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Thoughts: Thoreau

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.

~ Thoreau

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Sit with us (aka the Menu project)

Sit with us

Here’s the deal, each Saturday I will post our menu for the week for those of you that are interested in how we roll around here or want inspiration to change the way you feast.  I will tell you where you can find the recipe and what groceries you need.

The rest is up to you to take on with us.

We have spent hours upon hours researching and educating ourselves about how we think we need to feed such that it is best for our bodies, best for our planet, and morally right.  We have tinkered and toiled and tried running on this and biking after that and we think we are dialled in now.

We prioritize feeding ourselves and our children.  Because what could possibly be more important?  It’s something you do at least three times a day, every day, 365.  It impacts everything, your physical health, your mental health, your longevity, your libido, your presence, your entire world.  And when you choose what food to put in your cart, you are voting.  You are declaring who and what you support.

So I will make the menu and invite you to sit and feast with us for the week.  But the rest is up to you.

What you need to know is the following:

  • this is not FAST food.  These meals take time to make.  Linger in the kitchen, catch up on your days, watch a doc, supervise homework, talk and create. That is the point.  Refer back to the priority rant.  Leave work an hour earlier.  No, I’m not kidding.  Say ‘no’ to something less important.  What is the point of more money if you are emotionally or physically miserable or dead?
  • this is not KID-FRIENDLY.  WTF is kid friendly anyway?  Sushi, hot Thai spice, raw seal, …. depending on the kid, those are all kid friends or foe.  Just make good food and feed it to your children.  They are going to complain anyway, so might as well just make one meal and thrive.  They will thank you later, when it counts.
  • this is Vegan.  If we lived in a different world then I could raise my cow and feed it to my family for the year, or hunt my moose and do the same.  But that is not the world we live in.  Lucky you if it is your world.  Until then, Vegan it is.  I’m not sure there is anything I feel more strongly about. {caveat – we ARE lucky enough to have neighbour who fishes our beautiful PNW waters, keeps to a quota, and shares.  So we do occasionally add in his fish}
  • this is hearty food.  We are 2 active adults and 2 kids.  We EAT.  I typically like twice the portion of what others seem to grab.  Leftovers are essential for my survival.  You will not leave these meals hungry.  But you might leave these meals with abs and marathon PBs.
  • there are no “hacks”.  This is not a fad, this is real life.  This is a choice.  This is work.
  • some days i’m on call at the hospital which means Scott is on call at home, so it’s everyone fend for themselves

Your list of essentials to start:

  • The two Oh She Glows cookbooks (Oh She Glows = OSG & Oh She Glows Everyday = OSGED), the Plantpower Way cookbook (PPW), the No Meat Athlete cookbook (NMA), google – https://www.kindredswell.com/my-favourite-time-of-the-week-menu-time/
  • an exceptional knife – https://www.kindredswell.com/shoes-for-the-ladies-knives-for-the-gents/
  • a high powered blender (we use our Magic Bullet and Vitamix twice daily)
  • a good quality deep edged skillet
  • a good quality large soup pot and I really love our cast iron pot
  • garlic press

Your pantry will evolve, but to get started, keep the following on hand:

(*I will put a “P” beside items in grocery lists that I think you should be sure to keep stocked in your pantry*)

  • avocado, coconut, grapeseed, olive oil
  • coconut milk and cream
  • chickpeas, black beans (start canned and then evolve to soaking your own)
  • lentils
  • sweet potatoes
  • chia, flax, hemp seeds
  • ginger, turmeric (dried and whole root)
  • heirloom rice
  • spices … you will collect as you go
  • also, in your fridge: kale, avocado, carrots, celery, apples

 

I hope this changes your life as much as it has changed ours.

If you fall in love, subscribe to my email list and i’ll send you pro tips for even more magic.

 

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Under your skin

Come down to the water with me
Dip your toe and shed your clothes
Consider, enter
Is it fear or free or light or dark
Are you fear or free or light or dark
Consider, wade deep
Feel it on your skin, in your skin, under your skin
Why is this not everyday, always
Consider, be
It will roll and you will choose
Are you fear or free or light or dark
Consider, struggle
You get out
But I know you will be back
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The Dance – Part 1.

There’s a dance that goes on.  It mostly goes on in the middle of my chest but can do circles and spins all over.  It’s an entertaining dance, distracting really.  I’m fascinated with it.

The two partners in this dance are equals but somewhat opposite.  One knows all the rules and, in fact, loves making them.  She follows and upholds.  She’s interested in what is fair, ethic, perseverance, flourishes in routine and can take on more than most with ease.  She sees what you are saying without you even having to talk, in fact, she feels it.  Nonetheless, she will still listen to you and wants to know all that you have to say.  She could do this for days.  “You” might be a friend or the grocery store clerk or a deer or a tree or the wind.  She cares deeply and believes there is good everywhere and that there is no doubt that it ultimately prevails.  She is mom and healer, walking through tall blades of grass on a warm summer’s afternoon.

Her partner is not interested in rules just for the sake of rules and quakes with frustration when they are made just so.  Her partner speaks out in expletives to those she trusts.  She dances to a different beat.  It’s full of harder energy and vibration – like butterflies in your stomach afire in neon colours.  She needs life turned on max –  music on high, lyrics seething with meaning, desire, fever, deep experiences.  Superficial is her poison.  She loves you too but can’t tolerate you not loving yourself enough to be real.  She wants to connect with you too, in fact she thrives on connection, but she won’t try if you can’t see and listen to what’s in front of you.  She’s wildfire.

The two dance.  It is not a battle.  No one wins or loses a dance.  The partners take turns with the lead with the need to lead lasting seconds, moments, weeks, seasons.  Ultimately, one partner does spend much more time leading than the other, but she smiles knowing that the other is there.  They know they could easily dance alone, but prefer to revel in the artistry created when instead they dance together.

I have two girls.  One is a lover, one is wildfire.