Hurtful maybe.... but in the end helpful!

Almost two years ago, one of the people I had always respected and cared for in my life told me something that was very hurtful.  Something that actually broke the care and respect I had for her... If she told me that, she obviously never even tried understanding me and she certainly had no respect for who I had became.  It hurt... and I thought about it for a LONG time...  and I thought it was resolve....  until I came across this article two weeks, or just about, ago.  Then it resurfaced...  and forced me to figure it out... And I did... and this is why today, I am ready to write about it.

What this person had told me was that I should have more "ambition".  Now, it referred to the fact that I work part time in a coffee shop...  I live in a small town in a apartment, I have no car... and own very little furniture...  and I am, in no way, ever, aiming to get back to that place in my life where I was very unhappy and sick but... I had a house (not a home), two new cars, travelled twice a year,  had lots of furniture and Nick-knack...  way too much clothes and jewelry...  picture frames every where... books and more books.... CDs...  DVD... my kitchen cupboards were filled with stuff... so was my pantry and fridge even thus I ate out most of the time....  I spent time shopping and eating out... or cleaning... but mostly working to make enough money to buy all that...crap!

This person, considered who I was before as someone who had a successful life as is expected once you obtain a bachelor degree...  I know I hurt her when I chose a different life... slowly but surely I went from that unhealthy stressful (but deemed successful) life to something much more healthy, peaceful and sustainable...  for my husband and son.... and actually the whole planet!

I am now eating a whole food plant-based diet...  I own very little and only stuff I really need/use/like!  I no longer shop... rarely eat out... I do not own anything I cannot bring with me in a suitcase/moving truck... My mean of transportation are my legs as they carry me, at no cost, where ever I want... I am at a point in my life where I could grab a suitcase, choose what I want to bring along and leave the rest behind...  no regrets!
I don't even have credit or a line of credit anymore -adios credit cards, personal loans and line of credit.... if I don't have the money, I go without!

Now, I understand why this may seem like not having enough ambition - to some...  but if you think it through, living this way in today's society is not that easy... and to me ambition does not mean an easy fight!

And what is ambition anyway? Destroying the planet by our over-consumerism way of life? Following what everyone does? Getting a high end paying job to buy stuff you do not need to impress people you do not like?

What is your definition of ambition?

What if ambition was living a healthy peaceful life? What if ambition was taking the best possible care of yourself to be able to care for your family?  What if ambition was learning to cook healthy whole food plant-base meals? What if ambition was to share your acquired knowledge? What if ambition had nothing to do with you self-centered need but was greater then that?

My definition of ambition is attaining a healthy, peaceful life despite what most of our capitalist society thinks... it means doing more with less... it means not hurting my body, mind, soul by acting according to beliefs that I was brainwashed with all while I grew up... It means taking care of myself to the best of my knowledge... continuously improving the way I do so by looking for more information, obtaining more accurate knowledge... it means staying clear of masses because you know what other word is included in masses...

What if ambition was define this way in today's society?  Wouldn't it be a better place to live? Wouldn't it assure our kids and grand-kids a planet and food for them?

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,
chloe
xox
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A few of my recipes....

As promise, here are a few of my go-to recipes...

I mentioned before that I was trying to simplify my eating...
Adopting the McDougall program surely did that...  and as I was already vegan, the transition has not been to hard.  I can surely say that I am 95% McDougalling... hahaha! Yes this is a term in his group discussions and FB page!

Them main goal of eating this way is to:

- add starches to your diet (potatoes, rice, complete grains... and potatoes!)
- avoid all animal product
- eat real food (no process stuff, no supplements)
- eat food in it's most natural state (no juices or smoothies)
- stay clear of refined flour and sugar
- avoid fat in all process ways (margarine, oil...)

Basically eat starches, fruits and veggies till you're full...  eat less protein.... and very little fat!

It is called the WFPB diet (whole food plant based diet)

There are many scientific evidences over the course of decades and in many different areas of this planet that point towards this being the healthiest diet for our bodies!

All that being said, you can make your own research as I provided the link to start off with....  You can also read this book (and he has a few more) and make you own decisions....  but whether you opt for that program or not, the recipes I am sharing down here are delicious, simple and cheap.... as well as nutritious! Enjoy!

Tomatoes barley soup.

onion finely chopped
clove garlic finely chopped
mushrooms to taste finely chopped
barley
can tomatoes (diced or pureed depending on your preference)
veggie broth
Italian herbs

I am leaving quantities up to you as you can adapt according to your liking...

Sauteed in a little water (remember we use no oil when possible) the onion, garlic and mushroom until they are tender.  Add the barley and mix well. Add the Italian herbs and mix some more. When all this is well mixed, add the veggie broth and can of tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and cook until the barley is ready.  More or less an hour.  Allow to stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.

This soup is delicious as is...  you can also do a version without the tomatoes if you wish.... In which case I call it my mushroom barley soup!  I also did that exact same soup without the mushrooms but find that they add some earthy flavors that I very much like. Technically, you could also add celery (with the onions mixture at the beginning)...  and why not finely cut spinach at the end of cooking time? But I like to keep it simple....

You can easily freeze left over of that soup.

Along side of that soup, you can serve Cubed bake tofu.

Take a block of firm tofu and cut into cube.  Season with soy sauce and garlic powder.  Mix.  Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes (depending on your oven). There is your added protein - for those who prefer more protein still... Even if there is sufficient proofs that we, in America eat on average as much as 3 times more proteins then we need!
Just make sure your tofu does not have "soy isolate protein" which is process.  I also always make sure to buy organic tofu - this is the one of the products I will not buy non-organic!

You can also serve that soup with Cubed bake potatoes.

This is something my family eats almost every single day of the week...

Peel and cube potatoes.  Place in mixing bowl and add salt, Italian herbs and paprika.  Mix well. Bake at 420F for 30-40 minutes depending on the potatoes.

You can also do that with sweet potatoes in which case I skip the Italian herbs and add cayenne.  It gives you sweet and spicy potatoes!  Make sure you adjust cooking time as they often cook in less time then regular potatoes!

So..... there you have it! One of my regular meals...  we eat this once a week...

Hope you'll try and enjoy it!
Do not hesitate to share with me variations to these...  I am always in for trying variations of something that I  love...  it makes it more fun!

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,
chloe
xox
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3 months done and feeling fantastic!!!

As you may remember, on Nov 29th of 2015, the most exiting shopping day of the Year (Black Friday), I started a shopping ban for 367 days! Let's talk about going against the main flow...

Well yesterday on Feb 29th, I had gone 3 months without shopping/buying anything for myself...  or did I???

Well....... I kind of did!  Here's what happen:

Books:

I read 6 from the library since the beginning of the year...
And I did buy 2 books... that I know I will read over and over again...  They were both about 10$ each.

Actually, not shopping physically or on line allowed me much more time to read and in the first 2 months of the year, I actually read 8 books and started another more intense one that I will need to read slowly...

This is AWESOME as I love to read but never had "time" to do so!

I did not "not have time"... my priorities were in the wrong place!

Clothes:

My worse nightmare... or is it still???

Well... not at ALL! Not anymore anyway...

I am OK with not shopping for clothes... and actually I don't even feel like doing it!
The fashion/clothing industry is so detrimental to our planet and it's people that I just can't do it for now and when I have to, it makes me so sad...

I remember one sentence in the movie "Sweet November" said by Charlize Theron that was something like "well it is just clothes, it is meant to cover your body so who cares"... or something close to that...  It helps me a lot lately!

For example, I had to buy underwear.... I was long overdue...  and I did buy them... but this is one of the things (along with footwear) that I refuse to buy use... and I couldn't find sustainably made where I live... Also, as it is a replacement of something I own and is no longer usable, it doesn't break the rules per say.

So I did buy my underwear... and spend 48$.  I should be good for the next year.... or perhaps a little longer!

I also bought harem pants from a site on line...  they are lovely and cost me 31$.  This, quite frankly, I had no real need for it... but a friend wanted to buy without having to pay for shipping and I really LOVE harem pants and wear hem more and more during summer!  They are the perfect fit between a skirt and shorts!!! Also they do not come from a sweat shop so that could be OK if I don't over do it!

Other stuff:

Aside from food...  I only bought filters for my water filtering system... 5 of them should last me a year and they were just about 20$.

What do I expect over the next few months?

Well I know I will definitely need footwear as all I own is falling into pieces....  and we are planning to start hiking this summer so I need shoes for that definitely!

I will have to look into getting a new bicycle as mine was stolen last fall when I put it away for winter.... That I am definitely getting second hand!

Aside from that, all my money is going into "buying experiences" instead of stuff!
Buying time by allowing myself to work less since I "need" less money...
I will soon be debt free and hence able to enjoy life more!  And the good news is , by not over spending on stuff I do not need that could destroy the planet and take the lives of poor people we are abusing to produce them , I will not go into debt again!!!  Both other times where I got debt free, I soon after got back into it!!! I needed to get the stuff!!!  What could I have expected?

But  now, all this is behind me...  I am free...  free from over consumption...
I am not a slave to advertising companies!
I am not a slave to our capitalist system who makes us believe buying stuff will buy us happiness...  friends... love and so much more!  When in fact, it does the exact opposite! They want us to believe it because if enough people start believing what I do believe in and live like I live, well the economy will crash and all those rich people will not be making millions anymore by abusing us as workers and spenders! By getting us into debt...  by enslaving us to jobs we do because they give us big money... and hence allow us to buy stuff we do not need to impress people we do not really like... and never get out of the destructive pattern!

Quite frankly, when I started this 367 days shopping ban I was terrified... as I tried this type of challenge before and inevitably failed.... I was not ready for it...  I didn't know if that time I was!  Although I had been shopping less and less over the last year, sometimes all I need is an interdiction to do something to want to do it more! But I also knew that I completely turned around the way I eat so I could do that to! There was/is hope!

I think all the documentaries I have watched did help me....  here are links to 2 of them...
Have a look and you can choose if they are for you or not at this point in your life...

The true cost 

Zeitgeist In total there a 3 documentaries to watch called Zeitgeist.  All great!

These were real eye openers for me... as I hope they will be for you...

In the meantime, I will keep on "not shopping" and do other stuff instead...
I did address my desire to read more... In the next few months, I will be working on my desire to spend more time doing yoga/meditation and find a way to create time, by addressing priorities, to do just that!

I will get back to you soon on my 367 days shopping ban as spring is really one of my weakest time when it comes to shopping!

Be who you are... DREAM your life... LIVE your dream...
namaste

love&peace,
chloe
xox
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