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I recently visited Opala Farms in Kaneohe and learn about growing pink and white oyster mushrooms! They take coffee ground and make delicious mushrooms from them! They also sell very nutritious compost ($10 for 5 gallons) from the medium which they grow their mushrooms! I met them at the Kaka’ako Farmer’s Market . They sell their products there (including a delicious mushroom jerky) as well as on Oahu Fresh and Farmland. Check them out!

During the pandemic, I started to sprout again. I’ve been making summer rolls with sprouts, and this one is with mung bean sprouts which are easier to sprout than some other things.

You will need:

1. Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
2. Lettuce
3. Avocados
4. Carrots
5. Sprouts (whatever kind you decide to use)
6. Other vegetables suggested include- cucumbers, peppers

Dipping Sauce (in 1:1:1 ratio)

1. Peanut or Almond Butter
2. Soy/tamari Sauce
3. Water

Enjoy! I love sprouting !

Since COVID-19 has hit Hawaii, we want make sure to stay healthy by taking care of ourselves.  In this article, I am going to talk about some practices which will help boost immunity and prevent illness.  

First, I will talk about the more obvious aspects of self care.  We have to take care of ourselves first before we can take care of others!  We should make sure to get adequate sleep, exercise, and minimize stress.  This of course includes avoiding smoking and drugs, and minimizing alcohol intake.  We also need to maintain good  practices such as hand-washing and wearing masks to prevent infection.   

What else can we do?  It appears that diet is a significant modulator of immunity.  Certain micronutrients play an important role in immune function.  There is evidence that micronutrient deficiencies in zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E may alter immune responses of animals (in vitro).  A diet with a variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds can help in obtaining these micronutrients.  Unfortunately, three-fourths of the Americans have a diet low in vegetables and fruits, but exceed the USDA’s recommendations for added sugars, sodium, and saturated fats.  The CDC  has found more than 10% of the population is deficient in vitamins C, D, and B6 with lower percentages deficient in iron.  It is important to make sure you are not deficient in any of these vitamins.      

In conclusion, a combination of a good diet, getting adequate sleep, and exercise will hopefully help keep us all healthy and keep COVID-19 at bay.  Please let me know if you have other practices to strengthen your immunity! You can email me at gracefulliving365@gmail.com…

I was asked by the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii to make an online resource for this month about COVID-19. There is a lot of public confusion about how the virus is transmitted and how you can protect yourself from the virus. Here it is:

I love my crockpot. I was thinking of getting rid of it when the instant pot came out and seems to do everything the crockpot can do and more. However, I have tried using the instant pot for certain soups, but I still feel like they taste better when I cook them longer. Therefore, while I have the room, I am keeping my crockpot! One of the things that is so easy to make is tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

Tomato Paste (usually one can is enough)

Peeled Canned Tomatoes (as much as you want, I usually add 8 cans or one jumbo can)

Onions (1-2 large onions)

Garlic (depends on how garlicky you like it, I usually add 4 cloves)

Herbs (basil, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, whatever you fancy and the more the merrier usually!)

Mushrooms ( at least one box if not more, usually shrink down when cooked and provide great flavor)

Optional: You can add other veggies too

I put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook. My husband who is cooking in the video likes to caramelize the onions and cook the mushrooms first, but honestly, you don’t have to do that. I usually put the crockpot on for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. It’s not an exact science, but you will know when it starts smelling good, that it’s about done!

I just got back from the Lifestyle Medicine Conference, and it was exciting with over 1500 attendees and over 500 people sitting for the certification exam! It is exciting that so many new people are interested in this field of medicine…There were a lot of different exhibitors but I do want to mention Kate Farms. I have a lot of patients on liquid supplementation because they want to gain weight and have trouble eating. I have not had any suggestions for meal replacements because the most well-known one (which will remain unnamed here) contain dairy products which are pro-inflammatory. Kate Farms however do not contain dairy, which is wonderful! I am enclosing some pictures here. I will now be recommending this to patients that desire a meal supplement. They even have a version for patients with feeding tubes!

I was able to visit some of the vegan friendly restaurants in Orlando while I was there. I’d like to put a shout out to Selam Ethiopian restaurant. I forgot to take a picture of my food there, but it was delicious, and I would highly recommend this restaurant. They had a vegan combination special, and they were able to make completely gluten free injera (at no extra charge). I enjoyed myself there!

I also went to visit Dandelion Cafe, a vegan cafe in Orlando downtown. They had a gluten-friendly menu. I ordered the Mediterranean Bowl. This little Cafe had the cutest decor and on the walls of the cafe, there is original artwork for sale from different artists.

I also went to visit Bombay Cafe, a vegetarian indian restaurant in a strip mall in Orlando. I loved this place. The staff is knowledgeable and pointed me in the right direction regarding which entrees were vegan friendly. I ordered the chana palak, which was delicious. They even included an extra dish of rice for free because I needed the rice to finish the rest of my meal.

Lastly, I want to mention that I went to Humbl by Matthew Kenney in Orlando two times, since I liked it so much. I ordered the almond based chocolate milkshake twice. It might not have been good for me, but it was delicious! I also ordered the Humbl Bowl and the Addison Bowl, as well as the “shroom” with cauliflower pizza crust (gluten-free option). Of all these dishes, I liked the Humbl bowl the best, but they were all good.

There are fortunately many more vegan restaurants in Orlando, so I am just scratching the surface in the short time I spent there. I hope that if you go there, you can enjoy yourself eating as I did!

Vegetarian Society Lecture December 2018

This is my lecture in December for the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii. It is about how to avoid infectious disease on a plant-based diet.

This is a fun video I made from fun times on my friends’ boat:

Last weekend I went to the new animal sanctuary on Oahu. Here is the video with pictures of the animals there:

A few months ago, when we visited Maui, I decided to check out Maui Singing Bowl in Wailea. It is a giant singing bowl that was shipped from Europe. There is a hammock that lies inside the singing bowl. When it is singing, the vibrational frequencies go through your body as you are lying in the hammock. It was a very relaxing tranquil experience. I have enclosed a segment of the meditation in this video, so enjoy!