Yesterday's Springtime Elixirs:
Exercise:
15 minutes on the Needak rebounder mini-trampoline: This exercise is the one fully detoxifying form of exercise. It clears out the lymph, blood and organ system.
Breakfast/Lunch:
Smoothie with 2 oranges, 1 kiwi, 6 strawberries and 3 stalks of celery (and water)!
Dinner:
salad with Lacinato kale, red leaf lettuce, fennel, carrot, red pepper, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts
dressing of 1 tablespoon tahini, a little Red River chickpea miso, 1 teaspoon stone ground mustard and some apple cider vinegar
5 Black Sphinx Dates, Mount Grove, Arcadia - from the Phoenix-Sedona area: These dates were recommended and sent to me by my friend (and colleague) Julie out in Sedona. They are small and melt in your mouth like caramel. Julie uses them as the center stuffing of caramel when she makes raw chocolate turtles; YUM!
Today's Menu:
Breakfast:
16 oz. of Springtime Wake up! with 2 apples and a large jumbo handful of spinach (and water)
Exercise:
Fabulous Anusara Yoga Class
Lunch:
32 oz. of Springtime Stay Awake! (same as breakfast)
1 large, luscious mango
I have to share this video with my readers. If you are sad, if you are blue, just watch this video of Storm Talifero speaking about junk food. It's my new tool to make me laugh every day. I just love it, and cannot watch it without saying something out loud. I agree with every word Storm says and love the way he says it all in just over one minute.
If any of you remember the TV show "Sanford & Son," this might make you think of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqRJz0uAV9Y
The thing is, though, what Storm is speaking passionately about is painfully true; make sure you listen to when he talks about the shining light directing Ritalin to children.
"Storm Talifero has been a raw-vegan for over 38 years. He is the author of “The Garden Diet” and producer of “Breakthrough” a raw vegan documentary. He currently lives in the Los Padres National forest north of Los Angeles, where he is working on his next film and still driving to Santa Barbara twice a week to shop at the farmer’s market so he can keep his family supplied with the best raw organic fresh fruits and vegetables available."
Storm and his wife Jinjee, another raw warrior, have a fabulous raw retreat center in California.
http://rawveganwarrior.com/
In health,
Hope
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Tribute to One of My Heroes
Today's Glorious Food:
Breakfast:
Some Raw Jungle Peanuts
Drink: G.T. Dave's Organic Raw Kombucha Botanic No 9
Snack:
A ring of dried apple
Dinner:
Matt Monarch's cucumber yum pot! I couldn't remember his exact concoction, but it looked so yummy on his Utube. I took: 1 large cuke, peeled and 1 avocado, scooped and food prcoessed them together.
Then I put some pieces of dulse seaweed in the bottom of a bowl, poured the mix on top and mixed the dulse through it all.
It was delicious!
Small salad with red leaf, sunchokes, 1/2 tomato, alfalfa sprouts, carrot and nutritional yeast; with olive oil and Bragg's
Dessert:
small bowl of Artisana raw pecan butter (YUM; I love this stuff!) with shredded coconut and a small splash of agave
I want to pay tribute to one of my heroes who just passed away at 96; Jack LaLanne.
I remember, as a child, seeing him on tv in the mornings, along with his white German Shepherd. He was reaching people with his message of movement; that exercise each day was vital to our life force.
I've always held a soft spot of adoration for him. This morning, when reading his obituary on line, I saw that what influenced him and steered him in the direction of health was meeting Paul Bragg. Yes, readers, that is the same Bragg as Bragg's Aminos. Paul was an early advocate in the field of healthy eating of whole foods and waylaying disease in the body. I had no idea that Jack LaLanne met him and that this changed his life. This is when he lost weight and started exercising, subsequently changing the course of exercise with his personal philosophy and brilliant methodology and bringing weight training even to women in those days.
During different decades of his life, Jack undertook outrageous feats of skill, determination and stength, like having his hands and feet shackled and swimming across Alakatraz.
He was always sending a message to the world about what was possible if you took care of your body, mind and spirit.
I feel that his energy was not filled with ego at all; rather, he was passionately committed to reaching people with his message of health and letting them know that anyone could do it.
He was a true advocate for the health of humanity.
A few years ago, I read a great interview with him. As it turns out, he was basically eating all raw food; possibly some meat (I can't remember) but mostly all raw vegetables and fruit and no dairy, sugar or white flour.
He was still, at about 92, working out four hours a day.
I was just blown away by his consistent commitment; his powerful and gentle energy and his understanding of whole health.
He also had a beautiful marriage of 51 years.
His message was so simple, and if I close my eyes, I can hear it coming through the tv set of my childhood, knowing my mother was watching it.
Now she is in her 80's and still working out at the gym and with a trainer every week.
Thank you, Jack LaLanne, for giving life and health to so many people! You will be deeply missed, and I miss you already.
Breakfast:
Some Raw Jungle Peanuts
Drink: G.T. Dave's Organic Raw Kombucha Botanic No 9
Snack:
A ring of dried apple
Dinner:
Matt Monarch's cucumber yum pot! I couldn't remember his exact concoction, but it looked so yummy on his Utube. I took: 1 large cuke, peeled and 1 avocado, scooped and food prcoessed them together.
Then I put some pieces of dulse seaweed in the bottom of a bowl, poured the mix on top and mixed the dulse through it all.
It was delicious!
Small salad with red leaf, sunchokes, 1/2 tomato, alfalfa sprouts, carrot and nutritional yeast; with olive oil and Bragg's
Dessert:
small bowl of Artisana raw pecan butter (YUM; I love this stuff!) with shredded coconut and a small splash of agave
I want to pay tribute to one of my heroes who just passed away at 96; Jack LaLanne.
I remember, as a child, seeing him on tv in the mornings, along with his white German Shepherd. He was reaching people with his message of movement; that exercise each day was vital to our life force.
I've always held a soft spot of adoration for him. This morning, when reading his obituary on line, I saw that what influenced him and steered him in the direction of health was meeting Paul Bragg. Yes, readers, that is the same Bragg as Bragg's Aminos. Paul was an early advocate in the field of healthy eating of whole foods and waylaying disease in the body. I had no idea that Jack LaLanne met him and that this changed his life. This is when he lost weight and started exercising, subsequently changing the course of exercise with his personal philosophy and brilliant methodology and bringing weight training even to women in those days.
During different decades of his life, Jack undertook outrageous feats of skill, determination and stength, like having his hands and feet shackled and swimming across Alakatraz.
He was always sending a message to the world about what was possible if you took care of your body, mind and spirit.
I feel that his energy was not filled with ego at all; rather, he was passionately committed to reaching people with his message of health and letting them know that anyone could do it.
He was a true advocate for the health of humanity.
A few years ago, I read a great interview with him. As it turns out, he was basically eating all raw food; possibly some meat (I can't remember) but mostly all raw vegetables and fruit and no dairy, sugar or white flour.
He was still, at about 92, working out four hours a day.
I was just blown away by his consistent commitment; his powerful and gentle energy and his understanding of whole health.
He also had a beautiful marriage of 51 years.
His message was so simple, and if I close my eyes, I can hear it coming through the tv set of my childhood, knowing my mother was watching it.
Now she is in her 80's and still working out at the gym and with a trainer every week.
Thank you, Jack LaLanne, for giving life and health to so many people! You will be deeply missed, and I miss you already.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Even the Torturous Moments become Embraceable
I wrote the first part of this post on Friday:
Today's Beautiful Food:
Breakfast:
Couldn't resist; warm pieces of my Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pies
Rockin' smoothie 32 oz. with fresh young Thai coconut with frozen banana, cacao, shijalit, Rok Caldwell's Green Powder and Vanilla Mint Maca
Exercise:
Deep yoga with Donna & Bruce of Elements Yoga in Darien
Bruce and Donna own Elements, an Anusara-based stuio, and Bruce is the master soundsmith. Today the music included a cut from Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman, Jackson Browne, live version of The Pretender (circa 1978), James Taylor live, ending with Imagine. When I focus on the music, I go deeper in my poses and even the torturous moments become embraceable
Lunch:
3-4 pieces of Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pie
I could not get enough of this!!!
it was originally inspired by Zakhah's book, The Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey. I had modified the recipe years ago when I was teaching classes.
Now I changed it again, taking it from loaf pans into Pyrex pie dishes, and dehydrating it overnight. The taste is beyond the beyond. Here's the recipe:
Pecan Loaf with Sundried Tomato Sauce
A hearty main course for Winter meals; great for the holidays, too!
4 cups pecans, soaked overnight or for a few hours
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ large red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked till plump and moist, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons cumin powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups Sundried Tomato Sauce (see below)
Grind pecans in a food processor until fine. In a bowl, mix the pecans with the veges, spices and 1 cup of the Sundried Tomato Sauce. Shape into loaf and spread remaining sauce on top. Decorate with fresh parsley, celery leaves, sliced olives or pecan halves.
Serves 8 raw foodists!
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sundried Tomato Sauce
2 cups sundried tomatoes, soaked; reserve water to use later
4 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 dash sage powder
Blend ingredients with 1 cup of water from soaked tomatoes. Let sauce sit for 30 minutes to allow water to drain from it. You can sit sauce over colander. (water may be saved and used for flavoring other recipes, like a stock for soup).
Makes 3 cups
Adapted from the Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey, By Zakhah
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
Dinner:
Oooo, la la! Let me not forget anything we ate at my friends', Glen Colello and Lisa Storch's four course raw gourmet dinner called, 'A Taste of Asia.' This was held at their raw cafe, Catch a Healthy Habit, in Fairfield, CT, and was cheffed by Frank Giglio, inspired by the two months he recently spent in Bali immersed in its culinary arts.
Today's Beautiful Food:
Breakfast:
Couldn't resist; warm pieces of my Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pies
Rockin' smoothie 32 oz. with fresh young Thai coconut with frozen banana, cacao, shijalit, Rok Caldwell's Green Powder and Vanilla Mint Maca
Exercise:
Deep yoga with Donna & Bruce of Elements Yoga in Darien
Bruce and Donna own Elements, an Anusara-based stuio, and Bruce is the master soundsmith. Today the music included a cut from Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman, Jackson Browne, live version of The Pretender (circa 1978), James Taylor live, ending with Imagine. When I focus on the music, I go deeper in my poses and even the torturous moments become embraceable
Lunch:
3-4 pieces of Raw Pecan Sundried Tomato Pie
I could not get enough of this!!!
it was originally inspired by Zakhah's book, The Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey. I had modified the recipe years ago when I was teaching classes.
Now I changed it again, taking it from loaf pans into Pyrex pie dishes, and dehydrating it overnight. The taste is beyond the beyond. Here's the recipe:
Pecan Loaf with Sundried Tomato Sauce
A hearty main course for Winter meals; great for the holidays, too!
4 cups pecans, soaked overnight or for a few hours
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ large red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked till plump and moist, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons cumin powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups Sundried Tomato Sauce (see below)
Grind pecans in a food processor until fine. In a bowl, mix the pecans with the veges, spices and 1 cup of the Sundried Tomato Sauce. Shape into loaf and spread remaining sauce on top. Decorate with fresh parsley, celery leaves, sliced olives or pecan halves.
Serves 8 raw foodists!
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sundried Tomato Sauce
2 cups sundried tomatoes, soaked; reserve water to use later
4 Roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 dash sage powder
Blend ingredients with 1 cup of water from soaked tomatoes. Let sauce sit for 30 minutes to allow water to drain from it. You can sit sauce over colander. (water may be saved and used for flavoring other recipes, like a stock for soup).
Makes 3 cups
Adapted from the Joy of Living Live; A Raw Food Journey, By Zakhah
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
Dinner:
Oooo, la la! Let me not forget anything we ate at my friends', Glen Colello and Lisa Storch's four course raw gourmet dinner called, 'A Taste of Asia.' This was held at their raw cafe, Catch a Healthy Habit, in Fairfield, CT, and was cheffed by Frank Giglio, inspired by the two months he recently spent in Bali immersed in its culinary arts.
We started with what I will call an 'Amuse Bouche' (amusement for the mouth - a little pre-app tasting served in fine restaurants) of mini vege sushi rolls with a delicious, creamy dressing
Appetizer: Fantastic! kelp noodles in lettuce pouches with a thai "peanut" almond butter sauce - just delicious!!
Entrees: The first was a nut meat creation wrapped in a rice paper pouch that was so yummy in itself, tied with a piece of grass. It was floating in a foamy creme broth made from Chaga and Shitake and reishi mushrooms (all healing mushrooms), some from Frankie's home area of Maine.
The second was an array of shredded vegetables in delicate piles, with mushrooms and sea veges piled up in the center - just gorgeous - on top of sweet parsnip rice
Dessert: This was to-die-for:
We have renamed it Molten Lava (thank you, John), as opposed to Molten Lava Cake, it was just the darkest cacao (my guess directly from the bean) oozing it's chocolate lava, topped by raw ice cream with mandarin infusion and little chips of a caramel-like wafer scattered. This rivaled and topped any version in the best 5-star restaurant!
I may not be getting all of the ingredients correct, because it's been a couple of days since I started this post, but you get the general picture; MAGNIFICENCE!
Oh, and all accompanied by fresh spring water and green tea
Since this is my first post of the New Year, I want to speak about an understanding I came to during the month of December. "Even the Torturous Moments Become Embraceable" is the title of this post. Let me go right to the question we all ask ourselves from time to time; "Why am I Here?" It was many years ago that I understood that we each have a purpose here; mine is to to offer people, through counseling, a new way of being with themselves; to heal their bodies, minds and spirits joyfully. I am clear that is why I was born during this time. But I recently understood the other reason why we exist at all. This reason is directly opposite to how we are taught to deal with the "downs" of the "ups and downs" of life. I believe that we are here to profoundly Be with every moment of our lives; all aspects and all events, in order to witness our own personal evolution and heal our most wounded places. If you believe in lives before this one, that would inclide our karmic wounds from those times as well. We have a profound opportunity to transform the torturous into the embraceable. The mantra "out there" is that life is unfair. Cries of, "Why me?", or, "It's so unfair? Why did this have to happen?" abound. We have lost the point entirely, and our communities of government and religion and healthcare miss the true teachings. Even though you may hear a friend or family member say that something bad that happened to them was really a gift, in general, we expect that life will throw us blows and that those moments cannot compete with the good times. I think we miss the opportunity in being fully present to our own transformations, when we view one moment as less than another. Consider this: Maybe we are here for ALL of it, and it's the ALL that allows for our highest evolution.
I know this may read as very controversial, as some really crappy things happen in our worlds, including death and destitution, but you already know we are not high enough to understand some of those "Why's." Consider that the point may be all of it; maybe it's all related equally to our existence and evolution on this earth.
December was a month for me of healing some of my deepest and oldest emotional wounds of identity and sense of self as intimately related to others. I went down into the mud and rose up again. It hurt so much I felt it in my body. Would I do it again? Definitely, as the enlightenment that has come from the depths of pain has me clear about why I am here, and I shine brightly from having healed an element of my past in my evolution as a human. It's that simple.
Just some food for thought for the day. I would love to hear from you with your own take on it...
With Love & Respect,
Hope & The Holistic Empire
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
No More Latkes...Please!
It's cold outside today. The days are darker and the wind has been whipping. You may notice unusual or "old" emotions and physical feelings surfacing or resurfacing. Plus, it's the proverbial holiday time; time for feeling oh so joyful. What if you're not???
More on this in a minute...
Today's Food:
No Breakfast - detox
Lunch: 2 tangelos
small bowl of raw almonds
fork-ful of raw nutella cashew cream pie (!)
Dinner:
Large salad with radicchio, red leaf lettuce, carrot, avocado and mushrooms, with garlic stuffed olives, nutritional yeast, olive oil, Bragg's Amino Acids, sea salt
20 oz. water
Dessert
Piece of raw nutella cashew cream pie
YUM!!! This pie was made by my friend and raw chef Joy Perlow, inspired by Ani Phyo's cake recipe
Today's RawReformBlog, from Angela Stokes-Monarch, includes a brand new song by Angela, part of which came to her in a dream.
Being that this has been a week of deep emotions for me, I so loved listening to her sing this song and wanted to share the link with my readers. Here it is; enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsHG5RyU5g
Thank you, Angela!
There's a talk I give this time of year entitled, "10 Tools to Take You Through the Holidays." I've taught it since 2003. It's all about how to keep in balance this time of year and many have found it valuable in navigating their own jouneys through the holidays; Thanksgiving through New Year's.
There is an expectation of how we should feel during this season of joy. It does not take into account that holiday time is also a time we might remember those we have lost and often find ourselves missing them. Additionally, it is a time when our food and our schedules are turned upside down and issues of body image, "willpower" and stress can come into play.
I found this happening to me. I have not felt this way in many, many years.
But i did not heed my own advice of balance.
I am in a glorious new relationship, which of course means later nights, less sleep, shifts in some daily routines and days without working out! or does it.....
It did for me, and I understood that new love, as my colleague and partner in crime and couseling Joanna Bronfman said to me, releases new chemicals in our bodies, makes us feel like space cadets and often throws us off our game completely. But, she said, just let go and enjoy it! And I did.....and when my head was spinning, I ran to a yoga class, took a run and got my food back on track.
Then came Hanukah and latke time. For those who don't know, latkes are the potato pancakes we eat once a year at Hanukah, and they are delicious.
As a raw foodist, I choose to enjoy these yummy morsels of my heritage.
This year, I had the pleasure of walking into my aunt and uncle's beautiful home in Brooklyn, and seeing my aunt kitchen-deep in latkes; making about a hundred of them for the gathering. The kitchen was filled with the smell of warm oil and cooking potatoes, and I bathed in it. Then I ate a whole bunch.
Cut to the next day. My friend Liz and I engaged in our holiday tradition of making latkes; we made sweet potato latkes and wasabi latkes; and I ate some more. We drank Soy Nog, laughed and shared conversation as only two women can.
That night, we got together with a group of women to celebrate, and Laurel made zucchini latkes, leek latkes and sweet potato latkes; and I ate many more.
Cut to Tuesday morning; I felt lousy! I was foggy, low mood akin to depression, off balance and my whole immune system felt low. This raw foodist was hurting! I couldn't even distinguish which was real and which biochemical.
OK, I decided, I am so done with latkes this year.
Back to running, raw food, more sleep and juicy conversations with my girlfriends to share what I was experiencing, I soon felt much better.
All the beauty of a wonderful relationship and holiday tradition knocked me on my butt.
I needed to honor my personal needs. My body and psyche thrive on these four things:
Proper sleep, raw food, consistent exercise and time for me to connect with my spirit.
I will be writing more about this subject through the New Year.
Meanwhile, get clear in what you need to keep thriving and stay in balance through the holidays. Write in and share it with others....
And if you're eating latkes, they're great with apple sauce and sour cream!
More on this in a minute...
Today's Food:
No Breakfast - detox
Lunch: 2 tangelos
small bowl of raw almonds
fork-ful of raw nutella cashew cream pie (!)
Dinner:
Large salad with radicchio, red leaf lettuce, carrot, avocado and mushrooms, with garlic stuffed olives, nutritional yeast, olive oil, Bragg's Amino Acids, sea salt
20 oz. water
Dessert
Piece of raw nutella cashew cream pie
YUM!!! This pie was made by my friend and raw chef Joy Perlow, inspired by Ani Phyo's cake recipe
Today's RawReformBlog, from Angela Stokes-Monarch, includes a brand new song by Angela, part of which came to her in a dream.
Being that this has been a week of deep emotions for me, I so loved listening to her sing this song and wanted to share the link with my readers. Here it is; enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsHG5RyU5g
Thank you, Angela!
There's a talk I give this time of year entitled, "10 Tools to Take You Through the Holidays." I've taught it since 2003. It's all about how to keep in balance this time of year and many have found it valuable in navigating their own jouneys through the holidays; Thanksgiving through New Year's.
There is an expectation of how we should feel during this season of joy. It does not take into account that holiday time is also a time we might remember those we have lost and often find ourselves missing them. Additionally, it is a time when our food and our schedules are turned upside down and issues of body image, "willpower" and stress can come into play.
I found this happening to me. I have not felt this way in many, many years.
But i did not heed my own advice of balance.
I am in a glorious new relationship, which of course means later nights, less sleep, shifts in some daily routines and days without working out! or does it.....
It did for me, and I understood that new love, as my colleague and partner in crime and couseling Joanna Bronfman said to me, releases new chemicals in our bodies, makes us feel like space cadets and often throws us off our game completely. But, she said, just let go and enjoy it! And I did.....and when my head was spinning, I ran to a yoga class, took a run and got my food back on track.
Then came Hanukah and latke time. For those who don't know, latkes are the potato pancakes we eat once a year at Hanukah, and they are delicious.
As a raw foodist, I choose to enjoy these yummy morsels of my heritage.
This year, I had the pleasure of walking into my aunt and uncle's beautiful home in Brooklyn, and seeing my aunt kitchen-deep in latkes; making about a hundred of them for the gathering. The kitchen was filled with the smell of warm oil and cooking potatoes, and I bathed in it. Then I ate a whole bunch.
Cut to the next day. My friend Liz and I engaged in our holiday tradition of making latkes; we made sweet potato latkes and wasabi latkes; and I ate some more. We drank Soy Nog, laughed and shared conversation as only two women can.
That night, we got together with a group of women to celebrate, and Laurel made zucchini latkes, leek latkes and sweet potato latkes; and I ate many more.
Cut to Tuesday morning; I felt lousy! I was foggy, low mood akin to depression, off balance and my whole immune system felt low. This raw foodist was hurting! I couldn't even distinguish which was real and which biochemical.
OK, I decided, I am so done with latkes this year.
Back to running, raw food, more sleep and juicy conversations with my girlfriends to share what I was experiencing, I soon felt much better.
All the beauty of a wonderful relationship and holiday tradition knocked me on my butt.
I needed to honor my personal needs. My body and psyche thrive on these four things:
Proper sleep, raw food, consistent exercise and time for me to connect with my spirit.
I will be writing more about this subject through the New Year.
Meanwhile, get clear in what you need to keep thriving and stay in balance through the holidays. Write in and share it with others....
And if you're eating latkes, they're great with apple sauce and sour cream!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The Sacredness of Choice
Happy Thankgiving, dear readers!
Food Today:
Breakfast:
4 slices Manna Millet Rice bread with raw creamy almond butter
10 oz. water with MSM powder
Lunch:
salad with red leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, avocado, carrot, mushrooms and sprouts, with nutritional yeast, ume plum vinegar, Bragg's Amino Acids and olive oil
This month is most important to balance. It is the time to let go of the mantra of perfection and pick up the more powerful tool of "choosing."
What do you choose today?
Yesterday, I chose to be filled with joy at my dear friend Liz's home, as I was invited for a Thanksgiving gathering, along with my boyfriend John, Liz's partner Michael and their respective children.
Michael is a vegetarian and reared his children as such. Liz and Michael create a vegetarian meal each Thanksgiving.
This meal was not raw, and did include multiple desserts (one of which was my raw chocolate ganache). So, I chose to eat and enjoy every mouthful of this luscious meal; from the warm carrot soup, to the wasabi mashed potatoes and pureed turnips, to the mock turkey pieces made from Seitan (delicious!), to the sweet potaotes baked with maple syrup. This lusciousness was followed by a homemade apple cobbler, my raw ganache, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. I ate it all. I loved it all. I was extremely full from three Thanksgiving meals (Wed, Thursday and Friday), but I appreciated each morsel of food. During the days, I ate raw and alkaline. I didn't starve out or binge in the other direction. I ate normally. I also took a run every day and did some yoga.
The weekend also included a couple of meals out with my honey and friends; those meals were not raw, either.
Now it's Monday, and I'm back to my normal routine. More holiday parties coming up.
There might be a party where I eat only salad and veges, or bring along and avocado; at another, I might have pie and cooked vege dishes. Does this mean I am not raw? No, it means I appreciate food and the intimacy of holiday traditions with dear friends and family. It means I choose what I desire at any given moment, and each choice assimilates within me at the highest level. My path of raw is clear; it is a life-long path for which I am grateful every day. There are also many parts to who I am, and sometimes I expand into those parts and take a turn to the left or to the right for a moment. I always come back to my clear path.
When I do veer off, I do it without guilt or self-flagellation, but with gratitude for the ability to choose anew every day.
The more deeply I cultivate my inner garden of self-love and clear vision, the more I trust my daily choices to always guide me back to my path.
I offer this to you, dear readers; life is to be filled with the wide open arms of embracing your choices. Trust in the beauty of this gift; no need to fear if we have faith.
Please write in and share your choices.....
With Immense Gratitiude for Each of You in My Life,
Thank you for believing in me and in The Holistic Empire
Hope
Food Today:
Breakfast:
4 slices Manna Millet Rice bread with raw creamy almond butter
10 oz. water with MSM powder
Lunch:
salad with red leaf lettuce, purple cabbage, avocado, carrot, mushrooms and sprouts, with nutritional yeast, ume plum vinegar, Bragg's Amino Acids and olive oil
This month is most important to balance. It is the time to let go of the mantra of perfection and pick up the more powerful tool of "choosing."
What do you choose today?
Yesterday, I chose to be filled with joy at my dear friend Liz's home, as I was invited for a Thanksgiving gathering, along with my boyfriend John, Liz's partner Michael and their respective children.
Michael is a vegetarian and reared his children as such. Liz and Michael create a vegetarian meal each Thanksgiving.
This meal was not raw, and did include multiple desserts (one of which was my raw chocolate ganache). So, I chose to eat and enjoy every mouthful of this luscious meal; from the warm carrot soup, to the wasabi mashed potatoes and pureed turnips, to the mock turkey pieces made from Seitan (delicious!), to the sweet potaotes baked with maple syrup. This lusciousness was followed by a homemade apple cobbler, my raw ganache, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. I ate it all. I loved it all. I was extremely full from three Thanksgiving meals (Wed, Thursday and Friday), but I appreciated each morsel of food. During the days, I ate raw and alkaline. I didn't starve out or binge in the other direction. I ate normally. I also took a run every day and did some yoga.
The weekend also included a couple of meals out with my honey and friends; those meals were not raw, either.
Now it's Monday, and I'm back to my normal routine. More holiday parties coming up.
There might be a party where I eat only salad and veges, or bring along and avocado; at another, I might have pie and cooked vege dishes. Does this mean I am not raw? No, it means I appreciate food and the intimacy of holiday traditions with dear friends and family. It means I choose what I desire at any given moment, and each choice assimilates within me at the highest level. My path of raw is clear; it is a life-long path for which I am grateful every day. There are also many parts to who I am, and sometimes I expand into those parts and take a turn to the left or to the right for a moment. I always come back to my clear path.
When I do veer off, I do it without guilt or self-flagellation, but with gratitude for the ability to choose anew every day.
The more deeply I cultivate my inner garden of self-love and clear vision, the more I trust my daily choices to always guide me back to my path.
I offer this to you, dear readers; life is to be filled with the wide open arms of embracing your choices. Trust in the beauty of this gift; no need to fear if we have faith.
Please write in and share your choices.....
With Immense Gratitiude for Each of You in My Life,
Thank you for believing in me and in The Holistic Empire
Hope
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
"Shifts Happen"
Hello Dear Readers and Welcome to Autumn!
My Food Today:
after a fabulous yoga class:
No Breakfast (in yoga)
Lunch:
Rockin' Guacamole with avo, tomato, onion, Bragg's, sea salt and cayenne
with Foods Alive flax crackers
Dinner:
Marinated brussel sprouts from Red Clover organic farm in Seymour, CT; sliced in half and marinated in Bragg's Amino Acids
AMAZING (I will be blogging about these olives) raw red cured olives from Whole Life Superfoods in Gresham, OR
Maple flax crackers with raw almond butter and coconut lucuma cream from Vivapure, pure coconut superfoods
This past weekend, I was in a workshop with the world-renowned yoga teacher Beryl Bender Birch. Aside from the physical asana practice of yoga, of which we did plenty!, we also spent time delving into the philosophy of yoga as well as dissecting the Yoga Sutras. One of the wonderful things that Beryl shared was that "Shifts Happen." Just when we get attached to one thing in our lives; whether it be a relationship, a job, a location, a current situation, it can change in a breath. At this point, I want to pay homage to my dear friend, colleague and partner in crime and counseling, Dr. Joanna Bronfman. Joanna just blogged brilliantly http://shrink-w-rap.blogspot.com/2010/10/illusory-musings.htmlwith her musings upon seeing the new Woody Allen film, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." I commented on her blog and discussion about a line in the film, "Sometimes the illusion is better than the medicine," by saying that since life is an illusion anyway, we can create it to be whatever we desire. To add to that, what we really have is what is here and now; all that is present at this moment, because "shifts happen," and this moment may become something completely different. Therefore, attachment on this level does not serve us in sustaining joy.
You have all heard me blog about my running. For the past few years, I have been running outside, even through the cold winters at six degrees. I started running at age sixteen, on and off for years; my dad was my first running partner. It's in my blood, with an already goal of a half marathon completed and a long-aspiring goal of a marathon (and a secret fantasy of an Ironman) held in my heart.
So, why did my body decide to suddenly stop running many miles, without known reason or any catastophic event?
For the past two and a half months months, I have gone back and immersed myself in yoga, running now only on opposite days; no longer running five, seven or nine miles; instead running two and a half or three miles. At first I was upset, as running has "defined" who I am for quite awhile. Then I grieved. But as I entered into yoga, I allowed myself to go deeply and expand. I met myself where I was at and opened the doors to new insights each day. Running is constrictive in the body and expansive in the mind; yoga is expansive in the body and quieting of the mind. The level I was at in my life in my own personal development was asking for mental quiet and physical expansiveness.
I understood that as we develop, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we need our daily practices to correspond to this new person we've become, but our egos have a hard time allowing that.
Why would I want to be the person who was running two years ago to heal her heart after the painful ending of a relationship, when who I am now is the goddess opening to love?
We hold on and hold on to that which we've become attached, so afraid to let it go or lighten it up, so afraid that it marks our identities, when who we are in our evolution has already shifted and requires concrete rituals and daily ways of living to match.
A woman open to love needs to continue to expand her heart everyday; how perfect is heart-centered yoga for that?
And by the way, your food might also change, so be open to new possibilities there, too.
As long as each new level, and with it each new way of living, honors your soul, you will be in the right place.
"Trust the change you already are." Hope
PS- I'll keep you posted on the marathon as my evolution continues...
My Food Today:
after a fabulous yoga class:
No Breakfast (in yoga)
Lunch:
Rockin' Guacamole with avo, tomato, onion, Bragg's, sea salt and cayenne
with Foods Alive flax crackers
Dinner:
Marinated brussel sprouts from Red Clover organic farm in Seymour, CT; sliced in half and marinated in Bragg's Amino Acids
AMAZING (I will be blogging about these olives) raw red cured olives from Whole Life Superfoods in Gresham, OR
Maple flax crackers with raw almond butter and coconut lucuma cream from Vivapure, pure coconut superfoods
This past weekend, I was in a workshop with the world-renowned yoga teacher Beryl Bender Birch. Aside from the physical asana practice of yoga, of which we did plenty!, we also spent time delving into the philosophy of yoga as well as dissecting the Yoga Sutras. One of the wonderful things that Beryl shared was that "Shifts Happen." Just when we get attached to one thing in our lives; whether it be a relationship, a job, a location, a current situation, it can change in a breath. At this point, I want to pay homage to my dear friend, colleague and partner in crime and counseling, Dr. Joanna Bronfman. Joanna just blogged brilliantly http://shrink-w-rap.blogspot.com/2010/10/illusory-musings.htmlwith her musings upon seeing the new Woody Allen film, "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." I commented on her blog and discussion about a line in the film, "Sometimes the illusion is better than the medicine," by saying that since life is an illusion anyway, we can create it to be whatever we desire. To add to that, what we really have is what is here and now; all that is present at this moment, because "shifts happen," and this moment may become something completely different. Therefore, attachment on this level does not serve us in sustaining joy.
You have all heard me blog about my running. For the past few years, I have been running outside, even through the cold winters at six degrees. I started running at age sixteen, on and off for years; my dad was my first running partner. It's in my blood, with an already goal of a half marathon completed and a long-aspiring goal of a marathon (and a secret fantasy of an Ironman) held in my heart.
So, why did my body decide to suddenly stop running many miles, without known reason or any catastophic event?
For the past two and a half months months, I have gone back and immersed myself in yoga, running now only on opposite days; no longer running five, seven or nine miles; instead running two and a half or three miles. At first I was upset, as running has "defined" who I am for quite awhile. Then I grieved. But as I entered into yoga, I allowed myself to go deeply and expand. I met myself where I was at and opened the doors to new insights each day. Running is constrictive in the body and expansive in the mind; yoga is expansive in the body and quieting of the mind. The level I was at in my life in my own personal development was asking for mental quiet and physical expansiveness.
I understood that as we develop, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we need our daily practices to correspond to this new person we've become, but our egos have a hard time allowing that.
Why would I want to be the person who was running two years ago to heal her heart after the painful ending of a relationship, when who I am now is the goddess opening to love?
We hold on and hold on to that which we've become attached, so afraid to let it go or lighten it up, so afraid that it marks our identities, when who we are in our evolution has already shifted and requires concrete rituals and daily ways of living to match.
A woman open to love needs to continue to expand her heart everyday; how perfect is heart-centered yoga for that?
And by the way, your food might also change, so be open to new possibilities there, too.
As long as each new level, and with it each new way of living, honors your soul, you will be in the right place.
"Trust the change you already are." Hope
PS- I'll keep you posted on the marathon as my evolution continues...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
