Category Archives: spiritual shift

Stories about my personal journey

Jul 25

berry cream pie overnight oats

DEEEELICIOUS!

The Muffin Myth

berry cream pie overnight oats // the muffin myth

I’m a late comer to the overnight oats game. To be honest, I didn’t think they were going to be good. I pictured some sort of weird, tasteless, gruel-like goop that people were choking down for some reason unbeknownst to me. But let me tell you, I’ve never been happier to be wrong.

Folks, overnight oats are goooood. And they’re easy. And they’re convenient. They’re the kind of breakfast that I actually look forward to, and when I write out my meal plans I have to stop myself from scheduling them in each and every weekday morning. And really, there’s no reason not to schedule them each and every morning.

berry cream pie overnight oats // the muffin myth

I like this version because it’s sweetened simply with a bit of mashed banana, which also contributes to the overall creamy texture of these oats. For the liquid I’ve used a combination of almond milk and plain yoghurt, but this…

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Jan 1

Greater Awareness in 2012

At the present time, when most of us sit down to eat, we aren’t very aware of how our food choices affect the world. We don’t realize that in every Big Mac there is a piece of the tropical rainforests, and with every billion burgers sold another hundred species become extinct. We don’t realize that in the sizzle of our steaks there is the suffering of animals, the mining of our topsoil, the slashing of our forests, the harming of our economy, and the eroding of our health. We don’t hear in the sizzle the cry of the hungry millions who might otherwise be fed.

We don’t see the toxic poisons accumulating in the food chains, poisoning our children and our earth for generations to come. But once we become aware of the impact of our food choices, we can never really forget. Of course we can push it all to the back of our minds, and we may need to do this, at times, to endure the enormity of what is involved. But the earth itself will remind us, as will our children, and the animals and the forests and the sky and the rivers, that we are part of this earth, and it is part of us. All things are deeply connected, and so the choices we make in our daily lives have enormous influence, not only on our own health and vitality, but also on the lives of other beings, and indeed on the destiny of life on earth.

Thankfully, we have cause to be grateful-what’s best for us personally is also best for other forms of life, and for the life support systems on which we all depend.” ~Diet For A New America

Jan 1

Happy Compassionate New Year!

Sending blessings and peace to all free-living birds, fish, and animals being harmed, terrorized, and killed by toxic poisons spewed into their home lands, waters, and skies by both secret and blatant human activity.

May we humans think always of the harm we are causing our non-human animal relations, and may we recognize and respect their interests to live their lives freely and in autonomy and health on this beautiful Earth.

2011 has been a very good year for the welfare of animals, 2011 has influenced a lot of people to make better choices around food, product, health and overall acknowledment in the treatment of animals for food.

I look forward to what 2012 brings, I welcome 2012 with open arms in the hopes we will all continue on the same path to work together to bring a compassionate peacful earth where we all can respect all things living.

Here’s to a beautiful, evolved and compassionate 2012!

Please watch this amazing video “Victories for animals in 2011”

May 12

Spork and Gene Baur On Values, Health, and Global Responsibility

Two of my favorite groups got together to talk about animals, core values and food choices. Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary  and Jenny and Heather who I have got to know through Spork Foods online,  are on opposite ends of the plant-based community but both share the same purpose, educating the public, living compassionately and living plant-based. I loved this insightful video, with the importance of the talk ranging from health, animal welfare, core values and environmental responsibility all the while eating some vegan strawberry-rhubarb pie! I found this talk  inspiring, It is a great reminder of why I live the way I do. As you know my husband and I are all about inspiration, education, living compassionately and core values, our core values are leading us in everything we do, especially in regards to our food choices,  living healthy and our personal responsibility on reducing our global impact.  I  really appreciated this discussion. I hope you do too, Enjoy.

May 10

Take Charge of Your Health: 5 Habits of Healthy People

Written by Doris Romano

Doris Romano is a registered nurse and nutritionist specializing in sports nutrition and weight management. Doris teaches Sports Nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is a writer for http://LiveStrong.com.

1. Build more movement into your day. Rather than exercising for the sake of exercising, make your lifestyle active. Build activity into your routine without having to think about it.

Your new habit for the next 2 weeks: build in some form of extra physical activity each day. Tips: get up to change the channel; take the stairs; take a walk break instead of a coffee break; plant a garden; enroll in a yoga class; bike to work; get rid of the snow blower; combine walking and socializing.

2. Eat mostly plants. A low-calorie, plant-based, whole-foods diet is the foundation of every high-quality and health-promoting diet. It reduces the risk of dying from all the Western diseases, promotes a leaner body, and is alkaline-producing which helps to preserve bone mass and muscle. A serving = 1 cup of leafy vegetables or ½ cup of cooked or raw vegetables.

Your new habit for the next 2 weeks: Eat at least 6 servings of vegetables each day. Tips: add baby spinach to your protein shake; eat raw veggie sticks as a side to your meal; make a large, colourful salad; grill veggies for dinner; jazz up your meals by adding pesto, salsa or baba ganoush.

3. Hara Hachi Bu: Eat until you are 80% full. Eating to the point where there is no longer hunger (vs. until “full” or “stuffed”) plays a major role in improving your health and losing fat.

Your new habit for the next 2 weeks: Whenever it’s time to eat, follow the 80% rule. Tips: serve yourself at the counter before taking your plate to the table; buy smaller plates and tall, narrow glasses; put tempting foods out of sight; buy smaller packages; eat more slowly and without distractions; eat only sitting down; eat early.

4. Make time for sleep. Getting less than 7.5 hours of sleep each night means more body fat and greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden cardiac death. Further, people who sleep less seem to crave more food. And not the nutritious stuff. Lack of sleep usually reflects our priorities rather than real-time constraints. If you aren’t getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, figure out why.

Your new habit for the next 2 weeks: Sleep at least 8 hours each day. Tips: Keep a relatively consistent bedtime and wake time; keep the bedroom quiet, extremely dark, and slightly cool; eliminate caffeine later in the day; exercise to improve sleep; develop a pre-bed routine that is relaxing.

5. Slow down. Stress less. The negative effects of stress can create conditions in the body that promote age-related diseases. We rush, worry, and give urgency to so many things in our lives that really aren’t that important. With that realization, adopting strategies for slowing down seem much easier.

YOUR NEW HABIT FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS: Create space to slow down for 10 minutes every day. Tips: minimize time spent with TV, radio, Internet, and handheld devices; plan to arrive 15 minutes early to every appointment; practice yoga; cultivate a regular meditation practice upon rising every day.

Related Articles

5 Habits Of Healthy People

Eating For A Cure

May 7

Interview with Mike Desjardins: How I Became A Vegetarian

Mike Desjardins (also know as my husband) tells us about his transition from meat-eating to becoming a pescetarian. I asked him to explain his experience about his transition with a series of questions. In his own words he describes what he has learned and how being married to me has influenced his food choices.

Mike describes what that process was like for him and why it made sense to switch. Mike talks about how he felt after learning about the cruel conditions of factory farming and how our nations demand for overconsumption drives this industry. We have to be the change, our food choices are not only effecting the animals but also our health and our planet. Factory farming is destroying our soil and reducing our ability to be sustainable in growing our own food. We need to reduce consumption to increase our chance of correcting these issues.

In over 2 years Mike has reduced his meat intake to none with the exception of fish (I am educating him on the impacts of overfishing as well and what the depletion of fish has on our ecosystem, as well as the long-term effects).

At home because I have the lead in what we eat, we eat vegan, local and organic. This is our personal choice. I think every little bit helps. We are working on other thing too, there is so much to think about.

You don’t have to give up everything to reduce your impact, you just need to reduce your intake, you don’t have to become a full-fledged vegetarian or vegan overnight, learn about what you can do and learn about factory farming. Try being a weekday vegetarian. We all need to do our part.

“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment” ~Oprah Winfrey

Apr 26

Food Is Power With Lauren Ornelas (Vancouver Events)

lauren Ornelas, Founder and Director of the Food Empowerment Project, will be discussing how we can use our food choices to create a more just world.

Your food choices can have impacts beyond your own kitchen. Food deserts, exploitation of workers and animals, environmental racism – learn about how what you eat and drink might not necessarily be connected to animal exploitation but might indeed have direct connections to human exploitation! And learn what you can do to help create a more just and equitable food system.

lauren Ornelas is the Food Empowerment Project’s founder and serves as the group’s volunteer executive director. She is also the former executive director of Viva!USA, a national nonprofit vegan advocacy organization. lauren has been active in the animal rights movement for over 20 years. After spending four years as National Campaign Coordinator for In Defense of Animals, lauren was asked by Viva!UK to start and run Viva!USA in 1999. In cooperation with activists across the country, she worked and achieved corporate changes within Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, and Pier 1 Imports, among others. She currently serves as Campaign Director with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

This event is free & open to the public. No pre-registration is required.

WHEN:
Saturday, May 21, 2011
7:00pm – 9:00pm

WHERE:
Vancouver Public Library, Main Branch
350 West Georgia Street Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level
Vancouver, BC V6B 6B1

ORGANIZED BY:
Liberation BC

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