Oh my. I am a hippie. A flower child. In the flesh.

I have been walking around saying, geez I am eating like a Hippie.

I am old enough to remember the late 60's and the early 70's. Yes, I really am. And I remember all the stuff I used to shake my head at and think, those people are definitely "far out", as in way way out there.

(This, while I was walking around in my Nehru jacket). LOL

Anywho, because it has occurred to me frequently of late I had to bring it to the attention of my web browser and ask about hippie diets.

I'm not laughing anymore.

What we once laughed at often ends up shaping our choices in ways we never see coming. 

Hippies primarily ate whole, natural foods, focusing on vegetarian and plant-based diets. Common items included brown rice, whole grain bread, tofu, granola, and various vegetables, reflecting their desire for healthier, less processed options.

In 1973, tofu was alien food. Most Americans had never seen it. Didn’t know what it was. Thought it looked like a wet sponge. But the hippies? They were obsessed. Because tofu was cheap protein. No animals had to die for it. And if you pressed it, marinated it, fried it in a hot pan with tamari and garlic? It actually tasted good. They’d make huge stir-fries in a wok over the wood stove. Tofu. Cabbage. Carrots. Whatever vegetables were around. The whole kitchen would fill with smoke and steam and the smell of soy sauce and ginger. And people would line up with their bowls. Pile it over brown rice. Eat standing up because there weren’t enough chairs.

This is the one everyone remembers. Nutritional yeast. Little yellow flakes that looked like fish food.  It tasted… cheesy. Kind of. But not really. It was hard to describe. The hippies called it “hippie parmesan.” And they put it on everything.  But especially popcorn. They’d pop kernels in a big pot on the stove. Pour it into a wooden bowl. Drizzle it with a little oil or melted butter. Then shower it with nutritional yeast. And it was… incredible.  Savory. Salty. Cheesy but not cheesy. Addictive. Kids loved it. Adults loved it. Even people who hated health food loved it. And it was good for you. Packed with B vitamins. Protein. All the stuff vegetarians needed. Some communes ate it every single night. Big bowls passed around while people played guitar or read poetry or argued about politics. It wasn’t just a snack. It was a ritual.

And then, Sprouts. This is where it got weird. Hippies grew food in jars. On the kitchen counter. In the dark.  Alfalfa seeds. Mung beans. Sometimes lentils or chickpeas. They’d rinse them twice a day. Drain the water. Cover the jar with cheesecloth. And wait. Three days later, you had sprouts. Little green tails bursting out of the seeds. Crunchy. Fresh. Alive. They’d pile them on sandwiches. Toss them in salads. Eat them straight from the jar. It sounds crazy now. But back then, it was revolutionary.

And they treated tea like pharmacy.

Peppermint for digestion. Nettle for energy. Got a cold? Drink elderflower. Can’t sleep? Drink chamomile. Feeling anxious? Drink lemon balm. It didn’t always work. But it felt like taking care of yourself.  And when someone made you a cup of tea, sat with you, asked how you were feeling? That was the real medicine. Not the herbs. The care.

Here I am. Eating tofu, lentils, chickpeas, and nutritional yeast (what I call Noochy). I make my own seasoning packets which makes me able to avoid salt. I make my own gravy without any meat drippings also avoiding salt. I grow herbs. I have a variety of teas that I also use as pharmacy.

It's confirmed. I am a hippie. I have mentioned this before, that I have come a long way from being the girl who ate puffcorn and sipped root beer from a can.

I guess I knew but didn't register just how much of a change there has been. I thank you for being willing to come along with me on this journey back to the 70's. Yay for us. Right on!!

What did the big flower say to the little flower?

“Hi bud!”

(tsk tsk....hee hee)

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