, it’s all exercise and we all need it. Just find what is best for you and create your own love story.

D = Dog Days

The dog days of summer are known as the hottest, most sultry days of summer. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, aka “Dog Star,” in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.*

If you ask me it should be called, “It’s to damn hot to cook or do anything else for that matter” days of summer.

The Farmers’ Almanac lists the traditional timing of the dog days as the 40 days beginning July 3rd and ending August 11th.

So what are we suppose to do for these 40 days, not cook? No, of course not! We have to eat, so instead of heating up the house with the stove or oven this would be a good time to roll out the ole grill. Whether you prefer gas or charcoal this is a nice alternative to still making a good, home-cooked meal.

Now here are some basic, common sense do’s and don’ts to grilling: 

1. Don’t lift the lid unless you are turning the food or checking to see if it’s done.
2. Do keep the lid closed to prevent flare ups.
3. Don’t use a spray bottle with water to control flare ups if they do occur.
4. Do use long handled utensils and long BBQ mitts to protect yourself from the heat.
5. Don’t wear excessively loose clothing while grilling, it could catch on fire.
6. Do leave the lid open while lighting a gas grill.
7. Don’t use metal handled utensils on the grill, they will transfer the heat to your hand.
8. Do make a pyramid with your charcoal briquettes in order to light them.
9. Don’t use lighter fluid to light the charcoal, instead use crumpled up newspaper or a fire starter cube.
10. Do clean out the ash catcher beneath the charcoal before lighting to allow proper air circulation.

 Always remember just because your being safe doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun!

*definition courtesy of Wikipedia

C = Choice

In an earlier post, A = Affair, I spoke of having an affair with becoming vegan. I specifically chose the word affair because I don’t know if I could commit to being vegan for the rest of my life. Like many of you, I love meat and dairy. It just doesn’t love me back.

My plan is to just worry about the meal in front of me and not every meal I’ll ever eat again. I’ll make every meal a choice and try to chose vegan over non-vegan as much as possible. From this standpoint the whole decision to be vegan isn’t overwhelming, because it’s not like I’m saying I’ll never eat meat and dairy again.

I guess my approach is similar to the “one day at a time” method, except I’m not trying to stop from doing it all together. I’m just trying to length the span of time between eating vegan vs. non-vegan meals.

The goal is to extend the time between the two. Right now I’m lucky if I can go a week without eating meat and dairy. Hopefully, as I discover acceptable substitutes, that time will expand. And one week will turn into only having meat and dairy every two weeks, and so on.

B = Benefiber

Benefiber - it isn’t just for old, constipated folks. Unfortunately that stigma will prevent a lot of people from buying the product. Fiber is a friend to anyone who is trying to get healthy. The benefits of it will be discussed at a later letter, “F” to be exact.

This post is about getting passed the judgment that comes along with buying it. At the store you are bound to run into a least one person who sees you with it and has a laugh at your expense. Whether they have an audible giggle or hide it behind a smile, it happens. Even those that manage to do neither, you’ll catch the look -- the one that says a snide remark is going through their head.

Who cares? Well, actually, most of us do. But we shouldn’t let it stand in our way of buying it. So here are a few tips:

1) Who hasn’t heard the one about... if someone is laughing at you, be happy you made their day - or something along those lame lines? True story: A cashier at the store, who was previously grumpy with everyone in front of me, gets a huge grin when I hand him my box of Benefiber. Now this poor guy has a boring job, which I can say with the confidence gained from doing it and knowing it’s boring first hand. The job gives him little reason to smile. Hell, you don’t know him, his life might give him little reason to smile. But, guess what, your purchase did. So take your purchase along with a big load of good karma!

2) If you are stock full of good karma and want to avoid the cashier... many places have self-check out. Just be careful that you use the self-check out probably so as not to set off the dreaded red light. Once that thing goes off you not only have a cashier come over, everyone around is looking to see what product the idiot at the self-check is buying that set the thing off.

3) Another option, now that many stores are open 24 hours, is to go in the wee hours of the morning. You probably won’t run into too many people and those you do will either be dead tired or drunk. Avoid the drunk ones, they will show you no mercy.

4) If none of the above work and you must brave through the purchase. Relax, take a deep breath. A stressed look will only make you appear constipated.

A = Affair

I’ve been having an affair with becoming vegan for awhile. My long, monogamous relationship with meat and dairy has had more downs than ups, but I can’t bring myself to walk away. Like most affairs, I fear, the idea of it is far sexier than the actual act.

There is really no one holding me back from making the change. I could turn my back on meat and dairy and there would be no hard feelings. I’m sure the cows won’t be putting up their hooves in protest saying, “Please stop and think about what you’ll be missing.”

I’m usually not one to take things slow, but in this case I think it would be better to ease into it. I could go cold turkey off meat and dairy, but it might not be a long lasting change. The better route would be for me to educate myself on why turning vegan would be better for my health. Trying some recipes would also fall under a good idea.

I’ll be utilizing Alicia Silverstone’s book, The Kind Diet. I’ll also spend some time on her website, http://www.thekindlife.com/. I’ll revisit the position of my commit after that.