Hempseed hearts were the magical ingredient in my morning and after-softball-game smoothies yesterday.  And magic (Duncan hitting balls out of the park) was almost enough to pull off a win for the Youthco Darlings, the team I adopted for the afternoon.

I'd slept-in slightly (it was technically still morning when I hopped out of bed...), so I had time for just a sip of my smoothie before biking to Stanley Park. What a good Sunday -- sweaty softball action under blue skies with good people and supportive spectators cheering @ Softball Smackdown 2009. The final score for our last game was a 9-8 heartbreaker.  So close!  Good game once we found our rhythm (the games were only 4-innings).  Despite the loss, my mood was buoyed by the familiar baseball feelings of happy times, so I biked home and took advantage of the momentum by channelling my enthusiasm into completing stats assignments. A good day.

Smoothies yesterday and a homemade avocado/salad/campari tomato panini sandwich. For breakfast today I had nachos and goman salad (chickpeas, sesame seeds, quinoa and spinach), which were left over from yesterday's late night snack with Michelle @ The Foundation. So good. So sleepy. So sunny outside....

I've been eating the usual smoothies as of late.  Here's a photo of my smoothie ingredients prior to blending with my greens.  (I hear the ingredients look more appetizing in the pre-blended stage, but I'd argue otherwise in this case.)

Today I studied and learned that the body's stress response (to something perceived as distressing) triggers the release of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex.  Cortisol is one of these hormones.  Okay I already knew that. But what I learned today, via an online lecture by Dr. Marian Diamond, was that too much cortisol for too long decreases the size of the cerebral cortex (shrinks your brain). Hah. So, relax. Exercise helps to deactivate the circulating hormones faster via your liver.

Tonight I had chocolate frozen yogurt with coconut with Lori and made a big bowl of quinoa that I haven't touched. Tomorrow! Relaxing bikeride time now.

11:57pm-12:37am. Woohoo.

Yesterday on my walk home from steamrollers for a breakfast burrito, I picked up two large containers of greens that were on sale @ West Valley Produce. Mmmmm. And some campari tomatoes. Came home, threw together a salad with avocado and hempseeds. I do enjoy me a good salad; it's been too long.

Later: a spinach smoothie, then two apple muffins my generous roommate had left for me... not helpful to my healthy eating habits.  But kind. 

What the neighbours are eating: Mr. Squirrel chewed an apple core until he noticed me zooming in for a close-up at which moment he dropped it like it was hot.

Today I made another spinach smoothie with blueberries, strawberries and cacao. Had a mixed greens salad for lunch, a banana, some cashews, a frozen yogurt with Shaptacular and a veggie burger.

Came home, collected arugula seeds from these dried pods (from my garden; woohoo), with high hopes for next planting season.  I hope by then to plant and sow rows of heirloom arugula in fertile soil on property I own.  All private-like.  And to share the bounty with loved ones.  Perhaps by then I'll write in full sentences.

As for my cilantro plants -- they walk like a basil and talk like a basil, so I'm thinking that the plastic label which accompanied my babies at birth is slightly off by a family/genus/species.

[Tonight's bike ride: 12:36am-1:14am.  Chased a drunk driver.  Watched him run over a curb, narrowly missing a dog and the guy who was walking it.  Got the licence plate number and then wasn't sure what to do with the info.  He parked in the alley between Barclay and whatever street is north (Haro?), just off Chilco.  Fun!]

After a humid day of kayaking and visiting, we ate at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. in Lynn Valley: basil boccincini pizza with fresh herb salad (oranges, avocado, red bell peppers). Lori ordered a coke because she said the water tasted like ass. I'm not sure what kind of fruit this is; I'm guessing it's of a lesser-known citrus variety. I thought lemon, but later we found out orange.

Such a fun day! No shark sightings. Three beer-bellied guys sped by us in a motorboat and then stopped a few hundred feet away to watch if we'd capsize in their wake; so, that was special.

Today: a Capers masala wrap, four oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies, something else, a smoothie and two peaches. I think. I much enjoyed the masala wrap; the deli section must have a new person working there.

My bike ride: 10:33pm-11:13pm. No skunks this time. I did notice a lot more people rummaging around, though. And traffic. 10:30pm is too early for my ride of solitude; next time must leave ~ 11:30ish.

41-42 minutes to West Van and back again tonight. The best thoughts of piercing clarity occur to me while I'm on the road, flexing my muscles, trying not to look like I'm working too hard as I pass people, moving my body, breathing deeply. Moving bodies = good. (I'm not condoning a lucrative/morbid pasttime here, but an active way of life. You know, -- bodies that move themselves, taking inspired actions, are hot.) And some thoughts are simply meant to pass through the mind unexamined. I'll illustrate.

So I've determined that my most productive hours are the 2 hours before bedtime and that without a daily plan of action, I waste most of my disposable time by checking mail and a million other sites that do little to enrich my life. All of this occurred to me while biking tonight. I nearly ran over a skunk that was eating a car-flattened crow. Appropriate to mention on a food blog, right? I thought so. Also, thanks to years of internet junkie-ing it up, I've trained my brain to think in 5 second bits and to skip over the info-processing step. My writing reflects this quality of my thinking. And I forget how to formulate an hypothesis or find evidence to convince you properly, so this paragraph will have to suffice. The paragraph exceeds the magical 140 character limit though (unless we're counting personalities), so you mightn't read this far anyway. My point, I think, is that I'm planning (as best as I can) an experiment to structure my day so that I succeed automagically.

Goal: knowing what's important according to values, translating those values into pictures I want to live, acting on those priorities, ignoring the trivial yet urgent things that pop up on my computer 100 times an hour. Mmmmhmmm. Let's see how I pull this off without spending hours consulting productivity blogs (my old favoured way to pretend I was gearing up to make progress on my goals). Also I made spinach smoothies today.

Just got home from my evening bike ride with a flattish rear tire.  10:52-11:34pm = 42 minutes.  Three Minutes quicker than average but still a far cry from my fully inflated tire time of 31 minutes.  I am sweaty and this feels good. Ah, the sweet taste of clean night air.

I had smoothies (blueberries, strawberry, peach, banana, spinach, cacao, cherries) and thai food (broccoli, cauliflower,  carrots, cabbage, yellow coconut curry and pad thai) today.  I found a piece of chicken in my pad thai!  I didn't eat it.  

Whenever my roommate smokes the hookah thing with his friends, he leaves an offering of 2 muffins (chocolate and blueberry) on the kitchen table to appease my wrath.

While I'm on a roll with non sequiturs, this book, Born to Run, has the running world all abuzz (according to the hype).

The interesting part on that page is the Q & A session with author Christopher McDougall:

I think ultrarunning is America’s hope for the future. Honestly. The ultrarunners have got a hold of some powerful wisdom. You can see it at the starting line of any ultra race. I showed up at the Leadville Trail 100 expecting to see a bunch of hollow-eyed Skeletors, and instead it was, 'Whoah! Get a load of the hotties!' Ultra runners tend to be amazingly healthy, youthful and—believe it or not—good looking. I couldn’t figure out why, until one runner explained that throughout history, the four basic ingredients for optimal health have been clean air, good food, fresh water and low stress. And that, to a T, describes the daily life of an ultrarunner. They’re out in the woods for hours at a time, breathing pine-scented breezes, eating small bursts of digestible food, downing water by the gallons, and feeling their stress melt away with the miles. But here’s the real key to that kingdom: you have to relax and enjoy the run. No one cares how fast you run 50 miles, so ultrarunners don’t really stress about times. They’re out to enjoy the run and finish strong, not shave a few inconsequential seconds off a personal best. And that’s the best way to transition up to big mileage races: as coach Eric told me, 'If it feels like work, you’re working too hard.'

Q: One of the fascinating parts of Born to Run is your report on how the ultrarunners eat—salad for breakfast, wraps with hummus mid-run, or pizza and beer the night before a run. As a runner with a lot of miles behind him, what are your thoughts on nutrition for running?

CM: Live every day like you’re on the lam. If you’ve got to be ready to pick up and haul butt at a moment’s notice, you’re not going to be loading up on gut-busting meals. I thought I’d have to go on some kind of prison-camp diet to get ready for an ultra, but the best advice I got came from coach Eric, who told me to just worry about the running and the eating would take care of itself. And he was right, sort of. I instinctively began eating smaller, more digestible meals as my miles increased, but then I went behind his back and consulted with the great Dr. Ruth Heidrich, an Ironman triathlete who lives on a vegan diet. She’s the one who gave me the idea of having salad for breakfast, and it’s a fantastic tip. The truth is, many of the greatest endurance athletes of all time lived on fruits and vegetables. You can get away with garbage for a while, but you pay for it in the long haul. In the book, I describe how Jenn Shelton and Billy “Bonehead” Barnett like to chow pizza and Mountain Dew in the middle of 100-mile races, but Jenn is also a vegetarian who most days lives on veggie burgers and grapes.

Remembering the Re-Ups

A morning of friends.  For breakfast I inhaled some leftover curried veggies and a few blueberries before running down the street to catch the #22 @7:29am to make it to our softball tournament on time. (The bus wasn't there at 7:29am, so I caught the 7:37am and still made it to the park shortly after 8:15am. I know you want to know this.)

After the tournament, we ate at the nearby Elephant Pub or something. I ordered the plain egg omelette with brown toast and hashbrowns. As I am the slowest eater always, my meal arrived last, as it should. But the server was kind and separated all 17 or so bills for us. Servers love doing that.

Speaking of, the generous Shappy, our very own Christian Gentleman, went out of his way to give Michelle and me a ride home (despite his shattered ankle and the most congested roadways I'd seen in Vancouver). Thanks, Michael!  I'm sure he loved it too.

I made a blueberry-strawberry-banana-peach-cacao smoothie to toast to the Re-Ups: Thank-you, Rich and Aaron, for organizing this team of big-hearted people who like scoring big during rallies with two outs.  And of course the original thank-you goes to Michelle for suggesting that I play on her team while talking over a meal one rainy day at Gorilla Food.  This summer I learned a lot about livin' and a little 'bout love.  And a lot about karaoke.  I can say without reservation that this is the best summer of my adult life thus far.  (Nothing compares to my privileged childhood.)  So... thank-you, Re-Ups.  I'm trying not to reveal any emotion whatsoever right now. 

And Mom: please watch Aaron's masterpiece as posted on facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=140399895830&ref=mf

Tonight for dinner I had some gluten-free, certified organic quinoa, mixed with a bruised avocado.

"Whole grain quinoa is the most nutritious of all grains.  It's high in fibre, a good source of iron, and has all eight essential amino acids," according to the package label.  Oh la la.

To cook quinoa, I boil some water (2:1 water to quinoa, like rice or oatmeal or cous cous -- I cook all these in the same way) and add a pinch or two of salt.  I pour in the quinoa, shut off the burner, give it a quick stir and throw a lid on the pot.  Then I wait 30 minutes-ish.  Sometimes I go for a bike ride,  and at halfway to West Van, question whether or not I really did turn off the stove.

Treated to a free veggie deluxe steamroller today. I feel special. And loved. This is all that I've had to eat today, as I am busy being productive.

Softball smoothie:
Mmmmm. The cherries make this one especially tastastic.
2 bananas
Spoonful of hempseeds
5 or so cherries
handful of blueberries
A cup of strawberries
Some water
Some cayenne
Some cacao

The precisely measured quantities are also crucial for a tasty outcome.

And after our softball game of high-fiving-in-lieu-of-making-out after each play, the team of ambiguously close friends went to Penny Lane Neighbourhood Pub where I devoured a murdered salmon on a bun with some greens on the side. I felt okay about it until now.

Today's menu is pictured above: quinoa, some berries and cashews, spinach smoothie with peach and the usual cacao/cayenne combo and a banana. And potato salad.

The award for Most Sensitive Line of the Night goes to Sonya, for her perceptive if not appropriate, "So, are you going to go home and cry now?"

Thank you.

Also, attempting to adjust my sleep patterns to fit normal people's schedules. Let's see if I'm in bed before 3am tonight! Oh, the suspense! And I'd like to add that my delicious cacao smoothies have nothing to do with this.

Bone Health and Longevity = Common Sense

From The Top 10 Health Breakthroughs of 2008:

Bones can no longer be thought of only in terms of fracture risk and osteoporosis. Bones are constantly giving birth to new cells and these cells play vital roles in metabolism and immunity. For example, when bone cells get inflamed not only does this promote excess bone loss it directly causes fat cells to multiply in white adipose tissue – which clearly [does it?] explains why women gain weight after menopause as well as the key to stopping the problem.

The highlight study of the year [2008] was a detailed gene analysis performed on one of the world's healthiest older men (he was 113 at the time, recently passing away at 114). Researchers expected to find genetic advantages enabling him to live a long life. Much to their surprise, he didn't have any "better genes" at all – he had better bones! And the reason he had better bones was because he ate a diet containing fresh fruit and vegetables (bone anti-inflammatory nutrients) and stayed very active (stimulating bone health).

Ah, the fun territory of causation/correlation. I'm not going to claim that the reason the guy had better bones was entirely because of his diet and active lifestyle, but I'm sure that his activity level and lifestyle are indicative of a mind wired for longevity. Hmmm. Perhaps that's the bigger stretch of a claim to make, hah:

"People don't age because they get older, they age because they stop doing the things and thinking the thoughts that keep them young and engaged in life." Or something like that.

Ten Ways to Strengthen Bones

Bone-Building Foods

Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. Part Three: What Can Individuals Do To Improve Their Bone Health?

(Like anyone is going to read those links...)

There are online food fights about which foods are intrinsically good for you and what foods inhibit the body's natural ability to function optimally, but most agree that exercise, sunlight, fresh fruits and veggies and good times with friends make for a healthy life. From my experience, it's not what I eat that matters as much as what I don't eat -- when I don't overeat or poison my body, I feel better. Kind of like how homework isn't necessarily good for you, but it's better than driving around drunk at 16. Okay, poor analogy. But you get my point, right? Good. [edit: I wrote this at 3am last night. I'm happy that it somewhat makes sense.]

My joyful little cilantro plants measure a few more centimetres taller this week! The excitement is growing. Get it? Ohhhh that was not that clever.

Green lettuce salads with avocado, tomatoes and hempseeds -- I'd like to eat more of these every day.

For a cheap yet quality dessert (and because I didn't feel like walking to Denman) I threw some bananas, strawberries and cacao powder with water into the vita-mix, then set the smoothie in the freezer. Ideally, I would have had patience and some frozen chocolate dessert. Instead, I had cold sugary liquid and a brain freeze.

Veggie quesadillas and guacamole with black beans from Lolitas on Davie. We went an hour before the fireworks started; the place was almost empty within thirty minutes. Perfect. Unless you like the atmosphere created by cool people dining.

Next, walked to Oasis. I had water on the rocks.

Later, I saw either Tegan or Sara at Lick and enthusiastically pointed this out to everybody standing behind me. I don't even know Tegan & Sara.

I haven't been eating anything lately; my body doesn't function properly in this heat. Okay, I've been eating frozen yogurt and drinking water and had a couple of veggie burgers and steamrollers and fewer smoothies [the one pictured above: spinach, banana, blueberries, strawberries, peach, cacao, water] over the past week. This weather has knocked me out and I haven't been feeling like doing too much other than making attempts at coursework, some other work, evening cycling around the seawall and over Lions Gate, staying up too late at night and not sleeping.

On the hottest day of the summer (31-35 Celsius? 36?), I was lucky to have a friend with an idea -- Goran had sights set on swimming in a deep pool of non-fecal coliformed, numbingly chilly Lynn Valley creek water. I was busy staring at coursework at the time, but opted to drop it like it was hot (outside), and go for a swim too. Such a follower. And the place was pa-acked. So many people. We found a good watering hole and eventually I sat in it.

This is the paraphrased summary of the afternoon:

Goran: "Come in the water! You're wearing a bathingsuit. Take off your shirt. No one is going to look at you and your funny tan lines." [This part lasted five-sixths of the total conversation.]

Me: "Fine; I'll set my shirt carefully on this dry rock so I can conveniently throw on some clothes without walking a mile (four steps to my bag) half-naked. I hope no one steps on my shirt, or there will be hell to pay."

Goran: "It'll be fine. And get over yourself."

*Sitting in the water for 20 minutes; people walk by; shirt remains undisturbed.*

Three little kids splash their way over to play with sticks by the cascading falls area and I hold my breath. They throw the sticks around and almost fall off the rocks into fast-moving water; I am poised to be a hero. But nothing terrible happens; yay. Shirt remains untouched and kids seem to have the hang of the rock thing, so I smile and relax again. Until I hear Goran gasp. Then I look over my shoulder and a little kid, maybe 6 years old, bless her dear heart, is... dipping my shirt into the [expletive] water.

The thought of this ridiculousness makes me laugh so hard that I startle her. As I move towards her with my hand raised (to receive the shirt, not to slap), she offers an explanation: "OH, I was just cleaning it..." I give her an unconvinced, "Uh huh," like the one I hear from people when I tell them I'm gay.

And then for dinner I eat a veggie burger and a chocolate frozen yogurt.