Superfood Blackcurrant Smoothie Bowls

Talented family all around! Forget Acai bowls, this morning mama and I had delicious and absolutely nutritious superfood ViBERi (my auntie and uncle’s business) smoothies in cosy and beautiful Miami Valley Pottery (Soroosh’s cousin’s business) bowls xx
Superfood Blackcurrant Smoothie Bowls
Serves two 

2 frozen bananas (using frozen bananas gives them a delicious ice-cream consistency)
3/4 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1/4 unsweetened yoghurt of choice (I used coconut yoghurt)
2 heaped tsp ViBERi freeze-dried blackcurrant powder

Whizz together in a high-powered blender (might take a bit of patience if using frozen bananas) then top with favourites (I used Ceres Organics Paleo Breakfast Mix) xx

Use The Power Of Intent To Clear A Path For Yourself

As you may have heard, NZ received a lot of rain as of late. My prayers and sympathetic thoughts to those whose lives were greatly affected. Fortunately for us, our household just further glimmered. My parents and I spent even more time than usual together and I made “healthy” French toast for them. It’s actually very simple! For the three of us, I soaked 6 pieces of gluten free bread in a beaten mixture of 3 free-ranges, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tsp cinnamon, then fried them in a hot pan with a little coconut oil until nice and golden. Last, I topped them with fresh fruit, honey, and plain yoghurt (not pictured).

Never enough herbs in a Persian woman’s garden.

Can you see what I see? On the last day of term, we made an Easter egg hunt for the little munchkins. 
And… one for the big munchkin who really shouldn’t be having one in the first place.

Another day, another green smoothie. These are also super easy to make. Simply blitz together in a high-powered blender: 2 frozen bananas (frozen bananas make your smoothies colder and creamier), 2 large handfuls of spinach (stalks and all), a big dollop of natural yoghurt, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Top with favourites.

I found out the hard way that jandals were not appropriate wear for yesterday’s Saturday Farmers’ Market. As I walked into a muddy puddle and splashed gunk all over myself, I overheard a father telling his little girl not to worry about getting dirty as she, in her pink gumboots, was appropriately dressed – I couldn’t help but take his comment as a personal dig to my existence.

Giant delicious organic apple from the organic apple people at the Saturday Farmers’ Market (sorry I don’t know your company name). 
For as long as I have been coming to Sumner, I have been in mad-love with that itsy bitsy yellow house bursting with character. I sent this photo to Soroosh expressing this, and he replies: “I like the modern house next to it.” BLAH 


Almost finished writing back to my Japanese students ^.^

Mojgan joon, I wish you were here to accompany me on my walking adventures. Alas, I think of you always – the coming Autumn leaves further remind me of my unforgettable time with your beautiful family in beautiful Nashville. 

Last but not least, a picture sent to me by my dear mentor and friend. AKA Soroosh’s father. Guys, I am so impressed and inspired by him. Rick is a man of so many talents. But most of all, he is joyful, he is understanding, and he is compassionate. Also, big-ups for food-presentation and food-photography, and your recently written article HERE.

DONT READ THE COMMENTS

From author of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert to a fan (Julia):

“It’s always devastating to witness ignorance and heartlessness, Julia. But you are clearly a sensitive and kind-hearted person, and, as such, I beg you to stop reading the comments section of contemporary newspapers, and I beg you (and everyone) to disengage from participatting in, or even reading, Internet arguments. There, you will encountear some of the darkest and most wasteful behavoir in the world. (I mean, wasteful of our stupendous human energy and potential.) Don’t linger where the bottom-feeders lurk, Julia: You can’t change them, and hanging out around them will only put your own compassionate spirit in jeopardy. (As we say in my family: STEP AWAY FROM THE BURNING VEHICLE.) It takes discipline not to tumble into black holes of online aggression and savagery — but such tumbles are voluntary, and thus staying away from the darkness is a discipline you can cultivate. In my own life, I consider it a public service for me for to avoid such shadowy places, because it only darkens my own spirit and then I can’t serve anyone. I would no more hang out around those “chats” than I would attend a public execution. Turn your face stubbornly to the light, and keep it there. Look for love, act from a place of love, work for love, consider yourself a servant to love and a student of love, and you will soon see love everywhere. This is how we begin to serve. Bless you for your kind heart, darling, and please keep your energies safe and bright and strong. We need more people like you, so stay with us.”

“My guru used to teach us that our senses — our sight, our hearing, our touch, our taste — are our loyal servants. Our senses have no will of their own, but can absorb what we point them toward — can only obey our commands. Wherever you direct your senses, therefore, they will have to go. Whatever you turn your eyes toward, your eyes will have no choice but to see. Whatever you tune your ears into, your ears will have no choice but to hear. And a lot of what’s out there in the media and on the internet is absolutely abusive to your poor senses. But your senses cannot be protected from this abuse unless you have the discipline and the good sense to TURN AWAY.

Believe me, I know this intimately. I’m somebody who only has to Google her own name to find an endless supply of people who are shredding to me pieces all over the Internet — saying absolutely awful things about me, and attacking all that I do, say, or make. So guess who NEVER Googles her name, and never reads the Amazon reviews, and never looks at the comments after articles about EAT PRAY LOVE, for instance, have been posted anywhere online? Yup.

Don’t torture your poor, loyal senses, my friends. Instead, become a good and loving master of them. Use your senses for higher pursuits. Give your eyes beautiful things to see and read. Give your ears uplifting things to hear. Give your taste marvelous adventures to explore. Use your voice for more interesting activities than arguing over the internet with strangers who have simply not been able to find a more creative use of their sacred life energies than venting their own bottled-up anger into the dark and bottomless megaphone that is the eternal Comments Section.

Likewise: Excuse yourself from Twitter wars.

Likewise: Excuse yourself from jumping onto dog piles of group shaming over the Internet, just because it makes you feel good that 100,000 other people are also outraged and shocked at that dumb or insensitive thing somebody said. The dog pile can live without you — and believe me, it will.

Likewise: Excuse yourself from political arguments with people who will never, never, never, NEVER vote the way you do, no matter how many memes and charts and links and facts you may send to them.

We are here in this incredible world for only an instant. Life is precious and it passes in a flash. Surely, we have other things to do, right?

By the way, this doesn’t mean tuning out of the world’s problems, or shutting off your heart toward those who suffer. But it DOES mean turning your senses away from people who are rageful, combative, and gratuitously vicious — both online and offline. This takes discipline, but we can cultivate discipline. In fact we must. Discipline is the heart of every spiritual practice, and your spiritual practice can extend onto the Internet.”

 

Look Closely

From my favorite follower (I see you Randy!) on my previous post:

There is joy in all. Look closely, and you’ll see the huge smile of the bread, the red-nose of the plum, and the cute famous Anisa date-ball eyes! The banana slice bread looks like teeth! Are you smiling yet (I hope…)? Theodore Geissl (aka Dr. Seuss) is one of my faves (I see your key ring)! (The places you’ll go and the things you’ll see…). I’m sorry you’ve had it. “This, too, shall pass…”

From top to bottom: egg face for Randy, nature finds featuring the world’s most beautiful rose and the world’s smallest FINEapple, thank you flowers from my yoga sensei (Miki), soba dinner featuring Coconut Boy (Sora), blueberry and lemon cake (recipe here) and last, morning’s of Anisa’s kitchen.



“Let others lead small lives, but not you.. Let others argue over small things, but not you.. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” ― Jim Rohn

All Happiness Depends On A Leisurely Breakfast

Damn right John Gunther.

Paying Attention Is Free

I think these are some of the best photos I’ve taken here. I don’t know much about photography but I try my very best. I dedicate them to my dear follower, Jin. You can follow her scummy food-blog HERE.

Peachy Green Smoothie:
1 frozen banana
1 small fresh yellow peach (pitted)
big bunch fresh spinach
1/4 cup water

Blend together and top with pretty things.

Stewed Prunes: More Than Just A Constipation Cure

I made stewed prunes – really easy and not just a constipation cure but also super tasty. And no, I did not just tell my 3000+ (yeah I’m bragging) followers I’m constipated though I don’t know how you can not be in Japan, consuming all that white rice, noodles and “bread” everyday. Thankfully, I don’t follow that diet.

1 bag of prunes
1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
water

Place prunes, lemon half and maple syrup in a small pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.

It’s done when you want it to be or when the water has thickened into a syrup – though it will continue to thicken once refrigerated.

Serve with granola and/or yogurt.

D-lish!

PS I don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed of my momma’s pop-culture savviness (see below).

Pimp My Oats

Last night for this mornings breakfast I combined two of my favorite breakfast recipes: overnight oats AND chia seed pudding. In addition, I added a handful of fancy Instagram-worthy toppings for that extra sumthin’ sumthin’. The result was a taste explosion (to say the least). Then I walked my village and looked for beautiful details to photograph for you and appreciate for myself.

1/3 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup milk (I used almond)
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a jar and stir to combine.

Leave in fridge overnight and nom nom the following morning with favorite toppings.

*gluten-free (if using GF oats)
*dairy-free
*refined-sugar free
*vegan (if using maple syrup)

No Milk? No Problem!

I ran out of “milk” so I used water instead. The result? Mouthwatering! (See what I did there?)

1/2 cup frozen blackcurrants
1 banana
2 strawberries
2 canned pineapple rings
3/4 cup filtered water

Simply blend everything together in a food processor or blender then top with favourites.

Eating NZ In Japan

As you may or may not know, my parents visited me recently here in Japan. And, they brought an entire SUITCASE of food just for me! OK, and maybe some for my friends… The funniest thing they managed to get through was goat’s cheese! I couldn’t believe it! 1.How does Japanese immigration allow that? and 2.How did it not go off?! As in become mouldy not beep beep in the sensor. Cheese don’t do that. Anyways, I won’t complain. I have been eating NZ in Japan. Today I had a smoothie bowl made with ViBERi blackcurrants and topped with Pic’s Peanut Butter. I ate it by myself on the grassy patch in the centre of my apartment complex and though highly optimistic, I/it did not lure any boys to the yard.

In a food processor, simply blend the following until smooth and creamy:

1 large frozen banana
1 cup freeze-dried or frozen ViBERi blackcurrants.
3/4 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond)
1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional)

Finish with a large dollop of Pic’s Peanut Butter and whatever else your heart (and stomach) desires. I used fresh banana, chia-seeds, shredded coconut, macadamia nuts, more blackcurrants and raw almonds.