The "Palette" of our Lives, and My Anniversary Giveaway

I had tea with a friend yesterday.  He's a long-time vegetarian, not vegan (yet ;), but very much on a similar path as mine.  You may recognize that path too.  The one filled with giant boulders and invisible pits of quick sand and ruts so deep that once in them you think you'll never see the light of day again.

That path.

The one of self-discovery and continuous self-improvement.

"Good, better, best.  Never let it rest.  Get your good better and your better best", George Burns said.

This path is not for the faint of heart (many pairs of big-girl/boy panties required).  The temptations to take the 'easier' side roads are everywhere.

But along the way, you find those who can help you; some directly and some whose sole purpose seems to be to show you where you don't want to end up.

My friend has come up with a much better metaphor than the many I have dreamed up to describe the culling process I have gone through in surrounding myself with those that will help me on my way and in learning to keep those that will not at a bit of a distance.

He calls it my palette.  If my palette is earth tones and I am painting the canvas of my life, well then I do not want a big blob of shocking pink or chartreuse splashed in the mix. 

He's an artist and thinks like that.  Cool.

  This is what he fixed me for a snack:

I had to take a picture of it before messing it up!

I'm getting better at identifying the clashing 'colors' that do not mesh with my basic nature and the path I work so hard to stay on.  There are distinct 'hues' and types of energies I need to help me on my way.   But, occasionally, I am blind-sided.

(My brilliant son said to me the other day, after a particularly challenging event in my personal life, that I needed to remember the story of the frog and the scorpion.  I said, well, I think it had something to do with a river.  He said, yes, the scorpion wants the frog to carry him on his back across the river but the frog is afraid he will sting him.  The scorpion promises not to and the frog then agrees to help.  Half-way across the river, the scorpion stings the frog.  The frog asks: 'why did you do that?  Now we both will die'.  The scorpion says:  'because I am a scorpion'.   My son gave me a moment to take that in and then said:  Mom, these people are scorpions.  You are a frog.  You can't keep trying to carry them across the river.  Brilliant.)

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My giveaway.

I am a bit over 3 years now on this wonderful path of whole-food, vegan eating.  It has brought me so much more than I ever could have anticipated.  I like to celebrate by 'paying it forward' in a small way.

So here is my give-away for this year:

Lindsay S. Nixon's The Happy Herbivore

and a Vejibag

Lindsay's book is one that I use so regularly that it is one of the very few that I will not loan out to anyone.  I love her Everyday Happy Herbivore book as well, but Happy Herbivore has just become a trusted friend in my kitchen. Check out Happy Herbivore here:  http://tinyurl.com/l6s72pf

Vejibag recently had a sale on seconds....I picked up a couple and honestly can't find anything wrong with them.  I thought I'd include one with the book.  More on vejibags:   http://vejibag.com/  and in a previous blog post:  http://www.sunnyhawklane.blogspot.com/2013/06/two-reviews-veji-bag-and-film-may-i-be.html

Enter to win by:
Leaving a comment.  No 'theme' to this.  Don't have to tell me your favorite anything.  Just a comment.  I'll have my genius son pick a name out of a veji bag in a week or so.

Good luck in the drawing and, more importantly, in your life and whatever path you choose. 

Watch out for scorpions.

Sue, enjoying the journey, in Ohio

Two Reviews: The Veji-bag and the film "May I Be Frank"

When I saw Wendy's blog post over at Healthy Girl's Kitchen (www.healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com) about a new product called the Veji-bag, I was riveted.  Even though I've become fairly diligent about monitoring what is in the frig and working on not over-buying, I still will occasionally find limp, yucky greens in the produce drawer.  Nothing is as sad as decomposing lacinato kale. 

It is such a waste of a resource and beautiful food, and always makes me feel bad.

After watching the little video of the story of Sally Erickson, the creator of Veji-bag and her mission, I was impressed with her efforts to keep this product as green as possible, down to every detail, even the ink that is used to create the label.  http://vejibag.com/

The economist in me looked at the product and thought, oh, heck I could make one of those, and I may do something similar for myself in the future, but I've become very mindful of my power to vote with my dollar.

So vote I did and ordered one of the bags.

The bag arrived the very next day, in an eco-friendly package and with a kind little note from Sally.
It is very soft material and the easy-to-use instructions are clearly printed along with pictorials.

I used it to store kale and it did an excellent job of keeping those greens very fresh for the 3 or 4 days I had them in it.  I did a test and split the kale, storing half in plastic.  There really was a noticeable difference in favor of the Veji-bag. 

Next I put it to the true test:  organic red leaf lettuce.  I have a heck of a time keeping this dainty stuff fresh and usually try to consume in two days or so.

I left the lettuce in the Veji-bag for a week.  It was still in great shape.  I left some of it in for another week and pushed that to a week and a half.

So....at over two and a half weeks, here is the lettuce:

If you look closely at the piece on the left, you'll see a dark piece and that is slimy as were the very outer leaves which I discarded.  But the rest, while not what I would classify as 'fresh', is entirely edible.  I would have had to toss this long ago if stored in plastic.

Sally has introduced a larger Veji-bag and I took advantage of a reduced price for buying three of these.  This larger size will be perfect for kale, chard, collards and will help me out as I harvest my kale which is growing like crazy in the garden.

Pricey, but I believe these bags will be a good investment and will end up nearly paying for themselves in the first year.  And really, I'm not going to get around to making these for myself anytime soon.  I have other things to do. 

Like teaching my grand-daughter the joys of making a big ole mess with watercolors.

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I recently viewed the film "May I Be Frank", the story of Frank Ferrante, an over-weight man who is offered a second chance on finding joy and love in his life by three of the most loving individuals I think I've ever come across.  Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZNKlUmFkG4

Inspirational, graphic, I laughed, I cried, I saw so many of us in Frank....I highly recommend it.  If you are sensitive to language or explicit images of naked fat men, you likely won't enjoy.  Otherwise, watch one man's journey and see what love can do.  (Note:  be sure to watch the special features; the interview with Frank shows the rest of his amazing transformation).

Sue, grateful for my healthy life and fresh greens, in Ohio