Congrats to me! I prepared all of my meals today. I'm no chef so these are all easy to make. Not in pictures though are the watermelon peach smoothie I had for breakfast, cocoa peanut butter banana ice cream I had after lunch, and the chocolate soymilk I had after yoga class this afternoon. They're not pictured mainly because the images already existed somewhere else in this blog before.
I'm a bit embarrassed to say I had a little over 2 cups of rice for each meal. But those who know me won't be surprised.
I'm going to the grocery soon and I'll cook more colors. In Gloria's voice (from Modern Family): red, orange, blue, yellow, purple. I heard from the Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast that we get all our nutrients if we eat all the colors, so that's that!
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I think most people will not knowingly and consciously kill for pleasure.
Most people will not take the time to design a fitted wire cage for a pig, design it in a way that the pig will be unable to move, so that he gains weight as soon as possible. Most people will probably not drag the pig and push him into boiling water while still alive to remove his hair. Most people will not push the pig down and drown him to speed up the killing process. And most people probably won't have the heart to cut through the pig's flesh and chop his body parts into pieces. Most people won't pull a mother away from her baby so they can have the mother's milk. Most people will be heartbroken to see a mother yearning for her child, child yearning for his mother. Most people will not forcibly rape the mother cow by pushing his hand up her vagina, artificially inseminating her, so she can be pregnant again, and so they can pull another child yet away again, so that she lactates and produces milk for cheese and butter and cream to be made into ice cream and donuts and cakes. Most people will not drag the mother after she is spent and no longer capable of producing milk to slaughter to be made into a beef burger. Most people will find it gross. Most people will not be able to stand her pleading cries. Most people will have an aversion to the blood bath. Most people will not grind male baby chicks or leave them to suffocate in a plastic bag. Most people will not intentionally starve a chicken so she can speed up the laying of eggs. Most people will not put her in a space so small she eats and urinates and defecates in the same place. Most people won't put another chicken with her in that same space, giving them no choice but to peck each other. Most people will not find the solution to this pecking as cutting off their beaks with no anesthesia. After she is spent, most people will not find her so skinny that the only use for her is to be killed and ground up and fed to cats or dogs or even to other chickens. Most people will not knowingly force cannibalism onto others. Most people will not plot so elaborately or so mercilessly to have enough eggs for that breakfast omelette. Most people will not intentionally rape a cow to get her pregant, encage her to ensure she has no escape. Most people will not brand her with a hot burning metal plate to give her a number, to symbolize their ownership, to reduce her to nothing but an inanimate unfeeling object of utility. Most people will not kill her while her baby is still inside her womb so they can get the soft skin of the baby calf to be made into a purse. Most people will not subject another human being to stand in waist-high toxic waste to dye and preserve the skin called leather. Most people will not be so vindictive just for a jacket or a fashionable pair of boots. Most people will not kidnap orangutans from the wild, away from their family and home, to be put on a cage and transported to the other side of the world. Most people will not deprive him of food or water or sleep, or subject him to carcinogens, or force him to smoke cigarettes. Most people will not go to this orangutan's home only to tear it apart and make it into a palm oil plantation. Most people will not chain the other homeless orangutans for going to the city. Most people will not beat the mother to death because she "stole" bananas from a store to feed her young, all because the home she had known and the trees where she gathered her food were all taken away from her. Most people won't do any of these things themselves. And yet, most people pay others to do the very same things they would not do themselves. Most people eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs, and honey. Most people use leather, wool, feather, cashmere. Most people go to zoos, circuses, dolphin shows. Most people buy products that experimented on animals. Are you one of the people who will not kill for pleasure, and yet are disconnected from the fact that your choices do indeed result to killing for no other reason than pleasure? It is not your fault you did not know. Most of us didn't. The meat and dairy and egg and fashion and cosmetic and pharmaceutical and entertainment industries did not want you to know. But now that you do know, will you join me in boycotting this senseless violence? Please watch Earthlings, listen to Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast, or read through the Food Revolution website. There are tons of information out there. Most people are drawn to values of justice, kindness, and compassion. I believe your values are vegan, even if you are not. If you have any questions about turning vegan, please drop me a line at [email protected]. Peace. Love. Vegan. Started the day right with a 100% raw green smoothie made of bananas, malunggay, maca powder, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, water and ice cubes.
Off to a yin yoga class at Yoga Plus at the Fort with Dinah Salonga by 9am, and it was an interesting 90 minutes for me. For one thing, I think I have had more pins and needles within the 90 minutes than I had the last few years combined. I was quite relaxed in many of the poses, but struggled really hard with one. On the left twisted variation of the sleeping swan, I got so agitated, to the point that I imagined just walking out of the room. It was not so much the physical discomfort but the emotional one, the same agitation I feel when I cannot stand a person or a situation. I chose to just stay and observe and breathe through it. It was almost like a Vipassana meditation. I thought, if I cannot handle my own body, how am I supposed to handle the world that is out there? Also, what came to mind is the yoga sutra vastu-sāmye citta-bhedāt tayor vibaktah panthāh. In English according to the Jivamukti commentary: Each individual person perceives the same object in a different way, according to their own state of mind and projections. Everything is empty from its own side and appears according to how you see it. This pose is not out to get me. This pose is empty. My agitation came from nobody and nowhere else but me. I am responsible, and only I can save myself from feeling victimized.
Given that it was a small group private class, we felt quite free in expressing what we were going through, and at one point it seemed all of us were going through different struggles of our own. It reminded me of spoiled children whining to their mother (my "complaints" anyway) that I started to chuckle a little. I had to tell myself to think sad thoughts, like animals suffering, so I don't burst out laughing right then and there at the irony of it all: the hip openers were for fertility and I have a personal stand to be childless and there I was being reminded of whining children. The savasana was so relaxing I slept through the entire pose. I have to say it feels like what I needed today. Yoga Plus holds yin yoga classes regularly at both Ortigas and The Fort branches. Check them out! Back home and hungry for food, I made myself yet another unprocessed treat- mostly unprocessed, I think! My sweet tooth urged me to make chocolate peanut butter ice cream. It is made of bananas, cocoa powder, peanut butter and topped with cacao nibs. Delightful and perfect for summer! I have already frozen my next batch of bananas to get my second serving ready! I just finished watching Hungry for Change (free screening until March 31), and it gave me that extra push to eat better.
Granted I eat 100% plant-based for ethical reasons, but I realize I have been neglecting the health aspect of this lifestyle. I saw nothing wrong with consuming processed food products as long as they are vegan. I've always thought that as long as I am not harming animals, I'm okay. This documentary made it clear to me that I need to not want to harm my own body too. My body is a temple after all, not a trash bin. And whatever you are currently eating, the body has self-healing powers so you can turn it around quite easily too- if you want to. In fact, when you drink a green smoothie, it takes only 15 minutes for the nutrients from the raw vegetables to get to your cells! Pretty darn amazing! By default, I do not consume that much high fructose corn syrup because most processed products are not vegan, and the things I am ethically against are usually the worst of the bunch (cola, cookies, junk food). But I do not eat as much raw greens as I probably should, and I eat quite a lot of white rice when I dine out. My resolve after watching this documentary? 1. Guarantee my greens intake via smoothies every breakfast. Shall restock and add spirulina and chia seeds to my superfoods list! (I am ordering them from The Superfood Grocer and I recommend you do too). 2. Use my skin as an indicator of my current state of wellness. Am I sleeping enough hours? Am I getting all my nutrients? Am I stressed? The documentary explained that the skin is the last to receive the benefits of your food. So if you are looking good through natural means (and not because you spent a fortune on coating your skin with artificial topical creams or chemical treatments), then you are pretty healthy. 3. Avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated stuff and any ingredient I cannot pronounce in as much as I can, even if this mysterious ingredient is vegan. This means I have to add another level of screening to my label-reading. It now must be vegan, free from palm oil, and free from suspicious ingredients. 4. Prepare my own meals more and eat out less. That way, I know exactly what goes into what I eat. This would probably be challenging at first because I have an erratic schedule teaching an insane amount of classes, so I will probably start by making sure I have 2 out of 3 meals a day prepared by myself. Lessen my 7-11/ Ministop purchases too. What do I buy there anyway? Usually soymilk or packaged coconut water and the occasional hopia. I should probably just make my own nut milk and get fresh coconut instead. 5. Incorporate the self-love mantra mentioned in the documentary: I accept myself unconditionally right now. Love to all! P.S. Newly inspired by Hungry for Change, I had an all-greens oven-baked lunch (brown rice not shown in picture). Project 1: I needed to get an arm band to hold my portable voice recorder in place, so I thought I'd just improvise using an old pair of socks. I simply cut out the parts where the feet would go.
Tada! Why do I need an arm band anyway? I record the yoga classes that I teach from time to time to check where I'm at, mistakes and all. You can hold iPods and whatnot in place too for walks and runs.
Project 2: The name cards that I put in my wallet tend to get a weird fold a little bit off center. I suppose because one side of the wallet stores more cards than the other. I rummaged through the things I already own and found an iPhone case that I no longer use (the hole for the speaker plug is too small for the speakers at studios) and a mesh cosmetic kit.
Instant name card holder that will keep the cards crisp!
Who needs to buy new things when there are old things just lying around to be used? Shop at your own closet and cabinets! Save the environment and your own wallet. Watch The Story of Stuff to be inspired not to add any more well, stuff, in the world. P.S. I wanted to have Project 3: New Old Toms, where I dye my faded Toms a bright yellow. The National Book Store I went to the other day didn't have yellow dye, so the project had to be put on hold! Most people are aware of the dangers of BPA or Bisphenol-A, a chemical used to make plastic. But I recently read that practically all plastics are unsafe because BPA-free plastics use a replacement called BPS, which is just as bad. Having been diagnosed with hormonal imbalance, I am bothered by my teenage-like skin breakouts, which ironically I didn't really have as a teenager. Could these plastics have caused my hormonal imbalance? I am not sure but regardless, I am trying to stay away from plastics as much as possible. For starters, I am replacing my travel drinking water bottle. Here is a water bottle I found at my mom's place. I asked for it since I love that it says Yoga.
It's not much but it's a start!
Super Bowl of China serves vegetarian spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce.
Found at the food court: binatog with salt and shredded coconut.
Chocolate chip cookies and salted caramel ice cream. Both vegan, of course. Individually they are amazing, together they are sublime!
Both from Kitchen Revolution, the dispenser of cruelty-free treats! My vegan friends and I have many times subjected Bodhi to countless jokes (mostly referring it to as a last option), but deep inside (or not so deep inside actually) we are all very grateful that such a convenient option exists. Bodhi serves mostly mock meat vegetarian food, many of which are vegan. I usually just order the vegan asado, bopis, and kare-kare with bagoong.
Because it is so reliable, it didnt't even occur to me until now to blog about it.
Bodhi stalls can be found in many SM Food Courts, and they have a standalone restaurant with a full menu at their main branch in Banawe, Quezon City. A few years ago, an omnivorous baker told me she's experimenting with vegan treats, so she said she will ask me to taste test because she "doesn't know what vegan cakes are supposed to taste like". Well, lady, it's supposed to taste the same! Vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli won Cupcake Wars against non-vegans, so that is a pretty good indication that vegan treats need not have a "taste discount".
In fact, I once brought a vegan carrot cake to a family event. My brother-in-law, skeptical, didn't even want to taste it at first. He is in the business of selling baking supplies to commercial brands, so he thinks he knows his stuff. He insisted that it cannot taste the same without dairy and eggs. He finally relented and had a piece, and another one, and asked if he could take the last piece home. The next time he saw me with a box of cake, he eagerly asked, "Is that my favorite carrot cake?" Manila, we are lucky we have our own vegan chef! Kitchen Revolution is my crack dealer- crack chocolate chip cookie dealer, that is! What I love about Kitchen Revolution is that the treats are at par if not better than their non-vegan counterparts. Many non-vegans love Kitchen Revolution's cookies, cakes and treats by virtue of taste alone, devoid of any ethical or health concerns. My favorite treats are the can-be-as-addictive-as-crack cookies (shown in picture) and mind-blowing ice cream pie. Get your dairy-free, egg-free, cholesterol-free vegan treats from Kitchen Revolution Email [email protected], call or text 0917-894-5086, visit http://kitchenrevolution.ph, or like the Kitchen Revolution Facebook page!
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