each day's surprise by henri nouwen

sunrise, sedona, arizona october 2012

"Each day holds a surprise.  But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us.  Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy.  It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity."

Pinapple Unfried RIce

I love fried rice.  I love the salt and the veggies but since switching to a plant based diet I have steered clear...until I came across this recipe!  I made this last night and I loved it.  This recipe came to me via plantbaseddietician.com/blog/  it is a keeper.  I had never used coconut aminos so I made one version with tamari and one with the called for coconut aminos.  The coconut aminos won out.  And this shocked me because I love salt.  The reason I was curious was because the coconut aminos are so low in sodium compared to tamari.  I love when I find something that tastes great and is better for me than the alternative.  So, my friends, one great recipe find and one great new product to continue to use!  LOVE IT!

PINEAPPLE UNFRIED RICE

Ingredients:
1 large can unsweetened pineapple
1 cup green peas
1 bunch scallions
1 red bell pepper, diced fine
4 oz. pea pods, sliced
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
4 cups cooked brown rice, chilled
1/2 cup raw coconut aminos

Directions:
Heat 1/2 cup pineapple juice in a wok or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and scallions and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add peas, pea pods and rice and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple and raw coconut aminos and cook for another minute or so. If mixture becomes too dry, add more pineapple juice as you are sautéing. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro, and serve.  I added chopped almonds and sesame seeds to the final product.  YUM!

it's World Food Day and we CAN end world hunger

please read the article below to see how easy it is to help, to do our part in making the world a truly better place, to help someone NOT go to bed hungry or wake up hungry...go to MILKSHAKE.COM or click on the links here that i, hopefully, activated!  thank you!

What’s Your Latte Worth to You?

10/16/2012 CAUSES HUNGER

Today is World Food Day in the U.S. and Canada. Here's how you can help right here at home.

Today might be an official day dedicated to ending hunger around the world, but as Rome wasn't built in a day, neither is the eradication of a global epidemic. The good news is, through the power of social media and the ease with which we can spread the word, contribute a donation or otherwise make a difference, the solution is closer than it's ever been before. On our Milkshake Global site today, we're telling the story of World Food Day  and linking readers to the observance's official site, which connects visitors to more than a dozen stellar charities working to support the formation and sustainability of rural co-ops.  Here at Milkshake Kids, we're adding yet another resource into the mix: the nation's leading domestic hunger relief charity, Feeding America.   The math is undeniable: every $1 donated provides eight meals to a family struggling with hunger.  Although we don't often link to direct donation sites, on a day like today, we couldn't ignore the simplicity of it all: for the cost of today's latte, we each could provide anywhere from 24 to 40 meals.  Even more staggering: a dollop of whipped cream to us might mean an entire day's food to a family in need.  Today of all days, that's a trade we're more than willing to make.

quiet please

"you've never heard quiet" by arthur shingler IV
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Balloon Fiesta 2012

i met a woman on my way to Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico who had recently come out of a 2 month coma after having contracted West Nile Virus...understandably, she has since been doing anything and everything she has ever wanted to do, no matter the risk, really...

she told me she had been up in a hot air balloon and until i did it myself i had never really heard 'QUIET.'

i do hear it's an expensive ride, so let's hope there ARE other ways to hear that quiet!  i'm gonna keep working on it!

becoming a whole person or just becoming whole part 2

i'm going to change this stream of consciousness to "becoming whole" instead of "becoming a whole person," because i am already wholly a person, it's what gets me in to trouble!

it is getting in touch with the SPIRIT, the ENERGY, the LIFEFORCE that is inside this shell, inside my skin and bones, that moves me toward true WHOLE-ness...so, how does one do that, how am i doing this now?  i am finding times to be quiet that don't involve t.v., that don't involve filling all the empty space around me with conversation, music, talk radio, ringing phones, aka: NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!  i just say "NO," i just turn it all off...

since i was young my spirit gravitated toward silence...emotional chaos, physical chaos, psychological chaos tornado-ed through my life on a regular basis, and for the longest time i could not understand why quiet, gentle, tenderhearted, sensitive me landed in the midst of this violently destructive dance, a dance that had already been going on for years amongst 6 people before i came along!  (i understand now, and i am grateful, but that's another story for another day)

my mother once told me i was a smiley, happy baby...i believe her, but a baby turns into an aware, awake child, and what was going on around me attacked my consciousness so brutally, that the smiley, happy me spent most of her time and energy seeking refuge...in forts or tree houses, at school, on swings, at neighbor's homes, on my banana-seated bicycle, in books, in any quiet space i could find to "hide"---

in my own way, as a very young person, i sought out places and times to get in touch with TRUTH, with the DIVINE, with the REAL ME, under the guise of "escape," but the day-to-day life i was living was full of hiding and lying and crying and yelling and belittling, some i was doing to others and some was done to me, but all of it was going on, every single day...i take that back, i grew up surrounded by all those things and grew to do all of those things to others because they were modeled for me...

that smiley, happy baby-me knew who she was, knew who she was meant to be, knew her greatest potential!  that is actually the state in which i think we are all born, that state of KNOWING...and then, we mix and mingle with our environment, and it has an affect on that knowing...we begin to question that knowing, we begin to question our potential, we begin to question our value, and our behaviors and thoughts indicate we have lost our knowing, our understanding of our 'birth rights!'

i am certain that all the time i spent as a child and teenager seeking QUIET was, in my own unconscious/subconscious ways, a means to staying in touch with SPIRIT, and i believe it is what 'saved me' from becoming a complete victim of my environment, what allowed that happy, smiley-me to continue showing herself in the midst of great turmoil and confusion and pain...i did not escape unscathed, all that lying and crying and yelling and belittling left me with the huge task of walking toward, and through, major issues and habits that were not a part of thriving!  and all that hiding left me with a habit of hiding!  

turning off the noise, intentionally creating QUIET in my life, has made it so that many of those issues and habits no longer have a home in me...the QUIET has made space for the REAL ME, a more WHOLE me, to grow and take root...continuing to make time for QUIET helps me feel, look at, and work with residual pains, and it prepares me for life's curveballs...

may we all make time for quiet, so quiet that all we can hear is our breath...may we be aware that there is a power and a truth and life to be in touch with...may we find all this in spite of our chaotic pasts and presents...may we regain that KNOWING, that absolute understanding of our potential and belief that we were placed here to learn and grow and help others do the same, making no apologies, just walking on this planet STRONG and WISE, AMAZING and INSPIRING ourselves and, if we're blessed enough, maybe one or two others!

open

photo by arthur shingler IV jerome, arizona 10/2012
vulnerability is the only authentic state-
being vulnerable means being open
for wounding,
but also for pleasure-
being open to the wounds of life
means also being open
to the bounty and the beauty!
our vulnerability is our greatest asset,
quake and shake in your boots with it!
the goodness that comes to us
in the form of people, things, experiences,
can only come to us when we are vulnerable,
when we are
open!
paraphrased

Homemade Granola Bars

With four children I have to help pack 20 lunches per week and that is not including my own on the days I work.  I am always looking for healthy treats to pack in their lunches.  So imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe for homemade Luna bars.  Katie at chocolatecoveredkatie.com has created a recipe that is AWESOME!  In fact, the first time I made these, my hubby asked me to make him his own pan when it is his birthday.  They are literally so easy, I don't think I will make him wait!  They taste like rice cripy treats only they are healthy and do not have a bunch of chemicals in them.  My inspiration came when I started reading the labels of the granola bars on the shelves in the store.  YUCK!  Chemicals, additives, JUNK!  So (angels voices singing)  I found this recipe that saved the day... or at least the lunch hour slump.  I have doubled this recipe the last several weeks because I make a big batch and then freeze them in individual servings. 

Homemade Luna Bars

(Can be gluten-free!)

• 3 cups rice crispies (I used brown rice crispies)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used salted pb, too)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
• 1/2 cup sticky sweetener, such as agave or brown rice syrup (I used agave)
• 2-3 tablespoons protein powder (I used Sun Warrior)
• melted chocolate chips or sprinkle chocolate chips on top

Mix your pb, sweetener, extract, and salt. Melt (either in the microwave or stove), then pour over the cereal and protein powder, and stir very well, making sure to coat all the crispies. Smash and smash the crispies. (Get mad; it’s fun!) Line a pan with wax paper and spread the mixture evenly into the pan. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture, then press down as firmly as you can. Really press it down! Spread the chocolate on top or sprinkle with chocolate chips, and freeze for at least a half hour before slicing.

I have also experimented with other cereals that were high fiber and used in combination with the brown rice crispies and it was still good and boosted the fiber content!  Have Fun!

with matt's permission !

matt's 'before and after' photos are below, the first gave him pause, the second is the result of the actions that came out of that pause!...AND please read matt's blog!  it is poetic, inspirational, funny, disarming, and will tug at all those things in you and me that connect us as human beings!  so lovely!  click here-http://thedawgrun.blogspot.com

Matt 's Story!

this is not our friend matt...
this is a photo from LIFEROLLSON.ORG

Our friend Matt is easily the most comfortably transparent human being I have ever met.  He is able to track and connect with people on deeply spiritual levels and understands better than many the struggles of being "human" as in when life doesn't go your way or how you expected it to go---at all!  And I have seen him grow in his delight of LIFE in the midst of great struggle, confusion, and pain.  I have listened to him talk about the great surprise and intimacy LIFE offers when you surrender to what LIFE is at any given moment, be it some level of poverty you didn't know before, loss of job, health concerns...He is an example to me of intentional TRUST...he works hard at his life and his love and his connection to SPIRIT and TRUTH and i see the fruits of that work!  He has been kind enough to give us the bare bones of his plant-based life story!  I have SO many more questions for him!  :)

MATT'S STORY:

I had been stress eating for years and packed on 50+ additional pounds. The "ah-ha" moment came at a Life Rolls On event where I found myself too out of breath to help the disabled surfers we were working with. The pictures afterwards sealed the deal. I knew I had to do something but I didn't want to go hungry and I wasn't interested in fad diets. 

I decided to drink only water (I even went off coffee!). I decided to eat only fruits and vegetables until 6pm each day at which point I would have a half serving of whatever the family was eating for dinner. The pounds melted off and I was never hungry (I lost about a pound every two days!)

True, the weight loss did get harder the closer I got to my goal weight but I am now where I want to be (back to my high school weight and waist band!). I started running and am having more fun than I have had in years! Now when I look in the mirror I say "WOW!" instead of woooooow . . . . 

Without knowing it, I basically came up with my own version of Dr. Joel Fuhman's "Eat to Live" program. I still love a good steak now and then but a primarily plant-based diet works for me and it is one I am signed onto for life.

Trade your empty calories for fiber and nutrients - you will wonder why you waited so long!

CHECK OUT A SITE MEANINGFUL TO MATT!     http://www.liferollson.org

kale palooza! 27 recipes!

follow this link for a variety of delicious kale recipes!

http://www.marthastewart.com/286367/kale-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#/

Nourish that which feeds the world OR feed that which nourishes the world !

One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. 

He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all." 

"One destroys. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other gives LIFE. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith." 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, " The one you feed."

Kale Salad and Hot Yoga...Oh Yeah!

Today was such a blessing to me.  I tried Hot Yoga.  I did a little research to find a place I would be most comfortable in.  As I entered the dim room with quiet music I immediately felt like someone had taken a burden off my shoulders.  I set out my mat and began to relax.  The room was 104 degrees which felt all warm and fuzzy at first.  We began the hour and a half class.  I soon found I was sweating but what was more surprising was how emotional I felt.  My instructor began to say things like you are totally accepted here.  There are no judgements about you.  You are not in control of anything right now (control is a little thing I have a love - hate relationship with).  She encouraged us to be in the moment which is not easy for me to do.  Thank goodness it was dim because the sweat and tears all ran down the cheeks of a woman (me) who found a place to let go.  Sometimes I believe we need someone to instruct us to let go.  Sometimes we can be that voice to someone else.  The movements relaxed my tense muscles and the music calmed my uptight heart.  I loved the experience.  As a Christian I was able to meditate on my relationship with my Creator and I was able to be reminded that He accepts me unconditionally even when I struggle at times to accept myself.  He loves with pure love...something that I want to exude from every fiber of my being!  This is true peace.  His Words began to flood my thoughts and I had a very intimate moment with myself and my God!  Isn't it awesome to have these moments of feeling good in our skin...sweat and tears and all.  It is a place I want to continue to explore!

When I came home I wanted to fill my body with good nutrients!  So here is a Kale Salad that was so good I will make it for my family tonight along with Vegan Cream of Tomato Soup! 

1/2 bunch of Kale
1 apple chopped
sprinkle of sesame seeds
sprinkle of sunflower seeds

Dressing:  (this made enough for 2 salads)
1 cup of cashews
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 dates
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp sea salt

So here is to good food with a side of tranquility!

my version of chocolate peanut butter pie, revised due to misinformation!

in august i posted my version of amy's peanut butter pie...i did not double the recipe, i one-and-a-halved-it, but some of the ingredient quantities i typed were doubled!  if you tried to make it with the recipe i printed, it was probably too sweet and cocoa-y!  the revised recipe is now under the post "kids, dinner!"  so sorry!  then again, if no one tried to make it, no harm, no foul!

coconut oat chocolate chip cookie bites

I've made 3 batches of these cookies in 2 days from http://peasandthankyou.com/2012/09/21/no-sugar-cookies/

this recipe calls for carob chips...i used vegan chocolate chips because when i was young my health food mother gave me a carob bar as a "treat" and it left a bad taste in my mouth and a semi-permanent scar on my psyche!  i will attempt carob again..one day...just not...today!  i also added the maple syrup that the author suggests making them without...i have an issue with sugar right now!  and that issue is that I WANT IT!  i shaped some of the dough into a 'granola bar' and ate it for breakfast this morning!  these really are unbelievably good and i have to talk myself out of opening the refrigerator to grab just one more!  they are so delicious i could make myself sick before i realized it if i kept eating them!  please make these cookie bites, kids and adults alike will devour them!  you can easily add your favorite nuts and seeds or dried fruit to make them even more nutritious!

No Sugar Coconut Carob Cookies

Makes 10-12 cookies
Heather’s Oaties
*The sweetness of these cookies comes via the unsweetened coconut and unsweetened carob chips, and I promise they are sweet enough!  But if you really feel the need, you can add 1/4 c. of maple syrup to the dough prior to chilling.  I encourage you to try them without first, though!*

•  1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 c. old fashioned oats (gluten free, if desired)
• 1/4 c. organic butter or vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) softened
• 1 organic egg, beaten, or flax “egg” (1 T. ground flax + 3 T. water, whisked and allowed to thicken) or 1 T. egg replacer, look for it at your local health food/healthy-eating store
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 c. unsweetened carob chips or vegan chocolate chips

Combine coconut and oats and toast for several minutes in a dry skillet over low to medium heat or in the preheated oven on a baking sheet, turning frequently until starting to turn golden brown.  Set aside or in fridge to cool.

Using an electric or stand mixer, cream together butter or magarine, egg of your choice and vanilla extract.

Add cooled oats and coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until a dough forms.  Fold in carob or vegan chocolate chips.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto a baking sheet, packing them tightly.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before gently transfering to a cooling rack.  Store cookies in the refrigerator.  They will seem too soft when you take them out of the oven, but let them cool and keep them in the fridge to retain their firmness.

Diet vs. Excercise?

Click on this link and watch:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-it-the-diet-the-exercise-or-both/

Today I watched this intriguing video where they compared a plant strong diet with moderate exercise to a Standard American Diet with strenuous exercise to see which one would fight cancer better.  The results were mind blowing.  Please watch for yourself.  It is only a few minutes long and will inspire you to eat plant strong.  Exercise is very important, but we need to remember that good nutrition will help boost our immune systems to the max.  

There are a lot of voices in our society that yell to get our attention and call us to bust our booties in the gym all for the sake of the exterior.  What if we focused on the internal?  I know for me, I want to silence these screams and embrace a pursuit to hone in on the internal...how I treat others, myself, my mind, my body, my family, my friends.  It is easy to fall in line with everyone else and do what we see patterned for us.  It is much harder yet more satisfying to be true to who we are as people from the inside out. 

The Besto Pesto

I finally made Gail's awesome Molasses Cookies!  One word...YUM!  They only took about 15 minutes to make and we all devoured them within minutes!  My hubby absolutely ADORES molasses so he was in love at first bite; but then again, so were all the rest of us.

I have been super busy but the other day I finally got around to making one of our family favorites.  In fact, when Joseph saw the meal being prepared he did a little jig.  Don't tell him I told you, he has a cool reputation to uphold.  :)  Anyway, here it is.   Don't be surprised if you do a little jig yourself...go ahead, no one's looking!

Besto Pesto
1/4 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 TBSP fresh thyme (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
2 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup olive oil (or oil of choice)
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 Pkg. pasta, cooked

First toast the nuts.  I add the walnuts to a medium-low preheated skillet and toast for about 5 minutes.  Then I add the pine nuts and toast an additional 5 minutes.  Watch carefully!  You do not want to over do this step.  They should turn a few shades darker and smell toasty.  This is a great step to do while you are waiting for water to boil for the pasta.

Second, add all the pesto ingredients (minus the pasta) to the food processor and pulse everything until it has the consistency you want.  Add the pesto to your cooked and drained pasta.  Instant Yum!

here's to you !

“How do you react when you think you need people's love? Do you become a slave for their approval? Do you live an inauthentic life because you can't bear the thought that they might disapprove of you? Do you try to figure out how they would like you to be, and then try to become that, like a chameleon? In fact, you never really get their love. You turn into someone you aren't, and then when they say "I love you," you can't believe it, because they're loving a facade. They're loving someone who doesn't even exist, the person you're pretending to be. It's difficult to seek other people's love. It's deadly. In seeking it, you lose what is genuine. This is the prison we create for ourselves as we seek what we already have.” 
― Byron Katie

may we take steps to discover and uncover who we TRULY are and who we are meant to be, and may we learn to fall in love with ourselves in a way that leaves us with no "need" for others to love us, like us or even validate us, may we be and do all those things FOR OURSELVES, TO OURSELVES...may we completely let go of, LOSE, the desire to become something or someone OTHER than who we are!  here's to YOU, whoever that is!  :)

what do you think?

only the good stuff!

is perception truly reality?

who loves me?  
or is the question, who do i feel loved BY?  
the truth is: perception is reality...or is it?
and whether or not people actually love me, if i THINK they do, that is how i respond to them...
hmmmm...
maybe, in order to love EVERYONE UNCONDITIONALLY, it makes sense to assume EVERYONE loves me, that no one is out to get me, that everyone is on my side...
hmmmm...
or maybe it makes sense simply not to take personally the expressions or lack of expressions of love from others...simply appreciate kind, thoughtful acts for what they are: kind, thoughtful acts, and ignore thoughtless, selfish acts, noting what they are: thoughtless, selfish acts...
NEITHER being a reflection of or on me, but rather, BOTH  being a reflection of and on where others are! 
hmmmm...
maybe i should resist being affected, rattled, moved, swayed, or influenced by whether or not i THINK people DO or DON'T love me and simply move and live and breathe and speak from where i am living, from my own loving spirit, a spirit GROWING and GROWING and GROWING more and more healthy, strong, selfless, and generous...
hmmmm...
i share MORE of ME with those who make me FEEL safe...
i will admit i have shared lots of ME with those i THOUGHT were safe and they turned out not to be...
i guess that brings me back to perception possibly being reality and maybe that idea needs more dissection...
hmmmm...