1. BECOMING VEGETARIAN

What an exciting day as I write my first blog! This is quite a task for a senior citizen, but my passion for saving my world by teaching people to eat plant food gives me youthful vitality.

My thinking today is far removed from the first forty years of my life. I grew up on a farm where much of our food was the milk, eggs and meat we produced. It never occurred to me that animal products were not a necessary food for good health.

Then I began to have severe stomach aches. My symptoms matched those of a good friend, who had gall bladder trouble. She avoided surgery by cutting her fat and sugar intake. I followed her example,  lowered my fat consumption and quit eating sugar. My stomach aches disappeared.

Soon after this experience, I became a Seventh-day Adventist, which is a church that promotes a vegetarian diet. This gave me a fascination to read material on healthful living. I soon learned that only first-world countries, whose citizens eat a fiberless diet heavy with animal products, die of heart disease and cancer.

I read about Denis Burkitt, who did medical work in Africa, then made headlines with his news in the 60s and 70s that most of the health problems of Western nations stemmed from fiberless food. Advertisers jumped on the “bran wagon.”

I had stopped sugary desserts because of my gall bladder attacks. The second food I omitted was meat. I substituted beans—pintos, great northern, limas, lentils—there are many more. I cooked beans seasoned with fresh garlic and onions and made whole-grain cornbread. Okies call it “Oklahoma Shortcake.” Believe me, it is mmmmmgood!

Several months after leaving off meat, I dropped the milk, eggs and cheese and began to eat only fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. The information I studied inspired me to make the change. I read how Americans die of self-inflicted diseases caused by the tasty fiberless food they eat.

Since the first change, my health has improved—my skin is better, my hair has more body, my nails are healthier, I am almost never sick and I have boundless energy. The rewards far outweigh the sacrifice of giving up animal products.

To hopefully inspire you to join with me in this adventure into the world of plant food, I will write at least one recipe on every blog. For the first meal, let’s try Oklahoma Shortcake.

As you begin to omit meat, some of your friends may think you are getting radical. Don’t be upset. PLANT FOOD IS A DIET AS OLD AS TIME–GENESIS 1:29.

Buy a pound of dry beans of your choice. Wash the beans, soak overnight for quicker cooking, then add a chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves. Follow directions on the package for cooking.

Spoon the cooked beans on Johnny Corn Cakes. These are unleavened, which makes them a little heavy, but they are tasty, full of fiber and nutrition.

JOHNNY CORN CAKES
2 cups whole grain cornmeal
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup applesauce
1 t salt
1/2 cup raisins
2 1/4 cups hot water.
Mix these ingredients together, let stand a few
minutes, then spoon into sprayed muffin tins. Bake
at 350 for 35 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown.