no-pumpkin pie custard-like smoothie!

oh goodness, is this delicious!
smooth and thick like a custard, cold and refreshing as a smoothie, comforting like a pumpkin pie, though i can't remember the last time i had a pumpkin pie! the last "pumpkin" pie i had was at organic lives (last year maybe?) and it wasn't made with pumpkin either!

ingredients:
-1 cup almond milk
-1 frozen banana
-1 frozen persimmon
-1 nub of ginger
-a good-sized shake of cinnamon
-a sprinkle of lucuma
-a sprinkle of mesquite
-a small splash of maple syrup

post-yoga fruity greens with jon!

i forgot to take a photo until near the very end. i also forgot to practice yoga for 6 months!? what was i thinking? gotta get back into that routine. thank you, jon, for taking me as your birthday guest!!! i am dreaming up something indonesian-inspired for a birthday dessert for you! ^_^
anyways... this smoothie comes courtesy of 2 cups of filtered water, 6 kale leaves, 1 pear, 2 yellow plums, 2 dates, 2 dried figs and 2 frozen bananas. sweet with amazing texture!

i am currently drinking a smoothie of frozen banana, one pear (my favourite right now!), a sprinkle of mesquite and lucuma and cinnamon and a spoon of hemp seeds and spatone liquid iron with some filtered water. delicious!

a sad vitamix story... hopefully soon with a happy ending!

on april 18th, i was so excited as i got my delivery of vitamix replacement parts. i put everything together. my vitamix still did not work.
i finally called them on the 21st to ask and i was told i would be sent the stuff to be able to send my whole vitamix base to them to look at and make sure to fix. i am still waiting!
i hope i can talk to someone about it tomorrow. i hate that my broken vitamix isn't even on its way to being fixed right now! and i'm sure that waiting part is going to take awhile!!!
sigh!
*may 17th update: called and apparently they didn't have my apartment suite number! so i never got the FedEx slip. they emailed me the slip instead so my vitamix is finally on its way for servicing. fingers crossed i get it back in june!*
well, at least we have a magic bullet here. it's a bit more work but i can still get some yummy smoothies happening in it.

this smoothie is DELICIOUS. it's frozen banana, almond milk, some supergreens powder, fresh mint and lucuma powder. it tastes like how ice cream should taste! ^_^

p.s. in the last couple days, i have had 2 friends excitedly tell me they have bought their first vitamix! i hope i can visit them soon to get my extra smooth smoothie fix! ^_^ hehe

day 19 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

wow. what a day.
so last night was my liver/gallbladder cleanse as per andreas moritz's book and wow, do i feel good (and relieved) now!

**a great post about liver/gallbladder cleansing can be found here**

i did my green smoothie later today because i was so excited to eat and drink other things first.

paul's request was more of a fruit taste which i figured i would have when i combined 2 kiwis, a head of green leaf lettuce, an apple, an avocado for creaminess and a couple pieces of dried mango. i still really tasted the lettuce so i tried to fix by adding a pear, some ground vanilla, lucuma and then some dried wheatgrass powder (i was feeling guilty about adding so many sweet things). so then i was left with a grainy smoothie which i added apple juice to for paul anyways! i should have just drank it as is for myself and then have done the juice addition for him. sigh. i know for next time. it's fine. i just wish i had kept it more simple. i enjoy simple tastes more!

so anyways.. this morning was the defining moment of my cleanse. i had to drink my final 2 glasses of epsom salt water (the WORST thing in the world. it is NOTHING like himalayan salts which people have asked and i probably would enjoy. it tastes like POISON.). my mom didn't think i would be able to do the olive oil/grapefruit last night before bed but that was like a nice salad dressing and was NOTHING like the epsom salt water. and 4 glasses of! by this morning, it was really a test of willpower and commitment and i feel so great for having passed! i found i could down the glass in 4 gulps but both times, the 3rd gulp was the hardest and i thought i would throw up. but wow, when i was done that 4th glass and my next thing to look forward to was my freshly squeezed orange juice after not eating since 1:30pm the previous day? heaven! i started thinking about the juice truck's newest smoothie offering of a "key lime pie". i didn't try it today (as i got a "creamsicle" at organic lives instead) but i hope to tomorrow if possible!

i am currently reading dr. gabriel cousens's conscious eating, which is brilliant and inspiring by the way, and this morning really was a true moment of appreciation for my food. i enjoyed that orange juice like never before (and it wasn't just because of my UFO squeezer) and i'm thinking i'll have to do it more often! but going without food and knowing that i was hungry and that i needed it and wanted it and that i would have to wait afterwards until i was allowed to eat, made me enjoy my fresh fruit juice moment all the more. i feel a bit silly as it wasn't even a full 24 hours of a fast but that is a lot for me. i get really edgy after 4 hours of no food even. (i feel bad for paul who was such a great sport these past 24 hours!)

so... i am happy to report i got to see many of the tiny liver bile stones! scary to think they were in me and there are still stones left. but it's encouraging to know that my prep for the night (i feel like the anticipation was the most thought-consuming!) and the wretched epsom salt water was all made worthwhile when it produced the results promised. i can do it again and i will. until i am stone-free!

i grossed out paul earlier by showing him one of the green pea-like pebbles. and i came home this afternoon to him proudly showing me his pebble he eliminated. which turned out to be a glob of his matcha powder that must have just been left in his mug. sigh. he is the best.

oh and... just have to say... the pre-cleanse colonic that day was not mortifying and uncomfortable like i expected. and i think i was flying on my way home as i made it home in record time with no effort ^_^ i am happy to report i do not dread my follow-up one in a couple days!

i really wish that i wasn't unusual in my quest for best health possible. i recommend everyone read both books i have mentioned. i marvel that people would opt to have their gallbladder removed, an ORGAN in their body, and not remove their problem! i don't see the harm, though i do see the discomfort and commitment necessary, in trying a natural method (or 2 or 3 or 4) first and then, as last resort only, opting for surgery or other drastic modern medicine methods.

i feel blessed with the opportunity to explore healthy options for myself as i don't appear to have a life-threatening disease to worry about. i am grateful i have challenged modern medicine's prescriptions for myself thus far and have felt and seen incredible results. i hope that my efforts will protect me as long as possible. i hope that my efforts and interests will inspire those around me to be proactive with their bodies' health as well!

some fun foods... despite an 'elimination' diet plan...

just over 3 weeks in to this elimination diet plan and i'm doing well! eating lots of salads but i guess i always did! i don't feel like i'm doing anything different except having to ask about ingredients when i go out for dinner. (like the other night at panz veggie - the chef was super accommodating and friendly, though probably thought i was crazy coming into a vegan chinese, aka gluten-crazy, restaurant for dinner) i'm also enjoying smoothies as much as usual but maybe appreciating them even more for how lucky i am to get to eat so many wonderful things!

 it's been awhile since i have had food at organic lives so it was fun to have this pad thai a couple weeks back. i forgot that it is served with jungle peanuts so my friend had those (wasn't sure if they counted as peanuts i can't have right now) and the kelp and coconut meat noodles were served on what looked like spinach (i forgot to ask) so i didn't eat that. but it was super awesome to be able to eat relatively easily here! and look at the amazing chopsticks! they must be from thailand ^_^

and just an obligatory raw cracker bread sandwich photo...

(weird maybe, but i LOVE putting lettuce, avocado, fresh basil and sauerkraut together... the combo kind of reminds me of pickles!)

and i've done some awesome smoothie combos lately. this one is frozen banana and blueberries, pear, ginger, camu camu, ground vanilla and 2 sachets of spatone liquid iron:

and an even prettier picture (doesn't mint garnish make this look pro?) is my frozen banana and mango smoothie with ginger and camu camu.

this next one is blatantly inspired by my high school friend menaka's facebook status. she is yogi-ing it up and making smoothies and raw goodies in bali and i hope someday to get out there to see her and see ubud for myself! anyways, this smoothie is frozen banana and mango, some supergreens (spirulina, chlorella, barley grass, wheatgrass, AFA, and brainon), lucuma, ginger, coconut meat and some spatone (liquid iron) and filtered water.

and finally... who would have thought you could have a dessert on a diet plan like this? though not raw by any means, this is definitely vegan. it has chocolate but i'm allowed that "rarely" (it had been over 2 weeks, maybe even 3 since i had chocolate - i think i did well, yes?) and if i remember correctly, this is quinoa and arrow root and fava bean flours, maybe some potato starch, almond milk... i really should have taken a photo of the ingredients. but there was this, chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, a lemon cookie and chocolate chip cookie, and a banana loaf that were gluten-free, corn-free, buckwheat-free, possibly even soy-free and sugar-free at edible flours! i couldn't believe how many options they had that i could have!

i really can't get over how mellow and relaxed i have felt since adopting this diet. i am excited to see my naturopath at the end of next week to see if she has noticed any of the fire of my pitta decreasing. i totally feel like it has!

chocolate mousse in a glass

ok so maybe not the most INSPIRING photo of all time but how could i post without a photo?
anyways, after my flow class, i NEEDED a chocolate smoothie! but i was also down for experimenting. and what i have ended up with is the softest, most lightest (almost foamy!) pudding of a smoothie. i'm 'drinking' it with a spoon! heaven.
this is what i did and well, i'm not one for following recipes (or measuring) so strictly so the following is my best educated guess:
*half a frozen banana
*half an avocado
*1 cup almond milk
*2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
*1 tablespoon yacon syrup (i've been loving trying it in everything lately, trying to figure out exactly what i like about it. i'm so used to dates and maple syrup as a sweetener, this fruity sweetness is a nice switch!)
*a sprinkle of red maca powder (figure it can't hurt to combine some with that cacao)
*a sprinkle of lucuma powder (hmm, since i didn't have enough sweetness with the banana and yacon... haha)

i'm going to do my best to save some of this for paul to try when he gets home. i'm so curious for a second opinion!

thank you, rooted!

yesterday was not the best day and that's after a not so great wednesday. i can't even remember the last time i felt so frustrated and BLEH!
paul got home around the same time as me which is a crazy thing in itself and he suggested dinner and eek! the day suddenly perked up!
the especially crazy thing though was that i wasn't craving anything in particular and not particularly hungry.
so... the best place to go (and he hadn't been yet!) was rooted on the drive. i always feel so much better after being here and last night was no exception. the people here are amazing and the food is incredible!!! (ooh and i'm happy to report they are open every day 11-8!)
i quickly regained my appetite! YAY!

we shared a large kale casear (i felt like i could eat another of those! soooo good!!) and i had some of paul's chili and i ate most of the mexican wrap. messy but delicious! ooh and we had the lucuma/mesquite cheezecake for dessert! YES!

this is probably my most favourite place to eat in vancouver. and i can't help but think that even though i haven't mastered eliminating stress in the work part of my life, at least i don't seem to have food-caused stress in my life and i'm healthy overall. 

and eating at places like rooted make me feel super lucky and happy.

<3