Health Care...or the lack there of.

I would just like to inform my friends, regardless of your political leaning, that our health care system is broken. Don't fool your selves into thinking that the current system works! I can tell you it doesn't.

Since becoming self-employed in 2004 (my choice), we have seen our health insurance costs triple. Each year as the premiums have increased, we have had to reduce our coverage from full coverage with very little co-pays to a plan with a very high deductible to be able to continue to afford having insurance.

Too many of us are in the terrible situation of making too little to be able to afford insurance but too much to be able to use a government subsidized plan. We have to make the horrible decision between making ends meet and having financial and health protection for our families.

It is sad that generally healthy people have to pay tens of thousands of dollars per year just to have health insurance. Say nothing about paying the deductibles and co-pays. Just for the amazing privileged of having a large for-profit corporation tell us how to take care of our own health, which doctors we have access to and what medications we can take! Why???

In the county we live in, there is no option for health insurance providers. WE HAVE ONE 'OPTION'!! That is not a fair and open market. That is NOT how the members of a democracy should have to live - literally we have one choice! WHY are people in this community not screaming and asking for what is right??? Why are we allowing ours health care to be held hostage by the community/country we live in and the one company that we have access to here??? I know that we chose to live here but when i made that choice, there were many options for insurance providers. Again, since 2004, we have gone from having the choice between more than 5 providers to this year having one. That is not encouraging a free and open market. 

The costs of our insurance needs to be regulated. It needs to be made affordable to healthy young families. It needs to be affordable to small business owners. It needs to be made affordable to the guy next door. It needs to be affordable to EVERYONE.

I am not asking for a free ride. Just for an insurance plan offering that has services which are inline with the fees being payed for them.

Families should not be totally financially broken by one health issue. Families who have been responsible and saved for rainy days. Families who have been responsible in their decision making. Families who have not lived beyond their means. Families who have done everything right...just to find that they can't afford what the health care system has to offer...to protect their loved ones and offer them what they deserve - them a long, healthy, productive life.

I am BEGGING for something to change! There has to be a better way for us to live with our health.

We do not abuse the health care system. We use it only as needed. We believe that we are responsible for our own health. We live a healthy lifestyle that promotes wellness and responsibility for ourselves. WHY are we left in a position where we can not afford insurance and can not afford health care without it???

Someone please help me understand how it is that our country's leaders could think that the position all of their political posturing and pontificating has gotten us into is a positive one?? WE NEED HELP!

 

Sushi Obsessed!

To say that I have been obsessed with sushi , making sushi (mostly rolls - MAKIMONO), finding restaurants that serve sushi, and eating sushi is a bit of an understatement!  I have been a vegetarian for over 24 years. I love being a vegetarian but sometimes available food choices are not very exciting or appealing.  I have never been excited for meals, they were just something that came along 2 or 3 times a day.  For the last several months, I have gone out  of my way to find ways to have sushi for meals (sometimes more than once in a day).

My big obsession with Sushi started with our trip to Raleigh, NC last year.   We visited the Sushi & Blues Cafe and I had their Vegetarian Spicy Roll and the Crunchy Roll -BOTH WERE OUT OF THIS WORLD!! I needed to make the Crunchy Roll! It had cucumber, kampyo, avocado, tempura flakes,
spicy mayo, and sesame seeds - Heaven!  

For Christmas, my (wonderful) husband purchased a Makisu (bamboo sushi mat), sushi vinegar, rice vinegar, and all sorts of other sushi making ingredients and tools.  He is really being a great sport and supporting my obsession (addiction).  We have been to 3 "bring-a-dish" parties since Christmas and to each one he insisted that we bring a plate/tray of  Sushi Rolls.

Oh, and the fact that it is extremely fresh and healthy just makes it all the better.  

Check out my Sushi Board on Pinterest. 

So far we have tried rolls at home with the starred items below.  The remainder are on my "to Try list":

Rice:

• *Short grain white rice.
• *Short grain brown rice (this is adds a nice nutty flavor) 

Vegetables/roots:

• *cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks (or sliced thin for wrapper)
• *carrot, cut into matchsticks
• yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into matchsticks
• *scallions, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
• daikon, peeled, and cut into matchsticks (or pickled daikon or red radishes)
• *firm-ripe Hass avocado, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise, sprinkled with lemon juice
• *asparagus, steamed
• pablano peppers, roasted and cut into strips
• *Romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• Fresh spring mix
• onion rings, batter dipped and pain fried. 
• Roasted jalapeno
• sweet potato, par cooked, peeled, cut into matchsticks
• spinach (fresh or steamed)

Fruits:

• *Mango, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Papaya, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Pineapple
• Honeydew melon, quartered, seeded, peeled and thinly sliced
• *Apples, cored, quartered, peeled and thinly sliced

Protein:

• *Scrambled eggs, cut into strips
• Tofu, cut into strips & panfried (for a bit of crunch)

Condiments:

• *Soy sauce
• *Toasted Sesame Seeds
• *Toasted Panko
• Spicy mayo
• Cream cheese
• *Fresh ginger grated
• chopped peanuts
• fresh basil 
• *fresh cilantro
• *Cayenne Pepper
• tempura flakes