Cultural Exploration

Prompted by a class I'm currently taking, I've been thinking about my cultural heritage. This always kind of irks me, because for a "white-washed" multi-gen American my heritage is A. as varied as the microbiome of a bathroom floor and B. largely unknown. I have no particular lineage with which I closely identify. I have no language, customs, traditions, or dogma derived from my ethnicity. So with what am I left? Where do I go from here when asked to explore my culture?

I look to the culture I have made for myself. It is more nucleus, more central. It consists of my family, my hometown, the people with whom I grew up, the beliefs and traditions I have created for myself, the society around me, and the heritage I am just now beginning to explore. 

A picture of a picture: family portrait, 2005.

This is my nuclear family. It consists of my dad, my mom, my maternal grandmother, and my maternal aunt. My mom's family grew up in Anchorage, which is why my grandma and my aunt were in closer proximity than my paternal family, who live in Colorado. My close relatives are part of my culture.

Piggy bank from my childhood

This piggy bank represents a few things about my culture. It's style is from the 1980's and is from Japan. These figurines were popular during this time, the decade during which I was born. More than this, however, it represents my growing up and cherishing a few things that I have had for a long time. It reminds me of my mom, who values passing items down as heirlooms and putting meaning towards certain objects. Sentimentality is part of my culture.

Three necklaces and a ring I've worn since 2007

The necklaces depicted here represent my belief system. I was raised Protestant Christian and was very into my faith throughout high school. Yet when I attended (a Lutheran) college, my beliefs were challenged and I was able to reconsider what I was told to believe and instead fashion a set of beliefs that were truly mine. The ankh ("key of life") is from Egyptian hieroglyphs and is a symbol for various aspects of life. The cross here contains an Irish triple spiral, which has been adapted to symbolize the Holy Trinity. It was a gift from my dad when I was a teenager. The birch tree pendant represents nature, a fundamental part of my belief and value system. This was more a part of my innate understanding of the world than any other religion or philosophy. It is why I am studying naturopathic medicine; nature was my first teacher and my constant friend. The ankh, the cross, the tree, and personal religion are part of my culture.

My birthstone

This is an opal and gold ring that belonged to my maternal great-grandmother. It is the only possession I have from that far back in my lineage. My great-grandmother moved to Seattle from California and raised my grandmother in Queen Anne. My ethnic heritage on this side of the family is a bit of a question... my grandmother's father's information is not well-known. I hope to track his records down somehow so that I can investigate that part of my lineage. Undeniably, however, the Pacific Northwest is part of my culture.

Newspaper from Minnesota

 Of course, my culture is shaped by being a "Millenial." I helped shape the internet into what it is today; my teen years relied on hotmail, I had to wait until I had a collegiate email address to get Facebook, and I voted in this (above) and the previous election. Obama and the Obama generation is part of my culture.

23andMe Family Tree

In fact, part of the brilliance of this modern era is that it is possible, through DNA analysis and various internet resources, to not only piece together one's family tree, but use DNA comparisons to find potential cousins across the globe. I have found lineage that traces back to Albany, NY in the 1700's... a heritage about which I had absolutely no idea until I mapped it out and started investigating grave stones via a user-driven internet database. Indeed, I have found a distant cousin in Minnesota through the creation of this family tree. The Internet is most certainly my culture, as is the Oothoudt family line.

Tokens from Japan

 My culture is borrowed. I grew up learning and living Japanese. I traveled to Japan twice in elementary school, then studied there for a semester in college. On the one hand, having no direct Japanese relatives I cannot claim this culture to be my own. On the other hand, it is the closest to any culture I have that has been passed down to me in language, traditions, etiquette, and food preparation. Yes, I have acquired some of these aspects through American culture, but I find that not having ceremonial dress in particular makes American culture lacking. There is no equivalent to a tea ceremony or a kimono in American culture. Japan is part of my culture.

Another aspect of this culture is the immersion program culture. I grew up in a very different and unique schooling situation. It sets me apart from my fellow American colleagues; those students who went through the Japanese Immersion Program share distinct similarities in our educational and childhood experiences. Japanese Immersion is part of my culture.

Sacred objects

These two pictures represent my innate culture. "Spirit" is a concept that has transcended the various faiths I've claimed; it's the universal foundation I've always understood and cherished. It's meaning is not limited to a godly being, nor an ethereal one, but it can also describe the liveliness of one's character.

The grouping of items represent the traditions and ceremonies I have created for myself. I was never taught these things; my parents never instilled in me a profound respect for nature, a love of Native flute music, or the desire to burn incense as an 8-year-old. I have loved the mysticism of stones and the power of prayer and energy and intention since I was a child. Especially now, at a time where I am learning that it is important to recognize and honor one's daily ceremonies, I have given more respect for these things that have come naturally to me. I am happy to be in a community where it is not foolish of me to admit that I wear this bracelet (in the photo) on my left wrist when I am anticipating doing energetic body work on anyone in order to enhance the energy that flows through my hands. I am happy that I am in a place where it is easy to learn how to cleanse recharge stones under the moonlight and how to create sacred spaces around one's home. This sense of spirituality is, again, so innate that to ignore or downplay it would be doing a disservice to myself--it would mean being dishonest with my soul. My culture is a collective of traditions and ceremonies that I have pieced together like a patchwork quilt, coming from not one but many sources and have made my own.

blended culture

Though I've been married for just four years, I've been paired for nearly eleven. We are our own culture. We are a family that, whether we know it or not, has already begun traditions and established values that will be passed on to our children. We both have begun exploring our lineages, in order to better understand what we will offer our children; to help them anchor their places in this world. We both share the feeling that we don't really know our roots or our culture, and in fact Nick's perception of his ethnic heritage has already changed through the DNA testing and subsequent family tree investigations. Ultimately, our children will learn our culture from us--whatever we decide to pass on to them as they grow up. My culture is shared.

Here I am: Scandinavian, English, maybe Polish? maybe something else? all-around American. I should make the distinction, too, that I am Alaskan, which provides more cultural context than the bloodlines listed above. Alaskan life has provided me with a vast deal of my culture. 

I have short hair. This represents, among other things, the freedom I've had since childhood to choose the way I look (even if that means radical decisions and tomboy appearances) with my parents' full support. My parents raised me to be pretty balanced in respect to gender stuff and/or because I was interested in everything, I never let the "boy-girl" lines keep me away from reading dinosaur books, playing with trucks, playing dress up, or with dolls. It was all fair game and I was facilitated with opportunities to explore all aspects of learning, play, and interaction. I was able to play sports and do dance recitals, get music lessons, shoot guns, and get dirty playing outside and swimming in the lake. My culture growing up involved valuing unbiased learning and living opportunities, supported by my parents. My culture now is largely the same.

 This was a fun introspective little project that I would like to expand upon in the future as I continue to explore and discover what I consider my "culture."

Thanks for reading!

What I'm Eating: Nutritionless Cashew Cheezy Sauce

I visited a dear friend in Minnesota over the weekend. One evening we threw together a meal on the fancy nachos/tacos theme. For mine I used refried and cooked whole beans for the filling, an avocado and some salsa. However, I wanted that "cheese" component that is so traditional to taco-making! Long story short, we didn't go to Whole Foods so I didn't have access to nutritional yeast, Daiya, or any other form of acceptable (palatable) cheese-substitutes. Experimentation resulted and luckily it was successful. Here's the recipe:

No Nutritional Yeast Cheesy Sauce:

Cashews
Water
White Balsamic Vinegar (or another vinegar of your choosing--this, however, is a key component)
Garlic powder
Paprika
Fancy salt
Lemon (optional)


Take a rough handful of cashews and put in blender. Add water to about the same level as the cashews. Keep extra cashews and water on hand to adjust the consistency as needed. Add a solid pour of vinegar to the blender. A splash of lemon juice would have been nice, had I had it. Add a generous amount of salt (high quality real/kosher salt or, preferably, Himalayan pink salt). Add at few good shakes of garlic powder. Finally, add about 1 tablespoon of paprika. This was a happy accident in my case, but it worked out well and I believe it is the key (along with the vinegar) to the good flavor of the cashew sauce.

Blend together until a uniform consistency is achieved. Taste test and adjust ingredients as you wish. Use as a dip and/or a sauce!

1st Year of ND program DONE!

Well, I cannot say I believed it would happen but it has: I am done with my first year of the Doctor of Naturopathy program at Bastyr University. This means I am only 3 years away from becoming a doctor, a primary care physician, trained in a wide variety of healing modalities that work with the body and its own healing tendencies and abilities.


This year has been intense--unlike anything I've ever experienced and could hardly even imagine. In a list, here are the courses I have completed this year:


Anatomy (3 quarters)
Living Anatomy (3 quarters: intro to physical exams and finding anatomy on living people)
Gross Lab (3 quarters: cadaver dissection)
Physiology (3 quarters)
Biochemistry (3 quarters)
Plants in Ceremony (weekend elective)
Histology
Research Stats and Design
Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Naturopathic Medicine in Historical Context/Clinical Theory/Global Context (3 quarters, each with a different focus but overall learning about the history of and philosophies behind naturopathic medicine)
Hydrotherapy/Physiotherapy (with Lab)
Embryology
Myofascial Analysis
Botanical Medicine 1 (I'll take 5 quarters of this series)
Neuroscience (with Lab)


12 credits Summer Quarter
18 credits Fall Quarter
24 Winter Quarter
23.5 Spring Quarter

Total: 77.5 credits 

This is not to mention the "extracurricular" activities I attended weekly including Dr. Love's numerous tutorials for anatomy, working at the Bookstore, participating in the Doctor Mentor program in which we get to talk to a real-life ND about his real-life practice, going to yoga on Fridays, occasionally trying to go for a walk/jog outside, and doing a little photography when I could. 


Fortunately for such an intense program, I have been blessed with 100 or so new, wonderful, caring, inspiring, brilliant, motivated friends. Our corp of "First Years" feel like a tight-knit family and even teachers have mentioned how connected we are, which doesn't happen with every class. We are a class that will raise hell, combine forces, and let you know how we feel and what you should do about it. We organize, start groups and projects, we innovate. We are incredibly diverse, coming from so many different life journeys, countries, states, professions. I think our youngest member is 22 and our oldest is old enough to be a mother to some of us. We have quiet students, awkward students, loud students, students who in Aleyamma's mind look like celebrities, we have students who are dating other students, students who you wish you were dating, students who you want to be around all the time and learn her/his wisdom. We have students in our class who are already natural healers and some who need practice. We are a supportive group, a loving group. We have spirit! We organized a whole themed week for finals this Spring Quarter, wearing something specific each day. As students we love to chat, gossip, share tips and news and recipes, hatch plans, and think about our futures. We truly want to get to know each other better. We study together and support our classmates who need help (as long as we know she/he needs it!). I have never been so inspired by a group of people around me, and I am so very thankful to be in this class. I literally could not have done it without this group of amazing people. 


My professors have been a mixed bag, as they would be in any given school. Doctors Love, Fredrickson, Aleyamma Thomas, Brinton, Paul Karsten, Modell, Jessica Bean, Masa, Neary, Biery, Littleton, Greg Yasuda, Kate Broderick, Christy Lee-Engel, Rubinstein, Pamela Snider, Dazey, K., and many others I'm forgetting to name here. Some where absolutely amazing teachers and some were not, but all were part of my first year experience that I hope to never forget. 


I mustn't forget to mention all the support our class received from the upperclass students. Starting in Summer Quarter the 2nd Years were there for us, guiding us along. For our first Gross Lab midterm exam in Fall Quarter, the 2nd Years put supportive signs on all of our lockers saying "_______ is a superstar!", put up a banner in the hallway wishing us luck, and decorated the hallway ceiling with balloons and streamers in anatomy-appropriate colors (to represent arteries, veins, nerves, and lymph). They handed out stickers before the test and cheered for us and gave us medical gloves filled with candy after we were finished. In what other medical program can you imagine this happening? It didn't stop there, either. During the rest of the year the "older students" (as I sometimes say, not necessarily referring to age) were there for advice, test prep, and many were our invaluable TAs and tutors.


Bastyr itself--again, like any school--has its ups and downs, its craziness and its amazingness. Our school changed its colors from green to (basically) maroon and gold, which is still causing an opinionated stir among students. The cafeteria has had trials and tribulations with adding a meat station, really expensive sandwich station, upping the prices of food without disclosure, making amazing gf/v food somedays, making none the next, and being bombarded with student opinions and protests. The President (who has the coolest glasses and the best speaking voice) has done seemingly done his best to reassure the students that our tuition dollars are not going towards the new campus in San Diego, and that there will be new protocol for the declaration of Snow Days.


I have gone through many changes throughout the school year, and I know my transformation and growth have only just begun. I've pushed myself to my limits and far beyond and I've made it through. I hope to be stronger, more prepared, more balanced and thus healthier next year. I hope to reconnect and grow spiritually. I seek to start to become an adviser, a practitioner (after all, I only have one year left before entering the clinic!). My deepest hope is that the next year is ever so slightly easier than the last. Please? Just a little?


If you are still reading, I thank you for listening to my brief (trust me, it's brief) synopsis of the most amazing year of my life. I hope you are someone, near or far, who will remain by my side and help me complete this program and then enter the world as a healer. Take care of yourself, love your gut and your liver, smile, play, move, and show the world your love.


Namaste.

Hang-In-There Soup

There's three weeks left in my first year of naturopathic medical school. My adrenals are shot, my liver is struggling, my thyroid has most likely tipped it's hat and said goodnight. All I want to do is nap and eat and sleep. With Nick gone for a few days to a conference in Boston, I decided to make a wholesome, nutrient-filled soup that was good to my vital force and my tummy.

Here's the recipe:

Approximately 3 cups water
Organic dried local mushrooms
Organic cilantro
Organic green onions
Organic nori (seaweed)
Organic extra firm tofu (half block)
Organic miso

*optional additions: garlic, vegetable bouillon cube

Start the water in a pot and add the dried mushrooms. Mine said to simmer it for 20 min in a little bit of water, as if you were to use them in other dishes than soup, so I kind of improvised. I brought the water to a boil and then reduced it to medium and let the mushrooms cook alone for about five minutes or so. It's easier, too, if you remember to pre-chop the mushrooms before you put them in.

Add some cilantro (as much as you like), then the green onions chopped. Let those simmer with the mushrooms until the mushrooms are done.

Once the mushrooms are done, add in the cubed tofu and strips of seaweed. When the seaweed is done enough, turn off the heat (be sure it's not boiling) and add in miso to taste. Finally, salt to taste and enjoy!

Post script: After all that health, I really want a chocolate chip cookie now.

Naturopathic Med School: Update 2

It is now nearly the end of Winter Quarter 2012. By the fact that I haven't had a post since last fall should indicate how insane my schedule is right now! Class all day (from 8-6 or 7 some days) and then study, study, study. I'm always tired/hungry/sick of sitting! I want to exercise but I either have no energy or I need to study, or I would rather eat dinner at a reasonable hour.

My current course load is:

Living Anatomy/Gross Anatomy (Lecture)

Gross Anatomy (Cadaver lab)

Biochemistry

Hydrotherapy (Lecture and lab)

Naturopathic Medicine in Clinical Theory (Lecture and small group "lab")

Solving Problems in Human Physiology

Embryology

Additionally, I work at the bookstore 3 hours per week, attend meetings with my Doctor Mentor (Dr. Dodge), and Dr. Love's Brown Bag, Tutorial, and Round Table sessions. Oh, and I play hockey on Tuesday nights and do yoga in between classes on Friday.

Midterms were rough (I wonder why?!) but, with a few weeks left in the quarter, I think i'm recovering and preparing well for finals.

Many of my classmates have gone on the 5A track but i'm refusing for as long as possible. Hopefully I can stick to 4 years. In the very least, I would consider 5B, which breaks up the last two years of my program in to three.

I'm still doing photography here and there, and art, too. Life, as busy as it is, is exciting.

It's currently 10:10 which means I'm already past my bedtime (another problem.. I can't sacrifice my sleep for good grades, it seems).

Until next time...

What I'm Eating: Guacamole!

I love making fresh guacamole (and then eating it all!).

Here is how I made it today:

2 organic avocados scooped into a common bowl

fresh organic cilantro lightly chopped, to taste (for me it's a LOT of cilantro!)

a small section of onion (red, yellow, or white) diced

high quality sea salt, rock salt, or pink salt, to taste

a dash of seasoned salt

Put all ingredients in common bowl then smoosh together with a fork. Eating with organic corn chips!

Naturopathic Medical School

I have now been in Washington for about 7 weeks total. For the past 5 weeks I have been attending three Summer Quarter classes to begin my Doctor of Naturopathy program at Bastyr University. I have been taking Histology with lab, Fundamental Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Fundamentals of Research Design. In addition, I have been working at the school's bookstore three to four days per week. This all, as you can imagine, has kept me very busy.

It's been a struggle to adjust to a new schedule, after having lived a fairly luxurious life for the past two years. I was able to eat meals at home and have plenty of time to grocery shop as I needed. I could go to yoga every day and have spare time for fun activities.

Now, however, I am faced with what some would call "real life." Being at school for many hours of the day means that I have to plan meals ahead (or succumb to the incredibly high-priced cafeteria food), which is difficult when I come home and feel exhausted. I must study, workout, cook, clean, grocery shop, and do laundry in those few precious hours each day. Oh yeah, and eat! It's been a big struggle.

I look forward to the help of Nick, who is and will truly be my partner in this endeavor (he has been in Alaska for the summer working for Princess). I hope not to leave a huge burden on him, but instead to just have him help me survive!!

All this being said, Summer Quarter has been great. It's been great to get to meet some of my classmates and I've made some nice friends so far. My teachers have been mostly exceptional and I look forward to having some of them again in the Fall and in the future. I've learned a lot, especially about Chinese Medicine.

That's all for now, I must study for finals!

What I'm Eating: Deluxe Kale Salad

Kale is not gross. Be a big girl/boy and try some with this recipe:

Makes salad for one. Buy and use more ingredients to increase the yield.

Organic red kale (kale is considered one of the "dirty dozen" meaning you really should buy organic)
Organic lacinato kale
fresh cilantro
organic roma tomato
organic avocado
organic green onion
dash of kosher salt
organic balsamic vinegar

Wash kale and peel the leaves from the hard ribs. Tear into smaller pieces, reasonable for a salad. Take a small bunch of the cilantro and chop some of the stems off. Roughly chop the rest, so that there are some full cilantro leaves, or to your liking. Slice up one green onion stalk, storing some for a tofu scramble if it proves to be too much. Slice one roma tomato any way you wish. Slice up the avocado insides and add this and all the prior-mentioned ingredients to the kale in a bowl. Sprinkle on the salt and dress, sparingly, with balsamic.


Kale can indeed be bitter. It seems to me the more colorful, the less bitter; green kale is the most bitter, lacinato is very mild. I believe buying organic also helps the taste. If all you can find is green kale, fear not! Right away when making your salad massage the dressing into the leaves, then let it marinate for about 20 minutes. That should help.

Kale may be a food that grows on you. Try it once...then try it again. If you're lucky, you'll love it straight away! Kale is PACKED with nutrients, minerals, and even protein.

Happy bravery!

No More "Ashley in Arizona"

Today I changed my blog from Ashley in Arizona (ashinaz) to Ash in wAsh (ashinwash). Nick and I have started the next leg of our life journey and have settled in to our new house outside of Seattle, Washington.

I am eager and ready to start summer classes for my ND program in July, and for the official start of my program in the fall. Nick is excited for a comparatively easy year of political science courses in his PhD program at UW.

I hope you enjoy this blog as it was and as it will be. Thanks for continuing to read!

What I'm Eating: Mac & Cheeze Hot Dish

I made this twice this week, the latter being the better. I don't want to understate the fact that this was AMMMMAAAAZZZZZZZZZING! I'm calling it a hot dish because it goes beyond simple mac and cheeze. It's gooey and homey and wonderful. It tastes like a casserole--like mac and cheeze to the max. I'm a little pumped about it.

1 8 oz package Quinoa pasta cooked al dente
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms sliced and lightly sauteed
1-2 cups Daiya in both mozzarella and cheddar
approx. 1-2 cups unsweetened soy milk
approx. 3 heaping spoonfuls whipped Earth Balance "butter"
approx. 2 spoonfuls Tofutti "cream cheese"
Flour (I used brown rice flour)
Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy
Nutritional yeast
Salt & Pepper
Breadcrumbs
Paprika

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start by melting the butter and cream cheese in a saucepan. Add in some flour, salt, and pepper. Add in the milk and wait until it starts boiling. Stir and see if it thickens. If it doesn't, add a little more flour until it does. Add in a good deal of Mrs. Dash and nutritional yeast to taste.

Lightly grease a glass pan (I used 8x8) and put in the pasta. Mix in some of the Daiya and all the mushrooms. Next mix in the sauce. Top with the rest of the Daiya, breadcrumbs, Mrs. Dash, and paprika.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until you hear it sizzling and lightly bubbling. Topping with foil seems to help keep the Daiya from drying out too much.

Enjoy!!!

What I'm Eating: TSA Wrap

That is, Tofu Spinach Avocado.

1 spelt tortilla
Vegenaise (grapeseed oil)
sprinkles of flaxseed and seaweed gomasio
cilantro
spinach leaves
half avocado, sliced
Trader Joe's (or homemade) baked tofu, sliced

Mmm tomatoes would be good, too.

What I'm Eating: Another Quesadilla

Let's get right to it:

Spelt tortilla

Grapeseed Vegenaise

Cholula

nutritional yeast

Two crimini mushrooms, sliced

rice

white beans

Daiya cheese

Put all together and put on Foreman grill.

The Vegenaise gives it a really nice, interesting flavor.

I used leftover rice and beans that I made yesterday.

What I'm Eating: Quick Hashbrowns 2

I'm not sure if I've posted another hashbrowns recipe so just to be safe I'm labeling this one as the second. I made this last night so Nick had something to eat for lunch today. He snacked on some of it and remarked at its deliciousness!

1 16oz package of frozen Alexia Hashed Browns
1 can organic chili beans (or any types or varieties of beans) drained and rinsed
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
1/3 or 1/2 package of Gimme Lean sausage meat substitute
Daiya mozzarella
Mrs. Dash extra spicy seasoning
Paprika

In an electric wok, first cook the mushrooms then add the sausage, breaking it up into smaller and smaller chunks as it cooks. Add the hashbrowns and cook, both covered and uncovered (to help it thaw). Once the hashbrowns are no longer frozen, add the seasoning and paprika, mix. Add the beans and wait until they are warm before adding the Daiya. Once the Daiya is melted it is ready to eat!

Injury

Today I am one week away from completing my Bikram Yoga 60-Day Challenge. The one benefit about this yoga is that, with regular practice and time and patience, you can work out and fix injuries or imbalances that have been around for years. That's what is happening to me now.

I first experienced knee pain during my first season of college soccer. As I recall, the pain wasn't prevalent during soccer practice but I remember pain climbing into and out of my lofted bed, along with pain that would wake me up during the middle of the night. Now that kind of pain is back.

I've tried ice which seems to make it way worse. Heat seems to be more helpful so I'll sleep with my knee resting on a low-heat heating pad. The pain still wakes me up but I can turn the heating pad back on and fall back to sleep. The pain has also been progressing in yoga. At first it only hurt when my leg was bent at about at 10-20 degree angle with weight on it, but now it hurts even when I lock my knee and tighten up my quad muscles (which makes Bikram really difficult). For several days I decided to lay off of it any time I felt any pain. But that seemed to make it worse! So I'm experimenting with pushing through some of the pain while still being protective of my knee.

The good news is I have scheduled an appointment to see an orthopedist who specializes in sports medicine (and treats the Cleveland Indians during Spring Training!) who will hopefully be able to diagnose my pain and give me treatment options that will allow me to continue to be active. I can deal with the pain, I just want to know what is making my injury worse or better.

The not knowing is making my yoga practice difficult, annoying, and unsatisfying. I hate not being able to do the postures or do them to their fullest extent. This is funny because some days all I wanted was a break! It also leaves my body somewhat out-of-whack and uneven. But the show must go on!

Tips for a New Vegan

A friend just contacted me for tips as she is trying veganism for 21 days. I thought I would share with the world what I wrote her in case it may help others who are considering doing the same. I think this post will also show the abundance of food choices vegans have despite the lack of meat or dairy. Additionally, perhaps omnivores will want to add some of these foods into their diets! If you are new to my blog, look around for additional recipes in my What I'm Eating mini-series.



Ok here are some tips! Of course, try and remove as many non-vegan food items from your house as possible. Replace these with some vegan staples:

Beans: canned and dried. Canned are quick but come from cans which aren't the healthiest. Be sure to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce sodium. Dried beans must be soaked overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours) and boiled for about an hour to be ready. Dried beans are significantly cheaper than canned, and buying in bulk reduces waste and energy (lost in the recycling process).

Tofu: Most people I've talked to are scared of cooking with tofu. I was, too. The good news is you can eat it out of the container if you really wanted which means you can't screw it up, only make it better. Firm and extrafirm I find the most versatile. Drain and cut in to cubes or squish through your fingers into your pan for a scramble.

Veggies: My staple veggies are mushrooms (crimini/portobello), zucchini and yellow squash. With these three I can make countless meals. I've used them for taco/burrito/enchilada filling, stir fry, tofu scrambles, roasted.. I can always think of something if that's all I have in the fridge. I find it useful to also have onions, tomatos, avocados, and garlic on hand. Also, potatoes or sweet potatoes can be your best friend for a quick, hearty meal. Cut up into big pieces, toss in olive oil with rosemary and salt, roast, and eat with organic ketchup! Oh, I (and my omnivorous friends, too) love roasted asparagus (olive oil and salt).

Greens: still veggies, obviously, but more specific. Leafy greens have lots of protein and tons of nutrition. I still find it hard to get enough of them before they go bad in the fridge but I feel like my nutrition is lacking if I don't have them around. Kale is widely used.. I like to make Garlic and Greens soup using kale which makes it very palatable. I have the recipe for this on my blog. Spinach, I find, is easier for me to eat raw. I used to make this awesome breakfast (i really should start again) where I would grill an Amy's gardenburger (not all are vegan, check the labels!) on the George Foreman then top it with peach-mango salsa, nutritional yeast, alfalfa sprouts, and spinach. It was quick, delicious, and nutritious.

Frozen: Frozen fruits and veggies are great since they retain their nutrients and last a lot longer than the fresh versions. Frozen fruit make for great smoothies with some fortified orange juice and rice milk... I use this to take my flax oil. I also like having frozen potato wedges and hash browns (quality brands, few ingredients) on hand for quick meals. If you can find good quality frozen vegan burritos that's nice to have on hand. But really, i find myself wanting to make my own food because I know exactly what I'm getting.

Dairy alternatives: First thing's first: cheese. If you can find Daiya cheese your vegan transition will be a lot easier. Daiya is super delicious (I like the mozzarella kind) and it melts, making it easy to use anywhere you would use regular cheese. It does not taste identical to real cheese but it tastes really good, if not better in some cases. To find this cheese, you can give your local chain grocer a try. I've seen it here in recent days. Otherwise, more specialized natural markets and health food stores will probably have it. You can even pay a premium to buy it online. It's worth it. It's lasts forever in the fridge so stock up. As for milk, I tend to like Rice milk (chocolate rice milk is delectable... kiddos would love it!). Soy milk has a mild flavor but i've heard soy in that form is not the best for you.. idk i haven't researched but I stick to rice for drinking and soy for cooking. Fortunately, I weaned myself off milk a lot before I became vegan and I really still do prefer water over any other drink. Coconut milk chocolate ice cream is equally amazing as the chocolate rice milk. Sooooo good.

Grains: Ezekiel bread is so healthy and I think it tastes pretty good, too. The texture is a little thicker than your normal wheat breads but you'll get so much more out of Ezekiel. I use toasted Ezekiel bread, Vegenaise, paprika, and sliced avocado for a delicious breakfast or lunch. I find tortillas to be very handy. I can tear them up and dip them in hummus, make a quick quesadilla on the Foreman, make enchiladas or burritos... be sure to get quality brand, with as few ingredients as possible. They can put a lot of crap in there... I'm not a huge cereal eater but I do like a nice box of Nature's Path raisin bran with flax and other goodies. I keep it in the car to snack on.

Miscellaneous: Vegenaise (sub. mayonnaise), Nutritional Yeast (dry, yellow flakes that taste yummy and kind of cheesy), Bragg's Liquid Aminos (provides all of your essential amino acids and has a salty, soy-saucey taste that can be sprayed on food or poured while cooking), Amy's canned soups are a quick and filling lunch, Lara Bars are survival food as is good quality trail mix. I have to keep some survival food on me at all times because I get really low blood sugar when I'm hungry and it's bad news. I can put a Lara bar in my purse or backpack, nuts or trailmix in the car, etc. I find it easiest to sway from being vegan when i'm starving! If you crave meats, there are lots of different mock meats available to try. If you can find soy chorizo it's heaven... Gardein is a great company that does quite convincing mock meats in a variety of preparations.

Resources: vegweb.com, vegnews.com, engine2diet.com, Veganomicon, Supermarket Vegan, How It All Vegan/Garden of Vegan, my blog: ashinaz.blogspot.com, as education and motivation I encourage you to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Hopefully this is helpful and not too overwhelming for you! I hope you will experience that going vegan is not as difficult as you thought. Indeed, I went vegan for one week as a cleanse then decided to extend it to two weeks, to the end of the month and I here I am now 11 months and going strong!


Please do not hesitate to comment with any questions about veganism, I'd love to share my experiences.

What I'm Eating: Go-To-Class Scramble

Quick! I've got to go to class but I've got to eat something (it's a three hour class, afterall).

Firm tofu
1 tomato
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1 small portobello mushroom
Braggs aminos
Various spices and nutritional yeast
Yves morning "sausage" patties

Start the veggies a few minutes early before you put in the tofu. Crumble the tofu the fun way by squishing it out through your fingers in to the pan! Add spices, nutritional yeast, Braggs, and more Braggs.

Meanwhile in an adjacent pan, cook "sausage" patties until warm.

Poor in bowl, eat, then go to class!

Oh, drink your Vega protein drink on the side. Yum!

Bikram Yoga... Day 40 of 60

So I'm going to write a quick update about my 60-day challenge (quick since I should be studying for my physics test occurring later today). As the title suggests, today I completed my 40th class. Here's what's been going on:

Number one issue is I've been feeling light headed/head rush/near black out in between every posture of the standing series. I breathe, I hydrate, I supplement... but to no avail. I'm going to work on consuming some natural sugar, i.e. fruit, before class and see if that helps (NOT orange juice... worst mistake I could have possibly made). I know that my average is in the athletic, low range (around 100/60 sometimes in the 90s/60). I'm concerned I'm anemic but I've been taking iron supplements and the yoga itself should help with that so I'm thinking it's something else?

Number two issue is fatigue in general. It's hard to know how much I should be eating, if I'm eating enough or too little, and if I'm doing a good enough job to get proper nutrition. I have started trying Vega Sport supplements, a vegan sport drink series for pre- and post-workouts. I think adding a high-quality, vegan protein drink will help substantially.

Number three is pain. I'm feeling various pain in various places. My knee has been bothering me the most, feeling like it did during college when I was playing soccer. My teachers suggest that since I'm practicing yoga everyday the slightest misalignment might be to blame. My other big pain is in my semitendinosus muscle (as best I can tell) which lies in the the back of my thigh and connects deep to my pelvis. I've adjusted my triangle posture accordingly, as my stance may have been to wide, causing the pain. Still, I can't hold the right side of triangle for very long. I just get concerned that the pain is the bad pain and not the good.

Number four, a minor conflict, is that going to the same classes day after day I see the same people constantly. Most people I like seeing around but there are two or three who just bother me. It's not their faults, it's just me, but seeing them causes me to silently grumble in my head. So silly.

Anyways, I must move on to studying. Have a happy day!

Bikram Yoga 60-Day Challenge

DISCLAIMER: This is a long post. I know it. Settle in, have some tea, put on some nice music, and enjoy.

It has occurred to me that I have not blogged nearly enough about Bikram yoga. This is dubbed "the original hot yoga" and one 90-minute session is comprised of 26 postures and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 105 degrees at 40-60% humidity. It's intense, to say the least. But the results are astonishing.

Not just for losing weight or getting in shape. That's not the half of it. This practice changes your mind, changes your health, changes your life. Not only have I learned about myself, I have begun to change the way I view myself. I would have told you before that I am not a dedicated person, I am not responsible and I don't follow through. I back out or renegotiate when things get hard. But I am reminded that by simply showing up to put myself through a very uncomfortable workout--knowing that it will be uncomfortable, and yet knowing that it is for my health and wellness--I am in fact dedicated, responsible, and tough.

I've learned how my mind reacts to humidity, heat, thirst, pain, distraction, and an increased heart rate. Some days I am in better control of this mind and some days it totally takes over. Yesterday I had what I describe to be a "panic day" where my mind interprets my fast-beating heart as a crisis and makes me stop and pant and focus on the heat and want water every two minutes. Depending on the teacher, the energy in the room, and the energy I bring with me, I can have an amazing class where I focus only on myself, go deeper into the postures, and make exciting improvements. Those days make up for all the panic days, I-ate-too-much days, and I-don't-want-to-be-here days.

I'll get back to the 60-day Challenge part as mentioned in my title. Bikram affirms that I can change my life by taking 60 classes in 60 days. I believe him. When I took my first Bikram class I did so knowing that I would do my own 30-day challenge. I practiced every day for 31 days. The results were huge. I dropped about 6 pounds which doesn't seem like much, but I was toning up at the same time. I was down nearly two pants sizes and feeling really great about the way I looked. I learned to breathe and relaxing and to LET GO. My muscle pain that would come from having played various sports was gone. I knew at the end of my 31 days I could never go without this practice.

I would have done a 60-day challenge right then except I went home to Alaska, which does not have a certified Bikram studio. In the fall, classes interfered with my studio's schedule. After hearing that there would be a studio-wide 60-day challenge starting the new year, I decided to do it. I arranged my class schedule so that I could practice everyday (this means I attend 7:00 am Organic Chemistry so I can practice at 9:00 am).

I am currently on day 18 of said challenge. I have to make up for two days that I skipped while house hunting in Seattle, which means I have two times I must go twice in one day ("do a double"). So far I am a little discouraged because my results have not been as rapid as when I first started. This is expected, however. When I first started, my body rid itself of all its toxins and I improved my postures quickly. It was easy to tell that I was improving, too. I grabbed my foot! I locked my knee! I did all the postures! It is harder to see improvement now that I am far beyond these points.

Additionally, I have learned to do the postures *correctly* which, often, means starting from square one and taking longer to improve. This is not to say I have not improved. The following is a list of postures and my progress with them. Refer here for a picture of each posture.

Pranayama deep breathing: Hard not to think about anything and everything. Some people breathe obnoxiously. I can get my elbows up pretty high.

Half moon pose with hands to feet pose: I struggle with half moon, love the back bend (I can start to see the floor behind me), and can nearly lock out in hands to feet pose.

Awkward: working on getting low enough. Struggling with balancing high on my toes.

Eagle: Having a hard time holding the whole time unless I'm super concentrating. My quads start to shake and I come out. Working on getting feet, knees, ankles, hands all in one line.

Standing head to knee: Can kick out sometimes for a few seconds. Mostly just standing with my leg locked, trying to distribute the weight equally all over my standing foot, while holding my other foot.

Standing bow pulling: My new nemesis. Used to be my favorite until I re-examined my technique. I have to really put a lot of energy into this one, make sure to lock my knee, really stretch my hand up and forward, and keep my chin glued to my shoulder. I can come down so that my chest is parallel to the floor but I must now work on holding it there.

Balancing stick: This really takes all of my bengal tiger strength and bulldog determination. Without it, forget it.

Standing separate leg stretching: My favorite, for the wonderful stretch it provides. Sometimes it irritates and pulls on my left pinky toe's little muscles if I don't massage them beforehand. I can really pull and touch or nearly touch my forehead to the floor on most occasions when I'm really trying. I can keep my knees locked the entire time.

Triangle: Once my ultimate nemesis, now we are better friends. I can do this posture pretty well on my left side but my right side needs work. I am starting to be able to bend that leg to make a 90 degree angle but my hips just don't like it! I don't breathe and my mind easily says "ok that's enough of that" and I quit. But I never skip out and I always set up each side and at least try.

Standing separate leg head to knee: A favorite. I am know focusing on bringing my hands back into prayer, really tucking my chin, and pushing down on my knee. I realized yesterday that this was a posture that I really could work to improve, as it's been stagnant for a while.

Tree stand: focusing more on keeping my standing leg locked. My hips resist any improvement in this one.

Toe stand: coming along. I've really been working on sitting on the ball of my left foot instead of letting it roll out to the side, like it wants. I have great focus in this one and can now often come up exact opposite and even hold my foot at the top until instructed to release.

Savasana: I'm pretty good at savasana although I have to say i get a bit wipey sometimes. I hate when the sweat gets in my ears because it clogs them up like on an airplane and lasts for hours.

Wind removing: I have to work to feel this.

Cobra: I have to work to feel this. I've been having trouble breathing.

Locust: I have to really squeeze my butt to bring my leg up. I have to use tremendous energy to bring both of my legs locked, keep them together, and keep my knees locked.

Full locust: I did great in this one when I came up with my legs a little bit apart and then put them together. Now that I've focused on keeping them together while lifting them, it's much harder. I can't breathe as well, either.

Bow: My In-My-Head posture. I can do great, wondrous, miraculous things in this posture if I so choose. I focus first on feeling it in my back which makes me feel it in my butt; I focus on keeping my legs closer together than is comfortable so that they are nearly 6-inches apart, and lo-and-behold at the end I can lift them up so high that I get giddy. My goal is for praise in that posture, even though that's silly to rely on someone else's action to achieve my own satisfaction.

Fixed firm: I like this one. Working on really feeling it in my spine.

Half-tortoise: I can tell if my shoulder is bothering me in this one. Working on keeping my hips on my heels the entire way down.

Camel: Another favorite. It bothered me for a while when I was starting back up because, though you wouldn't necessarily think it, it takes a great amount of quad strength to do and my quads were running out of energy then. But now that has seemed to pass and I concentrate on really feeling it in my shoulder (an AMAZING stretch for my left pec muscle that is troubling me currently) and in my hip flexors. I tighten my butt and work on looking for my mat.

Rabbit: Most days it's great, some days it causes PANIC!! Working on really feeling it in my spine, and keeping my head tucked so I don't have to move my knees right and left, right and left to my forehead.

Head to knee pose and stretching pose: My current favorite; my focus posture. This is because I have made great progress in it and it's exciting. With one leg out I can always lock my knee and when I choose to have enough energy, I can lift my heel off the ground. I'm starting to do this earlier in the posture to keep it there longer. With two heels together, I can always lock my knees and lift my heels up way off the ground and I can nearly touch my elbows to the ground. My biggest challenge in this one is that if my knuckles rub together at all they will crack and bleed excruciatingly painfully so I have to keep my thumbs wrapped around them which separates my feet slightly more than I would like.

Spine twist: I have good form and can twist farther than ever before. Working on reaching farther to my thigh and getting a better grip on my knee.

Blowing in firm: I can blow pretty hard. ha. I get distracted by other people's breathing, especially when they just blow in and out of their cheeks and they look like fishes or they convulse their whole upper chest and struggle and get off beat.

Final savasana: I drink my water like I haven't had any for years. I need to meditate better and not let my mind wander.



If you're still reading this, I hope you enjoyed an intimate look at my practice. Perhaps my struggles will help you with your practice. You can also read about my fellow yogi, Laura, and her practice here. Thanks for reading and I encourage your comments!


Namaste.

My life as it is, currently.

It's about time I make a few updates.

I've been doing Bikram yoga for 7 months and am currently on day 18 of my 60-day challenge. I will be following this post with a more in-depth post on this matter.

As a New Year's Resolution I am doing a 365 photo challenge--a photo everyday for the entire year. So far I am loving it and I am thankful that I can use my iPhone to both take and upload most of my photos. I am posting these photos through facebook but may consider adding them to flickr, for which I just signed up.

Yesterday marked the first day of my last semester at community college, my sixth year of undergrad. It's going to be a rough one, with Organic Chemistry II causing me a lot of strife. Physics II will be challenging but I love my teacher and I have a great friend in that class. I am auditing Fundamental Biochemistry to get an introduction to what I assume to be very challenging material. That class begins this afternoon.

Nick and I are planning our move to Seattle this June, and we are hoping that the stars will align, enabling us to live in a wonderful house. More on this will come later when we know for sure what will happen. See more on our family blog.

I am starting to get back in to triathlon training. I haven't touched my bike since this summer. I waited for the weather to get cool enough to not melt and have been busy since. It is also inconvenient that Arizona is such a dodgy place that I must drive to what I feel is a safe location to bike. My cyclist friend said that a few months ago while biking he got a full beer can thrown at his head by a passing vehicle. That is not okay with me. I am planning on purchasing an indoor trainer that will allow me to bike everyday without sacrificing an hour to drive to and from safer roads.

That's about it for now. Have a beautiful day!

Old Year, New Year

Though I had been meaning to post more frequently while up here in AK but time has just slipped by. Which is strange to say, as I have continued to be relatively inactive here. It has been relaxing, yes, but I had many things on my checklist to do here that didn't get done. I had wanted to go sledding from day one and not until two days ago were sleds purchased (to be fair, the whole town was pretty much out of sleds). We were going to sled yesterday, but it rained. Ick. I had also wanted to go to Alyeska, since I haven't snowboarded in at least two years. I had wanted to go cross-country skiing, and rock climbing, and workout every day. Instead, we let the dark Alaskan winter mornings lure us to stay in our warm beds until past 9:30 and then we would watch episodes of ER for at least two more hours before considering getting up, which narrowed the active hours of the day significantly.

That's not to say I didn't do things. I got to have lunch with my wonderful long-time friend, Kim Morris, at Organic Oasis. We walked her dogs on the lake to my house and chatted about her iPad, medicine and hard-knock life in Arizona. We went Christmas shopping at REI where we scored big for loved ones. We got to see the lunar eclipse. We went to the museum and enjoyed the Andy Warhol exhibit and the new Imaginarium. I started my triathlon training at the Alaska Club. We had dinner and played dominoes with Laura and Elliot and I got to take photos of them another day. Nick and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the same amazing bed and breakfast where we spent our wedding night.

So it's not as if we just sat around the ENTIRE two weeks we were here. But there was a lot of lounging, especially after Christmas, and apparently I get a little stir-crazy.

New Years Eve was... well, not perfect, but it turned out pretty great. Traditionally, Nick and I join friends for a night of games and drinks but this year everyone seemed to have other plans--except for us. So we decided to go to the Indigo Girls concert at Bear Tooth. I knew they were an old group, and that the only song I owned was because Jim and Andy sang it on The Office, but Nick didn't know this. We also didn't anticipate that there wouldn't be any seating for the four hour show. So, surrounded by 40- and 50-somethings, we decided to ditch it and forfeit our $50 tickets. We spent the rest of the night at my parents' house playing a dice game called Farkle. We almost missed midnight, jumping in at the 5-second countdown. We watched the fireworks go off all over Anchorage from my living room window. It was a wonderful way to start the New Year.

In honor of this past year, here is my year in review:

January: Began 2010 in Las Vegas as newlyweds on our honeymoon. Started my second semester of prerequisite courses at Paradise Valley Community College (A&P II, Microbiology, and Chemistry I)

February: Signed up for my first 5K and started running with intention.

March: Went on "second honeymoon" cruise to Mexico. Tried veganism for a week, then two, then a month...

April: Returned to Minnesota to visit friends

May: Moved to the Glendale apartment, was visited by Laura, and discovered Bikram Yoga

June: Took Chemistry II in 8 weeks. Completed 31 continuous days of Bikram Yoga and fell in love. Also, after reading Eating Animals, decided that veganism was the right thing to do for my body, the environment, and the animals.

July: Spent several weeks in Alaska, photographed my first wedding!

August: Began my second year of prerequisites (Organic Chemistry I, Physics I)

September: Bought my road bike to train for triathlons (have since been too hot or too afraid of Arizona people who apparently will throw things like beer cans at your head). Applied to Bastyr University.

October: Got an interview for Bastyr University. Turned 24!

November: Interviewed at Bastyr and got accepted! Spent Thanksgiving in Oklahoma

December: First wedding anniversary, and all the aforementioned events :)

Best wishes for you, your loved ones, and the earth in 2011.