Tag: health

Last weekend, my teacher Gil Hedley spoke about how the models we use to describe our experience will dictate what we are actually able to see.

For example, St. Francis of Assisi “was ever so unsparing towards himself that at the last he felt constrained to ask pardon of “Brother Ass”, as he called his body, for having treated it so harshly. ” (Catholic Encyclopedia)  In describing his body as an recalcitrant Beast of Burden, St. Francis created a model where the body needed to be disciplined and flogged into reluctant submission in order to be worthy of God.

The model of our body that we generally accept in North America is the one that we are inundated with through the media.  When we view our own bodies through the accepted lens of our culture, we will almost always find a disconnect between our culture’s ideals of beauty and ourselves.  We are:

• too old
• too fat
• too flabby
• too weak
• too flat-chested
• too big-boned
• too short
• too tall…

And because this model dictates how we see our bodies, we are almost always trying to discipline or starve them into “behaving.”   (In yogi circles, we also sometimes embark on severe “cleanses” as a way of clearing out the terrible impurities that are no doubt infesting us.)

Gil proposed a new model.  “What if we see the body as a temple. You go inside to be elevated.”

I paused.  I have heard the line, “My body is a temple,” so many times that now I just roll my eyes and think about how I should be eating kale and drinking kombucha.  Because when I have heard, “My body is a temple” in the past,  it’s invariably spoken as a reason to keep things OUT, rather than letting things in.  As in, “I don’t eat fries or drink – my body is a temple.”

However, in viewing the body as a temple to be entered, Gil shifted the metaphor.  Now, our body becomes a vehicle through which to feel and experience, rather than an object that we are expected to adorn and show.  The body is something beautiful to be cherished, entered, and explored  – rather than a pristine edifice to be whitewashed and protected against all intruders.

We are invited to knock on the doors of ourselves and go inside.

When we enter our own inner sanctum, we have the opportunity experience our body, our breath, and our feelings.  Our body – this body – becomes the pathway through which our human experience unfolds and evolves.  Our intimacy with this glorious and subtle array of sensations brings us closer to being Aware, Embodied, Alive.

My temple opens its doors to all experience.  It’s big inside – there’s room for french fries and wine.  There is also room for discomfort, for fear, for disappointment, for longing.  We can begin to experience our joy and sorrow, disappointment and hope, our pain and pleasure.  And by courageously and honestly accepting all that is, we are invited to soften into who we really are.

We go inside – and we Rise.

So, does juicing really taste better than drinking the packaged juices at the store?

To answer this question, I decided to do a simple taste test.

I haven’t gone into the store and bought “kale-cucumber-tomato” juice before, but I’ve certainly had my share of store-bought orange juice.  So it seemed to me that a great flavor test would be doing a little comparison between freshly squeezed and store bought OJ.  One product, one flavor.  Nowhere to hide.

I put three oranges into my juicer and away we went.

Test Results

If you love OJ and have never had it freshly squeezed, then I suggest you put away your computer and go buy a juicer right now.  Now.  Run, don’t walk.

Rather than spend $8/ glass at your nearby fancy brunch place, invest in a juicer and have this nectar available to you at any time.  Freshly squeezed orange juice is…like something the juicing angels dropped down from heaven: naturally sweet, tangy, pulpy, and – weirdly – room temperature.  As irrelevant as it might seem, all the orange juice that I’ve had in my day has been cold from the fridge (unless it is a juice box beverage like Capri-Sun…but let’s not go there).   Perhaps similar to a red wine, the relative warmth of the juice opened all sorts of yummy flavors into my mouth.

In short: delicious.

The flat, perky taste of Tropicana simply cannot measure up against the effulgence of fresh orange juice.  And if you do mostly savory juices like I do, the sugar kick is like a ray of internal sunshine.

I’m not sure about the comparison in nutritional content, but I’d wager the freshly squeezed outstrips the Tropicana.  Either way, you’ll get a hefty whack of Vitamin C, A, Thiamin, and Potassium to start off your day.

Side hint:

I’ve developed a rather nasty habit of taking chlorella powder as a supplement.  Chlorella itself is great; the nasty part is dissolving it into water and actually drinking it.  (Tastes like lawn mower detritus.  I hold my nose, swallow quickly, and drink more water before I dare to breathe again.)  On the advice of a friend, I used some of my OJ as the solution for the powder and – presto – the unpleasant taste was almost completely obscured.  Brilliant!

Red.  Daring.  Slightly immoral.  It’s the …Scarlet Lady!  I had red chard in my fridge just begging to be used so I went for it and used it a theme.  Today was all about being red, red red.

The result: While I didn’t turn suddenly scandalous (more’s the pity), I did enjoy the sweeter side of the beet and carrot.   And the color was simply fabulous.

Note to self: do not wear white while drinking this juice.

Scarlet Lady:

• Red chard – 3 leaves
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 beet
• 1/2 lemon

Nutritional Stats:

• 100 g Swiss Chard
  • 122% RDA Vitamin A (6166 IU)
  • 50% RDA Vitamin C
  • 5% RDA B6 (.1 mcg)
  • 4% FDA Folate (14 mcg)
  • 9% RDA Vitamin E (1.9 mcg)
  • 1038% Vitamin K (830 mcg)
  • 5% RDA Calcium (51 mg)
  • 10% RDA Iron (1.8 mg)
  • 20% RDA Magnesium (81 mg
  • 5% RDA Phosphorus (46 mg)
  • 11% RDA Potassium (379 mg)
  • 9% RDA Copper (.18 mg)
  • 19% RDA Manganese (.37 mg)
  • calories: 20
• 150 g tomatoes (about 2 plums)
  • 25% RDA Vitamin A (850 IU)
  • 34% RDA Vitamin C (21 mcg)
  • 10% RDA Potassium (350 mg)
  • calories = 30
• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80
• 50 g of beet (about 1/2 medium)
  • 14% RDA folate (54 mcg)
  • 9% RDA manganese (.16 mg)
  • 4% RDA vitamin C (2.8 mg)
  • 4% RDA potassium (162 mg)
  • calories: 22
• 50 g of lemon (about 1/2) yields:
  • 44% of RDA Vitamin C (26 mg)
  • calories 15
• Total calories: 167

Yay, SPUD!  Yesterday I got my delivery of yummy produce straight to my doorstep.  It was like Christmas when I came home, only without the sugar crash.

This morning I was so inspired by all the beautiful green veggies in my bin that I decided to make something positively verdant.

The Green Monster

• 1/2 cucumber
• 3 curly kale leaves
• 1 collard green leaf
• 2 stalks celery
• fistful of cilantro
• fistful of parsley

Now, this was green.  Beautiful, emerald, green. Rolling hills of luscious grass green.

It also tasted like my lawn.

It wasn’t at all offensive, it was just very…fresh.

Note to self: next time add half of an apple.

Nutritional Stats:

• 100 g cucumber (about 1/2 medium cucumber)
  • 9% RDA vitamin K (7.2 mcg)
  • trace elements manganese, copper, potassium
  • calories: 12
• 1.5 cups (100 g) Kale
  • 308% RDA Vitamin A (15476 IU)
  • 14% RDA B6 (.27 mg)
  • 200% RDA Vitamin C (120 mg)
  • 1021 % RDA Vitamin K (!!817 mg)
  • 14% RDA Calcium (13g mg)
  • 9% RDA Iron (1.7  mg)
  • 13% RDA Potassium (447 mg)
  • 14% RDA Copper (.29 mg)
  • 39% RDA Manganese (.77 mg )
  • calories: 50
• 40 g collard greens (1 cup or so)
  • 110% RDA Vitamin A
  • 50% RDA Vitamin C
  • 10% RDA Calcium
  • calories: 25
• 100 g of celery (roughly 2 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 9% RDA folate (36 mg)
  • 37% RDA Vitamin K (30 mcg)
  • 7% RDA Potassium (260 mg)
  • calories = 15
• fistful of cilantro
  • hard to estimate nutrients, but you get great Vitamin A, B1, B2, Niacin, Folate, Vitamin C and Vitamin K
• fistful of parsley
  • hard to estimate, but you get tons of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin K
• Total calories: roughly 120

So I return from Mexico and to my beloved juicer, excited to rev up the Hurom to start off another great day.

However, I’ve been in Mexico for a week, so you can imagine the state of the contents of my fridge.

Basically, all that’s available is the tough stuff.  You know, the veggies that take about a month to go bad.  Like when you find potatoes tucked away in a cupboard from 1996.  Sure, they’ve sprouted little babies and they’ve gone a bit soft, but you have to give them credit – they’re still almost edible.

So my stalwart, fibrous veggies save the day!

Fridge Dregs

• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/2 beet
• 1 lemon

Nutritional Info

• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80
• 100 g of celery (roughly 2 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 9% RDA folate (36 mg)
  • 37% RDA Vitamin K (30 mcg)
  • 7% RDA Potassium (260 mg)
  • calories = 15
• 50 g of beet (about 1/2 medium)
  • 14% RDA folate (54 mcg)
  • 9% RDA manganese (.16 mg)
  • 4% RDA vitamin C (2.8 mg)
  • 4% RDA potassium (162 mg)
  • calories: 22
• 100 g of lemon (about 1) yields:
  • 88% of RDA Vitamin C (53 mg)
  • calories 30
• Total Calories: 157

First day in Maya Tulum for the YYoga retreat  – AHHHHHH.

After a brutish day of travel yesterday and gobbling down a meal of guacamole and tortilla chips last night (granted, they were yummy), I craved something green this morning.  The resort offers a selection of smoothies and juices, so I opted for the most veggie centric juice I could find.  So even though I’m away from my now-precious Hurom Juicer, I will still be sampling some of the local juicing fare…

The ingredients:

• Cucumber
• Celery
• Chaya (a spinach like veggie here)
• Nopal (cactus)

On the recommendation of a friend (thanks Christina!), I tried the following concoction:

• 2 carrots
• 1 grapefruit (use rhubarb if in season)
• ginger
• makes about 6 oz.

She said this would wake me up as well as any coffee, so I gave it a whirl.

This juice makes a beautiful coral color because of the lack of greens (hence the “lady” title), but also has quite a kick because of the tartness of the grapefruit and the ginger.  I added waaaay too much ginger (so much that it was more like a ginger burn than a ginger zing), but nonetheless it was quite a flavorful waker upper (hence the “in yo face”). Next time I will add ginger judiciously.

Nutrition Stats

• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80

• 200 g grapefruit (small-med grapefruit)
  • 48% RDA vitamin A (1854 IU)
  • 104% RDA vitamin C (68.6 mg)
  • 8% RDA potassium (274 mg)
  • Trace Copper, Magnesium, Thiamin, Vitamin B5, B6, Vitamin E
  • calories: 64
• Total calories: 144

Today I made a juice that resembles brontosaurus upchuck.

Lovena had warned me: when you mix red and green things together, you’re going to get something brown and fairly ugly.  If you want pretty juices, stay in the same color palette.  But I’ve been loving the tomato and green combo, so my juices aren’t going to make any magazine covers soon.

Today I juiced with Swiss Chard rather than kale.  Swiss Chard is the green that looks like it should be hanging out of the mouth of a dinosaur (or at least, I always feel very Jurassic when I eat it).  I consume a LOT of kale in general, so it seems good to switch my greens up (Lovena’s food allergy warnings playing in my head…).  Like the kale, I put the chard in first so it would be pushed through by the more robust veggies.  This seems to work well.  This juice is a bit chewier because of the ground up leaves; when left standing for a few minutes, it begins to separate.  I actually like the chewiness of it, as it makes the juice feel slightly more on the smoothie side.

The lovely Hannah from SPUD checked in with me to see how I was going.  Well folks, I must confess that I am starting to LOVE my juicer.  It’s very easy to use and clean.  I even wore WHITE today when I made my juice, and that is really saying something.

Hannah  asked if I’d noticed any changes in how I was feeling.  Well, honestly, it’s a bit hard to discern if juicing makes me feel any different because I’ve made some other significant changes in my life recently (like doing more cardio and going mostly vegan) that also affect how I’m feeling. But it is fair to say that I get an enormous feeling of satisfaction from drinking something so clearly packed with nutritional goodness.  I still miss chewing on breakfast food, and I find that the juices don’t really fill me up.  However, it’s the perfect drink to have before going for a morning workout when I don’t want to have any solid food beforehand, but need something to get me going.

Coffee Challenge

I think that my next challenge is cutting back caffeine (OMG), continue with the juicing, and seeing how that feels.   I’ve been on and off the coffee merry-go-round many a time,  so perhaps now it’s time to step off.  Oy.  I tremble to consider it.

Okay, Step 1: start by restricting myself to one coffee in the AM.

Yikes.

Revenge of the Dinosaurs

• 1 carrot
• 4 tomatoes
• 4 stalks celery
• 3 leaves Swiss Chard
• 1/2 lemon
• ginger

Nutritional Information

• 100 g carrot (about 1):
  • a whopping 330% RDA Vitamin A  (16,500 IU)
  • 10% RDA Vitamin C (6 mg)
  • 9% Potassium (320 mg)
  • 16% Vitamin K (8.3 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 40

• 300 g tomatoes (about 4 plums
  • 51% RDA Vitamin A (1700 IU)
  • 69% RDA Vitamin C (42 mcg)
  • 21% RDA Potassium (700 mg)
  • calories = 56

• 200 g of celery (roughly 4 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 18% RDA Folate (72 mg)
  • 72% RDA Vitamin K (60 mg)
  • 14% RDA Potassium (520 mg)
  • 6% RDA Magnesium (22 mg)
  • calories = 30

• 100 g Swiss Chard
  • 122% RDA Vitamin A (6166 IU)
  • 50% RDA Vitamin C
  • 5% RDA B6 (.1 mcg)
  • 4% FDA Folate (14 mcg)
  • 9% RDA Vitamin E (1.9 mcg)
  • 1038% Vitamin K (830 mcg)
  • 5% RDA Calcium (51 mg)
  • 10% RDA Iron! (1.8 mg)
  • 20% RDA Magnesium (81 mg)
  • 5% RDA Phosphorus (46 mg)
  • 11% RDA Potassium (379 mg)
  • 9% RDA Copper (.18 mg)
  • 19% RDA Manganese (.37 mg)
  • calories: 19

• 50 g of lemon (about 1/2) yields:
  • 44% of RDA Vitamin C (26 mg)
  • calories 15

  Total calories: 160

Intro to Raw Food

Last night I went to in introduction to Raw Food course by Indigo Foods in Vancouver.  Lovena, the delightfully accented Ukrainian proprietor, kindly let me use my Ethical Deal coupon that was a year out of date.  I’d randomly bought it when I was an omnivore and now that I am back in vegan territory it is very well-timed.   What an incredible evening of raw and vegan food: Carrot Ginger soup, Caesar Salad, Kale Chips, Smoothies…and Chocolate mousse made from avocado.  The flavors were amazing.  Everything was whipped up in a Vitamix.  I now have some severe Vitamix envy.

It’s always interesting to see how we introduce ourselves: “Hi, I’m um, Rachel, and I just started juicing.  And I’m kind of a vegan, but I put milk in my coffee, so I’m kind of a hypocrite….and my idea of vegan cooking is steaming a lot of broccoli, so I’m open to ideas.”

To my surprised gratification, Lovena said that if we did only one thing, we should keep up with the juicing.  “Greens,” she said firmly.  “Mostly greens, only lee-ttle fruit.  Most important thing.  And rotate your greens, so you don’t get allergy.”  As someone who has spent years consuming only broccoli, this is good advice.  She also explained that smoothies kept the pulp and fiber, while juicing was like mainlining your vitamins.  I also learned to pull the leaves off the kale before juicing, and that the ginger peel is really good for you (continue to peel your lemons though).

So it was with a slight sense of nutritional superiority that I made up my juice this morning.  Now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, making the juice is really very quick.

So, this is really like a V8 juice.  I’m also figuring out I don’t have to put  tons of the same veggie in.  I can put a dash of this, a dash of that.

Ruby Red V8

• 1/2 lemon
• 1 carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 leave of kale
• 1/2 medium beet
• 1/4 cucumber (about 1/2 C)
• sliver ginger

As per my friend Christina’s advice, I’m trying to savor my juice this morning rather than gulping it.   Gotta say, it’s good.

Nutritional Info

• 500 g of lemon (about 1/2) yields:
  • 44% of RDA Vitamin C (26 mg)
  • calories 15

• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)- don’t worry, you can’t have too much
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80

• 100 g of celery (roughly 2 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 9% RDA folate (36 mg)
  • 37% RDA Vitamin K (30 mcg)
  • 7% RDA Potassium (260 mg)
  • calories = 15

• 150 g plum tomatoes (about 2)
  • 25% RDA Vitamin A (850 IU)
  • 34% RDA Vitamin C (21 mcg)
  • 10% RDA Potassium (350 mg)
  • calories = 30

• 1.5 cups (100 g) Kale
  • 308% RDA Vitamin A (15476 IU)
  • 14% RDA B6 (.27 mg)
  • 200% RDA Vitamin C (120 mg)
  • 1021 % RDA Vitamin K (!!817 mg)
  • 14% RDA Calcium (13g mg)
  • 9% RDA Iron (1.7  mg)
  • 13% RDA Potassium (447 mg)
  • 14% RDA Copper (.29 mg)
  • 39% RDA Manganese (.77 mg )
  • calories: 50
  • more info

• 50 g of beet (about 1/2 medium)
  • 14% RDA folate (54 mcg)
  • 8% manganese (.16 mg)
  • 4% vitamin C (2.4mg)
  • 4.5% potassium (162mg)
  • calories: 22

• 1/4 cucumber (about 1/2 C)
  •  Trace Vitamin C, A, K, Folate, Copper (no whoppers)
  • “Cucumbers are now known to contain lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol—three lignans that have a strong history of research in connection with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease as well as several cancer types, including breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers” – World’s Healthiest Foods
  • calories: 6
• Total Calories: 203

These could totally suck.

I decided to take this week’s mastication by products, cuisinart them together with some dates, cocoa, and tahini paste, roll them into balls with coconut and stick them in the freezer.

Now, while the Juicer and I seem to be on civil terms, the Cuisinart is my nemesis.  This is the machine that gleefully spews anything I put into it on the walls and ceilings.  The Cuisinart is the reason that my roommate looks fearfully at her lovely kitchen rugs when I want to cook.  The Cuisinart is the reason that there is now an official kitchen policy whereby I must investigate all surfaces of the kitchen – floors, refrigerator, ceiling, windows – during clean up.

As Susan left for the States this morning for two weeks – and the cleaning ladies are coming before she returns –  I felt this would be a good time to risk squaring off.

Update

The mastication was a bit…wet, but I persevered anyway.  A friend came over that evening to hang out, and I proudly pulled my balls from the freezer.

“These could be terrible,”  I confided cheerfully.

He is a very kind person, and took one.

He chewed, considering, “It’s not…awful.”

He took a second bite, “Oh.  There’s the beet.  What exactly did you put in?”

“Everything,”  I reply.  I took one.  The watery nature of the veggies had caused them to be slightly crunchy.   Beet.  Layered with cocoa.  And underlying…kale?  And stringy.

“Awful,” I declared.  “They are absolutely awful.”

He handed his back to me, “I think I can’t do anymore.”

I threw the all out.

“Maybe if I hadn’t included everything.  I mean, there are celery and ginger in there.  If it were just zuccini or apples or something.”

“There are recipes for that kind of stuff,” he said, “my sister does it all the time.  People do great stuff with the pulp.”

Recipes?  Imagine that.  Something to investigate.

Trader Joe’s.

I live in Vancouver, Canada, and there is a section of the population that makes a pilgrimage down to Bellingham, Washington on a monthly basis to visit the Trader Joe’s and stock up.  Ah, Trader Joe’s!  Where food is cheap and plentiful!

Making the passage is best when one has a Nexus card.  A nexus card whips you through the border without having to wait in the border line up (which will be at least 30 minutes).  As a Nexus holder, though, you have to be particularly careful about your declarations.  Not declaring a cup of coffee can get you in trouble.  And there are no exemptions for under 24 hours, so you can be taxed on everything.

There are also certain items that are prohibited from the crossing.  Obviously fresh fruit and seeds.  But also things like “fruit of the hemlock,” whatever that is.  No wine, either, or they’ll tax you about 200% to bring it up to Canadian standards.  (Side note: Canadians love their sin tax.  But I’ll take it and keep my health care insurance, thank you very much.)

We made the voyage with vegan Steph, who made sure to point out the particularly good deals.  “Canned beans, nuts, these little seaweed snacks are to die for.  Get at least three bags.”

We ate most of the seaweed snacks on the way home.  Steph is right; they are to die for.

Trader Joe’s is great for certain items.  They even have an online list of all their vegan products.  Here are my fav’s:

• white bean hummus
• regular hummus
• salsa (so many kinds)
• nuts (best prices around – remember, go RAW with your nuts, not roasted, they’re better for you)
• dried fruit (go un-sulfured – they taste better)
• seaweed snacks (now available at Whole Wallet, I mean, Foods)
• dark chocolate things (yum, yum – check to make sure it’s cocoa butter and not butter)
• ginger chews
• meatless meatballs
• veggie burgers
• organic staple condiments (mustard, etc)

Our freezer had been completely de-iced and emptied by a freezer malfunction before we left.  When we get back, we fill it to the brim with Trader Joe goodies.  There’s nothing quite so satisfying as a well stocked larder.  Happiness.

Moral: Trader Joe’s is worth the trek.  Get a Nexus card. Make the pilgrimage.

I decided to make vegan lasagna.

Well, actually, I made a lasagna that is half vegan and half with cheese for Alan.  In lieu of cheese on my side, I used nutritional yeast.

To understand the import of this dinner, you must understand that I don’t really cook.  Sure, I steam.  Sure, I could sauté some veggies.  And I could make a mean pizza in the oven.  (Ahem – a pre-made pizza.)  But cooking?  Like putting more than three ingredients together?  Well, it’s just not been done.

And Alan was no better. He’d spent most of his life eating in restaurants.  Before I came along, his kitchen was strictly to store utensils for the take-out.  So to make a lasagna seemed like quite an adventure.

I decided to make the sauce from scratch.  I’d made sauce before, so I wasn’t too worried.  But what I didn’t count on was the amount of sauce that I would actually need to make my pasta behemoth.  I wound up dumping in two jars of pre-fab sauce before I finished just to have enough.

Not wanting my side to just be layers of noodles and sauce, I bought an eggplant and some spinach to layer in.  I had read someplace that eggplant has to be drained, so I pulled out the old “Joy of Cooking” and looked it up.

Alan walked in to see me squashing slices of eggplant underneath a dictionary.

“Dare I ask what you are doing.”

“Draining the eggplant,” I said, “Duh.”

He retreated.

I started adding in my layers.  Cooked noodle, then sauce.  Ricotta and parmesan cheese for Alan, more nutritional yeast for me.  Noodles, then spinach.  Noodles, then more sauce with the nutritional yeast or cheese.  Noodles, then eggplant.  Noodles, then sauce and cheese or nutritional yeast.  Top it all off, dump it in the over, and voila.

When we tried my dinner, Alan was thrilled.  He got a little angry.  “This is soooo good!” he growled.  “Damn.”

I smiled.

“Here,” he said, “I want to try your side.”

He reached over and speared a piece of my lasagna.

“You’re not going to like it,” I warned.

He tried it anyway.  He chewed.  And chewed.  And swallowed.

“You’re right. Well, it’s not bad,” he amended, “It’s just not…fantastic.  My side is fantastic.”

“Of course it is.  You have a tub of ricotta on your side.”

“Cheese is delicious.”

“I know.” I tried not to sound forlorn.  Nutritional yeast really is pretty yummy, and – vegans take note – it’s an excellent source of B12, which is a challenge to get into our diet.  But it’s not quite as enticing as ooey-gooey ricotta cheese.  (A full tub.  Did I mention I used a full tub?)

“Well, baby, I’m impressed. This is really fantastic, thank you.”

The first lasagna: success.

I gave up fish just in time.

I was reading a book called “The World is Blue.”  This remarkable account details in stark and horrifying glory the devastation that humans have inflicted upon our watery environment over the last hundred years.  It’s brutal.

Groupers and bluefin tuna are nearly gone, dredging for shrimp wrecks havoc on delicate ecosystems, and there is a mile-long pile of garbage that simply floats in the duldrums of the Pacific Ocean.

We, as humans, have been behaving badly.

The problem seems to be that we are removed from the actual devastation.  No one really shows us the pictures or tells us about it.  We try to do the right thing.  If we saw something wrong in front of us, most of us would try to do the right thing.  But all of this destruction is far away and out of site.  We attempt to eat well, feed our children healthfully, until one day someone comes out with a report that says that the thing we were eating to keep ourselves healthy actually may have the power to destroy us.  Witness the rise of heavy metals in fish.

Did you know that algae produce most of our oxygen?  I didn’t know that.  I would’ve guessed trees.   So now instead of worrying about rainforests, we need to worry about the ocean.  Because if that system goes down, we’re all proverbially screwed.

So.

I gave up fish just in time.

Coming Home

Alan greeted me with a stockpile of vegan groceries at home.  Quinoa, fortified soy milk, mixed greens, and a delicious toasted sandwich of spelt bread with avocado, mustard, vegannaise, and rock salt.  And to top it all off, a vegan brownie.  Delicious.  He’d decided to be a supportive trooper after all.   At least for awhile.

“I’ve decided to see what it does to you,” he said.

“Look,” I said, “the only thing I’m giving up that’s really good for me is fish.  Eggs make me feel sick and I don’t eat them much.  Dairy isn’t that great for me either, right?  So let’s just see how it goes.”

“Everyone I know who has gone vegan has converted back because they’ve gotten ill.  I knew a girl who was hospitalized for being vegan.”  He paused.   “Why don’t you do it for six weeks instead.  Six weeks instead of six months.”

I sighed.  I could tell that he was worried about me.  “Okay,” I conceded,  “we’ll check in six weeks.  If things are going poorly, then I’ll adjust, okay?  We know a lot more about nutrition than we used to.”

He looked down.  Nodded slowly.

“Hey,”  I said brightly ,”Let’s go get supplements!  Supplements are fun!  I’ll get lots of supplements.  You can watch and make sure I’m getting all the right stuff, okay?”

The awesomeness of flax

We made a round of errands.  Mine included picking up some flax seed oil at the Whole Wallet down the street.  Now, flax is hands down the best vegetarian source for Omega 3’s around.  Omega 3’s are the “good fats” – the fats you need to keep your cells and brain happy.  They are also more fragile than Omega 6’s and have a far shorter shelf life.  Our North American diet has slanted way to far in the direction of Omega 6’s.  Ideally you want a 2:1 or 4:1 ration of Omega 6 to Omega 3’s in your diet, so we need to make a concerted effort to get more Omega 3’s and less 6’s in our food.  For the record, cold water fish are excellent sources of Omega 3’s.   But after salmon, flax is king.  You don’t need much flax oil to get your required fats – maybe a couple tablespoons a day.  And it’s got a nutty, yummy flavor that is delicious in a wide variety of foods.

Flax Safety Tips: Always buy your flax refrigerated and store it in the fridge when you get it home.  It’s better to have it stored in a dark container.  Use it up fairly rapidly as it will spoil over time.  Also, never heat it up.  Flax keeps its precious and fragile Omega 3’s intact when it’s cool.  Use it on salads, in dressings, sauces…just not in baking or in the frying pan.   Or grind the seeds (they have to be ground or you’ll just pass them through) and sprinkle the flour on anything.

Supplements

We hit the supplement superstore, Finlandia.  The shop girl seemed to smell my non-veganness and wanted to know why I made the switch. I felt a little stupid telling her it was an experiment.

“For six months.  To see how it goes. Seems like it makes sense to give it a try.”  I shrugged apologetically.

She took it all in stride.  “You should be good with this.”   She gave me Dr. Udo’s 3-6-9 Essential Fatty Acid mix and a B12, Folic Acid, and Iron supplement.

“What about Vitamin D?”  I asked.

She nodded, “Everyone in Vancouver is Vitamin D deficient.  But not all Vitamin D supplements are vegan.  If it says D3, it comes from animal sources.  D2 comes from vegetarian sources.  However, if you’re taking a multivitamin, you should already be covered.” she says.  “But watch your protein.  Each plenty of legumes, beans…”

“Quinoa,”I offered.

“Quinoa is great.  Eat nutritionally dense food like black rice and less wheat.  Stay away from pasta, white rice, white flour. “

I nodded, this all sounded familiar.   Most of it was pretty common sense.  I was thinking that being a vegan might just feel more like cleaning up my act than like any real departure from how I’d already been eating.

Steph and my Antioxidant book had prepared me well.

Ugly Juice – about 8 oz.

• 2 carrots
• sliver ginger
• 1 lemon
• 3 leaves curly kale

This is a seriously ugly juice, people.  We’re talking swampwater surprise.  Especially with the foamy bit on top when it first gets made.  Ew.  That said, it tastes anything but dank.  The lemon and the ginger zing it up and pretty much over the carrot and kale.  It’s a tart, eye-popper kind of a juice.

I tried the trick today of putting the kale through the juicer before the other veggies.  I had my first jam, but it was easy enough to reverse the juicer, get rid of the jam, and then get things going again.  Putting in the kale first worked better: the carrots pushed the leafy bits through and no kale were leaves stuck to the inside of the strainer.

Okay, I didn’t peel the ginger before I put it in.  Should I peel it?  What’s the protocol here?

Is drinking your food as much fun as eating it?

One other thing I’m thinking about: Juicing is great if you hate eating your vegetables.  For example, if you think brussel sprouts are gross, or kale tastes too “green,” or if you prefer the crunch of a baguette to the crunch of a carrot.  But I love eating vegetables.  Salad is the first thing I pounce upon on my plate.  I’m a lucky freak that way, I suppose.  But when I juice my veggies, I miss the process of chewing on my food.

There’s also the calorie issue.  I’ve also become more calorie conscious since I started using this very fun and appallingly honest  app.  (I recently wrote about my experience in how calorie counting is a tool to get us more “Reality” based.  It’s not really about the calories, people, it’s about ferreting out and confronting areas of denial.)  At any rate, I’m wondering if I’d rather eat my calories than than slurp them.  Drinking juice just doesn’t fill me up the way a nice plate of veggie does, so I wind up wanting to eat more for breakfast.  On the other hand, juicing encourages me eat this stuff raw – which is supposedly nutritionally good – where I would usually cook up the veggies.  However, in looking on line (always dangerous), there is some indication that heat doesn’t impact all vitamins equally.  In fact, cooking helps some vitamins become more available.  I’m going to check out a book called, “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen” by Harold McGee.  It’s gotten good reviews for being a wealth of research-based information.

Literal food for thought…

Ugly Juice: Nutritional Info

• 2 carrots
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80
• 1 lemon
  • 88% of RDA Vitamin C (53 mg)
  • calories 30
• 3 leaves curly kale
  • 308% RDA Vitamin A (15476 IU)
  • 14% RDA B6 (.27 mg)
  • 200% RDA Vitamin C (120 mg)
  • 1021 % RDA Vitamin K (!!817 mg)
  • 14% RDA Calcium (13g mg)
  • 9% RDA Iron (1.7  mg)
  • 13% RDA Potassium (447 mg)
  • 14% RDA Copper (.29 mg)
  • 39% RDA Manganese (.77 mg )
  • calories: 50
  • more info
• Ginger
  • There’s a bunch of trace stuff in ginger, but really since you use so little of it, I won’t count the nutritional info.
• Total Calories: 160

Beets are messy.

Somehow I got beet juice on the wall.   I’m not sure how that happened.

I think I did a good enough with the clean up that my roommate won’t notice.  We’ll see if I get any texts later today about food Roshach images that I’ve left behind…

Beet Day:

• 1 beet (med)
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 3 leafs of kale

The flavor of this juice is beet, beet, beet.  And carrot.   It’s good and fresh, but I miss the zing of yesterday’s lemon.  Hannah suggested I add ginger, which I may try to do tomorrow.

Tip: When I cleaned out the juicer,  all the kale leaves were stuck to the inside of the filter.  Next time I’ll add the kale first and hope that the other veggies push it through the masticator with a little bit more thoroughness.

Nutritional Info:

• 100 g of beet (about 1 medium)
  • 27% RDA folate (109 mcg)
  • 17% manganese (.33 mg)
  • 8% vitamin C (4.9 mg)
  • 9% potassium (325 mg)
  • calories: 45
• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80
• 100 g of celery (roughly 2 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 9% RDA folate (36 mg)
  • 37% RDA Vitamin K (30 mcg)
  • 7% RDA Potassium (260 mg)
  • calories = 15
• 150 g tomatoes (about 2 plums)
  • 25% RDA Vitamin A (850 IU)
  • 34% RDA Vitamin C (21 mcg)
  • 10% RDA Potassium (350 mg)
  • calories = 30
• 1.5 cups (100 g) Kale
  • 308% Vitamin A (15476 IU)
  • 14% B6 (.27 mg)
  • 200% Vitamin C (120 mg)
  • 1021 % Vitamin K (!!817 mg)
  • 14% Calcium (13g mg)
  • 9% Iron (1.7  mg)
  • 13% Potassium (447 mg)
  • 14% Copper (.29 mg)
  • 39% Manganese (.77 mg )
  • calories: 50
  • more info
• Total Calories: About 220 –  not bad, the kale is particularly potent.

Today I went for a V-8 inspired concoction, but it wound up as a V-4:

• 1 lemon
• 2 whole carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 4 plum tomatoes

Makes: 12 oz.

This one was good!  The lemon was an inspiration; the tartness really kicks up the flavor and replaces the need for salt.  The carrots add a dash of sweetness in lieu of using fruit.  Yummy –  and with no added salt or sugar.

Side note: I was very proud of myself for getting my juice on today.  The machine was also easier today to assemble and disassemble for cleaning.  I did get juice on the floor, but nothing on the ceiling, so I think we’re doing well.

I got nerdy and looked up the most impactful vitamin intake* from these foods:

• 100 g of lemon (about 1) yields:
  • 88% of RDA Vitamin C (53 mg)
  • calories 30
• 200 g carrot (about 2):
  • a whopping 660% RDA Vitamin A  (33,000 IU)
  • 20% RDA Vitamin C (12 mg)
  • 18% Potassium (640 mg)
  • 32% Vitamin K (16.4 mcg)
  • also some B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Manganese
  • calories 80
• 200 g of celery (roughly 4 stalks, though this can vary)
  • 18% RDA Folate (72 mg)
  • 72% RDA Vitamin K (60 mg)
  • 14% RDA Potassium (520 mg)
  • 6% RDA Magnesium (22 mg)
  • calories = 30
• 300 g tomatoes (about 4 plums)
  • 51% RDA Vitamin A (1700 IU)
  • 69% RDA Vitamin C (42 mcg)
  • 21% RDA Potassium (700 mg)
  • calories = 56
• Total Calories: About 200 – a lot of nutritional bang for your buck!
  

*Info estimated with help from MyFood App.  I can’t vouch for this being exact, especially given the wide range of sizes of veggies, but I like getting even an rough approximation.

I am not what you’d call “neat” in the kitchen.

During my smoothie stages, epic smears of smoothie product wind up (somehow) being expelled from a our blender and splattering across the carpet, the ceiling and the walls. And while I diligently try to clean everything up, somehow bits of flax or melted blueberry find themselves mashed into the nooks and crannies of the kitchen. So it was with some horror that my roommate Susan discovered I had now brought home a juicer.

“Well get you a haz-mat suit,” she said, eying her lovely kitchen rugs with some alarm. “And a tarp.”

I’ve never tried juicing before, but I’d heard good things. Juicing sites wax poetic about the benefits:”You will find that when you make fresh juice a daily part of your diet, you will have increased energy, a glowing complexion, strengthened immune system, stronger bones and a reduced risk of disease. It is recommended that you drink at least 16 ounces of freshly squeezed juice each day.”  While this may be overkill, even the Mayo Clinic agrees that juicing is a good way to get a slug of vitamins into your diet quickly (granted sans fiber). So my obstacles seemed to be:

• laziness/ time
• no juicer
• takes about 40 veggies to make one juice
• fears of taking in so much sugar in one go
• clean up (need I mention Hazmat suit?)

Enter Spud.

SPUD (Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery) is like Vancouver’s version of Fresh Direct, but healthier. Organic groceries delivered conveniently to your door.  Hannah, one of their reps, got in touch with me and asked me if I’d like to do some blogs about juicing in order to get the word out about their service. They’d provide me with a juicer and the produce, and all I had to do was try it out and see what I thought.

Since I love all experiments that involve health and wellness, I jumped on the chance.  After all, they were taking two out of five of my obstacles away by giving me veggies and a juicer, so what better time to see if juicing really lived up to all its hype? Would I feel invigorated, better, clearer? Or would I get a sugar high and then crash?

So now, the experiment begins.

Day 1:

My roommate finds me in kitchen.

“How’s the juicing going?” Susan discreetly looks over her carpets.

“Oh, I haven’t started yet!” I look down at my coffee – my usual AM pick-me-up. “Yes, I should do that.”  I’ve had the juicer a day and a half and told Spud I’d start on the experiment quickly.  I glance onto my patio, where Hannah’s delivery of produce awaits. “Okay, what should I make?”

“Something green,” she replies.  She watches me from a safe distance.

I trundle outside and start peering into my box of goodies.  “Kale?” I call out over my shoulder, “cucumber, apple?”  Never having juiced anything before, I’m taking a stab at what I think will taste good.  My roommie is an amazing cook, I figure she’ll have good feedback.

“Yes,” Susan says, “Good! And cucumber is good for your skin.”

I bundle up my veggies and dump them on the counter, then wash them and cut them into 2″ pieces (as per the Hurum’s Slow Juicer directions).   My roommate ventures near to look over my shoulder at what I’m doing.

“You know that will make about a tablespoon of juice.”

“Go away.”

I start putting everything into the juicer.  This is a “slow juicer,” which means it grinds the produce more slowly so as not to destroy all the enzymes. Or at least that’s what the manual says.

The juicer slowly masticates the produce and pours juice out of one funnel and the pulp out of another.

“Ew,” Susan says.

I agree. The pulp expulsion looks a little gross.

To my surprise, our recipe yields about 16 oz of juice-perfect for two people.  We try it.

“Wow,” I say, “that’s actually quite good. Not too…green.”

She nods, savors, considers. Susan is a hard sell. “That’s do-able,” she proclaims. “The cucumber softens it.  It’s good.”

It is good. And I didn’t even make a mess.

Day 1 Recipe:

• 4 stalks celery
• 1/3 bunch of kale
• 1 cucumber
• 1 apple

Yield: about 16 oz.

I like chocolate.  And popcorn.  And I really enjoy mindlessly eating crunchy, salty things.  But in the last couple of years, my body has started to let me know that eating chocolate and popcorn and delicious crunchy things doesn’t feel quite so good afterwards.  In fact, it’s started to feel bad.  Which sucks, because eating chocolate, salty and crunchy things has been a favorite way to distract myself from my uncomfortable feelings, my fatigue, my loneliness, my anger.  And it feels like pulling out my spleen to throw that lovely crutch away.

Enter calorie counting.

When I enter my food into my cute little calorie counting app, lo and behold it tells me how many calories I’m actually taking in.  I can’t hide behind, “Well, the creamer in my coffee doesn’t really count,” or, “it’s not that big a piece of chocolate,” or, “just one more.”  In plain, neat little script, the Reality of my unnecessary consumption is looking me in the face.  And then I have those fun, confrontational moments when my brain wants to NOT enter a particular food into the app.  As if not entering it in there would mean that somehow I hadn’t just eaten a second loaf of banana chocolate chip goodness because I was feeling compulsive.

But, as odd as it might seem that calorie counting can be a battleground for truth-telling and Reality-checking, I muster my courage and face the truth, and log in those 242 calories.

Let’s be clear: I have nothing against eating chocolate, salty, crunchy things.  Pleasure is the spice of life.  I want to dive into this world and nourish myself with all of its caloric and salty delights.  But I want to do so because it’s a conscious choice –not because I’m in denial and running away from something else.

As human kind, we must practice staring the truth in the face.  And we must increase our resolve to do this when the truth feels icky.  Food is just a tangible, measureable practicing ground. But how many other places in our lives exist where we turn our eyes away?  Where we’d rather avert our gaze and avoid the vulnerability and the heartache of admitting that something is not what we want it to be?

• Global warming
• “I was just following orders.”
• Factory Farming
• Homelessness
• Difficult relationships
• Elephants in the room
• Depletion of our oceans
• Etc, etc, etc…

Calorie counting looks pretty mild compared to these glaring global trends, but the intrinsic issue is absolutely the same.  If I can be really, truly honest about what I’m putting in my body, I’m one step closer to being really, truly honest in the Reality of the world.  And we know when we’re avoiding it (don’t we?), which is amazing news!   Because when we get that little tickle, we can square our shoulders, take a breath, and make a different choice.

We have such capacity for transformation and change.  When we muster our courage to bravely face the truth as it is, then we truly change the world – one person at a time.  One honest moment at a time.

Even one calorie at a time.

Yesterday, I sent my Grandma an article from Harvard Medical School about some new research touting the merits of a protein from a plant-based diet. As someone who has run the spectrum between carnivore and vegan, I was rather cheekily lamenting my recent departure from the ranks of vegetarian.

Here’s her reply, which just goes to show why you should respect your elders:

“Dear Granddaughter,

Just read your article from Harvard and wish I could participate in one of these studies! As you know, I will be 92 next month and was raised on the delicious food My Mother prepared.  This was usually mush or eggs or bread with cream and sugar poured over it (for breakfast). I always drank a lot of milk (before they pasteurized it). We cooked with butter and cream, had fried chicken and I can still taste the little dumplings my Mother made and put in gravy made from the chicken drippings. The burnt sugar cake she made (from scratch) was out of this world. Fried ham and gravy made from the drippings was delicious. I remember the first time I made gravy, I was about 10 years old. We were down at my Aunt Birdie Dawson’s making apple butter. We spent a day each year doing this in a huge copper kettle over an outdoor fire. We had a big apple butter stirrer and it took all day to make. Anyway, I digress, My aunt asked me to go up to the house and fix lunch and  I had to fry ham and make gravy. First time.  As I recall it turned out O. K.

I am not disputing their studies- I try to eat healthy and try to eat fish a couple of times a week. I have always been a coffee drinker and always loved chocolate. Now after years of saying it was not good for you they tell you to drink coffee and eat chocolate. I always wonder how they figure out how many calories are in things? I really think there is too much time and money spent on telling people what they should and shouldn’t eat and the money could be put to better use drilling water wells in Africa for people there who have to walk miles for a little water.

I really do appreciate your sending me the info and always glad to hear from you.  I have read a lot on Yoga lately and think it is a good thing!

I Love you, Grandma   XOXO”