Changing the habits of a lifetime

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing quite as boring as a brand new, fully fledged, card carrying, born again vegetarian! I can bore for England at the best of times, but Jacqueline and I were just so blown away by our discoveries, that we wanted everyone who would stand still long enough and listen, to be able to share in our excitement and maybe even try it out for themselves. Of course, vegetarianism isn't for everybody, and we fully appreciate that, but it is not just about vegetarianism alone. That has just become the launch pad for us to look at our whole lifestyle, make some changes and reap the not inconsiderable benefits, whilst at the same time, doing our little bit for the good of the planet. We know that we alone, cannot change the world, but we can all do our own little bit and together, can effect some changes that our planet so desperately needs.

We live in the country, after moving here three years ago from suburbia. Ray had been forced to retire, due to ill health, so we upped sticks and moved, with the intention of living a more relaxed lifestyle. Living here is so tranquil and we have all benefitted from the changes that coming here has brought. We began to realise that, living as we do, surrounded by farmland, it was silly not to make use of that. We found a farm nearby, that sells free range eggs and a few home grown vegetables. The eggs are half the price of those in a supermarket and are as fresh as can be. This is very evident, when you crack one open. The yolks are a deep golden yellow and sit atop a nice solid albumen, which is indicative of their freshness. And they taste delicious!

As I have already said, the only vegetables that I thought I liked, were potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, so what was I supposed to do with all this new stuff that was turning up in the box, week after week, most of which I had never seen, never mind eaten! The supplier that we use, who are Abel and Cole, do have a recipe index on their website and that proved to be very useful. We started to surf the internet and found http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/about-veg-box-recipes.html. This site has proved to be invaluable, because not only does it have loads of recipes, it also has an index, so that we can see what it is that we actually have, if we have never seen it before. And as we started to look at food labels, we discovered so many additives and preservatives, it was frightening. So, back to the trusty internet and also our cookery book library, to see if we could find recipes to make ourselves, which is how Jacqui discovered one for peanut butter and I discovered one for tomato passata. Both so easy, it is mindblowing. I will post them both, sometime very soon, I promise. We have also discovered a recipe, as yet untried for whole grain mustard. I am looking forward to trying that one out, I can tell you!