My how you've changed, little tastebuds

Hokey/crunchy/granola as it may sound, today has left me in awe of what Mother Earth can do. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking. I love experimenting with flavors and spices and combinations. When I'm in a cheese-eating phase (read: almost all the time), I will seek out prime pecorino or buttery brie. Sometimes I think I could live on truffles alone, save for some food as a vehicle for the taste. Fresh organic veggies -- especially from one of the amazing gardens in my family -- are a treat.

But somehow, despite all that foodie appreciativeness, I've so often overlooked the amazing simple pleasures of pure food. Today, my friends, has been a lesson in appreciation.

This morning...er, afternoon, we met up with a friend to go to an American style diner for brunch. It was, simply put, the bacon test. I resisted. That's right. I, Olivia Lindquist, declined bacon. Bacon in syrup, no less. How? you ask? Because I was too busy savoring my heaping bowl of fruits and veggies. Blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, kiwi, bananas, apples, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, crisp lettuce.

I made a simplified fruit salad later in the day for a hefty snack, and marveled at all the flavors inherent in the fruits. The apple chunks were cold and crisp and sweet, the banana was just firm enough, and sweet without being cloying, and kiwi added the perfect amount of tang. I kept looking at my bowl, almost talking to the fruits to ask: How do you do this, guys! You're awesome! (Don't worry. I didn't talk to my food. I'm not there...yet.)

Now I'm sitting here, chomping on my dinner, feeling pretty darn lucky. I used my new cheapo mandolin, and put together a HUGE salad, all built around my precious avocado, which has been ripening for a few days. The raw zucchini and carrots were sliced to matchstick size, then I added thin slices of raw red cabbage and red pepper, a big handful of sprouts, half an avocado (cubed), and small handful of raisins, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. "Eat the rainbow" is one of my favorite healthy maxims, and I have definitely accomplished that goal today.

There's a giant bag in the fridge for lunch and/or dinner tomorrow, and I'll pair it with some fresh greens and maybe cubed eggplant. I admit, though, I'm still shocked that this is what I want to be eating. I don't feel deprived in the least as MB sits near me, chomping on his leftover fajita. I feel incredibly lucky to have such delicious, nutritious food to feed my body.

I'm back...

What's this? A Full Well post? But Olivia, you haven't posted here in almost a year!

Yeah, well, a lot has changed in the last year. I was doing so well while I kept this blog, and then life happened, and I just didn't have the stamina to write on here. Not to mention, I would've felt like a big, fat hypocrite, as I pretty much let my health take a nosedive.

Last summer, my health was in crisis, and I used all the resources I had at my disposal to "solve" the crisis. I did a pretty good job, if I may say so myself. Well, lo and behold, it's summer 2009, and my health...sucks. Er, sucked. Just over a week ago, I was in tears at my desk because I felt so awful and didn't know what to do about it. I had, to use a buzzphrase, reached my tipping point.

The great news is that all that (expensive) hard work I did last summer to figure out how to be healthy was applicable now, too. I was in a much better position this time around because this time I didn't have to solve anything (though I thought maybe I did), I just had to implement what I already knew. So here's what I did:

1. Called on the collective wisdom of the forum over on crazysexylife.com. Boy do those folks know their stuff and have a giant, heaping portion of compassion to serve along with it.

2. Placed an order with www.iherb.com, which happens to have amazingly inexpensive ($5!) shipping to Seoul. If you're curious, I ordered chlorella powder, wheat grass powder, and a super duper amazing multi.

3. Trekked -- it may have been a block and a half, but with how awful I felt, it seemed like a trek -- to the overpriced department store, which happens to have a great produce section, and bought all the produce I wanted: sprouts, mixed greens, bell peppers, bananas, cherry tomatoes, a massive-and-juicy apple.

4. Ate the produce. Not all at once, but bit by bit.

5. Logged on to Raw Fu , and signed up for the 100 day Raw Fu Challenge, which started this past Monday.

6. Drank my enzyme/protein powder.

7. Drank a TON of water.


The next day, I woke up, exhausted, and got some pissy news I don't feel like getting into here. It's all fine now, but sent me into quite a tailspin for the next few days. In the past, a super high stress event like this would have led me to "screw it" mode as I inhaled Snickers bars and french fries. But not this time.

Why? It can only be because I was ready for this change. Physically, emotionally, spriritualy ready to do it. The kicker is, it's been easy. Caffeine, gone. Sugar, gone. Meat/dairy/eggs, gone. Cooked food, gone. (Aside from two little incidents, one of which I regret, the other I don't.) But I don't feel deprived.

I feel good.

In fact, today, I feel really good. For the first time in who knows how long, I had energy and took a (short) walk. My body needed to move so badly that I started doing a little yoga...at work. (The iherb shipment arrived yesterday, so I've had my multi and chlorella. Coincidence? Maybe. But I'll take it.)

I'm not ready to declare that I'm a raw foodist, and I'm certainly not being super strict or limiting myself. I'm working on being gentle with myself, and forgiving, and just listening to what my body needs.

The health kick is back -- though this time I hope it sticks around -- so stay tuned. I've got lots to blab about.

Thanks, Lovies.

Over the past few days, I've gotten so many wonderful comments on this little thing. Some were from friends (thanks DD, thanks Maggie), and one or two came from strangers or anonymous folks. These comments -- coupled with live-time encouragement from my spectacular friends and family -- have given me a much-needed boost. I feel like I've lost my holistic health mojo a little bit as of late, and all this positivity has, I hope, given me the push I needed.

My icky-tasting, nowhere-near-cheap enzyme-loaded powder came in the mail today, and I can't believe how excited I got about it. I hadn't reordered in time, so I haven't had it these last two weeks. This time I ordered a month and a half's supply. That's one point for health. And, lucky for me (in this case, at least), I tend to be all or nothing, which means the health crusade is back on.

Part of the fire in the beginning was the challenge to figure out the unknown. At my cousin's wedding this weekend, my mom and my friend/brother's girlfriend were talking about the creative process, and how projects can seem so exciting in the beginning -- just up until the point when you can see how it's going to end up. I think, in a way, that's how I felt about my health. This summer tipped me over the edge to finally solve my health problems. Crazy part is, now that I know what I need to do (no caffeine, strict sleep regimen, exercise, acupuncture, tons and tons of raw fruits and veggies, minimal booze, meditation, skip the sugar, get lots of sunlight, take my thyroid medication, keep the probiotics coming, and, by all means, stay on the enzyme-fueling powder), I feel, well, lazy about it.

Which, of course, makes me want to shake myself by the shoulders and yell, "What are you doing?!" For years I've just wanted someone to tell me what the heck I should do to feel healthy. Now I know. So why have I only been doing it about 70%? How do I get myself up to that 95%-100% range so I can wake up feeling spectacular and energized, with glowing skin and radiant energy? After all, who wouldn't want that?

So here's the game plan. First, give myself credit for what I am doing. (Um, hello zero caffeine, to name the biggie.) Second, get excited about the powders and pills and other tools I have to jump start my system; all I have to do is take them. Third, and the part I'm most excited about, go to the gorgeous gym at my alma mater/current place of employment. I joined last week, and can't wait to go lift weights again in an environment I know and am comfortable in. Plus, I can see the gym every time I walk out of my office -- no pretending it's not convenient. I think (hope) that with this redevotion, the pieces might start to fall back into place.

Another thing I'm working hard on is to be kinder to myself. I forget where I heard it, but you should never speak to yourself in a way you wouldn't speak to your best friend or your daughter. I would never berate my best friend for only succeeding 70%. But I would encourage her to keep pushing herself so she can feel her best. We'll give it a shot, right?

Lasagna Update

Yes, I felt it warranted an update.

This week is the fourth and final Wednesday Concert in the Park here in Philly. It has fast become one of my absolute favorite parts of this summer. Each week for the past month, I've gotten together with friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends. We claim a plot of park and settle in with wine, cheese, and any number of other delicious treats. One thing I really appreciate about this particular group is the density of foodies, though, I have to say, my friend Art takes the foodie cake. He runs a powerhouse website chronicling the food and booze news in Philadelphia, after all. (Seriously, don't miss out. Check out foobooz.com, and check it often.) Needless to say, I'm on a quest to impress Mr. Foobooz with my culinary skills. To that end, I've made a big dish of the raw vegan lasagna to bring to the park tomorrow.


I'll let you know the verdict. Fingers crossed that I get a rave review.

Raw Vegan "Lasagna"...Is Delicious

I feel like I can't keep up with all the posts I want to write, but eventually they'll all make their way up here, if not in the ideal order. I have yet to post about my meals in NYC this past weekend, but I'm going to skip ahead to tonight's dinner, a loose reproduction of my Saturday night entree.

But first, a quick nod to juice. As you know, I love the stuff. As you probably also know by know, I am a huge fan of cocktails. I have yet to make fresh juice to mix into a cocktail, but I have started passing my juice off as a cocktail in and of itself. Here, yesterday's carrot juice cocktail -- on the rocks -- in all its glory.


In case you didn't figure it out by the title of the post, I made raw vegan lasagna for dinner tonight. When I ate it at Pure Food and Wine over the weekend, I couldn't believe how dang tasty the stuff was. With the aide of the (un)cookbook Raw Food/Real World [see bookshelf at right], courtesy of my beloved Snacks, I was eager to give it a shot. I didn't recreate the recipe faithfully (I almost never do), but I think it came out quite well. It even passed the man test. A health-conscious, veggie-loving man, but still.

For the pesto, I took about 2.5 cups of basil, maybe a 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, one clove of garlic, a tablespoon or two of lemon juice, a drizzle of amazing olive oil, some salt, and some pepper, and put it in the cuisinart attachment of my blender. (Oh, I also hate measuring; I play to taste, not numbers. Sorry if that isn't super helpful.)


Before:
After:


The "ricotta" (I know, I know. It's not ricotta. It's not cheese. Call it something else. But for ease of explanation, we'll call it "ricotta," eh?) was about a cup and a third of soaked raw pine nuts, about a tablespoon or so of nutritional yeast, a little more lemon juice, a pinch of kosher salt, and water added slowly until it became the consistency of ricotta. This was also whipped up in the cuisinart attachment.

For the tomato sauce...I cheated. I bought a jar of Trader Joe's organic tomato sauce. It's been cooked. So sue me.

To assemble it all, I peeled the zucchini and cut into thin (1/8") strips. I topped with the "ricotta," pesto, and sliced cherry tomatoes from my sister's garden. These tomatoes made the dish. Try to tell me these don't look beyond delicious:


I just kept layering the zucchini, ricotta, pesto, and tomatoes until I liked the look of it. Best part? No waiting for it to cook. Assemble and devour. Hurrah for instant gratification.

We paired it with one of my favorite wines, a 2005 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon. My friend Brooke gave me a bottle of this once, and I always think of her and her family, which only makes the wine that much more wonderful.

Go Green for Your Liver

In part of my ongoing saga of trying to make up with my liver and its chi, one action keeps bubbling to surface: go green. With my diet, that is. Last week Eva told me to add lots and lots of leafy greens to my diet; it's helpful for getting the liver chi moving. And, let me tell you, if there's one thing I'd like to do, it's get my liver chi flowing freely. I've been limiting my alcohol and trying to move more (two big pluses for moving that chi), and I've been letting this "stimulate the liver chi" thought roll around in my head as I've been chugging along, eating and reading all manner of things.

Lately I've become increasingly interested in a raw diet. In addition to eating at the raw food mecca, Pure Food and Wine, I've been reading and re-reading my books on raw "cooking." Doesn't hurt that these are all my most sumptuously photographed and written books. Yes, there was a whole team at work to make these books sexy, but there's something about raw food that's just, well, hot. When you eat raw, you're in tune with nature and with your body. Just think of all the exciting ways that impacts your life.

To that end, I've started reading Sarma Melngailis's blog. This post about getting more greens all but whopped me over the head. I already planned to go to the produce stand to get the last few ingredients I need to make her raw lasagna and sangria, and now I'm inspired to add a whole mess of greens to my cart. I think I'm on the right track, because when I woke up this morning, I craved (I kid you not) a big glass of cucumber-celery juice, so I think I'm on the right track, and I think my body's ready to make this commitment.


Maybe this is the recharge I've been looking for. I love her approach -- be kind to yourself, no rules about what not to eat or regimen about what to eat, just eat more of the good stuff. Much more. That, that I can do.