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So Victoria continues to be devastated by bush fires and the death toll rises- 126 at the moment but expected to reach 200. The sky where we are has none of the usual haze that we have come to expect with bush fires and the air has a very pleasant temperature about it so it is just the constant stream of news that reminds us of the disaster going on on our doorsteps.

I am reminded of how precious life is and how it is our own responsibility to get the most out of it whether you measure that in health, wealth or happiness.

At a time like this people rally and reach out to those who have lost everything… I wonder can we maintain that compassion and let it permeate all of our endeavors, even the small insignificant ones. We seem to find it easier to make the grand gesture than be compassionate on a moment by moment basis.

I guess that is just the way people are but as we all know it is the little things that make up a life, a collection of kind words, thoughts and deeds.

There are so many places we can walk lightly and speak kindly and yet we often choose not to.

I am enjoying making the conscious decision to embrace a compassionate diet. There are such joys in opting out of the institutionalized violence surrounding the SAD. It feels much more peaceful and although each thing we consume has some impact on our environment there are degrees of impact. I am also a great believer in the power of intent so the intent with which you do something will unconsciously affect the result. It is my intent to do the least amount of harm and the most amount of good…

Love ya, oh and here is my recipe of the day from Brendan Braziers book Thrive:

Apple Cinnamon Energy Bars

1 small apple- cored

1 cup fresh or soaked dried dates

1/2 cup soaked quinoa

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup hemp protein

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

sea salt to taste

Blend all ingredients until a texture that you like then shape into a ball or bar.

As the bars  dry out they are easier to handle.

These also make great and healthy kids snacks

The journey of a thousand miles…

Over the last year I have messed with my diet as I began the journey of training for a marathon.
I was not your usual athlete fueled on pasta and bread, I had cut out complex carbohydrates and found that my body worked better without them.
I eat simple carbs when I need them, low carb vegetables and a lot of protein.
I have been a vegetarian at various times in my life but not in recent years and most of the protein I was eating was animal based. At times I look at meat and I just cant face it… it seems strange and disgusting wanting to eat it.
At other times I am not bothered at all. I am truly ambivalent about the meat eating debate however I do strongly believe that animals are treated appallingly in our farming practices and we as humans suffer by being a part of that chain.
This New Year I thought I would make the pledge to eat compassionately. I wasnt exactly sure what that would entail but I was ready to give it a go. I have lovely friends who are Vegan and thought that perhaps that would be a good start- it is inherently compassionate after all and then I can always scale it back as I need to if it still fits the compassionate brief.
Then in a moment of inspiration or insanity I decided to go raw vegan… 6 weeks to give it a go… 95% raw I thought would be a reasonable effort.
My personal trainer suspects I wont have the energy to blog let alone my weekend 24km runs and my 5 day a week work outs. I am prepared to give it a go and work with it on the grounds that I am always ready to learn something new and if I can run a damn marathon then I can do anything, including eating raw food. The first day… actually I did have a few goes at preparing raw meals like soups and dehydrated vegeburgers over the last few weeks so that the first day wasnt going to be salad salad and more salad. I couldnt have forseen that day one would start with a hell hangover and a craving for toast. Nevermind eh? So the morning started with a strawberry and passionfruit smoothie with pea protein powder (I know, sounds yummy) and it wasnt all bad… just the pea protein has that metalic ‘pea’ after taste.
Then I went back to bed and rested my weary head.
Lunch was avocado, tomato, mixed nuts and seeds and sprouts with lemon juice dressing. It was simple and lovely and just what I needed.
Dinner was a bit more complex, I made fresh tomato soup. Simply puree tomatoes with chillies, basil and garlic and warm. On the side I had vege burger and sprouts which were great and I thought a great start to day one. It is hard to comment on my energy levels with my hangover being what it is so more on that tomorrow. Oh and ps I did miss cheese but not too much.