ah, vacation...

I'm just back from a few days vacation with my better half - we spent 5 awesome fun-filled days in New York City.

I love New York.  I know it's a cliche, but I really do.

There is just so much to see and do, and if doing the touristy thing isn't your game, then there's lots to just enjoy.  I had already been and visited Rockefeller Centre, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the like.  This trip, we decided to skip the typical tourist sites and just enjoy the city. We missed Central Park altogether thanks to mother nature and particularly nasty thunderstorm, but it'll be there next time we go, so I'm not too fussed.

Walking was the name of the game and other than a couple of cab rides back to the hotel after long days, we walked everywhere.  We spent most of our time in Midtown, shopping on 5th Avenue, taking in Grand Central Station and its beautiful architecture, and just generally anything that caught our eye, including little bistros to stop in for a snack. Another full day walking the High Line and then the neighborhoods around Greenwich Village and Soho was filled with beautiful brownstones, some wonderful tapas at Boqueria and some unexpected Christmas gift opportunities (I'm the one who you'll see running around the week before Christmas doing my shopping!) and to finish off our day - the most amazing pizza I have ever had in my life at Lombardi's.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention 2 of my favorite restaurants - Bobby Flay's Bar Americain and a new discovery Rue 57.   I'm slowly amassing a list of "favorite" restaurants that I've decided just means I need to stay in NYC longer :-)

Next week it's back to work and back to reality, but not without some superb memories of NYC in the summer!

It was a great reminder that vacations are made for memories, so don't forget to take yours and make some of your own memories!

eating local

I happen to live in a rural area where farmers are plentiful, meaning we have ready access to locally grown foods from late spring through fall (nada in winter, but more on that).  That's not to say I don't stop by the grocery store - no matter how hard I wish or pray, avocados, lemons and limes just aren't going to grow here and I love them!

A couple of years ago, while out at a local restaurant for brunch, I commented on how incredible the eggs were - turned out they were from a small family farm right down the road.  The restaurant owner was all too happy to give me their contact information and before I knew it, we had ready access to farm fresh, free run eggs!

Not long after, we signed up to participate in their seasonal CSA (Community Support Agriculture) program and a now 3 year relationship with Heritage Harvest Farms began!  As you'll see from their website, Heritage Harvest Farms is a small (well relatively speaking anyways), local, family run farm.  This year was the launch of their year round CSA program whereby for a set fee, we receive a weekly delivery of goodies throughout the year, a sample of which you see below.

What you can't see here are the dozen eggs, as well as meat products we receive every week.  The produce includes large tomatoes, a bagged mixture of grape/cherry tomatoes, various varieties of peppers, lettuce, various types of greens, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, purple beans, beets, fresh herbs and 2 loaves of homemade artisanal bread EVERY WEEK!  During winter months, the produce is expected to consist of things like carrots, parsnip, squash, potatoes, etc - the cold weather stuff.

The CSA model, if you're not familiar with it, basically requires the consumer pay a set fee for an agreed upon period of time and in return gets a share of the expected crop.  Obviously with farming, there is a risk/reward component and it mostly involves mother nature (assuming you've found a trustworthy farmer to work with).  When mother nature cooperates, there's the potential for significant bounty; if not, well... you get the picture - there's no guarantee.  You share the risks but you also share the rewards!

I love my farmer (yes you, Angie); our families have become acquainted, we stop by the farm and visit (albeit short visits given how much work they have to do!) and in general we have developed the kind of lasting partnership a foodie (that would be me!) can only dream of.

Here's to all the farmers out there making a difference for families like mine - thank you!!!

letting yourself off the hook

My usual browsing about the web this morning yielded an interesting read by Dr. Lissa Rankin, The Pressure to Be Perfect.  It got me thinking about all the things I do less than perfectly: meal planning, working out, cleaning and tidying the house, walking the dogs, spending more time with my spouse... and the list goes on and on and on.

And now I'm wondering, why?  We eat relatively healthy meals most of the time, I do workout, the dogs are happy creatures and so is my better half (as am I) so what exactly is wrong with all that?!  When it comes to cleaning the house, I recently did what I thought was copping out - I hired someone to clean it for me and I LOVE it.  I did that because I felt I didn't do a good enough job at keeping the house clean, certainly not the way I would have liked to.  Now I'm seeing that hiring someone to do that actually relieves the pressure to be perfect at cleaning the house and gives me the gift of time to spend being better at something else, like walking our dogs or planning and preparing awesome meals!

So what to make of this pressure to be perfect?  I'm not sure, to be honest.  I do know that I hate the feeling of falling short but it it has got me thinking that striving for perfection is over-rated - WAY overrated.  After all, if you've achieved perfection, that would suggest there's nothing more to learn and that I don't buy for a single millisecond.  

More than anything, this has me reflecting on acceptance; acceptance for the way things are; acceptance that I have the ability to change or influence how things are (eg I can simply choose to walk the dogs more); and accepting that I am learning every day and therefore not perfect and never will be. 

So, here's to being imperfect, in all sorts of ways!

gluten free CAN be yummy!

In my intro, I mentioned that one of my food sensitivities is to gluten.  I don't know about all of you, but I LOVE bread and pasta!!!   A life without them seemed just... wrong!  I won't lie and tell you I'm 100% gluten free.  I take liberties with mom's home made apple pie and some wicked artisanal bread a friend makes but I try and keep it to a minimum.  If I don't pay attention and eat more than I should, the headaches remind me when I've overdone it!

In the early days of my gluten free lifestyle, I basically avoided anything that remotely resembled wheat or a formerly consumed wheat product - veggies, fruit, meat were my staples.  No bread, no pasta, oh and no tacos at the local Mexican restaurant (who knew that even their hard shell tacos were made of wheat flour!)  Reading labels became a part time job and, as a result, I just shopped the outside aisles - though I have discovered those tricky grocery stores have moved the bakeries...where?  To the outside aisles of course where that fabulous smelling, freshly baking bread could be found.  Why does baking bread have to smell so damn good?!?!

Anyways, on to successes!  I slowly started experimenting and have since discovered all sorts of wonderful gluten free carbohydrate-ridden indulgences. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Rice paper rolls filled with chicken, julienned carrots and cucumber, fresh basil and cilantro topped with some homemade peanut sauce.  Just takes some practice working with the rice paper, but not rocket science
• Corn or quinoa pasta with our homemade pasta sauce and fresh basil with a little parmigiano reggiano
• Oatmeal - my personal gluten-free favorite is Glutenfreeda plain instant oatmeal as I can avoid the sugar that I'm also sensitive to.  Add a little maple syrup, goji berries, flax seed, some coconut butter to make it nice and creamy and voila!
• Corn tortillas - awesome corn flour by Maseca - add a little water, salt then shape and roll out the dough.  I "bake" my rolled out tortillas in a dry non-stick frying pan, then put them into a warm (not hot!) oven wrapped in a moistened tea towel to soften them (best to put the tea towel into a cake pan or something like it).  Fill with anything your heart desires!  Add a little honey or maple syrup to the water when making your dough and you have an awesome dessert base!
• Quinoa, quinoa, quinoa!  Cold or hot, it's fantastic and filling (with the nutritional profile it has, you MUST add this even if not on a gluten free regimen).  Add anything you like to it - grilled veggies, sun-dried tomatoes and pumpkin seeds along with some gluten free tamari, a little olive oil and fresh herbs is spectacular, especially a day later! 
• Soba noodles are a great addition to soups, just make sure you check the ingredients to ensure there's only buckwheat in there!
• Rice noodles are a also a great addition to soups.  My fav is having them as a cold salad gado-gado style with veggies (it's really just an excuse for me to eat peanut sauce!)

So you see, you really can experience incredible cuisine being gluten free, it just takes a little exploration and practice!  I'll be starting some experimenting with buckwheat flour (for crepes which I adore) and a heritage variety of wheat (red fife) which apparently tends not to cause the same reactions as modern hybridized varieties of wheat.  Will keep you posted on any successes with those.

Until next time, enjoy your gluten free goodies and share any of your favorites here as well!

how I became a yoga teacher

When I first started going to yoga 15 or so years ago it wasn't terribly popular; there was 1 sort of known studio downtown and because it was close to my office building, I thought why not go try it out?  I liked the idea of it, but felt intimidated by all the seasoned yogis who had their noses on their knees in a seated forward bend while I was lucky if I could grab hold of my calves!

It was years later in a small studio where I live that I had the good fortune to meet the owner and teacher, Darlene Maclachlan, now one of my dearest friends.  It took only a couple of classes with her to realize that I had been missing out on one of the most important aspects of yoga - me!  I had been so focused on everyone else and what they could do that I couldn't - I wasn't focused on my practice.  I couldn't (or refused to) recognize or acknowledge my own capabilities, limitations and opportunities for growth.  I was so stuck in the past (I used to be able to...) or looking to the future (someday I hope I can...) that I wasn't able to truly embrace the experience - the experience I was having then, in that moment, even (and especially) if that moment was a struggle.

When a teacher training program was launched at the studio, I did nothing.  I didn't think I could be a teacher - I had always been petrified of being in front of a group of people.  And yet it showed up in the back of my mind repeatedly over the course of a few months.  Still I did nothing and had assumed the session was full, when one day she told me that there was 1 space left she couldn't fill.  I was paying attention - that space was mine.

That was almost 1 year ago.  Since then, I've become a registered yoga teacher and have had the pleasure of teaching a brilliant group on a regular basis (oh, and getting comfortable in front a group too!).  Though I'm still getting the hang of teaching, I notice I am much more present and much more comfortable every single practice.  I can pay attention - in the moment - not only to me and how I feel, but what I see in my students - I am totally present.  I teach for them and I love it.  I learn from my experiences, from their experiences and all of that helps me (I hope) be a better teacher, a better student, a better spouse, a better friend...a better me.

I ventured down the teacher training path thinking if nothing else, I'd benefit from a better practice. Little did I know it would take me from "going to do yoga at the studio" to helping to teach me to live yoga every day on and off the mat and allowing me the privilege to guide others in their practice and exploration of what yoga means for them.

Namaste

what's the story, you ask?

So here it is - almost 4 years ago I was sick as a dog, I mean REALLY sick for about 4 months.  Constantly feeling exhausted and nauseous most of the time, I had gained upwards of 40 extra pounds that I certainly didn't need.  To sum it up, I felt like a walking zombie.  I missed more days of work in those 4 months than I had, EVER.  More often than not, I was in bed by 9pm and didn't (more like couldn't) get up before 11am.  Walking up a flight of stairs left me winded, toothpaste and shampoo made me nauseous.  I was miserable.  Suggestions of chronic fatigue syndrome left me bewildered and a lack of solutions had me wondering how long I was going to feel this way...I mean, this wasn't forever right?!  Then a friend suggested going to see a naturopath.  I was skeptical but figured it couldn't hurt, I mean she couldn't possibly make me feel worse than I already did so what was the harm?!

That visit changed my life - I know that's a strong statement - but it did.  Within a few visits, I discovered I had some food sensitivities - dairy, wheat/gluten and cane sugar. I remember getting home that night (Friday is our regular pizza and movie night) and bursting into tears wondering what on earth I was going to eat - surely I wasn't resigned to rabbit food for the rest of my life?

4 years later, 40 pounds lighter (with a few more to lose), asthma and allergies mostly a thing of the past, I am now a Registered Yoga Teacher and recently embarked on holistic nutrition studies through the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.  I wasn't kidding when I said that visit changed my life.  It's taken a ton of work and I've fallen off the proverbial wagon more than once.  I would not trade the experience for anything.

I welcome you along for the ride - I have no idea where it will take me, so it'll be a surprise for all of us!