Clean of Pretense

Went to bed at 5:30am and awoke at 11am-ish. Made a smoothie (banana-strawberry-dandelion-grapefruit-water) and did my laundry. Cleaned out the bathroom with a scrub brush and baking soda. Went into the kitchen to wash the floors (I was in action & cleaning mode -- when I've been awake all night I instinctively begin ordering my environment to feel in control of myself, hah), and noticed that my attentive roommate had offered a token of goodwill on the table: three chewy chocolate chip cookies. Immediately, I fell to my knees and prayed for strength. No; I scrubbed the kitchen floors with vigour. I also got a lot of other work done today. Sublimation of the urge to eat cookies makes me productive.

A new smoothie: banana-orange-kale-broccoli-cayenne. Um... it's interesting. The amount of cayenne I dumped into the blender gives the word its italics.


I'm being dramatic about the cookies. I didn't want them that badly. Which is why I ended up eating the cookies for dinner as a reward for how well I'd done today. Fine -- cookies aren't really a reward, per se; more like tasty little trojan horses... but I think that that awareness must count for something. And then I think of my teacher, smugly posing this little gem: "If you know and don't do, how is that any different from not knowing?" To which I would give a quizzical look and relax my arm lest I participate in a stone-throwing contest in a village of glass houses.

[This is oddly normal. Just now I switched browser tabs and the following were the first words my eyes settled upon: "Knowing is not enough; We must apply. Willing is not enough; We must do." - Goethe. Preaching is fun and not at all annoying but only when I get to do the preaching.]

Aaaaandddd out!

Oh, thought I'd mention that the cookie/sugar high lasted a really long time but now I have a tad of a headache. Lesson learned. Learnings noted for future reference. Drinking lots of water.

Ocean Health & Rambling

This afternoon I browsed through the online apartments for rent. My thoughts turned to my past roommates, specifically the three flatmates with whom I'd lived for all of 2005 after 4 months of being a 10th & Ontario St. Vancouverite. (I'd moved from Salt Spring to Vancouver to live with a friend of a friend who needed a roommate to sublet a place with her for 4 months. There, I read books and hung out at UBC all week.) Come December, I spotted the tiny Strathcona room on craigslist. An ad for housing @ $325/month inclusive?! My student-ey senses were madly tingling. I didn't care how tiny the room -- I figured I would be outside all summer anyway -- the smartest thing is to have low monthly overhead, right? Right.

So, being that I'm truly the luckiest person in the world (and a fast responder to e-mails), I landed the room. I moved in with the three boys and quickly realized that I was sharing granola with some seriously passionate, invested-in-reality beings. These flatmates were always active in the community (organizing Trips for Kids - giving inner city youth opportunities to mountain bike on the North Shore) or jogging around Stanley Park or kayaking around Vancouver Island, reading something brilliant, planning the city's green areas, entertaining with wine parties and in general leading flourishing lives of integrity and purpose and FUN. I remember H. and G.'s family as something out of a magazine: both parents doctors; huge hearts; living life to the fullest; always on the go. I, on the other hand, played the reclusive new person's role. Just to balance things out, you know? Yeah. Occasionally I would venture out of my room to talk with them about bikes or discuss 'how to make life decisions' with Hugh or his best friend, Ryan. (Ryan generously donated his old bike when I didn't have one, and hooked me up with a photovoltaic cell class contact. I baked him a sugarless, vegan chocolate zucchini cake to show my appreciation -- unfortunately, the cake didn't turn out, so I didn't give it to him. He probably thinks I'm ungrateful). Looking back, their enthusiasm for showing up in this life called out the same energy in me at the time and I am the better for having lived with them.

Without further ado, this is what they're up to: sailing around the world and surfing while raising awareness about the present state of our oceans. Fun and disturbing and inspiring action....

A Good Slap Strengthens One's Constitution

Today's menu: Finished off the cooked chickpeas with kale and avocado salad. Celebrated with three dandelion greens-banana-grapefruit-strawberry smoothies.

Had a calming walk in the rain after my 2-hour slap (sleep-nap hybrid; was as invigorating as it sounds).

Ate 100g of cashews! Later, had two small strawberry-banana smoothies... now soaking up the sound of falling rain through my open window as I cuddle up with Emerson for a cozy read.

Dandelion Green Smoothie

Today, a mixed herb salad with tomatoes for breakfast.

2 hour seawall walk in the sunshine! My fingers are freezing as I slowly type this.

Making a smoothie with banana, more dandelion greens than necessary, grapefruit, fresh strawberries.

And here it is!



Dark green. The sweet grapefruit and astringent/bitter-esque dandelions balance each other out.



For dinner I had some chickpeas and lightly steamed kale with olive oil, salt, tomatoes, garlic and a feeling of shame. Okay, no shame. I ate some cooked food to see what would happen. The world hasn't ended, so I'll call this a success. Of all the foods to cook, I should have chosen the tomatoes, but didn't.

Later, a grapefruit. An apple. A bike ride. I'm still alive.

Eager For More...?

Broke my fast with a strawberry-banana-spinach-cayenne smoothie, peoples!

Then I ate some cashews!

Next, I made a kale & avocado salad with garlic and tomatoes and a strangely scented avocado!

And I ate it!

A strawberry-banana-kale smoothie!

Enthusiasm brought to you by: the image of a life I envision. I think that's redundant. But yeah, I feel best when I actually move my body and do things with it -- while living in my head is nice, no one else can join me there. Yay for shared experiences.

This afternoon, walked the Stanley Park seawall with Goran; stocked up on cashews and stuffed my face while Goran had a burrito. We discussed foods and soil nutrient deficiencies. Combined with a daily routine of physical activity, I think eating lots of greens and fruits is agreeable with my body. Also, having a home garden is agreeable. Having friends who agree with me is nice, sometimes. Greedy is okay when I like it.

Oh, also, I'm soaking some chickpeas overnight. I love chickpeas but at the moment I feel ambivalent about eating them cooked. I'm on a roll with the raw thing and I want to see if I'll suddenly levitate... I bet I'll find out that I would have levitated had I continued eating totally raw for just one more day. He ha ho. I don't want to levitate though, so that point is moot. For fun I've consulted my natal astrology chart just to see Goran's eyes roll: Mars conjunct Saturn in retrograde="Irresistible force meets immovable object. Proceed with caution! There is a lot of energy available for disciplined work, but push too hard and you may break something." Gee, thanks for the clarity. (To heck with external guidance! I feel like Dorothy who knew where home was all along.)

Yes, I forgot to write in my journal tonight -- can you tell? And out.

Bike Pr0n

Day 62 of subsisting on greens, fruit and green smoothies, cashews, various raw concoctions and lots of avocadoes. I've lost a little bit of weight (not exactly my goal) and I think that I'll gain back some mass in muscle if I actually lead an active lifestyle. So here I go. (The bikes below are owned by other people but I like the soma double cross in the second photo.)



I've never understood how that slightly raised point of the seat could possibly be a good thing.



So I'll go with this one, except I'll add some pedals:



Breakfast: spinach-strawberry-banana smoothie for breakfast.

Lunch: Kale and avocado salad with tomato, clover sprouts, lemon and one clove of garlic, chopped, for a nice change of taste.

Cashews.

Strawberry-mango-banana smoothie.

A huge mixed greens salad with all the trimmings.

10pm-11pm bike ride.

Urban Gardening: New Growth Industry

And The Psychology of Passive Barriers: Why Your Friends Don’t Save Money, Eat Healthier, or Clean Their Garages

The Foods Consumed Today:

A strawberry-spinach-banana smoothie for breakfast. 25g of cashews. A kale & avocado salad with red bell peppers + tomatoes while talking on the phone with my Mother + Bjorn + Liesl.

A gala apple. A strawberry-banana smoothie. @ the computer.

A large mixed greens salad with clover sprouts, avocado, broccoli, olive oil, salt, walnuts & lemon juice.

A gala apple.

Another mixed greens salad with clover sprouts, red bell pepper, avocado.

A strawberry-banana-cacao-cayenne smoothie after watching Supernatural.

Community Garden Update:

Hey folks,

I just wanted to let you know that one of your fellow gardeners and VPSN volunteer, Mike, has set up a facebook group. You can join it here - Davie Village Community Garden Facebook Group.

As I'm sure you've all assumed, we've not yet moved forward with the developers on closing the license agreement. They were delayed in responding to us, and then our contact went on holiday. As far as I know, Andrew and I will be meeting with them this week on Thursday to discuss the license and raising the beds.

Thank-you all so much for your patience, I'm sorry that we haven't been able to move things along faster.

Have a great day,

Community Gardens Coordinator
Vancouver Public Space Network

--
"A society grows great when people plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

_____________________________________

Watched an interview about the popular Ringing Cedars book series that hails from Mother Russia (a series which I'd completely missed in all the 20 languages into which the books are translated). When/if I do read the books, I expect to have my eyes opened to "the importance of each family having their own food garden" (thanks, person from facebook gardening group). Okay -- so this way of thinking isn't new to me, but the story is, so that's ... different. Kind of like each new day. I sense a tangent coming on. Excuse me.

"Anyone who has developed such a relationship with the Earth and the plants in their garden has the opportunity to heal their body of every dis-ease. She says that dis-ease is the result of Man distancing himself from the balance and natural systems that take care of him." Ringing Cedars Series

What Doesn't Kill Me, Makes Me Appreciative

Breakfast: gala apple.

Kale and avocado salad with red peppers and clover sprouts.

Another gala apple.

Strawberry-banana smoothie.

150 grams of cashews....

Unrelated to Food:

So, my learnings: listened to Marcus Buckingham's "Go Put Your Strengths to Work"; yesterday was "Now, Discover Your Strengths".

Strengths: what you're doing when you feel strong.

Weaknesses: what you're doing that drains you to think about.

No way.

Capitalize on strengths and life is peachy. The book, quite engaging with real-life examples and supported by research, is better than this summary. It also features cute acronyms to help you S.T.O.P doing remedial work and instead focus your energies in ways that make you feel strong and effective and F.R.E.E. When you focus on how to best contribute your talents which you've developed into skills through practice, everyone benefits. La la la la.

The book suggests that when it comes to doing activities that weaken you:
1. Stop doing the activity and see if anyone even notices.
2. Team Up with someone who is strengthened by the very activity that weakens/bores/depletes you.
3. Offer up a strength and steer your job toward it.
4. Perceive your weakness from a different perspective. How can you look at this activity through the lens of your strengths? -- what connection, if any, can you make between doing this thing you dislike and doing something that strengthens you?

For activities that make you feel strong:
1. Focus: Identify how and where this specific strength helps you in your current role. What feedback do you get about this strength?
2. Release: Find opportunities to use this strength more. Put yourself in situations where you can be strong.
3. Educate: Learn new skills and techniques to build this strength. Find a mentor, job-shadow someone who is better than you at effectively applying this strength, find out ways to leverage and capitalize on your strength.
4. Expand. Build your job around this strength.

(Common sense. I knew that stuff when I was 5, but then I forgot it all over the years of schooling.)

Dinner: A mixed greens salad with clover sprouts, some broccoli, red bell pepper, walnuts, garlic, olive oil and salt.

Bike ride to North Van and back: ~45 minutes, woohoo. 5 minutes faster with inflated tires; much easier ride. Still swore coming up the hill. And I think my body's hormones are out of whack, not because of raw food, but because my days have turned into nights since the equinox.

Last night at 2am I wanted eggs and cheese. A breakfast steamroller burrito or an omelette, perhaps. I was salivating at the thought of it. I don't think I had enough to eat during the day, plus I was awake until 6am... awake for twice as many hours as usual. My brain is still in sleep mode.

Today:

A mixed greens salad.

A kale and avocado salad with clover sprouts and tomatoes.

2 bananas.

A strawberry-apple-cinnamon frozen dessert.

Mixed greens salad with red bell pepper, walnuts, a clove of garlic, avocado, clover sprouts, olive oil, himalayan pink salt. Tastacular.

Seawall and Capers

I'm a day behind on this blog. Thus far today I've had a spinach-strawberry-banana-cayenne smoothie and some cashews....



Yesterday Goran and I walked the seawall and discussed the science of influence and persuasion.




Then we went to Capers for dinner/snacks and explored the shelves to see what foods/drinks are popular these days. Capers now stocks over-priced raw foods with interesting names in the deli section, oh la la. Next, we wandered over to my old haunt, Red Burrito, where Goran chose my old standby -- the vegetarian burrito with guacamole. I munched on too many cashews.

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday, which means fun times with good people. We ate at the Radha Yoga & Eatery -- I had the raw version of the beet and apple salad... I was distracted by laughing too hard at innocently-intended remarks about people eating out at restaurants so I forgot not only my age but also to photograph my raw pizza -- a spinach cashew 'ramasan' cheese creation. Very nice.
Also had some chocolate mousse pie. Scrumptious. Borderline scrumpdiddaliumptious.

The night was young, so we went to Checkers. There, Michelle made one woman from Ontario very happy by singing a karaoke love song. Michelle also made Donna very happy. Oh I'm so funny. That joke was poorly executed and not really a joke.

Lori displayed her artistic talents and resourceful bent by writing messages in cream when no other writing utensils were available.

Trying to think of other things food-related... um nope. Time for a walk on the seawall while the sun is here.

Kale & Avocado Surprise

On my scenic walk to the beach today, I stopped to admire this sock which was spun by some anonymous spider whose talents could be better applied to benefit our species.

For breakfast today: a kale and avocado salad. During the seed-removal process involving me, holding a knife and pushing hard (brilliant, I know), I put a hole in my hand. Oops! I was holding half of the avocado in my left hand while aiming the knife with my right, intending to stick the seed and twist it out, all impressive-like. I don't often try that maneouvre, and for good reason. As I observed the avocado-covered knife's sharp tip slip from the seed and veer towards my hand with great purpose, in my head I could hear my father berating me for my misjudgment: "Sonya! Think of the consequences before you do things -- think, 'So, if the force of the knife misses its mark, where will that force go?'" Into my hand, riiiight.

I inspected my hand and saw the laws of physics clearly illustrated therein. The knife had left a small hole (cool!) between my middle and ring fingers. It didn't hurt. I just looked at it, waiting to see if it would bleed. Then I wondered if it should hurt, and whether the fact that it was not hurting was a good or bad thing. Sooo, there I was, standing in the kitchen, watching, looking into the hole... la la la. Finally, some blood. Hand still didn't hurt. I carefully wiggled my fingers to make sure everything was connected properly.

Satisfied that I wasn't going to die, I rinsed my hand in the sink -- that's when the pain asserted itself like a biatch you just didn't want to hear from because you already knew what it was going to say. And the pain that alerted me to the fact that I had a hole in my hand was a pain unlike any other. An inner pain. An inner-hand pain.

This entire scene was funny to me (earlier I had been reading about surgeons, so this kitchen + knife episode convinced me further of the importance of keeping my mind only on things I want to experience).

No salads were harmed in the making of this meal. No salty salads were massaged, either.

For the rest of the day I made smoothies, salads.. ate an orange... and listened to Malcolm Gladwell read his Outliers book, in which he contends that successful people (those that have developed a chosen talent) are largely products of their time and place and many other factors, etc. It sounds like an obvious statement to make, but actually his examples are kinda interesting: there are no rags to riches stories; no man is an island (and other clichés); research across multiple disciplines consistently maintains that the magic number of hours of focused effort it takes to master a skill = 10,000; child prodigies just started earlier than most (+ coupled with their obsessive desire to develop the skill in the first place, which implies they have some talent to begin with).

Genius is focus. Otherwise, hole in hand.

Smoothies & Salads & Love

Smoothies and salads today. I had to wait 48 hours for my avocadoes to ripen so that I could make kale & avocado salad with red peppers and tomatoes for breakfast. Last week's lesson: avoid Kin's Market for avocadoes (unless you like tasteless avocadoes).

Lunch: Raspberry-cacao-banana-orange-cayenne-lemon smoothie.

Later: Mixed greens salad.

Later: Raspberry-cacao-banana-orange-blueberry-cayenne smoothie.

Unrelated fun thought of the day:

Think of work as "vocation."
It should be something that calls to you
as something you want to do,
and it should be something that gives voice to
who you are and what you want to say to the world.
It is, above all else, something that lets you love.
-- Kent Nerburn, Letters to My Son

Visionary Business

As my 27th birthday approaches, I feel like taking stock of my life's accomplishments and values and direction and evaluating whether or not it's too early to engage in mid-life crisis behaviour.  I don't feel like buying a ferrari just yet.

I've decided, to heck with the past. I'm appreciative of what I've learned (sometimes twice) and excited about the desires I've hatched thanks to my past experiences -- so yay for that.  So here I am now, inspired and eager to create more fun stuff.  The feeling of what I want is strong and I'm more clear about what excites me the most in life:  meaningful connections with select people, playing outside in nature, having fun and receiving praise -- I mean, being an uplifting example of one who lives and sometimes swims upstream but knows how to relax to get back on track; doing what I do, and doing it well.

I'm reading a couple of books on business by millionaire-with-ease, Marc Allen.  Here's an interview clip of him promoting his new book (I've read it; the best part of the book is what he imparts in his interview.  I hope he doesn't read this... although he does often remind that he strives to impart the whole of his wisdom in every interaction, soooo... success.): 

And here are some of the notes I've taken as I'm reading Visionary Business:

The company should spend money on things that will make the money grow (i.e. invest in growth of the individuals, to better express the company's mission statement)
Start-ups take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect
A well-written business plan is far more than a tool for raising money: It is your map, your visualization of the future. The business plan is the guiding course for the ship. Where do we want to be in 1, 2, 5 years.
Every successful venture begins with a vision for it
The Business Plan:
1st: we describe our present circumstances
2nd: we describe where we want to be in 1, 2, 5 years, and present a map for getting there
Next make the company mission statement [to uplift, entertain, teach and learn]. The statement helps the company retain its focus and can be crucial in determining the company's direction and even its level of success.  [I think my mission statement is too vague but he says that's okay....]
Partnerships work only in unique situations. One person has to be completely responsible for the success or failure of the business. [haha I wonder how that works in a relationship...]

From Visionary Business (applicable to any undertaking, involvement, relationship, life situation...):

You have a unique purpose for living, and you have been given unique talents and abilities to accomplish that purpose... True success always involves personal fulfillment of some kind, and you are fulfilled only by working and living in harmony with your purpose in life.

Be sure all of the owners of the company, and ideally, employees as well, write their "ideal scenes" down on paper, and compare notes:

What do you want to be doing five years from now, assuming that your business has grown according to plan -- in fact assume that everything has gone fantastically well, and you have had success beyond your wildest dreams. What would your life look like? What would you be doing? Where would you live? What would a typical day look like? This simple exercise is a powerful visionary tool.

Yesterday I spent my day as my ancestors would: making food, making shelter and making love.  Kidding; I didn't do anything yesterday.  

My vita-mix  gave me lots of smoothies (3), my fridge housed my salads (3) and I found some cashews on my desk.  I practiced self-love in the form of making myself go for a walk to the beach a few times throughout the day and at midnight.  I didn't wear my mp3 player during my midnight walk... just me and my thoughts.  Romantic and enjoyable.

Today, same deal.  Already I've enjoyed two smoothies (strawberries, banana, cacao, green leaves, cayenne) and some cashews.  The day is young. 

Gorilla Birthday Meal

Gorilla Food, The Made-For-TV Movie

Starring:

Crista.... as Michelle (ha ha)

Sonya as herself

Background:

Crista is a sweetheart and has been for the past 13 years that I've known her.  We met in Catholic school way back in grade 9 and enjoyed most of our English classes together.  (That explains my writing style -- I don't recall anything school-related from those classes except for a Chinese Underwear creative writing assignment we had to present and A Prayer for Owen Meany journal entries. ) 

Crista remembered that my birthday is coming up!  She always remembers.  And she gave me the best card -- here are two sentences I think I'm allowed to share:  "Since this raw food lifestyle change I am unable to bake you a cake, buy you chocolate, or cook you dinner -- all ways I like to show love.  Instead we'll have to indulge the raw way.  Yummy! :)"

So she took me to the only raw food restaurant that I know of (and it's a fun one), for good eats and good reminiscings about the good ol' days back when we were young and our lives were ahead of us and all the world a stage.  Kind of like now... *sigh*...  some things never change.

On the menu: 

Pesto pizza 

Falafels (new thing I hadn't tried): A romaine lettuce leaf pita filled with sprouted then dehydrated pumpkin and sunflower seed veggie falafel balls served on a bed of zucchini hummus, topped with a sweet tahini sauce and a grainless tabouli. 

Water wisdom salad: same as last time except on this salad we were given almonds instead of hazelnuts.  I don't know why.  Sometimes the details are different in the tv version.

Chocolate Pie

The Plot Thickens:

The original script involved Fresh Thai Wraps, but the people dining beside us scored the last batch... so we made a video.  We just had to.

Also, the nice lady (also a sweetheart) @ Gorilla Food surprised me with a candle on the pie!  She said she hopes my wish comes true.  How sweet is that?!  Very. The small things mean the most.  This entry is magnifying my sentimental mood, haha.  So please excuse the excessive sappiness, and I suggest that you consider brushing your teeth after reading this.

Chocolate Mango Smoothie

A banana + some cacao powder + frozen mango pieces = carnage in the vita-mix. It sounded as though I'd thrown a chunk of wood in there.  I wonder if the vita-mix would make wood palatable.... anyway, this smoothie/frozen dessert was good. Good enough to eat three times today.  Also, the salads and two grapefruits.

Celtic Rain Fest

Today as I digested my breakfast spinach-banana-strawberry-cacao-cayenne smoothie, I watched a Celtic group perform a song about an Irish girl from Belfast: "she's so handsome, she's so pretty." Hmmmm, interesting.

Lunch: Kale and avocado salad with the usual soaked sun-dried tomatoes, vine-ripened tomato, and without the lemon (I forgot to get lemons again).

Snack: Cashews.

Second snack: A grapefruit.

Dinner: A smoothie that reminded me a lot of breakfast.

Later, a gala apple.

Later still, a mixed spring greens salad (with avocado, olive oil, salt of the pink himalayan variety, tomato) while burning the midnight oil (I didn't use it to cook anything).

Also, a friend who is a self-proclaimed "steaks and cigar" kind of Catholic girl, made the kale and avocado salad today and LOVED it. She was shocked! She'd been socialized to believe that eating kale raw is wrong... and yet... it tastes so right.

Radha Yoga & Eatery

Last night I checked out Radha @ 728 Main Street (upstairs) with some friends who had been there before and liked it.

And yes, it's very nice. A welcoming atmosphere but a totally different feel than that of Gorilla Food, my first raw restaurant experience.  Think candles and brick walls and little lights around the windows.  While not a raw vegan establishment, Radha features one (sometimes two earlier in the evening) raw main dish and a raw chocolate mousse pie dessert. (Spring Online Menu in pdf.) I didn't try the dessert; I had the pizza special (coconut, green curry, daikon, carrot, salad on the side -- there are more ingredients but I forget already) and was full. The pizza was good and light: the crust was thin, almost like a chewy granola bar (but better) and more pliable than the Gorilla version. I mixed it into my salad and tasted the rainbow.

A friend had the vegan gnocchi and said it's delicious (we all agreed it looked delicious). And another ordered the beet and apple salad -- another winner.  Yep.

Next, we went to a sausage party. There I had the privilege of talking to a charming young guy (~ 20 years old) about fantasy novels. I know nothing about fantasy novels, so instead of changing the topic to the secret life of plants, I did what I always do and title-dropped one of the books I recall Steve loving: Ender's Game. I felt so smart and topical. Yay!  But I'd thrown my trump card too early.  The kid went on and on about the book, and about some trilogy... and as my eyes glazed over (like doughnuts.. see? food related), the smart feeling devolved into a feeling of wanting to sleep. Or maybe the sleepy feeling measures higher on the emotional comfort scale I'd typically use to assess how well I'm doing at parties where I know 3 people... -- wanting to sleep means I'm comfortable, right? Comfortable and warm. Good.

Choosing an Intelligent Diet...

Breakfast: More greens today; I'd forgotten about my pristine carrot top greens, so I combined a cup of that with a few handfuls of organic baby spinach, a banana, a gala apple, 1 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries + blueberries, some cayenne, some cacao, lemon.

Lunch: Large salad with soaked sun-dried tomatoes, ripe tomatoes, avocado, olive oil.

100 g of cashews. A frozen strawberry dessert.

Did some more reading about the true benefits of eating predominantly raw. I think the evolving Ideal is to grow your own garden consisting of a variety of greens and vegetables and fruit trees, maybe raise some goats and chickens, have some good friends and you're set. From Choosing an Intelligent, Combined Raw Food/Cooked Food Diet:

"Optimal foraging" in the modern supermarket? Cooking proves to be useful for modern hunter-gatherers (and as we have said, would presumably also have been so for prehistoric hunter-gatherers once they had developed the level of acumen necessary to utilize fire) so as to enhance chances of survival. However, nowadays in the twentieth century, with all sorts of imported foods widely available, it may be that cooking loses its importance. On the other hand, the range of foods available in our supermarkets and health-food stores is implicitly intended to be sufficient for people using a stove, but might not be adequate for those who don't, since many of the tubers (i.e., potatoes) and vegetables (turnips, kale, etc.) are barely edible raw; and modern, highly bred fruits are excessively high in sugar compared to their wild counterparts.

So, raw-fooders end up with a diet which differs considerably from what they would be able to obtain under natural conditions (assuming this term has any meaning for humans that all could agree on). So even if "optimal foraging theory" doesn't apply anymore here, cooking and accepting a (very mild) natural toxin load (like solanine from potatoes) might help achieve a more balanced diet and the net result could be positive, as we shall see.

No "perfect" food or set of foods enabling avoidance of all toxins. While it certainly makes sense to limit the consumption of foods that are inedible raw--all other things being equal (an important condition, because sometimes they aren't)--the presence of natural toxins shouldn't be a deterrent, unless they are present in hazardous levels. There is no perfect food. One role of the liver is to eliminate the toxic constituents in order to be able to utilize food sources for nutrients even if they are accompanied by some level of antinutrients or toxins, and the nutrients would be difficult to come by otherwise.

Idealism vs. real-world practicalities.

Some of the reasons why all-raw diets can be impractical to implement include:

Raw diets often lack nutritional variety under modern conditions because of the relatively narrow range of palatable (raw) foods available in today's supermarkets, which can lead to boredom and/or deficiencies. Despite the fact that modern supermarkets give us foods from all over the world, they are often insipid and tasteless varieties that stand shipping/storage well, but may be unappetizing or otherwise unattractive or inedible to someone as concerned about quality food as a raw-foodist.

Sacrifices in other important areas of one's life. One can attempt to avoid the problem of insipid supermarket produce by seeking out sources of tastier, higher-quality organic or farmers' market foods, or participating in CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture cooperatives), for example, where one works on the farm in exchange for a take of the food. However, these avenues take more time or money than some people have, and may also force one's life to become more centered around getting food than they would like, and create social isolation from others not "into" the same thing. (Others, of course, enjoy all this.)

Social isolation can be a particular problem if one insists on eating all-raw all the time: bringing your own food to parties, or declining invitations to restaurants or family get-togethers can have a negative impact on your social life.

Excessive mental preoccupation.

=)
I thought Focus was a good thing...

Give Them What They Want

I've been watching TED talks all week. Awesome stuff.

When I did my brief stint as an agroecology undergrad at UBC before getting a position in the lab, I was into permaculture and sustainable this and biodynamic that. Still am, but not to the same degree.

I recall reading about Sepp Holzer, who impressively established an intensively cultivated yet harmoniously functioning garden at the top of some mountains in Austria. Check it out:



"His experience is the only source of knowledge he trusts" -- I love that.

Aaand the controversial Foie Gras:



The take-away: "I give the geese what they want."

The key to successful permaculture systems: "Giving each species what it wants."

Social engineering: "Give the people what they want."

Sunny Thursday

[This post isn't really food-related, but I've written it already and I hate erasing things.]

We have sun! I'm loving this. I woke up with a clearer mind (after journalling last night), remembered last night's dream and went for a short walk along the seawall.

During the pre-breakfast walk while listening to my mp3 player again with my eyes half-closed, walking north, a long-haired, kind, Celtic-looking guy asked me a question about the tide. The guy has been in Vancouver from the Okanagan since Tuesday. His visit is perfectly timed to enjoy all of the sunny days we've been having. I think he's the sort of person that the sun would follow no matter where he goes... he emanated a friendly warmth. He's originally from Windsor, Ontario, so that explains it. =) I enjoyed seeing how excited he was to be there at the oceanside for the first time in his life. He was surprised that the ocean tasted as salty as it does. Hmmmm, maybe the fact that he drank the salt water had something to do with his lack of pretense and genuinely friendly demeanour.. now I must rethink all of this....

And no, I won't preach about the wonder of life and how easily we take for granted life's simple joys, blah blah; but I will say that that guy had some kind, sparkley eyes and his parting words, "Thank you, Dear," made me feel at home.

And since so far this entry has nothing to do with physical food but rather a nourishment of the spirit, I'll continue in that vein. Here's the journalling exercise I do at night: Brainstorm a minimum of 20 ways to improve. I get into a good mood first (so that I write about fun things aligned with my projected image of whatever-I-feel-good-thinking-about), then I list whatever comes to mind... what actions I could take, what places I could explore, how many different ways I might prepare for doing the things that the kind of person I am would love to do. Etc.

This way, I go to sleep with a clear head, feeling good, focused on actions that naturally support my focus on where I'm going and the values that emerge from that process. Sweet dreams.

Oh right, food.

Breakfast: 100g of cashews, a big banana-strawberry-cacao-blueberry-cayenne-spinach-water smoothie

Lunch: Kale and avocado salad.

Snack: A big juicy field greens salad with olive oil and soaked sun-dried tomatoes + avocado. So very good.

Dinner: A frozen strawberry-banana-cacao-cayenne sorbet. Later, a whole grapefruit.. and while watching Supernatural recognized the street [in a scene with Dean and Sam] as Union and whatever the street is that intersects in front of Benny's Italian corner store in Strathcona.

Sunny Day AGAIN

Today, another beautiful sunny day in Vancouver. I spent more time outdoors today and then I came home and gorged myself on salads. I wasn't hungry, I just ate a lot. I should really stop doing that.

I didn't attempt any challenging recipes -- went with the tried and true smoothies, kale & avocado salad and a couple of spring mix green salads with olive oil and salt.

I've also started journalling my day and my 'lists of things I want to do and why' in a notebook as an indulgently cathartic I mean creative growth tool, and to spare you the discomfort of reading about it here. You're welcome.

East is East

Today! was way too sunny for Vancouver. It threw me off of my normal routine, so I ate a mango-spinach-blueberry breakfast smoothie, then sat on the computer all day! Take that, sunny day.

And ate 2 more smoothies, then a kale and avocado salad plus 2 large salads before going out to East is East. I haven't left for the restaurant yet: I ate too much today (incase there's nothing at the restaurant for me to eat...) and it hurts to move. I wonder if writing that will make it true... in which case, I feel good and move with ease. And I don't have to pee at all.

To be updated upon my glorious return.

***

I'm back; I had a liquid dinner consisting of water with lemon and a Calcutta Monsoon smoothie (coconut, pineapple, something something) since I don't usually have that type of smoothie. East is East had no more clean glasses so they served the smoothie to me in a to-go plastic thing. I felt special.

More kale and avocado salad. I braved the winter day to buy some organic kale and an almost-ripe avocado to make this.

Also bought lots of grapefruit and apples (sale day; woohoo), carrots-with-tops, red peppers, baby spinach, field greens, lemon and cashews. Add bananas and avocado to the basket and that's my usual basic weekly grocery list....

Leftovers

Not that good. Lacking not only in aesthetic appeal but also in taste of the visceral sort. Not sure if visceral is the right word here but I'm going to let it stand.

Early Morning Walk

An hour later than it feels.  I rolled over, saw the clock @ 7:59am... and made sure my feet were solidly on the floor before the minute had passed.  Shoot! Realized it was Sunday morning.  Opened blinds, saw the sun was out.  Tried not to let myself crawl back into bed but instead to seize the day or whatever.  Put on my warm long shirt beneath a hoodie and a warm jacket 3 sizes too big.  Pocketted my camera, keys and mp3 player.  Went for a walk to the beach listening to Tony Robbins, haha.  

A nice guy acknowledged my existence while walking his dog; I reciprocated.  I think he felt the camaraderie too -- the both of us, brought together by this crazy, shared experience (who the heck is up at 8am on the Sunday morning of the spring DST time change?).  That's right, you're not alone; let's embrace with a smile and a tight-lipped, "good morning."

Pictured below: taken this morning, this a normal Vancouver day -- both sunny and cloudy depending on where you're looking and for how long.

Today I ate: a slice of raw pesto pizza; 3 cacao-cayenne-fruit smoothies (breakfast + 2 suppers); an evening salad of typical abundant greens as pictured here (green mix, campari tomatoes, avocado, dulse flakes, olive oil, himalayan pink salt); some cashews and brazil nuts.

Exercise: a walk along part of the English Bay seawall, yoga (Awkward Pose in public restroom without peeing all over seat.  Here's another type of long awkward pose to which we can all relate).

Curiosities: my teeth were 'stained' blue so I brushed them with two kinds of toothpaste and now they are whitish-er. *Relieved*

This is weird, but sometimes when I'm doing nothing, the least-toned parts of my legs (the soft fat areas) tingle. That's a new thing.  Sensational.  I'm hoping it's the cellulite going away, the muscle toning + a sign of increased blood flow to the capillaries.  In my world, that's what it means.

Happy Day of Re-Birth, Mom!

Happy Birthday to my Mother! I made a chocolate-strawberry smoothie for you to enjoy vicariously.

I hope this smoothie (lower left corner) makes you as happy as you were when Liesl repackaged your ukulele and gave it to you last Christmas.  (Or as happy as Liesl was.)

So. Thanks for being my Mom. Even though you were young and had no idea what the heck you were doing, you're a good bluffer and we all turned out a-ok. ;) I love you!  I'm glad I chose you and that you in your infinite wisdom decided to keep me. I'd choose you again, and this time I'd hug you all the time and I wouldn't let you do my grade 3 wolf science project.

So.. when are you coming to visit? Why stay in Ontario? It doesn't count as running away if you're heading towards what you want.... which is obviously over here. Because I have your smoothie.

And while I'm typing, I'll cover today's menu:

Breakfast: kale and avocado salad with tomatoes, minus the lemon juice

Lunch: spinach-banana-strawberry-cayenne-water smoothie

Some organic cashews and brazil nuts.

Supper: spring mix salad with avocado, olive oil

Birthday smoothie.

No... I was just chopping some onions....

A note [posted with permission] from my sister, Amber:

Maybe I should post this on your blog, but here is a little bit of what I got, baby!!

I am eating a spinach salad filled with fresh strawberries, blueberries, dried cherries, red and yellow bell peppers and walnuts... and it makes me think of you.

There is this wonderful restaurant in the food court near one of the sites that I work at, and they serve mostly vegan food, but it is absolutely delicious there! You would love it. They even make their own jam to put on the toast. All meals served with fresh fruit and veggies.

Yummy.

Does sound yummy; thanks, Ambrosia! Come visit me... Tell Mom to fly over here, too. I'll live in a lovely place, grow lots of salads, make green smoothies for breakfast and we can go work/play at the beach all day -- sometimes in the sun!

Broccoli "Cheddar" Cannelloni II; Mock Tuna Salad

This recipe is simple, good and easy, as are most things I like. I love comfort foods! I tried making the meal differently this second time... and afterwards I could eat it without having to plug my nose; therefore, 'twas a success.

Modifications: I used more garlic in the sauce.. I forgot the nutmeg in the filling.. I didn't use any sage.. and I substituted 1 cup of walnuts for the 1/2 cashews and 1/2 sunflower seeds. Also, I threw in half of a red bell pepper (with the walnuts) just because. The filling is the best mock tuna salad I've made! I'm going to remember this and add a few dulse flakes to make it taste fish-like.

My New and Improv[is]ed Version:

TOMATO SAUCE TOPPING [made in vita-mix]

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 15 minutes
1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

FILLING [mock tuna salad base] [made in vita-mix]

4 broccoli stalks (with crowns), cut into chunks
1/2 of a red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup of walnuts

CANNELLONI "SHELLS" (or serve on a flatbed of zucchini strips)

the zucchini leftover from last time
some raw pine nuts to sprinkle on top

Also next time I'd add some onion and maybe a little bit of chopped celery to the filling for the mock tuna effect. The walnuts give the filling a mayonnaise tanginess.



The sun is shining! I like sitting at the beach watching other people fulfill their wellness goals.

Cannelloni Leftovers and Kale & Avocado Salad

This is what I had for breakfast 3 hours after I woke up this morning. First thing in the morning (okay, an hour and a half after my alarm went off at 5am), I went for a brisk morning stroll to the beach to see if anything interesting or shocking had washed ashore. Nothing. I was still satisfied with my walk overall.

Breakfast was the best meal of the day! The cannelloni and sauce herbish flavours were mmmmmmm good. That's some high praise right there. The rest of my day's menu: peach and strawberry smoothies, a romaine lettuce salad, some cashews.

Broccoli "Cheddar" Cannelloni

Yesterday I had the usual quick salads and smoothies while brainstorming my latest genius project.

Last night I decided to put effort into making something different and good. Preprogrammed with a plan for today, I got up this morning, went for a walk in the rain (I LOVE morning walks in the rain with the air full of cedar-scent) to the store, collected all the herbs I'd need for this recipe, and listened to educational podcasts over the 2 hours it took me to make these cannelloni rolls. ;) I'm a slow-burning flame of eternal transmutation (of raw materials into tasty nourishment).

Ingredients

TOMATO SAUCE TOPPING

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 2 hours
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

FILLING

2 broccoli stalks (with crowns), cut into chunks
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
½ cup sunflower seeds, sprouted [I used walnuts]

CANNELLONI "SHELLS"

1 large zucchini
¼ cup raw pine nuts (optional)


Directions

For the sauce: In a blender, combine sun-dried tomatoes, water, ½ teaspoon lemon juice, olive oil, and thyme. Blend until smooth.

In a food processor, combine sun-dried-tomato mixture with fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano, and ½ teaspoon salt. Pulse until combined (do not puree). Pour into a bowl and set aside.


To make the filling: Wash food processor, towel dry, then add broccoli and finely chop. Add nutmeg and rosemary; process until incorporated.

Transfer broccoli to a mixing bowl and, without washing food processor, combine sage, cashews, sunflower sprouts, ¼ cup lemon juice, and remaining salt. Process until smooth.

Stir the cashew mixture into the broccoli until well blended. Set aside.


For the shells: With a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave long, wide strips from the zucchini. Place 4 strips side by side, overlapping slightly, to make a square.

Place a few tablespoons of broccoli mixture along zucchini ends. Roll zucchini slices over the mixture to make a long, filled tube. Repeat with remaining zucchini strips and filling.

Serve in a pool of tomato sauce. Top with more sauce and raw pine nuts if desired.

These were really good! I'd make them again. I rolled one as a cannelloni shape, and the other I setup as an openfaced sandwich. Now I know the difference between rosemary and thyme. And now I have that Scarborough Fair song in my head.

Yesterday Michelle showed me where the elusive Himalayan Pink Salt (product of Italy..?) could be purchased. The good stuff was sitting pretty in a butcher shop, so I made her go in and buy it for me while I waited on the other side of the street. ;) Thanks, Michelle!

So today I made use of its salty magic. I massaged the superior salt and my modest olive oil into a plastic tub full of organic kale (with 3 perfectly ripe avocados I'd been preserving in the fridge). Avocado + Olive Oil = Best Skin Cream. My hands are silky smooth.

And this is a photo of a smoothie with too much pink salt added.

Actually it's a cranberry + banana + cayenne smoothie.