beautiful-vegan tv!

This is what I've been doing in my spare time! Introducing my friend Claire- you'll love her. We're going all over the place bringing you interviews, information, product reviews, veggie-friendly places to visit and a whole lot of goofing around! The first episode is on vegan chocolate!! I'll post it very soon. It's almost ready. Once I put it up on youtube you can watch it in HD.


Please tell your friends. If you use facebook I would love it if you put up a link. Thanks,
Lyn
x

Banning organic farming?? Are you kidding?

Can someone please tell me if this is for real?? There is no way this could be happening. It's all over the net.

Almost Raw Stir-Fry!

Good morning to anyone who is reading this! I've been 85% to 90% RAW for the past month, and some days it's 100%! I feel great. Really great. My energy is higher, my skin is detoxing and my tummy is tighter than it was. I'm being gentle on myself though, and trying not get upset when I do eat a bite of what Josh and James are having.

I started quite a while ago to introduce more and more raw food into my meals by making the sauces for pasta or rice in a blender (raw) with lots of nice spices and flavours etc. Then it becomes warm when I pour it over the dish and add fresh cut veggies to top it off! The whole family actually prefers it this way and it tastes way better than the cooked versions because we can really get the flavours of the vegetables coming through. The colours are vibrant too!


You can do this with anything you make and gradually build up to a raw lifestyle. I do believe, even though i still like to make cakes and other cooked food, that the raw diet is the way to go (not to scare anyone off, but I feel much better eating this way I have to admit). It might seem crazy to some people, but you should at least try it for a month and you'll know what I'm talking about. Also watch the movie  
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

I took this photo of my almost raw stir-fry yesterday! The only thing in it that is cooked are the leeks. The rest is shredded carrots, chopped celery, raw tahini, cold pressed olive oil, cayenne pepper, freshly ground black pepper, raw apple cider vinegar, sea salt, beet root, a bit of raw agave nectar (to give it a bit of sweetness), and curry powder. Then I let it sit for a while to marinate in the sauce, which allows the flavours to absorb and the vegetables to become softer, as if you have cooked them. It was delicious! Today I had left over so I added some fresh tomatoes and avocado to it- sooo good.

Spring!

This is how big Josh is now (my son)! He's full of life and has a great sense of humour that keeps me laughing, even when I'm upset at him. It's spring and Canadians, as much as we are used to extreme weather changes, are happy to feel warmer air on our skin. I had a dream that it went from winter cold to summer hot, and that is the way it has been going in the past several years. There is a saying that we no longer have spring or fall, just winter and summer.

I hope everyone in the world is waking up to a good day. I wish I could meet all of you. I want to learn new languages and go to all of your towns and countries. As it is I speak English, French and a decent amount of Spanish. I want to somehow make a difference in the world, I just don't know how yet. Have a beautiful day and try to forget about your worries by looking up into the sky and remembering the wonder that is the entire universe.

Movie Trailer: The End Of America... An Alarming Documentary by Naomi Wolf

I just watched the documentary The End of America and it chilled me to the bone. Everyone should watch it no matter where you come from. Some of you might say "what does this have to do with veganism?" Well everything is connected to everything, and when we open our eyes a surprising thing can happen- we wake up; and when we wake up we see that eating dead animals is ridiculous.
Here is the link where you can watch the whole movie (and any other movie you want to watch on-line for free):
www.watch-movies-links.net and www.ninjavideo.net (for ninja video you have to click the red writing below the movie screen and a small window will pop up in a few seconds- click on "trust" and then double click on the play button to start the video).

here's a tip though: Don't watch anything from megavideo, they work fine for the first 70 minutes and then ask you to pay for the rest (sneaky). You don't have to download the movies- you can just stream them. It's awesome. I don't feel bad about watching these movies for free because if it's actually a good film I will go watch it again on a big screen in a theatre. I'm not going to the theatre less- I'm just weeding out the crappy ones that are out there.

Spicy Raw Vegan Carrot Soup!

This is what I ate for dinner last night. I was feeling kind of down because I wanted something raw and James was frying up some vegan perogies with red onions. He suggested I make some kind of carrot soup- so I made up this recipe and it was the easiest thing. The flavours were out of this world and it filled me up really well.

Put these ingredients in a blender:

2 1/2 cups carrots (chopped) (that's about 2 largish carrots)
1/2 clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon tandoory masala (it's a spice you can find in spice shops)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons tahini (look for a raw one if you can)
1 small green onion
3 cups warm water (or heated a little on the stove- but not so hot that you couldn't put your finger in it)


1. Blend until smooth and serve. That's it! You'll love it. I garnished it with shredded cucumber, a few drops of olive oil and a sprinkle of tandoory masala. Serves 3 large bowls or 4 smaller ones. Took me under 5 minutes to make!

Frozen CreamBerry Heaven!

This is the frozen version of the recipe below! It is absolutely delicious (I'm eating it right now).

This Saturday my friend Claire and I will be at the Wychwood Barns Farmer's Market between 10 and 12pm with a little HD video camera. We are starting to interview beautiful vegans all over the place, visiting vegan-friendly shops, talking about different products we love and preparing some of our raw and not so raw recipes for you! Keep your eyes open and get ready for beautiful-vegan TV!

If anyone has ideas on what they'd like to see you can email me or leave a message under one of my posts. I would love to hear from you! See you soon.

A creamy (and way better!) alternative to yougurt

This is something I whipped up this morning before I went to work. I froze half of it and ate the rest for breakfast. I'll photograph the frozen nogurt tomorrow so you can see how versatile this recipe is. If you have a very powerful blender like the vitamix blender then you can do it all together- otherwise do it like this:

In a blender:

1 1/2 cups 'raw', unsalted cashews
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or a small bit of scraped vanilla bean
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor:

4 cups frozen (or fresh) berries of any kind
3 Teaspoons fresh lime juice
then add what was in your blender to the food processor until it becomes smooth.

That's it! You can use it for a breakfast, snack or desert. I added some shredded apple and blueberries- Awesome!

 

Sweet Cashew Coconut Balls on a Fruit Plate with Chopped Almonds and Birch Syrup

This is a decadent breakfast indeed! You can make the cashew coconut balls very easily and quickly in a food processor. I'll post the recipe soon.

Some events that might be of interest if you're in Toronto

3 Things You Can Do Right NOW to Find Love:

1. Change one Thing:

Change one thing a day. It can be something as simple as eating a fruit you've never tried, having a tea in the morning at a new coffee house, or taking a different route to work. Here is why: Most people are creatures of habit, eating the same range of foods they're used to, going to the same places and traveling the same paths to get to and from those places. Now if the love of your life is one of those creatures of habit he or she will walk down the same streets as usual and so will you. Unless one of you does something different you'll never run into each other.

This principle can be applied to a huge range of situations on your life. If you want new things to happen you have to do something NEW! The old saying you've probably heard goes like this: The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. So go ahead and shake things up!

2. Step outside of your comfort zone:

OK this is related to #1. but it requires a little more effort- not too much-but some. There is a stupid movie called The Yes Man and in the beginning there is a guy who never goes out with friends or coworkers, and never takes risks of any kind because he had his heart broken a while back. He thinks his life is fine until he loses most of his friends and one of them points out the fact that he never says yes to anything.

Soooo... he starts saying yes to a crazy number of propositions including internet ads, classes he finds on bulletin boards, and requests from homeless people. Of course it gets ridiculous, but he meets a girl (who is just as weird as he is), and they live happily ever after.

Alright I know it's a movie but it does work! I promise. Sign up on Meetup.com in your area and list all the nutty things you're interested in. They will send you information (via email) about all sorts of groups that have formed in your city and what they are up to. It's the greatest thing ever! Start going to potlucks, yoga class, hiking, concerts, sit in on a university class you think yo might like, go swimming at a local pool- the list is endless.

The point is that even though you may not feel completely comfortable doing new things the benefits will far outweigh the small discomfort.

3. Be open to receive what comes to you:

This one is simple- just take the headphones out of your ears, stop staring at your iphone on the subway, and if you're reading a book look up once in a while! Be aware of human beings around you that you might be able to connect with if you weren't so tuned out. Now get out there and find that elusive love!

Earth: movie trailer

OK I know this is a Disney movie, but I think they did a good job, (at least in the trailer), at bringing our eyes to our planet as a whole, using animals to draw similarities between us and them. We sometimes forget what the hell we're doing all of this for. I'm vegan because I care about the bigger picture- all of us, the entire world, little me and you- turns out we do make a difference.

We get so bogged down with the details and routines of every day life that we need something to snap us out of our stupor. Call a friend right now!

How to make a vegan breakfast that rocks!

This is what I had for breakfast and it's Joshua's favorite at the moment.
How do you make it?

1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (I use frozen mixed berries because it's winter in Canada and the fresh berries are not local)
1/4 cup rolled oats or granola
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 Tablespoon agave nectar (or maple syrup)
3 Tablespoons water
a handful of raw, unsalted almonds


1. Put the berries in a small pot on low heat with the agave nectar or maple syrup.
2. Stir it until the juices start coming out (a couple of minutes)
3. Stir in the coconut, rolled oats and water.
4. Serve and top with chopped raw almonds.

Easy as pie! (OK easier than pie). It has a wonderful flavour and texture so try it yourself. Your kids will love it and the sugar content is minimal. You don't really have to cook it, especially if the berries are fresh. You just want the juices to come out to mix with the coconut and oats, so you can simply press them with a fork instead of heating it. This recipe serves 1 so adjust it with the number of people you are making it for.

Hello to Everyone!

Good morning to everyone who is visiting me from different countries in the world! I'm always so happy to see flags from people I've never met, yet have some connection with through this blog. I've only been to 9 countries so far (James has been to 32), but I will come and visit you in my lifetime!

I want to see everything there is to see. I also think it's important for all of us to explore our own countries though. Every place on earth has gifts to offer us and we should take full advantage. Many people would love to visit your country and mine, so look at the beauty around you.

This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago when we went hiking at Webster Falls, Ontario. Winter becomes more bearable, even enjoyable, when you dress warmly and get outside.

Canada Goose on a Very Small Island

James took this one yesterday while we were out on the Leslie Spit. Everything was melting and spring-like.

How to find Jewels

Today James and I went on a long hike to the end of the Leslie Spit and found treasure in the form of a huge field of washed-smooth bricks, and art work or sorts. Unfortunately I love this sort of thing so much that I lugged home several of what I saw as perfect candle holders (I'm blogging by candle light right now- heehee).

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that the February blaws got the best of me and I coloured my hair dark (if you were wondering who that dreaded person in the photo is).

To find treasure you have to look for it in places you've never looked before. Go on an adventure within your own city or venture off to a different country, but look past the polished surfaces of tourist traps and people who tell you what is beautiful.

Here's why worm composting is good for the environment

I'm Worm Composting... Finally!

I forgot to tell you some exciting and weird news... I'm composting with worms (otherwise known as vermicomposting). I learned a bit about it in Costa Rica on the organic farm, and have been wanting to do it in my home for some time. I'm still really freaked out by them, but I followed Cathy's instructions (the Queen of Worms) - go to her website and click on instructions at www.cathyscomposters.com.

Cathy was encouraging, telling me that she was also scared of worms before she got into it. They basically eat your food scraps (not meat or dairy though), and produce beautiful, rich soil for you to use in your garden and house plants. So far so good- they seem like they're happy (although I don't speak worm yet).

If you are vegan you probably don't have any egg shells to give them to reduce the acidity of the food scraps, so you just pick up some calcium carbonate from a gardening centre, or do what I do... crush up sea shells (I have millions of them from my travels), and sprinkle a hand full in once a week. I use a mortar and pestle and it takes seconds to make into a powder.

Cathy also told me that what we do here in Toronto with our Green Bin Program is not composting- it's just rotting food that we keep in our kitchens in sealed bins that produces methane, amplifying the greenhouse problem.

So let's do it! Go get yourself some red wrigglers (I think that's what she called them) and start your own vermiculture farm in your home.

Earthbag Dome Houses for the World- a movie trailer

Earthbag Building Book that I love!

Earthbag Building is a book that I've mentioned before, but I thought I'd put the image up so you can see what I'm talking about if you are not familiar with it. Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer are the authors, and they did a talk at Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto last summer, which James attended.

Earthbag building is the way to go as far as I'm concerned, to solve the problem of homelessness around the world. In colder climates, of course, we will have to insulate the structures (with straw bales around the outside??), but it is the cheapest, strongest and most simple way of building a house. Depending on what design you choose, wood can be completely eliminated from your house, and therefore a huge amount of the cost is reduced immediately.

Straw Bale building is growing in popularity, and that's a good thing, but the cost is almost equal to building a regular old house, which is not an option for most people, unless we were to take out a mortgage (literal translation means 'death pledge'), that we will pay off for the next 50 years.

The book Earthbag Building literally takes you step by step in the building process, with lots of easy to understand diagrams and photographs. Their sense of humour and clarity make it a pleasant read and I recommend it to everyone. If you are in Toronto go to Fertile Ground Environmental Books Store (and support the little place which is 3 blocks south of Young and Bloor on a street called Irwin Avenue). Their website has a really great selection of environmental topics to look through www.fgbooks.com.

Vandana Shiva, on water security

Vandana Shiva is one of my heroes, and if you have never heard her speak you are missing out on some serious inspiration for creating change on this planet. There are many of her lectures on youtube but I'll start you off with this one. This is only part one of several so click on the image to go straight to youtube to watch the rest. What a beautiful woman!

Summer in Toronto

Kensington Market. I can't wait until sumer comes- the countdown is on!

oh, those vegans...

What you don't see in this photo is that James and Josh are attempting to skate down hill on the same skateboard. I won't put up the photo that I captured after the attempt.

Mocha Latte Cake!

I made this for a dinner party and it was gone in 5 minutes! The flavour pairings are beautiful. I definitely recommend making it with this icing.

Cake: dry ingredients:
3 c unbleached flour
1 t cinnamon powder
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/3 c vanilla custard powder (most custard powders are vegan)
3/4 t sea salt
4 T instant coffee granules put through a fine sieve (not coffee grinds or it will be gritty)
1/2 t cream of tartar (not crucial to the recipe, but if you have it add it)
Cake: wet ingredients:
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 T apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar if you don't have it)
2 c water (or milk of choice, but I used water and it was perfect)
2 t vanilla extract

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until the batter is blended well.
3. oil 2 pans with vegan margarine or vegetable oil and pour the batter into each one. (you can also make one large flat cake)
4. put it in the oven on the middle rack on 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out dry when you poke it.
* When ever I make up a new recipe I divide the batter into two cake pans and make two smaller cakes so I can taste one before I bring the other to a dinner party. That's why the photo looks like a little hill and not a traditionally shaped cake.

Icing:

3 c raw unsalted cashews
2 T vanilla extract
1/4 c agave nectar
1/2 t sea salt
3 T water
3/4 c margarine (vegan margarine)
1 c icing sugar
3 T custard powder

1. mix all of the ingredients in a food processor until creamy and smooth.
2. wait until cake cools and spread over it, and in between the two layers.
3. crush 2 cups raw almonds with a large knife on a cutting board and pat them into the icing. Then drizzle with agave nectar and sprinkle with cinnamon powder (to make it look pretty). Love it!

PS. This is not one of those good-for-you, health nut cakes- it's down-and-dirty-rich... (it just doesn't happen to have any animals in it). So don't eat it every day is what I'm getting at. It will put on the pounds if you do.

Inspiration for the masses: Man On Wire movie trailer

James and I watched the movie Man On Wire last night and loved it. It won an Oscar for Best Documentary (which doesn't always mean it's an awesome movie), but this time I agree with the choice (although there were plenty of great documentaries this past year).

The inspiration I felt after watching Man On Wire made everything I've hoped for seem possible. If a man can string a wire between the World Trade Centre buildings and dance across it risking death only because it's something he's always wanted to do...then what's standing in my way for things that don't even risk my life?? It really put things in perspective for me and I think everyone should watch it.