In Loving Memory : Happy Birthday Bapa!

Last year at this time (319 days back) I was with you and I held you tight...because I knew you were scared...and you knew I would be lost without you...I wasn't ready to let you go then and I am not quite ready to let you go yet...I love you Bapa and I miss you!

Here  is what I want to tell you today -

Thanks for all you've done

I've missed you for so long

I can't believe you're gone and

You still live in me

I feel you in the wind

You guide me constantly 

I carry the things that remind me of you

In loving memory of the one that was so true

You were as kind as you could be

And even though you're gone

You still mean the world to me

I never knew what it was to be alone, no

'Cause you were always there for me

 ---Alter Bridge "In Loving Memory"

Happy Birthday Bapa...I will save a piece of cake for you !

Eat.Move.Sleep : The 30 Day Challenge

Small Choices. Big Changes

In your lifetime some books come which shift your thought process and make you act vs. just passively read the book and enjoy it.

For me there are a few books which have given me AHA! moments and  have been a lifeline to living not just existing ( eg.Bhagvad Gita) and strangely enough this rather inconspicuous book "Eat.Move.Sleep"...mostly picked up because I loved Tom Rath's first book "Strength Finder 2.0" which I had read way back in 2010.

This is more than just a book, it is a new way to live. I have had friends look at me weird when I talk about Vitamin D and Vitamin B12, flinch when I talk about the 30 grams fiber that a woman needs, eyes glaze over when I mention Chia Seeds, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts,  Kale, Quinoa, Amaranth, Maca Powder...I am not a person who goes with Fads...however I am mindfully making the choice to live a healthy life. 

Eat.Move. Sleep  is motivating to me because (A) the changes being proposed are not radical (B) there is a 30 Day game plan that I can come up with based on a comprehensive questionnaire I take on the site (C) The onus to be accountable is on me 

Day 1:

1. Identify the three healthiest elements of diets you have tried in the past. Integrate these elements into your lifestyle for good. 

• Removed "Whites" from my diet - moved to Brown Rice, Quinoa and Barley as my main carbohydrate source
• Added a Kale Smoothie (with Chia Seeds and alternative milk) to my diet
• Start my morning with hot water, ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) and Honey

2. Starting today, with every bite you take, consider how it can benefit your body. Use what you have learned in the book to make better choices in the moment. 

I am my mother's daughter...

I was bone weary when I reached home at 7.15 PM from work (it was a hard day) and I needed to find my comfort in food - my Ma's food. So I lifted up my pressure cooker, my rice cooker and a degchi (a wok of sorts)...and of course my handy helper K1. We had dinner on the table in about an hour and it looked like this

From upper right : Aloo Phulo Kobi (Cauliflower with red baby potatoes, Saago Bhoja (Kale cooked with garlic), Lau Muga Dali (Moong Dal cooked with Opo Squash) and Quinoa

I have been reading for the past day a book by Iris Krasnow :  I Am My Mother's Daughter: Making Peace with Mom--Before It's Too Late... .My mother and I have a very stormy relationship...like oil and water. Bapa used to be the translator, the mediator, the communicator in between and with him gone it almost feels like we talk past each other. The only topic where we can have a discussion without dissension is Food. This book is helping me understand/appreciate our relationship and emphasizes the necessity to mend any broken mother/daughter relationship. 

"Let go of the anger. Embrace her imperfections. Forgive her, even for unforgiveable acts. Move on, into a mature relationship between equals, with a lowering of expectations and a surrendering of the heart."

In our case it is a moving past our egos and an inability to look at any point of view other than ours...at the end of the day Motherhood I have found out is :