Creamy Coconut Milk Chickpeas with Spinach

It's been a while since I have posted a recipe but I've been inspired lately to create new dishes. I have switched from a 90% raw food diet to about 65-75%. Unfortunately this is partly due to my budget, but also my curiosity to experiment with more cooked foods. I cannot wait to grow my own food and get back to more raw food eating and organic fresh foods. I am still preparing healthy meals, some organic and some non organic - again, due to budget. I refer to the dirty dozen list so I can avoid buying toxic non-organic foods. I am going to be preparing more vegetarian meals that focus on different nutrients and vitamins that we need in or order to stay healthy. For this recipe, my focus is Iron and Vitamin C. Vitamin C increases iron absorption, so it should be taken into consideration when preparing iron rich foods. Spinach, Chick Peas and other Leafy Green vegetables are a good source of iron. Tomatoes along with Citrus and Leafy Green vegetables are a good source of Vitamin C. There are other foods that contain both iron and Vitamin C, however I am focusing on the foods I just mentioned because they are the main ingredients of my recipe. Chickpeas also contain protein, fiber and other nutrients. Turmeric heals wounds, balances blood sugar, encourages normal lipid levels, supports the stomach lining and more! Check out my delicious recipe below for good health...

Pin It

Happy New Year - around the sun!

One of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics is known as 'Feng Shui'. Feng Shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe before the invention of magnetic compasses. The purpose of Feng Shui is to create an environment with good qi. Qi in Chinese martial arts, refers to 'energy', in the sense of (positive and negative) 'life force'. When we have good design in our homes, our rooms are filled with vibrant energy.

'A traditional explanation of qi as it relates to Feng Shui would include the orientation of a structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment, including the local microclimates, the slope of the land, vegetation, and soil quality.' -excerpt from wikipedia

To begin creating this type of living space, it is always recommended to have a professional Feng Shui practitioner guide you in achieving this harmony effectively. However, here are a few ways to start putting some of these techniques into practice:

1. Find the room in your home or apartment where energy is strongest (such as where guests like to hang out in). This area would be used as a working space that will help bring you popularity, success and money.
2. Sleep against a solid wall, the headboard should be against the wall and the foot of the bed should never be in line with the door.
3. Place air cleaning plants around the home to reduce anxiety and remove toxins.
4. Clean the front entrance. The front door should be well maintained and solid and the front area of your home should be clean and not cluttered. Make it welcoming and from this focal point, you should have beautiful pieces of art and furniture that feels pleasing.

Happy New Year!

image source: http://www.decoist.com/2013-09-25/feng-shui-tips/

Information sources:
http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/home-garden/home/feng-shui-for-good-energy-1.1954611
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui
http://www.vogue.com/13383560/how-to-feng-shui-your-home-easy-ways-beginners-guide/

Pin It

It Is Our Earth, Yours and Mine.

"I don’t know if any of you have noticed, early in the morning, the sunlight on the waters. How extraordinarily soft is the light, and how the dark waters dance, with the morning stars over the trees, the only star in the sky. Do you ever notice any of that? Or are you so busy, so occupied with the daily routine, that you forget or have never known the rich beauty of this earth—this earth on which all of us have to live? Whether we call ourselves communists or capitalists, Hindus or Buddhists, Muslims or Christians, whether we are blind, lame, or well and happy, this earth is ours. It is our earth, not somebody else’s; it is not only the rich man’s earth, it does not belong exclusively to the powerful rulers, to the nobles of the land, but it is our earth, yours and mine. We are nobodies, yet we also live on this earth and we all have to live together. It is the world of the poor as well as of the rich, of the unlettered as well as of the learned; it is our world, and I think it is very important to feel this and to love the earth, not just occasionally on a peaceful morning, but all the time." - Jiddu Krishnamurti





Photo of sky with buildings by Gabriela. Photo of mountains taken from http://photographyblogger.net/incredible-landscapes-by-colorblind-photographer-kilian-schonberger/

Pin It

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit"

Quote by: Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are two equinoxes annually, vernal and autumnal, marking the beginning of spring and fall. They are opposite for the northern and southern hemispheres. The autumnal equinox happens every year on September 22, 23, or 24, when the sun crosses the celestial equator. In China the September equinox is celebrated during the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. This year’s harvest moon on the evening of September 27 is a super moon that will also display a rare total lunar eclipse. The last time a total lunar eclipse coincided with a supermoon happened was in 1982, and it won’t happen again until 2033! - '12 things to know about the autumnal equinox'. Read More...

Pin It

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”

Quote by: Rumi
Our body is made up of various molecules and atoms. But where did these come from? And how were they made?  How much of the human body is made up of stardust?
'Since stardust atoms are the heavier elements, the percentage of star mass in our body is much more impressive. Most of the hydrogen in our body floats around in the form of water. The human body is about 60% water and hydrogen only accounts for 11% of that water mass. Even though water consists of two hydrogen atoms for every oxygen, hydrogen has much less mass. We can conclude that 93% of the mass in our body is stardust.' - excerpt from article found at PhysicsCentral.com

image taken from http://disjointedthinking.jeffhughes.ca/

Pin It

Cucumber Noodles With Spinach Pesto

"I'm strong to the finish, 'cause I eats me Spinach, I'm Popeye the sailor man" (from theme song). Spinach is rich in minerals and vitamins including vitamin K which is found in plant foods. It is concentrated in phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids which provide us with powerful antioxidants. Spinach also helps us maintain bone health since it is an excellent source of calcium and magnesium. Eat your organic spinach!
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=112
More info on the benefits of avocado available here:
http://www.well-beingsecrets.com/health-benefits-of-avocado/

Pin It

'Red sky at night, sailors' delight'

“You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.”
- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Photos from Wednesday night (balcony view) Enjoy!

Pin It

Sunday At The Lakeshore

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The weather has finally gotten warmer in the last couple days. I took a little trip down to Port Credit Lakeshore with a friend. Enjoy the pics below!

 

Pin It

How do we see ourselves?

Suffering that exists in this world is not something that we must go though. But as it is there, one must understand it and go beyond it. A mind that is incapable of suffering is religious in the true sense of the word. It becomes a passionate mind. A mind that is hurt, is not an innocent mind. An innocent mind is incapable of being hurt. From Latin innocent meaning 'not harming'. But the word has been misused.
From childhood, parents compare their child with another child. When we compare, we are hurting our child, yet we do it! Is it possible to educate a child without comparison, without images, so the child can never be hurt in that way? One is hurt because one has built an image about oneself. It's like placing a wall between you and others and if others extend upon that wall, you get hurt. A child can identify with a name, it does not need an image. Through education, through tradition, through propaganda, we have built an image of ourselves based on what others say. Can a child ever be educated to never get hurt? Professors and scholars say, a child must get hurt in order to live on the world. But when they are asked if they ever want their child to get hurt, they are silent.
Through education and the social structure of our society in which we live, we have been hurt. We have images about ourselves, made by comparison, which are inevitably going to be hurt. Is it possible to be rid of the image that has been created of ourselves and never to create one again?

Our higher mind is free of images and conditioning. Imagination is the key in the alignment of our physical and higher mind. It cannot be hurt. 'I' 'magi' 'nation' - we are a nation of magicians. Imagination is a powerful tool that can be used to allow and create the changes we prefer to create within our lives individually and/or collectively, globally.
Our imagination is the conduit between our physical and higher mind, through which our higher mind communicates with us in ways which are more reflective of our passion, our excitement and preference. If you are willing to use your imagination without filtering the communication from your higher mind through belief systems that contain fear (such as the image of ourselves placed by others of who we are and what our limited capabilities are), then you will find that the outcome can always be a positive one and you can always amplify and magnify that in any direction and area of your life. The higher mind can see all the pathways or possibilities we can take in life and it guides you towards the path of least resistance - the path that is most truly you. By following your excitement and true passion, you will always be completely and purely on the path that is most truly you - your core true natural self.
- excerpts from 2 videos, one with Jiddu Krishnamurti and the other on Imagination by Bashar. (see links below)
Video sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I54SH0IbpzQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM-FDqWkuAw

Pin It

'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated'

Quote by Mahatma Gandhi
"Animals have always played an important role in agriculture. Not only do they provide us with food and fiber, but they also help to recycle nutrients and add to soil fertility. Over recent decades, however, the farming of animals has become increasingly separated from its natural existence on the land." Read More...
More on helping farm animals: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/
 

Image taken from http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/

Pin It

"The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it. "

Quote by: Ralph Waldo Emerson

BLOG UPDATES: Our Earth Land Blog will be going through some minor changes in the next few months ... stay tuned! I apologize for the lack of posts.

Above: Photos taken at Lakeshore Toronto (Winter 2015)

Pin It

New Worlds

"Ending secrecy is going to be a very difficult ride. It wont be fun in a lot of ways because there's a lot of invested interest in keeping it that way, as we can all see. And nevertheless, it has to happen. No matter how many times the powers that be tell us there's nothing there, it keeps showing up. The UFO lies has done bad things to the soul of the world. Think about it. You have this big big reality of whoever these beings are, whatever they are. They have technology that is so vastly beyond what we're supposed to have, and yet we tell ourselves every single day that this doesn't exist. There's a dissonance there, a cognitive dissonance." - Richard Dolan
 “In very different ways, the possibility that the universe is teeming with life, and the opposite possibility that we are totally alone, are equally exciting. Either way, the urge to know more about the universe seems to me irresistible, and I cannot imagine that anybody of truly poetic sensibility could disagree.” - Richard Dawkins

A.D. (after Declaration) by Richard Dolan 
NASAUpdates
abc News latest UFO sightings
UFO Witness Declaration

  Image above taken from http://linkvision.blogspot.ca/2014/12/nasas-kepler-spacecraft-discovers-new.html

Pin It

History Repeats Itself

"If you view time as a wheel, all we have to do is figure out how long the wheels are, and then if there's a traumatic event that happens in the wheel, and then the wheel turns again, we're in the future.
Past, present and future do exist in one sense, but if something really bad happens in a previous wheel, it's going to happen again in the next one because it leaves a residue. It leaves a blue print. So that does very much relate to the cycles of history. Some of this stuff are archetypes and it's like a universal mind, but some of it is the result of things that happened before. And when the cycle comes around again those influences, we have to work off the trauma - and they will repeat." - David Wilcock.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalachakra.jpg

Pin It

Man

Pin It

Fear vs Logic

'Once a person comes to accept that a specific belief must be held in order to avoid eternal torture, they are no longer free to think independently. Their mind is held hostage by threat of eternal punishment. Logic may point to a fact, but if that fact threatens the core belief system, and that logic threatens their eternal destination, in such a conflict, only the strongest are able to break free and choose the side of logic.'-  excerpt from youtube video
 

Image above taken from funnyjunk.com

Pin It

Picking Apples In September

Back in September, we drove up to Avalon Orchards for some organic apple picking! We love the opportunity to pick our own organic fruits. Freshly picked (raw and ripe) fruits contain energy that can heal the human body. Organic apples have proven to decrease oxidation of cell membrane fats. This is important in our cardiovascular system since oxidation of fat in the membranes of cells, is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular problems. Avalon Orchards is a Certified Organic Apple orchard located in Innisfil, Ontario. Avalon Orchards apples and apple cider is available at Trinity Bellwoods Farmer's market on Tuesdays.

Below: photos from the orchard- enjoy!

Pin It

The whole of nature and it's beauty

“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty.” - Albert Einstein

Below: photos of wood ducklings in High Park pond - enjoy!

Pin It

Does truth come in a package or does it require individual understanding?

Note: Big Truth is defined as fundamental truth (the 'big picture' truth).

'There may be some overlap between consciousness and at least some religious values because religion often speaks to human values and human values at their root, evolve from the values of low entropy consciousness. There may also be a connection because of religion's occasional association with those who have deeply known 'Big Truth' and nobly tried to embody it and package it for large numbers of others. Unfortunately, history shows that such an effort usually ends up ugly and twisted for the majority who eventually try to reach salvation through ritual, dogma, close-mindedness and violence.

An effort to spread 'Big Truth' may be a noble undertaking, however, using an organization to spread 'Big Truth' to the multitudes, many of whom are not yet ready to personally assimilate it's underlying wisdom, has ended up being counterproductive. Once organized, the 'Big Truth' - which requires individual wisdom to understand - is replaced by culturally relevant dogma that everyone can easily understand and a structure designed to grow the power, influence, and cash flow of the organization.

Fear-based organizations (believe our way or suffer the awful consequences) are inherently and fundamentally incompatible with the promulgation of spiritual values and growth which require love-based individual understanding. Trying to express and spread love through dogma, self- righteous arrogance, legislation, political or social pressure, narrow-mindedness, or fanatical violence is like trying to strike a wooden match under twenty feet of muddy water using only your elbows.'
- excerpt from My Big TOE, by Thomas W Campbell

"The only thing that can logically corner you consistently, is the truth." 
- Thomas W Campbell

Pin It

"Words are finite organs of the infinite mind."

Quote by: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Above: Robin on a tree in High Park on a beautiful morning! Enjoy.

Pin It

'To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.'

Quote (above) by: Bruce Lee

"Everyone is trying to become something, both physically and inwardly, psychologically, psychically and, if I may use that word, spiritually, we are all struggling to become something. And when one is trying to become - ambition, competition, trying to achieve some status politically or religiously, then you have no relationship with another nor with nature... You have no relationship to it. You look at it, perhaps you swim there. But the feeling of the sea with its enormous vitality, enormous energy, the beauty of a wave, the crashing of a wave upon the shore, there is no communication between that marvellous movement of the sea and yourself... If you don't perceive that - the sea, the quality of the water, the waves, the enormous vitality of the tide going out and coming in, if you are not aware of that, how can one be aware or be sensitive to human relationship? ... Beauty, if one may talk about it, is not merely in the physical form, but beauty in essence is that quality of sensitivity, the quality of observation of nature.
Life is relationship. Without relationship we cannot exist. But we have reduced that relationship to mere sensory responses. I wonder if one is aware of this complexity of relationship.
It is important to understand the nature and the structure of relationship. To change this corrupt society you must change, you must change yourself radically... to bring about a mutation in the very mind, in the very cells of the brain. " - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Pin It