Buddha-Full North Vancouver

What else to do in a spare hour than to finally hang out at a good all vegan place in North Vancouver: Buddha Full.

It’s got this “all raw vegan” vibe but they serve both raw vegan and cooked vegan food and the interior and design is just beautiful.

First of all, I came in and by accident got to listen to the conversation two of the staff members had... it was about Christmas dinner and one of them shared that he had to sit at a non-vegan Christmas table. Sounded like music in my ears. Yes, I miss this: hanging out at work with co-workers that share the same Moral believe-System with oneself: it’s not okay to pet the rabbit in the backyard and make the dog a family member but at the same time eat parts of pigs or cows. Fundamentally, that was always my main point: animals are all the same, share the same feelings, pain, love, have relationships, no matter what species they are. 

Having worked in 3 different all-vegan restaurants, having made a ton of friends in those jobs, was just awesome. Okay, my pay cheque might have been minimal and I could only do this because I was living rent-free, but it was just a great experience. 

Now, witnessing this conversation, old memories come up and make me smile. 

I ordered a “Kick-start latte” as I was just about to go to spin class. It tasted really good, sweetened with dates only, but nothings greater than having dates, lol. 

If you’re ever in the area around the bottom

of Lonsdale or at the Quay, make a trip to Buddha Full. 

Check out their menu online. Follow their Instagram. 

Have a glance on their menu:

Food, Wine and Wishes

On August 22, I had the pleasure to join the event “Food, Wine and Wishes” at Loutet Farm in North Vancouver.
It was a charity event with silent auction to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Loutet Farm. Loutet Farm is a project initiated by the North Shore Neighbourhood House.
This project is called Edible Garden Project.

“The Vision: Employing underutilized public parkland provided by the City of North Vancouver, Loutet Farm’s goal is to operate an economically viable urban farm within a residential area. Funds generated through the sale of the produce are directed back into the operations of the farm while creating valuable green-collar jobs for north shore residents. In addition, the Loutet Farm offers a range of workshops and hands on learning opportunities focused on sustainable food production for both adults and children.”

Over 200 people are working at Loutet Farm, a non-profit urban farm; producing tons of vegetables per year that are used to provide food to people in need. This is quite unique. 

I'm sharing this because the idea of having urban farms in cities is great; a project to grow local and seasonal vegetables, to teach children the steps between planting seed and harvesting food and to work outside in the nature together - we need more of this. 

It was a beautiful evening with my colleagues and I thank my work for the spontaneous invitation.

Here are some pictures of the event:

Thank you Holly Butcher

Holly Butcher is a young Australian girl that made it into the big newspapers all around the world in the last days. She was diagnosed with cancer, unfortunately there was no hope for her to ever get healthy again. Diagnosed at the young age of 26, she knew that she won't make it much longer. 

The day prior to her passing, she posted a letter on Facebook, that I simply want to share here, as it is full of wisdom and truth.

I don't want to add anything else besides expressing my sympathy with Holly's family, my condolences on her passing. She seemed to be a true inspiration for all of us. Be free to share her letter: (Link for sharing it on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollybutcher90/posts/10213711745460694)

A bit of life advice from Hol:

It’s a strange thing to realise and accept your mortality at 26 years young. It’s just one of those things you ignore. The days tick by and you just expect they will keep on coming; Until the unexpected happens. I always imagined myself growing old, wrinkled and grey- most likely caused by the beautiful family (lots of kiddies) I planned on building with the love of my life. I want that so bad it hurts.

That’s the thing about life; It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right.

I’m 27 now. I don’t want to go. I love my life. I am happy.. I owe that to my loved ones. But the control is out of my hands.

I haven’t started this ‘note before I die’ so that death is feared - I like the fact that we are mostly ignorant to it’s inevitability.. Except when I want to talk about it and it is treated like a ‘taboo’ topic that will never happen to any of us.. That’s been a bit tough. I just want people to stop worrying so much about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to remember that we all have the same fate after it all so do what you can to make your time feel worthy and great, minus the bullshit.

I have dropped lots of my thoughts below as I have had a lot of time to ponder life these last few months. Of course it’s the middle of the night when these random things pop in my head most!

Those times you are whinging about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It’s okay to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively effect other people’s days.

Once you do that, get out there and take a freaking big breath of that fresh Aussie air deep in your lungs, look at how blue the sky is and how green the trees are; It is so beautiful. Think how lucky you are to be able to do just that - breathe.

You might have got caught in bad traffic today, or had a bad sleep because your beautiful babies kept you awake, or your hairdresser cut your hair too short. Your new fake nails might have got a chip, your boobs are too small, or you have cellulite on your arse and your belly is wobbling.

Let all that shit go.. I swear you will not be thinking of those things when it is your turn to go. It is all SO insignificant when you look at life as a whole. I’m watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more Birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more. 

I hear people complaining about how terrible work is or about how hard it is to exercise - Be grateful you are physically able to. Work and exercise may seem like such trivial things ... until your body doesn’t allow you to do either of them.

I tried to live a healthy life, in fact, that was probably my major passion. Appreciate your good health and functioning body- even if it isn’t your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is. Move it and nourish it with fresh food. Don’t obsess over it.

Remember there are more aspects to good health than the physical body.. work just as hard on finding your mental, emotional and spiritual happiness too. That way you might realise just how insignificant and unimportant having this stupidly portrayed perfect social media body really is.. While on this topic, delete any account that pops up on your news feeds that gives you any sense of feeling shit about yourself. Friend or not.. Be ruthless for your own well-being.

Be grateful for each day you don’t have pain and even the days where you are unwell with man flu, a sore back or a sprained ankle, accept it is shit but be thankful it isn’t life threatening and will go away.

Whinge less, people! .. And help each other more.

Give, give, give. It is true that you gain more happiness doing things for others than doing them for yourself. I wish I did this more. Since I have been sick, I have met the most incredibly giving and kind people and been the receiver of the most thoughtful and loving words and support from my family, friends and strangers; More than I could I ever give in return. I will never forget this and will be forever grateful to all of these people.

It is a weird thing having money to spend at the end.. when you’re dying. It’s not a time you go out and buy material things that you usually would, like a new dress. It makes you think how silly it is that we think it is worth spending so much money on new clothes and ‘things’ in our lives.

Buy your friend something kind instead of another dress, beauty product or jewellery for that next wedding. 1. No-one cares if you wear the same thing twice 2. It feels good. Take them out for a meal, or better yet, cook them a meal. Shout their coffee. Give/ buy them a plant, a massage or a candle and tell them you love them when you give it to them.

Value other people’s time. Don’t keep them waiting because you are shit at being on time. Get ready earlier if you are one of those people and appreciate that your friends want to share their time with you, not sit by themselves, waiting on a mate. You will gain respect too! Amen sister.

This year, our family agreed to do no presents and despite the tree looking rather sad and empty (I nearly cracked Christmas Eve!), it was so nice because people didn’t have the pressure of shopping and the effort went into writing a nice card for each other. Plus imagine my family trying to buy me a present knowing they would probably end up with it themselves.. strange! It might seem lame but those cards mean more to me than any impulse purchase could. Mind you, it was also easier to do in our house because we had no little kiddies there. Anyway, moral of the story- presents are not needed for a meaningful Christmas. Moving on.

Use your money on experiences.. Or at least don’t miss out on experiences because you spent all your money on material shit.

Put in the effort to do that day trip to the beach you keep putting off. Dip your feet in the water and dig your toes in the sand. Wet your face with salt water.

Get amongst nature.

Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them through the screen of your phone. Life isn’t meant to be lived through a screen nor is it about getting the perfect photo.. enjoy the bloody moment, people! Stop trying to capture it for everyone else.

Random rhetorical question. Are those several hours you spend doing your hair and make up each day or to go out for one night really worth it? I’ve never understood this about females.

Get up early sometimes and listen to the birds while you watch the beautiful colours the sun makes as it rises.

Listen to music.. really listen. Music is therapy. Old is best.

Cuddle your dog. Far out, I will miss that.

Talk to your friends. Put down your phone. Are they doing okay?

Travel if it’s your desire, don’t if it’s not.

Work to live, don’t live to work.

Seriously, do what makes your heart feel happy.

Eat the cake. Zero guilt.

Say no to things you really don’t want to do.

Don’t feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life.. you might want a mediocre life and that is so okay.

Tell your loved ones you love them every time you get the chance and love them with everything you have.

Also, remember if something is making you miserable, you do have the power to change it - in work or love or whatever it may be. Have the guts to change. You don’t know how much time you’ve got on this earth so don’t waste it being miserable. I know that is said all the time but it couldn’t be more true.

Anyway, that’s just this one young gals life advice. Take it or leave it, I don’t mind!

Oh and one last thing, if you can, do a good deed for humanity (and myself) and start regularly donating blood. It will make you feel good with the added bonus of saving lives. I feel like it is something that is so overlooked considering every donation can save 3 lives! That is a massive impact each person can have and the process really is so simple.

Blood donation (more bags than I could keep up with counting) helped keep me alive for an extra year - a year I will be forever grateful that I got to spend it here on Earth with my family, friends and dog. A year I had some of the greatest times of my life.

..’Til we meet again.

Hol

Xoxo

The 5 key rules for a good relationship

Reflecting now, I did so many things wrong in my past. Completely wrong. Don't understand me wrong, I'm only 24 now and I won't be able to tell you how life works, but I figured out what it needs to become strong in a relationship. And, I'm not only talking about a loving relationship between two people, I'll come to that, but the points apply to any relationship (friends, employer - employee, parents - children).

1. Honesty
Yes. Any relationship needs a good amount of honesty. I'm not talking about white lies (why you are five minutes late, talking to your boss about being stuck in a traffic jam when in reality you just didn't leave the house early enough; or the ultimate question of your girlfriend "Do I look fat in this dress?" - "No honey you look beautiful" - to all women here: Have you ever asked yourself why your man always thinks you're beautiful no matter what you wear? Want honest answers, ask your girlfriends, not your man. Don't bring him in that situation. lol).
I'm talking about pure honesty when it comes to the important stuff. Being able to tell the other person what you feel, what you think about a situation and what your ideas and plans in life are - this is the honesty you will need in order to build or maintain a relationship. If you messed up at work, being able to take responsibility for your action really shows how confident you are. And it shows that you are trustworthy that the other person will be able to deal with the situation in an appropriate way.
Side Note: Overreacting and being emotional mostly just happens because multiple little issues from the past days, weeks, months add up, then suddenly explode all at once - you will understand that if the overreacting person suddenly brings up things that bother him/her but have nothing to do with the current argument. Overreacting and being emotional is a sign that there was not enough honesty in the past, otherwise the situation would have been resolved when it occurred.

2. Support
We all need a shoulder to lean on sometimes. We all need support. No matter if its the dinner being made ready to eat after a long day at work, getting picked up after work, or just a simple compliment. Women need support, they need flowers and hugs. Men need support,  a nice massage for neck and shoulders after a long day or even just a compliment like "you look big" after he comes home from the gym. Being supportive shows appreciation of another. It says: "whatever your plan is, I will be there for you and do my best to help you finding success.“ Think about the last time you were supportive towards your partner, your friend, your boss, your employee, your client or any other family member.

3. Acceptance
Take someone or leave someone. But don't try to change him or her. People value acceptance. Someone trying to change us will make us feel like we are not good the way we are. No matter if its your best friend, your brother, your boss. Everyone is different and so are we. If we want to be able to express our true self, we have to accept the others.
This doesn't mean you have to keep living with your friend in a shared apartment while trying to accept the fact that he smokes in the kitchen. If you don't like smoking, you can still change the situation and move out. It also doesn't mean you have to be in a relationship with a jealous person and try to love jealousy even though you hate it. We are all changing constantly. Don't give up on your friends, partners or family members - it might be a phase only, where they do things that you don't understand or like.
However Acceptance means also accepting one's own needs, wishes and desires. If something doesn't align with your own morals or ideas - maybe it's time to move on from that relationship. If you work in a job that totally exploits you and underpays you, quit. If you live in an abusive relationship, break up. You are never stuck in any situation.

4. Conversation
Yes, this one is crucial. You need to be able to talk. To your family members, siblings, your coworkers, your partner, to strangers. Being able to hold a clean conversation exchanging different opinions is so so so important. Unfortunately we never learned "conversation" in school: How to be an active listener, how not to interrupt the other person, how to respond in a good way. Good Conversations give us energy. We learn from good conversations. We understand each other and ourselves better after having a good conversation. A good conversation is like good sex.
An Argument starts in 99% of all cases as a conversation. Person A says something, Person B says the opposite. Simple as that but that's why we have wars on this planet. But how does a conversation turn into an argument? That's when the ego takes over and loads your part of the conversation with emotions. Catch yourself in these moments and become rational. It will help both you and your partner. Arguments simply drain your energy. Rather use that energy and go to the gym. Don't waste it on a stupid argument. Even if you "win" the argument, that doesn't make you richer or a better person.

5. Commitment
Last but not least, commitment is a big thing: If you are making plans with someone, commit to them. If you work for someone, you commit being there in time and putting effort into what you are doing. If you want to travel with a friend, you work out a plan, a route to finding the perfect location where both of you will enjoy the time. If you want to be in a loving relationship with someone, you commit to both adjustments and sacrifices. In almost all situations in live, getting something makes you automatically lose something else. That is probably the biggest commitment in life. Getting a fixed partner limits you in terms of dating other people. Moving to a different country makes it hard to see your family. Breaking up with someone lets you have the freedom to do what you want to do, but you will be alone.
Understanding this will never make you think about decisions the same again. Crazy but true: You will always lose if you win something. And you will always win, even if you lose.

Begin Again

Perfectly Imperfect - begin again

„Be not the slave of your own past . . . plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.“

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

No other yoga style has ever made me think about the following more than vinyasa yoga: My own capability to do certain things (and not to be able to do them). The other interesting view is: How good was I in doing something in the past, in the present and in the future? The reason for this might be that I have never „failed“ more in my yoga practice than in a vinyasa class. You either can hold crow pose, or you fall out of it. You are able to do a handstand or you are not able to. Vinyasa Yoga is all about failing, forgiving and trying again and again. There is no other yoga style like this. Everyone is able to do a wide-legged forward fold in a yin practice. But when the teacher says: „Take a few hops into an arm balance, if it’s in your practice“ - that’s when our inner voice might say things like „you can’t do this, you are too heavy“ or „don’t even try, remember, yesterday you failed“. In difficult poses, our mind gets loud and tells us stories why we are not good enough to hold specific poses. 

The beauty of Vinyasa Yoga is in facing the truth: Where am I now? What am I good in right now and what do I have to work on? Totally becoming peace with where I am right now, opens the door to begin again. From that state, I am not scared to fail, I am curious to see how things work out today (especially after failing previously) and I allow myself to play. Maybe I wont be able to do a handstand, maybe I won’t be able to do it in the next two years. However, I will only find out by trying.

In my personal practice (and as a teacher in the future) I truly believe that not only encouraging, but also reminding myself (and the students) of the following is gold: Every class is different and every attempt to finally hold a new pose is a new one. Totally blending out what happened yesterday, last week or a month ago will keep the motivation up to try that specific pose again. And failure will bring us closer to holding the pose eventually. That attitude will also manifest a new idea on life in general and how we deal with difficult situations. Instead of simply giving up, we start to face situations with more curious and playful thoughts. We stop assuming to know how situations will turn out. Instead we will accept that every moment and every situation is completely new. Getting stronger in vinyasa yoga and finally becoming able to hold more difficult poses will strengthen our body, and our believe system. Thoughts become actions and actions become habits. We will transform the „I shouldn’t even try, I will never be able to do this“ thoughts into „I give myself the chance to try. I say yes to the practice and to this challenge. I don’t take failure too seriously“ in our yoga practice and in our daily life. 

The last important part that I absolutely love about yoga practice is the fact, that failure simply can’t be taken seriously. When I am in my favorite vinyasa yoga class and we are all getting into crow pose (or trying to), my teacher always says: „And don’t have fun, ok? Fun is not allowed in this room“. Even more hilarious is when she says: „And if you fall out, you are a bad person, don’t forget that“. By saying loud what our minds try to tell us, makes it sound ridiculous and stupid. We take life, failure and perfectionism too serious. I love these little reminders of my teacher that make us become aware of these thoughts. We understand that our mind is trying to trick us into giving up by providing us with evidence why we shouldn’t begin again. Keeping a consistent vinyasa yoga practice made me understand when these stories bubble up and how to deal with my inner voice. Becoming aware of it is the first step in the right direction. Instead of giving up, I give myself the chance to try and fail and sometimes I even succeed.

If you are interested to create and order your own Loverope, check it out here
(worldwide shipping, $20.95)

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Thoughts about Protein?

I recently get this question a lot: What about the protein?

Before I started going to the gym 5 times a week and starting my „bodybuilding“ training, I never really thought of protein. And in these two years of bodybuilding training, I was already on a plant based diet, however I made experiences that I will never forget: 

1) My recovery was way better than the recovery of my non-plant-based gym buddies.

2) I was constantly thinking about protein, how to get more protein and on top of that I was tracking my calories on an app called „My Fitness Pal“ just to ensure that I eat enough calories and enough protein.

Now, over three years later, I feel so much better, not following these crazy weight lifting plans and smashing in the protein shakes, protein bars and tofu blocks (Yes, I was eating a whole silk tofu block mixed with one scoop soy vanilla protein for lunch). Out of my personal experience I can say that eating these huge amounts of protein has nothing to do with a healthy lifestyle. 

I am convinced that there is nothing like a protein deficiency existing. Nobody has ever died because there was a lack of protein. I understand that there is a huge industry behind the myth that incorporating more protein into the diet will make you gain and keep muscles easier (this one is often used for men’s protein product advertisements) or it will satisfy you longer so that you need less food throughout the day and will lose body fat (this one is used especially for women’s protein product advertisements).

In the end all we need is plants. One cup of lentils contains so much protein, even rice is full of it. Did you know that one lemon contains 16% protein? There is literally no food that contains no protein. As long as you eat enough food, you won't be suffering from a protein deficiency.

And, last but not least, people forget or often just don’t know that humans can’t use the complete protein from the food they eat. First the body has to take it apart into the single amino acids, then the body builds its own protein. So technically it would be totally fine not to eat any protein at all (which is not possible, because as I mentioned, any food contains at least a little protein) but simply eat amino acids. Amino acids are found in fruits, dark leafy greens and vegetables, in anything. That would explain why I didn’t die of a protein deficiency six years ago when I was on a raw vegan diet for one year eating mainly fruits, dark leafy greens, nuts and vegetables.

So enjoy your pumpkin soup tonight because it is full of deliciousness and protein.

Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert: Pumpkin Pie

What would Thanksgiving be without a pumpkin pie?

Nothing. This pie is made with a nice typical salty (only slightly sweet) crust and a pumpkin filling which has a great texture and is completely free of dairy and even soy!

Last year, I made the pumpkin pie with mainly pumpkin puree and silken tofu, this year I was excited to try a different variation that I found online, which was made with coconut milk. 

I dont think using soy is a bad thing, it was simply curiosity that made me try a different recipe. I used the same crust as I did in the Katy Perry Pie (see it here), but I added a little bit of sugar to the crust dough. 

For the usual pumpkin spices I used a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.

What can I say? The cake is simply delicious! Its sweet and it makes you not even realize that its vegan.

Here I'm going to share my vegan thanksgiving pumpkin pie recipe.

Here are the ingredients for one pie:
Crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I substituted 4 Tbsp of flour for sugar)
1 cup vegan butter (e.g. Becel)
1/2 cup ice cold water
Filling:
1 3/4 cups (1 14 oz can) pumpkin
3/4 cups coconut milk (use fat not low-fat)
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used the brand rogers, their brown sugar is made with molasses)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp allspice
1/3 tsp ginger

Instructions:
For the crust mix the flour, sugar if substitute with the butter in a big bowl, and slowly add ice cold water (sometimes I need more, sometimes less, depending on the butter I use). When the dough is sticky enough, form a ball and place it in a tupperware in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350° F (180°C). 
Roll out the dough until its big enough to cover your pie plate (9 inch). Carefully lift the rolled-out dough into the pie plate and shape the crust, maybe create a decorative frame with a fork.
Combine all ingredients for the filling in a high speed blender (if you don't have one mix them in a big bowl well). Pour the filling into the pie plate and bake for one hour. When you remove it, the pumpkin filling might not be completely hard, let it cool down and if possible let it sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours until set. Preparing the pie on the day before and letting it sit in the fridge over night will intensify the spices and flavors.