Eating Green: It's Not All or Nothing

Blackbean and Tempeh with Quinoa and Brown Rice

Since Earth Day, my kid and I have made a significant reduction in our meat consumption- she more than I. It was really at her instigation. I don't want her to be militant or lose a healthy balance so she eats 3 meals of meat a week and the rest alternates between vegan and vegetarian. This provides her with flexibility and she doesn't feel like she is missing out if we travel for the weekend, or eat at a special place, she never denies herself (nor do I.) Eating this is so much more doable then being keto or gluten-fre (I couldn't fathom a life without beans or bread.)

Tempeh starter (根黴) on the left, frozen Tempeh onn the right

I was a pretty all or nothing vegetarian for 21 years (even when I was pregnant) and admit I was a major food snob. I looked down on people who didn't eat what I thought was healthy. In fact, I overdid it on the processed soy and after I gave birth had an underactive thyroid from perhaps too much soy (my estrogen levels were skyrocketed). Ever since, I've tried to avoid soy and to my doctor's advice started eating meat when my daughter was 3 months old. Since then I enjoyed eating meat. but lately feel guilty that my lifestyle has too much of a negative impact on the environment.

First batch tempeh

Black sesame chia pudding

Moving to Taiwan, we just started eating so much pork (I never ate it growing up), and so much meat (nothing like bone broth in winter with goji berries and mushrooms). We stopped eating sushi a few years ago (totally yum) because of overfishing, it just really lost its appeal. I became a vegetarian at age 14 because of the environmental impact and lately, I have felt the same nagging awareness that my choice is affecting everyone. So when my kid told me she wanted to be a straight-up vegan (to my shock) we talked it out, what her motivations were and we discussed being balanced because I don't want her to have any eating disorders or be OCD with food. That's we came up with our flexible system which so far is very easy to maintain.

BBQ Tempeh and couscous salad

I've had fun researching vegan recipes and started experimenting with making my own tempeh (Indonesian fermented soybeans which is extremely high in protein, minerals and doesn't mess up my hormones in its fermented form.) Thank goodness for local Indonesian grocery stores! One bag of starter is under 100NT and can make batches of tempeh cakes. I have thus far used black-eyed peas, chickpeas, green mung beans and of course soybean tempeh. We have experimented with using aquafaba (the foam you skim off the top when boiling beans), making matcha vegan ice cream and its just adding to her repertoire of recipes and baking skills as an egg white replacer.

menu from "Loving Hut"

We eat a lot more chia seed which makes me feel amazing and have started frequenting new to us neighborhood vegan restaurants. It feels good to be contributing in a small way to not selfishly eat copious amounts of meat and thus do our part to "save the earth", plus the added health benefit of eating "cleaner". However, I am still thankful for eating eggs on our vegetarian days because we get them fresh from our neighbors.

Black sesame, açaí and goji berry pancakes

Here is a list of recipes we have started experimenting with: Smart Vegan, Pinterest

My favorite Vegan Youtube sites:
The Minimalist Baker
Pickup Limes

Local (Yilan) Vegan Eateries: see Happy Cow

Welcome to the Jungle Of Concert Tickets, Scalpers and Drip Pricing

Concert tickets notoriously sell out in a matter of minutes in Taiwan (most recently Ed Sheeran and Celine Dion  case in point.)

When I found out from FB that my kid's favorite band is touring Asia and coming to Taipei, she and I began the research on how to guarantee a ticket. Personally, if it were me I wouldn't go and spend the money (she thinks I am so lame). Guns and Roses have a few good songs, I watched them back in the day on MTV, but other than that I'd much prefer to see something more mellow. However my kid religiously knows every song on every GnR album, so them coming to Taiwan on their," Not In This Lifetime" tour is a BIG deal for her, and her first REAL concert to boot.

Unfortunately, the experience of buying tickets was anything but Rock nRoll. Tickets went on sale first for GnR official fan members and then Taiwan Citibank cardholders days before being available to the general public. By all sources, tickets were sold out, but it was unclear if it was the pre-sale tickets or ALL the tickets. I knew the venue was a huge baseball stadium, so probably not sold out, yet I couldn't take any chances.

We signed up for the Live Nation membership (free) that had tickets a day before they went public, but unfortunately that was after the Citibank presale and "Sold Out" alerts circulating social media. I had friends who signed up for a Citibank card, just for this show, only to find out tickets were "sold out".

My kid's two classmates (the Taiwanese version of kid Axl and Izzy) were crushed. One curled up in a fetal position under the table in science class, the other I caught standing in the middle of his yard staring off into space, while I passed him on my commute home. Fortunately, one of their older sisters used her Live Nation code to buy them the cheapest (800NT) nosebleed seats. I gave my Live Nation code to a friend who bought awesome seats. I should of waited, but it was my first time, living 10 years in Taiwan, that I ever bought tickets to a rock concert before. (Belle and Sebastian came days before my 40th birthday but I had already bought plane tickets to Borneo.)

I bit the bullet and paid blood money to a scalping company, notorious for drip pricing (you don't see all the fees until the end.)  Basically, I paid double than my tickets are worth. I could have gotten much better seats had I waited for the Live Nation sale date. So my kid looks at me with stars in her eyes (well she did) and eventually she contributed 4000 NT -all that she had- of her saved allowance money. "It was worth it," she claims.

 It's still a gamble that the tickets will even arrive (supposedly a week before the November show), so fingers crossed I get to take her to see her first show, of her most favorite band. While we are on the subject please let the FooFighters be the opening band (which is her and her friends'next favorite band.)

Emma's Flow

It's on the tail end of my brother's 42nd birthday and Father's Day weekend in the States, so my brother is
very much in my thoughts. 

In the beginning of June, my niece Emma's gravestone was finally finished, and all of the family was there grieving together. Living here in Taiwan, Z and I missed out. Her stone is

beautiful, very regal, with a sea turtle, which was her spirit animal. I'm looking forward to visiting her grave during our summer vacation, and I know my daughter is too.

 Part of my working through my own grief, anger and confusion was by using yoga and music. So last year I made this yoga sequence, two actually, inspired by and dedicated to my niece Emma. 
The simpler version is 10 1/2 poses because she was almost 11 when she died.
The longer version just contained more poses that really resonated with me, seems more comprehensive.

They can be practiced in a continuous vinyasa flow, or slowly and more meditatively like a hatha/yin version.
If I feel any kind of tension or tightness physically or emotionally, I would add "breath of fire" to intensify
the medicinal property of the pose.

Emma was an animal lover, gentle by nature and I wanted to use some animals she was particularly fond of,
as well as some of her hobbies. She was the epitome of temperance and being pulled by two opposing forces,
hence some of the more difficult balances. There’s some subtle heart and hip openers that really burn through
some deep cobwebs of emotion. After a few rounds of flowing, I felt lighter, as in heavenly light breaking
through some of this grief, even for just a moment.

Dedicated to my loving niece, free spirits must soar.

EMMA 10 1/2 Poses Flow

Child pose w/prayer hands

Puppy Pose

Rabbit Pose

DD-Humble Warrior/ Peaceful Warrior- Swan-Fallen Star Vinyasa (R/L)

Archer’s

Tortoise

Fish

Happy Baby

Shavasana

Intermediate Version

Shavasana

Child Pose w/ prayer hands

Puppy Pose

Down Dog

DD Twist R/L

Humble Warrior- Warrior 3-Peaceful Warrior (R/L)

DD

Fallen Star

Visvamitrasana- Revolving Half Moon- Swan (1 Leg Vinyasa R/L)

DD

Hands Under Feet

Standing Pigeon-Toe Stand (Padangustha Padma Utkatasana) R/L

Vinyasa

Pigeon Twisted R/L

Rabbit-Tortoise

Vinyasa into Boat- Seated Forward Bend- Archer’s R/L

Half Lord Fishes R/L

Fish Pose

Happy Baby

Shavasana