¡Fiesta de Santa Fe!

¡Viva la Fiesta!

This time of year always makes me homesick and melancholy for my homeland in northern New Mexico. The Santa Fe Fiesta marks the beginning of fall and winter, two of the most wonderful seasons (like spring and summer aren’t awesome!) in the Land of Enchantment. The night air has just a slight hint of a chill. The mountain aspens, birch, maple, oak, piñon and elm trees, all burst into those glorious colors of fireworks. The smell of burning piñon in fireplaces fills the night and early morning air. All in preparation for the upcoming winter snows.

The Santa Fe Fiesta is the most impressive celebrations of all that occur in this area. A week long event that explodes every autumn in Old Santa Fe, “The sound generates a curious blend of thanksgiving, revelry and pride in the hearts of Santa Feans who celebrate Fiesta annually to commemorate Don Diego De Vargas' peaceful reoccupation of the City of Holy Faith in 1692. The historic capital is one of the oldest in the United States. It was established by Don Juan de Oñate at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where Santa Fe was founded in 1610.”

This party starts on Tuesday the 8th of September with Fiestecita, a big bash to eat & drink in celebration of this kick off and continuing thru the week with entertainment, arts and crafts, food booths, a pet parade and a fashion show. But the wildest “show” of all happens towards the end of the week. It is the burning of Old Man Gloom, Zozobra.

Since 1926, this ghoulish looking paper-mâché-like 50 foot giant has gone up in flames and “centers around the ritual burning in effigy of Old Man Gloom to dispel the hardships and travails of the past year.” Along with the burning of Zozobra, burn all our troubles and despairs for another whole year.

At dusk, small fires are lit in front of Zozobra and then the Fire Spirit Dancer dressed red appears, along with children dressed in white called “glooms.” The Fire Spirit Dancer starts dancing and jumping around wanting to scare off the glooms. The crowd cheers. And finally, Old Man Gloom is set on fire. He moans and groans and moves his arms about. The sky fills with fireworks and as Zozobra melts into ashes, the crowd roars, “Viva La Fiesta!”

I hope you enjoyed this little “journey” to Santa Fe & maybe inspires you to make

the trip next year to Fiesta de Santa Fe!

Until next time......

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!

My Humble Hero

This past weekend a gorgeous, tiny, little, shiny black hummingbird flew into our garage. Much smaller then these in this picture. I think he was just a baby. I had my nose stuck to the computer... (where else would it be?) and was totally engrossed in creating a blog, when Hubby Bear came in and casually mentioned.."I left the garage doors open cuz a hummingbird is flying around in the garage." I stopped what I was doing. My heart sank. I had this overwhelming fear for that little guy.

I got up and went out to the garage. I slowly opened the side door and quietly stepped in. There he was... this tiny little creature. Buzzing, endlessly around and around above the open doors. Taking just a few seconds here and there to land on the cables for a quick rest before hitting it again. If you listened closely, you could hear the quiet "whisp..whisp"... of his little wings. You could see his little chest and how hard he was breathing.

"HumB" was lost and had no idea of how to get out as he was focused on flying between the ceiling and the top of the open doors. He couldn't see that the doors were open and he kept hitting his tiny little head on the ceiling. I was heart broken for this lil guy.

Some people would remark..."stupid bird." or "Birds are really dumb." Let me humbly remind these thoughtless twits, that any living creature can get lost...including we humans. Ever been lost in the woods or while hiking in the mountains or while driving in a foreign city or perhaps caught in a blizzard? I know if, for whatever reason, I wound up in a hedge labyrinth, or in a snow storm while hiking in the mountains of New Mexico, I could get lost for days. So, it has nothing to do with intelligence or stupidity... it's simply finding yourself in an unknown, unfamiliar environment, and not knowing which direction is the way out.

I grabbed the broom, thinking I could "gingerly" coax this sweet little bird out the side door. He just flew so close to the ceiling and could never see the open doors. After about 15 minutes of chasing him around, I decided I needed another plan. I was wearing me out and Hum B. He needed to rest.

I returned to the house and "googled" "how do I get a hummingbird out of my garage?" And up popped TONS of posts. Thank goodness other people had this issue and took the time to post solutions. One said to "move your hummingbird feeder" into the garage. We don't have one. Ok, next solution. Place some of the flowers hummingbirds like in the garage. We don't have flowers. (This is not going well..) Third one noted that hummingbirds most likely are attracted by the RED emergency release handle in our garages because they look a lot like their favorite red trumpet creeper flowers. This post said to place something "red" in the doorway. I ran upstairs and grabbed a red towel, flew downstairs and out to the garage. Strung up the red towel on the side door, picked up the broom again and tried directing Hum B to the towel. No luck.

Hubby Bear came out and mentioned that birds are attracted to light (who knew? I am a city girl) so we may have to wait till dark before he leaves. This little guy was not going to make it till dark. As I was reading on the web about birds in garages... I was stunned by a statement, "after about one hour, the hummingbird will exhaust itself and die of starvation if not rescued." So, I was frantic at this point to help Hum B. I grabbed the flashlight and shined it toward him.... nothing. I was panicky.

Then the Hubby Bear returned to the garage and said boldly, "I have an idea!" We took large cardboard pieces and placed them over each window, closed all the doors except the open side door and hung the red towel over that door. Hum B was still buzzing endlessly around and around. But he was getting closer to the open door. Just when we thought he had found the way out... he took a sharp right turn and flew up the garage stairs to the second floor. Dang! how will we get him back downstairs.

Hubby Bear took the broom and headed upstairs. I heard him stomping around.. hitting the walls with the broom and I started to cry. I just knew this little guy was not going to survive. Bless his heart... thru no fault of his own... out for a Saturday stroll.... flew into our garage and became disoriented. This would be his demise. I hear nothing... it was quiet.. no sound of Hum B buzzing around and hitting the ceiling, no sound of the broom hitting the walls... I knew it was over.

Then, all of a sudden... I hear Hubby Bear carefully coming down the stairs with the broom in his hand. There was Hum B resting on the bristles. He took him out the side door and Hum B flew away... back to his family.

Oh! Happy Day! I ran to Hubby Bear and hugged him. He had rescued this little creature of God. Hubby Bear is truly..... my Humble Hero.

http://hummingbirdworld.com/h/
Until next time.....

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!

AaaaaaH!!!! TOO Much to DO.. today!!!

Short blog today, folks! Gotta TON of errands and "lil sh#% jobs" for this first Saturday of September. One of which is to head to the market for some yummy stuff to cook up for this week's recipes!

You guys have a SAFE and fun Labor Day weekend.

Be sure and look at Sunday's blog for this week's workout!

Until next time.......

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!!

The Humble Muffin

TODAY'S Portion Size: 8 oz

CALORIES: 435

1960's Portion Size: 1.5 oz

CALORIES: 100 to 175

Ok...Ok... so the pics are a little skewed... but you GET the idea. Right along with waste lines, butts, thighs, and weight our portion sizes have increased dramatically over the past 40 years.

A couple of weeks ago, Hubby Bear took me to see Julie and Julia. Not only, was the movie very funny and entertaining every second; but also, it was inspirational. It got America baking and cooking again, or so it seems, since Julia Childs book Mastering the Art of French Cooking went totally ballistic the next day. Amazon sold out within 2 days and now, nearly 50 years later; it tops all the book lists in the country and around the world.

Although of course, I am not a fan of the recipes, I am a fan of what Julia Childs represented..... A woman with a passion for something that she dearly loved with heart and soul. A woman that desperately wanted to share that passion with everyone. A woman that would not allow anything or anyone to get in her way to disrupt this mission.

So, last Saturday morning I decided I would "bake..bake..and more bake" in honor of the beloved JC. I made pans of muffins and just enjoyed the heck outta it... even if it was 4:45 in the morning. The house had that aroma that reminded me of the holidays or of cold, snowy mornings as a kid in New Mexico. Hubby Bear woke up and remarked, "Can I wake up every morning to the smell of homemade muffins?" (Uh, most likely no.)

Here's a few recipes for my Humble Vegan Muffins that are NOT the size of a grapefruit! Instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners, I use Agave Nectar or homemade applesauce. Instead of oil, I use apple or pineapple juice. Instead of sodium, I use lots of fabulous spices. And instead of flour or whole wheat flour, I use Oat Flour, and Brown Rice Flour, and Bran. As always, I use as much ORGANIC products that I can find. Normally I do not measure much at all when I prep food, but for muffins.... I measure.

The recipe is a basic one that comes out of The Health Promoting Cookbook by Dr. Alan Goldhamer, Founder and Director of the True North Health and Wellness Clinic in northern Calf.

You can purchase this wonderful cookbook from my "Humble Vegan Fave Reads & DVD's"

As a strict True North Vegan, I don't "do" bread, so I relied on my “trusty taste tester”... (say that 3 times really fast!)... Hubby Bear to let me know what might be missing. I made a variety from that one basic formula. The calorie count is anywhere from 150 to 200 each.

Hope you enjoy them :-)


Applesauce Muffins with chunks of Apple

Preheat oven 350. Get out 2 large bowls, measuring cups (dry and liquid,) measuring spoons, food processor.

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside:
1 cup Oat flour
1 cup Brown Rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
Cinnamon (I use a lot ..about 1 T or more)
Nutmeg about ½ tsp

Homemade Applesauce
In food processor, add the following and blend until smooth.. or whatever texture you prefer your applesauce.
6 apples, cored. (I just toss them in with peeling... but scrub first)
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup water
3 fresh mint leaves
You can add cinnamon and nutmeg... but remember, you’ll have these spices in your muffin recipes too.

Mix the liquid ingredients in second bowl:
1 cup applesauce
½ to ¾ cup apple juice

For a sweeter muffin... add 1/8c agave nectar

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the liquid. Fold gently over and over until the dry ingredients are just moistened.
Fold in ¾ cup of diced apple, peeled and cored

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes depending on your oven.

Raisin Bran Muffins
Follow the same basic recipe above with these changes:
-use 1 cup Bran instead of Brown Rice flour
-3/4 cup raisins instead of diced apples
-1/8 cup of Agave Nectar

Banana Walnut Muffins
Follow the same basic recipe above with these changes:
-instead of applesauce, use 2 to 3 large VERY ripe bananas mashed up
-instead of apple juice, use fresh pineapple juice
-instead of raisins/diced apples, add 1/3 c (more if you like) walnuts

Until next time.......

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!

Humble Book Review: The Pleasure Trap

Each time I fast at True North Health Center, now located in Santa Rosa, California, I have the "pleasure" of chatting with the two authors of this book. http://www.healthpromoting.com/ I always look forward to Dr. Douglas Lisle's and Dr. Alan Goldhamer's informative and infinitely entertaining weekly lectures at the clinic. The Pleasure Trap holds a special meaning to me and is one book that I keep handy, as I read and re-read it regularly. This book keeps me grounded & focused in living life as a "True North Vegan."

"The Pleasure Trap is about the nature of your own struggle for healthy living." This little book is an in-depth psychological study into why we act the way we do and why we make the choices that continually wreak havoc on our daily living.

The authors discuss "the motivational triad" and how we are driven and controlled by this phenomenon. We humans are programmed to seek pleasure, avoid pain and do it, with little or no effort. Certainly nothing wrong with this, as these are natural goals for all living creatures. But, because we demand instant gratification, we can get into a lot of trouble. Oh the rewards of pushing those “magic buttons!”

We see this within our activities of daily living. No longer is snail mail, phone calls, or emails quick enough, we now prefer to text and tweet. No longer do we take the time to sit & have a meal with friends or family. Nor do we take time to shop at the market and actually cook a meal. Instead we "drive thru" or better yet, from the comfort of our couches, we call or go online to order up delivery. And if we keep the front door unlocked, we don't even have to get up off our buns to accept the delivery. We desire "on demand" movies at home, webinars instead of attending classes, and commercial free entertainment. Not all this is bad, but simple examples of the motivational triad and how it affects our lives and our choices.

The Pleasure Trap reminds us of how easily we fall prey to temptations and can quickly stray from the wellness-minded path to health and fitness. The authors describe in detail the relationship of the chemical stimulations of brain to the food and drug pleasure traps. But, have no fear because the book offers us the ways to avoid the pleasure traps of life and the specific actions to take so that we stay on track.

1. Eat a plant-based food plan
2. Avoid animal flesh, seafood, fish, eggs, dairy, sodium, sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed foods, alcohol, caffeine, white flour products, fats and oils
3. Exercise daily
4. Sleep at least 7 hours
5. Manage and avoid stress

If you seek insight into understanding why you choose chocolate over broccoli, or why you prefer to ride instead of walk, or why some choose heroin over sex & food, I invite you to read The Pleasure Trap. It will enlighten you and you won't be disappointed!

You can purchase this book from “Humble Vegan Favorite Reads and DVD’s”

Until next time......

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!

The All Important Humble Core

Don't we all wish for ABS like these.......

I know 2 things very well.... fitness and nutrition, specifically Vegan nutrition, because of my profession, expertise & experiences in training & teaching. I've discussed nutrition here/there in some of my blogs, but I've not touched on fitness. I'm thinking I'd like to blog a weekly workout...maybe every Sunday morning to get your week started. So, pretend this is Sunday & this is the weekly workout.

CORE WORK (with Lower Back)

Oh, I know.... I can hear the "moans and groans." Most folks have a love/hate with core training. Luv the results, but hate what it takes to get those results. I won't lie to ya, it takes daily effort, focus and dedication to have great looking abs. But, more importantly, to get great looking abs, you have to rid that adipose tissue, otherwise known as F A T. And the only 2 ways to accomplish this.... 1. a good clean nutrition plan, preferably plant-based and 2. TONS of cardio. Core workouts strengthen and build the muscles. Core training does NOT burn off the fat! Core training should be integrated, DAILY, into your weekly fitness routine.

And... YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO CRUNCHES TO WORK THE CORE!

In my humble opinion, the core muscles are the most important muscles of the human body. Without the core muscles, we could not stand upright, walk, sit up in bed, get up from a seated position, and we could easily be injured during exercises because of the lack of stability and balance. You know how sore your ab muscles get the next day after a great workout? Well, with every movement you make when you feel those sore abs, just think, would not be possible if you had no core muscles.

Complimenting core workouts are lower back workouts. You can't train your core muscles without training your lower back muscles. They all intertwine and interconnect with each other. If one side is strong & the other side is weak, the weaker side will collapse. When you see someone with rounded shoulders & caved in chest area, their chest muscles (or pecs) are weak. When you see someone slumping when they sit or stand, their ab muscles are weak.

The inner unit of the core is made up of these muscles:
-transverse abdominus
-pelvic floor
-multifidus
-diaphragm

These muscles are deep within the ab cavity & are the foundation for correct posture, strength & play a part in stabilizing the spine. The inner unit is very weak in most people because of lifestyle, meaning overweight, obese, sedentary or deconditioned.

The Outer unit consists of the following muscles:
-internal/external obliques (side muscles of the abs)
-rectus abdominus
-gluteus max and min
-quadratus lumborum
-pectineus & adductor brevis

These muscles are close to the surface and are responsible for moving the spine & the hips. They control the eccentric movements of the pelvis, like walking/running down hill or downstairs.

When working these muscles, work in this order: 1. Inner unit. 2. Outer unit.

Ok, now that you know way more then you wanted to about the core & lower back muscles, let's get to the work out!

Triggering the inner & outer units is done with Isometric or static exercises. These are held no longer then 7 to 10 seconds, repeated 5 times. Holding beyond the 7 to 10 second time results in purely stabilization and no gain in strength. Rest 3 seconds between sets.

When doing any exercise whether it is walking, running, biking, swimming, weight training, kick box or ab work, remember this: SUCK n SQUEEZE. Meaning, suck in your gut (hold your abs in) and squeeze the butt tight (contract the butt muscles.) This assists in stabilizing your spine & correcting your posture.

The Back Bridge
hold for 7 to 10 seconds and repeat 5 times
Keep your knees straight & not touching.
Need more challenge: raise and straighten out one leg and alternate

The Bird Dog
hold for 7 to 10 seconds and repeat 5 times
Keep your neck & spine in a neutral position by looking at the floor just below your head.
Lift arm and leg NO higher then parallel to floor
Need more challenge: close your eyes

The Plank
hold for 7 to 10 seconds and repeat 5 times
Don’t clinch your fists. Keep neck in neutral position.
Need more challenge: lift one leg & alternate on each

The Side Plank
hold for 7 to 10 seconds and repeat 5 times
Place elbow directly below shoulder.
Keep neck in neutral position by looking straight in front of you. Switch sides.
Need more challenge: raise arm over head

Good Luck and have fun!

As with all work out programs, if you have not worked out in a long time, live a sedentary lifestyle, if you are deconditioned or have any health issues, please check with your physician before doing any exercises.

Remember, you can email me w/ questions or comments if you need help with these. Humblevegan@gmail.com

Until next time......

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!

Humble Hummus

Humus or is it Hummus? It's spelled both ways.... however, the definition for Humus is "a brown or black complex variable material resulting from partial decomposition of plant or animal matter and forming the organic portion of soil." (Compost?) So, I'll stick with Hummus.

As a Vegan that follows a very strict nutritional plan, Hummus has got to be (besides nuts!) one of the most heavenly delicious foods that I "pig out" on. I LUV HUMMUS!!! When I make hummus, I use all types of beans, spices & chiles. In some, I use cashews instead of Tahini & I don't use oil in all of my many varieties.

Here are 2 of my faves. Just look at the garbanzo hummus. You can see the red bells, the basil and the texture is much "chunkier" then traditional hummus. That's because I use cashews & I love to leave it chunky so the "crunch" of the cashew adds interest to the hummus.

My black bean hummus is muy caliente!! HOT w/ chipoltle chiles. I love the dark, rich texture of the black beans..almost looks like chocolate pudding.



Oh, these pictures look so yummy... I sure wish I'd not eaten up all the hummus. I could go for some right now!

I always tell my clients & folks in my cooking classes...."if you are gonna break open the kitchen & make a mess.... then at least prepare enough for the week!" And I did just that. I prepared enough hummus for what should have been a week.... but, remember...I LUV HUMMUS, so it didn't last quite a week.

Ok, grab your food processor & let's get started! Remember I rarely measure anything....so add spices, herbs & chiles to YOUR liking. I LUV everything HOT and spicy!

In most cases, I use homemade-crock pot beans, but Eden Organic makes really great canned beans in lots of varieties with NO salt and NO fat added. Just beans and seaweed. With the exception of the cashews & the chipoltle peppers, all the ingredients are organic. (You know how I feel about eating organic, if at all possible.)

As you lay out all of the ingredients, I invite you to take a moment and enjoy the aromas of the FRESH basil, FRESH garlic, FRESH cilantro and the juices from the lemons & limes. Most times we are in such a hurry that we miss out on all the wonderful "smells" that fresh organic produce offer us.

GARBANZO BASIL GARLIC HUMMUS

-Garbanzo beans. if canned, a couple of EDEN ORGANIC drained and rinsed, keep liquid. If crock pot beans, then about 2 cups worth
-raw cashews, about 1/2 to 3/4 c
-Fresh garlic ... TONS of it (no powder or no salt)
-cumin, ground about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons
-red or orange bell peppers. these can be roasted in the oven before hand or not
-juice of one large lemon -mix in the processor, slightly

-add Fresh basil.... TONS of it -turn on processor

You may need to add a little of the bean water while machine is on. You want the texture to be semi smooth with small chunks of cashew. You should still be able to see the bits of basil and red or orange peppers. It has the look of "confetti."

Serve with sliced jicama, sliced cukes, sliced radishes, celery, or chips or pita bread or crackers

BLACK BEAN CILANTRO CHIPOLTLE HUMMUS

-Black beans, if canned 2 of EDENS ORGANIC, drained and rinsed. (no need to save the liquid) If crock pot, 2 cups

-Chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce, canned. use 1 or 2 with a bit of the sauce. THESE ARE HOT! I would recommend tasting before adding the 2nd pepper

-red onion about 1/4 of a large one

-juice of 2 limes

-Mix in processor

-Add either some water or a little olive oil to smooth out the texture. this should be almost like pudding

-Add the cilantro and mix slightly. You want to be able to see the cilantro in the hummus

Serve with sliced cukes, sliced apples, sliced pears, blue corn chips. The spicy HOT goes great with the sweetness of the apples or pears.

Hope you enjoy these! Try them and let me know what you think!

Until next time.....

GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!