Original Gangsta Bird Food Eaters

I have been dying to write this post because of the pure inspiration that I will be sending out to the masses.  I love gangsta old people!  Like the woman who started Crossfit.........at 60 YEARS OLD!.....................or the centenarian that RUNS MARATHONS.  I actually know one personally and she's my Grandmother (Gege). I mean that is just amazing and though, not all humans are created equal, the fact that healthy lifestyles are associated with older folks being able to do things most older folks can't do (but should be able to), is incredible.   That means I'll be right around there when I'm 90 and above if my 1 in 79, 746 risk of getting struck by lightning or my 1 in 5, 051 risk of falling 30,000 feet to my death in a plane crash or my 1 in 340, 733 risk of getting blown up by fireworks doesn't cap my life expectancy too early.  So I've been made aware of a diverse list of gangsta old people who inspire me to keep living the good life.  Truth is, it is more of an icing on the cake type deal because my motivation has been solidified already.  It just makes me even happier to know that is what I can expect, ya know.  I think you will like them as much as I do.  Here we go:

1.  Jim Morris

Photo Credit: Frugivore

The 72 year old body building champion.  I think he has lost count of how many competitions he has decimated.  Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia, Mr.  America.......etcetera.  He attributes his amazing physique and health to his bangin' lifestyle which includes a diet of purely nuts, vegetables, fruits and seeds and daily exercise for an hour every day.  He became vegetarian in 1985 and in 2000, at the age of 65, when full-blown bird food.  If you want to check him out a little more, here is the link to his website: Jim Morris.   This video pretty much sums up his amazingness:

2.  Mimi Kirk

Photo Credit: The Scrivens Post

You want to guess how old she is?....................................Nope, not 50.....................Not quite 60 either.........................70?..........Almost...................if you just add a few more years.  She is 75 years old.  Goodness.  She became a vegetarian 40 years ago and raw vegan 20 years after. She loves it and looks great doing it.  She was also voted, "Sexiest Vegetarian over 50" by PETA.  The woman looks good, for real!  Want to know more about her, check her out here: Mimi Kirk




3.  Annette Larkins

Photo Credit:  The Speach

Now this lovely lady is actually on a completely different level.  This 71 year old is probably the youngest senior I have ever seen.  She has been a raw foodist for 27 years now.  She is sooooo gangsta!  
She does all of the following:

• Grows her own garden (outdoor and indoor)
• Converts rain water for her drinking water
• Designs and sews her own clothes
• Speaks three languages
• Maintains a 5,000 book library that keeps growing
• Created her own profitable business online
• Wrote a textbook specifically designed to help her grandson learn how to read.  

All of this came out of one body. I love to see what happens when people chose not to limit themselves.  The most interesting thing is how differently her husband lives compared to her.  He eats the average American diet and unfortunately suffers from diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  She actually has quite a family history of chronic disease (both her mother and grandmother dying of cancer and diabetes runs in the family) but she remains disease-free.  I wooooonder why? :)   You can learn more about her, here: Annette Larkins. Here is a little snippet of her from an interview:

4.  Dr. Ellesworth Wareham

Photo Credit: Spread Peace

What a name!   Sounds kinda like some Jamaican names I know.................Barrington, Benton, Clifton, Wilburn, Delford  :)   This is my boy right here.  He is sooooo ridiculously gangsta!  Why?  He is 98 years old and he literally retired at 95 from his profession as a surgeon.  He said he arbitrarily chose 95 as an age that he would put down he scalpel.  Ha!  Love this guy.  He should make the Guinness Book for being the longest practicing surgeon to date.  He's vegan and has been for half his life.  He is still mowing his own lawn and pruning his own bushes.  Please do absorb all the wisdom coming out of his mouth in 5.....4.....3.....2......1:

5.  Bernando Lapallo

Photo Credit: Mark W. Lipczynski

I love this guy so much.   Another sage walking the earth.  He is currently...................wait for it..........................................112.  112 years old.  I promise you, that is not a typo.  He walks everyday and reads all the time.  Then this is where we bonded.  He uses olive oil as lotion, just like muah.  Kindred spirits!   He lives by 5 foods:  Olive oil, of course, honey, chocolate, garlic and cinnamon.............in addition all the other edible members of the plant family.  He attributes his long life to his bangin' bird food diet and faith in God.  Check out the sage here: Bernando Lapallo.  This is where I first learned about him:

6.  Mike Fremont

Photo Credit: Runners World

I heard about this mister some months ago.  He is 91 and picked up some airtime in Runners World by finishing his half-marathon in 3:03:56.  Smh.  Like seriously.  A half marathon.  What in the world am I really doing?  I can hardly last 4 miles.  It's probably because I do more HIIT than endurance exercise but still! I know he is putting many 20 year olds to shame right now including myself.  This time of 3:03:56 was a world record for his age group but not for this seasoned......well-seasoned runner.  Last year his time was 2:56:26 as a 90-year old.  He attributes all of this to his vegan diet. In an interview with Running Times, he said:

“Training is important but when you get to be my age, you’re not going to able to train at all unless your body holds up. I simply cannot overemphasize the importance of the plant-based diet to my performance.” 

Like many bird food eaters, he notes many benefits such as cold/flu protection and ease of maintaining your ideal weight.  Here is an excerpt:

"Fremont explains of his diet. He eats primarily vegetables, fruit, whole grains and nuts, as well as soups of all kinds. He adds that he takes no supplements or medication, except for some Vitamin D in the winter. He stresses that in the 20 years he has been eating this way, he has not had a single cold or sickness of any kind. At 5-foot-4, he maintains 125 pounds, the same as his wrestling weight during his years at Yale University."

I, like my friend Mike here, find it very easy to maintain my high school weight.  Once you start eating the things that the body needs and not what the mind wants, you will experience exactly what I am talking about.



7.  Faula Singh

Photo Credit: ESPN

Photo Credit: ESPN

I just love these pictures.  Continuing on the topic of runners, we have here probably the oldest marathon runner EVER.  Faula Singh was originally a farmer from Punjab, India who moved to the UK in the 1960s.  Faula Singh is 101.  Or so has been estimated.  He can't be officially recognized as the world's oldest marathon runner because he has no birth certificate (which Guinness specifically requires) though his passport indicates his age.  I trust his account.  He has run 8 marathons to date since 2000.  He originally took up running at 89 years old after the death of his wife and one of his sons.  He credits his vegetarian diet to giving him the stamina needed to run his marathons.  This goes to show you that you are NEVER to old to start something new.  I plan to have 6 languages under my belt by the time I leave this earth.  Why not?  Living the good life is what it's all about.  Faula proves to me that this is possible, seeing what he has been capable of in his old age.   Let him share with you some words of wisdom:

8.  Marge Jetton

I first heard about Marge after watching a video clip about Blue Zones.  If you have no idea what a blue zone is, it describes areas of the world where the inhabitants of that area live significantly longer than the average life expectancy.  Most times these areas have a high concentration of centenarians.  The only blue zone in the United States is nestled in Loma Linda, California,  a predominantly Seventh-Day Adventist community.  The Seventh Day Adventist faith encourages a healthy lifestyle primarily through a vegetarian and vegan diet, exercise, stress reducing activities, restful sleep and a solid faith in God.  Daily, she bikes 8 miles on her stationary bike, completes a challenging weight-training circuit and power walks.  Oh and she still drives!  YOU MUST WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.  You will love her and I tell you, my girl knows how to rock some shades.  The spunky, Minnie Agerson-Wood, is also featured in the video below.  She is 97 years old and still teaching voice and piano lessons.  You'll see what I mean by spunky.

9.  Teresa Monge

Photo Credit: MGD

Here, we have on of my all time favorite gangstas, Teresa.  I met her when I studied abroad in Costa Rica in 2009 as she was my Costa Rican great-grandmother.  She was the most amazing lady.  She had jokes for days and she was sooooo quick.  Nothing passed her.  Sarcasm was her weapon of choice and she knew how to laugh and have a good time.  Sometimes I would come home from classes and find her in her rocking chair on the porch of her little house.  I would just sit and talk with her for hours, listening to her stories and just enjoying being in her company.  When I was with her, she was 98 years old and kept reminding everyone that she only had two more years until she would be 100.  I'm so glad she made it there like she hoped before she passed away peacefully a year ago.  She had the same routine everyday.  Wake up early, go to bed early and eat just enough.  She wasn't a bird food eater all the way but lived off of the land as her son (my Costa Rican grandfather) cultivated the large farmland behind her house.  She was wonderful lady and I am so glad I had the privilege of knowing her.

10.  Ruby Fray

Photo Credit: Carolyn Edwards

Last but definitely NOT least, we have my Gege, Ruby or Rubs as we like to call her sometimes.  This lady is most definitely an original gangsta.  At 83, she is still chopping wood in the back of the house with a machete, rearranging HEAVY furniture in her room, walking daily, reading daily, advising all her grandchildren and when you get fresh or "facety" as we say in JA, she won't hesitate to check you as evidenced by the following photograph:  

She is one of THE FUNNIEST individuals I know.  I can only laugh when I'm around her.  I'm slowly bringing her up to speed on the plant life but she will always be G, bird food eater or not.

So what can we conclude from these amazing stories?   Take great care of your body and it will take GREAT care of you.  :)

Thank you for reading!  My people, I appreciate you all so much.  Be happy and healthy.  Ciao!

Guess what I found in San Diego?

By FAAAAAAR one of my favorite things to eat.............well more like chew.   

What is super sweet, the source of all sugar and the food that I grew up chewing in Jamaica?

YES, the one and only SUGAR CANE.  

My sister and some of my friends headed out to the home of a friendly couple at my church.  They have a LOVELY and LARGE garden where they grow all kinds of plant life: lemons, oranges, pomegranates, pineapples, sweet potatoes, garlic.................I mean, a ton of stuff.  The husband is 86 years old and literally maintains the entire garden by himself.  

By. Him. Self.    I know!

They have about 3 acres, I think.  Now the crazy thing is how much he knows about all the plants in his garden...............................bromeliads, succulents, bougainvilleas, staghorn ferns...............the man is a walking encyclopedia of plants................and............let me repeat, he is 86 years old.  AMAZING!  He was the cutest thing.   He used to be a teacher so he would identify a plant along the tour and when we passed it again, he would ask, "What's the name of this plant again?  I just forgot.  Do you guys remember?"............like he really forgot after over 40 years.  He was not slick.  :)  but I absolutely learned a lot.

Check us out, being one with nature:

Amigas  :)

We seem to like this lemon tree! 

When I'm happy, I start to dance.  That's what plant life does to me

So we get a nice little tour of the entire garden and before getting the call (by his wife) to come inside to eat lunch we stopped right in front of some stalks of cane.   Ahhhhhhhhhh, it made me so happy!   And of course the next thing he says makes perfect sense.   "Yeah, a friend of mine brought this up from Jamaica and I planted it and here it is, still growing."  My family is addicted to sugar cane.  Every time we go back to Jamaica, that's literally first thing on the list to bring back to the states. So my sister and I took some home..........................and we devoured it.   But, of course, before you can devour this amazing creation, you need to free the soft stalk from the hard covering.  This is where a machete would show up and get the job done.  All I had, however, was a butcher knife so I made due.  Hey, gotta work with whatchya got.  Handling big as hell knives is nothing new.  My mother and 83 year old "G" of a grandmother still chop things at the back of the house with a machete.  So, what do you expect?  :)  

You cyan tek Jamaica out of me!

And then this sugar cane ended up being airport food. 

Contrary to my solemn staring at the sugar cane, I really was in heaven! 

Oh, a BOMB day it was!

Thank you for reading!  My people, I appreciate you all so much.  Be happy and healthy.  Ciao!

My recent cooking adventures

Wagwaan (Translation = Wadup) my people!

For my Jamaicans: How har hunnu?    
and 
For all my people: How you be?

I hope life is lovely and you are enjoying more and more bangin' bird food everyday.  I've been doing a lot in my free time since school's been out.  Exercising my brain has been one of them:

Reading.......... 

.......Is........
(That face is so intense and this is leisure reading.  Imagine my med school face.)

..........Fundamental
(I'm really comfy now)

And I've also been cooking up some good stuff lately and I've been bad for not sharing these aromatic and delicious masterpieces.  They are all new recipes!!!  Alright, alright.  Ya girl is not playing around.   I get these ideas, start playing around with them and before you know it, I've got something bangin'.  Some were birthed a couple weeks ago while others are my full-proof comfort food recipes (that I make all the time) and others are my version of a recipe I found surfing the web.  I just love how colorful the food is.....and BRIGHT.  The color intensity of my veggies need to remind me of crayons.  That's a good sign that they are not overcooked.  Alright, I've got the goods for you.

It all started when my mom bought me a waffle maker and this lady KNOWS I love appliances.   So of course.......

...in the morning, I was making waffles....

And more waffles.............
(Blueberry waffles with kiwi, scrambled tofu and some Tofurky sausage)
I could have tried to have other things for breakfast, right?   Nahhh  :)

Ahhhhhhhh!  Look at all those colors!!

Mercy!

I call it Veggie Heaven

This was a chickpea and eggplant casserole with spinach salad and whole grain pasta.
I LOVE chickpeas and I LOVE eggplant.
It's based off of a recipe I found in the NYTimes.

Trying my hand at a chocolate mousse.

It wasn't me alone. I promise
No, my fingers aren't crossed behind me.  :)

I'm really into edamame right now.
It's sooooooo good!

I am also now using a new formula with pasta.......

......I'm keeping it 20% pasta and 80% fresh veggies.
It's working out nicely.

Then I came back to an oldie but goodie.

Panera Bread inspired Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This picture is looking hurt because I was eager.   This was after about 5 bites.
The poor soup had no chance.

This was an original open face sandwich.  Sauteed spinach, edamame,  sweet red peppers, garlic, onions, scallion (green onion) and avocado drizzled with cheezy sauce.   I ate is all yesterday.  I wish I could have shared.

Last but not least.........................

My attempt at veganizing/plantifying/plant-basing (I just love these verbs) ackee and saltfish.  It sounds kinda of crazy but I added a little seaweed to recreate the fish flavor.  It worked :)

That was breakfast this VERY morning.

So maybe Dios is telling me something.  I keep coming up with some seriously bangin' bird food (not trying to toot my own horn here but it really is though), my efforts are rewarded with clean plates and mmm mmm mmm's, this blog is growing, phrases I hear these days include, "MGD, you would be so proud of me today.  I had a salad.......(or some high quantity of plant-life)" and then I find THIS:

When I was back in ATL, I was thrifting with my Ma and she happened to find this just looking around the bookshelves.

Brand Spanking New!

So now I have a space specially designated for jotting down and storing these ideas that come to my mind.  I can't wait until the whole thing is full.  You never know...........maybe I'll end up turning it into a cookbook. :)

Thank you for reading!  My people, I appreciate you all so much.  Be happy and healthy.  Ciao!

Day Juice Fast: Day Four

The end has come!  

The last day of my juice fast, my people, and today's juicing experience was just BEAUTIFUL!   I mean the colors of all the veggies and fruits were so gorgeous.  I was all over the photography.  Nature is so impressive, so very impressive.  Basquiat, Walker, Picasso, Kahlo, Van Gogh and Rivera......Ain't. Got. Nothing.......

Rainbow Juice

3 Yellow Squash
3 Zucchini
1 carton of Strawberries
1 Apple
1/4 cup of Ginger

How gorgeous is this!

Doing it's own art.

I let the juice settle a bit.....

......and.......RAINBOW!

So it smells goods......

....and it looks good.....

...so it must taste good.  

So bangin'.

Red Juice

2 Oranges

5 Plum tomatoes

1 carton of Strawberries

2 Red Peppers

1 Nectarine

I should just frame this.

Oh Oh Oh :)

Living the Good Life!

Mental Status: Feeling less tired today but I know I should be feeling more energetic.  Again, I repeat my admonition to juicers------> Do not go to bed at all kinds of late hours consecutively.  When I do other types of fasts, like just raw fruits and veggies, and I sleep as I should, I'm feeling lively but I compromised this one quite a bit with my sleeping habits at the mo.  Even my G (grandma) was like, "you need to calm down with that".  Jamaican grandmothers are seriously the best.  I cannot keep a straight face whenever I am talking to that lady.  Jamaicans in general are also very direct people.  We tell it like it is, as it is, what it is......we just don't see the need to beat around the bush.    So in response to observing me on this interesting undertaking I was involving myself in, my G says to me, "You wilting down to nothing.  You getting too small, man.  You need to stop this now".  Mind you, I expected to lose some lbs, even with just being on the fast for a little more than half a week.  So she was noticing that but was also talking about the weight loss that results from just eating plants (I'm my high school weight) and addressed this in only the wonderful way she can.  I assured her that today was the last day and with that she responded.  "Mi so glad seh dis a di las day yuh a do dis yah fast business"....as she was shaking her head.  Translation = "I am so glad that today is the last day of this fasting thing you are doing."  I was cracking up, which made her crack up and that had us both cracking up.  Now you can see why I absolutely love this lady.

Physical Status:  My skin is looking great though.  I got that glow, man, I got that glow.  My stomach also feels very light and relaxed.  I do have to note that when drinking juices, you should drink them slowly.  Drinking them too quickly can lead to some indigestion, so take your time.

I had another smoothie after the juices of water, strawberries and banana.  I blended it until it was super smooth, making easy for digestion.  

Breaking the fast:  There are a lot of recommendations out there on how to break a fast properly.  This is actually really important because people can find themselves in the hospital if they decided that breaking the fast could only be done right with a nice sirloin steak.  Uh uh!  That's a no no, unless you like excruciating pain.  I mean I don't know.   Some folk might be about that masochist lifestyle.  I know I'm not, however, and you are probably not either.  But seriously...be cautious here.

I broke the fast with fresh fruits and a handful of nuts and later I had a pureed pumpkin and potato soup.  I was fine.  Since I eat plants all day and I had the two smoothies, I didn't have that much to work up to in terms of transiting back to my diet.  It may take a bit longer if I were working back to meat and dairy.  The next day I had some waffles with lots of fresh fruits and rice with tofu.  I didn't have any beans until Day Three or Four.  They say transitioning should be half the time of your fast, so mine was about two days.  

I hope you enjoyed following my juice fast and it gave you some inspiration and ideas of your own.  

Thank you for reading!  My people, I appreciate you all so much.  Be happy and healthy.  Ciao!