Blood

Thanks to my wonderful friend and, as of yesterday, Roomy #2, Mara, I was able to find a Doctor I love right nearby my apartment.  The Comprehensive Wellness Center has almost everything you would want from a doctor's office for general needs.  From Gynecology to Mental Health.  The head Doctor is also a vegetarian and a certified dietician.  I went there recently for a check-up, which I have to get for my summer job, and they ran a whole bunch of blood tests.  Luckily I'm in quite stellar health.  I am really curious about my blood though.

You see, almost 5 years ago, I had my blood checked and I had high cholesterol and high triglycerides. Yes, my cholesterol was mostly HDL, the good stuff, but the overall number was quite high.  And what's up with the triglycerides?  I ignored it all then.  But a few years later I had the same results, so I decided to do a bit of research, not much though, and came to the conclusion that the high triglycerides, which I was more worried about, were caused by my love of sweets.  The vague knowledge didn't really change anything in my behavior.  This time, I had the same results, and I was frustrated, but I also knew that I hadn't been eating very well by my standards.  So I bought Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Esselstyn.  It is a very interesting book, and it has a lot of tie-ins with The China Study, which I read a while ago.

There is a fair amount of dispute surrounding the China Study, and plenty of criticism regarding the studies used and discussed in the text.  So, I did try to read Esselsyn's book with a critical eye and not take it as gospel or anything.  It is still quite compelling and hard to dispute since he applied a low-fat plant-based diet to many of his sick and dying patients.  They were able to heal themselves and their heart disease.  I'm not claiming I have heart disease, but I'd like to not degenerate as I get older and suffer into my final days.  I'd like to die like the yogis and many people from more traditional cultures.  I'd like to live vibrantly and energetically until I'm very old and simply die one day, no tubes or long painful procedures, paralysis or dementia.  If cardiovascular health is the main player to keep us vibrant into old age, then I want to keep my blood happy and my vessels singing.

I'll be discussing my results with the doctor next week, so that's good.  Since then, I've been trying to eat almost no nuts, a staple in my diet, and no extracted oils, so no olive or coconut oil in my case.  I give myself a bit of leeway one day a week, but I still keep things moderate.  My body has definitely reacted very quickly and very well already, which is great.  My stomach is happier, probably ate too many nuts, and my skin is happier too strangely enough.  I'm excited to chat with the Dr. and see what she has to say about it.

Trips and Sunny Days

As expected, Spring has brought a week of rain to Chicago, but today is beautiful!  Yesterday was also a gorgeous day!  Gorgeous enough for my roomy and me to crave a bike ride to yoga!  I was lucky enough to have a planned mini-vacation during the worst of the Chicago rains.  I got to go home to NYC and CT, see my favorite people and spend time with my lovely parents.  I indulged myself in a little shopping trip to Desigual, my absolute favorite store, which I initially found in Barcelona.

I left Chicago in the evening on Monday and had a very smooth flight into NY.  I got in around 11PM, so I had planned to stay in this hotel called the Pod Hotel in Mid Town East.  It felt like a college dorm or something, it was awesome. Very cute!

I spent all of Tuesday enjoying the city and getting some much needed "To Dos" off my list.  That is always rewarding.  I met my mom and our very good friend Mariam for lunch at Candle 79. This is my must-go whenever I'm back in the city.  Amazing Vegan food, a great ambience, delicious cocktails or juices, and always amazing service, even when it is packed and we have to wait.

Green Juice!!

Avocado Cucumber Mushroom Tartar

Spaghetti and Wheat Balls

My mom's giant burrito

After lunch I went shopping.  Isn't it an awesome store?!  I had a movie moment when I was there where a wonderful sales-guy basically commandeered my shopping trip and picked out a bunch of dresses that he told his coworker later that he "wanted to see me in."  They were really nice and and I ended up buying two beautiful dresses!  This is going to be a dressy summer I think! Good sales guy too.

Met one of my best friends for a juice before heading to Grand Central.  But not before noticing this new bakery! TINY, and I mean tiny, cupcakes!  AAAHHHH!!! Small food!  These guys were about the size of the top of your thumb.  Too cute for life!

The next day, when I had returned to Connecticut, my dear daddy took me out for a lovely breakfast, just the two of us.  We went to one of my favorite places Le Pain Quotidian.  There are now two in CT, which is very exciting.  They even had a new raw vegan breakfast option, which I got.  It was a cashew and coconut cream parfait with seeds and buckwheat for the crunch, topped with a raspberry puree.  Yum yum!  My dad got a big omelet and some hot cocoa because that's how he roles yo.

I proceeded to Starbucks after breakfast for some journaling and weather ogling.  New England really is a beautiful area.

Crashed my friend's work.  We've been friends since high school and try to see each other whenever I'm around.  I love her!  We went to a park for lunch and, though short, had a great catch-up time while enjoying some Whole Foods buffet goodies.

My day and a half visit was over so I headed to the airport.  All was well until I realized that my flight was cancelled.  Chicago was having some real nasty weather, and most flights were not heading in or out of the city.  Unfortunately my parents had already gotten home, so I called my cousin and stayed at his place in Long Island.  I was secretly happy that my flight got cancelled.  I love my cousin and his family, especially their little son, and was bummed that I wasn't going to be able to see them this trip.  Yay circumstance.  I also got to wake up to this.

Not a bad deal.  I did eventually get back to Chicago.  What a relief. This trip really let me step back from a lot of "stuff" that had been going on in my life recently, and boy did I need that perspective.

And so, with the decision to put myself first again, work on my goals, and move forward with my plans, I am still feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. My skin also looks better than it has in months, my energy is way up, and my body is in an overall happier place.

Chocolate Rabbit Heads

There are few things as satisfying as biting the head off of a chocolate bunny.  This coming from the vegan, right? Really though. It's the hollow ones that make that glorious crunch when you bite into them and the melty chocolatey goodness that follows. Easter chocolates are on sale right now. Think about it. Buy yourself a chocolate bunny. Bite its head off.

As you let that yummy chocolate melt, theoretically this is a high quality chocolatier that you got it from, think about spring.  Think about birth and rebirth. I believe that spring, that first warm day, not just the first official day of spring, is a MUCH better time to set new goals for the future. I mean, why set goals simply for one year anyway? Resolutions should be for the simple betterment of one's self for the full future, not jut for the next year. Of course, giving yourself deadlines to meet is a good thing. It is, in fact, key to helping with motivation. But, my rambly point, is that those goals should aim for a lasting change in one's life.

So, what are your goals? What are mine you ask? Well, let me just make a funny little remark before I continue.  One of my goals has often and always been to live more in the present.  Many people have that exact same goal in fact. But how, then, can you make goals for the future if your goal is to live more in the present?!

To be continued! As in, I will share my goals soon, but for now, I'm enjoying the present!