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.
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| 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
14 comments:
Thanks for sharing Ryan. I really appreciate hearing your point of view. In our family it was my husband who lead the way and I learned to adjust and adapt my cooking. I am so thankful he did.
I so enjoyed what you wrote, Ryan. It HAS been a grand trip watching you evolve from trying so hard to be a good sport about this way of eating to truly enjoying it and thriving on it. Not to mention becoming a great Simple, Healthy, Tasty chef yourself!
What a great guy you are!
Ryan...I love this! Wonderfully written!
SO many gals ask me how on earth I get my husband to go along with me in this way of eating. I, like, Renee (above), have one of the seemingly rare husbands who coaxes me along...while I, occasionally, kick and scream. ;)
So proud of you and how far you've come!
Have a Happy Day!!
We are dabbling with this idea and have changed alot in the way we eat. We try to view meat as a side dish rather than the main part of the meal and have introduced lots of new tastes to the boys... some have been better than others...
But I wonder... do you ever crave the "steak and potatoes"? more so the steak. Steve and I have talked about taking meat out of our diet and I {both} are having a hard time giving up the meat completely.
Too funny Emily.
I've done some kicking and screaming (and crying) myself but overall I am so very thankful for these changes. For my own health and my children's immediate health and long term well being. So, so worth it.
It is great to hear your perspective as a "converted" husband! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one whose husband is (was) hesitant to change our ways! But after two years in South America, he loves his beans and lentils, and that sure makes it easier for him! My question is, how long did it take for you, Ryan, to make the transition completely?
--Diane
Renee...
I couldn't agree more. NOTHING tastes as good as being healthy feels! And I am SO grateful that my husband is a stalwart soul.
I'm so glad that you are reaping the good fruits of your choices...
even if those choices are sometimes difficult.
Have a great day!
Love, love, love this post!! That's all I really wanted to say : )
Mom O. - Loved you since I met you. Thanks for making me part of the Family.
Leah - Do I ever crave meat? I don't know if crave is the right idea. The smell of old favorites sometimes triggers a desire but I don't find my self alone or at home with a sudden hankering. Family gatherings or special events can be difficult due I believe to the atmosphere and a wish to fit in. At these times I may have a little meat (By little I mean 1 or 2 pieces the size of a quarter) just to curb the craving. If I eat much more than that I don't feel well for a while. Don't fret too much... it was a gradual process.
Diane - How long did it take? A while. In some ways I'm still in route. Tam & I believe the same things, she just feels it deeper. It took me a few years to catch up on the lifestyle. I believe it, I trust it. I don't know if I am yet strong enough to live it on my own. I guess I'm still a work in progress.
This is Rhea! I'm not sure how my name will show up, but it's me :)
I've recently ditched eating at jack-in-the-box and McDonalds and all those other fast food places every single day three meals a day like i used to. I'll say this right now: I hate cooking. I only cook when i'm dead hungry, and i avoid slipping in to old fast-food habits because with all the ingredients i bought for these recipes, i simply cant afford to eat out.
But one thing that was mentioned was that it wasnt as hard as a transition as i thought. it REALLY wasnt! Sometimes i eat this stuff and i cant believe it's as good for me as people say. And the only problem I've been having is my craving for chocolate - which I've promptly solved with my 'chocolate craving milkshake'. healthified of course ;)
I hope my future husband can be like you, and WANT to be healthy instead of going along with the crowd.
Rhea: The cooking gets easier with practice and some Simple systems! And Ryan says a husband wants to be healthy when he has a healthy wife that loves cooking good food! ;) but just so you know Ryan's not too shabby of a cook himself and has done a pretty good share of cooking around here!
Tammie-
I met you a couple of weeks ago at the Green Smoothie Girl meeting. I read this probably the day your husband posted it and loved it(I've intended to write much sooner, it's amazing how busy things can get). Tell him thanks!
My husband sounds very similar to him. Very much a hunter and fisherman. It is really nice to see that there is hope :)Although he has been much more supportive than I originally anticipated. (Thank goodness for inspirational lessons in church on the Word of Wisdom :)).
Anyway, it was so fun to meet you and thanks again for all you are doing!
Brita
Brita: Thanks again for coming up and introducing yourself! It's always so nice to have names and faces to go with my readers!
And I'm so glad to see you commenting!!!! ;) Hope our paths cross again soon!
I wrote a long comment as is my style, but I guess it didn't go through!
Thank you both so much, Tammie thank your hubby, I think this post really helped my hubby.
(Edit: The scripture that is the JST is a little hard to find on computer on the church website without a link, but how valuable, I and Riley had never read that it actually says we should eat meat to save our lives! Wow!)
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