I think I've gone to heaven? And so it begins...Vegan Mofo :)

Wednesday, 30 September 2009

I think I've gone to heaven? And so it begins...Vegan Mofo :)

Wow, I leave it a day, and I have sooo much to catch you up on!

As it has all has been happening with this trip I totally forgot to share with you the fabulous dinner that I got to taste at Voracious' house the night before I flew out last week!

She had attempted to invite me over plenty of times before but with my odd work schedule obviously it made it difficult until the night before my departure for a month. With Natasha offering to cook me anything I wanted, I requested her mac & cheese that Cody, her partner raves about. I was excited to check out this raw food staple, called nutritional yeast which is in alot of recipes but I had yet to source it (or try it).

Man was I in for a treat. Not only was I getting to try the mac and cheese but also her tofu omlette that she sweared would taste like the real thing. Tasha did advise however that she normally wouldn't serve the two dishes together, however with my big trip starting the following day, she had to send me off on my way with at least two of her delicacies to ensure I came back :)

I didn't have a great camera with me, however this is the mac and cheese in the pot...YUMMO. She promises to share this recipe at a later date. Come on Tasha, don't hold out on us!!

No piccies of the omelette, but YES it did taste like an omelette. I try to not eat any soy products but maybe now and then I will allow it just to have an omelette. Who knows. Here is Natasha's post on it.

Then dessert was this:

Pumpkin Spice Muffins!!! Not all of them of course but I had at least one!!! These were so moist and tasty!! Thanks so much Voracious Natasha. You are one talented LADY!!!

It was such a lovely evening, and another friend of mine, who is a sushi chef (and used to be a personal chef in California - what a gig!!) came along to sample some vegan deliciousness. We all parted feeling uber inspired off one another. Next time we will have to take some more pics!

Also I forgot to tell ya that Monday at the hairdressers, I pulled out the remainder of my green smoothie out of my gym bag as I was getting peckish and I have totally forgotten how strange it must look as it is just apart of my daily life now. But my lovely but very curious hairdresser asked me very politely "um, can I ask, what ARE you drinking?" And she also commented on my little lunch box of almond butter with banana and apples too. She was curious in a positive way though. I am happy to share my crazy eating habits. Isn't it nice not to conform? Too funny. Has anyone else had any other kind of strange reaction to their unique eating style?

Yesterday I started the day with a hot water and lemon and half an hour later had my usual green smoothie:

This one had 1/4 cabbage, 1 lemon, 2 green apples, 2 kiwi & a tablespoon of spirulina and water.

I really felt like something savoury and snacky and I found these at the supermarket. So had a couple plain. They were nice and crunchy!

Then I took off for my RPM/Spin class. This is WHAT I have been missing. Seriously. I like to be active, but sometimes I just need a little helping hand. And that is what group exercise does. Not only do you have 20 something others alongside you pushing themselves to their limits, but if you have a good instructor, they will push you too and also correct you in places that you need to avoid injury. And have a good instructor I did yesterday. She even remembered most people's names in class which helps you to not be slack as she called out to each of us at any given point to ramp up our effort. As much as I loved the 50 min class I did feel I didn't push myself enough so I headed to the treadmill shortly after for a 30 min run. The instructor did tell me though as it was my first time back in a few months that it is a good gauge for me to push myself a little harder at my next class which of course I WILL! Plus my legs are STILL so sore from my Body Pump class the day before. Such great calorie burners.

After class I went on a bit of explore around the city as the weather was the nicest it has been since I got here, and came across a wholefoods store!!!

I must have looked like the Cheshire cat as I scoured through all the shelves and came up with quite some treats. I did manage to buy some salted brewer's yeast which I was told is the same as nutritional yeast however any research I have done online says contrary to this. Does anyone else know any more about this?

This was my little stash I came away with, but rest assured I'll be back there again before I leave:

The assistant also gave me some lovely vegan and vegan friendly restaurants to try out and I came across one of them on my walk home. They were close to closing time, however I still hadn't eaten my lunch so I popped into the cafe and and grabbed this for take out:

Green bean salad (with ginger yum) and some kind of veggie bake

This was amazing! I just love how my taste buds have dramatically changed to absolutely adore this kind of food.

For dinner I decided to make Kristen's Garden Guacamole which she posted a few days ago. She has been living out of an apartment similar to me living out of a hotel (only she has a kitchen and I have to wash my dishes in the bathtub!) This is my latest FAVOURITE staple so expect me to eat this quite a bit from now on. I just loved the colours.

I plated the guac on mixed leaves of rocket (arugula) and baby spinach.

I headed out in the evening with some new friends to a wine bar and although I only had two red wines, when I came home I was hanging for something with some heaviness. Step in the crackers...and the left over guac. Gone are the days of calorie laden kebabs and hot chips, I really wanted the guac!!!

I had the last 3 crackers in the pack. And washed it down with a green tea before crawling into bed.

This morning I woke up with the heaviest legs (body pump!) and although I had planned to do another BP today, I just couldn't get out of bed as my pillows and stack of books seemed more inviting so decided a rest day was on the cards and a smoothie to sip on:

This one was the last of the cabbage, handful of baby spinach, 1 red apple, 2 kiwis and 2 bananas and some spirulina to give it that yummy green colour.

I finished off my day with a mixed green salad of baby spinach, rocket, bean shoots, alfalfa and wait for it....Kristen's Tuscan Sundried Tomato Pesto as I made here. As I don't have a processor with me, I used the Vitamix which was adequate, not as smooth as the processor would make but it hit the spot!!! You rock Kristen!!!! And so does hotel room dining hehe.

Anyway, sorry guys for such a heavy post, but I'll leave you on this note.

Tomorrow is the beginning of International Vegetarian Month and in honour of it I will be participating in Vegan Mofo III (you can read more about it here). Basically the rules are, all participants need to post every week day for the month of Oct and include this banner on each post.

Well this should be fun!

I hope you enjoy!

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4 comments:

The Voracious Vegan said...

ROBYN THE PRESSURE! I can't handle the pressure! You AND Cody have totally teemed up on me. He wants me to make mac and cheese every day, so now I have to give in and make it and write down the proper recipe. Thank you for all the sweet words!

Your food looks AWESOME, especially that guacomole. You know how much I love avocados.

And NO, I know for a fact that brewers yeast is NOT the same as nutritional yeast, in fact, I made that mistake once and BLECH! never again. I'm not sure if salted brewers yeast would make it any different. Just taste it, if it taste like delicious, heavenly amazing cheese, then you've got the right stuff. :-)

I LOVE that Tuscan pesto, it is amazing. I am planning to make more tomorrow or the next day.

And YAY for VeganMoFo!

September 30, 2009 6:46 PM

Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) said...

Pumpkin spice muffies, the company of other awesome raw hotties, pumpkin seed crackers, beet salad, guac...holy crap my lady, I don't even know where begin but I'd start with hangin out with the chicas and you :) Glad you liked the cheesecake on my bloggie today, it's bangin girl, make it!

September 30, 2009 9:22 PM

Lori-Pure2Raw said...

Wow you have been a busy bee haven't you. It all looks amazing! I love spin classes too, though only when it is a good instructor! Now, from my research and knowledge I believe brewers yeast and nutritional yeast are two different things. I just use nutritional yeast! And boy to I love it!!!!

October 01, 2009 12:11 AM

Paige@ Running Around Normal said...

All that food looks so good! Pumpkin crackers? Never heard of them, but they sound great!

October 01, 2009 3:44 AM

Posted by: Dr. Mercola

September 05 2009

Chickens refusing to eat the maize they had been fed has led to the discovery that their feed had been genetically modified to include a well-known weed and insect killer.

Strilli Oppenheimer’s indigenous African chickens were refusing to eat the mealies in the chicken feed bought from a large supplier. Concerned that the birds may be ingesting genetically modified maize, she had the maize tested.

The results confirmed Oppenheimer's initial suspicion -- the maize had been genetically engineered to produce proteins that are toxic to certain insects and weeds.

About her chickens' refusal to eat their maize, Oppenheimer said: "They're smart."

Sources:

GM Watch August 2, 2009

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

When an animal refuses to eat its regular feed it is oftentimes a clear sign that something is wrong with the food. Animals, as opposed to humans, tend to have a “sixth sense” about what’s safe to eat, and what’s not.

A 2003 report on the British Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) web site states that both experimental and anecdotal evidence shows animals seek to avoid GM food, and do not thrive if given no other choice.

In this case, the chicken feed turned out to contain BT1, an insecticide, plus built-in Roundup that makes it weed resistant.

If GM Crops Harm Animals, What are They Doing to You?

GM corn found itself in the hot seat late last year, after a highly reputable study commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety discovered that mice fed GM corn had significantly smaller and fewer offspring compared to the control group.

The lead author of the study stated there was a direct link between the GM diet and reduced fertility.

Likewise, Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, has documented 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds. Among them:

• Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce

• Male mice fed GM soy had damaged sperm

• The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning

• Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties

So the question is, what do these foods do to your body?

Personally, I strongly believe that genetically modified foods are a significant threat against the very sustainability of the human race.

The available research shows incriminating links between the side effects of GM foods and diseases that have skyrocketed since the release of GM ingredients into our food supply, such as autoimmune diseases and severe food allergies.

GM Foods are Flawed Scientific Dogma Run Amok

The well-known scientist Dr. Arpad Pusztai stated in an article last year,

“Reality really started to dawn on genetic scientists with the completion of the human genome project showing that the dogma of genetic determinism, the science basis of genetic engineering was untrue, as the less than 30,000 genes could not possibly code for the about 200,000 cellular proteins.

It was also realized that the about 97 percent non-gene “junk” DNA has a decisive role in the genome. Our primitive splicing techniques together with our inability to direct the transgene into “safe” zones in the genome, if such zones exist at all, were shown to lead to insertional mutagenesis with unpredictable consequences.

Although it is impossible to forecast in advance what these consequences for health and the environment will be, a few independent studies have already shown… new anti-nutrients, toxins, and allergens were formed as by-products of gene-splicing, and other, mainly unpredictable immunity-related problems also occurred.

… the industry still hangs on to the less costly but unscientific principle of “substantial equivalence”, i.e. the near identity of the GE crop with its parent line, as their main “safety testing,” and only commission simple contract animal feeding/production studies as a last resort to support their case of human/animal safety.

In fact, there are hardly more than over two dozens of published academic animal safety studies, and the results of only one human trial have been published, and even that was not a full clinical study (Netherwood et al. 2004).”

Dr. Pusztai’s earlier research into the effects of GM potatoes showed that rats suffered from weakened immune systems and stunted growth of their internal organs, including the liver, kidneys and brain, on such a diet. There is also compelling evidence indicating GM potatoes may cause cancer.

As is frequently the case, Dr. Pusztai’s disturbing findings of the human nutritional consequences of GM foods cost him his job. The British Rowett Research Institute fired him in 1998, as the results had far-reaching implications for the biotech industry, which insisted that GM products would not have any adverse effects on human health.

You are Part of a Massive Experiment

Some seem to believe that genetically modified animal feed will not cause any undue effects in the human body. This is flawed thinking at its finest. After all, we are part of the food chain!

Those who believe that what they eat will not affect them simply do not understand the basics of how the human body works.

The Soil Association, a British environmental charity, stated in their report, “GM Crops—The Health Effects,” that international research has found that milk, eggs and meat from GM-fed animals still contain the foreign DNA originally inserted into the GM crop.

The authors concluded, that “there are very good scientific reasons for being concerned about the safety of GM crops.”

With the abundance of GM ingredients currently being used in processed foods of all kinds, you are likely exposed to FAR more GM DNA than you ever thought.

Conventional Media Silence

Did you see the headline, “The American Academy Of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) Calls For Immediate Moratorium On Genetically Modified Foods”?

It’s quite likely you didn’t, but as recently as May 19^th, 2009, the AAEM sent out a press advisory calling on physicians to “educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible, and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.”

They also advised that physicians should “consider the role of GM foods in their patients' disease processes.”

In their position paper, the AAEM states that several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM foods, including:

• Infertility

• Immune problems

• Accelerated aging

• Insulin regulation

• Changes in major organs

• Gastrointestinal changes and problems

Do you suffer from any of these ailments? And if so, have you taken a long, hard look at what’s in your diet?

Perhaps you should.

The AAEM concludes,

“There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There iscausation, as defined by recognized scientific criteria. The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”

Shocking Examples of Harm Caused by GM Crops

• A study in the European Journal of Histochemistry reported that more than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, compared to a 10 percent death rate among the control group fed natural soy.
  

• Since 2003 Indian farmers have been reporting deaths of thousands of sheep and other small livestock who graze on post-harvest fields. At no time before in India’s history has cattle died from this practice.
  
  In 2006, more than 1,800 sheep died after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops in four Indian villages. The symptoms and post-mortem findings strongly suggested they died from severe toxicity, most likely from the Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt) toxin, which is incorporated in the genetically modified crops. Bt is a naturally occurring, toxic bacteria common in soils across the globe. Several strains can infect and kill insects.
  

• In a recent article, Jeffrey M. Smith describes how about two dozen U.S. farmers reported that thousands of pigs became sterile after consuming certain GM corn varieties. Some had false pregnancies; others gave birth to bags of water.
  
  Cows and bulls also became infertile when fed the same corn.
  

• Likewise, India has reported that buffalo that ate GM cottonseed had complications such as premature deliveries, spontaneous abortions, infertility, and prolapsed uteruses. Many of the offspring died.

Which Foods are Most Likely to be Genetically Modified … and How Can You Avoid Them?

Nearly all of these foods are GM, and therefore best to avoid:

• Soy
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Canola

It would also be wise to limit products made from these ingredients, such as vegetable oils, maltodextrin, and high-fructose corn syrup. In fact, because corn and soy are so widely used in processed foods, at least 70 percent of the processed foods at your supermarket contain GM ingredients.

That’s seven out of every 10 products!

Other GMO products include:

• Some varieties of zucchini, crookneck squash, and papayas from Hawaii
• Milk containing rbGH
• Rennet (containing genetically modified enzymes) used to make hard cheeses
• Aspartame (NutraSweet)

Avoiding all of the products listed above, unless they are certified organic, is one way to cut down on your intake of GM foods. Buying products that are certified organic or that say non-GMO are other ways you can limit your family‘s risk from GM foods, as organic foods are not allowed to contain GM ingredients.

You can also tell GM foods by their PLU sticker:

• A four-digit number means the produce is conventionally grown

• A five-digit number beginning with 9 means it's organic

• A five-digit number beginning with 8 means it's GM

Particularly in the United States, where GM products are not required to be labeled, it can be difficult to eat a GM-free diet. But there are some resources available to help you.

I recommend downloading the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, issued by the Institute for Responsible Technology. They also offer some helpful basic advice for how to avoid GMO’s when eating in restaurants.

In conclusion, remember to never underestimate the power of your pocketbook. If more of us begin to refuse GM foods, food manufacturers will have no choice but to listen.

One thing is for sure: if we do not put a stop to the spread of GM foods, our future generations may be forever saddled with needless health problems. If you haven’t yet taken the time to watch The Future of Food, please do so now. It’s a real eye-opener, and perhaps one of the most important videos on this subject.

I urge you to see it, and pass it on to everyone you know.