How Chickens Changed My Life

Let's flash back about 15 years. I was 25, 225lbs, sedentary and consuming large quantities of beef, pork, and chicken. I felt I was healthy, but couldn't take the blinders off to see my true physical shape. My weight up and down (mostly up) over the next few years and finally hit 240lbs. It was then I decided to give up beef and pork. I said it was for health reasons, but I knew there was something more. I didn't find it to be too hard of an adjustment; after all, my favorite meals could be substituted with ground turkey or chicken. I continued on for about 10 more years and my weight did go down a bit. Then my conscience started wearing on me. More and more I began to feel guilty for eating that stuffed turkey for Thanksgiving or woofing down those KFC chicken legs (extra crispy)! I was in a state of denial, thinking it was OK to eat chicken and turkey, but not to eat beef or pork.

Present day, I decided to purchase 6 chicks of various breeds from Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Ohio. I brought them home and over the next month, I constructed not only a chicken coop, but rather a chicken MANSION (complete with front porch and porch light)! Every day, I grew more eager to see and play with my new feathered friends. It was amazing to see how fast they grew on a daily basis. I took it upon myself to read a few books and surfed the web for any information I could find on how to raise them in a healthy manner. Each passing day, brought be closer to the inevitable...I could no longer consume my precious backyard friends at the dinner table or for a picnic lunch. I immediately threw away any food that was in the house that had chicken/turkey by products in them. This included a wide variety of soups, bouillon and gravy. I started looking up vegetarian recipes and exploring the many veggie products that were available at the local grocery store. I found that many of these foods tasted great! I am currently down to 200lbs and holding. I just turned 40 and feel great!

You see, by raising chickens, I have learned a deeper respect for all living things and I am (or at least will be) rewarded with healthy "Farm Fresh" eggs (and egg whites).

I intend on creating this blog to express my joy of raising chickens as well as share some tasty vegetarian recipes.

Saturday, August 28th

I wanted to post a few pics of my chickens when they were first born. I purchased them from Mount Healthy Hatchery in Mount Healthy, OH. I think they cost about $5.00 each. They were born on the day I picked them up and had never had any food or water. It was up to me to make sure they started their little lives off right. I rushed them home and placed them into a nice large clothes dryer barrel. I installed a heat lamp and made sure the temp was around 95 degrees, filled the box with wood chips and placed them in. They seemed to be quite comfy. I had to dip their beaks into the watering jar manually to get them to start drinking. We began playing with them after about a week. What fun!

Monday, August 30th

Time for a vegetarian recipe!

BIONIC BREAKFAST SAUSAGES (from http://www.webvalue.net)
Serving Size : 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Raw bulgur wheat* -- cooked
• 1/4 cup Gluten or whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons Tamari
• 1 teaspoon Dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Sage
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Crushed dried red pepper -- flakes 

DIRECTIONS:

1. To cook bulgur wheat:  Put one cup bulgur wheat in a saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water and one teaspoon salt.
   Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium-low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
   Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes before using.
2. In a bowl, mix cooked bulgur wheat and gluten or whole wheat flour well.
3. Add nutritional yeast to egg; mix into bulgur mixture.
4. Add tamari and the rest of the seasonings, mixing well.
5. Form into patties and saute in a little vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side. OR bake them on a greased cookie sheet in a 350 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until crispy brown on the outside.