Blessed are they who never read a newspaper, for they shall see Nature, and through her, God. ~ Henry David Thoreau
Sunday in the forest
Island Adventures & Sweet Potato Fries
There is nothing more soothing to my soul than a long weekend trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island to explore the ruggedly beautiful beaches.
After a fun day exploring the PNW, sweet potato “fries” hit the spot.
Method
- Wash and slice two large sweet potatoes
- Arrange on baking tray
- Drizzle with olive oil, nutritional yeast and freshly ground pepper
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
Enjoy
SOS Free Eating Plan
the new year off right.
There are a lot of studies that show most North Americans eat two or three times the healthy upper limit of salt consumption every day. What does this mean for our bodies? An increased risk of heart disease and kidney issues, and excess salt also ages you by slightly dehydrating the body.
Next on the avoid list is oil. Most of us have been taught that oil is healthy for us but nothing could actually be further from the truth. Oil is a very manufactured product that often includes chemically separating the oil from the whole food and it is also very susceptible to oxidation. So much better to get your fats from whole foods such as hemp hearts, avocado etc.
And sugar, I feel that we all know about the evils of sugar but, in case you don’t, I’ll dedicate an entire future post to what is wrong with refined sugar.
Eating SOS has also opened up a whole new world of delicious recipes.
Here is one: a turmeric and nutritional yeast covered roast potato dish with a cilantro, parsley walnut dipping sauce.
So healthy, so good.
Method – Potatoes
Wash 10 small, red potatoes and slice into quarters lengthwise. Dip in nutritional yeast, turmeric and freshly ground pepper mix.
Place on baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes.
Method – Walnut Dip
· 1 cup walnuts (soaked overnight)
· 4 Cloves Garlic Whole
· 1/2 Bunch Cilantro
· 1/4 bunch parsley
· 3/4 cup filtered water (add more if you prefer a thinner consistency)
· 1 tablespoon Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy.
Community Gardens
Welcome to Eden aka the community garden.
This little green haven has become an incredibly important place to me. It’s where I meditate, play with the dogs, do yoga, jumping jacks, earthing, reading, reiki and plant admiring a few times a week.
I’m so grateful for the peaceful green spaces that give us a beautiful respite from an ever more distressing world. And, because of this, I’ve recently signed up to be a volunteer at the neighboring City Farmer.
I’m excited to be part of the Permaculture movement and am so looking forward to learning about growing things sustainably and organically.
Living Lightly
Sometimes I look around the city and imagine what it would be like if humans started living lightly on the earth. I see the oversized SUV’s and monster trucks go zooming by, the monster houses with two people living in 30 rooms and people eating their way through super-sized meals and the earth’s resources and think “our planet can only handle so much disrespect and abuse before really fighting back”.
Our sedentary lifestyle, stressed out lives and SAD diet has put a massive burden on the medical system, our over-sized houses carry a toxic carbon load as do our vehicles and super-sized meat-centric diets, slowly but surely destroying the health of the lands and seas. We rush around from one appointment to the next, not really enjoying our existence but also apparently not really knowing how to stop living the way we do. We pave over and spill oil on the earth, discard a ton of plastic waste as we careen through our day and yet only really worry about our bank accounts. We buy more, more and even more, making Jeff Bezos a gazillionaire but we are unable to fill that empty longing with our Amazon purchases so we decide that the next purchase will be the one that will make us happy. NO, ok then the one after that. An endless cycle of “retail therapy” ensues, just making us more broke and more distracted from our real issues. And our planet becomes our personal dumping ground.
Imagine a world of living in harmony with the earth instead of ruthlessly trying to dominate it or mindlessly destroying it. Imagine a world of light living; a world of community and connection. In the spirit of “It’s never too late”, I’m inviting you to join me in a Zero Waste Challenge. Let’s not mindlessly soldier on while our planet and it’s wild creatures are dying around us. Let’s be the change. Think of the good karma of living gently with the earth. Elevate your life and save our home at the same time.
Check out this link for inspiration and tips:
https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/101-easy-eco-friendly-zero-waste-tips/
We can do this!
Raw Vegan Cheezecake
I’m in full summer beach bum mode and thoroughly enjoying our current heatwave.
The only negative thing about this weather is that it makes cooking feel like you’re actually in the oven yourself.
Luckily I’ve discovered raw vegan cheesecakes to help cool me down this summer in the most delicious, and healthful way. Here is a recipe for one of my faves:
Raw Vegan Cheezecake
CRUST
- 1 cup packed pitted dates
- 1 cup raw walnuts
FILLING
- 1 1/2 cups soaked raw cashews
- 1 large lemon (juiced)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
FLAVOR ADD-INS
- 2 Tbsp salted natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup wild blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Place crust in food processor, then place on bottom of a springform pan. Next process filling and spoon on top of crust. Freeze for at least 3 hours. Serve.
Mountain Adventures & Black Bean Brownies
Hiking season is here. And after a long trek up a mountainside there’s nothing better than something sweet and delicious to treat yourself with.
This recipe hits both categories and is also really healthy, made with black beans and sweetened with maple syrup.
Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup black beans (equals one can)
- 2 T raw cacao powder
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- pinch sea salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Then add chips and pour into a greased 8×8 pan.
Easy and delicious.
Earth Day 2020
Thinking about global warming this morning and what it would be like if global warming had covid’s PR team.
Global warming is still the biggest threat to the planet. Imagine if we had PSA’s from our PM regularly telling us to do our part to stop global warming and also telling us exactly what to do? Imagine doctors on TV daily to remind us how deadly the air pollution associated with global warming is for our lungs. Imagine if we immediately shut down businesses that weren’t carbon neutral. Imagine if we were also regularly reminded of the billion animals who horrifically lost their lives in the global warming fuelled Australian bush fires and other monster fires like it.
Why don’t we have those PSA’s? Why aren’t we acting like global warming is the intense and immediate threat that it is?
These are my thoughts on Earth Day 2020
Making Quarantine Work for You
Everywhere I turn, on social media or in real life, I hear people lamenting about how much weight they’ve gained, how much junk food they are eating, how much they are drinking, how slothlike they’ve become and how bored they are. Or, on the flip side, how stressed they are from pushing themselves so hard to keep busy and learn new skills at this time.
Here’s an idea: Make quarantine work for you!
Make this the time that you eat clean, get fit and do the things that you might usually think you don’t have time to do, including practicing self-love, self-acceptance and the fine art of doing nothing.
A few suggestions I have are:
reading that great book you never seem to have time for, going for a solitary walk or run in nature, having a meditation session of just “being” at the beach or another favourite place in nature, learning how to cook new dishes, teaching your pet a new trick, creating structure in your day by taking a number of 15 minute yoga breaks, pampering yourself with a homespa experience, nourishing your body with delicious, nutrient-filled food, reaching out to friends regularly, either online or socially distancing in person, stopping to smell that beautiful spring flower and really seeing that sunset.
Intermittent Fasting Sleep Benefits
It’s my first week of intermittent fasting and I’ve noticed a few amazing things already. I am sleeping like a baby. Yes, a baby. I used to be a late night snacker. I loved being a late night snacker and most nights would have a peanut butter toast, a big handful of cashews, yogurt or potato chips, depending on my cravings, but then I almost always would have a restless sleep and then awake the next day exhausted. Have you ever eaten right before bed? It’s actually a very uncomfortable feeling. And I all of the work your system is putting into digesting food at night actually gives you an anxious sleep where you might not even go into REM, the restorative stage.
So, my number one exiting benefit of IF this week is sleep. I’m starting to wake up feeling pretty rested for the first time in a long time and it feels amazing.
The second benefit this week is that I’m actually paying more attention to my body and my digestion. It’s a bit shocking how little attention we pay to our bodies on a day to day basis. Especially during times like this were most of us have a baseline of higher anxiety and are prone to a little too much comfier eating.
Intermittent Fasting helps you really tune into your body and your digestion and allows you to nourish your self with our over eating or inducing I’m mindless comfort overeating. Personally, I really like the structure of feeding myself from 11am to 7pm and then just giving my body a break. IF is helping me stay healthy in unsettling times.
Mind Body Soul 