Thought I'd note down and share some excellent and valuable ideas learned from the Sustainable Living Expo (Epic) on Saturday, May 14, 2011.
Baking without eggs (substitution):
- 1/4 cup applesauce or mashed banana
- 3 Tablespoons of silken tofu
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
Nutritional Yeast: Available as flakes or powder, it adds a cheesy flavour to all sorts of foods and is fortified with vitamin B12
Seitin - wheat meat, versatile, hearty and chewy.
Tahini: versatile Mediterranean paste made from ground hulled sesame seeds.
Tempeh: whole soybeans, sometimes mixed with grains , richer than tofu.
TVP: textured vegetable ( or soy) protein made from soy flour, cooked under pressure, extruded and tried.
Substitute butter for Earth Balance vegetable margarine
Seachoice.org = Canada's Seafood Guide to choosing sustainable seafood choices:
Some items noted to Avoid:
Farmed:
- ( International shrimp/prawn, tiger)
- Atlantic Salmon
- Tilapia (China, Taiwan)
Some of the best choices that made the list:
- US Tilapia
- CDN/US Wild crab
- Canadian Sablefish
- Cdn/US albacore tuna
Bees
- Population of bees are depleting at a rate of 20% per year. Some things you can do to help:
- Plants are bee friendly (http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants)
- Limit the use of pesticides
Fairtrade
Look for the fair trade logo to support products derived from social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate.
Some of my favourite fair trade merchants that I sampled:
- Camino chocolates
- Salt spring Coffee
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Mind Over Matter
I love how the days that I most dread my workout/runs are the the days where I have the best workouts!
Rule of thumb:
Don't ever let fatigue and laziness take control over your body.
Your body is a powerhouse, regardless of what form, shape, level or size. Your mind has the ability control how much energy your body wants to exert. Even if it takes baby steps, then so be it.
You'll be amazed at how the body responds to your determination.
Rule of thumb:
Don't ever let fatigue and laziness take control over your body.
Your body is a powerhouse, regardless of what form, shape, level or size. Your mind has the ability control how much energy your body wants to exert. Even if it takes baby steps, then so be it.
You'll be amazed at how the body responds to your determination.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
My first half marathon experience - May 1, 2011
I finally completed my first half marathon race! The weather could not have been better especially given the colder rainier day's we been experiencing. I was a little nervous given that it was my first race and I went all by myself.
It was difficult but I had cut out alcohol and meat out of my diet the week prior because I didn't want to risk feeling lethargic for the race!
I packed and prepared everything I needed the night before so that I didn't have to scramble the morning of. I also 'carbo loaded' my Saturday night's dinner at moms place! I made a udon dish with home made peanut sauce and tofu stir fry and lots of cooked spinach on the side for iron and power! I was definitely full for the remainder of the evening!
I woke up at 5 am and spent a good 20 minutes stretching. The new foam roller I bought from the BMO Marathon expo has also been amazing! Especially on the back, really feels great.
Anyway now on to the race, I got there at about 6:15 am and quickly snacked on a protein bar. These Solo-gi bars I picked up at the expo are really tasty! I really like how my body reacts to the bar afterwards because I don't experience that sugar spike as I normally do with other bars.
Race started at 7 am and the first 5 km was tough! I think my body didnt like me racing 5k without warming up! I also started to feel my ears burn a bit, the feeling I got when I used to run the 6 lap runs in high school. Back then, 6 laps to me felt like my thoughts of a full marathon!
After around the 6k mark we headed down hill for a bit and it was then when my body started to warm up. I still didnt quite feel euphoric, I think my body and mind wasn't quite getting used to the speed and the crowd, I felt like everyone was passing me almost the entire race, it was not a very encouraging feeling! My breath was also feeling a little short as well for some reason, so it complicated my run a little bit more.
It wasn't until probably after halfway mark when I finally decided to pop open my chocolate gels when I started to feel my runners high kick in. My armin set then started to play a good tune and I was about halfway into Stanley Park with the sun shining and my run started to stride. I felt awesome. Soon enough I had 4k to go, we were passing English Bay. My legs started to feel like rubber and I had lots of energy!
At 19k I attempted to kick in some speed, slowly, til I hit the 20k mark, looked at my watch for the first time and it showed 1:45, I was surprised! I didn't think I was going to finish the race in under 2 hours! So that encouraged me to pick up more speed and try to get it to 1:50. I could spot the blue finish line and I was feeling quite exhausted but pushed myself as hard as I could, I missed the 1:50 by 1 minute, but 1:51:41, placed 86 of 761 in my division, and 1063 of I'm quite happy!
I think this will be the start of many more half marathons to go!
It was difficult but I had cut out alcohol and meat out of my diet the week prior because I didn't want to risk feeling lethargic for the race!
I packed and prepared everything I needed the night before so that I didn't have to scramble the morning of. I also 'carbo loaded' my Saturday night's dinner at moms place! I made a udon dish with home made peanut sauce and tofu stir fry and lots of cooked spinach on the side for iron and power! I was definitely full for the remainder of the evening!
I woke up at 5 am and spent a good 20 minutes stretching. The new foam roller I bought from the BMO Marathon expo has also been amazing! Especially on the back, really feels great.
Anyway now on to the race, I got there at about 6:15 am and quickly snacked on a protein bar. These Solo-gi bars I picked up at the expo are really tasty! I really like how my body reacts to the bar afterwards because I don't experience that sugar spike as I normally do with other bars.
Race started at 7 am and the first 5 km was tough! I think my body didnt like me racing 5k without warming up! I also started to feel my ears burn a bit, the feeling I got when I used to run the 6 lap runs in high school. Back then, 6 laps to me felt like my thoughts of a full marathon!
After around the 6k mark we headed down hill for a bit and it was then when my body started to warm up. I still didnt quite feel euphoric, I think my body and mind wasn't quite getting used to the speed and the crowd, I felt like everyone was passing me almost the entire race, it was not a very encouraging feeling! My breath was also feeling a little short as well for some reason, so it complicated my run a little bit more.
It wasn't until probably after halfway mark when I finally decided to pop open my chocolate gels when I started to feel my runners high kick in. My armin set then started to play a good tune and I was about halfway into Stanley Park with the sun shining and my run started to stride. I felt awesome. Soon enough I had 4k to go, we were passing English Bay. My legs started to feel like rubber and I had lots of energy!
At 19k I attempted to kick in some speed, slowly, til I hit the 20k mark, looked at my watch for the first time and it showed 1:45, I was surprised! I didn't think I was going to finish the race in under 2 hours! So that encouraged me to pick up more speed and try to get it to 1:50. I could spot the blue finish line and I was feeling quite exhausted but pushed myself as hard as I could, I missed the 1:50 by 1 minute, but 1:51:41, placed 86 of 761 in my division, and 1063 of I'm quite happy!
I think this will be the start of many more half marathons to go!
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