How I simultaneously love and hate swimming

So, I went swimming for the first time in months. Does anyone find it incredibly challenging to motivate yourself to go swimming? With the elliptical or stationary bike I feel as though it requires virtually no motivation at all. I just hop on, get out my book or turn the TV to a good station and I could be there all day. Running takes a little more motivation since it can be long and challenging depending on the day. But for the most part, I can talk myself into changing and getting out there. But swimming is a different beast entirely. You have to change, pack your swim bag, travel to the pool, change, talk yourself into jumping into the cold water, swim, get tired, swim some more, get out of the pool, shower, change and journey home. Before you know it 2-3 hours of your day are gone. But the one thing I will say for swimming is it may be the hardest to talk yourself into but it’s the most rewarding at the end. You can head home feeling clean and refreshed inside and out.
There is, however a down side to swimming that isn’t present in most other workouts: people. Now, don’t mistake me for someone who is antisocial. I LOVE working out with people. But with swimming you aren’t swimming with people, you’re swimming despite them. And that’s not as inspirational.
I was fortunate today in that I spent the first half hour with a lane to myself and it was glorious. The second half hour, was less glorious as two gentlemen joined the lane. The first I would describe as the swimmer who thinks he knows it all and the second was the type of swimmer who’s trying to prove he knows it all. Neither are attractive qualities.
The first took it upon himself to regularly sprint to the wall out of nowhere and come inches away from smacking into me as I went to flip-turn and push off. He was a treat. To him I have the following to say, “Sir, I understand you are impressed by the speed you achieve in doing a single length, but I, myself am doing 60 consecutively so I would appreciate it if you timed the one length you do more appropriately.”
The second gentleman was the dreaded, flipper-wearing type. The type who do a couple of lengths at top speed before draping themselves across the wall to rest, thereby making you turning around at the wall next to impossible. But this particular gentleman was the type who also found joy in swimming as close to me as possible so he could brush against me while he passed. To him, I have the following to say “Friend, I understand you are deeply impressed by the speed your fake duck feet give you and you are eager to show me just how skilled you are. However, as someone who is holding her breath every fourth length and kicking with the dainty toes God gave me, I am less than swept off my feet. Kindly desist from body-grazing me. Much appreciated.”
But all in all, I genuinely enjoyed my swim and really must commit to doing it more. What about you? Any humorous swimming stories to share?

30-Day Vegan Challenge is complete!

Well folks, it’s official: at 5 p.m. yesterday I completed the 30-Day Vegan Challenge. And I gotta say, it was a lot of fun. And surprisingly, a whole lot easier than I would have guessed. Granted, I think a lot of the simplicity was thanks to the fact that September was a relatively quiet month for me. Which brings me to the main point of this post: my list of what is awesome about being vegan as well as what makes veganism a little more on the challenging side.

What is awesome:

• It does wonders for your insides. Seriously. I read a lot about how veganism can make you feel better from the inside-out and I definitely see what people were talking about. I literally didn’t have an internal issue in the entire month period. And as someone who tends to have tummy aches, poor digestion and/or abdominal pain multiple times a week — this is a pretty awesome and welcome change. And by some bizarre chance of fate, it actually worked out that I had plans to go to a restaurant with no vegan foods whatsoever at pretty much the hour I had finished the challenge — and my body definitely felt the effects.
• Although it is certainly possible to eat vegan unhealthily, it does eliminate many of the usual bad options you might be prone to turn to. Think about it, how many bad foods can you think of off the top of your head that don’t contain some kind of animal product? Not a whole lot. Pizza, cream sauces, chocolate bars, ice cream, burgers, candy, etc. all involve animal products. So if you go at it with the right approach, it’s very easy to totally recalibrate your eating habits.
• The majority of vegan recipes don’t just remove the meat or dairy and call it a day. They tend to experiment with a huge variety of different grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables and more. I haven’t tried this many different healthy foods in such a short amount of time in so long! Very satisfying.
• It can help you eliminate some of the things you weren’t really loving in the first place. I’ve never particularly liked milk or eggs or red meat but I felt as though there were no alternatives. So experimenting with flax eggs, soy/rice/almond milk and tempeh/tofu were welcome changes that taught me a lot about how easy it can be to reduce your impact on animal production.
• You find super yummy new things like using ground cashews as Parmesan cheese and putting alfalfa sprouts on everything.

What is less awesome:

• There were lots of people that were very welcoming of the changes I was making and were excited to learn more and share their experiences and thoughts. But I also encountered some people that responded in very odd ways which was upsetting. Some looked at me like I was crazy, others seemed angry and a select few actually made fun of me. And as someone who doesn’t really know how to handle confrontation, this left me feeling sad, confused and even embarrassed. If you’re considering going vegan, don’t let worry of such attitudes deter your — there are definitely more positive people than negative. But it can be challenging at times.
• Eating out is undeniably different than eating out when you aren’t vegan. I got in the habit of making big quantities of food and then packaging them individually in case I had to go somewhere and would need a meal which made it a lot easier. But if you’re going to someone else’s home or have been invited to a restaurant that doesn’t have vegan options, be prepared for big changes.
• For me, I think one of the biggest challenges was feeling as though I was inconveniencing people or offending them in some way. In most cases I don’t even think it was anything they said or did, I was just overly worried that I’d be putting someone out. As someone who has loved being able to respond to the question “I made ____ is that okay?” with “Of course, I eat everything!” — this was a big change for me and not one I think I could easily get used to.

So where does all this leave me?

I suppose you could say it leaves me enlightened but confused. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to speak to someone who has fully research the both sides of the debate and she helped me figure out how I feel about everything. I do believe that human beings are meant to eat meat. But I don’t believe that we need quite as much meat as we have become accustomed to and I don’t believe that animals should be treated the way they are treated in order to satisfy our mass consumption. It also frustrates me that there’s this notion that we’re at the top of the food chain and that entitles us to eat as much meat as we want. But the factories we get most of our meat from don’t have cows grazing around a field until it’s time for them to be used. They’re stuck in unbearable circumstances that no living creature should have to endure. If a cougar tracked down a person and ate them, that would be the circle of life. But have you ever heard of a cougar tracking down a person, tying them into a miniature cage, force feeding them food and hormones to make them gain weight, impregnating them so they would produce milk, taking away their baby at birth so the baby could be used for baby meat and then killing and eating them? Nope. Cause that’s not how the circle of life is supposed to work. But I digress — all this is just to explain why I think changes do need to be made — although I don’t think it has to be all or nothing. There are plenty of naturally raised farms in Canada where the animals are treated very humanely and even enjoy equal or better lives than they would in the wilderness. I’m just not a fan of how treating animals cruelly in the name of meeting demand has somehow been deemed okay. But it’s obviously a complex issue and I do believe there are dozens of worthwhile ways to look at the issues. Now, where was I? Oh yes… I have also come to realize based on a lot of research that the whole notion of drinking another creature’s milk or eating their eggs just doesn’t make sense to me. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go to a restaurant and ask if each item on the list contains the products — but I am going to stick to cooking with flax eggs at home and drinking soy or almond milk wherever possible.I definitely respect vegans that are able to cut them out entirely no matter where they are, but I don’t know that’s where I am yet.

I read a wonderful book called The Main Street Vegan that opened my eyes to the possibility of being an “at home vegan.” Where essentially you eat in a vegan way at home and make vegan choices when available while you’re out but if they aren’t available that’s okay to. The author suggests that living this way can help people gradually move towards being more vegan if and when they’re ready, or if not, they’re still doing something to help the world and that’s great. If anything, these 30 days have taught me it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I can still do my part to help the animals while I’m at home but I can also enjoy the health benefits that come from eating healthy meat products when I’m out. And I can also not worry about offending someone when I’m a guest in their home or not being able to pick an option I can eat off the menu. These beliefs might change with time and that’s okay too. We’re all just trying to find that happy balance between what we feel is right and what makes us happy — and as long as we keep fighting to find that, we’re doing okay.

Most importantly, I hope I haven’t offended anyone in writing this. Whichever side of the debate you may sit on (or somewhere in the middle!) I hope you can understand that I’m new to this and am just another person trying to find my way and discover what I think is right. As I’m sure we all are! But I’m always open to new perspectives — so please feel free to share your thoughts!

Who decided spin classes need to sound like you’re at the club?

Today, for the first time in my life I had to leave a spin class. And believe me, I’ve been to my share of spinning. Why did I have to leave? I wasn’t hungry or tired or not feeling well. I wasn’t pouring sweat and I didn’t have legs that were too tired to go on. Instead, my friends, I had to leave because the music was so loud my ears felt as though they were bleeding. And why didn’t I request for it to be turned down, you may ask? Well, because that level of volume was specifically requested by an older gentleman at the front of the class. Unfortunately I am not a confrontational person and therefore elected to leave rather than to feel as though I had somehow inconvenienced everyone by requesting for the music to be played at a reasonable level. But if I were to confront said gentleman, here is what I would have to say:

Dear sir, I understand that you have taken it upon yourself, in your lifetime to destroy your own hearing, but it does not mean that the rest of us are so inclined. We would, in fact prefer to hear our grandchildren telling us how their says at school went in the future than to hear the club-thumping anthem of Lady Gaga in the present. Thank you for your understanding.

Now do not fear, this is not merely a rant on my part. Far from it. It is a moment to give all the people in my life thanks who told me to appreciate my health. Hearing is a gift and I have seen first hand from my grandparents how difficult and frustrating it can be to lose that gift. I can’t control if and when I will lose my hearing but I can do everything within my power to keep it alive and well. So thank you to everyone in my life who has said some variation of “don’t stand so close to the speakers” and “turn your headphones down”. My ears and myself are grateful for our lessons. And we hope to enjoy a long and fruitful relationship free from obnoxiously loud spin classes.

Healthy Banana Bars

A little while ago I came across this recipe for Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Road Cake. And this morning, as a reward for the busy day I had yesterday, I decided to finally enjoy some quality baking time. Unfortunately I didn’t have one of the title ingredients — honey. But the fact it was the healthiest banana bread I had stumbled across in some time (possibly ever) made me decide it was worth trying anyway. And the substitutions I made seemed to work out perfectly. The only thing I think I could have added but didn’t think of until it was too late was chopped walnuts. Walnuts are always a great addition to banana bread. Oh well — next time! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup Splenda (or other sweetener of choice)
• 1 egg (or flax egg if making vegan)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 heaping tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons apple sauce
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine banana, Splenda, egg, vanilla, maple syrup, peanut butter and apple sauce in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Ensure all banana lumps have disappeared.
3. Stir in flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan. Even out mixture.
5. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes. You can check on it at 25 minutes but I find the bananas cause the mixture to take a long time to cook.
6. Let cool for 10 minutes or so as bread will continue to cook on the inside and then serve.

Note: Loaf can easily be cut into squares which are convenient to take with you as a quick snack or breakfast on-the-go.

Curried Veggies & Bulgur

The best way to describe this dish is a healthy version of chicken fried rice – and all you have to do is try it once and you’ll never go back to the old way again. I came across this recipe that used bulgur – I’ve never used the stuff before but I am so glad I tried it out. It is the perfect cross between rice and quinoa and is incredibly good for you. So there really isn’t a bad thing in this dish!

Curried Veggies & Bulgur

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 2 tablespoons curry powder

- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

- 1 cup bulgur

- 1 and 3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth

- 1/4 cup currants and/or raisins

- 1/3 cup frozen peas

- 1/3 cup frozen corn

- 1/2 cup button mushrooms, chopped

- 1/4 cup sliced or chopped toasted almonds (I simply chopped up some whole almonds and toasted them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes)

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Add in onions and cook until caramelized. Stir in curry powder. Toss in the bulgur and mix well so it becomes coated with some oil. Add in carrots and let sit for a minute or two.

2. Pour in the broth and currants/raisins. Cover the pan and let cook for 10 minutes.

3. Pour in the peas, corn and mushrooms and cover again. Let cook on low heat for another minute or two before turning the heat off and letting the mixture sit, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. While the mixture sits, fry the eggs in a pan until yolks achieve desired level of hardness.

5. When the bulgur mixture has cooked enough, stir in the almonds and salt. Scoop mixture into bowls and top each with a fried egg.

Note: If you are cooking the mixture to last you for lunches/dinners through the week it is probably best that you not fry all the eggs at once but rather cook them one at a time as needed.

Ethiopian Saute

I had a bunch of random vegetables on their way downhill this evening so I decided to make use of them. But I wasn’t in the mood for my usual herb topped roasted veggies or soy infused stir fry so I wasn’t sure what to do. That’s when I came across this recipe for Ethiopian saute! I switched up some of the ingredients based on what I needed to get rid of in my fridge but I stuck to the spices recommended and it turned out great. The only change I might make for next time is to lower the lemon juice a teensy bit and up the spice quantity – it was a little too much on the citrusy side for my personal tastes. But on the whole – definitely something worth trying!

Ethiopian Saute

Ingredients:

- Vegetables of your choosing (I used about 1/2 cup each of broccoli, chopped carrots and sliced red onions, 1 cup of chopped mushrooms and 2 cups of torn spinach)

- 1 tablespoon oil (I used grapeseed oil but any will do)

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine

- 2 teaspoons of itty bitty pinches of coriander, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, paprika, ginger and salt – combined in a small container

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Add in vegetables according to cooking preference (I did onions and carrots, then broccoli and garlic, then mushrooms and spinach right at the end).

2. Sprinkle in lemon juice/white wine and spices. Distribute spices well.

3. There isn’t even a step 3 – it’s that easy! Eat up!

 

Huevos Rancheros Cups

Need a little bit of Mexican in your day to day meals? This recipe from Canadian Living’s Best Recipes Ever definitely fits the bill. I had it with my family for brunch on Christmas day and it was absolutely perfect. The ground beef was our own addition because meat is big in our household but you could easily not use it if you’re looking for a vegetarian dish. Hope you like it!

Huevos Rancheros

Serves 8

Ingredients:

- 8 tortillas

- 1 lb lean ground beef

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 bell pepper, diced (red or green – it’s up to you!)

- 1 tablespoon chili powder

- salt and pepper (to taste)

- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

- 2 cups tomato sauce

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 8 eggs

- coriander (optional)

Directions:

1. Grease 8 large muffin tins. Press a tortilla into each muffin tin. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Brown ground beef with oil in a frying pan. Remove excess liquid. Add in onions and let cook until they begin to soften. Stir in garlic, pepper, chili powder, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Once peppers have softened add in tomato sauce and black beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce to very low heat.

3. Place tray of tortillas in oven for 6 minutes, or until crisp.

4. While this is happening, begin poaching the eggs.

5. When tortillas are done, remove from tray and place each tortilla in a bowl and stretch slightly so you can load in more sauce.

6. Place a spoonful of sauce in each tortilla cup and top with a poached egg. You can sprinkle with coriander if using.

The dish is best served right away so eat up!

My Very First Blogging Award!

I am extremely excited and truly honored to have been nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award. As an actor my friends and family (as well as random acquaintances and the occasional passer-by) have joked about the fact that they wish to be mentioned in my future Oscar/Golden Globe/Emmy speeches. And perhaps one day I will in fact be cramming an over-read, crumpled cue card into the cleavage of my multi-thousand dollar Vera Wang dress so that I don’t make a public spectacle of myself as I accept an award. But that isn’t a goal that I have realistically set for myself. A goal I have set for myself, however, is to entertain and inspire people with my blog. And this award means I have done just that.

To start off, I really have to thank The Rubbe for nominating my little old blog for such a lovely award. It really means a lot! I must also thank my family and friends for constantly allowing me to pause the serving of appetizers and sparkling beverages so that I can snap pictures of my creations. I also owe them many thanks for always inspiring me with a new post when I feel like I have hit a writer’s block. And finally, I send a huge thank you out to each and every reader who has stumbled across my blog. Whether you came for a witty comment or healthy recipe, or even if you typed “nudist at work and at play” and wound up coming across little old me (yes my friends, wordpress does let us know that) I send you a big thank you for your many visits and wonderful comments.

The award involves 4 simple steps:

1.  Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
3.  Pass this award along to seven others.
4.  Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Well, item #1 has already been accomplished so let’s move on to item #2, 7 things about me.

1. It would be an absolute dream to me to make my living entirely off acting, writing and any other creative endeavors.

2. I LOVE buffets more than it is natural for any human to love. I mean – why would I want to scan a menu for a quarter of an hour trying to pick out the thing I want the most when I can just try EVERYTHING!!??

3. I want to travel to every continent and as many countries as humanly possible.

4. When someone introduces me to a new TV show that I like, I have a tendency to fall off the face of the earth as I attempt to watch the whole series in as little time as I can.

5. I will eat absolutely anything with sugar in it. Some of my favorite places in the world are Sugar Mountain and the candy section of the bulk food store. Chocolate makes everything better. One time I even ate an entire Betty Crocker cake mix raw, directly from the bowl – it was quite the accomplishment – not advisable – but an accomplishment none the less.

6. I have been admitted to the hospital twice. Once to get my appendix removed and once because my grandmother put rat poison in my easy bake oven dish and I thought it was candy. It wasn’t. This revelation was disappointing on many levels.

7. I love exercising with friends and family. It is so much fun to stay active and get to know people at the same time.

 

And now for my chosen nominations! Here they are in no particular order:

• Brunch For Every Meal – So witty and clever that I will in fact be baffled if she hasn’t already been nominated several times.
• The Pursuit of Hippieness – Great recipes, wonderful inspirational advice and even some creative DIYs. There really is something for everyone!
• Check My Pulse – A really honest and fun blog about a talented writer’s thoughts on fitness and nutrition.
• The Confidence Chronicles – Such an honest portrayal of one girl’s journey to becoming a more confident and self assured woman. Always entertaining and inspirational.
• Being Zhenya – A great exploration of fashion, style and DIYs. Lots of great tips and tricks!
• Frugal Feeding – So many great recipes that are delicious and affordable!
• Candicepeak – Lots of great advice on staying active and leading a healthy and happy life.

Thanks again to The Rubbe and all y’all. This award really has made my day!

Whole Wheat Carrot Banana Muffins

These sugar-free, whole wheat muffins are the perfect way to start your day! They are filled with yummy and good-for-you ingredients and the recipe yields about 16 so you’ll have plenty to last you through the week. I made some alterations from the original recipe to increase the nutritional content and I think they turned out great.

Whole Wheat Carrot Banana Muffins

Makes 16

Ingredients:

- 1 and 1/2 cups whole what flour

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (to help them fluff out a bit more)

- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 2 teaspoons cinnamon

- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

- 1/2 cup chopped dried dates

- 1/2 cup hot water

- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 and 1/4 cups)

- 1 and 1/2 cups shredded carrot

- 1/2 cup plain yoghurt (I used non fat)

- 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and walnuts in a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl combine dates and hot water and let sit so the water can soak up some of the sweetness of the dates and the dates can soften.

4. In a medium bowl combine bananas and carrots. Whisk yoghurt and eggs together in another small bowl and add to the banana-carrot mixture. Add in the date-water mixture.

5. Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (you don’t want to over-mix)

6. Scoop the mixture into paper muffin cups or a well greased muffin tray. Don’t be afraid of filling them up too much as they will barely rise at all.

7. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove and let cool before transfering to an airtight container for storage. They will keep very well in the fridge or can even be frozen if you don’t think you’ll use them all within the week.

Hope they warm up your mornings as much as they did for me!

 

Five Minute Hummus

This is the perfect 5 minute hummus recipe. It literally takes that long (plus maybe an extra 30 seconds to wash the food processor afterwards). It’s quick, easy and contains nothing but good for you ingredients. Plus the cumin gives it a nice little kick so it becomes more than your average hummus. Hope you like it!

Five Minute Hummus

Ingredients:

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 clove of garlic

- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

- 2 tablespoons tahini

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- about 1/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil but olive oil would also be great)

- paprika (optional garnish)

Directions:

1. Blend chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, cumin and salt in a food processor.

2. Slowly add the oil bit by bit until the mixture achieves the consistency you’re looking for. Keeping scraping down the sides if necessary. I found I didn’t need the full 1/4 cup of oil but if you like your hummus really creamy, don’t be afraid to use the whole quantity.

3. You can serve right away with a little paprika sprinkled for decoration or keep it in the fridge for later. It lasts well over a week so you can have it on hand for a good while!