Raw Food Pics!

Raw Pizzas (dehydrated crusts, 'barbecue' sauce, peppers, olives, fresh basil):

Salad greens with Ani Phyo's Breakfast Scramble Pate on top:

Tomato stuffed with Sundried Tomato Sunflower Herb Pate (from Jennifer Cornbleet's book):

California Rolls (from Jennifer Cornbleet's book) - avocado, carrot, red pepper, cucumber with Nama Shoyu for dipping (and some pickled ginger):

Raw vegan lasagne (from Jennifer Cornbleet's book) - one alteration: I used a full cup of marinara sauce in it, not 1/2 cup (you can see it oozing out). But it was really really tasty. Zucchini 'noodles', blended spinach, mashed avocado and marinara sauce.

Day 17

The past week has FLOOOOOWWWWWNNNN by. What with Hallowe'en and the kidlets, we were busy getting costumes ready and anticipation and excitement were building (as you can well imagine!). Hallowe'en night we had 13 trick-or-treaters, and for those who know where we live, that is certainly a record! Our kids went to about 8 houses locally, then to some friends' on the way to Grammy & Grampa's - our final destination for the evening. They had a rousing good time and both ended up with upwards of 5 dozen pieces of candy from just 10 houses. One house handed out candy from China, which was confiscated, what with the recent melamine media reports/etc.

On the weekend I took Reiki Level One, which was... Fantastic. Absolutely incredible. I felt highly energized Saturday night, but also once in bed, slept like I've never slept before, awakening refreshed and ready for Sunday. My Angel Card at the end of the course said Purification, which I laughed about. I mean, here I am, in the middle of a CLEANSE and I blindly pick a card that says Purification. Too funny. Just before I picked the card, I asked, "What will I use Reiki for now that I have completed this course? How can I use it to benefit my life and the lives of those around me? Where do I go with it from here?" And that was the answer: Purification. Love it. There is so much about the universe we truly cannot ever understand, eh.

Sunday night I was on our computer and in the midst of typing three different emails simultaneously when the whole thing just went black and rebooted itself... or attempted to. Apparently ds (who I asked not to) had left his Sim Theme Park CD-Rom in the drive and without FAIL it ALWAYS causes serious computer crashes. I tried several times to reboot with no success, even leaving the power supply unplugged overnight - to no avail. Trying to get ahold of computer techy this morning was interesting as his email is on the computer, and his phone number came up "not in service". AARGHHHH. So I call 411 and they give me the same number I just called that said NIS. (Is Telus completely stunned?!?!) I had a brainwave and went on the old computer and managed to get online and find the company website and yes, his # has changed (probably to a Shaw # which is why Telus 411 doesn't know anything about it. I mean, REALLY - how helpful is 411 if it only gives you Telus #s and not also Shaw?!?!). I also grabbed his cell # and email. So here I sit, at the computer at the library, attempting to send him a distressed email. After all, I can't imagine "Boot Disk Failure; Insert System Disk and Press Enter" is a good message to get when booting up. To make matters worse, ds feels terrible that he forgot to remove the disk, and I feel crappy b/c I haven't yet backed up our vacation pictures... since the last time the computer crashed. (not good not good NOT GOOD) I even tried to Reiki on the computer, but that too, did not revive it.

But Just for Today, I Will Not Worry. Just for Today, I will not Anger.

Juicing is going very well. Day 17 today. The past week has been good; nothing major to report. Into the groove, getting juices made ahead of time if I'm going to be out on the road running errands/etc. and that seems to work just fine. I think it helped immensely that I had been cleansing for 2 wks previous to the Reiki attunement, and that I will continue to cleanse for the next 4 wks afterwards. Certainly I am abstaining from meat, dairy, all cooked food, nuts/seeds/etc. and am just having raw, organic vegetables and fruits juiced.

Received some concern last week from well-meaning people in my life (who I know love me very much and are simply concerned) that this juice feast is dangerous. I am working hard to accept that their opinion is different from mine; I feel more educated on juicefeasting than they are and have not embarked on this cleanse without forethought. Besides, as I said to someone else in my life, if at any time I felt like it was no longer benefitting me, I'd stop. Simple as that. I mean, I'd hope that those close to me would know me well enough to trust me on this one. Do I generally behave irresponsibly? No, I do not. I believe I am achieving optimum health through juice feasting. But apart from their concerns, everything else is going well with the juicing.

I'll try to post a little more regularly this week; hopefully I can get the 'puter fixed asap.

Today I am grateful for the lessons in patience I'm learning.
Namaste,
~n~

Day 12

It's Wednesday, and everything's fantastic! I juiced up: red leaf lettuce, parsley, cucumber, celery, carrot, apple, pear, ginger, lime, and fennel this morning and mixed it together to make 4L of juice. That will last the day; I might need to make another L later; we'll see.

The last couple days I've developed excema on the back of my left hand; it's terribly itchy and I keep telling myself it's a detox reaction and that my body will heal itself when it's ready. The other detox symptom I'm having is roseacea on my face; at times my face will be fuscia - REALLY bright and red. I'm glad to be going to Reiki Level One this weekend; perhaps that will help my body release the toxins it has stored up and make this a gentle detox. :) Got a body fat/body water scale yesterday and was a little surprised at the reading, but it is good to have a baseline. Interesting that the naturopath has done as much as he feels he can in terms of helping me cleanse; I'll continue with the juice feast as long as I feel it's helpful (probably 'til Dec 1st or so), as I think there is more that *I* can do. And the one big big key that is missing in my daily life right now is daily exercise. A year ago I was rowing 10 kms a day, 6 days a week. The past year (partly because of surgery; mostly because of laziness), I haven't rowed hardly at all. I really need to exercise regularly and I think it will help immensely for detoxing.

Went to Tai Chi class last night which was good; although I dreamed about it afterwards, too. LOL

We're just at story hr at the library (the kids are in Hallowe'en costumes - very cute!) and are heading to swimming this afternoon (I'll swim a km while the kids are in lessons). We are also putting together two shoeboxes for "Operation Shoebox"; another homeschooling family's church supports this cause - the filled shoeboxes are collected and distributed to underpriviliged children around the world. And then we're off to pick-up our weekly produce box at the local organic farm.

Yesterday we were at the local Nature House for the annual salmon run. Thousands of salmon come up the river to spawn; it's quite something to see (and smelly, later on in the season!). We had an organized fieldtrip with a park naturalist who told the children lots of stories about local First Nations' history and the salmon. It's a beautiful, protected park area and is a joy to take the children into nature (reminding me of Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods - excellent read). We are very very fortunate where we live to be surrounded by large expanses of natural beauty.

DH is home in 53 days. woooo hoooooo.

Story hour's nearly over. Have a great day! :)

Raw Juice

Today is a raw juice day. I've had (so far) more than 5L of raw, organic, fresh juices... 1L each of kale, celery, carrot, and apple (well, actually it was probably 1L of kale, 750mL each of celery & carrot, and 1.5L of apple). I stopped by Cafe Bliss while in town and ordered up a L of "Doris" - yam, carrot, apple, ginger, cinnamon. DEEEEEEEElicious. I really need to expand my horizons at home making juice. I usually just make simple combinations: apple carrot ginger, or my usual like I had today: greens, celery, carrot & apple. That's a staple juice for me. But checking out their menu (www.cafebliss.ca) there are some delectable combinations they've come up with that I'm yearning to try soon.

I'm off to Tai Chi class tonight - in jeans since I forgot my comfy cotton yoga pants at home :(
This weekend I'm doing the first part of the Tai Chi Instructor Training program and am looking forward to that.

Feeling great today; a little tired since I was up from ~3-5 this morning. I woke up with a moderate to severe leg cramp in one leg and was wondering how it could possibly be that I was deficient in potassium (which I've heard is the source of leg cramps like that) since I ate three bananas yesterday in an ultimate smoothie for dinner. LOL I got up and walked it out. One of my eyes has been twitching all day (you know how when you're tired your eye pulses, and you think EVERYone must be able to see it, but it's not outwardly visible?). A good sign I'm tired and probably still recovering from the travel & time change. (I must be over 30; this paragraph sounds like I'm falling part! LOL) Not a big deal; I'll sleep super-solid after class tonight and wake up refreshed tomorrow.

Namaste
~n~

Morning comes extremely early sometimes...

Well, with the time change the kids were up at 5 this morning. (I laughed that this seems really early for us, but is really normal for other families we know) They had slept for 10 & 13 hrs, so they did get enough sleep, I think. Our house was chilly this morning; I'm too cheap to turn the electric heat up much, so by 6:30 I had the woodstove going and although it's still going, my teeth were actually chattering about half an hour ago. Part of it is that when I drink cold liquids (water, juices), I feel really cold. And this morning I've had about 1L of water so far. I'm amazed how quickly 12 oz of water go into me. I found it very challenging on the trip to drink enough water each day - when you're spending hours each day driving you don't want to have to stop every fifteen or thirty minutes for bathroom breaks, so I am really appreciating being back at home and getting back into the routine of drinking lots of liquids.

I've been reading a new book: Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children: Becoming a Mindful Parent, by Sarah Napthali. So far (and I'm not very far into it yet) it's really enjoyable. I'll comment more as I read through it.

Other than that, I've noticed my hair coming out lately (and graying, as well). It's been 5 and a half months since I've gone raw, and the same thing happened after going vegan - about 5-6 months after initially changing my diet, I noticed hair coming out whenever I'd run my hands through it - maybe just 3 or 4 or 5 at a time, but the number of times I run my hands through my hair, well... I know they say that we lose on average 100 hairs a day, maybe it's not that I'm losing more than anyone else, I'm just aware of it right now. Anyways, from experience I know that this is temporary and my hair resumes its thickness (I have always had quite thick hair, so a little thinning isn't the end of the world for me) in due time - when it happened the first time (after going vegan), I read that it was a body's way of displaying "shock" at the new, healthier regime, and it's not like it's clumps coming out, it's definitely just a general thinning. I have also read that some people as raw vegans experience a darkening (not graying) of their hair and a thickening as well, so I'm sure that with more dark leafy greens, seaweeds, and algae in my diet, things will balance themselves out.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to drinking lots of green juice and water in the days ahead, and embracing daily movement and meditation into my life. On with my day!

Spinach, Celery, Carrot & Apple juice. Mostly there's celery & spinach in this.

Juicey Juice

I have been reading again (I'm sorry, was that a collective groan I heard? LOL)... I read Angela Stokes' The Juice Feaster's Handbook and I must say I really enjoyed it. I picked it up after reading Aleesha's rave review of it (http://www.timelessspirit.com/). There are some really practical tips on juice feasting, she shares her experience with her 92 day juice feast, and it was really really well-written and comprehensive. My one comment would be that the typset is quite small (no, no, I don't need glasses) and if she ever reprints it, I'd vote for a larger sized font. And one other thing I would enjoy seeing is it printed on environmentally friendly (100% post-consumer recycled?) paper. It may be; at a quick glance I didn't see if it said anywhere what it's printed on. But overall, those are really petty things and I am not going to distract from the wonderful message of which Angela writes. It is a really valuable resource.

The other book I am reading I picked up at Angela's talk last week in Victoria - it's Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: what's missing in your life? by Norman Walker (Dr.). I was amazed that it was originally published in 1936 and printed annually until 1970, and this copy was a 1978 print. Isn't it amazing how people have known about the benefits of juicing for so many decades already? Another really good, practical book. Goes through each individual juice and talks about the benefits each juice brings. Also has guidelines for combining juices (eg. 10 oz spinach to 6 oz carrot). I'm still reading about the benefits of each juice. Another excellent resource (but Angela's writing is easier to read, like a friend having a pleasant conversation with you, imo).

Angela-la-la-la-la's Talk

Last night I headed into town to hear Angela Stokes, of www.rawreform.com, talk about her experiences on raw food for the past 6 1/2 yrs. I had planned on leaving my children with a friend, when at the last minute, she decided to come with me, so her husband (to whom I'm very grateful) took on the childcare responsibilities for the evening. It was wonderful for her & I to get out together as we haven't had the opportunity in far too long.

Angela's talk last night was fantastic. She is well-spoken and appeared at ease in front of the larger (~50) crowd. She shared her story, her journey to raw foods, shared her top tips for staying raw, and talked about the emotional journey that can accompany a diet of raw foods. I think for me I was really glad to hear her experiences with travelling and raw food (especially with our upcoming holiday and knowing how I struggled to stay committed to raw foods on the road trip in the summer - lack of planning there) and also the social issues surrounding raw food - how do you have a social life on raw foods (check it out on you tube; she's a very good singer!). All in all, a really inspiring evening.

I remember before going raw, I had already been vegan for 2 yrs. I had taken the occasional day in there to go raw, so I knew, while contemplating going raw (and I was very much inspired reading Angela's site & blog), that I could manage for a day. But more than a day? an entire week? well, I wasn't sure if I could make it that long. In retrospect, knowing I could go an entire day on raw foods has saved me. Every moment, I am reminded that yes, I can make it through just one day, just one meal. And what is life but not a series of days or of moments? That's all there is to it - just one meal, one moment, one day at a time. Next thing you know, I've been raw for nearly 5 months and counting....

Thank-you Angela for your inspiration and for being a role-model. So nice to meet you! :)

the Ultimate Smoothie

Last week I watched some YouTube clips with David Wolfe, who was making "The Ultimate Smoothie". It's actually delicious. I will share with you here what I've made:

water, I suppose I put in 2-3 cups. David used the water & meat of 2 young coconuts; they're hard to find around here and they're not local produce -LOL
1 tbsp raw cacao nibs
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp raw cacao butter
a handful goji berries
a small handful (~12) raw cashews
1 oz/2 tbsp acai liquid
~1 c frozen blueberries (local)
~1 c frozen raspberries (local)
2 bananas
2 frozen wheatgrass juice cubes (from ZenZero in Courtney)

Blended in the Vitamix, this makes 1.5 L of smoothie; enough to last 2 "meals".


Today I am grateful for the warm sunshine
I am grateful for a weekend alone with my daughter
I am grateful for my raw diet
I am grateful for my very nice car
I am grateful for my marriage and a loving husband

A visit to the naturopath

Today, for the first time in six years, I went to visit the naturopath. I just wanted confirmation that I'm vibrantly healthy, and to tweak my metabolism a bit. I've only been raw for 4 months now and I feel like I have learned so much about good nutrition in the past few years, but there are moments I find myself doubting that I am getting all the nutrients that I need in my diet overall. Well, I was reassured to find out that yes, I am healthy, and of course we can tweak things a little to get to an even higher level of health. Things that we're hoping to adjust (through homeopathics) over the next couple months include functioning of the pancreas, digestive system/flora of the intestinal track, adrenals... just general maintenance, and because I am looking after my body overall, it's not like we need to do a serious overhaul of anything.

It's funny because here's a list of things that he suggested would be wise for most people to eliminate; and I've already eliminated them all: drugs, alcohol, meat, dairy, wheat, soy, caffeine and other stimulants... and I'd have to agree with him that overhauling your diet towards better nutrition is better for your health than eating whatever and then coming to him and undergoing a periodic cleanse. Really, I've done a lot of the detoxing work by eating vegan and now raw/live vegan. We are what we eat, right.

Overall, my diet does not appear to be lacking in nutrients, with the exception of B12, because I haven't been supplementing regularly and haven't made a conscious effort to include foods with B12, such as algae (E3Live or spirulina, for example), nutritional yeast, seaweeds, or fermented foods like sauerkraut. So I will supplement with a sublingual for the next while and see if that helps. I don't generally take a multivitamin, and I don't see any need to start including one.

One thing that came up was the importance of daily exercise, and confession here: I haven't been committed to it this year. For 18 months I rowed on my concept 2 rowing machine near-daily: an average of 10 kms, 5-6 x a week. I was seriously committed to it; I rowed 330+ kms each month. And then I don't know what happened, but I just sort of needed a break (and then had surgery). But this break has lasted far too long and I really need to exercise my will power now and get back into it daily. I do Tai Chi once a week at least (lately it's been more often than that), but on its own, it's just not enough. And when the children are in their swimming lessons, I swim a kilometer, but again, that's only 1/2 an hour, once a week. I really do need to include more physical exercise. I have always had a body that seemed to need more exercise than the average person and I've always struggled to be active enough to find a balance between calories ingested and calories burned. So I'm off toTai Chi class now.

So that's my check-in today: homeopathics, more B12, more exercise, but generally in great health.

Life skills...

Another beautiful sunny day. 14 degrees & 90% humidity in the greenhouse this morning. No, I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to growing my own food. I'm wingin' it in a big way. But the kale transplants and prize choy, chard, broccoli, silverbeet and raddichio that are in there seem happy. I do a daily slug patrol after they nearly devastated some of the plants. Hopefully the plants recover. I really want to eat fresh greens this winter, not something imported from California (or China, for heaven's sake). I have more transplants to go in the ground, but the problem is the "summer" crops haven't quite finished - the tomato plants (2 of 'em) are huge, and while they have beautiful delicate yellow flowers all over them, there are no tomatoes in sight, and being that it's nearing the end of the growing season for them, I'm considering taking the plants out so I have more space for winter crops. Same goes for the green beans and the winter squash, which doesn't have any fruit on them at all. It's frustrating because I don't know if it was something *I* did wrong (did I plant too late in the season? not water enough?) or was it just the cool summer and the fact that the deer came and munched them when they were seedlings, delaying their growth even further? Now that they're behind fence & plastic greenhouse sheeting, there is no chance of the deer getting at them, but still, I really feel uneducated when it comes to growing my own food. And what a sad statement on our times that is. Sure, I can tell you about psychology, about the physiology of your brain, I can have a debate on nature vs nurture with you, I can calculate 12% tax in my head - but I can't tell you how to grow a good crop of kale. We all have to eat. It's kind of important knowledge, don't you think?

Kind of like my girlfriend who says she doesn't know how to can food. I grew up in a house where we canned peaches, pears, cherries and more each year, so I find it odd when people my age (20s/30s/40s) say they don't know how to put food away for winter for themselves and their families. This year I canned 20 lbs of peaches, and I'm probably going to do more peaches and pears, and probably some applesauce. Nothing serious - not like the year I pitted and canned 100 lbs of cherries, 80 lbs of peaches & 60 lbs of pears. That was a crazy amount of canning, especially with the 100 lbs of blueberries & 100 lbs of raspberries I froze!

So when I think of what's important knowledge to pass along to my children, it's not the quadratic equation or where all the different First Nations tribes lived in North America, it's how to do simple, life-affirming things, like providing food for themselves - whether growing it or foraging wild food, like how to build their own shelter - and cob is great in that respect - it's pretty simple, like how to compost, and how to build our own simple composting toilet when the sewer or septic system fails. There is something to knowing how to split firewood, how to find clean water, how to build a solar oven or provide solar energy for your needs, or how to build a wind generator... these are skills that will, in my opinion, increase our ability to live more fully... a life that is less abstract and based more in reality - more in touch with meeting our life's needs.

Those're just my thoughts this moment.

Raw Food in Victoria...

Angela's coming to town! Angela Stokes (www.rawreform.com) is coming to Victoria - Wednesday September 17th, 7-9 p.m. at Cafe Bliss on Pandora (next to Mo:Le). Angela is a British raw foodist who lost an amazing amount of weight and achieved radiant health on raw foods. No ticket necessary; $10 at the door.

Speaking of Cafe Bliss, the kids & I headed down there yesterday. It was very enjoyable. The atmosphere is simplistically beautiful (I especially loved the skylights allowing daylight in) and the food was deeeelicious. The kids had the daily special smoothie (apricot, banana, and almond mylk?) and I had a Berry Green (orange, banana, blueberry, spinach). The kids also had a kids' plate with some of the most delicious flax crackers I've yet tried - tasted cinnamony with cranberries in them. I had a Sombrio salad (marinated kale, kelp, arugula, cucumber, daikon radish, grated carrot, red onion, and fresh ginger, marinated shitakes and cashews with a orange/miso dressing). The salad was really good - the fresh ginger was JUST the right touch. More importantly, watching them prepare your food, it was clearly evident they were being mindful and loving towards the food and it really came through in the taste of the food. It looked beautiful, it tasted beautiful, and was infused with love. Check it out at www.cafebliss.com at 556 Pandora in Victoria.

Superfoods

Superfoods - foods that are high in nutritional value for their suggested serving, compared to other foods. Like: a fresh apple is more nutritious than those frozen "fish" sticks shaped like cartoon characters. Agreed? I've started adding lucuma, maca, and goji powders to my smoothies sometimes. What ARE these things, you ask? Tonight I went in search of an answer. These all seem to be part and parcel of the new term "superfoods." Here's a list of foods that I would say, IN MY OPINION ONLY, are superfoods:

• SEEDS: like flax, chia, (unhulled) sesame, sunflower, and hemp hearts.
• BERRIES: blueberry, raspberry, mulberry, goji berry, blackberry, huckleberry, black currants, rose hips, acai berries, noni berry, camu camu berry... the list could go on...
• DARK LEAFY GREENS: watercress, kale, chard, silverbeet, bok choy, spinach, collards, romaine lettuce, sorrel, dandelion greens... again, the list is long.
• SPROUTS: wheatgrass, alfalfa, radish, mung bean, lentil, garbanzo/chickpea... I love sprouts! Easy to grow, and really good for you.
• CACAO: in a word, chocolate. Raw chocolate. Blissful.
• ALGAE: whether spirulina, chlorella or Klamath Lake blue-green algae, these are nutritional powerhouses at a recommended dose of ~1 tsp/day.
• NUTS: walnuts, almonds, pecans, macadamias, cashews, and more...
• AVOCADO: For you naysayers, try it in a chocolate mousse. No guarantees everyone will like it, but I think most would. High in fiber, folate, potassium (more than a banana!), and monosaturated fats, and avocado's been shown to help lower LDL levels, raise HDL levels, and lower triglycerides slightly as well.

I guess that would round out my list, at this point in time (have I forgotten any you enjoy? Leave me a comment below) - sounds like a pretty good raw vegan diet, once you add in a variety of other fresh fruits and vegetables (think RAINBOW). Let me just go over the purported health benefits of some of these super foods.

For example, maca is a Peruvian plant, similar to a turnip or radish (it's a member of the potato family), and dates back to the Incas. Rumour has it that people who consume it daily are known to be very fertile. It has sexual enhancing effects, and is said to increase sex drive and strength, AND eliminate menopausal symptoms. It is said to improve energy and also to adapt to your body's metabolism, helping repair whatever needs to be repaired.

Or camu camu: The berry from this native South American bush is said to have 30 to 60 times more vitamin C than an orange. It is beneficial to healing and eliminating scar tissue. It is a source of iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorous and other minerals. It supports your immune system, eyesight, skin, it helps maintain clarity of mind during stress. It's a source of antioxidants and is an antiviral. The RDA? 1/8 tsp. This gem is truly packed with nutrients for the quantity you consume.

Hemp Hearts, at a recommended daily intake of 4 tbsps, provide a complete protein source and is high in protein. They contain all 20 known amino acids, including the 9 EAAs (essential amino acids) not produced by the body. Hemp increases energy, promotes vigorous cell development, is easily digested, lowers LDL cholesterol levels, lowers blood pressure, increases immune functioning, and decreases PMS symptoms. It is used for treating dry skin/hair, and contains more Omega-3 than fish. It has a 'perfect' 3:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 (essential fatty acids) and also contains GLA: gamma linolenic acid. It is recommended to consume 4 tbsps at breakfast time and many have said doing so alleviates all hunger at lunch, so they snack in the afternoon, have salad for dinner and contribute their consumption of hemp hearts to weight loss.

Tonight I tried a little bowl with 1 tsp each of maca powder, goji powder, raw cacao powder, lucuma powder, and then 2 tbsps raw almond butter, with enough water to make it blend smoothly (using a spoon). DEEEEEElicious... actually, it was super. Just super.

108

It's 108 days until dh returns. There's 108 moves in the Taoist Tai Chi set that I practice. And 108 days is how long blogger Bronwyn juice-feasted for (http://juicepulpnonfiction.blogspot.com/). It made me really REALLY want to get my hands on a juicer - a Champion or GreenStar - so that I could juicefeast even for a day. And then two. And maybe even do a 15 day feast. No, I'm not ready to go 108 days yet. But I felt the same way about raw food before trying it, too ("how will I ever manage more than a day?!"), and it's been more than 4 months now. And I think of the success Aleesha's had with her fast - now into it's 6th week (http://aleeshasrawlife.blogspot.com). It's totally possible. Totally do-able. The 108 days will pass whether I make a commitment to greater health and vitality or not.

The Significance Of The Mystical Number 108
By Vaughn Paul Manley, M.A.
Copyright 2004.

Have you ever wondered why a typical beaded neclace from the East, called a mala, is always strung with 108 beads? You'll find this to be the case not only in Hindu traditions but also Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and virtually any tradition that has it's roots in India. If you've ever been initiated into the use of a mantra you've probably been told to chant your mantra at least 108 times a day, not fifteen minutes a day. Why? In Japan the Zen temple bells ring 108 times to bring in the New Year. Obviously this number is significant. But why not a more round number like 100?

The early Vedic sages were renowned mathematicians and in fact invented our number system. 108 was definitely the number of choice for this simple reason: 108 represents the whole of existence. Here's some interesting reasons why:
1. The number 9 represents wholeness and 108 when added together equals 9. 1+0+8 = 9. Interestingly, if you multiply 9 times ANYTHING, the answer is always 9 when you add the numbers together. Try it! 1x9= 9. 2x9=18 1+8=9. 285x9=2565 2+5+6+5=18 1+8=9. 8543x9=76887 7+6+8+8+7=36 3+6=9 The logic behind this is that 9 represents wholeness or God and God times anything is always God since God is all there is!
2. The 9 planets travelling through the 12 signs constitutes the whole of existence. 9 x 12 = 108
3. The 27 nakshatras or lunar constellations spread over the 4 elements - fire, earth, air, water or the 4 directions - north, south, east, and west. This also constitutes the whole of existence. 27 x 4 = 108
4. Consider the powers of 1, 2, and 3 in math: 1 to 1st power = 1; 2 to 2nd power = 4 (2x2); 3 to 3rd power = 27 (3x3x3). 1x4x27 = 108. The logic behind this is that 1 represents 1 dimensional reality, 2 represents 2 dimensional reality, 3 represents 3 dimensional reality. When you mulitply their powers together then you encompass the whole of existence.
5. The universe is made up of 108 elements according to ancient texts. The current periodic table claims a few more than 108.
6. The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the earth (give or take a few miles).

Winter Veggies...

Spent a good deal of time yesterday afternoon in the garden... finally for the first day in what seemed like weeks the rain had ceased and the sun was shining (I felt like a reptile as I sat with my back against the south wall of the house, the warmth heating me up). I harvested potatoes - about 8 whole pounds worth! Not a bad harvest at all, considering I had only planted about 8 sq ft of potatoes - so I guess you get about a pound for every square foot? In the spot where the potatoes came out I planted 3 dozen kale starts - green curly, red russian, white russian, and rainbow tuscan kale (just like aleesha over at http://aleeshasrawlife.blogspot.com/, I love my kale!! I usually blend it into a green smoothie, but I'm looking forward to kale salads, too - and last week I dehydrated some and added it to my veggie soup mix). I am so excited at the thought of harvesting fresh greens from the garden throughout the winter!

My next step is to close the garden in for winter - to turn it into a greenhouse of sorts. I have the framework in place - and I have some 6mm poly that I am planning on putting over the existing fence/frame structure. All I need is 7 - 10' 2x4s that I can make rafters out of. Sounds simple enough but I've been procrastinating on this for many weeks - nay, months - now. But now that we are at the end of August I am wanting to get on with it.

I picked up the veggie starts at a plant sale earlier this week. I got cress, the different types of kale, broccoli (purple sprouting & green goliath), cabbage, a couple varieties of chard, silverbeet, raddichio, spinach, cilantro, bunching onions (apparently like a perennial green onion), and others I can't even remember. Greens, greens, greens! I also planted two packages of lettuce/mesclun mix yesterday (mild & oriental), but realized afterwards I should've maybe planted them in what will be the "covered" garden, as opposed to the herb garden that I usually leave uncovered in the winter, but which is next to the house and doesn't usually freeze (not that we get your typical Canadian winter where we live - at most we'll have one week below 0C). I'm not sure how the lettuce will manage uncovered.

Put the potato plants on the compost, which incidentally is hovering at a lovely 110F at the moment. I am intending to add some horse or chicken manure to it and with regular turning and adding, am hoping to get OVER 110 at some point! Wouldn't it be nice to have it heat up to 120 or even 160 or 170 like in hot composting? Well, okay, so maybe you don't share my enthusiasm for compost (I am a Master Composter, after all, LOL). Still, it would be kinda cool. I toy with the idea of getting 3 or 4 chickens every now and again - just for the manure that I'd have on hand to add to the compost. But I chicken out every time I think of it (collective groan for the bad pun there, please). Still, I might one day...

And today I stopped by the local farmer's market and picked up some lovely carrots, celery, onions, cucumber, and heirloom tomatoes. I was about to make some flax crackers last night when I realized I had no carrots for the recipe (actually, they're the Pizza Crust crackers from RawRose's Uncook book - check her out at http://www.rawrose.com/, and they are delicious).

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!

Vegan Diets

There was an article front-and-center on MSN today. The article, entitled "Going Vegan" by Flannery Dean (2008-08-18) had some solid information in it, but I would dispute the claim that "there’s no substantial research to suggest that a vegan diet is healthier than a regular diet." While I didn't have a pre-vegan medical, I can tell you from my own experience that adopting a vegan diet helped me shed many pounds of excess weight, and my post-vegan medical tests (cholesterol, blood pressure, & others) indicate I have the health of someone many years younger. And yes, there are vegans out there who eat vegan junk food, and a lot of it. But overall, I think many vegans are a lot healthier than their SAD-eating counterparts, but that's just my opinion. I guess I'd like to see more research done on the benefits of vegan diets - but I can't see that happening much because big business that produces all that cheap mass-processed food (and I use the term "food" loosely there) isn't about to financially support research that shows that eating food in as close to its natural state as possible is healthier for you than a box of Kraft Dinner or Hamburger Helper.

I *did* like that the article cited this research: "In fact, in 2006 a University of Chicago study published in the journal Earth Interactions concluded that adopting a vegan-inspired diet is more significant in the fight against global warming than driving a hybrid car."

Overall, I think that eating local, in-season, organic, raw, vegan foods are probably our best choices, as much as is possible - at least it's *my* best choice. But then more attention needs to be paid to ensuring balance and nutrients in a diet like this, I suppose. Me, I'm not quite ready to give up some of my non-local foods just yet... but mentally I'm working towards it.

Farmer's Markets...

Yet another beautiful sunny day here... three in a row!! We're spoiled. We hit two different local farmer's markets this morning... and what a SCORE of beautiful produce we got! Artichokes, corn on the cob, Peas, Garlic, Basil, Strawberries, Cantaloupe!!! And there was SOOOOOOO much more for sale. On top of our weekly box from the organic farm, we have an abundance of fresh food to eat.

I just finished reading The 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith & J.D. MacKinnon, two Vancouverites who, in March 2005, decided to eat nothing but local foods (i.e. produced within 100 miles of their home) for an entire year. The book chronicles their adventures. It was very inspiring to read. They really emphasized what an ABUNDANCE of food we have available to us, especially where we live, here in the Pacific Northwest. And if this isn't a testament to the popularity of the 100 mile diet - there are 17 copies of the book available in the local library system and 89 - yes 89 - hold requests for the book. Craziness. So many many people are becoming educated about the importance, the sustainability, of eating local, in-season, (preferably organic) foods. So nourishing for both the earth and body. And I guess it was really interesting that so many of the other books mentioned within theirs, I'd read already. I don't consider myself a voracious reader, but any stretch of the imagination, but I guess local food security is a pretty strong interest of mine it seems.

Blessings to you on this most beautiful of days
~n~

Raweos & Chocolate Banana Milkshake

Recipe for the Raweos from Bryan Au's "Raw in 10 Minutes" cookbook. The only thing I would suggest, after having made them, is not to store them in the fridge before eating them, because the coconut oil middle ends up as hard as candle wax - same texture, too. It's a bit unnerving - LOL... but they are delicious, and a wonderful (& super-easy) way to use leftover almond pulp from making almond milk.

And secondly, we whipped up a batch of almond milk this morning, added a tbsp of raw cacao powder and voila - you have chocolate almond milk. Whip up a couple of bananas with it and mmmmmmm deeeeeeelicious. Goes very well with the raweos. Hard to tell in the picture just how chocolatey it is.

Raw Parfaits...

from Jennifer Cornbleet's book, Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People....

Chocolate Mousse alternated with Vanilla Creme...

When to let children make food choices for themselves

DS and I were discussing modern diseases the other day. I said, The current belief about diet is that it is generally NOT recommended to eat more meat or dairy to help prevent diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and so on. Hasn't happened. What I *do* hear time and time again is "eat more fresh fruits and vegetables". Or as stated in La Leche League philosophy: "Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible." As in... RAW fruits and vegetables.

Am I harming myself by subsisting on a diet of whole foods - of fresh, organic, raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and sprouts? It's been 3 months and I wouldn't say my health is deteriorating at all. In fact, if you can wrap your head around it, I feel like my energy levels on raw food are amazingly high. I feel like my outlook on life is extraordinarily positive and that I am better able to cope with stressful situations. I feel like generally, I am in a better mood overall. And I wonder, as I watch one of the children have an emotional outburst or a melt-down, I wonder if their diet isn't contributing to it. I have read other blogs of children who are thriving on raw food. And then I start to seriously questioning, if I'm nurturing myself with raw food, why wouldn't I give the same benefits to my children? Up until now I've let my children make their own food decisions - and ds has, at 8, come to his own decision to be vegetarian. We already make certain food choices for our children when we start them on solids (even before then, it could be argued). At what point do you let your children decide for themselves? Do you only keep raw food in the house? Do you keep a variety of whole foods - including ones that can be cooked (like whole grains)? Do you keep dairy products in the house? Is meat a food option in your house? Are our children armed with enough knowledge to make these kinds of decisions on their own? So much to consider, and the outcome is not to be taken lightly. What we eat becomes part of us, it becomes who we are. How have other people reconciled this dilemma for themselves?