listen

I sat and listened to the world today
the sounds that whirl through the breeze
birds remind me of summer mornings
and dew on the grass.

I made a really excellent green smoothie this morning, it was way better than the smoothies that I normally make which are usually always the same. This is my new favourite:

2 bananas
1 cup mixed frozen fruit: peach, mango, strawberry
2 large handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp hemp seed
1 tbsp ground flaxseed

The Ultimate Spinach Salad!

I made this salad last night and it's officially one of the best I've ever made.

• a large bed of baby spinach on plate
• 1/2 red bell pepper sliced
• shaved carrot
• 3-4 diced dates (honey, medjool)
• 1/4 red onion sliced
• few tsp hemp seeds
• a bunch of broccoli sprouts (or any sprout)
• Dressing: olive oil and apple cider vinegar stirred with salt and pepper, drizzle on top

And, as always, you can add anything or modify it in any way! I would have to say that the dates really give this salad a ton of flavour and sweetness ;-D

Groovy~ness & Blackberry-Banana Mash

Just made this little fruit mash and I wanted to share it! All it is is 1 banana and a few blackberries mashed, a dash of cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of ground flax seed. The ground flax seed gives it this super piecrust-esque flavour, so good!

It really has been quite some time since I have been frolicking around through the fields of raw foods. I don't know what happened. Actually yes I do. A little over six months ago I was put on antibiotics for a few weeks which resulted in some problems. And since then I have gone through extensive remedial-trials; everything from cutting out certain foods to probiotics and digestive enzymes. 'Cause essentially it was my intestinal flora that got seriously imbalanced. So through all this craziness I somewhere along the line eliminated bananas and therefore discontinued my daily green smoothie ritual. And trust me, smoothies are an enormously significant aspect to raw foodism (at least for me...!) Plus they are super filling and life-force giving so what comes along with the elimination of such magnificence is the loss of an incredible satiating food source or entire meal! You know?

Well I'm pretty much ecstatic because I made one for the first time in so long this morning, with like 3 massive handfuls of baby spinach! It felt so good to be making them again. Oh how I missed them so.

The very worst part about flopping off raw foods is the lack of life-force and increase in the feelings of disconnection from Self and the universe and nature... 'Cause I'm way more inclined to meditate and do yoga when I feel really connected. Also my creative juices flow like a rainbow.

This all relates to some things I've been thinking deeply of lately - how perfection is totally unattainable and should not be sought after anyway. Besides our divine-beingness that is always perfect, the concept of perfection is an illusion and should not be desired! For we are always evolving, growing, changing and learning along the way through our mysterious odyssey's called life.
I wrote a poem on this. Perhaps I will share.

Kale Ribbon Salad with Sweet Potato

I want to share this yummy kale ribbon salad with warm sweet potato and hemp seed recipe that I made a few days ago. It is really tasty and light yet hearty.
Dice up a sweet potato (with skins!) and bake in oven at around 350F for 20 minutes or so (until soft).
Take several large leaves of kale, stack on top of eachother, roll and slice into ribbons. Put the sliced kale into a bowl, add olive oil and massage the hell out of it until the kale appears dark green and steamed-looking (this makes the kale much more palatable). Squeeze in some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or your favourite vinegar, mix in the diced yam, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a couple spoonfuls of hemp seeds.

I love yams and this salad was an amazing combo - they go together perfectly with leafy greens.

I tend to keep the recipes that I put together fairly simplistic with only a few ingredients (depending on what foods I have on hand - usually I just throw stuff together) but this salad can certainly be modified by adding red onion, tomato or perhaps julienned zucchini. :-)

Avocados

I discovered recently how much I love to eat avocados with a spoon.
They are perfect because they're very satiating and they make me really happy.
I always had this notion that I should avoid eating too much of them because of their fat content. Which is true in that you don't want to go and eat five avocados at once.

But I learned they are beautiful and great just on their own and perfect for when you want something heavier yet nutritionally dense!

I had a halve today at lunch with some salt sprinkled on top and

it

was


AWESOME!

Sifting, Sorting, Nurturing & a Desk

I spent yesterday painting this desk. I have been searching for one for the past few months for school. I had this vision in my mind of a simple wooden four-legged desk with a drawer, and that's what I was set on.

But, yesterday I was browsing through a thrift store and came across this desk. I figured the drawers would definitely be useful. It was originally wooden and carved into with pencils from little children. It was $7.00. I took it home. And tried to lug it out of my car by myself but was seriously mistaken when I was left holding it stuck halfway out. A man drove by me, reversed, asked if I needed help, and then saved my life. And then I, jolly as can be, painted it a rusty red.

Since last night I have been rearranging, simplifying, tidying, sifting and sorting through my bedroom (and mySELF). Things are beginning to feel clearer and calmer and more peaceful and steadier.

I had a fairly large list of things that I needed to get done this week and I accomplished them all! I bought some of my books for school, all of which I am eagerly excited about reading. I was reading through a couple of them last night and had to put them down because I'll end up reading the whole thing before school even starts. I think that's a sure sign that what you're studying is of interest...!
I was feeling terribly overwhelmed the past couple of weeks. Just disorderly and imbalanced, because of all the things I had to do and prepare for, such as my final G-class drivers license road test that I was really not wanting to do but I passed it ;-).

I have also been nurturing myself with lots of greens and veggies:



Soup: 3 tomatoes, 1/2 cucumber, few leaves of kale, handful of baby spinach, few stalks celery and carrots and a clove of garlic thrown into a blender then added to a cooked pot of 1/2 cup red lentils/1 cup water. Stirred just to warm up, not to a boil! Some himalayan salt, dash of pepper and a swirl of olive oil on top ~
I seem to post lots of soup recipes, but it's just that they are SO easy and delicious and quick and my blender is pretty much my best friend.

Seriously Awesome Green Soup

I have been posting so many recipes on here lately, but what can I say? I'm in the midst of some healing and cleansing with raw foods and I've been swimming around in some super fun recipes that I simply must share.
I made this soup many, many months ago around the time that I was new to raw foods. I'm sure I used a couple different ingredients back then because today I just used what I had on hand. Though the beauty with not only this recipe but so many raw recipes is that you can modify them very easily.

All there is to do is throw into a blender a few stalks celery, 1/2 cucumber, a tomato, few large kale leaves, some spinach, juice of 1/2 lemon, pinch of salt (I use Himalayan), 2 spoonfuls of light miso paste (fermented soybeans - If you don't have miso you can just use a bit more salt. I'm actually quite sensitive to soy so I don't eat soy products often... in fact next time I think I'll exclude the miso) and lastly 1/2 an avocado. You'll want to blend the avocado last, after everything else is blended, because you want to avoid over-blending it in order to maintain the amazing green colour and proper flavour.

You can also throw in some basil or cayenne pepper or anything else that seems appealing. Afterwards I sprinkled on some nutritional yeast, so that's a flavourful option as well. This soup is honestly very good. The thickness and creaminess that the avocado adds makes it so incredibly savory and just scrumptious... scrumptious indeed. This makes enough for about 2 people, or one giant serving :)

The most important ingredient you'll want to make sure you add in order for this to turn out perfectly is a whole bunch of love and stuff.

I really like the song Sister Golden Hair by America.

LOVE on a hot day

Green juice!

Ello!

I wanted to share some things I made today that was so nice and refreshing for this almost-unbearably hot, humid, sticky 40+ degree weather that is making me feel like I'm made of double-sided tape.

Green juice! ~

• 1 full large bunch of kale
• 4-5 stalks celery
• 6 carrots
• 2 green apples
• small bunch of fresh dill. 

And the best part... raw vegan banana ice cream!

Raw vegan ice-cream!

I have been wanting to try out this magnificent loveliness, and that I did. I have most definitely discovered my new favourite sweet treat that feels like I'm eating the most decadent, thick, creamy dessert except it's just frozen bananas. SoOoOo what you're gonna do is take a couple ripe bananas, peel em' and stick'em in the freezer. Once they're hard as a rock you're gonna throw those bad boys into a blender, maybe splash a bit o' water in there or some almond milk (which I did today, yummo!) and blend those babies right up. And it turns into this thick, icy icy icy delicious scrumptious dreamy creamy texture full of love and delight. You could even add a spoonful of raw cacao to make it chocolatey, or some berries to make it berry-flavoured. Or almond butter or peanut butter or coconut or ANYTHING! Take a walk on the wild side with this one man.

So that is that!

Stretch

I feel so connected.

I have been doing lots of yoga and meditating these days and I am feeling so deeply connected to myself. Connected to the deep layers within me, the thorough awareness, radiating Oneness and vibrant aliveness that is found at the core of our Being. I can feel my creative juices loosening and my mind clearing. The feelings that stretching brings, when you raise your arms up and bend to the side; when you swan-dive downwards and feel the stretch and expansion along your back; when you can feel the equalization of muscle relaxation and emotional release. I sometimes find myself feeling emotional when I am centering myself into the state of pure inner awareness as I breathe deeply and stretch my body.

I know for absolute certainty that all the fresh, lively, energetic raw foods from the Earth that I have been eating have been electrifying my soul and lifting my consciousness up and beyond. I have been reaping the benefits of a state of ultra mental clarity and peace and love and wonder and contentment and basically, if you take all the beautiful things in the world like trees and air and daisies and a waterfall and you squash them together into a molded form of love and then turn it into an effervescent spirit of exuberance and then breathe it in deeply, that's how I feel.

MAN I feel GOOD! You know what I'm feeling right now?
LIFE FORCE!

High Vibes~

~Mango Banana Coconut Raisin fruit salad

Hello hello hello hello hello hello hello!

Last night I posted a post, but for some reason it did not post. Except now it magically re-appeared...

Anyways... I feel GREAT today! I am having a marvelous, splendid, amazing day. Want to know why? Of course you do.

Firstly, as I had posted in this mysteriously non-existent/magically reappearing post from last night in which I just deleted (it's probably cursed because it is Friday the 13th), I have decided that I want to start getting up really early in the mornings. I read some tips on becoming an early riser and basically you should go to bed only when your body is tired, but wake up at the same time every single day. Even on the weekends. I decided I want to start getting up around 5-5:30am for a few reasons. I've really, really tenderly beautifully magnificently wanted to start getting back into my yoga practice. It has been a while I must say. The mornings yield a spectacular opportunity for peace and solitude, as it is such a quiescent time of day. Most everybody is asleep and all that is animated are the birds, rising sun, dew on the grass and crisp, sweet air. Mmmm. So I want to start getting up early to just Be. To just breathe and observe life as it unfolds in the morning, before the busyness begins. I want to go for walks while it is quiet outside and the sun is just beginning to shine on the Earth.

So today I actually did wake up, sit up and stretch at 5:00am. But then it was really dark outside and I didn't know what to do so I, not without mental conflict, fell back asleep until 6:40am. I was a bit disappointed but still happy because that is a lot earlier than usual! I'll work on it though. So that's one of the reasons why I'm in a good mood today.

Another reason why I feel excellent is because I have been eating ALL RAW for like two days! Oh yeah! That's what I'm talkin' bout! The photo I posted is my breakfast :) Sliced yellow mango, sliced banana, a handful of raisins, a drizzle of flaxseed oil, a sprinkle of organic shredded coconut, a spoonful of hemp seeds and a dash of cinnamon. It was extraordinary.

I'm also just feeling extremely connected to myself. In more ways than one. I lied down on my floor and drew and doodled a bit last night... I've really been feeling the lack of art in my life these days so that really lifted me up a bit. Plus this lovely yoga I've been doing more of and I just feel so contemplative and philosophical these days about the Universe and outer space and life and love and beauty and wonderfulness, especially since my brother and I took his ginormous telescope out the other night and viewed the big bright beautiful moon and little wee far away Saturn. Sometimes I envision myself, let's say, floating on a lost rock up in the mysterious, cold, pitch-black nothingness up there in space; gazing down at the Earth amongst the moon and stars. The thought comforts me somehow, in an eerie sort of way. We are little wee organisms floating and spinning in Nowhere Land! Free your mind and soul and spirit and just live! Break those invisible chains that govern us!

My insides feel so jubilant and effervescent are iridescent because I'm off for like an entire week and it's so warm out today and I feel so great and awesome and AHHH!

Pearls and Raw Vegan Cacao Truffles

My dad went to Las Vegas last week and he brought us home a few things. He brought me a box. And in the box was a can, which looked like a can of tuna. And in the can was an oyster. And I was to pry open the oyster. And inside the oyster was... a pearl! Isn't that so neat? The little gift came with a chain and a teensy little wee metal cage to place the pearl. It was instantly very sentimental to me, as I can already invision myself passing this necklace on through my future family generations... how beautiful!

I am very much so enjoying raw foods and veganism, as I feel just splendid. I'm ultra-connected to the Earth and I feel overflowed with joy and peace that flows freely through my life. I'm very in tune with my Divine or Higher Self and veganism is just a beautiful addition to my super eternal being. Want to know what's even cooler about being spiritual and feeling connected to the Universe? You allow your passions to guide you and more easily surrender to life's flow. Which I have done! In one of my previous posts I talked about how I had an epiphany and have decided to follow my dreams NOW rather than LATER! Releasing fear and all that lovely stuff. I am officially enrolled in school to study Holistic Nutrition, and I couldn't be more excited - not only to begin pursuing my dreams and goals, but because I listened to my heart and my intuition, and I am allowing it to flow freely, like releasing sand from your fist, through my life.

Today I made some raw vegan cacao coconut truffles and I would like to share this marvelous recipe. I am not exaggerating when I say that these little guys taste exactly, if not better, than your typical full-butter, sugar-loaded chocolate goodies. The only difference is that these are actually extremely nutritious, and well, a hell of a lot simpler and quicker than baking!:

• 3 cups walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup medjool dates (about 14 or so, these are what make the truffles sweet!)
• 5-6 tbsp raw organic cacao (not cocoa, CACAO - the rawest, purest form of chocolate)
• 1-2 tbsp flaxseeds, hempseeds, goji berries (These are totally optional but are awesome. You can throw in anything that you think would be nice!)
• 1/2 cup water (for blending the nuts and dates together - only if you are using a blender)
• About a cup of shredded organic coconut

I used a blender because I don't have a food processor, but if you have one then by all means go wild.

Place the nuts in the blender and blend them up. Add the water and the dates and puree it all together. Add the flaxseeds or whatever fun ingredients you choose. Add the cacao. (You can add a tbsp or two of the shredded coconut into the mixture if you want it in the truffles) Blend.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and place in the freezer for about 30 mins. The mixture will be on the gooey side so it's just a good idea to firm it up a bit.

Begin rolling the mixture into little balls in the shredded coconut, and you're done! Keep them in the freezer to keep them firm. So quick and absolutely decadent and delicious. Makes 20-25 truffles.

All of these ingredients are highly nutritious. Especially the raw cacao. Cacao, chocolate in it's purest form, is extremely high in antioxidants - moreso than red wine, blueberries and green tea. It's also very rich in zinc, magnesium and beta-carotene. An absolute superfood for sure. It's great to add to a smoothie or anything to make something super duper :)

Hope whoever tries this enjoys it! Well you will for sure.