Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Beautiful Sonoran Desert Saves the Best for Last!

The last cactus flowers of spring! 
 These are about 8 inches across!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Vegan Update!


Vegan Update
Last night I went to The Dubliner in north Phoenix for Billy Brett’s wake.  I was chatting with Krystal Baker and she asked about my vegan pursuits!  
A little over a year ago I read, “The China Study.”  It changed the way I look at meat and dairy products.  I was so affected that I asked my wife if we could stop eating all animal products.  She agreed and I announced this on my blog.  We ate this way for three months.  In that time we both lost weight and felt better overall.  Sometime last summer we decided to ‘have a little fish.’   One thing led to another and soon we were eating meat and dairy again.
Meat and dairy are so convenient and we are great at cooking them.  In a short period if time the weight came back and we were feeling like before.  So we have once again decided to take a look at our diets.  In this pursuit we have been cutting down on dairy products.  First to go was milk in our coffee, next was cheese.  This was fairly easy but we have been using butter on our bread and toast.
The other day I was chatting with my old friend Bill Payne and he mentioned Coconut oil in place of butter.  This is great and no it’s not as delicious as butter, but it’s nice and helps us reach our goal of no dairy.  It’s also great for you.  We have also instituted a 80/20 rule of 80 percent vegetables to 20 percent protein.  And the weight is coming off and we’re starting to feel better.
So Krystal there is the update.  If you live in the Phoenix area go check out The Waters (Krystal and her husband Sturgis) they are great musicians and old friends!