Do It Anyway + Poem by Mother Teresa

I often feel frozen and discouraged about many things I do or attempt to do because I reason with myself and I end up "logically" finding no point to the action in the end. I talk to myself and convince myself that it won't matter, people won't care, my work will be sabatoged or un-important. I care about what other people think, more than I want to admit to myself.

Despite my insatiable desire to share the knowlege and things I love with others I find myself withholding things. My propensity to be discouraged is one reason I don't blog very much.

But the angel on my shoulder sometimes whispers that there are probably people out there just like me who love quirky things, who love the imperfect. Who would embrace the same things that I have found to be wonderful. Even if it seems different, odd, strange, hard to find, hard to do etc.

Do I have anything important to say?

Do people even care?

I am very wierd. I like wierd things. I like comedy and I laugh when other people are crying and cry when other people are laughing.

It's true.

LOL. See, I'm laughing right now...

What drives you? What motivates you but you push it aside or doubt it because of fear?

One of the things that drives me is my love of knowlege and reading.

I have a love/hate relationship with books. Right now I have several boxes in storage just because I was mad at looking at their covers all the time. It felt like they mocked me. You see, certain people have given me a really hard time for having a large book collection. And I listened to them.

I love to read. It's an absolute obsession of mine. But I'm not one of those people that is obsessed with Jane Austin and twilight, crouching in a corner of a library dreaming of my future husband. I've seen a lot of those types.

Scary.

But now I am sounding judgemental...

Not that you are bad if you like Jane Austin, of course!

I like her work.

And.. I read the twilight series, too. Eeek.

And I liked it... double eek!

To the point. I am more of a 'dabble in literature, obsess about how-to-books' type. I am even more of a wierdo than the slurpy Jane Austin book worms huddled in the library.

I like Jane Austin AND cabinet makeing AND weight-lifting for dummies AND Anatomy and Physiology AND square foot gardening AND herbs for life AND Charlotte Bronte AND how to tile your own floor, the guide.... etc.

I have over three hundred books on every subject you can imagine. Including LOTS of cookbooks. If I had more money and a bigger house I would have TONS more books, I'm sure of that. Some books I am not even sure why I have them but then I think about it and there is some story behind it so I keep it.

I don't even have to read the whole book to love it and keep it. I love skimming books and I feel impatient. I need to get on to what is good in the next book! Ahh!!

My favorite teacher in High School, Ms. Robinson, gave me a huge box of brand new books in every subject imaginable from an introduction to ethics to poems by Rumi to My Antonia (my favorite book btw). And every English teacher I've ever had has found a way to give me tons of books.

I have way too many from Amazon. (I blame my boring and intense job combined with darn "one-click-shopping!). Plus there is some amazing books that you can't get anywhere else! 

And I have too many from The Book Garden, a used book store down the street from my house.

So yes. Books and knowlege drive me. And frusterate me. I can never make myself master any one thing. I am crazy about the beauty in every subject. And that can be frusterating at times. Especially when you are trying to hone in on what to make your career!

I guess if there were one subject I obsessed about the most it would be Cooking.

I like cooking. I like it A LOT.

In an attempt to master one thing I have cooked up a storm. I'm even thinking about becoming a professional Chef.

Crisp white chef coat. Pretty hair. Job you love. Good pay. Very little stress. Lots of autonomy, creativity and variety. People appreciate you. The freshest local ingredients...

That's the dream, right? These are the traits anyone would want in a job.

I dream of a happy life like that...

But I fear it is more like this in the end...

I have lots of fears in persuing my passions. My fear is that if I become a Chef I will have lots of mess- ups, do-over's, and be in a frantic fast paced environment. Hands full of burns and cuts and scars from ovens and kitchen tools. People telling me that I'm crazy or that my food is awful. And in the beginning I'm sure there would be a lower wadge than I ever thought possible for such hard work and careful attention to detial and art and taste.

 And my dreadful office job will seem like a wonderful dream I was once floating in!

My worst fear is that I will be an obese chef...

...who lives with 45 cats and kittens...

Cute Kitty! I love you...

But maybe with creatures like this, that scenareo wouldn't be so bad!?

My Mom used to tell me, "Think about the very worst scenero in the situation you are in now or fear, and now be honest with yourself, is that really that bad?"

I have so many little fears when it comes to change and creating things. When cooking, I fear that I spend too much money. I spend too much time. I waste the opportunity to do other things. I neglect other responsibilities.With little to no apparent returns. And it doesn't help that people can devour your creations and judge them in a fraction of the time and energy it to to create them.

But I remember that being a critic is for lazy people.

It takes a lot more effort to create and be an advocate and stay positive and look for the good.

Remember that cute Disney Movie, Ratatouille? If you havn't seen it, I highly suggest it. Even for adults.

If you have watched it, Do you remember Remi, the "lil' chef" that loved to cook and alter recipes?

And, do you remember that awful critic, Anton?

Remember how awful Anton was in his initial reviews?

Despite his sour nature at the beginning of the movie, Anton had some

 really wise words to say in the end...

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more."

To be creative and to present your beloved work to others is a risk. That is for sure. I know the risk. I know it and I still long for it. I long to be the creator, not a critic.

I love to share. Not just food. Anything and everything I love!

So I take that risk all the time...
That's why I blog. Not enough. But I do. I want to blog about everything I love.
Regardless of what anybody else thinks. I just want to create. I NEED to create.


I hold on to the hope that there would be beautiful moments folded into the chaos that make eveything worth it.

Moments like this....

Can you imagine the hushed voices of delighted people?

Excited to see/taste/feel/participate in what you create!?

And many times you have to be your own advocate, your own best friend. If I eat healthy meals three times a day it's a triumph! I have to remember that simple things can be a win for me.

Like me, you may be affraid to do something, and you create mental lists of reasons to give up. But for those things that speak to your soul and incite the desire to keep going, then, keep going.

If something makes you feel important, happy and more complete. Or if it feels right but you feel completely alone in doing it-- do it anyway. Support will come. Things will happen. Have faith.  

So whatever your fear is...

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Poem By Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa

There is a grand design of beauty and goodness and truth in our universe.

And it includes YOU.

It often helps me to remember that this universe is infinate in scope. And there is a grand design of goodness and beauty and truth that is pushing forward. There is nothing noble in repressing your true self. Be yourself and you will attract what actually makes you happy!

Truth will prevail.

 But you can be a part of it.

 It's a choice you make each day.

But regardless of what you do, you are sacred. You are unique. You are the only you in this gigantic universe!  

Do what you know is right, even if nobody is watching. Do it even if it demands a difficult sacrifise. Do it even if it hurts. Do it even if someone else can do it better than you. Do it because it feels right in your soul and mind.

Do It Anyway!

Your blogger buddy,

~Aimee



The Journey

The Journey

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice—

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do--

determined to save

the only life you could save.

Poem by Mary Oliver



Girl On FIRE!! - Gym Playlist 09-26-2012

Wanna feel like you're on fire at the gym?!

Here is a new gym playlist I created to help you get there!

Workout Type: Cardio HIIT Training. This is designed for intense and rest intervals with both a warm-up and a cool-down.

Warm Up:

1. Girl On Fire (Inferno Version) [feat. Nicki Minaj] by Alicia Keys 

Girl You're On Fire! Interval Training:

2. In My Mind (Axwell Mix) by Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl 

3. Feel Again - by One Republic 

4. Radioactive - by Imagine Dragons

5. Closer - by Tegan and Sara 

6. Without you - by Lana Del Rey

7. My Body - by Young the Giant

8. C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)  - by Tiesto & Diplo

9. More than This - by One Direction

10. Scream - by Usher 

11. Don't You Worry Child (Radio Edit) [Feat John Martin] - by Swedish House Mafia 

12. Diamonds - by Rihanna - single

13. Nuclear Seasons - by Charli XCX

 

Cool Down:

14. Blue Velvet by Lana Del Rey

Total Time of Playlist: 55 Minutes

Follow this link to get the entire playlist on ITUNES!

Product Review: Bialetti Aeternum Cookware

To start, I just have a couple of words for you:

BEST. NON-STICK COOKWARE. EVER!

I have been buying and returning and trying all kinds of different brands in cookware. I have been on the hunt for non-stick cookware that was also nontoxic. Are you anything like me and you get super sick of seeing all the non-stick coating on your pans peel into your food after enough use of your non-stick pans? I just hate it! Plus, if you have read the scientific literature, the non-stick layer on most standard cookware sets are toxic.

So, after running around to different stores and purchasing many different trial sets of cookware online, I found a set that I am totally in LOVE with!

Introducing Bialetti Aeternum Cookware!

Dum Dida DuMM! (Drum Roll)....

I bought the 8 inch omlet pan and the stove-top pancake grill. After making eggs and pancakes over and over again I am still in continually shock at how much easier it is to cook and clean with these fella's. The eggs literally slip out of the pan and are cooked to perfection and the pancakes turn over in perfect shape WITHOUT ANY OIL AT ALL! This really helps when you are trying to cook items that typically call for oil and you are trying to watch your calories and oil/fat consumption! 

I have my eye on the set ;-) but I think I will stick with my other Calphlon cookware for my other cooking needs. I will do a review on the Calphlon items that I chose to keep in my mini kitchen later. If you would like to try out the Bialetti Aeternum Cookware you can get it at Bed Bath & Beyond or online through their website here.

  BB&B offers a two piece PINK version that I think is SO cute. Is it just me, or are they perfect!?

They may look strange to you at first, but trust me, you'll fall in love with the porcelain non-stick layer!

The Ultimate Protein Shake

I have seen a million protein shake recipes. This one has the best ingredients. This also could be modified quite easily. Add frozen fruit, nuts etc.

JNL Talks about Juicing

Nutrition Controversies in Video

Here are some very interesting videos on nutrition that I have really enjoyed.

This video is about the discoveries of the Weston Price Foundation, which I whole-heartedly agree with. Basically we must become puritans with our food choices. I'm not even against meat or animal products, I think we need to eat foods in their whole, unprocessed state.

 

I think it's important to note the end where she discusses the purity of our food. Don't eat rancid oils or pesticide laden fruits and vegetables. Every diet I have ever researched talks about eating different percentages of macronutrients and neglects to point out the elephant in the room: purity matters. Whole foods matter!

Nourishment is our BIRTHRIGHT.

Here is a video about Magnesium Deficiency.  

Note that the "anti-depresents" cause depression and imbalance!

This video has three pro's battleing it out. Is fat good or bad? Nobody knows for sure. I think Weston Price did though. He called fresh, organic fats from healthy sources the "X" factor to vitamin and mineral obsorption. Like I said before, whole foods is the key.

 

All of these experts are right in at least one area: reduce refined foods. Obesity and disease is caused by imbalance. Eating refined foods is the same as eating extracts of foods, not whole foods. I don't care if you eat animal products either, you can avoid animal cruelty by eating healthy free-range animals, and in moderation. Eat a variety of WHOLE FOODS in a pure, natural and HEALTHY state and you will find more balance in your life. Amoungst WHOLE FOODS eat WHAT YOU CRAVE. Your body is uniquely hungry for specific nourishment. We are creatures of sense for a reason, we feel and crave and enjoy those things that ensure optimal living. If you exercise alot, eat more complex carbs if you crave them. Never surpress your bodies cry for nourishment. But when you eat outside of nature, those sensors are tricked. So eat what you crave amoungst whole foods.

Sweet Cream-Chocolate Fruit Sushi

My most popular food post so far is my Banana Apple Fruit Sushi . So I decided to feature some of my more complex fruit sushi inventions! This recipe has a few component recipes. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. I promise this one is absolutely delicious!

Sweet Cream & Chocolate Fruit Sushi

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce Leaves
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cheesecake-Cashew-Coconut-Whipped-Cream
Coconut-Candied-Walnuts
Your favorite organic chocolate syrup,
OR  
Easy Chocolate Sauce
1/2 Cup Agave
1 Date
2 Tbsp. Raw Cocoa Powder
1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter


Instructions:

Wash your strawberries.

Cut them up carefully, these peices will be on display, after all :)

Wash the organic romaine lettuce leaves, being careful not to tear the fibers since this needs to hold creamy fillings! Wash the blueberries as well.

Lay the romaine out flat and cut of peices that are brown or that make it hard to bend the leaf.

Now we have arrived to the good part! Smear on some raw coconut cashew cream!

Add a handful of blueberries.

Add sliced strawberries!

If you have any granola on hand, this is a really good addition. Or use my Easy Coconut-Candied Walnuts recipe.

 

 Roll up the fruit carefully into the romaine lettuce leaf. On its side, poke several toothpicks obout two inches apart and then cut in-between to create a mini skewer. Or you can just eat it just like this!

A delicious fruit burrito! It's really good without the chocolate sauce too. This would make it really easy because you could have the cream on hand, pre-made and just make a snack!  

Take a white plate and squirt little designs of chocolate onto the plate. If you are making your own chocolate sauce, like I did, then fill a zip-lock bag with the sauce and then cut a tiny end off (cut the corner off), so as to make a very small opening. This is like a cheap pastry-frosting bag.

Place a strawberry and a blueberry slice on top of the exposed top.

I added some baby mint leaf shoots.

Yum! I ate the whole plate, no guilt :)

Easy Coconut Candied Walnuts

Use this on top of yogurt, in parfaits or on top of oatmeal with fresh fruit, feel free to add any dried fruit or nut/grain of your choice. This is grain free, gluten free, vegan.

Easy Coconut Candied Walnuts

Granola:
3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
4 Tblsp. Coconut Flour or Shredded Coconut

Spiced Syrup:
2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions: Chop the walnuts. Mix the Coconut into the walnuts. In a seperate bowl mix the spiced syrup together. Mix the syrup into the nut mixture. Lay this mixture out on an oven proof sheet and toast for 2-3 minutes in a toaster over or oven at 400 degrees. You may want to stir the mixture halway through toasting. Watch the mixture carefully as coconut burns easily.

Walnuts are my favorite but this basic recipe will work well with almost any variation.

Chop the walnuts.

In a seperate bowl mix the spiced syrup together.

Mix the Coconut into the walnuts.

Mix the syrup into the nut mixture.

Lay this mixture out on an oven proof sheet and toast for 2-3 minutes in a toaster over or oven at 400 degrees. You may want to stir the mixture half-way through toasting. Watch the mixture carefully, as coconut burns easily. You can also eat this raw, but it gets a delightful crunch when toasted! You can make your own coconut flour by putting shredded coconut into a vitamix and pulsing the blades, or just use dried shredded coconut.

Cheesecake Cashew-Coconut Whipped Cream

This whipped cream is instant gratification. You don't have to soak any nuts overnight or stick a can of coconut milk in the freezer overnight. As long as you have frozen bananas and coconut meat on hand (leftover from making smoothies etc) then there really isn't any other make-ahead items.

Raw Cashew-Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingrediets:

1/2 Cup Frozen Young Coconut Meat
1/2 Cup Dry Raw Cashews
7 Deglet Noor Dates
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1/2 Frozen Banana
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Zest of 2 Lemmons

Directions: Add all ingredients into the blender and blend at variable low and high speeds. Scrape down the sides and move the cream in towards the blades. Let the blender sit for a few minutes as it will take several runs to get this to a silky smooth consistency and you don't want to bake the cream by letting the friction of the blades heat it up. Refrigerate the cream for 30 minutes afterwords if it gets too warm.

You will need a small strainer and a zester or fine grater. Zest the lemons first, then juice them.

Lemon zest smells so good!

You can use a small hand strainer or use an electric citrus juicer. Don't let seeds get in the cream!

Ingredients for the cream!

Blend up the cream. Be sure to scrape down the sides to get the date fragments incorporated.

Scrape the cream out of your vitamix (or other high speed blender).

Its creamy, coconuty, and tastes like lemon cheesecake!

Store in a glass container. Eat it chilled.

It's better when its very cold.

This keeps really well in the fridge for several days. I have several recipes (soon to come!) that work so well with this creamy delight. It is delicious with fresh fruit. I will be posting more soon!