Thank you for the energetic and positive post! The loaf looks great, I love baking bread from scratch and have made traditional Finnish rye sourdough in the past. There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread!

On my love list this week: green smoothies (never get tired of those!), flowers on my eggplant, farmers’ markets (always on the love list!), fresh salads with cos lettuce, carrot, sunflower seeds and flaxseed oil (so good).

Have a lovely weekend! xx

I love your pictures! They always inspire me. On that note

I love:
1. my new photoblog. I have not even shared it with my friends, I will at some point but for now it’s for me.
2. snow. All the awesome snow, it makes everything look better. I love this town when there’s a lot of snow. Everything feels calmer and more relaxed.
3. Arguing with a girl who crashed my friends night and feeling that one friend, who never used to, is backing me up. I do sometimes love the feeling when I push someone off their high horse and get them to admit they’re wrong, when just 5 minutes ago they were pretending they know everything.

Glad the visit to the dentist’s was so successful! I would have been scared shitless (sorry) after three years. Well done!

This week I’m loving

* a load of recipe books that I’ve rediscovered and that inspire me to try making some new meals and to put my juicer to use again.
* not having planned anything for my birthday. Two weeks back I was about to invite everyone over for a big party, then realised that was just what everybody expected, but not what I wanted at all. So I have NO plans AT ALL for the afternoon and am therefore able to just have a nice long walk for the sun which has just shown its face for the second time this year. tonight I’m being taken out for dinner by my bloke, and tomorrow I’ve got four close friends coming round for coffee, tea and (of course) cake.
*this blog, along with the other reader’s comments. Very inspiring!
*being a freelancer, with all the ups and downs and the insecurities.
* my job. I’ve been doing what I’m doing for 12 years now, and I still love it. Lucky me!

Have a great (and hopefully sunny) weekend everyone.

I would love to make more home made bread, definitely a bit of a New Year’s resolution for me! This week I’m loving that I’m finally recovering from my double wisdom teeth extraction (congrats on the good dental appointment), although all the smoothies and juices I’ve been consuming have been great, my skins the best its ever been!

I love the picture of you in your kitchen. How do you keep you house plant so healthy and vibrant looking? Its beautiful!!!

Congrats on the dentist report! Wish mine had been that good. Ah well, neither here nor there!

Love list:

1. I got “Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan” early this week. I’ve made 4 recipes from it so far, and I love them all. Can’t wait to get Rawesomely Vegan and get a whole canon of everyday recipes built up so that I never want to fall back on old staples.

2. 3 day weekend: every teacher’s delight =D

3. Tomorrow is my now-7-year-old nephew’s birthday party. He’s growing up way too fast but he’s just the coolest kid!

4. Related to #1, I’m recently vegan! Well, I’ve given myself til the end of January to officially be off all dairy, but I’ve had several dairy-free days already, and most of the dairy I’ve still had as been in very small amounts. So I’m definitely getting there!

Thankful–oh so thankful — for a three-day weekend. And for the AMC gift card my husband gave me. May go see a guilty-pleasure movie this afternoon with a big bag of popcorn (made with coconut oil…mmmmm)

So I’m very curious, as I have little experience with this. How does it work with seeing a midwife if you are no longer pregnant? I’ve always been fascinated by midwifery. We were pregnant once (lost the baby) but were getting ready to go the midwife/waterbirth route.

Loved this post! Made me smile. :)

you guys!! cutest ever…i swear! i also swear i probably say that very thing every time i comment here, haha! some days reading your blog and seeing the fun pictures of your week makes me wish we were neighbors…the smell of baking bread would surely make me come over to borrow a cup of chia. ;)

I have heard of people going vegan and it helped their chances of having a baby. Purely anecdotal stuff, but encouraging to me.

There’s a definite theme to my Love List this week:

1. My two-year-old godson learning to say “I love you, Sarah”
2. Playing chase around the kitchen table with my godson for at least half an hour!
3. Watching the huge smile on my four-month-old godson’s face as I picked him up for cuddles

There’s no day so bad that it can’t be drastically improved by spending time with those two cuties!

1. Chia kombucha
2. Enlightened kombucha
3. Original kombucha

Yesterday Whole Foods had a buy one get one free sale on GT’s kombucha. I bought 12 bottles! If nothing else, it gives me more bottles for when I eventually have the time and space to start making my own. :)

Waits is just too squuezable!

*Cathartic cleaning mission… clean house = uncluttered mind ya know?
*Ginger kombucha with molasses
* The smell of rain hitting hot concrete
*High pressure hoses
*New beginnings

Since I suspect that it varies by practice, I’ll answer your midwife question based on my experience… :-) The practice that I am going to for pregnancy (which is a free-standing birth center) is staffed by certified nurse midwives. In addition to seeing people during pregnancy, they also see people for pre-conception planning, and for “well women” exams during not-pregnancy. They can also be seen (pregnant or not) for yeast infections, BV, UTIs, STD screenings… pretty much any sort of lady-bit related trouble. CNMs can prescribe (some) drugs.

Congratulations on your first loaf! I started baking bread two years ago, and my sourdough starter (his name is Clive) is just over a year old now. Since I established Clive I’ve very rarely bought bread. Baking bread is just so special, I feel so proud of every loaf I make, and it makes me even happier than any other kind of cooking I do! And sourdough just adds an extra level of special :) Clive is my pet, really. I tend him and feed him and look after him, and the happier he is the better I eat. I neglected him a bit over the past few weeks, but he’s just about back to happy now, I’m looking forward to baking tomorrow!

As for other things I’m loving right now, I am having the most fantastic weekend. My housemate and I have spent the morning at the markets two days in a row, we’ve been cooking tasty things, we’ve been crafting and watching Downton Abbey, it’s been so delicious and relaxed and productive and wonderful.

I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful and I look forward to hearing more about your sourdough :)

Oh hooray for homemade bread! I still bake fresh traditional (not gluten free) bread for Mar and Ni pretty often. I don’t think anything smells as good as home baked bread. I haven’t really been too enthused about baking gf bread – yet – but I’m sure it will happen!

I think a couple of other people already asked, but what is your Vitamin D regimen? I’ve had annual bloodwork done since I was at university and my levels are always well above the healthy/normal range. Last year, for the first time ever, my vitamin D was very, very low. I’ve taken care of it, but I’m always curious how other vegans keep their D levels up.

This week I’m loving a new yarn store I discovered and the oodles and oodles of yarn I spent way too much money on; my cat Goblin; coffee; sunshine smoothies; hearing Nina refer to cookies as biscuitstry to convince us that she has an imaginary friend named Soren Lorensonlapse into an almost-English accent after she watches the Charlie and Lola video we discovered at the library; busting out my first cross stitch project (Hey girl…) since I don’t know when; *finally* figuring out that when Nina tells us she’s afraid of “meerkats” she is actually trying to say “dementors”; did I mention coffee?; finally getting to season three of Breaking Bad; and a much needed three-day weekend!

Monika, my husband’s vitamin D levels were ridiculously low–nearly nonexistent–and he just took 4000 IUs of vitamin D2 by VegLife everyday and in a matter of months, his levels were back up to the low end of normal. My D levels have always been fine (although I did have low B12, which I addressed by taking a huge weekly dose of chewable B12 in addition to my daily dose in the multi and fortified foods–I continue to do so and my levels are fine). I take 2000 IUs of D2 daily and I also don’t wear sunscreen unless I’m on the beach or out for hours in the midday sun. I know that’s controversial but I’m not white and I never burn so I need a lot more sun than my pale husband to keep my vitamin D levels up.

I highly recommend the book the Vitamin D Solution by Michael Holick, PhD, MD (http://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-Solution-3-Step-Strategy-Problem/dp/1594630674). He has done research on vitamin D for over 30 years and his book is comprehensive but user-friendly. He breaks down how much sun you need given your location and complexion and debunks a lot of myths around different types of skin cancer. Also, although he is not vegan and doesn’t advocate a vegan diet per se, he says getting vegan D2 is just as good in boosting levels as animal-based D3. In fact, if you were to get a prescription of 50,000 IUs of vitamin D to treat a severe deficiency, that formulation is only available in D2 form.

Also, for anyone who thinks being vegan means being vitamin D deficient, most of the world is deficient in this vitamin hormone, vegan or not. There are micronutrients of concerns for vegans (like B12), but vitamin D is not one of them. We all need more of it!

I talked about coffee last week so I thought I’d share this with you guys. “It’s just pure AWESOME”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVE5iPMKLg

Joselle, thank you for the book recommendation! I think my father had that on his bookshelf, should have nabbed it while I was visiting over the holidays.

Luckily, I know that my low vitamin D levels have nothing to do with being vegan. I went vegan when I was 15, so I have . . . well, let’s just say quite a few years of annual bloodwork to confirm that my D levels were always on the high end of normal until last year.

I’m pretty certain that my extremely low vitamin D (a few other levels were in the low range for the first time, too) was due to chronic GI issues — I didn’t know I needed to be on a gluten free diet until last year, too. I don’t think my body was absorbing much of anything.

I get plenty of sun exposure — I’m part South American and get very dark without burning, and have consulted dermatologists about how much sun exposure is safe for me vs. the more fair-skinned folks. I wear sunscreen selectively.

Of course, the very first thing people told me when I found out my levels were low was that it was due to my diet! I’m looking forward to letting them know that I’m back on track without taking vitamin D3 at all. :)

Hi Zoetika, welcome out of the lurk! =D

Congratulations on your fresh start, it sounds like you are making amazing changes. Only more good can come!

When I juice and smoothie a lot, that’s where I notice it too. So amazing for the skin!

My kitchen plants are all super healthy and I’m not sure why. My guesses are that I water them VERY consistently, exactly once per week, which isn’t too much or not enough. Also I NEVER touch them or move them or mess with them. They really prefer that.

Other than that I really have no idea!

I had to share this with you, Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie: http://witandwhistle.com/2011/11/09/chickpea-cookie-pie/

3 T of oil and no flour. Really delicious! It is subtly chickpea-ish but I don’t mind at all. Just be sure to leave no whole chickpeas before baking. I’ll make it again so I can get my sweet fix without all the flour and oil (still has plenty of sugar, though. I used just 1 c instead of 1 1/2 and it was plenty sweet).

I saw your new book today at the store and was so excited!! I’ll be even more excited after pay day when I can actually pick up a copy :)

1. Teaching my autistic-spectrum brother, Joe, a few yoga poses and breathing exercises. He really seemed to enjoy it and I loved experiencing his sweet, calm focus.

2. Making a big pot of vegan brown rice and lentils for my meat-and-potatoes extended family… And watching it disappear!

3. Getting to fly home to my honey tomorrow. He’s been cooking vegetarian all week for himself and even hosted a veg dinner party while I was away, cooking spicy black bean sweet potato cakes all by himself. I am so proud of him!

Meghan nailed it. Thanks lady!

I saw my midwives because I needed general girly care and they already know me and they have my records and know my history. Since I’m still in my “reproductive era”, haha, it doesn’t make sense for me to switch back and forth between them and a traditional OBGYN. I should say though, that I see the midwives that practice at a hospital here and the entire practice is integrated.

I’m sorry your week was rough. Hope those tests turn out okay and I hope that next week is brighter. We’re getting snow, that’s always fun!