This weekend I had the pleasure of going to the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. I went last year and felt the festival was stronger this year in terms of speakers. I got to meet one of my vegetarian food idols, Nava Atlas, who did a food prep demonstration based off her new book Wild About Greens (of course I bought it). I also met Ayinde Howell of I Eat Grass. Real down to earth dude who can cook his ass off. Too bad he wasn't on the list of speakers this year but he will be if I have anything to do with it.
I love going to these festivals as it is a great opportunity to sample new foods and get books, clothing and products on discount. This year was no exception. Thanks to all the samples of deli meats, ice cream, cupcakes, raw energy bars, smoothies, probiotic drinks, mock meats, vegan seafood (vegan scallops? Abject fail!), kale salads, baked or dehydrated vegetable chips, etc, I didn't have to buy a meal. Thus I could buy books and performance gear that says "No Meat Athlete-Runs on Plants". It was the vegetarian/vegan flea market of my dreams. I look forward to next years festival.
I think I may want to become involved with planning next years event. Stay tuned.
Blessed be..
BSW
PS-Festival season is upon us. The Green Festival will take place at the Jacob Javits Center April 20-21, 2013. I enjoyed last year's festival and will go again this year. Discount tickets are available according to the flyer I was given. Check out www.greenfestivals.org
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Whatcha doing?
It's been a couple of weeks since I posted last and wanted to give you an update on what's been going on in my life.
On February 10th, I went to a vegan bake-off contest. The event was sold out which is a win for vegan cooking. I will say it was a little disheartening to be one of the very few persons of color there as contestants and patrons. I intend to contact the organizers and encourage them to broaden their advertising, which I attribute to the lack of diversity in the crowd.
I will start off by saying that I admire anyone who puts themselves out there to be judged by total strangers. Cooking is such a personal endeavor that the idea of comparing your cooking to someone else is a little weird.
However...
There were 20 contestants with a variety of desserts.Some of the desserts were really good. Some tasted like agave sweetened saw dust. I had a Cinnamon Maple cupcake that blew my mind and a raw vegan cheesecake that I got two helpings of. Just be careful of the cookies. And desserts that look like crap rolled in dough and sprinkled with chocolate chips. All in all, for a $15 ticket, I got my monies worth of sweets.
The NYC Vegetarian Festival is happening the first weekend in March. I caught a Living Social deal and got tickets for both days. I have gone to this festival the last two years and really enjoy myself. Of course I see the Who's Who in veggie health and wellness. I usually go to score products on the cheap. I got me some bomb-ass pickled peppers and coconut oil for about 60% off retail last year. Plus, it serves as an opportunity to network with people and organizations interested in sustainability, food justice and food security issues. I write a post about that another time.
This Saturday, I'm going to see Sankofa, a dance production by MUV (Movement for the Urban Village). I know the director of this small dance company (we take yoga together) and she is such a dynamic woman. Dance is my favorite artistic style, so anytime I can see a dance production I take full advantage. And indie companies are putting on some of the best works I have in some time. I encourage you to support small, independent companies of all stripes to keep the universal creative juice flowing.
Blessed be...
On February 10th, I went to a vegan bake-off contest. The event was sold out which is a win for vegan cooking. I will say it was a little disheartening to be one of the very few persons of color there as contestants and patrons. I intend to contact the organizers and encourage them to broaden their advertising, which I attribute to the lack of diversity in the crowd.
I will start off by saying that I admire anyone who puts themselves out there to be judged by total strangers. Cooking is such a personal endeavor that the idea of comparing your cooking to someone else is a little weird.
However...
There were 20 contestants with a variety of desserts.Some of the desserts were really good. Some tasted like agave sweetened saw dust. I had a Cinnamon Maple cupcake that blew my mind and a raw vegan cheesecake that I got two helpings of. Just be careful of the cookies. And desserts that look like crap rolled in dough and sprinkled with chocolate chips. All in all, for a $15 ticket, I got my monies worth of sweets.
The NYC Vegetarian Festival is happening the first weekend in March. I caught a Living Social deal and got tickets for both days. I have gone to this festival the last two years and really enjoy myself. Of course I see the Who's Who in veggie health and wellness. I usually go to score products on the cheap. I got me some bomb-ass pickled peppers and coconut oil for about 60% off retail last year. Plus, it serves as an opportunity to network with people and organizations interested in sustainability, food justice and food security issues. I write a post about that another time.
This Saturday, I'm going to see Sankofa, a dance production by MUV (Movement for the Urban Village). I know the director of this small dance company (we take yoga together) and she is such a dynamic woman. Dance is my favorite artistic style, so anytime I can see a dance production I take full advantage. And indie companies are putting on some of the best works I have in some time. I encourage you to support small, independent companies of all stripes to keep the universal creative juice flowing.
Blessed be...
Friday, February 8, 2013
What did you learn? 30 day vegan challenge
Greetings all:
Well, I did it. I completed my 30-day vegan challenge as of February 2nd. It was an interesting experience, one that I will probably repeat.
But no time soon.
As I research the health studies, environmental impact studies, various spiritual and religious texts and animal rights books, I believe that veganism is probably the most optimal way to eat and live one's life. Something in my spirit tells me that I will stop being a slave to my taste buds and make the transition to veganism eventually.
But no time soon.
Overall, the combination of the dietary vegan and yoga challenge helped me lose about 7 pounds. As weight loss is primarily dietary, I am a little freaked out by the amount of weight I carry I can directly attribute to eggs and dairy. I felt my sleep quality (though not quantity) improved as well as my focus on tasks at hand. Spiritually, it felt good to know I wasn't participating in the suffering of animals for food (still have much to do with regard to wearing animal skins but that wasn't the purpose of this challenge).
However...
My craving for dairy never really abated. I've heard if you perform a task for 21-days straight, then that task becomes a habit. This didn't happen for me with this challenge which I secretly wished for. So it is with some trepidation that I mention how I ended my challenge- with blackened catfish and bourbon butter cake with whipped cream. From this place. Sinfully good.
So what does this mean? I am not in a place where I can fully commit to veganism. My will is weak when it comes to dairy and I need to meditate more, read more, journal more about why I am so attached to dairy. It isn't necessary for health but I feel "unsatisfied" when I have to consciously go without it for some time. This scares me a bit because it sounds like an addiction. And I don't know of any 12-step programs for dairy addicts.
I have decided that in order for me to transition to veganism, I have to do it gradually. Thus I will start with one day a week and slowly work my way up to everyday. Going cold turkey is too much of a shock for me.
Well, I did it. I completed my 30-day vegan challenge as of February 2nd. It was an interesting experience, one that I will probably repeat.
But no time soon.
As I research the health studies, environmental impact studies, various spiritual and religious texts and animal rights books, I believe that veganism is probably the most optimal way to eat and live one's life. Something in my spirit tells me that I will stop being a slave to my taste buds and make the transition to veganism eventually.
But no time soon.
Overall, the combination of the dietary vegan and yoga challenge helped me lose about 7 pounds. As weight loss is primarily dietary, I am a little freaked out by the amount of weight I carry I can directly attribute to eggs and dairy. I felt my sleep quality (though not quantity) improved as well as my focus on tasks at hand. Spiritually, it felt good to know I wasn't participating in the suffering of animals for food (still have much to do with regard to wearing animal skins but that wasn't the purpose of this challenge).
However...
My craving for dairy never really abated. I've heard if you perform a task for 21-days straight, then that task becomes a habit. This didn't happen for me with this challenge which I secretly wished for. So it is with some trepidation that I mention how I ended my challenge- with blackened catfish and bourbon butter cake with whipped cream. From this place. Sinfully good.
So what does this mean? I am not in a place where I can fully commit to veganism. My will is weak when it comes to dairy and I need to meditate more, read more, journal more about why I am so attached to dairy. It isn't necessary for health but I feel "unsatisfied" when I have to consciously go without it for some time. This scares me a bit because it sounds like an addiction. And I don't know of any 12-step programs for dairy addicts.
I have decided that in order for me to transition to veganism, I have to do it gradually. Thus I will start with one day a week and slowly work my way up to everyday. Going cold turkey is too much of a shock for me.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
On endings Day 19-24
So it been a week since I last wrote and I wanted to give an update on my 30-day challenges.
I am sad to report that I have been forced to end my 30-day yoga challenge due to the flu. I am not amused.
Here I am in the home stretch and BAM! The damn flu bug got me. I have been taken my Master Tonic everyday. I failed to take it one day and the next day I got sick. Makes me feel like something was trying to get me all along. Which is scary in and of itself.
I do not to take flu shots as I never had the flu. And call me paranoid, but I am a little leery about what is in these flu shots. Knowing the history of government "health" experiments, especially on people of color (see here, here, and here), I try not to take unnecessary inoculations or unnecessary medical interventions. None the less, here I am. Sick for three days and a failure.
Yes, a failure.
Now, I don't see a failure as a bad thing per se. A failure (n) is one who has not completed a stated goal or task. It is what it is. In our culture we all want to be winners and sometimes that isn't the case. Just as the sun doesn't shine everyday, we will not achieve all the goals we set for ourselves. This can be due to our actions, inaction or no fault of our own, as in my case.
That being said I learned the following:
1-Doing hot yoga everyday can be very challenging mentally, physically and spiritually. It can also be addictive. Many a day I found myself fiending like a junkie to get to class. Some days I wanted to do two classes but I knew that would be too much on my system.
2-In order for me to take on something like this, I have to have an external goal. I have a decent amount of self-motivation but this challenge made me realize I stick to a goal better if I am not the one who sets it. This isn't a good thing as I don't want to be a puppet.
3-Hot yoga is an awesome way to smooth cellulite. I assume all of the sweating and Utkatasana, Virabhadrasana I,II, and III and Bikram's Trikonasana helped. I am not cellulite free but I do notice a difference in the texture of my skin.
4-I am capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. Actually, we all are. Yoga allowed me to realize that I am limited by my mind and then pushed me beyond that. As a spiritual eclectic, yoga helped me become more in tune with the divinity within. Very much like prayer and meditation. Of course, working out in a 105 degree room will have you searching for The Higher Power.
Although I did not complete the 30-day challenge, I am pleased that I made the attempt. A good number of my yoga pals failed to complete the challenge as well and we are planning to try again, on our own, in February. As soon as I am better, I will be back on it. Who knows what other insights may be revealed.
Love, BSW
PS-The vegan challenge is still on! Having the flu lends itself very well to vegan food. There is no way I could eat dairy or eggs right now. Garlic, onions and ginger have become my healing trifecta. My vegan challenge ends on Saturday. I will give my take on that once it has ended.
I am sad to report that I have been forced to end my 30-day yoga challenge due to the flu. I am not amused.
Here I am in the home stretch and BAM! The damn flu bug got me. I have been taken my Master Tonic everyday. I failed to take it one day and the next day I got sick. Makes me feel like something was trying to get me all along. Which is scary in and of itself.
I do not to take flu shots as I never had the flu. And call me paranoid, but I am a little leery about what is in these flu shots. Knowing the history of government "health" experiments, especially on people of color (see here, here, and here), I try not to take unnecessary inoculations or unnecessary medical interventions. None the less, here I am. Sick for three days and a failure.
Yes, a failure.
Now, I don't see a failure as a bad thing per se. A failure (n) is one who has not completed a stated goal or task. It is what it is. In our culture we all want to be winners and sometimes that isn't the case. Just as the sun doesn't shine everyday, we will not achieve all the goals we set for ourselves. This can be due to our actions, inaction or no fault of our own, as in my case.
That being said I learned the following:
1-Doing hot yoga everyday can be very challenging mentally, physically and spiritually. It can also be addictive. Many a day I found myself fiending like a junkie to get to class. Some days I wanted to do two classes but I knew that would be too much on my system.
2-In order for me to take on something like this, I have to have an external goal. I have a decent amount of self-motivation but this challenge made me realize I stick to a goal better if I am not the one who sets it. This isn't a good thing as I don't want to be a puppet.
3-Hot yoga is an awesome way to smooth cellulite. I assume all of the sweating and Utkatasana, Virabhadrasana I,II, and III and Bikram's Trikonasana helped. I am not cellulite free but I do notice a difference in the texture of my skin.
4-I am capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. Actually, we all are. Yoga allowed me to realize that I am limited by my mind and then pushed me beyond that. As a spiritual eclectic, yoga helped me become more in tune with the divinity within. Very much like prayer and meditation. Of course, working out in a 105 degree room will have you searching for The Higher Power.
Although I did not complete the 30-day challenge, I am pleased that I made the attempt. A good number of my yoga pals failed to complete the challenge as well and we are planning to try again, on our own, in February. As soon as I am better, I will be back on it. Who knows what other insights may be revealed.
Love, BSW
PS-The vegan challenge is still on! Having the flu lends itself very well to vegan food. There is no way I could eat dairy or eggs right now. Garlic, onions and ginger have become my healing trifecta. My vegan challenge ends on Saturday. I will give my take on that once it has ended.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
On reaching milestones Day 14-18
I reached my 1/2 way mark for my challenges! This is a big milestone for me because this is the longest I have consistently done yoga and eaten vegan in my life. I am so proud of myself for maintaining this long. I honestly thought I would have fallen off the wagon already but here I am. Don't worry, I have already patted myself on the back but you can pat me too if you feel so inclined.
I have been busy the last couple of days with spider bites (yikes!), dates with Honey Bear and general foolishness. This week doesn't look any different but I need to make time to veg out (all pun intended). I realize that I have to schedule periods of rest otherwise I will keep going. I don't like how I have to plan everything around my yoga challenge and I do miss other things because I can't always get my ass up to go to yoga at 7 am. Alas, this is important to me so I do what I gotta do. But I can't wait until February 3rd because I will need to take a break for a few days, mainly to go see my acupuncturist. This damn right hamstring is fighting me tooth and nail. However, I will continue to send it loving energy via muscle balms and needles.
Thank you beautiful legs that allow me to take long strides and get me where I need to go. I will affirm you everyday.
Give thanks....
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Challenge Day 9-13
So I am behind with this post. I didn't realize 5 days passed without me posting. I got to stay on the ball.
The yoga challenge has sort of ended but the challenge is still on. When I signed up for the 30 day challenge at my studio, my goal was to make it a strictly yoga centered challenge even though my studio only required to you take at least one class per day regardless of the type of class. Because of the number of people that signed up for this year's challenge (~70+), there were some changes made to the schedule. I didn't realize this until I showed up for a 90-minute Hot Yoga class and found it was switched to Hot Pilates! 90 minutes of Pilates should count as 2 classes, real talk. My core discussed this with me the rest of the night and part of the next day. Thus, I am still in the 30 day challenge but my personal goal of 30 days of Hot yoga ended.
Moral of the story, always check the schedule.
The vegan challenge is still going strong though I am getting tired of always checking labels for hidden dairy or egg products. I am continually amazed at the number of food that have hidden dairy products, even so-called "vegetarian" products. This process has forced me not to take food for granted. Of course, if I were a whole-foods vegan I wouldn't have to this about this anyway. But I need my mock meat.
Until next time.
The yoga challenge has sort of ended but the challenge is still on. When I signed up for the 30 day challenge at my studio, my goal was to make it a strictly yoga centered challenge even though my studio only required to you take at least one class per day regardless of the type of class. Because of the number of people that signed up for this year's challenge (~70+), there were some changes made to the schedule. I didn't realize this until I showed up for a 90-minute Hot Yoga class and found it was switched to Hot Pilates! 90 minutes of Pilates should count as 2 classes, real talk. My core discussed this with me the rest of the night and part of the next day. Thus, I am still in the 30 day challenge but my personal goal of 30 days of Hot yoga ended.
Moral of the story, always check the schedule.
The vegan challenge is still going strong though I am getting tired of always checking labels for hidden dairy or egg products. I am continually amazed at the number of food that have hidden dairy products, even so-called "vegetarian" products. This process has forced me not to take food for granted. Of course, if I were a whole-foods vegan I wouldn't have to this about this anyway. But I need my mock meat.
Until next time.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Random Thoughts Day 6-8
Hellllloooo everybody...
Just wanted to give a quick update on my progress with this yoga and vegan challenge. Everything is going well and I am still glad I decided to take this on. I have noticed a small amount of weight loss (those two pounds I gained over the holidays) and my thighs are looking a little weird to me. I have some cellulite on my inner thighs that looks shifty to me so I assume all those Warrior I, II and IIIs are working. My thighs are the most challenging for me to embrace though I am grateful to have use of them. But I it makes me feel good that they seem to be changing.
Speaking of thighs, I told my main instructor how I have to rub my thighs down with some type of muscle rub after his class. He told me he sometimes has to do the same after teaching his class.
WTF?
As far as food is concerned, I have been on a Mexican kick as of late. I love Mexican food! Like really love it. So, I have been trying my hand at eating Mexican food with no dairy and that isn't cooked with animal ingredients. I have a few places in Brooklyn that will do it on request but I got to pay extra. I'm just trying to eat! And I don't like to pay extra.
Since I am trying to save money by cooking more, I have been making my own version of Mexican food. Mostly burritos and Aztec soup. Tasty but I have to be mindful of the avocado. I find that I add a lot more then I probably need due to the lack of cheese and sour cream in the food. I could use vegan sour cream and vegan cheese but I am going to hold off as I am not too familiar with these products, at least the sour cream anyway. There is a new brand of vegan cheese by Daiya that is actually pretty good. And it melts! But it cost too much for the amount you get. I need to come up on a coupon or a sale. I'll keep you posted.
Random thought-
Coming home on the bus tonight this man jumps up says he sees a bedbug on the bus. So everyone gets up and looks. Sure enough, it's a bedbug. And where there is one, there are many. No one sat down after that, including me. Just saying.
Now, bedbugs have been around forever. NYC had a major outbreak of bedbugs about two years ago. I mean people were finding bedbugs in the panties at Victoria's Secret. So this is nothing new. But the main critters you would see on the bus were roaches. Roaches were king of the critter world until bedbugs made a comeback. Which made me think:
Are bedbugs the gentrifiers of the insect world, moving the roaches to second-class status in there own home?
Just wanted to give a quick update on my progress with this yoga and vegan challenge. Everything is going well and I am still glad I decided to take this on. I have noticed a small amount of weight loss (those two pounds I gained over the holidays) and my thighs are looking a little weird to me. I have some cellulite on my inner thighs that looks shifty to me so I assume all those Warrior I, II and IIIs are working. My thighs are the most challenging for me to embrace though I am grateful to have use of them. But I it makes me feel good that they seem to be changing.
Speaking of thighs, I told my main instructor how I have to rub my thighs down with some type of muscle rub after his class. He told me he sometimes has to do the same after teaching his class.
WTF?
As far as food is concerned, I have been on a Mexican kick as of late. I love Mexican food! Like really love it. So, I have been trying my hand at eating Mexican food with no dairy and that isn't cooked with animal ingredients. I have a few places in Brooklyn that will do it on request but I got to pay extra. I'm just trying to eat! And I don't like to pay extra.
Since I am trying to save money by cooking more, I have been making my own version of Mexican food. Mostly burritos and Aztec soup. Tasty but I have to be mindful of the avocado. I find that I add a lot more then I probably need due to the lack of cheese and sour cream in the food. I could use vegan sour cream and vegan cheese but I am going to hold off as I am not too familiar with these products, at least the sour cream anyway. There is a new brand of vegan cheese by Daiya that is actually pretty good. And it melts! But it cost too much for the amount you get. I need to come up on a coupon or a sale. I'll keep you posted.
Random thought-
Coming home on the bus tonight this man jumps up says he sees a bedbug on the bus. So everyone gets up and looks. Sure enough, it's a bedbug. And where there is one, there are many. No one sat down after that, including me. Just saying.
Now, bedbugs have been around forever. NYC had a major outbreak of bedbugs about two years ago. I mean people were finding bedbugs in the panties at Victoria's Secret. So this is nothing new. But the main critters you would see on the bus were roaches. Roaches were king of the critter world until bedbugs made a comeback. Which made me think:
Are bedbugs the gentrifiers of the insect world, moving the roaches to second-class status in there own home?
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