Pronoia.

Do you ever wish there was a word to describe something that you've known to be true?  My favorite new word is "pronoia." It's the attitude or belief that the Universe is conspiring to help and assist you on your path. It's the opposite of paranoia.

When inquiring friends ask how I've been these past five months since branching out full-time on my own, I can only say that these months have been filled with 'synchronistic encounters.' There's no other way I could properly describe the deep connections that have transpired from talking to people in the coffee shop, thanking a speaker for sharing his story at Creative Mornings, and making small-talk with a stranger at a networking event. They have all turned out to be exceptional humans beings who have become close friends, encouraging me further down the path(s) I've wanted to go. My life has in fact, reflected 'pronoia' in the most beautiful way.

Brunchin' with the best! "Women in Art: Inaugural Business Brunch"

Remember that life is happening for us, not to us.

I hope you experience pronoia in the most profound, delightful, and surprising ways this week, and every week.

 

 

The Greatest Thing We Can Do With Our Lives.

“Must is who we are, what we believe, and what we do when we are alone with our truest, most authentic self. It’s that which calls to us most deeply. It’s our convictions, our passions, our deepest held urges and desires- unavoidable, undeniable, and inexplicable. Unlike Should, Must doesn’t accept compromise.

Must is when we stop conforming to other people’s ideals and start connecting to our own- and this allows us to cultivate our full potential as individuals. To choose Must is to say yes to hard work and constant effort, to say yes to a journey without a road map or guarantees, and in so doing, to say yes to what Joseph Campbell called “the experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

Choosing Must is the greatest thing we can do with our lives.”
— Elle Luna, The Crossroads of Should and Must

Celebrating five months of stepping fully into my "Must" and knowing wholeheartedly that this was one of the best decisions of my life.

Day 100!

"It all comes back to the writing. These pages feel like home. I've filled journals upon journals upon journals. I capture all the in-between moments on these pages. The ones I would easily forget and gloss over. But these are the moments that matter. These moments make up my life. And so I will always continue to write and write and write. To remember. To reclaim. To rediscover. (January '17)

Yesterday marked the final day of #the100dayproject. For the past 100 days straight, I've shared excerpts of my journal entries from over the years and paired them with a watercolored piece that I painted that day. I took my watercolors and materials with me when I traveled. Even when my schedule was jam-packed, I made sure I carved out some time for my art. I have never been so committed to a project before. I noticed the pressure increasing on myself as the project was coming to a close.

This last piece taught me the greatest lesson. I wanted my 100th post to be amazing! To end with a bang! To be perfect! Which is so counterintuitive to everything that I had learned before. When I put pressure on myself to create, that's exactly when I feel jammed up. When I get stuck. I went through three rough drafts of the backdrop colors and thought, "This is so ridiculous. I've never re-done a piece of work to make it look a certain way." It didn't feel good. I reminded myself that it should 'feel like play.' So I took my fingers and started smearing the paint around, half out of frustration, half out of artistic angst, and then let it dry.

I came back to it after an hour and saw it differently. I noticed the purple blob that I once felt had ruined the entire piece could actually be the spotlight for something else. Something like a silhouette. And a feeling of pure joy jolted through my body, and I painted how I felt. 

I've learned that art has no rules. What we think are mistakes at first can actually be the catalyst for something else- something much more delightful, joyful, and free. This is a lesson that extends far beyond watercolors. Something that I teach my clients every day. It just so happened that it showed up in my art, on Day 100, and allowed me to understand its beauty and meaning in a whole new way. 

Nima Sensor: How Technology is Reshaping Gluten-Free Dining Out

Nima is small, portable, and discreet so you can bring it with you to restaurants, dinner parties, or wherever you need to ensure that your food truly is gluten-free.

If you suffer from a gluten allergy or sensitivity, dining out can be a stressful experience since cross-contamination often occurs. Based on thousands of restaurant dishes tested by the Nima community, 1 out of 3 "gluten-free" foods actually contained gluten. Nima is the world's first portable gluten sensor which can detect 20 ppm or more of gluten in a pea-sized food sample (liquid or solid) in under three minutes. Test capsules are pre-loaded with Nima's proprietary chemistry. There is no cleaning, no re-setting, and no refilling. Just use a new capsule for every food item you'd like to test. Nima is small, discreet, and fits in a pocket or purse. Bring Nima to restaurants, vacations, business meals, dinner parties, or wherever you're eating. Download the free Nima app and see what specific foods and restaurants have been #Nimatested. 

In this video, I demonstrate how to use the Nima sensor by testing three food samples at 3Potato4 Restaurant, a gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free restaurant located in Pleasanton, CA.

For more information on Nima and how to order your sensor, visit: https://nimasensor.com/.

Use my referral code "Juliannekan50"  for $50 off a Nima starter kit! (Code is good through 7/31/17)

 

This Cheese Is NUTS!

Cheese is usually the hardest thing for people to give up when transitioning to a plant-based diet. It's no surprise, since casomorphines in dairy have an opioid effect. People are, quite literally, addicted to cheese!

Praveena's Cashew Cheese Dip

Praveena's Smoked Almond Cheese

Vegetable pizza naan using cashew cream. This cheese is so versatile!

Luckily, there are delicious cheese alternatives made from almonds and cashews. Praveena gifted me Julie Piatt's new book "This Cheese is Nuts" and two weeks ago, she used some of the recipes from this book and added her own twist. The results were mind-blowing. We will be debuting some of these cheeses at our next Revitalize Dinner on July 22nd! In the meantime, I highly recommend Julie Piatt's book so you can see how easy it is to make cheese using nuts, and enjoy a creamy treat that is free of saturated fat, casomorphines, and hormones.

The relationship between the dairy foods, the dairy industry, and government funding all have huge health implications. It was only after listening to this podcast with Dr. Neil Barnard that I understood the interplay between government funding, scientific research, and the parallel that exists between the tobacco industry: "Doubt is our product."

I encourage you to listen to this on your commute, during your workout, or when you have downtime at home. You are important. Your food is important. It's time to be fully informed and then make your decisions based on fact.

Pockets of Stillness.

Walk. Notice. Breathe. Stop. Observe. 

The best way to tap into your creativity is to stop actively thinking, to go for a walk and be surrounded by a rich environment full of novelty, complexity, or unpredictability. By consciously letting go of our 'thinking brains,' we allow our subconscious to play and make new combinations and connect lateral ideas in a seamless way. 

Try it today. Go outside. Walk. Pay attention to the world.

When you return, you'll have your answers.

Farro with Roasted Leeks and Rainbow Carrots

So many beautiful colors and textures in this dish!

Farro is a healthy ancient grain that contains high amounts of fiber and protein (8g of each per 1 cup cooked). If you're like me, once in awhile you crave something other than brown rice and quinoa. I enjoy the nutty flavor and texture of farro, and I think you will too!

I prepared the farro on the stovetop and prior to straining, mixed in 1.5 cups of spinach to wilt. Meanwhile, I chopped up 1 lb of rainbow carrots and 2 leeks and lightly coated the vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. I roasted the vegetables on 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until they were crispy on the edges.

Mix together the cooked farro with the roasted vegetables, and add a splash of red wine vinegar to taste. Feel free to add in chickpeas, edamame, or beans if desired. I think you'll enjoy the different flavors and textures of the dish, all while delivering a healthy amount of protein, fiber, and more than 10 different vitamins and minerals. ENJOY!

You Are Loved.

#Day 14 of #the100dayproject

“I felt such a sharp sense of despair and hopelessness that fueled me as I ran higher and higher. As I crested the hill, I heard a voice. It was clear that it wasn’t my own. It emerged from such a deep place within my being that I didn’t question its authority:
You are loved.
You are loved.
You are loved.”
— An excerpt from my journal, March '17

There are a few times when I receive a strong, gnawing feeling in my heart that something needs to be said. For some reason, this watercolored image that I painted came to mind with its corresponding message, and I crawled out of bed as a pure act of obedience. I am writing this tonight because I feel this message is meant for someone: You are loved. You are whole. Everything you need is already within you. 

My experience on this hill was so visceral and transformative. I stumbled up on that mountaintop with tear-stained cheeks and was met with a presence so healing and divine. A wave of peace washed over me, and that message rang so clear. As clear as a bell.

It's your message too. Perhaps you're not standing on a mountaintop. Maybe you're in bed, lying in a fetal position, or curled up on your couch, feeling just as hopeless and fearful and lost as I was. No matter where you are, this is for you:

You are loved.

You are loved.

You are loved.

Love After Love.

“The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life. ”
— Derek Walcott

Epic Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you search the internet, there are a dozen recipes called "The BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies." So that's why I renamed mine to be "EPIC." Now they stand out from the rest. And yes, they are epic.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 c. organic coconut oil
  • 1 c. brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • 1/4 c. almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp. organic vanilla extract
  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 10 oz. (1 bag) vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cream the coconut oil and sugar together until well-blended. Add the almond milk and vanilla and mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Drop dough into rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the baking sheet or parchment paper.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool one minute on cookie sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with sea salt crystals if desired. ENJOY!