Feminine Creative Force

I used the Golden Section, and Sacred Arch as grids to create this illustration. Thanks to my beautiful friend, Lisa for modeling for me!

Purple Sweet Potaoes

Aloha everyone,
In honor of Thanksgiving I would like to share with you my simple and delicious sweet potato recipe. This recipe uses Okinawa purple sweet potatoes, ginger, cinnamon and coconut milk to give it a sweet and creamy consistency—perfect for Thanksgiving, or anytime. For those of you living on the mainland check your local health food store, or fresh produce market and ask if they have Okinawa Sweet Potatoes. I'm sure someplace carries them cause they are soooo delicious! To make it easier, try making the potatoes a day or two beforehand and then just heat them up in the oven right before you serve Thanksgiving dinner. Wishing you all many blessings to be thankful for!

Purple Sweet Potatoes
Serves: 4–6
Ingredients:
3 large Okinawa sweet potatoes
1 can organic coconut milk
1-3 teaspoons ginger powder
1-3 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1-3 tablespoons coconut oil (optional)
Wash potatoes, poke several times with fork and place on cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 50 minutes until well done and soft when poked. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle remove skins and place in large mixing bowl. Add can of coconut milk, spices and coconut oil and stir. Mash with fork as you go until potatoes are smooth. Serve an enjoy.

The importance of Omega-3 and recipe for "Coco, Chaco, Chia" pudding!

Coco, Chaco, Chia Pudding is a great dessert, high in omega-3 EFAs.

Aloha everyone, I have been experimenting in my kitchen again and you know what that means.... a new, awesome recipe for you to try!

Well I just finished reading this great book, "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall and I am now super hyped on barefoot running and eating chia seeds. The Tarahumara or "Running People", legendary for their amazing endurance and vigor, make a drink called, iskaiate, made from chia seeds, lime juice and sweetener. This drink is said to help give them super running powers, although I'm sure it's not that simple.

I have been trying chia seeds in everything from smoothies to fruit salads to my latest creation: "Coco-Chaco-Chia Pudding", which I will be sharing with you here. This recipe took a few tries to get it right but I think I finally nailed it.

First, allow me to share a little bit about chia seed health benefits with you.

Chia seeds are high in protein, antioxidants, B-complex vitamins and various minerals. The best thing about chia seeds, however, is that they are high in omega-3 essential fatty acids, also known as EFAs. Why is that so great? Well, in our modern diet, we are comsumeing way too much omega-6 and hardly any omega-3 EFAs. Research suggests that an imbalance of omega-3 and omega-6 can eventually cause various health problems including arthritis, obesity, diabetes, cancer, depression and heart disease.

Most packaged foods contain high amounts of omega-6 EFAs due to the vegetable oils used in them. For this reason it is easy to see why the average person consumes 20 to 50 times the amount of omega-6 to omega-3! (The ideal ratio is 1:1 by the way.)

Part of this imbalance can happen when foods we eat that are naturally high in omega-3, such as wild fish, come to us from farmed sources instead. When fish are farmed, there is no way for them to eat their native diet. The farm diet causes the fish to be higher in total fat content and much higher in omega-6 than omega-3. With wild fish the ratios are reversed. They are lower in total fat content and they have a much higher ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 EFAs. (For the record I am not completely against fish farming—it fills a need created when the natural environments of wild fish are continually threatened by pollution and other factors, but that is a whole other issue.)

The nutritional content of dairy foods can change depending on the what the animals are being fed. Dairy from grass-fed cow's milk has a naturally equal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 EFAs, whereas the milk from cows that are only allowed very small amounts of grass have far less, if any, omega-3.

When we consume imbalanced foods regularly it can create imbalances in our bodies as well. This is why it's a good idea to get as much omega-3 in your diet as possible. I believe that supplementing with chia seeds can help.

The following is a  great dessert recipe that can be adapted to your taste and dietary needs. Less or more sweetener may be used depending on what you prefer. If you cannot have any sugar then I suggest using stevia or xylitol, which are natural sugar substitutes.

Look for all ingredients at your local health food store or check the natural foods section of your grocery store. Always use organic ingredients when possible.

For those who want to do delve in and do further research on these topics please visit the resource links listed below.

Resources: chiaseedshealthbenefits.com/; www.chrismcdougall.com/; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_running; www.nomeatathlete.com/tarahumara-pinole-chia-recipes/; www.optimal-heart-health.com/omega_3.html; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/03/13/omega3-fats-part-one.aspx; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/23/the-incredible-importance-of-omega-3-s.aspx; www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=96; www.eatwild.com/articles/superhealthy.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol

Coco-Chaco-Chia Pudding

Servings: 3-5

1 can of coconut milk

2 tablespoons cacao (cocoa) powder

1 tablespoon maca powder

2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds

In a large bowl combine cacao (cocoa) powder, maca, honey or agave, vanilla and a little coconut milk and stir. Add a little more coconut milk and stir again, making sure to get all lumps out and make smooth. Repeat this process until all the coconut milk is well blended in. Next add the chia seeds and mix well. Cover and put in the refrigerator for six or more hours. When well chilled and gelled, stir once more and serve. Enjoy and live well;-)

Awesome way to wash your hair that works!!

 Yes! I have finally found an affordable and effective way to wash my hair that is chemical-free and doesn't leave my hair feeling greasy or tangled. Thanks to the One Green Generation blog, I was able to find this method and adjust it to my own needs.

All you need is baking soda, vinegar, water and         

two empty bottles.

Why all the fuss over chemical-free products you may ask. Well For one thing, whatever you put on your skin and scalp is absorbed directly into your blood stream so it makes sense to be aware of what all those strange ingredients in your lotions and hair products are and what they can do to disrupt your body's natural balance.

Many of the ingredients in shampoos and lotions are all chemicals derived from petroleum and contain compounds called "xenoestrogens" (as do plastic and styrofoam containers). These foreign estrogens can disrupt your body's natural hormone balance and may be linked to many disturbances including: Fatigue, infertility, irregular menstral cycles, PMS, man boobs, weight gain, estrogen dominance, blood sugar imbalances, mood swings, memory loss, depression, etc...

My hair after 3 weeks of using this method. 

No grease, no build-up. Hair is much easier 

to brush through without using conditioner.

Since I am trying to get my own body balanced and restored to health, I am avoiding these harmful chemicals as much as possible, hence the new method of hair washing, which, is turning out quite well for me so far. I urge everyone to give this method a try. It really works and it also makes your scalp feel healthier, and your hair shinier! Here's how you do it:

Ingredients:
Aluminum-free baking soda
Braggs Apple Cider vinegar
Water
2 empty containers

Directions: In first container mix one part baking soda to three parts water and shake well. In second container mix one part vinegar to four parts water and shake well. You may also add your choice of essential oils or a cinnamon stick to the vinegar mixture to make it smell good. I like to add clove oil to mine. It smells nice and spicy plus it makes your scalp tingle.

In the shower, apply the baking soda mixture to dry scalp. Work it into scalp until whole surface is covered. No need to put it on the rest of your hair. Let sit for about three minutes and rinse. Next add the vinegar mixture, starting at the scalp then working to the ends and rinse. If you have longer hair and the ends are dry you can add a little alcohol-free natural conditioner (to ends only) and rinse. I have really long hair and I have noticed that I rarely need conditioner any more with this new method since it makes my hair easy to manage. If you do use a conditioner I recommend Aubrey Organics. 

Thai Peanut Kelp Noodles and Veggies

Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes. I just love the savory peanut taste with fresh organic veggies and noodles. Kelp noodles are a new and amazing raw food that I was recently turned on to. Made with mineral-rich sea kelp, they are clear, crisp and just six calories per serving. I am not one to count calories, but that is definitely amazing!

I love spicy food so I jazzed up my peanut sauce recipe with a little red currie paste and cayenne pepper. If you don't like spicy food, just leave those ingredients out, the recipe will still work fine without them. Also feel free to add your own veggie mixture to suite your taste. The following recipe is vegan, but meat such as organic chicken or grass-fed beef would make a great addition. All ingredients are available at Healthy Hut in Kilauea. If you are off island just ask your local health food store about the products mentioned below.

Thai Peanut Kelp Noodles and Veggies
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
2-4 tablespoons coconut oil, for cooking
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 broccoli heads, cut into pieces
1/4 red cabbage, chopped (optional)
4-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 package of kelp noodles

For the sauce:
3 tablespoons organic peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 tablespoon fermented miso
1 tablespoon thai red currie paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1-2 tablespoons cold-pressed sesame oil
water, for mixing

Heat coconut oil in pan and add garlic and onion. Burner should be on between medium and low. Sauté until onions are translucent then add broccoli and cabbage, toss and cover for about three minutes or more as needed.

Meanwhile mix all sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add more water or sesame oil to get the sauce to the desired consistency, set aside.

Uncover and toss ingredients again. Add shiitake mushrooms and toss. Add more coconut oil as needed to keep ingredients from sticking to pan. Cover for another three minutes or more as needed to steam. Uncover and add whole package of kelp noodles. Turn off heat and toss all ingredients with peanut sauce. Serve in pretty bowls with chop sticks. Enjoy!:-)

New look

Hey all,
I am in the process of redesigning my blog page so it is more personal-looking. But fear not, it will be the same, totally random blog by yours truly. I have some exciting new things to post but I also have a lot of homework and other stuff going on at the moment. I will try to post soon! Aloha and happy 4th!

Health food store newbie

Aloha everyone, I decided to write a little something for those out there who may be new to health food. Maybe you’ve never even set foot inside a health food store before. Sometimes the unknown can be quite intimidating but fear not, readers, I will attempt to quell your fears here in a few short paragraphs, and who knows, your local health food store may become your new favorite place to shop.

Yes, as I have said, the unknown can be a bit intimidating. I remember way back when I had never set foot inside a health food store. I would drive by it and hear about the foods that were offered there, but I just couldn’t bring myself to take that turn off the highway and go check it out for myself. I was just more comfortable shopping at the familiar grocery chains where my mom had shopped with me when I was young. But as fate would have it, my curiosity got the better of me — thank God.

On a whim, I pulled into the unfamiliar lot behind the Staff of Life natural food store in Santa Cruz, Calif., found a parking space and made my way inside the new and strange “hippie-food” haven. The people who worked there were not at all like the uniformed workers I was used to. These young people were clad is whatever interesting dress, tattoos and facial jewelry they saw fit. They were like a tribe, I thought, as I glanced around, a little uneasy, but very intrigued.

I myself was a bit of a social misfit at that time, usually roaming around on my skateboard with a big Canon camera in tow. I was used to getting stares for my baggy, thrift-store clothes and short, spiky hair. But no one in this store batted an eye as I strolled in to have a look. It was actually nice to be left alone and not glared at like I was going to rob the place. A young man with several lip rings and dyed-black hair came up after a while and asked if I needed any help; I refused and proceeded to scan the shelves.

As I browsed, I didn’t recognize any of the familiar brands I was used to. Everything was strange and exciting. There were all kinds of new products I had never seen before, from super foods to supplements to earth-friendly laundry detergents and skin care products—they had it all. I began to read the labels, something I wasn’t yet accustomed to doing, and found that I could actually pronounce the ingredients listed on the backs of products’ labels. As I put several new items in my basket, I wondered about the ingredients in the foods I was so used to eating, and I told myself that I would start reading the labels on everything and perhaps even do a little research on those strange, unpronounceable ingredients.

I was introduced to the “bulk foods” section for the first time, where I could buy grains, nuts, dried fruits, herbs and spices and be free to decide how much of each I wanted. The produce section was a colorful array of locally grown fruits  and vegetables that were in season and smelled delicious. I loaded up on sweet cherry tomatoes, vibrant salad greens and some ripe peaches—all organic and clean of chemical pesticides. I had already decided that this was my new favorite place to shop, and I couldn’t wait to get home and try all of my new edible treasures.

In the checkout lane, no plastic bags were offered, but customers were encouraged to buy a reusable bag or take one of the store’s used cardboard boxes. “Wow,” I thought, “that makes sense!” I was getting really tired of all those plastic bags piling up in my cupboard at home, so I purchased a reusable bag for $1.99. I have brought my own bags to shop with ever since.

It has been a long while since that first experience at The Staff of Life natural food store, but the love and appreciation for health food stores and the service they provide their communities has stayed with me. It is all a part of a more conscious shopping experience.

Health-food stores make an extra effort to find out where their food comes from; they consider the ethical practices of the companies and farms from which they buy. More and more sustainable, organically-grown food is becoming available worldwide and it is a beautiful thing. By shopping for organic and locally grown products, we are supporting a better future for our economy, and more importantly, a better future for our planet.

I hope that by sharing my experience, I have in some way helped to make an unfamiliar shopping experience seem a little less intimidating, and that some of you health food store newbies will take that leap into the unknown, as I did, and have a look at some of the amazing organic products out there. Don’t be afraid to try something new — who knows, it may become your new favorite food.