edamame3's Journal

Veganmania
Oct 11 2009 01:01

Today was veganmania fest in Chicago; kind of like a Taste of Chicago but vegan...fabulous food, wonderful entertainment (poi dancers, bellydancers, electronica spinners, folk singers, etc), concious vendors, freebies, samples, cool clothes, amazing speakers...what a wonderful day!

Brunch: a small sample plate from Soul Vegetarian East, consisting of a couple of strips of barbecue seitan, collard greens and vegan mac and cheese.

Lunch: Mac the Chip cookie (like 500cals...) and a vegan hot dog on a whole wheat bun from Veggie Bite

Dinner: an oatmeal bar, a handful of almonds and a small square of dark chocolate.

Surprising that I didn't sample more than I did...but not so surprising if you consider the line went on FOREVER and I am not one who likes to wait in lines. I got one of the first samples from Soul Veg East, because I was one of the first there. By lunchtime, however, I was not having it.

Renacida en Ahimsa
Oct 09 2009 13:53

Breakfast: Amy's Tofu Scrambler with Hashbrowns and two big heaping bowls of mixed greens.

Snack/Lunch: 1 chopped raw gala apple with a drizzle of agave, cinnamon and a small handful of raw almonds mixed in.

Dinnerish:

1 soy yogurt with ezekial flax cereal sprinkled on top

2 cups broccoli

1 apple sauteed with smart balance and agave and cinnamon, with raw almonds and oatmeal sprinkled on top.

Bally's Total Fitness
Dec 02 2008 23:37

Ugh...

So, I had the second of three scheduled interviews today at Bally's Total Fitness. The first guy I interviewed with is all over me for some reason; I didn't think I was THAT impressive...maybe they're desperate for trainers?

Whatever it is, I went to the club to workout for the first time (I'm a Lifetime Fitness member, so I've never been to Bally's), and ugh...

talk about meat market!

This place was DRIPPING with testosterone! Men grunting and working out, staring at me VERY obviously as they complete their reps...watching me jog around the track...going so far as to wink and wave...SO MANY FREAKING MEN! And, to top it off, I'd be like the only female trainer there...and all the male trainers are so...beefy...

One of the trainers kept making eye contact and giving me sleazy looks, then came over and was like 'You're going to train here, you think?' Which is perfectly fine small talk, mind you, but while he said it, he kept glancing up and down my body. Jesus! The judgement!

Beyond that, all the equipment there was kinda...shitty...I was stretching on a yoga mat and noticed some dried crusty peice of body part...skin? I don't know...whatever it was, I ditched the mat and just stretched on the carpet. They had ONE stability ball next to a depleted mini dumbell rack; the rest of the strength training was devised of rusty machines.

In the bathrooms, the showers were all rusty and soap ringy and the toilet room itself had a streak of rust running down the wall.

I wasn't too fond of any of the equipment...if I were to train someone, I would much prefer the lifetime setup: lots of stability balls of all different sizes, lots of dumbells available in all different weights, free motion machines, lots of fun proprioceptive enriching devices available like BOSU, Dino Discs, and foam rolls for self myofascial releasing. Part of this is because Lifetime is kind of custom tailored to the NASM certification, which I have. It feels as if Bally's is tailored to ACE. NASM places a big focus on the Stabilization phase, which comes before the strength training stage, that helps the body prepare for regular exercise and prevents injury. It is the ideal phase for the beginning or deconditioned client. And let's face it, the majority of our clients, and the majority of the population, for that matter, are beginners or deconditioned.

So, I called Lifetime and said 'let's talk.'

But I feel really bad because that guy at Bally's really seems to be into me, and impressed with my background and stuff. I'm bad at saying no.

Looks like at 12 tommorow, I'll have to. *sigh*

Today I had Buffalo.
Oct 27 2008 20:50

Yeah, doesn't seem like a big deal, it's just that 90% of the time I am raw vegan, and I work in a raw vegan restaurant. I feel like I am sort of held to a standard...

The thing is, I don't really have that big of a problem with meat, per se, especially if it is undercooked meat (i.e., with the enzymes intact). I have a problem with factory and farm raised meat. There's a big difference.

The two meats I will eat on occasion are grass fed wild buffalo, and krill fed wild salmon.

Farmed salmon are usually fed grain, and their flesh is dyed with food coloring to give it that 'nice pink' color. Buffalo are not typically raised the same way cows are, therefore the general opinion among bison afficianados is that buffalo 'tastes the way beef used to taste' back in the good ol' days when we didn't inject and genetically modify our food.

As far as energetic issues go where meat is concerned, I have some issues I am working out right now. Meat is death energy, meat is dark, cooked meat putrifies in the system...but, it is that time of year when we greet our dark side(Samhain), when we embrace the darkness and learn from it.

I like to look at meat the way the native Americans looked at meat. You are consuming the animal, and that animal is thereby becoming a part of you. It is respectful to look at the animal that way, and it also makes one picky about the source of their meat (after all, the meat WILL become you, literally!).

I'm preparing to go on a raw vegan fast with a focus on vegetables and fruit (i.e. low protein, not much nuts) before my Reiki attunement this Thursday.

But yeah. The long and the short of it is I ate buffalo today, and that is significant for an otherwise raw vegan person.

Kinda freaking out...
Oct 11 2008 00:36

Um yeah so I might have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

One of the main symptoms is sudden death.

That's right, that's a symptom.

I find out on Wednesday. *sigh*...

Oct 07 2008 12:13

Breakfast: Smoothie with 2 tbsp raw cacao powder, 1.5 tbsp soaked chia seeds, 1 young coconut meat and water, tons and tons of curly red kale, 1 tbsp raw unfiltered local honey, and one banana.

Lunch: A heaping plate full of shredded carrots, kale and swiss chard, with olive oil-chive dressing, a bowl of raw tomato gazpacho, and two pieces of sprouted buckwheat bread with a red pepper cashew cheese.

Dessert: A small slice of 'blueberry pie) (dates and blueberries and pecans, really) with a scoop of cashew vanilla bean 'ice cream' and a handful of frozen wild blueberries sprinkled over it.

Dinner: A zucchini spiralized to make 'noodles' with 2 tbsp raw heirloom tomato and red pepper marinara, with a tablespoon of a green vegetable superfood supplement sprinkled on top for 'parmesan'.

Still Sugar Free
Feb 25 2008 23:30

So it's my birthday on Thursday. I'll be 23. Guess what Life's birthday present to me is? That's right. Curse of the Celts. Rosacea.

I mean, every time I get out of the shower, my skin is red and blotchy and...well, pretty much classically rosacea-ish. My mom has rosacea. My aunt Kathy has rosacea. So I'm pretty much screwed.

Well, today I picked up a Dr. Weil anti-inflammation skin-care kit that supposedly really helps with rosacea, so we'll see how that works. I also stopped wearing foundation. We'll see if any of that helps.

Petar and I took a walk in the snow today. Big, wet snowflakes falling lazily from the sky; everything was glittery and powdery and beautiful. The moon cast a lovely glow on everything; it was magical. (by the way, BARF to every adjective I just used!)

As much as I am deliberating about my own existance lately (i.e. is there a God, is there an afterlife, what is conciousness, etc), I couldn't help but feel out there that life really is a gift...I mean, even if this is it and when we die, we die and there's nothing else, I just felt really thankful that I got the chance to be here and experience all this. I feel really thankful that I was either chosen by the universe to be here, or really lucky that some biological fluke happened and here I am. Either way, it's entirely worth it.