Sometimes it snows in April…

…but, geez, this is a little much.  Prince, who happens to be a big deal here in Minneapolis (for good reason), wrote a beautiful song entitled, Sometimes it snows in April.  This has become our mantra recently, though the song has nothing to do with snow or weather.  Har!

Welcome to my reality:

This is depressing.  Not warm enough today for any of it to melt, and more sleet/snow forecast for tomorrow night!  Instead of crying, I decided to roll with the punches and enjoy being inside.  So I made quiche!

Asparagus Spinach Quiche (made with mostly almond milk and a little bit of whole cow’s milk, and goat cheese); the crust is a pre-made gluten free pie crust.  One of the tastiest quiches I’ve made so far!

Despite the warming powers of the quiche, my mind is still firmly set on Portland and a more temperate climate!  Check out the difference, while not great, it’s a least preferable.

 

 

 

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Consciousness raised!

So I spent the weekend immersed in a little consciousness-raising movie marathon, inspired by my viewing of Food, Inc. last week.

First, the playlist:

King Corn:

I loved King Corn.  Really interesting to hear that nearly all the corn grown in Iowa is turned into either HFCS or animal feed.  This has just validated my hesitancy about corn.  The hard part is that corn is in so much…found this cute image online:

One thing is for sure: any corn products I eat will have to be non-GMO.  So, so sad to see the following snacks have to go from my pantry: Pirate Booty foods, Food Should Taste Good products…and the list will no doubt grow.

Food Matters:

Honestly, I found this one a little boring but still useful information.  Maybe I’ll give it a second viewing another time.  I could have been on overload by then.

Forks Over Knives:

I really liked this film as well.  This one was recommended by a few friends. So I just jumped in without knowing much about it.  I, again, learned a lot.  Funny enough, the themes of both this and Vegucated (see below) were the same: promoting a vegan diet.  The doc seemed to be more focused on the health benefits of a vegan diet.  Meanwhile…

Vegucated:

…Vegucated took a more sort of in-your-face style, which I appreciated. This doc reminded me of my days in college radio.  I became a vegetarian in college (and stayed one for 10 years…and all it took was one cute boy to lure me back to meat…har!).  One thing that helped was going to a Consolidated concert (anyone remember them??).  Awesome band that were radical activists/vegans.  They would attach huge television screen to the scaffolding behind them that showed footage from slaughterhouses, all while they played along.  I’m not sure how anyone could stomach meat after going to one of their shows.

Needless to say, I have a very veggie filled weekend.  And while I’m not ready to stop eating animal products, these doc certainly left me committed to being very mindful of where those product are produced and how.  I don’t envision that I’ll get to this point:

Even though Portland may, in fact, be my new home in a few months!  More details on that later.

Food Inc.

Whew.  Long time with no posts.

But I’m back.  Just wanted to share this trailer for Food, Inc.:

It’s a documentary from about three years ago but I just watched it a few nights ago.  I’m actually glad that I made some rather dramatic changes to my diet, it made watching the film a bit more palatable.  I feel equally proud of my ability to be educated and aware of what I eat and foolish as I think avoiding all the pervasive ingredients totally would be tough because of how well hidden they are.  Pervasive ingredients meaning: wheat, corn, and soy.   When I first embarked on the elimination-challenge diet, I complained about how much I had to cook vs. using convenience foods.  Boy has that tune changed.

I was still left feeling a little sick after watching the film.  I learned a lot though.  Like did you know that e-coli has been a bacteria present for years but it was only when we introduced corn to cows that deadly, resistant forms of e-coli developed via mutation?  And apparently, the simple act of eliminating corn from a cow’s diet almost completely eradicates the e-coli (reduced b 80% in five days!!!!)?

The other thing that struck me is that my view of farmers shifted quite a bit.  I really, really feel for the ones who are inextricably tied to big food corporations.  Being essentially forced into purchasing upwards of $500,000.00 in equipment and getting $18,000.00/year!?!?  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This is a “must watch” if you haven’t already!

Trust your instincts…

Man, I was starving after my second class this morning.  I ran us through Salutation G, this morning.  I love that one, but it mixed with other flows left me so hungry afterwards.

And I had the most incredible craving for pancakes.  Well, I think the cravings were induced by a story I heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday this morning about a Russian Pancake Festival taking place this weekend.  It’s so funny that all the brain needs is a little hint to bring about a full-scale craving.  So, I set about looking for a (hopefully) yummy grain-free pancake recipe.

I decided to make coconut flour pancakes.  The recipe I picked looked and sounded good.  Heck, even the pancakes looked good, see…

Buuuuuuut, the recipe called for way too much salt.  Hence the title of this post…every fiber in me said, “This is tooooooo much salt” but I wanted to respect the recipe as is.  Crap.  They are too salty for pancakes.  They’re not salt bricks but the salt is noticeable.  Also, the texture was, hmmmm, how to explain?  Not dry, they are moist…but a bit crumbly.  I’m used to the doughy, slightly stick texture that I suppose is the domain of wheat flour.  I’m not going to give up though.  I gotta find a good recipe!  Anybody got a good grain-free pancake recipe?

(On the side, egg white and turkey sausage.  Before I went wheat-free, I bought a box of Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwiches.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I just have the sandwich sans the flatbread.)

Eyes On

So when I’m not cooking and baking, or doing yoga, I work as a psychotherapist.  The type of treatment I provide is mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy; specifically Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

I recently provided a training on cross-cultural supervision and for the first time I had participants do an exercise called, Eyes On.  I should back up for a second.  The central theme of that session was learning to accept and willingly have discomfort vs. running away, which we easily and quickly do, as humans.  Once we are accepting of discomfort rather than working at getting rid of it, or away from it, we are free to choose to respond in a way that aligns with our values.  So the Eyes On exercise is a way of placing ourselves in a situation that is typically discomforting and to stay there with it and with your partner.  The instructions are simple: after being partnered, you sit, knees to knees, and just look into the other person’s eyes. You are told to “just notice your own mind and what it is doing. Let go of what your mind is doing, and see if you can just be present with this other human being across from you for a few minutes.”

Given that I had never done this exercise before, and it scared the willies out of me, I fully planned, and expected that I would just watch and lead everyone through the exercise.  But as luck would have it, we had an uneven number and thus the decision was made.  I was doing it.  In the end, it was painful but not as terrible as I had expected.

This morning, a colleague on an ACT list serve I’m on posted this video.  It’s from this website, which posted the following commentary, helpful to understanding the video:

Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s, performing art out of the van they lived in. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last big hug in the middle and never seeing each other again.

At her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, where she shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing and this is what happened.”

 

Cookery: new word for the week…

So I have been hooked on Gordon Ramsey’s Ultimate Cookery Course on BBC America.  I have already made two recipes from the show and both turned out beautifully.

I happen to love Gordon, save some of his interesting quirks…like have you ever noticed that in the opening credits of almost every show he has he’s taking off his shirt?    Anyway, I know a lot of people who don’t at all like Gordon’s reality shows but appreciate his cooking shows.  Say what you will, at the end of the day, the man is an awesome chef (with the Michelin stars to prove it!).

Last’s night recipe, Mushroom and Leek Pasta.  I used brown rice pasta, of course, given that I’m now wheat free.  The pasta was great!  I used this brand, Tinkyada, and was thoroughly impressed.  Here’s a pic:

I served this with “garlic bread” I made from my first foray into gluten-free bread making with a bread machine.  Here’s how the first loaf ended up looking at the end:

It was pretty sad…but the bread ended up being edible and not too terrible.  I think it was shot from how much my hands were in the dough.  I took the paddle out too soon last time and had to plunge my fingers into sticky dough trying to put the paddle back on.  Word to the wise: read the booklet for the machine before you dive into using it!  Duh!

Got my second ever bread in the machine now…

Fingers crossed!

Long time, no see…

Boy, it’s been a little while since my last post.

Well, despite not posting, I HAVE been taking pics!

This day is one to mark on the calendars.  I have all day off!  This is a big deal because I have worked almost every Saturday morning for the past year:

10:30 am/Private lesson, with two therapist colleagues

12:00pm/Client at my office

It tends to break up my day, especially if I decide to run errands afterwards.  This actually wouldn’t be that bad if I didn’t also work on Sunday mornings.  Each Sunday morning, with few exceptions, for the past seven and a half years, I have taught yoga at 8am.  A couple of years ago, I added another class at 10am at a different, sister location, on my way home.

This sort of schedule makes lazy weekend mornings in bed, with some cuddly lover impossible.  No wonder I’m single!

Breakfast and juicing this morning, as I contemplate what to do with this day…

Steel cut oats and quinoa, with a splash of almond milk, maple syrup, a mixture of toasted nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts) and a sprinkling of hemp seeds!

I, again, juiced my veg separately and then cubed them to add to my morning juices:

My freezer is taking on a whole new look, and I like it:

Baking the blogs!

So I have also been craving treats since I have given up wheat.  Most recipes for baked goods have been good.  These cookies, however, were great!! Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

The recipe is courtesy of The Urban Poser, another awesome food (and YOGA) blog for y’all to check out!  You must try these!

Cooking the blogs

In an effort to find good recipes that fit within this more restricted food plan I’m following, I’ve taken to my fellow bloggers for inspiration and frankly, help.  Enter this fabulous soup; the recipe, from a fabulous blog aptly titled, Organizing with a side of Fabulous!  Check it out!!

Three ingredients or less is healthy, right?

I wish that were true about last night’s dessert.  It has only three ingredients: lemon, heavy cream, and sugar.  What a great combo.

I made Lemon Posset, last night and it is heavenly!

I had this with a gluten-free shortbread cookie from the Wedge Co-op.  Yum!  I’ll have to find a good gluten-free shortbread cookie recipe now.  I’m envisioning a lemon tart.

For dinner last night, I made a spinach salad with a great Maple Mustard Dressing from the Wedge, and made lemon pepper tofu to top!  It turned out great!

Aaron came over and hung out last night.  He gobbled his salad up quickly.  I sent him home with about half my freezer.  All those yummy gluten filled treats that had been staring back at me every time I opened the freezer door.  Rather than being tempted, or mocked depending on my mood, I decided to give them away.  It’s good food and he can use it so I feel good about it.  Now I have room to store all those darn gluten-free flours I’ve been accumulating.