Jess; raw and unbleached.

Cold & Cozy

2012-01-10T10:01:00.003-05:00

Scribbled in a small notebook Dec 28/11 at MacGregor Point Provincial Park...

I rise from the table and slither under 2 layers of sleeping bag & blankets on the bottom bunk of our temporary bed. A few feet away, I watch as Dan sharpens his prized new Buck knife - one that I sincerely hope he'll never use for its intended purpose (lol). A small fire crackles outside the yurt, that Dan built while I prepared a late lunch: Canned Organic lentil & vegetable soup and fried egg sandwiches with tomato, lettuce & dijon mustard.

Winter camping has become a new tradition of ours. This time, we departed the day after Christmas, barely having thought of our upcoming trip - caught up in busy holiday preparations - since we booked the yurt over a month ago. We knew where we wanted to spend our post-Christmas week - not swimming through droves of Boxing Day bargain-hunters, but ankle-deep in fresh snow, nestled warmly by the fire, amongst the trees and the chipmunks and the sweet silence of Canadian winter (which had barely touched our Central Ontario homes by the time we left!)

MacGregor Point on Lake Huron seemed a much more fitting place to spend our week off of work. Even here it didn't really start snowing until last night, offering a very welcome morning surprise of deep snow and long, freshly-formed icicles after a day of near-constant rainfall. Nature works such wonders even when we're not looking (maybe especially when we're not looking). :)

Now, to go enjoy the last of the daylight by the fire <3 Happy Winter!

i hate holding hands.

2011-05-19T13:05:00.001-04:00

always have.

it's uncomfortable and my hands sweat.

it also hurts my finger bones and restricts my hand/arm/finger freedom, which is torture for a compulsive finger-fiddler and clothing-adjuster such as myself.

the only real purpose for hand-holding that I've seen is that it keeps me from accidentally turbo-walking 20 paces in front of Dan. because I am a very fast walker, while he is of the more relaxed (re: infuriatingly slow) variety of walker. and even then my hands get sweaty after 30 seconds and I proceed to leave him in my turbo-walking dust.

I honestly think only people in new relationships hold hands. It's like a validation thing. a statement: "I'm with this person and wish to be touching them at all times". which is great and all. but after a while you just say to each other (or at least I do): "hey, can we please abandon this ridiculous practice now? i love you, you love me. we needn't be connected uncomfortably by the hands right now. i'm sweaty."

it's a beautiful milestone in a relationship, I think, when you're comfortable keeping your hands to yourself (at least when it comes to holding =P)

WOMPwomp

2011-04-27T19:44:00.000-04:00

So uhhhhhh....

disregard that entire last post.

Raw food challenge lasted exactly one day.

but it WILL commence sometime in the near future!

...as I've said about 43,984 times.

FML.

RAW (and late)

2011-04-04T14:57:00.001-04:00

So I started my 30 day raw food challenge today! :)

I had intended to start on the 1st, but there were a few engagements this past week that I could have, but really didn't want to miss out on (including a full-on Portuguese feast at Dan's grandma's house). So I didn't! Hahaha I pigged out and enjoyed, confident in the fact that I would indeed be starting today. So far it's just been the easy part: work. I'm rarely hungry at work. I'll have a piece of fruit, maybe some nuts or (normally) bread and almond butter... so today I've had 2 bananas and a bartlett pear (all organic), and I'm predictably still going strong!

We'll see how I fare tonight ;) Dan and I are heading over to our friend Cory's house for a hangout. Luckily I brought all kinds of raw goodies with me in preparation, so I should be fine.

I also completely forgot that Dan and I made a dinner date at East Side Mario's (a chain italian restaurant) for wednesday, which I have no intention of bailing on, so I'll just try to keep it as raw as I can. I'm not being too hard on or strict with myself. I can't. Hard + Strict is always a recipe for failure with me. Maybe I'm undisciplined. Maybe I'm a slave to temptation. Maybe both. Either way, I generally do a lot better when I give myself some flexibility and don't beat myself up, and this challenge isn't about being a badass, or the "no pain, no gain" philosophy. I'm doing this for my health, my physical and emotional well-being, and if you can't take a gentle, loving approach to that, you might as well not bother. Unless you're the type of person who thrives on that, which is great! It's just not my style. Or maybe it is and the reason I've always failed is BECAUSE of my gentle, loving approach... hmmm...

...So, day 1 is well under way!

Hopefully I will remember to continue updating the ol' blog as the weeks roll on. Maybe I'll even make a video or two (or remake the ones I deleted because I hated the fake way my voice was sounding, haha!)

Wish me luck! :D
xoxo

Peace!

Thursday, I'm in love: Interiors

2011-03-17T11:03:00.002-04:00

Today, I was inspired by a gorgeous blog post by Bekah, over at my little loves.. The post was(is) entitled inspirations for our future home... and featured tons of b-e-a-utiful pictures of cozy, eclectic bohemian interiors.

So I decided to do a little photo hunting of my own, and do some "future house" dreaming!

Admittedly, I've seen blog posts before featuring this type of photo spread, a la tumblr, etc, but I just adore this lovely lady's style so much ((gush)) that it really got me excited about hunting for beautiful photographs and doing a similar blog post of my own!

So here goes! I found a whole bunch of gorgeous exteriors that I love as well, but I think this is more than enough pictures for one post ;) hahaha

Enjoy <3

(all of these pics were either sourced from Moon to Moon, pictures that were previously stored on my computer, and one from the blog that inspired it all! haha)

love the open layout

i've always wanted a wall of books <3

multicolour pillows

books <3 and i love the light

adorable rustic kitchen

my little loves lift ;)

stunning

love this moroccan kitchen!!

adorable loft bed with curtains <3

skylights in the bedroom? AMAZING.

love this hippie couple :) and the house, of course! wood <3

<3 I LOVE LOFTS <3

loftyloftyloft

Is this clay? I *love* this style of structure

just imagine snuggling up and reading a book by this woodstove... mmmmm

perfect bathroom

always dreaming of my warm, natural [future] kitchen <3

love this nook

okay, i officially need a house like this... whatever it's made of. lol

they remind me of hobbit holes! :) i especially love the rocks embedded in the steps.

the outdoorsy family's living room :)

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed discovering them! My work day should go by pleasantly quick with all these lovely daydreams of home ownership swirling through my head, hahaha <3

Peace! :)

03/16/11

2011-03-16T23:12:00.002-04:00

I hate my granny's bean salad. There. I said it.

...I'm going to hell.

50 Things Challenge: An update.

2011-02-28T14:54:00.002-05:00

I'll keep this post short (for once) and minimalistic ;)

Progress that I have made with the [give away] 50 Things Challenge so far:

1. Allocated 1 large box for my donations, which currently resides in my bedroom.
2. Chosen approoooximately 16 things to donate so far (well on my way!)
3. Already went to Value Village (popular Canadian second-hand store) and bought 4 (or 5?) work shirts and 3 GORGEOUS knit sweaters for work, and also a belt, for $65!!! *This* is why I love buying second-hand! Everything I bought was in perfect shape and quality, just as I would have found them in the store at probably 5x the price! Honestly, the sweaters I got are so beautiful, I bet each one of them would cost $50 or more new.

I had planned to wait until I had all my donations ready to buy any new things, but I really needed some shirts and sweaters for work, so it just couldn't wait.

Overall, though, I'm happy with the progress I've made so far with this challenge! If little else, I have certainly been thinking in a more minimalistic way in terms of my consumption, both with food and other purchases, and I'm feeling really good about it! :D Seriously, it's amazing how much you realize you *don't need* when you're conscious of it at all times!

So there's my update. I almost took some pictures of the clothes I bought, but I don't think I'm quite at the fashion show blogging stage yet, and honestly, they were just work clothes. Boring! ;p

Peace! <3

[more] simply [than i was last week] yours,
Jess

Operation Zen

2011-02-25T14:21:00.001-05:00

I have what you might call a strained relationship with my boyfriend’s brother. To say we’ve ever truly gotten along, famously or otherwise, is a stretch. We have talked. We have shared some laughs, and a handful of good times, but we’ve also shared considerably more arguments, harsh words, and differences in the 10 years we’ve known each other. More than I can count, really. Truth be told, he and I are about as glaringly different as two human beings could be. Him, being a right-wing conservative, suit-and-tie-and-expensive-watch-wearing, male-grooming-products-using, meat-and-potatoes sports fanatic who sees disaster and poverty in the world as indication that “we’re winning”, and me, the probably-too-outspoken, real foodist, pot-smoking, secondary-education-snubbing pseudo-hippie who believes money is the devil and that the world would be a better place if we abandoned the society we’ve built and lived in straw huts with chickens and pigs as pets. Yeah. As you can probably guess, we haven’t seen eye-to-eye on many things. Ever. In fact, the only opinions we’ve ever shared are those on religion, and a love of salmon.

Over the years, our relationship has gone from light-hearted debate, to full-on heated arguments complete with threats and insults, to our current state of arctic deep freeze. It seems we’ve both reached a place where we have no urge to argue with one another… but it’s not as if a fresh, new “clean slate” kind of attitude has come in to replace the old. We just ignore each other for the most part, exchanging occasional nods and barely-audible “hey”s and “sup”s in passing. Add to this the fact that his girlfriend for the past 3 years, who shares all his viewpoints, and who I made the mistake of horribly offending by sharing an innocent link about the dangers of the Atkins diet (a diet her mother is/was on. Big mistake.), seems to absolutely despise me and rarely acknowledges my presence, and the lines of communication and therefore any opportunity to repair things are basically welded shut. To be fair, the girlfriend’s not a very outgoing, talkative person in general (sober, at least), that I’ve noticed, so it’s possible I’m reading too far into her behaviour… but honestly, I doubt it. I’ve certainly shown some not-so-friendly sides of myself in front of her that I greatly regret -- sides of myself that I don’t even like -- so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she just genuinely dislikes me. The worst part about this is that the brother (we’ll call him “R”)’s behaviour towards me is very much affected when she’s around (when she’s not, I seem to actually exist and we even occasionally share WORDS. Even SMILES. Crazy. When she is, though… ice age.), which is one of the reasons I’m convinced she’s really not my biggest fan.

All this being true, however, still did not prepare me for what occurred last night…

The guy deleted me from his facebook.

HOLY SMOKES. I couldn’t freaking believe it.

I know, I know, it’s “juuust facebook!”, but fuck that. Don’t give me that bullshit. We allllll know what message he’s trying to send: “GTFOO my life! I don’t want to see you, I don’t care about you. I don’t want to look at your pictures or read your statuses or know anything about you.” …And I’m readin’ ya loud and clear, bud.

Part of me really wants to believe that my exile from his “friends” is due to my constant posting of videos, links, notes and statuses of a subject and nature that he undoubtedly finds ridiculous. Take this post, which was made yesterday, THE DAY he deleted me (or at least the day I noticed), titled: Scientific Proof that Galactic Energies have Triggered Worldwide Consciousness Expansion.

Just picturing his reaction to the title of this article/video (he’d never read/watch it) makes me giggle :P But that’s all it is to me: Funny. I find our differences amusing, even fascinating, albeit frustrating at times. I disagree with almost every piece of his core belief system, yet I can’t bring myself to entirely dislike him. I wouldn't tolerate anyone like him under normal circumstances, but, call me crazy, I assumed we were operating under a mutual understanding that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’d likely be somewhere in each other’s lives for a long time to come. It’s not as if I pictured the four of us going on couples’ cruises together or anything, but I’d hoped we could at least be civil, for Dan’s sake, and the sake of the rest of the family and our future children.

…And that’s precisely the stance I plan to maintain. I don’t have any foolish hopes for our future relationship. I understand that we will never be friends, and that’s fine. They’re not our type of people, nor are we theirs. I also understand that I’ve more than done my part in tearing down any relationship that may have existed up until this point. I do. I will not, however, continue to contribute to a spiteful, distant and cold future. I won’t do that to Dan, or to his parents, or to our kids, or to myself. I’m going to try to make things right, and salvage whatever level of civility is possible here, even if I have to drag them both (or all three) kicking and screaming. Basically, my plan is this:

1. Keep my opinions to myself. Do not rock the boat or say anything that may cause them to dislike me any more.

2. Maintain a state of unshakeable zen-ness in their presence. If something is said under the breath, or rude or challenging comments are made, I will not respond in kind.

3. Continue to be friendly and make an effort to engage each of them in conversation. Joke. Compliment. Be a pleasure.

4. Also practice this with Dan’s parents, because even though they will likely not delete me from their facebooks, the potential for relationship sabotage is still very real if I can’t muzzle myself from time to time, and because of their non-confrontational nature, they may never make their true feelings known, which is even scarier to me. And obviously the relationship with Dan’s parents is more important than his brother.

Anyways, I just realized the staggering magnitude of this post, so I’m deeefinitely gonna wrap this up now. Haha. I don’t really expect anyone to read this. I just decided to use the blog as a journal of sorts to get all my thoughts and plans out in a tangible, re-readable way. Thank you, internets! J Let operation zen… begin!

Minimalism; 50 things.

2011-02-15T12:44:00.001-05:00

   I was doing some reading here when I came across an idea that I'd heard of before, and have been recently feeling inspired to put into practice. Minimalism and simplicity have always held a very inviting quality for me. As the names would suggest, the ideas behind these two concepts are quite simple, indeed: simplify your life, minimize your possessions and the general "clutter" in your life. One of the biggest draws for me, undoubtedly, is the freedom that comes with breaking free from both the temptation to consume (the need to have more), and the feelings of monotony and lack of personal impact, contribution and control that occur when you consume mass-produced junk, made who-knows-where out of who-knows-what, and sold by corporations. Personally, I like to know where my clothing and other belongings come from. I like to know that the person who made these things was treated kindly and paid fairly, that it doesn't contain toxic and/or unsustainable materials, and that it is of good quality and worth what I'm paying for it.

   But I digress... the things I've just discussed are not necessarily definitive of minimalism. One could spend hours (possibly weeks or years!) debating and discussing the intricacies of a minimalist mindset and what true simplicity entails. However, feelings of frustration surrounding consumerism and our society's preoccupation with "things", with little to no regard for where their things came from or how they're produced, are very often instrumental emotions in triggering a shift towards a simpler and less consumption-driven life. This is mostly where my motivation lies, though the thought of having a tidier and less-cluttered living space is also temping! :P My goal is mainly to basically eliminate unnecessary purchases, especially from "big box" corporations and anywhere that does not have actively and openly ethical production standards, and to generally have less stuff! I hope to center most if not all of my future purchases around thrift, cosignment and antique stores, along with locally made items in order to support my community, while also donating anything I don't need. Which leads me to the reason for this post (finally!). The post on mnmlist that once again sparked my interest in simplification, is this one: The 50 Things Challenge.

   The challenge I plan to undertake is a little less hardcore than the author of this blog's. His (or her) goal is to pare down all of their belongings until they only own 50 things!!! This is a very impressive feat for anyone, even a seasoned minimalist, I would think. Therefore, I will be taking a modified route, and simply giving away 50 things. Maybe one day I'll be able to whittle my staggering collection of nick-nacks and unessentials down to 50 absolute necessity items, but to be honest, probably not. That's not really my style. I do like to have SOME things that are just quirky or neat that don't serve a specific purpose, but I definitely feel an intense pull to simplify. So I will be using a couple of days this week to meticulously select 50 (or more!) of my possessions, be they articles of clothings, books I won't likely read, etc.

   I'll share the results, and possibly some pics from my next trip to Value Village where I'll be unloading my 50 burdensome items and very possibly picking up at least 10 replacement items... *sigh* the road to simplicity is difficult and paved with impulse [thrift store!] buys...

Peace! :)

Crampage Control: The trouble with Midol.

2011-02-14T11:54:00.009-05:00

I honestly think that Midol, along with all other forms of menstrual cramp pain medication (Aleve, etc) might be some of the dumbest inventions ever to grace drug store shelves.

I understand that many girls and women out there suffer from agonizing, debilitating cramps and that they simply cannot function in their day-to-day lives without some form of relief. I feel for you ladies, I really do.

However, for the majority of women out there, let's face it, cramps are really not that bad. And while popping a couple Midol may seem like an easy solution to the nagging pain of menstrual cramps, they are really more of a hindrance than a help in the long run.

It's quite simple.

What these drugs do is numb the muscles that contract and push the (guys, feel free to stop reading now. you were warned.) blood, uterine lining, etc, out of your body, which gets rid of the pain.

This presents a few problems:

1) It makes your period last longer. The reason being that instead of contracting normally and pushing everything out in an efficient manner, the muscles, being numbed, fail to contract and all the blood and stuff just basically sloshes out of you (delightful) over time. It eventually does, since humans are typically upright most of the time, but it takes way longer than letting your body push everything out normally.

2) If you continuously take these drugs every time you feel cramps (as I know many women and girls do), you never get used to them. So if you get into the habit of taking it, unless you one day decide to kick the habit (do it!), you will suffer the same painful cramps for many years to come. I have never taken Midol, save one or two times in my early teens, and honestly, when I do get cramps, they're just background noise. I can easily think/breathe my way through them while going about my daily tasks. And I do so willingly and with pleasure, as I have reason #3 to use as motivation to learn how to deal with cramps naturally...

3) Menstrual cramps are your body's preparation for LABOUR! They are UTERINE CONTRACTIONS. The exact same muscles are being used during menstruation as during labour (just much less intense, obviously, since they're just pushing out a bloody sack and not a baby). Cramps are extremely useful. We're lucky to have them, really (don't laugh! lol). So basically, if you want any chance of having a natural labour in the future (or if you plan to birth in hospital where they'll just be DYING to break your waters and/or give you pitocin, both of which make labour pains more intense) it's really a great idea to kick the habit of taking pain killers for cramps years in advance. That way, you'll be giving yourself some time to understand and experience what uterine contractions feel like and develop your own methods for easing the pain so that you're not completely blindsided by labour and begging for an epidural.

So there you have it. CRAMPS ARE YOUR FRIEND! They have a purpose. And honestly, for most women, they're not even that bad. So man up.

And for you ladies for whom mind-over-matter is not necessarily always a viable option, here are 3 more natural tips and tricks for relief of menstrual pain:
1) RASPBERRY TEA. It increases blood flow to the area, and actually TONES your ladypart muscles so that not only are your cramps not as painful, labour will be quicker and less painful as well (double score!). Plus, it has been used for centuries by women all over the world :)
2) The classic HOT WATER BOTTLE. Can be used either while relaxing at home or even at the office.
3) Gentle YOGA. You can find lots of poses out there that are great for relieving menstrual discomfort, both in the form of written instruction accompanied by diagrams, and/or videos on YouTube (my personal preference) :)

And on that note, HAPPY BLOODY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE! hahaha <3

Spring Greening 2011

2010-11-30T16:54:00.006-05:00

Wow. That was lame. Never been much for titles :P heh.

Anyway.

I'm finally taking the leap. Or, I should say, I'm finally planning to, if everything goes exactly as planned and I don't flake out at the last minute as usual, take the leap.

I will be experiencing April 2011 on a completely RAW, VEGAN diet.

What this means is, I will be consuming only ingredients which have not been heated over 115 (118 depending what crew you roll with) degrees farenheit, and no animal products. I have chosen to fore go the animal products, not because I'm completely opposed to their consumption (I eat eggs quite regularly), but because I am only doing this diet/cleanse/whateveryouwannacallit for a month, so I'm aiming for MAXIMUM results. I wanna FEEEEEEL the raw power!!! I want to go the puritan route. This time. Who knows what route I'll take next time or the time after that, but this time, it's raw vegan all the way baby :) I've been interested in this lifestyle for quite some time, collecting books and knowledge on the topic for around a year now, and I finally have the motivation and the extra cash (sort of) needed to take the plunge!

Originally I planned to do this in January, but then December 1st (tomorrow) rolled around (yes, I am speaking to you from the future yet also the past somehow) and I started thinking, “shit.” You see, right now, at this very moment, I am in the process of buying my first CAR. Thank you, thank you. Yes indeed. I am buying a 2000 Honda Accord, which involves repairs, transfers of ownership, registration, license plates, insurance… and probably more crap that I can’t even think of at the moment. It’s not so much the stress of it all that makes me want to postpone this challenge, but the FINANCIAL factor. Now, I know the raw diet has the potential to actually be CHEAPER than a cooked diet. I know this. But since this will be my first attempt at “raw”, I’m thinking there’s a good chance I’ll end up spending a whole lot more money than I need to (I tend to go a lit-tle overboard at the grocery store), and with all this car business I just can’t afford to be overspending on anything.

So, with any luck, by April, I will be financially comfortable (HA!), or at least enough so that I can confidently embark on this very exciting journey.

I think I basically know what to expect. There is no shortage of information and testimonials out there supporting this diet and touting its amazing range of health benefits. If all goes well (or as well as it has for some), I could be a whole new me by May! Wouldn’t that be something? I was considering going gluten-free as well, which would turn this into a full-blown cleanse, but I actually find myself pretty stoked to experiment with raw, soaked and sprouted grains, so I’m gonna roll with that J

So that’s it on the subject for now. I’ve been buzzing about this for a little while but hadn’t been able to put my thoughts into blog-form for some reason. I will be updating now, though. I’ll post my plans for the month, diet plans, exercise plans, etc, and hopefully I’ll get my youtube channel up and running so I can post some recipes and document my progress that way as well. One thing that will hopefully make my videos and posts unique is that I do not have a high-speed blender such as a blendtec or vitamix, nor do I have a dehydrator. One of my goals is to make this lifestyle seem more realistic and approachable for the average person seeking above-average health on a budget. I hope you'll follow along! :)

Until next time!

Loving waves and hairy buds,

Jess <3

Kristen's Raw is giving away a free set of E-Books!

2010-09-22T12:19:00.000-04:00

http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/2010/09/kristens-raw-25th-awesome-giveaway-free.html

AND IMA WIN IT! B-)

Young Blood: My recent, confusing experience with varicose/spider veins.

2010-09-16T13:52:00.003-04:00

I started working in an office recently. I worked in my Dad's office before this, but the work day there was always fragmented, peppered with dog-walking and food making and laundry doing... I rarely sat for more than an hour or two, at most. At this job, however, I am sitting for multiple hours a day, arising only to file things and take my lunch.

As a result, over the last month, I've been noticing a weird kind of pain in my calves and sometimes in my back lower thighs. As I'm pretty vigilant (aka a hypochondriac) about noticing any possible or arising health problems, within a few times of noticing this pain I checked out my legs, and lo and behold, exactly where I felt the pain, I noticed some veins. They were bulging but I could definitely see them through my skin and they looked pretty large. I've also noticed small clusters of what appear to be spider veins, also in exact proximity to where I feel the pain. They're not at all what I would classify as full on "varicose" or "spider" veins, but they're definitely visible in a way they were not before.

My first reaction was: "WHAT THE FUCK?!

Varicose veins? SERIOUSLY? I'm 22 years old, for Christ's sake! This cannot be happening!"

For those of you who do not know what varicose veins are, they occur when (from my very recent and limited understanding) the valves that pump the blood through your veins, stop working properly and causes blood to collect in the veins. The veins then expand and the blood in them begins flowing in reverse, causing them to protrude and be painful. Greeeaaaaat.

The most common causes of varicose and spider veins include:

Going through a pregnancy
Standing or sitting for long periods of time
Being overweight
Sedentary lifestyle
Age - they appear more often as people grow older
Sex - they are more common in women
Heredity
Diet rich in processed, salty, sugary and otherwise shit foods

And, more rarely, varicose veins can be symptoms of serious health problems, such as tumours in the pelvis.

So far as I know, the only things on that list that apply to me are the fact that I am female, and the fact that I have recently begun sitting for long periods of time. Actually, I should say, I have recently started sitting for long periods of time in one position :P I have always done a lot of sitting. A lot, of sitting. So I guess in a way the "sedentary lifestyle" one could apply to me, too. Some would undoubtedly argue that it does.

I also, up until recently when I realized this, sit with my legs crossed a lot, in various different positions, but crossed nonetheless. This, I have learned, is a very bad idea, so I stopped.

But anyway, like I said I'm 22 years old, so the age thing definitely doesn't apply (most women who develop this problem develop it after 35 years of age). I'm 5'10" and between 125 and 130 lbs, so it's pretty safe to say I'm not overweight. And while my diet isn't perfect and may never be (does that even exist? ask anyone and you'll get a different answer), I eat a pretty large amount of raw, unprocessed food and steer pretty clear of fast food and junk food, with the exception of subs, pitas and pizza, the latter of which I don't even eat often. I haven't had any kids, and to my knowledge neither my Mother nor my Grandmother suffer from it.

Soooo I'm in a pretty weird spot mentally right now. I'm in the process of finding a new doctor in my area (STILL, after over a year living here), and when I find one I'll definitely ask about it. But since I have a pretty good idea what they'll suggest (nothing/drugs/surgery), and I have no intention of going down any of those paths, I've decided to start naturally remedying (?) myself until I can get some professional insight on the matter.

Some natural remedies I've come across are:

-Collinsonia Root
-Horse Chestnut Extract
-Bilberry Extract
-Grapeseed Extract
-Gingko Biloba
-Pine Bark Extract
-Raw Garlic
-Butcher's Broom
-Apple Cider Vinegar
-Vitamin E
-Vitamin K (topically)
-Vitamin C with Bioflavanoids
-EXERCISE. Even if it means pumping and bopping your legs under your desk, it's better than nothing!

Foods that are good for preventing and maintaining are:
-Oranges
-Blueberries
-Cranberries
-Cherries
-Tangerines
-Plums
-Grapes
-Onions
-Garlic
-Rosemary
-Greens!
-Broccoli
-Cucumber
-And others that currently escape me.

Foods to avoid:
-Foods with added salt
-White flour products
-Limit starch intake

So I'm going to try a bunch of these things and see if I get any results. I've also taken to massaging my legs in an heartward motion and keeping them raised whenever I can. I'll keep you posted :) I sure hope I can improve or reverse this, because I love to be active and the prospect of living the rest of my life with pain in my legs is completely heartbreaking...

Hoping for the best :) If anyone has other suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Summer without ice cream.

2010-08-30T13:58:00.000-04:00

I just did it. No joke. Well as of tomorrow I will have done it. And I must say I am rather proud of myself :)

It was one of my 5 new years resolutions this year, and since I broke the other four by February, as per usual, I decided that this resolve needed to stick. Reason number one being that I have never once in my life made good on a new years resolution. Not one. Reason number two being that I kind of really want to kick dairy anyway so I figured this would be a nice, gentle transition :) Never the less, come May 31st, I was terrified. Why? Because I *love* ice cream (obviously! hello!). I could eat a gallon right to my face. Or at least prior to June 1st I would have jumped at the chance :P Though I must admit my pension for dairy-based treats began waning long before then. Let's say a pint. Couple pints :P

I was sure I would fail, as was everyone I shared my plan with. Actually that's not fair. People were very supportive, albeit doubtful, in my resolve to abstain from my favourite frozen treat from June 1st to August 31st. No doubt, temptation would be EVERYWHERE, in the form of gas station freezers, ice cream trucks, the tiny, amazing ice cream shoppe which is a summer staple in my town, friends' houses, grocery stores and restaurants rife with giant posters of happy children licking away at sweet, creamy cones of delight.........*ahem*, etc, etc...

Yet I remained determined! And I'm so glad that I did :) With the exception of a secret "Dibs" bite from a friend's freezer while "slightly" intoxicated on my birthday (OOPS!) and a single serving of frozen yogurt, I stayed pure ALL SUMMER! YEAH! :D And honestly, it wasn't even hard. There were temptations, of course, as I mentioned, but it was something I really wanted to do.

So that's my "I'm proud of meeeeeee!!!" post for the summer :)

Winter is on the horizon now, as is a glowing, yellow (or marble, mmm) vision of my next masochistic bout of epicurian celibacy: CHEESE!!! hold me :(

Until then, enjoy this glorious christmas cheese cow. I won't be :(

Today, I love...

2010-07-30T14:49:00.000-04:00

bizzy beez

open hearts

tree houses!

and this :)

Raw in: MISSISSAUGA

2010-07-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

So Dan and I were in the Lakeshore area visiting an old friend, and decided we HAD to check out Raw Aura Organic Cuisine at 94 Lakeshore Rd E.

Here is what we had :)

my juice :) parsley, carrot, ginger, apple... hmmm i can't remember what else. it was so good!

i also got a shot of E3 Live in it :)

Dan's Strawberry Cacao Smoothie :)

Caesar Salad with Kale Chips on top (they ran out of eggplant bacon)!

"Pasta Bolognese" - Zucchini pasta tossed in some kind of deeeliicious (!) spicy sauce, and seemingly every vegetable from carrots to kale to sundried tomatoes. SO GOOD! <3

"Mac & Cheese" - Carrots mandolined into what was supposed to be elbow pasta shape (I applaud the effort, lol) and served covered in cashew cheese, nooch (nutritional yeast) and other veggies. Dan liked it but said there was way too much cashew cheese. Despite enjoying the overall flavour, he wasn't able to finish it.

OMFGlkhjjkshfkhsfhkfhomnomnomyumyummmmYES!!<3

Pecan Pie & Chocolate Avocado Pie

Holy Crap.

<3 *drool* <3

more desserts <3

US :)

The Wonderful World of MYCELIA! (Mushrooms! Fungiiiiiiiii)

2010-07-30T10:42:00.001-04:00

I have recently - or I should say in the last several months - become fascinated by fungi. The majority of people have no idea how important and intelligent (seriously) mushrooms are. Beneath our feet lies an almost unimaginably intricate network of mycelia, trading nutrients with plants for energy, transporting nutrients from tree to tree, and helping to heal and detoxify whole ecosystems.

Here are a few short exerpts from an interview with expert on mycelia and author of such books as "Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World", Paul Stamets, about the secret world of the Mycelial network; Nature's internet.

Jensen: "Almost since life began on earth, mycelia have performed important ecological roles: nourishing ecosystems, repairing them, and sometimes even helping create them. The fungi’s exquisitely fine filaments absorb nutrients from the soil and then trade them with the roots of plants for some of the energy that the plants produce through photosynthesis. No plant community could exist without mycelia. I’ve long been a resident and defender of forests, but Stamets helped me understand that I’ve been misperceiving my home. I thought a forest was made up entirely of trees, but now I know that the foundation lies below ground, in the fungi."

Stamets: "There are an estimated one to two million species of fungi, of which about 150,000 form mushrooms. A mushroom is the fruit body — the reproductive structure — of the mycelium, which is the network of thin, cobweblike cells that infuses all soil."

"A mycelial “mat,” which scientists think of as one entity, can be thousands of acres in size. The largest organism in the world is a mycelial mat in eastern Oregon that covers 2,200 acres and is more than two thousand years old. Its survival strategy is somewhat mysterious. We have five or six layers of skin to protect us from infection; the mycelium has one cell wall. How is it that this vast mycelial network, which is surrounded by hundreds of millions of microbes all trying to eat it, is protected by one cell wall? I believe it’s because the mycelium is in constant biochemical communication with its ecosystem."

"I think these mycelial mats are neurological networks. They’re sentient, they’re aware, and they’re highly evolved. They have external stomachs, which produce enzymes and acids to digest nutrients outside the mycelium, and then bring in those compounds that it needs for nutrition. As you walk through a forest, you break twigs underneath your feet, and the mycelium surges upward to capture those newly available nutrients as quickly as possible. I say they have “lungs,” because they are inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide, just like we are. I say they are sentient, because they produce pharmacological compounds — which can activate receptor sites in our neurons — and also serotonin-like compounds, including psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in some mushrooms. This speaks to the fact that there is an evolutionary common denominator between fungi and humans. We evolved from fungi. We took an overground route. The fungi took the route of producing these underground networks that are highly resilient and extremely adaptive: if you disturb a mycelial network, it just regrows. It might even benefit from the disturbance.

I have long proposed that mycelia are the earth’s “natural Internet.” I’ve gotten some flak for this, but recently scientists in Great Britain have published papers about the “architecture” of a mycelium — how it’s organized. They focused on the nodes of crossing, which are the branchings that allow the mycelium, when there is a breakage or an infection, to choose an alternate route and regrow. There’s no one specific point on the network that can shut the whole operation down."

Now, these small chunks, should you choose to read them (in other words, should you have a burning interest in a seemingly irrelevent topic that doesn't interest most people in the slightest, as i happen to =P) may not reveal any mind-blowing truths to you. It was difficult to find specific chunks of text that conveyed the entire message of the interview.

The jist is, all fungi release spores (spores are like their seeds), which float around and eventually settle on the ground. When a male and a female mycelial spore touch, they begin to form a network, that can span many miles, across entire forests and beyond given enough time. There can also be multiple networks in the same area because each year/season, leaves and dirt obviously accumulate, and then more spores float down, creating another network overtop of it, and so on and so forth. Through these networks, the mycelia can do amazing things such as transport nutrients from a thriving tree to a dying tree many miles away. They also, as mentioned previously, trade nutrients with plants for their photosynthesized energy, creating a symbiotic relationship between the mycelia, the plants, and the trees. And that's how a forest really works.

Here's to seeing the forest for the fungi :) YAY FUNGI!! lol

Here's the rest of the interview, for anyone interested.
http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2008/07/natures-internet-vast-intelligent.html

Joe Rogan: Unexpectedly Awesome.

2010-07-30T10:35:00.002-04:00

Yeah, the guy from Fear Factor!

This guy

I started to love him a little when he produced "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High" which focused on the injustice of cannabis prohibition in North America and - in part - the British Columbia "union" of marijuana growers.

And NOW, he's going to be doing a documentary based on Dr. Rick Strassman's "DMT: The Spirit Molecule" !!! Whaaaaaat! And now that I'm actually reading up on him he seems to be a pretty outspoken advocate for the exploration of DMT. The film might already be out, actually. Whether the doc will focus on the more "illicit" method of smoking DMT or natural methods of stimulating your brain's DMT production through things like superfoods (eg Mucuna Pruriens), kundalini yoga and meditation, I'm not sure, as I have not [yet!] gotten around to reading the book, and I'm at work so I can't watch the trailer >_<

Either way it should be pretty mind-blowing. DMT is a very powerful and fascinating subject.

stoked. <3ujoe.

Get improved concentration, memory and overall brain power with SUPER BRAIN YOGA

2010-07-30T10:29:00.003-04:00

This technique is being used by doctors and teachers alike to improve brain function and increase concentration and mental clarity. And it really works! Improved grades and increased mental focus among people who practice it are being reported, even among those with mental disabilities.

Super Brain Yoga, as it's being called, is essentially a form of acupressure and breathing technique used to balance both hemispheres of the brain and bring energy up to the brain. It was developed by Master Choa Kok Sui who has written a book on the subject. The exercise is easy to learn, takes only a few minutes to do and can be done basically anywhere! :)

Step 1: Face east, if you can. I don't really bother with this as I'm not aware of the significance, but if you happen to be aware of where east is, it can't hurt.

Step 2: Connect your tongue with the roof of your mouth, pressing lightly.

Step 3: Grasp your earlobes with your thumb and index finger, your thumb on the front of the earlobe and index on the back. Your right arms should be crossed OVER your left arm.

Step 4: Inhale and squat down to the ground (or as close as you can, the degree of squat isn't terribly important, but try to get as low as you can without hurting your knees or any other part of your body) while inhaling.

Step 5: Stand back up on the exhale. So as you're squatting, inhale, then as you're standing, exhale.

Step 6: Repeat this 15-20 times once or twice a day

I started doing this yesterday and plan to do it everyday. I'll post updates on whether I start to notice improved concentration, memory and overall balance. I definitely notice slight effects right away, but it's hard to determine whether it's as a result of the systematic breathing, the squats, a placebo effect or whether my brain hemispheres are actually being affected =P but I plan to practice it everyday and I'll let you know what I discover :)

Innard Smoothie, Falafel Numminess and "Cheesy" Potato and Kale Soup

2010-02-11T12:20:00.001-05:00

blended guts anyone? jk, it's just a blenderless smoothie =P mash berries, add [100%!] Juice (NOT FROM CONCENTRATE, PLEASE) I used strawberries and 100% pineapple and orange juices, and some fresh lemon juice.

Dan, grindin' some flax seeds. He's so strong *swoon* lol

Chick peas (canned. in hind-sight i definitely should have used dried/soaked for a more neutral flavour), onions, parsley, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander, ground flax seeds (in place of the flour in the recipe)... what else? olive oil... i think that's it.

Falafel-flavoured mess ♥

I don't have any pictures of the cooking process, but I preheated the oven to 350, lined a baking sheet with foil and then preheated the baking sheet (as per the recipe). I then made a bunch of balls, plopped 'em on the sheet, flattened them slightly and baked for, idk, half an hour or something, flipping them when the bottom side looks flippable (pardon the vagueness, i cook very much by eye)

Tahini. Sesame seeds and olive oil. Datsit.

Hummus. Chick peas, tahini and lemon juice.

For the record, I did not like this hummus AT ALL. In fact it's still sitting in my fridge. Again, should not have used canned chick peas. I couldn't get the flavour of the canning liquid out even though I rinsed the hell out of them. Oh well. Now I know for next time =P

Clockwise from the top: lil bitta bruschetta, arugula salad with organic balsamic vinaigrette, tzatziki (delicious, but made me feel all cloggy and phlegmy. ugh), hummus, and falafel patties :)

Dan, 30 seconds after placing the plate in front of him: "I hope you took a picture of that."

Yes, I did =P

ps sorry for the crummy lighting. this was literally the best one, ,lol.

DELICIOUS potato and kale soup. Basically I just boiled some potatoes, then added some organic veggie broth (TO THE POTATO BOILING LIQUID. This is key to the starchy cheesy consistency of the final soup), brought back to a boil, then blended (with the heat off =P) with my immersion blender. Then I brought it back up to a boil, added some onions and garlic, turned off the heat, then added some chopped kale. Blend JUST A WEE BIT more (you want to keep the kale bits in tact. unless you don't, then blend it right up. doesn't matter) add some salt (not iodized table salt, if you can help it) and pepper and voila!

OMG this was good. And it had a total cheesy quality to me. Idk. It was so thick and goopy ♥ Definitely making this again extremely soon.

and that's my numminess post for the week (or however long its been since I last posted) =P

have a spectacular day :)

Raw Vegan "Breakfast Treat" :)

2010-01-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

I used to call this my Raw Vegan Oatmeal but Dan won't let me call it that anymore since it doesn't contain any actual oats and Dan despises misnomers, lol.

I've been toying around with this "recipe" for a few weeks now, and I love every variation I've tried =P

The basic components are 1 banana, 1 serving of up to 3 ground or easily digestible grains/seeds (depending how dry/oatmealy you want it to be), and a sweetener.

Today I used 3 tbsp (1 serving, 6g protein) organic, raw golden flax seed (ground with my mortar (sp?) and pestle, which takes a while but you could obviously use a grain mill or coffee grinder if you have one).

I usually use 2 tbsp (1 serving, 11g protein) of shelled hemp seeds but the grocery store I shopped at last didn't have any, so I'll have to go without until I can find some :(

"In place" (in quotations because it no where near replaces hemp seed) of the hemp seed I used 1 tbsp ground sunflower seeds (shelled, obviously). These seeds ground up really nice, almost into a flour, and lent great texture to this "breakfast treat" ;)

So you mash the banana. Add your seeds. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional). Add sweetener of choice (today I used 1/2 tsp raw honey, sometimes I use [real!] maple syrup, which is not raw but is ridiculously delicious and breakfasty, and natural, so screw you). You COULD use agave, I suppose, if you really like the taste of it... it might overpower the other flavours here though, idk.

And that's basically it!

Today I also topped it with some raw goji berries, cranberries, pumpkin seeds & walnuts (Organically Yours' "Goji Trek Mix")

delissssshhhh <3 nothx@bacon&eggs. THIS is how I like to start my day :) With effective, usable, raw nutrients. I also considered chopping up some 85% cacao for topping but decided to save that until after breakfast ;)

Candy for Breakfast

2009-12-29T15:09:00.000-05:00

RAW (well, mostly raw) VEGAN CANDY, THAT IS! :)

otherwise known as:
pumpkin seed butter (organic but not raw)
hand-ground (by me) flax seeds
shelled hemp seeds
raw honey

all mixed up and stuffed in a huge medjool date! mmmmmm... candy for breakfast ftw! (also, breakfast at 2pm ftw, lol)

Seriously, I will be forever grateful to Sheri over at Green and Crunchy for the concept of stuffing dates with nut-butters and other deliciousness! I do it all the time now :)

I'm also having a carrot and a clementine. And I'm already planning my pre-work energy meal: multigrain pasta with tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms, onions and green peppers and fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme, and a green salad with radish and alfalfa sprouts :) sounds pretty scrummy if I do say so myself.

taaaa <3

ohbaby.

Christmas Recuperation Diet

2009-12-28T13:40:00.003-05:00

disclaimer: this has nothing to do with weight loss, so kindly save your "omg you so don't need to lose weight!" comments (though I do appreciate them ;)). The next few days (and on) are all about cleansing my blood and organs of all the crap I put in my body over the last few days. I'm going a little aggressive with it because I feel particularly shitty, excuse my french (stomach pains, flank pains, etc). So here goes.

I don't know, it's simple. not really "breakfasty" on the outside, but this is the kind of light stuff I like to eat in the morning. I would have loved to add lemon to my water but I didn't have any.

orange and green superman breakfast

1 small carrot, cut up
1 small orange pepper, cut up
handful of organic baby spinach
small handful of radish and alfalfa sprouts (no dressing. I just chomp it into juice with some water in my mouth. sounds gross, i know, but that's how you're supposed to chew veggies! TO A PULP/JUICE. Chewing is the first stage of the digestive system.)
1 organic whole foods multivitamin (I use New Chapter. <3 'em)
giant glass of water

yum yum yummers. simple and delicious. my cells are thanking me big time right now, lol =P

see you next year, stuffin' and 'taters :(

PS: THE OLYMPIC TORCH CAME THROUGH MY TOWN (and this is a smaaaaalll town) TODAY AT 8:55 IN THE MORNING AND I TOTALLY MISSED IT!!!! weak.

bachelorhood

2009-12-18T02:19:00.004-05:00

Ben: "Is it [your fridge] really that bad [Connor]?"

Me: "Oh my god. There are things in there from the day he moved in!" (referring to over a year ago!)

Ben: "Really?"

Connor: "Dude. There's a cob of corn in there that has literally disappeared."

lol<3

Eat your sunblock.

2009-12-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

by eating HEMP! :)

Hemp seeds, hemp nuts, hemp oil... also flax seed, pumpkin, sunflower & sesame seeds, walnuts, most nuts actually...along with algae (eg. spirulina, chlorella).

all contain Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which, when eaten regularly, help protect your skin from the sun :)

(sesame seeds and whole grains are also good sources of selenium, which also minimizes the damaging effects of UV rays)

Here's the breakdown for those interested:

The seeds and nuts contain Linoleic Acid (LA), which is converted to Gamma-Linoleic Acid (GLA) -- an anti-inflammatory/hormone balancer/cancer-suppressor

-- in your body. GLA is also found in borage oil, evening primrose & blackcurrant seed oil.

These seeds and nuts DO NOT contain the vital EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) or DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Fish are able to produce these from the algae they eat, which we then absorb when we eat them. We can of course eat the algae ourselves; chlorella and spirulina provide valuable sources of these converted fats as well as a whole host of other nutrients.

If you do not regularly consume fish or algae (organic whole foods vitamins often contain algae as well), your body is able to -- when functioning properly -- convert these fats itself. Here are some ways to help optimize your conversion of fatty acids:

-Include good sources of the nutrients which aid essential fat conversion – zinc, magnesium, calcium, biotin and vitamins B6, B3 and C.
-Avoid things which inhibit conversion; alcohol, saturated and trans fats (from animal foods and processed foods), smoking, caffeine, viral infections, stress and excess intake of vitamin A and copper.
-Balance your intake of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Due to the widespread use of sunflower oil in food manufacturing we tend to have a much greater intake of omega 6 to 3 fats in our diets. This imbalance can lead to the conversion enzymes getting used up for omega 6, restricting omega 3 conversion. The ideal balance is around 3 to 4 parts omega 6 to one of omega 3.
-Some people may have less of the conversion enzymes and may need to be strict with the above nutrient supporters and inhibitors. These people include those with atopic allergies (asthma, eczema and hay fever that runs in the family) and those with diabetes.
-Include an algae (spirulina or chlorella) drink 4 times a week. (Odwalla's "Lifefood" juice - available at metro, fortinoes, basically everywhere - has a hefty shot of spirulina)
- Have a daily intake of nuts (preferably soaked and dried) & seeds.

Back to the skin point: How EFAs help protect and beautify your skin is simple. EFAs strengthen and increase the fluidity of your delicate skin cell membranes. These cell membranes are the guardians of your skin - keeping toxins out and bringing moisture and nutrients in. They also stimulate the production of skin's natural moisture protective coating, make the skin more resistant to environmental damage and help construct new healthy-looking skin.

Other vitamins that help promote healthy, beautiful skin are vitamins A, B, C & E and the minerals Zinc and Selenium. Specific food examples that are good for skin are berries, olive oil, organic green tea, leafy greens, mushrooms and most importantly WATER.

And that's all I got. Have a nice day :)

Here is a video that explains Omega-3s further and includes a yummy recipe :)

and another,

Glass Walls

2009-12-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian."
-Paul McCartney

I couldn't figure out how to post this video, but it's right on the main page of this site.
Meat.org

Disgusting. Heartbreaking. Essential to watch.

I'm crying my fucking eyes out but I'm still watching it. I suggest you do, too, and don't stop or look away, especially if you consume animal products.

It's irresponsible to be deliberately uninformed about the horrible, appalling shit we put our "food" through.

Eating Vegetarian/Vegan/Raw in: Guelph, Ontario (again)!

2009-12-12T22:40:00.006-05:00

Mostly in pictures because I'm lazy.

pic courtesy of guelphmercury.com

(the rest of the pictures are from dan's Bold, I just forgot to take one of the front)

The Cornerstone Vegetarian Restaurant

1 Whyndam St N

Guelph, ON

(519) 827-0145

waiting for our food to arrive

Crostini Platter with garlic hummus, sundried tomato pesto and green olive tapanade & green salad

(SO good!)

Pinto, Mushroom & Avocado Enchilada with salsa & salad, Mine

(ridiculously delicious. and filling.)

Grilled Aged White Cheddar Cheese, Dan's

(buttery and delicious. okay so I had a little nibble ;) )

3-Bean Chili with cheese, Dan's

(scrumptious. would have been better without the massive amount of cheese. good lord.)

And since I was in the mood for some raw superfoods for dessert, we headed to WOW raw cafe on Carden...

...for some of those Hemp Balls and Raw Chocolate Macaroons from last time (I actually got pictures this time!) and a Chocolate Parfait (their chocolate dream cake "batter", chocolate pudding and whipped "cream"). The parfait was nummyumnumnumumyummygood. Though the strawberries they threw in were pretty mushy...weak. But after I took those out it was basically chocolate heaven. ohbaby <3

I hiiiiighhhlly recommend The Cornerstone. It wasn't as ridiculously expensive as the reviews I read made it seem (though I wouldn't call it cheap), and the food was ohmygod good. There were also plenty of vegan options, save the desserts (they had some tofu cheesecake. meh.) even though I admittedly tried both of Dan's cheesy dishes. I'm a badass like that.

Hurray for giveaways!

2009-12-09T11:25:00.001-05:00

I've never won one, mind you, but a girl can dream. A girl can dream.

#1: Twin Cakes Bakery is giving away samples of the following items in honour of their 2nd Anniversary:

Raw brownie bites
Raw rosemary cracker
Raw pumpkin kale cracker
Raw collard green fiesta flatbread
Raw spinach flatbread
Chocolate chips cookies
Cranberry orange scone
Lemon blueberry scone
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin
And our holiday raw gingerbread macaroon

Go here to enter.

Giveaway #2: Smoothie Girl @ Smoothiegirleatstoo.blogspot.com is giving away a selection of four homemade nut butters in celebration of HEAB's one-year-blogversary. Heather (HEAB) is going to choose the 4 she wants and the lucky winner will receive 4 of the same nut butters.

Go here to enter that one.

And that is all. Good luck! Taaaaaa!

Nothing to say

2009-12-08T10:57:00.010-05:00

Just a couple great links to share <3

Crazy Sexy Cancer: A documentary about healing stage 4 cancer with whole foods.

And here is a Raw Food Testimonial video. I tried to embed it but it was all wide and wonky =P

Enjoy :)

Eating Raw in: Guelph, Ontario!

2009-12-02T20:21:00.002-05:00

Wild Organic Way Cafe & Juice Bar

22 Carden St

Guelph, ON

(519) 766-1701

www.WowRawCafe.ca

We started off with some water (with cucumber!)

From the left: Chocolate Monkey Smoothie (Banana and raw cacao with a dash of agave blended with almond milk) & Sweet Beet Juice (Apple, celery & beet). Both were delicious!

This is what Dan got: Tasty Tacos (Corn tortillas stuffed with a sunflower& sun dried tomato “refried bean mix”. Mixed with just the right seasoning and topped with guacamole and salsa).

He seemed to like it =P Sorry for the shoddy photography, these were taken on Dan's blackberry bold, lol.

I ordered: Falafel Wrap (2 delicious falafels wrapped in a collard leaf, topped with our WOW tahini sauce, red onions and fresh diced tomato). This was very good! The falafel is made from ground almonds, and it really tasted like the real thing! My one complaint would be that there was a bit too much of the actual falafel and not enough onions and tomatoes, it was extremely filling - I wasn't even able to finish it all! The salad dressing was particularily delicious; I think they just use their tahini, and mm-MM! so tasty.

nom

yummy :)

For dessert, we ordered: Hemp Balls (Looking for a lighter dessert? This will hit the spot! Small but MIGHTY DELICIOUS. Cashews, coconut, date, vanilla & hemp hearts), 1 each

and Raw Chocolate Macaroons (For you chocolate lovers simple and decadent raw chocolate coconut and agave), 2 each

but we ate them all before I could get pictures! =P They were that good. The hemp balls. Oh man. And the macaroons were just sooo sinfully chocolately (except not sinful at all because they were raw! =D)

All-in-all I highly recommend WOW cafe if you're ever in Guelph! There are lots of other great restaurants and stores on the same block to browse through as well, such as Footprints EcoStore, where I got some all-natural, organic bath bombs and a great oatmeal soap bar!

Happy Shopping!

(All descriptions of WOW dishes taken from www.WowRawCafe.ca)

The most delicious thing I've ever eaten.

2009-11-27T01:10:00.002-05:00

Okay maybe that's an exaggeration. Certainly the most delicious fajita/wrap I've ever eaten.

Dan and I feasted on these last night and were extremely satisfied. We couldn't have fit meat or cheese on these badboys if we wanted to ;)

As you can see I needed *two* toothpicks to hold it together. It was a mouthful!

The makings:
-Whole Wheat Tortillas (which turned out to contain L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, rendering them unvegan. oh well)
-Spicy Hummus (protein)
-Guacamole (good fats)
-Kale (calcium, iron, protein, vitamin c...the list goes on. kale is a power vegetable!)
-Parsley (vitamin c & a, iron, folate, potassium, calcium... parsley also contains various anti-carcinogenic properties. just sayin')
-Green Onions
-Tomatoes (vitamin c & a, lycopene, an anti-carcinogenic [especially when cooked])
-Carrots (you should know what's in carrots by now)
-Green & Orange bell peppers (mad vitamins, obviously, and a potent cancer-fighter)
-Mushrooms (selenium [good for the fellas], and other stuff, most notably potassium [lowers blood pressure] and riboflavin [an essential b-vitamin])
-Alfalfa Sprouts (This is the ONLY plant that supplies the full range of vitamins, from vitamin A, B complex [even B12], C, E to K. Alfalfa sprouts placed in indirect sun for a couple of days before harvesting, even produce nutritious blood-healing chlorophyll. They also contain calcium, folic acid, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sodium & zinc. MM!! <3 I loves me some sprouts)
-and lastly, salsa. (another source of lycopene)

I can't wait to make another one <3

bon appetit!

Veggie (or more appropriately Beanie) Sloppy Joes

2009-11-06T16:09:00.003-05:00

I threw these together the other night and they were insanely delicious, though VERY sloppy when first made, more like Chili, lol. I just smothered a slice of toast with it, followed by another piece of toast (which I also smothered). Still very tasty, but they were much better in my opinion after the mixture sat in the fridge for a night.

Drain a can of kidney beans and mash them up in a pot. Leave some chunks. You could also use any other bean that has the same texture as kidney beans.
Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat up on medium.
Once heated, add spaghetti/tomato sauce of your choice (I used some kind of chunky tomato & basil one), as much as you want, just taste as you go along, but don't make it too liquidy. You could even use Manwich mix and just use as much beans as meat indicated on the can.
Heat it all up.
Add some cumin, chili powder and cayenne, to taste.

Bam. Vegan Sloppy Joes.
I was also going to add a little ketchup but forgot. I think that could be good.

Enjoy!

No pictures, unfortunately. And there may not be any until I get a new camera :(

Books & Bakes

2009-10-22T17:51:00.002-04:00

I've been a busy little beaver today. Washed and folded 2 loads of laundry, did 2 loads of dishes, cleaned the toilets (hurray!), ran out to the post office, made some cookies, tidied my room... and I'm not even done yet! I know to a lot of women out there that probably doesn't seem like that tiring of a day, but hey, I'm a beginner and I am BEAT! lol. So much so, in fact, that I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.

My trip to the post office was to pick up these 2 books, which I have been eagerly awaiting for several weeks (I think. It definitely felt like several.)

I am super excited to get started on them!!

Next order of business, aside from laundry and dishes: I felt the itch to bake something. And Lord knows, when I get this itch, there's only one way to scratch it... I gotta bake.

So I decided to throw together some Multigrain Cocoa-Peanut Butter cookie mounds. I had no recipe for the kind of cookie I wanted to bake, so I just winged it (wang it?).

Here's what I used:

2 cups multigrain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

Almond milk to moisten

Raw agave nectar to taste (though you'll see in a minute that my taste was a bit off)

1 tsp vanilla (which I forgot but would definitely be good :P)

and the reason I didn't add the "vegan mofo" pic to this post, 3 tbsp butter. I simply didn't have anything else. Margarine, Oil, Apple sauce, nada.

I first mixed the dry ingredients, then mixed the peanut butter with the agave. I mixed the two, then began to add the almond milk. Once the mixture was combined, I transferred the mixture in globs to a lightly greased (ie buttered ;\). I was only able to fit 9 at a time on my cookie sheet (in hindsight I could have squeezed more on but I didn't know whether or not they'd spread since I'd never made them before)

The lack of sheet-space actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because as I somehow didn't realize until this batch was done, was that I had grossly under-sweetened the mixture. It was tasty, what with the chocolate and peanut butter, it just wasn't sweet enough at all. So I added some more agave nectar to the second batch. I still couldn't fit all the remaining dough onto my cookie sheet, so the tiny bit I had leftover, I just added some plain white sugar to. Just in case.

I also added a little more decoration to the first batch, to sweeten it up a little =P

When in doubt, add more chocolate :)

And that's all for me today. Tonight I'll be making some more roasted acorn pepper squash for the squash-hating boyfriend. I'll let you know how it goes, lol.

Roasted Squash and BSPCPS!!!

2009-10-21T16:26:00.004-04:00

Happy Wednesday!

Today I made Broccoli, Spinach, Potato and Chick Pea soup! (or BSPCPS, for short). It started out as a variation of the Broccoli & Arugula soup I posted about at the beginning of the month - the variation being that I was going to simply substitute the arugula for spinach.

I then decided that I'd add some potatoes (canned) to add a little extra creaminess and hopefully taste something like Caldo Verde, a Portuguese potato & kale soup that I absolutely adore.

Then, thinking of my Dad and his obsession with "a protein" - "this needs a protein" "is there a protein in this?" - I chucked a can of chick peas in as well. :)

Here is the basic recipe, keep in mind everything is an estimation and this is one of those "just throw everything together and see what happens" recipes, which is why I love it :)

1 container vegetable stock (I used campbell's organic)
3 or 4 tbsp olive oil
2 large canfuls of water
1 can whole white potatoes
1 can chick peas
1 head broccoli (leaves included)
3 or 4 large handfuls baby spinach (could substitue regular spinach or any leafy green)
I also threw in about 1/3 of a cup of chopped up green and yellow peppers, because they were sitting in my fridge.
1 bay leaf
1 tsp or so of ground oregano
1/2 a head of garlic, peeled and chopped in half
1 green onion
dash of salt
few grinds of pepper

1. Put first 3 ingredients together in a pot along with oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
2. Bring to a boil then add garlic. Boil another minute then add potatoes and chick peas.
3. Cook until heated through, then add broccoli & peppers.
4. Cook until bright green and just fork-tender, then remove from heat and add spinach & green onion.
5. Pour into a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender (this is what I used) and blend until smooth. (this soup came out a little more watery than I intended. but I also didn't have a full head of broccoli, maybe a half. so you can either add a half a can less water or just give it a try with a full head of broccoli)

This soup literally took me less than 20 minutes to make. I know this because at 3:40 I was thinking "I should get started on that soup." and at 4:01 I took this picture.

mmmmmmm!

Oh, and a couple of days ago I made some roasted squash. Too simple to warrant an entire blog post but delicious enough to demand a picture!

Just an acorn pepper squash, cut in quarters then rubbed in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and baked at 400 (I think) until irresistable. Notice the pools of garlic and olive oil in the centre? yummmmmm. I also roasted the seeds with salt and oil, just like pumpkin seeds, and they were insanely good also. I've got another one so I'm going to make it again tomorrow for my squash-hating man in hopes of conversion ;) Taaaaa

Easy Vegan Choco-Banana-oatmeal muffins & a borscht variation ♥ plus baby peppers and baby raccoons!

2009-10-15T15:59:00.010-04:00

Happy continued Vegan MoFo to you all! Here are a few things I made today.

Veggie, Root Veggie & Chickpea soup (aka A Borscht Kinda Thing)!

(I apologize for the god-awful photography. My camera screen is broken, so I can't view the pictures I've taken until I plug the camera into my computer. It's...a pain. lol.)

1/2 a large white or yellow onion (you could use a whole one, I just had a half :P)
1 pkg. (2-3 cups) vegetable broth (I used campbell's organic)
1/4 cup white wine (cooking wine or regular. I used cooking)
As much garlic as you want (I used like half a head, lol)
1 540mL can chick peas/garbanzo beans
1 796mL can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 680g bag mini red potatoes
2 large carrots
2 zucchinis
3 medium-large beets, including as much of the greens as possible (sidenote: raw beets are DELICIOUS. I almost reconsidered using them in the soup and just snacking on them. they're so much less beety than cooked beets, if that makes sense :P and speaking of Raw Beets ;) just thought I'd throw that in there)
1 container button mushrooms
1 each red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers

1. Dice onion and saute with olive oil, salt and pepper. When softened, add garlic, stir for a few moments, then add wine. Continue to saute about 30 seconds, then add tomatoes and broth.
2. Add bay leaves and bring to a boil. Chop up your veggies to whatever size you want, keeping them as uniform in size as possible. When the soup comes to a boil, add the potatoes. You can either add the beets (not including greens) now or wait. I like to wait because I prefer them not fully cooked.
3. When potatoes are half-cooked, add beets.
4. Add chick peas and zucchini. Wait a few minutes then add everything else besides the beet greens and cook until desired "doneness" is reached. I like my veggies half-raw and crunchy so I only cooked them for 5 minutes or so. Add greens in last minute of cooking.
Enjoy!

Easy Vegan Choco-Banana-Oatmeal Muffins!!

Like the inside of my oven? Refer to disclaimer below previous picture :P

1 box oatmeal muffin mix (I used PC (a canadian brand) organic because the mix itself doesn't contain milk ingredients or egg)
1 Large overripe banana
1 tbsp flax meal or ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp warm water and left to sit 10 mins or so (to replace the egg)
1/2 cup (eye it. use more or less depending on your taste.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (such as PC's 'The Decadent' chips. yes, they're vegan! mm-mmm. Thanks to Lindsay Hutton over at Gone Vegan for that little tipsky)
2 tbsp oil or apple sauce (I used apple sauce)
1 scant (short) cup water. The recipe calls for 1 cup but I kept it short because of the extra moisture I added with the banana.

1. Mash the banana
2. Add dry muffin mix and chocolate chips. Coat the chips in powder, that way they won't sink to the bottom of the batter.
3. Add flax mixture, apple sauce and water. Mix until combined.
4. Follow the cooking instructions on the box and enjoy! These are ridiculicious. I've eaten 2 since I started writing this =P

Here are a couple more pictures I'm too lazy to write a whole blog entry for :)

The smallest green bell pepper in existence =P
I plucked it just before the plant died. It wasn't getting any bigger.

It was delicious. Very flavourful :)

A young raccoon that found its way onto our property today. My GSP (German Shepherd Puppy :P) is still out there barking at it up in this tree as we speak. Poor little guy :(

Anyway, Happy Thursday! Hope you're having a scrumptious-vegan-food-packed day, I know I am!

Lentil Burgers

2009-10-06T10:54:00.003-04:00

A hearty, delicious source of protein that will ensure you aren't the odd vegan out at the bbq :)

Lentil Burgers

1 can lentils
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ½ burger buns to make breadcrumbs
oil for frying
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cayenne
toppings of choice

1.Saute onions and garlic
2.Toast buns until brown
3.Tear up toasted buns and put in food processor, chop into crumbs
4.When onions are soft, add spices
5.Rinse lentils and add to onion mixture, add breadcrumbs
6.Return everything to food processor
7.pulse until ball forms
8.Fry burgers in small amount of oil on medium heat, flip when browned and eat when heated through!

Vegan MoFo Survey

2009-10-05T12:23:00.002-04:00

1.Favorite non-dairy milk?
Almond (vanilla)

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Any vegan cupcakes or cakes, Rawzagna (lasagne made with layers of tomato and zucchini with nut cheese [lol] instead of pasta and cheese), and Zucchini Noodles

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Used to be butter... the last time I got it I admittedly just got butter (I'm new, okay?!) so not really sure yet. I'm really want to try Earth balance margarine but I've only ever found it in one place >_<

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Almond Alfredo Sauce. I waaaaay over-salted it and ended up just making plain tomato sauce instead.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Plain old pickles (so, cucumbers I guess)

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I have a giant, extremely organized binder full of recipes, and a bunch on Word that I have yet to copy.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I have a garbage, a recycling bin, and I just chuck most of my food garbage over the fence (I live in the country have no neighbours on one side)

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook or store them)?
Bananas, almond butter, and coconuts (it would really suck if there were already bananas and coconuts on the island...) Let's say, assuming this is an island where Bananas, coconuts, mangos & pineapples grow wild: Almonds or Almond butter, Raspberries & broccoli

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Creating dozens of disgusting, completely inedible concoctions & mixtures of random food in the fridge and cupboards. Frozen peanut butter, ketchup and parsley sludge, anyone? I eventually got better at it =P

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
There is this one soy one (I forget the name) that was really good, it came in drumstick-like cones too. But now that I'm off the soy, I don't really have one :(. There is also a rice one that I have barely seen anywhere. I need an ice cream maker.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Knife. Juicer. Immersion blender. Couldn't just choose one =P

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Pepper.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Non-vegan cookbook? No idea, I have a lot of old ones. Vegan? Raw Food, Real World by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenney

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Raspberry <3

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Cookies.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
No thank you. Actually, I am kind of curious to try homemade Seitan. Looks wierd.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Bunch of random crap.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Mangos, Cauliflower, Peas

20. What's on your grocery list?
Butter (I live with my dad, you know :P)

21. Favorite grocery store?
Fortino's. They have the best health food section I've found in my surrounding area, by far.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes <3
And Portuguese Pasteis de Natas (Custard Tarts). Good luck to me on the latter, lol.

23. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3?
Vegan Family Inc, Choosing Raw & Kristen's Raw

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Green & Black's makes a good dark vegan chocolate. Also, did you know PC's The Decadent chocolate chips are vegan? Mmmmmmm. Just the chips, not the cookies, but you can buy the chips separately and make your own. mmmmmmmm.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
I bought a mango and some kiwis yesterday?

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
Yeast. I've made bread. It turned out well. I'm still intimidated. I think it's the bread-making process in general.

Vegan MoFo 2009

2009-10-02T11:39:00.005-04:00

So, October is the official Vegan Month of Food, meaning that all vegans are encouraged to stretch their cooking muscle, spread the word about the glory of veganism, etc, and vegan bloggers are encouraged to post as many vegan recipes and tips as possible, aiming for 1 a day, or at least 20 in the month.

I am anxious -- as this is my first october as a budding vegan -- to participate in this event, so here is my first vegan recipe!

This is a favourite soup of mine and one of the first really healthy, vegan dishes I ever prepared, using the nifty little immersion blender I got for either my 19th birthday or the subsequent Christmas, I forget :P

Broccoli & Arugula Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
½ yellow onion, roughly diced
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (about 2/3lb)
2 ½ cups water
¼ tsp each salt and pepper
¾ cup arugula or watercress
½ lemon

1.Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for just a minute or until fragrant. Add the broccoli and cook for four minutes or until bright green.
2.Add water and salt/pepper, bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover.
3.Cook 8 mins or until broccoli is just tender, then pour soup into a food processor/blender with arugula (or use an immersion blender) and blend until smooth, or until desired consistency is reached (really you can make this soup as smooth or chunky as you like! I've had it a few ways and I promise, it's just as delicious any way you blend it :P)
4.Serve with a bit of fresh lemon.

Enjoy :)

My (very) Lengthy Opinion Piece on Feminism and the Modern Family

2009-10-01T12:48:00.006-04:00

Fem⋅i⋅nism
ˈfɛməˌnɪzəm/ [fem-uh-niz-uhm]

–noun
1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
2. an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women.
3. feminine character.

If only this was all feminism meant today.

There is no doubt that, at the time of the Women's Rights Movement, the cause was a very just one, and the movement was necessary. Women's Rights were, and are, worth fighting for. However, over time, the definitions have changed, as has the approach of Feminists themselves. In my opinion, they have largely lost sight of what “freedom”, “rights” & “choice” really mean.

I feel that Feminism (in the form of Feminists) enforces the idea of equality and liberation to the extent that they are actually impeding women from making any choice at all. The choice is: Work. Period.

Feminists (and in most cases, even women who don't consider themselves feminists in any way) will scoff at a woman who has decided (key word being DECIDED) to work in the home instead of outside it, as some ignorant, uneducated, barbariess. They ignore the CHOICE that was made, because in their mind, that wasn't the choice that was fought for. The Women's Rights movement fought for the female's ability to work, drive, vote, etc, so now any woman not taking FULL advantage of ALL of those “rights” is looked down upon, and any woman that vocally expresses a feeling or belief that women actually “belong” in the home is considered offensive, or at the least, “old-fashioned”. Furthermore, if a woman feels the call to stay home and raise her family, that choice is often a burden on the family because our society is now set up so that you need 2 incomes to survive (or at least thrive).

What these women are forgetting, or perhaps never realized, is that the liberation is in the CHOICE ITSELF, not the notion that one choice is more liberated than the other.

I find it extremely upsetting and ridiculous that it is now commonly believed that the role of a homemaker is not important; That raising your children yourself & directly influencing their minds, ethics and ideals, making sure they eat healthfully everyday, that they have a well-maintained and peaceful place to call home (and to establish their view of what a home should be), is somehow outdated and unnecessary. I am here to tell you, that I (and many others) DISAGREE with this notion. Greatly.

I believe both sexes take pleasure and pride from doing something that their spouse/partner is not naturally good at. A man feels proud when he opens a jar his wife can't (as a small scale example) or explains to her something about his work, his car, something she doesn't understand. If you can't lift a heavy box, does he get angry or frustrated with you? Of course not, he doesn't mind. Because he wants to be only person in the house that can lift that heavy box, he wants to sweat for you and show you he's a man (I know this seems primal, but we are more primal than we like to think).Just as a woman (admit it) feels pride in the fact that her man doesn't even know where to begin in the kitchen, or 'oohs' and 'aahs' at a meal she's prepared from scratch, or when she calms the baby when her husband can only make it scream louder. This system of mutual pride and respect for eachother's unique skills, in my opinion, breeds fulfillment and, believe it or not, happiness. Yes, people actually can be happy in a “traditional” home setting. In fact, from what I've seen, it's much more common than in what is considered the “conventional” family of today.

Does anyone really wonder why the divorce rates are so high? In my opinion, it can be largely attributed to the deterioration of traditional gender roles and of the family unit.

Now, I know to many this may seem like a contradiction of what we've all come to associate with the “traditional” family that existed up until the early 60s or so: happy husband, unhappy wife. We also seem to associate the fact that these women were unhappy with their roles as wives and mothers, the cleaning, the cooking, the laundry, etc. This is a misconception.
Back in the days of the Women's Rights Movement, women actually had something to fight against. They were unhappy because they were oppressed, their opinions didn't matter, and they felt their husbands and the men in power wouldn't listen and didn't care. Their discontent (at least for some) was as a result of that oppression, the inability to choose, not the horribly drudgerous task of caring for their homes and their children. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. We are no longer oppressed, and thanks to those women, we now have the right to choose what path we want to take. Does that automatically mean I should want to be the CEO of a company or I'm somehow less of a liberated woman? Hell no. I take my right to drive and vote just as seriously as anyone else. That being said, I feel much more fulfilled in preparing a wholesome meal, cleaning an entire house in under 2 hours, or, silly as it may sound to some, having a drink and a kind ear ready for Dan when he walks in the door, than I ever could sitting behind a desk, or doing whatever else someone would consider fulfilling work.

The result of this deterioration is a society full of immasculated, unmotivated, purposeless men and over-stretched, exhausted & equally purposeless women who can't get through the day without Prozac or Paxil, and thank God for day-care and Mcdonald's. We have forced ourselves into a world where we do not belong, where we have to work 10x as hard to thrive, where (sorry) we can actually be a burden (many in the law enforcement and military fields have expressed this), and as a result, we've alienated the men and left them without purpose, without a role. After all, anything they can do, we can do better, right? Yeah, right. You won't catch me chopping wood anytime soon :P

And we haven't only alienated the men, but ourselves, by eliminating any and all of the unique skills we have that men do not instinctively have. How many girls do you know who claim, almost braggingly, that they “can't cook” or “don't clean”? I find this pathetic, not to mention imeasurably sad.

Ladies, ask yourself this. Think of the last time you found yourself performing a traditional gender role. Maybe you were at the cottage, and all the guys got up early to go fishing, and you and the other girls decided to go ahead and make breakfast. Now picture the moment when they walked through the door, saw the feast you prepared, and sat down to gorge with grunts of appreciation. Didn't it feel natural? Didn't you feel good about doing it? About yourself?

Think of the last time you took an interest in something your man is good at, really listened to him and then expressed how interesting and complicated it all seemed (teehee!). Didn't he glow with pride? Think of the last time he planted a big kiss on you between bites of something delicious. Didn't YOU glow with pride?

Now, think of the last time you both dragged yourselves in from work, paid the babysitter, and planted your work-weary asses on the couch to watch tv, exhausted and barely saying a word to eachother. Who takes the pride here? Who is taking care of whom in this particular situation? For those of us for whom fast-food isn't an option, who is making dinner? (Funnily enough, in most cases it would usually still be the woman making dinner. Interesting how we tend to fall back into natural gender roles even when we're “equal”, no?) That is one of the main positive dynamics of the “traditional” family unit. At the time of day that he is wilting, you can take care of him, and vice versa.

Maybe we're so wrapped up in our false pride, our need to portray ourselves as less submissive and more assertive, less feminine and more authoratative, less gentle and more professional, that we've lost sight of how to attain REAL pride, the pride that let's you sail through life, fulfilled, instead of constantly waiting for fulfillment to surface (which we all basically accept doesn't happen until after retirement anyway).

Today, we feel that as couples, we are more independant, we are able to have our own lives and not be “dependant” on eachother... but is that so? Or is it the opposite? Are you really both independant if you're leading the same lives? To me, when a man works and a woman stays at home, it gives them much more time and room to have their own hobbies and interests, and lead their own lives apart from eachother, then uniting at the end of the day to share their stories, thus creating a greater sense of love and unity overall. How can that happen if you both have the same lives, the same stories? I don't know, maybe I'm stretching now.

I guess my point is, while men and women are equal, we are not THE SAME. And, in my opinion, we're fooling ourselves to try to be the same, and have the same roles & goals in the world.

If you have an honest boyfriend, ask him one of these days (without guiding him towards a particular response), if he had the money, how would he feel about you staying home and performing the traditional woman's role? Really listen to his response, his body language, etc (most guys these days are probably a little scared to admit their true feelings on the subject). Then ask yourself the same question. You may be surprised at what you actually think and feel about the issue. Then again, you may not, but however you personally feel, please realize that other women may not feel the same way, and they deserve respect for their personal interpretation of womanhood.

Vegans and Vegetarians of Note

2009-09-27T00:37:00.002-04:00

When I found this list originally on Wikipedia, I was shocked at how many names were on it! I decided to keep looking online to see if I could find any other famous veggieheads that weren't listed, and I found tons! It's crazy! Nearly every major celebrity (not to mention great mind!) you can think of is/was either vegetarian or vegan!

(One of my sources didn't specify which were vegans and which were vegetarians, so the unlabelled ones could be either :P)

Disclaimer: Some of these people may very well not be livin' the good life (meaning the vegetarian life ;)) to this day. So if you find proof that Orlando Bloom ate a turkey sandwich, don't yell at me.

Also there were more than just these in the original list I found but I decided to take out all the lame boring ones nobody's heard of for the sake of length (and as you can see it's still pretty damn long!)

In hollywood

Casey Affleck (actor, vegan)
Pamela Anderson (Actress, model)
Gillian Anderson (Actress... Scully from X-Files, vegan)
Christina Applegate (Actress)
Alec Baldwin (actor, vegan)
Kristen Bell (Actress)
Jessica Biel (Actress)
Orlando Bloom (actor)
Pierce Brosnan (Actor)
Lauren Bush (Model)
Ed Begley, Jr. (actor, vegan)
Linda Blair (actress, vegan)
Jennifer Connely (Actress)
Jackie Chan (actor)
John Cleese (Comedian, Actor)
James Cromwell (actor, vegan)
Ellen Degeneres (actress, vegan)
Willem Defoe (Actor)
Cameron Diaz (actress)
Portia De Rossi (actress, vegan)
Emily Deschanel (actress, vegan)
Zooey Deschanel (actress/singer, vegan)
Leonardo Dicaprio (actor)
Michael J. Fox (Actor)
Richard Gere (actor, activist)
Ginnifer Goodwin (actress, vegan)
Daryl Hannah (actress, vegan)
Anne Hathaway (Actress)
Woody Harrelson (actor, vegan)
Josh Hartnett (actor)
Dustin Hoffman (Actor)
Samuel L. Jackson (actor)
Ashley Judd (Actress)
Lisa Kudrow (Actress)
Jared Leto (Actor)
Steve Martin (actor)
Tobey McGuire (Actor)
Alyssa Milano (actress)
Gabrielle Miller (actress... Ruby from Corner Gas, vegan)
Demi Moore (actress)
Petra Nemcova (Supermodel)
Kevin Nealon (actor... Doug Wilson from Weeds, Vegan),
Carrie-Anne Moss (actress... the matrix chick, vegan)
Robin Quivers (Talk-show host... the black lady-host on the howard stern show, vegan)
Brad Pitt (actor)
Marcus Patrick (actor... the sexy black man from all the soap operas, vegan)
Natalie Portman (actress)
Joaquin Phoenix (actor, vegan)
River Phoenix (actor, vegan)
Summer Phoenix (actress, vegan)
Robert Redford (Actor)
Jerry Seinfeld (Actor, Comedian)
Jason Schwartzman (actor, musician... rushmore, spun, marie antoinette, etc. vegan)
Alicia Silverstone (actress, vegan)
Oliver Stone (director)
Taryn Terrell (WWE Diva Tiffany, vegan)
Naomi Watts (Actress)
Olivia Wilde (actress... Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley from House, vegan)
Vanessa Williams (Actress, singer)
Kate Winslet (actress)
Reese Witherspoon (Actress)

In music

Bryan Adams (rock musician, vegan)
India.Arie (singer)
Brandy (Singer)
Michael Bolton (Singer)
Andre 3000 (Rapper)
Common (rapper)
Dr. Dre (Rapper)
Fiona Apple (singer, vegan)
Erykah Badu (Singer, songwriter, vegan)
Brian Bell (Guitarist for Weezer, vegan)
Cedric Bixler-Zavala (singer for The Mars Volta, vegan)
Hunter Burgan (Bassist of AFI, vegan)
Geezer Butler (Bassist, lyricist and founding member of Black Sabbath, vegan)
Leonard Cohen (musician)
Tim Commerford (Bassist for Rage Against the Machine, vegan)
Tracy Chapman (singer, songwriter)
John Feldmann (Lead singer and guitarist of Goldfinger and producer, vegan)
Peter Gabriel (Singer)
Tom Gabel (Lead singer of Against Me!, vegan)
Robin Gibb (One of the three Bee Gees, vegan)
Alex Greenwald (Lead singer for Phantom Planet, vegan)
George Harrison (guitarist)
Davey Havok (lead singer for AFI, vegan)
Andy Hurley (Drummer of Fall Out Boy, vegan)
Chrissie Hynde (Rock musician with The Pretenders, vegan)
Jack Johnson (Musician)
Forrest Kline (Lead singer of Hellogoodbye, vegan)
Todd Kowalski (Singer and bassist of Propagandhi, vegan)
Lenny Kravitz (performer, vegan)
Meat Loaf (Singer, Actor)
Mya (singer)
K.D. Lang (Solo singer, vegan)
Avril Lavigne (singer)
Dennis Lyxzén (Singer of The (International) Noise Conspiracy and formerly of Refused, vegan)
Ian MacKaye (Punk singer-musician, vegan)
Benji Madden (Singer, Guitarist for Good Charlotte)
Joel Madden (Singer for Good Charlotte)
Bob Marley (reggae legend)
Ziggy Marley (reggae singer)
Johnny Marr (Former guitarist for The Smiths, vegan)
Paul McCartney (Musician)
Mary Tyler Moore (actress)
Moby (Electronic musician, vegan)
Morrissey (musician, vegan)
Alanis Morissette (Musician,vegan)
Jason Mraz (American singer/songwriter, vegan)
MURS (Rapper, vegan)
Bif Naked (Canadian punk rock singer, vegan)
N.O.R.E. (American Rapper, vegan)
Prince (American rock icon, vegan)
Sinéad O'Connor (Irish singer/songwriter, vegan)
Oi Polloi (Scottish punk band, vegan)
Yoko Ono, (Singer Musician, vegan)
Pink (Singer)
Propagandhi (Canadian punk band - all members, vegan)
Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (Keyboardist of HIM, vegan)
Rikki Rockett (Drummer for Poison, vegan)
Adam Russell (Bassist of Story of the Year, vegan)
Justin Sane (Singer and Guitarist of Anti-Flag, vegan)
Gabe Saporta (member of bands Midtown and Cobra Starship, vegan)
Matt Skiba (Lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio, vegan)
Sade (singer)
Seal (musician)
Grace Slick (Rock musician with The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship,
Starship, vegan)
Ringo Starr (Drummer)
Joss Stone (Singer)
Stic.man (Hip Hop artist with Dead Prez, vegan)
Joan Jett (Singer and Guitarist of The Runaways and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, vegan)
Justin Timberlake (singer)
Shane Told (From Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein, vegan)
Shania Twain (country artist, vegan)
Carrie Underwood (Singer, model)
Persia White (Actress and member of band XEO3, vegan)
Saul Williams (Hip hop musician, poet, writer, and actor, vegan)
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Thom Yorke (Lead vocalist of Radiohead, vegan)
Nick Zinner (guitarist for Yeah Yeah Yeahs, vegan)
Conor Oberst (lead singer and guitarist Bright Eyes, vegan)

In Sports
(I just left all of these because, in general, I don't know who any of them are besides Laraque :P)

Georges Laraque (Professional Ice Hockey Player, vegan)
Ken Bradshaw (Professional Big Wave Surfer, vegan)
Peter Brock (Australian touring car driver, vegan)
Mac Danzig (professional mixed martial arts fighter, vegan)
Robert Cheeke (bodybuilder and founder of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, vegan)
Scott Jurek (ultramarathon runner, vegan)
Carl Lewis (track and field star, vegan)
Mike Mahler (Professional strength coach, vegan)
Martyn Moxon (English cricketer, vegan)
Salim Stoudamire( Professional NBA Player, vegan)
Ed Templeton (Professional skateboarder, vegan)
Ricky Williams (Professional American Football Player, vegan)
Ruth Heidrich, Three-Time Ironman
Debbie Lawrence, 5k Record Holder
Jim Kaat, Baseball Player
Hank Aaron, Baseball Player
Bill Pearl, Bodybuilder
Marv Levey, Buffalo Bills Coach
Robert Parnish, Center (Bulls)
Joe Namath, Football Player
Lawrence Phillips, Football Player (49ers)
Steve Bellamy, Founder of the Tennis Channel
Surya Bonaly, French Figure Skater
Brendan Brazier, Ironman Triathlete
Sally Eastall, Marathon Runner
Andreas Cahling, Mr. International Bodybuilder
Carl Lewis, Olympic Track Star
Edwin Moses, Olympic Champion
Leroy Burrell, Olympic Champion
Murray Rose, Olympic Swimmer
Pat Reeves, Power Lifter
Bill Manetti, Powerlifting Champion
Ed Templeton, Pro Skateboarder
Mike Manzoori, Pro Skateboarder
Brian Anderson, Pro Skateboarder
Jamie Thomas, Pro Skateboarder
Forest Kirby, Pro Skateboarder
Brian Sumner, Pro Skateboarder
Andrew Reynolds, Pro Skateboarder
Jen O'brien, Pro Skateboarder
Matt Field, Pro Skateboarder
Chris Lambert, Pro Skateboarder
Brad Staba, Pro Skateboarder
Geoff Rowley, Pro Skateboarder
Rick Mc Crank, Pro Skateboarder
Moses Itkonen, Pro Skateboarder
Sergei Trudnowski, Pro Skateboarder
Laban Pheidas, Proskater
Steve Berra, Proskater
Anastasia Ashley, Surfer
Martina Navratilova, Tennis Player
Bille Jean King, Tennis Champion
Peter Burwash, Tennis Champion
John Salley, Toronto Raptors
Lucy Stephens, Tri-athlete
Stan Price, World Record Bench Press
Killer Kowalski, Wrestler

Others (not in alphabetical order, sorry, i got lazy)

Rosa Parks (Civil rights activist)
Socrates (Greek philosopher)
Henry Ford (Ford Motors)
Mark Twain (Writer)
Dan Castellaneta (Voice of Homer Simpson)
Charles Darwin (“The Father of Evolution”)
John Harvey Kellogg (Doctor/Kellogg Cereal)
Plato (Greek philosopher)
St. Francis (Patron saint of animals)
Sir Isaac Newton (Physicist)
Benjamin Franklin (Inventor, Philosopher, Scientist)
Leonardo Da Vinci (Artist, Inventor)
Albert Einstein (Scientist)
Clara Barton (Founder of the American Red Cross)
Coretta Scott King (Wife of Martin Luther King Jr.)
Pythagorus (Mathemetician)
Vincent Van Gogh (Artist)
Thomas Edison (Inventor)
George Bernard Shaw (Writer)
Jane Goodall (Primatologist)
Mahatma Ghandi (Peace activist)
Nicola Tesla (Inventor)
Leo Tolstoy (novelist)
Voltaire (philosopher, writer)

My first post in over a month

2009-08-27T11:40:00.005-04:00

... is to shamelessly advertise this Link!

Enter to win a free Vitamix blender!!

PS: Contrary to my previous post, my garden did not die, I just neglected to photograph it :P

Sowing, Sowing, Sown

2009-07-17T09:15:00.004-04:00

I planted the last of my garden yesterday – finally. I know, mid-July seems a bit late to be planting a garden – and it is :P The weather has just been working against me lately. Every afternoon that I happen to be home, it’s either been rainy or way too sunny, or cold, or hot, never the perfect day. Then, the days it actually was pretty nice outside happened to be days when I felt like doing nothing LESS than toiling in the dirt with the red ants (I encountered TWO large egg mounds today, ewwwuuughhh!).

The weather wasn’t exactly perfect today, either. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful. Sunny, hot, it just stayed sunny and hot for a tad longer than I would have liked, so my poorly sun and wind-hardened pepper plants and single spindly tomato plant got about a half hour to an hour more sun than I wanted them to. I think they’ll survive though. Hopefully. I just figured what have I got to lose? The tomato plants were a good foot+ and flowering by the time I actually got them out there, and the tomato plant at least 2 ½ ft (LOL!) and hey - the weather ain’t cooling down anytime soon!

Anyway, I put out 5 pepper plants (I forgot how many are red and how many green) and 1 tomato plant. I already have 3 zucchini seedlings out there, 2 spring onions and half a row of mixed salad greens, and everything is looking good so far. I’m pretty excited about it! This is my first ever attempt at growing anything (excluding early this spring when I planted a tomato plant and 2 zucchini plants that died almost IMMEDIATELY). I haven’t actually been out there to check on them this morning but I’m just praying they’re holding in there and not wilted and shocked by the sudden wind and sun exposure after months indoors… oh well, I’ll find out in a few minutes. At least now the constant cloud looming over my head (“the plants are still inside. When am I going to plant those plants? They’re still inside. It’s been so long…”) is finally cleared and I can get on to my next project: Learning how to sew! (and learning how to properly harvest this little garden I’ve sown – most likely as I go.)

Will add a picture of the garden if it’s still alive when I go out there.

Sidenote: I’d love to make time to do some reading today (hopefully putting it into writing will help it happen :P)

Jess(ica): Past, present and future.

2009-07-16T09:01:00.002-04:00

What this blog really should be called is “Diary of an Aspiring Woman, Wife, Mother, Vegan, backyard gardener extraordinaire, expert quilter/knitter/sewer, charming hostess, gourmet chef, professional multi-tasker, neat-freak & overall organized and together person” but I thought the term “Domestic Goddess” would sum it all up in a more stylish way and without losing readers half-way through.

About me:

I’m 20 years old (21 in 6 days)

I have lived in rural Ontario, Canada with my father since February, with our 4-month-old German Shepherd, Layla, who has become my joy and practice baby :P

I have a wonderful boyfriend/Fiance (there’s no ring , yet) named Dan, who is a marvelously competent and bearded man about to graduate college as a computer engineer (I’m so proud of him and so anxious to start our lives together!)

I have recently (at least a few months) decided to become completely vegetarian and am yearning to make the transition to full-blown veganism as soon as possible. I’ve found that I just can’t justify eating or using products made from animals, especially when some of the animals we exploit most frequently (cows, pigs) are arguably MORE intelligent than my precious puppy whom I love so much. That just doesn’t make sense to me. Besides, I’ve always struggled with the logic behind eating animal flesh, birds’ eggs and other creatures’ milk… anyhow, I’m sure I’ll approach this subject at a later date :P

As of recent, a lot of changes and a lot of “firsts” have taken place in my life. First time living anywhere near the country let alone smack-dab IN it. First puppy. The switch from aspiring vegetarian to budding veganista, and finally the transition between future-office-working-business-woman to wannabe traditional cake-baking, floor-scrubbing housewife. All in all it’s been an eventful few months, so I figured what better way to document my metamorphoses from frivolous, absent-minded 20-yr-old to, well, frivolous, absent minded 21-yr-old with a slightly better idea of what she wants out of life.

Well, I think this is more than enough information for a first blog, not that I’d know I guess, I’ve never actually blogged before, but I have recently become an avid reader of various “Stay-at-home-mom”, vegan, and Simple Living blogs, so, I mean, I’m basically an expert :P

Until next time!