Sisterhood

Today’s theme comes from a lovely award that Ruby kindly passed along to me:

Thanks, Ruby! If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should—she has a great, healthy attitude and makes some very yummy veggie-centric meals I’m going to pass this along to 2 bloggers I feel the “sisterhood” with:

1.) Olga from Healthing It. We have a lot in common and it was so much fun meeting her at the blogger brunch! I’m sure you already read her blog, but if you don’t, get on it! She is fully of life and makes wonderful photogenic meals

2.) Yasmin from It’s a Wrap! I got to know her a little bit through the Forbidden Foods challenge and really admire the way she kicked her pb-anxiety. She recently wrote, “You will be happy to know I finished a jar of peanut butter in this past week and half. Ha! I laugh in the face of my forbidden food! I ate the whole thing without regressing back to my eating disorder.” YASMIN, YOU ROCK!

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Last night, I “caved” and had an apple with a tbsp. of non-raw cashew butter, because I was hungry and really craving it:

It did not disappoint!

Today was a very exciting day for me, because I went to a drama workshop and saw Lynn Nottage’s play Ruined—all for free, through a “family matinee” program that brings together kids from NYC community groups and their families/mentors. I went with the girl I mentor through Girls Write Now, her twin sister, and her sister’s mentor. Before I left the house, I took Arthur for a quick walk and had exactly what I was craving for breakfast:

canteloupe, soy yogurt, oats, ~1/2 c. pb puffins, raspberries, 1 tbsp. cashew butter, agave

I also packed a snack to take with me:

The workshop was wonderful—we took themes from the play and created short, impromptu scenes, which we performed for the rest of the group. Since Ruined is about the Congolese civil war (and the gut-wrenching things that happen to women who get caught in the middle of the conflict), most of the scenes were based around lines from the play like “You won’t fight your battles on my body anymore!,” piectures of women and children fleeing scenes of destruction, men (and young boys) with guns, etc. People came up with really creative ways of expressing the conflicts; one group acted out a scene about Hurricane Katrina to show the parallels, and another did a scene about a son being drafted and then killed at war.

Once the workshop was over, we grabbed a quick lunch before walking up to the theatre for the play. I ate my apple on the way.

1/2 a roasted veggie wrap (too much oil!!), a mini ET bagel (from the b'fast spread at the workshop), lentil soup, and a pickle

The play was, as expected, pretty upsetting, but also uplifting. Lynn Nottage interviewed women in refugee camps to piece together the characters in her play, and was shocked by the prevalence of hope despite the dismal conditions. It came through in each character. After the play, a few of the cast members came out to discuss the play with the audience, and afterwards, I talked with the play’s Congolese guitar player for awhile. I’m glad the experience was so interactive; it’s rare that you get to meet cast members after a show.

After the show, I ate my Clif bar on the subway ride back to Brooklyn (my mentee and her sister came with me). We did about an hour of writing about themes in the play, since we’re required to submit two pieces of writing to the Girls Write Now anthology in less than a week and we only have one piece ready each! I continued the sisterhood theme by writing about feminism. I’ve never come to a good relationship with that word, despite (or maybe because of?) the fact that I went to a women-only college. I think it’s just that I’ve known a few women who wear the word like a badge of honor, but don’t live by its principles (i.e. staying in relationships with horrible guys who treat them horribly). Am I horrible for thinking this way? Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

Once the two girls headed back to Far Rockaway, I made a delicious three-course dinner. It started with sweet potato rounds dipped in Country Bob’s and ketchup:

Went on to a big raw kale/parsley salad with red onion, carrots, 2 slices veggie bacon, and yummy homemade dressing (raw tahini/apple cider vinegar/olive oil/salt/pepper):

and ended with a diced red delicious apple + ~1/2 c. pb puffins drizzled in blackstrap molasses and raw agave nectar:

I was definitely craving fresh food after my mostly non-raw day! I felt good after eating dinner What’s nice about raw foods is that they require little to no preparation; just slice and eat!

I’ll be back later with a baking recap (3 yummy things planned!)