Like it Raw

RAW FOOD

what the hell is that?

Raw food is food that is eaten without  being processed or cooked, or food that has not been heated over 115 °F (46 °C).

What’s the point?

Consuming your foods raw eliminates the loss of enzymes, which are SUPER essential for the overall function of the human body. Consuming organic foods also adds a lot to the equation.

Raw food is one step above veganism. Vegans do not eat any animal products or biproducts, while raw foodists consume 75-100% of their foods raw (non-cooked) and vegan. And no…raw food does not include raw meat.

What does this mean..??

Well……you’re basically living on nuts, seeds, sprouts, fruits and vegetables!!! It seems a stretch from most people’s daily S.A.D. diet, but the truth is, many agree that raw foodism is probably one of the healthiest ways to live, especially when combined with regular exercise.

If you want more information on including more raw foods into your life in a fun way (there are many incredible recipes out there), you can always google it, and there is plenty of great practical and scientific information on the subject.

http://www.certified-orgasmic.com/recipes.php

MY STORY

Throughout my trip to Europe last summer, I discovered an infinite number of things about myself, but one of the most essential discoveries I came upon is raw foodism. When my travel buddy and I were lounging around on a beach in S. France, we came across a triathlete who told us many life stories, including the one about his diet. He was a raw foodist, and claimed to have strength and speed seemingly equivilant to those who use steroids or other performance-enhancers. He said that the food he ate energised him in an incredible way, and he has not gotten sick ever since he started the diet (over 10 yrs). It struck me as odd, but not something I have never heard before, since a friend of mine had done a project on the subject in highschool. I was captivated especially because the food we had been eating on our trip was filled with unknown meat products, mysterious oils, and lots and lots of nutella and white bread. My skin was breaking out constantly and it seemed like it was trying to get rid of all the toxins I have been inserting into my body every day. I felt tired often and knew that I obviously was not in my best shape.

Upon arrival to Toronto, I had decided to let go of all meat cravings, and indulge myself in foods of nutrition and rejuvenation. I had decided, after doing TONS of research, to make the transition to raw food. I went from vegetarian eating fish ,to vegetarian no fish, to vegan, and I am currently around 80-90% raw vegan (organic as much as possible). I cook all my own food, refused to indulge in the useless food plan of university, and although my exercise regime has definitely not been as fulfilling as I would have liked, I feel like I am at the healthiest point in my life.

I have never been completely ignorant about the food I eat, but this took me to a whole new level, and I have to say that knowing exactly what goes into my body (from my plate) has become a priority in my life. Considering that I am the student who stays inside to study other than go out, even I can say that YES…YOU DO HAVE TIME TO COOK!!! Excuses are always convenient to demonstrate all the reasons why you CAN”T do something you feel like you should, but being in control of what nourishes your brain and muscle cells is not something anyone should make excuses for. I used to think that it doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you exercise and maintain a proper weight. However, I have realized how much of an effect food has on your body, and how unfortunate it is that many individuals are missing out on some of the most nutritious and refreshing foods available to the North American public. Flax seed, avocados, goji berries, coconut butter, dates, and agave are only a few of the many highly nutritious and delicious foods unrealized by the common burger and fries eater.

Research is important as ever in this arena of health. One must be aware of B12 deficiency, the fact that plants have more than enough protein for the human body, and other such things. Trying out new recipes, and purchasing new types of food can result in some nervousness and uncertainty, but the long-term and short-term benefits are out of this world. Some of the most famous natural body builders are raw foodists, and I was able to avoid the freshman 15, and actually have a higher semester average in university than I did in highschool. Raw food gives you the energy and brain power you need to conquer life struggles in a whole new way.

The first step…replace those fries with a salad the next time you eat out, and look into a couple of recipes to try with an open-minded friend. One of the first ones I made was a chocolate cake. I was instantly cooked!

Peace and Love

***one of my favourite recipes from a website:

PAD THAI
Makes 2 – 3 servings.

Noodles

2-3 zuchini – peeled with a peeler to make noodle-like strands

Sauce

3/4 cup raw almond butter
1/2 cup orange juice (freshly juiced!)
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T nama shoyu (soy sauce)
1 T miso (optional)
1 t minced garlic
2 T honey/agave nectar
1/8 t cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. For a thicker sauce, add more almond butter…to thin it out, add more juice. Add more nama shoyu or sea salt to taste.

Prepare the “noodles” and then pour the sauce over them to marinate (let them sit for about 10 minutes) and then top them with a mixture of the following:

• Sprouts! Mung bean sprouts, or alfalfa sprouts.
• Julienned red and yellow peppers
• Shredded carrots
• Grape tomatoes
• Scallions
• Fresh Cilantro
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Mint

Serve in a bowl and/or on top of a large bed of mixed greens. Yum!!!

Weeds

allo world. i know its been a while for me…

but i would like to write a short review for an amazing tv show i got addicted to… which is fairly amazing considering…i dont ever watch tv. obviously, i watched the season online. thanks to the wonderful people that post the seasons for free hoping that fans will click on their useless gambling commercials.:D

so..weeds is a show about Nancy Botwin, a mother of two who has recently lost her husband to a random heart attack, and must support her kids, maid, and brother-in-law in the suburbs. Since a regular job wouldn’t yield nearly enough to pay the bills, Nancy sells weed! Needless to say, this unconventional career comes with many dangers and surprises. The show is really funny as as well as suspenseful. I started watching the first episode, and before I knew it, I had finished the 5th season…and no, it’s not just a chick show.

LOVE IT,

olga

Converting to Facebookism

Dear all, As I am turning 19, I have decided to finally convert to facebook!

Over the years I have analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of this fast growing social networking machine. And I have decided that the easiest way for me to stay in touch with my friends and family all around the world, I need get facebook despite the dislike I have had for it for many years.

Ever since it first came out I have resisted to join however now that I am in University , all the events seem to be happening on here and it has become hard to keep up if you don’t have one! Recently even a student association at my school made it pretty much mandatory to have a Facebook account in order to stay an active member ! My dear friends in France and my family all around the world is on Facebook and it will be easier to keep in touch with all, using Facebook.

Taking all the different factors into account I hereby declare that I am no longer an active Facebook hating activist and I am eradicating my 3-4 year boycott that had been imposed on Facebook.

I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone and I look forward to taking advantage of the many good things facebook has to offer however I am going to try my best not to join the many addicts I know and I will be doing my best to spend a minimal amount of time on here. so if used responsibly Facebook could potentially be a good thing.

-Ali Daneshvar

And we’re back…

About two weeks into the redemption of classes at York, and I have realized that it’s been ages since I wrote here. Schulich classes went last week and all of York is back in class this week. The biggest challenge is getting back into routine and the habit of studying and waking up before 1:00pm .

Many professors just assume that you have been doing your readings and staying on top of the work during the strike which is so not the case, I mean you are barely motivated to do the readings while you do have class, let alone when you don’t and you don’t even know when you are going back so how would you be motivated to do anything!

So they just pick up where they had left it so it’s just like this last monday was monday November 11th or whatever. Everything is the same and they start the following lesson except there has been a THREE MONTH gap in between the two lessons, and that is a big challenge, for example I have a statistics course and the new lecture after the strike builds upon a lesson that was given before the strike over 3 months ago!

For those of you who are wondering how things work , and how we are going to finish the school year with a 3 month break in the middle, basically everything is pushed back a month and two weeks and they have cut one week  from each semester and they have also cut reading week! We went back last week and we are having exams in ten days and then right away we start the winter semester which is going to end in JUNE!

Overall I am very content to be back, and I guess once you are deprived of an education you have paid for, for three months THEN you start appreciating school and not complaining quite as much about the amount work and such because AT LEAST you are getting an education…

-Mr.Teengle

Strike Life, Not as Amusing as Some Might Think

It has now been exactly a month since the day CUPE3903, the union that represents TA’s and part-time professors decided to go on strike, forcing 50,000 students out of classes immediately. Many of my friends at other universities, who are cramming for exams right now, tell me that I am the luckiest person on earth and should not even think about complaining!

So I decided to sort of depict both sides of the coin here. Yes we don’t have school, but this is not a break like the summer break. This is not really a break people, you are up in the air , all your plans for the winter holidays, summer holidays, summer jobs anything that requires planning ahead (so everything) is affected by this terrible uncertainty that exists here . What makes it all the more frustrating is that nobody has an answer for you, not the Union, not the University, not the Student Federation, not any professor or official. What I seem to get from everyone is “we don’t know hopefully it will end soon”. And it makes me want to scream at them, all the 50 000 students are being kept like hostages while the greedy union and greedy university are not EVEN NEGOTIATING. That’s right, as I am writing this today, their talks have been suspended, nothing no conversation, they’re both kind of chilling while all the students suffer…

Don’t get me wrong, I love having a break but only when I know how long it is and when I am supposed to go back and what is expected of me when I do go back. Right now school can start tomorrow and all my projects and presentations will be due tomorrow, or it can start in January. So I cannot plan anything, for example I had almost purchased tickets to visit my grandparents in May however as of now I don’t know if I will finish in June or August or whenever. What makes this even more annoying is that once we are back, all professors will most likely be forced to compress material that is supposed to be taught in 2 months into a couple of weeks and immediately we are going to have exams without a reading week. We have paid for a full semester but we won’t be given that or any money back because according to York we are still getting the credit and finishing the courses.

Overall, it is an ugly think , this strike business , it is very frustrating and I will be willing to switch spots with all of you doing exams right now, because at least you know that your semester will end after the exams and then you will have a real break during which you have no responsibilities to worry about. A break is not a break if you are constantly worrying about all the work that’s going to be thrown at you when you go back to school and about all the self studying that you should be doing and haven’t. I didn’t go to the so called best business school in Canada to be self taught! I mean you are merely motivated to do the readings when you are in class how do you expect people to be motivated to read ahead and do the work while not even in class!

Also ever since the second week of the strike, Osgood (Law School) students have gone back to class, so have Schulich students in third and fourth year who have exchange students in their classes or who are going on exchange next semester. So seems like if you are important enough you get to go back to school but if you are a regular undergrad student, your life lost does not seem to matter much to the administration….

Simply put, if I could go back to last may and choose universities once again, I would definitely, without a doubt go to one of the other 10 programs I was accepted to in different universities. Also keep in mind transferring in the middle of a semester would mean I would lose a semester and my tuition.

-Mr.Teengle

First Snow

It snowed here a few days ago. I don’t like snow, but first snow is always exciting, it means winter is coming and if winter is coming so is Christmas.

I take snow for granted, I moved from Russia to Canada, and neither country has a shortage of flurries. I don’t find snow particularly exciting. The situation is quite different for some others, in particular, one of the foreign students on my floor. If you’ve lived your whole life in India, you’ve never seen snow before, and if all of a sudden you open your res door and someone hands you a snowball, you’re a little surprised.

I think the sight of a person walking out of their house and seeing snow for the first time was one of the most hilarious and amusing things that have happened here. This year I’ll enjoy snow more than ever.

-George

And we commence…

Commencement….

I thought It would be the most useless thing, to go back to your high school months after you have actually graduated and graduate again except this time formally! I mean I thought it was very poorly placed in the middle of October and midterms, I always complained about how they couldn’t put it in like June or even during  the summer. Well  after attending my commencement at a fancy hall last Thursday, I now know all the reasons why it wasn’t held in June , it was such a wonderful experience.it is not called graduation for a reason, it is commencement. The beginning, the celebration of a new beginning a start to a completely new phase of your life a very exciting phase, university life!

After having spend 4-5 months away from your high school, your second home and your second family for four years, you come back and celebrate this transition from high school to university. To come back and see all of those you sort of grew up with and those who made or ruined your high school experience was a great feeling, I mean  all was a sudden I was even happy to see the teachers that I hated most while I was in High School.

Having attended this ceremony I have a new born respect for the commencement ceremony in general and many of my fellow classmates that have now moved on to all different sorts of things. One of my friends, Maia who has always been doing extreme things wasn’t there to take her award and it was announced that she is volunteering in Mali, Africa. I mean how great is that? she had amazing marks to go to university and she chose to take a year off and go help African children, I some how respected Maia so much more than before, and I was all the more emotional when her mom approached me after and asked to take a picture with me in my gown and such as Maia wasn’t around! “Ofcourse, I would love to fill in for her” I replied.

Or Phillipe for example, our Valedictorian , I saw a completely different side of him at commencement, I was so amazed by his speech specially when he mentioned the one thing that had been in all of our minds ever since we stepped into that hall, Mr. Spyropoulous our previous principal. “I wish he was giving me my diploma and not that….” a phrase I heard repeatedly from my comrades as we were in the backstage getting into our ridiculous gowns and mingling.  During his speech Philippe mentioned how Mr.Spyropoulous had been a friend to all of us and had affected all of our lives for the  better in a way or another. Our elected valedictorian made us all realize we hadn’t wasted our votes when he  mentioned Spyro:”He was a role model for all of us a down to earth principal that always found time for his students” and the entire crowd started clapping with pride!

A ceremony I thought of as  useless ended up being the most memorable of all ceremonies maybe even prom, a sense of closure , celebrating the closing of one chapter of your life joyfully with all those who made that chapter a great one, and opening a completely new chapter full of challenges and surprises of its own.

….And so we commence, The class of 2008….

-Mr.Teengle