Meat & Potatoes Man

I have a treat for you all today!  I finally got Ryan pinned down and had him post some thoughts from the husbands point of view, on all this Simple Healthy Tasty stuff!  I encourage you to post whatever questions you have for him in the comments section!  I would really love to see how he answers them! ;)

Also, as a side note from me:  Please know that we have never tried to push Vegan or Vegetarianism and that we do not consider ourselves either, but I will post more about that at another time.

Now I don’t consider myself an unusual man, I like guns, the outdoors & FOOD. Until recently my heritage on both sides have been farmers & ranchers. Camping, Hunting & fishing defined who we were. The rural lifestyle & it’s diet are deeply ingrained. Dad grew up on a sheep ranch, they ate what they raised. Mom “reminisces” about her creative uses of lamb burger when first married. Even after college & a desk job Dad would still purchase a combination of Beef, Lamb & Pork at the local auction each year. I fondly recall coming home on Sunday afternoons to the warm wonderful smell of pot roast & potatoes. I sincerely can’t decide which I liked more, the greasy well done pieces from the bottom of that Roast or the thick sliced Ham for breakfast on Saturdays w/ Eggs & pancakes. As I said, I don’t feel all that unusual. So how’d I get from there to here? It’s not all that far and it wasn’t really all that hard.

When a man, any man, really loves a woman there is not much he won’t do for her. And if he does occasionally experience a little stubborn streak she usually knows exactly where & how to coax it out of him. Incidentally, I believe that to be one of the greatest skills of womanhood, to be the master of her home while allowing her man to believe that it is he who rules the roost. Mildly stated, I did not warm to our lifestyle as readily as Tammie. There were tense conversations, hesitancy & disagreement. It was hard to accept that what everyone else was doing & had done for generations was not necessarily the best thing. No meat was strange, but no milk or cheese? Really?? And Rice…milk….? what is that? That was outright weird. Besides….what would people say? Nevertheless, it felt right to Tammie. (Confidentially, she can be so aggravating when she insists on following her feelings in the face of my “logic”. The worst part is that her gut is rarely wrong & I know it. Dang!) For me it boiled down to two major issues; our relationship & not who but what was right.

Pre- Simple Healthy Tasty Lifestyle

Long time readers know that we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. We believe that Families are Eternal. Marriage does not have to end with death. Tammie & I plan on being together forever and I want that to be a pleasant experience. Accordingly, some concessions may/will be required. To admit one has been in error, even innocently, is a difficult thing but as I studied the scriptures, both ancient & modern, I determined that my diet had not been sufficiently sparing. When the Lord tells us that the flesh of beasts is to be used sparingly & w/ thanksgiving I do not believe that he means meat at every meal.*  I felt that I needed to follow the knowledge we had been given and support my wife. At first meals were rather plain & repetitive. We did not have the benefit of blogs or even of the internet. Today I have no reservations about how we eat, I prefer to eat at home. I eat better. The food tastes better. My only regret is that I am not able to be here more. My pallet has changed. I love a whole variety of flavors & textures which I once refused. Tammie has tweaked our favorite recipes, we eat extremely well. Life is gooood!

I can look back & see the fruits of following Tammie’s inspiration. Weight is not an issue. Overall good health comes naturally. We avoid Doctors, drugs & the associated bills. This has proven to be both a physically & fiscally rewarding way of life. Despite my initial hesitance, time has again proven Tammie right. I support her in living & sharing what she knows. I love you sweetie!

For what it’s worth –

Ryan

Mr. Simple Healthy Tasty

*Doctrine & Covenants 89:10-13, Doctrine & Covenants 59:16-20, Genesis 1:29&30, JST Gen 9:10,11