Muslims are currently in the midst of their fasting month of Ramadan. It is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and is significant for many reasons. One of those reasons being that the Holy Quran was revealed during this month. Muslims spend 29 to 30 days fasting from dawn till dusk. The Islamic calendar doesn't coincide with the Gregorian calendar. The months are based off the sighting of the moon. Therefore, Ramadan doesn't always occur at the same time every year. In recent years, Ramadan has been taking place during the summer months, which calls for much longer fasts.
I've previously wrote about my struggle adjusting to my IBS. I did an entire year of a full "detox" diet. I was eating strictly vegan/vegetarian/grain free meals only. If I had eaten any of my trigger foods, I would be in a lot of pain and discomfort. Despite how painful it was for me to consume meat, dairy or grains, people still liked to pester me and make comments like "just eat a little", "stop making yourself so weak", "you can train your body to be okay with that food."
The truth of the matter was that my diet bothered others more than it bothered me. Sure, it was an adjustment to my lifestyle. I had to pack special homemade meals when I went out to social gatherings (even weddings), and eating out at restaurants was limited. However, I had accepted it for what it was. Lots of people liked looking at me with pity and sadness. Quite frankly, it was others' reactions to my diet that frustrated me more than my actual diet did.
I learned to be creative with my meals and did lots of research on what kinds of delicious recipes to try. I never sacrificed flavour in any of my meals. Actually, now that I have added lots of things back into my diet, I still eat many of the vegan foods I used to during that entire year.
I visited with a dietician shortly before Ramadan 2016 to get some advice on how to make sure I got enough nutrients in my body, despite giving up so much. She gave me some really helpful tips. The biggest things she told me I needed to do was: slowly re-introduce foods back into my body, increase my water intake and take probiotic supplements. Which is exactly what I did, and those three things made a huge difference.
Unfortunately, my body did not settle in time for last Ramadan. My doctor advised me to give my body some time to heal before forcing it to go through 19 hour long fasts. I consulted with a mufti (Islamic scholar) to make sure it was okay for me to skip my fasts last year. He said I was exempt, as long as I made my fasts up in the future when my body allowed me to do so.
Despite getting both medical and Islamic advice on the matter, the critics were back. I had many people chastise me for not fasting. They put me on guilt trips making me feel as though I was committing a huge sin. However, I also had those who supported me. I remember my brother telling me that there are lots of people who wish to fast during Ramadan, but for various reasons are unable to. He also reminded me that fasting is not the only form of ibabah (remembrance of Allah SWT) during this blessed month.
One thing I learned in the last couple of years was that no matter how many people wanted to criticize me or pity me, there was only one person I had to listen to: myself. The only person who knew how painful it was after I ate a trigger food was me. People could easily say "have a little cake" but in the end, it would be me who would suffer. It would be me running in and out of the bathroom all day long with endless cramps. Furthermore, my inability to fast during last Ramadan was something between me and Allah SWT.
By the grace of Allah SWT, my body has settled now. I am able to fast this Ramadan without consequences. Although the fasts are long, as long as I drink enough water and/or lemon water with my meals, everything runs smoothly. I am now aware of what foods my body reacts to the most. I just have to keep my trigger foods limited. My dad always taught me to be grateful for everything, no matter what the circumstances. So Allahumdulillah for the grueling year I did my strict diet. If I hadn't gone through that, I wouldn't have found all these wonderful new recipes to try, taste (and share!) And Allahumdulillah for being able to add some of my favourite foods back into my diet. No matter how difficult it was for me to adjust to my IBS, it was not the worse thing that could have happened to me.
Showing posts with label Organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organic. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Friday, 16 October 2015
Vegetarian and Vegan recipe ideas.
Although I have a pretty good idea of what kinds of foods I am able to eat, I am still in the process of getting to know my body. I've discovered that I should avoid most grains for now, until my body settles. So I am strictly eating a vegetarian diet now. I have been doing a lot of online research on IBS and found some really informative videos on youtube. I've also been cooking a variety of vegetarian/vegan dishes which I found to work for me. I wanted to share some of the recipes which I have tried and tested so far that can potentially help someone else with digestive issues. Most of the recipes I use are either from http://www.allrecipes.com or from youtube.
Cowboy kale - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/240259/cowboy-kale/
I made some alterations to this recipe. I didn't have any bell peppers at the time, and I used white onions instead. The result was still quite delicious. I completely forgot to serve it with the vinaigrette, but even as is it was flavourful. I cooked kale again last week, but this time I had lightly cooked the kale, and added (raw) cherry tomatoes, avocado pieces, and whole almonds. Also another great way to eat kale.
Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwich - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/22886/grilled-mediterranean-vegetable-sandwich/?internalSource=recipe%20hub&referringId=1084&referringContentType=recipe%20hub
Since my body can't handle the store bought breads, I made homemade (whole wheat) roti and had this Mediterranean mix in a roti roll. I am not a huge fan of eggplant, but in this roll it was really good. The garlic mayo was what topped it off and gave it an excellent flavour.
Fabulous Zucchini Grinders - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/73456/fabulous-zucchini-grinders/
Another vegetable that I don't particularly like. I made this before I realized I couldn't have breads. I served it in casserole form, as opposed to sandwich form. Also, I eliminated the cheese.
Spinach and Ricotta Calzone - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/spinach-and-ricotta-calzone-recipe.html
This was one of the first recipes I tested out on myself. I have my own pizza dough recipe which I used and I made the dough out of whole wheat flour. Although it was extremely delicious, the crust and cheese did not agree with me. I used only mozzarella cheese.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts. with apples, golden raisins and walnuts - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/230659/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-apples-golden-raisins-and-walnuts/?internalSource=recipe%20hub&referringId=2436&referringContentType=recipe%20hub
I made this recipe as is but I eliminated the brussel sprouts, raisins and wine. It was so simple yet so delicious. the apple slices gave it a really nice sweetness.
Baked Eggs in Avocado - http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Baked-Eggs-Avocado-Recipe-30787252
I find that avocados are a hit or miss for most people; you either love it or you hate it. This is a great breakfast idea which is very filling, if you haven't re-introduced grains back into your diet yet.
Almond Milk Ideas
So far I've tried sweetened vanilla, unsweetened vanilla and unsweetened original. Personally, I like the unsweetened vanilla but there are many other flavours of (non-dairy milks) out there. Like chocolate almond, coconut/almond blend, coconut milk, cashew milk, and soy milk to name some. It's important to remember almond milk is watered down compared to cow's milk, therefore you would have to make some adjustments to how you use it. However, it is fortified with the same nutrients as cow's milk. I do not like the taste of soy milk, so almond milk is what I found to be right for me.
Cowboy kale - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/240259/cowboy-kale/
I made some alterations to this recipe. I didn't have any bell peppers at the time, and I used white onions instead. The result was still quite delicious. I completely forgot to serve it with the vinaigrette, but even as is it was flavourful. I cooked kale again last week, but this time I had lightly cooked the kale, and added (raw) cherry tomatoes, avocado pieces, and whole almonds. Also another great way to eat kale.
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| Cowboy kale served with baked salmon. I wanted to try the fish to see if I could handle it. I later learned that it's best to avoid all meats for now, including seafood. However, if you are able to eat couscous or quinoa, this kale recipe would pair nicely with it! |
Since my body can't handle the store bought breads, I made homemade (whole wheat) roti and had this Mediterranean mix in a roti roll. I am not a huge fan of eggplant, but in this roll it was really good. The garlic mayo was what topped it off and gave it an excellent flavour.
Fabulous Zucchini Grinders - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/73456/fabulous-zucchini-grinders/
Another vegetable that I don't particularly like. I made this before I realized I couldn't have breads. I served it in casserole form, as opposed to sandwich form. Also, I eliminated the cheese.
Spinach and Ricotta Calzone - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/spinach-and-ricotta-calzone-recipe.html
This was one of the first recipes I tested out on myself. I have my own pizza dough recipe which I used and I made the dough out of whole wheat flour. Although it was extremely delicious, the crust and cheese did not agree with me. I used only mozzarella cheese.
 |
| Spinach and cheese calzone made with all purpose flour |
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| Spinach and cheese calzone made with whole wheat flour |
I made this recipe as is but I eliminated the brussel sprouts, raisins and wine. It was so simple yet so delicious. the apple slices gave it a really nice sweetness.
Baked Eggs in Avocado - http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Baked-Eggs-Avocado-Recipe-30787252
I find that avocados are a hit or miss for most people; you either love it or you hate it. This is a great breakfast idea which is very filling, if you haven't re-introduced grains back into your diet yet.
 |
| I baked these in the toaster oven. I did find them to be very mess to eat. However, delicious nonetheless. |
Almond Milk Ideas
So far I've tried sweetened vanilla, unsweetened vanilla and unsweetened original. Personally, I like the unsweetened vanilla but there are many other flavours of (non-dairy milks) out there. Like chocolate almond, coconut/almond blend, coconut milk, cashew milk, and soy milk to name some. It's important to remember almond milk is watered down compared to cow's milk, therefore you would have to make some adjustments to how you use it. However, it is fortified with the same nutrients as cow's milk. I do not like the taste of soy milk, so almond milk is what I found to be right for me.
- Use it in cereal. My cereal of choice is Shredded Wheat because it's high in fibre.
- Cook oatmeal with it. Oatmeal made out of almond milk has an acquired taste. It won't be as thick as oatmeal made out of cow's milk and slightly less flavourful. You can add your choice of sweetener or fruits such as apples or bananas to adjust the flavour.
- Use it in teas. I usually make my tea with 1/2 part water, 1/2 part milk and heat it up with my choice of tea bag. As previously mentioned, almond milk is a lot more watery, so you are required to use 3/4 part milk and 1/4 part water.
- Latte. My husband and I both wanted to try the almond milk with coffee but it didn't seem to be working. The trick is to do the same thing with it as you did in the tea: use 3/4 part almond milk and 1/4 part coffee. Make a little bit of espresso and in a separate cup, heat up the almond milk and foam it with a frother. If you don't have a frother, your latte will taste great but just won't have the foam on the top.
- Milkshakes. The great thing about milkshakes is that there's no right or wrong way to make it. You put what you want in a blender, blend and you have your milkshake! My favourite type of milkshake is made with ripe bananas and some cinnamon powder. Since the bananas are already sweet, you don't even need to add sugar. I've also tried it with strawberries but didn't like it very much due to the tartness of the berries.
- Hot chocolate. I warmed up the milk, and mixed in some cocoa powder and honey for sweetness.
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| Vanilla tea made with almond milk. I used a vanilla earl grey tea bag and vanilla almond milk for this |
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| Vanilla almond milk latte |
As you can see, almond milk is extremely versatile and a great alternative for anyone who may have a sensitivity to dairy. Furthermore, it adds a hint of nutty flavour to your food and/or drinks.
When adjusting to a new diet, the most important thing to remember is: be patient with your body! Don't get frustrated when you get flare ups because it most likely will happen. Our bodies are funny and need time to change. As much as we wish they'd change overnight, they won't! Furthermore, we are all designed differently. Some things may work for me, but won't work for someone else. It is important to be observant and see what food works best for you as an individual. Reading so many online forums, I found that most people feel the way I did; frustrated. When doctors keep suggesting "add more fibre to your diet" and nothing seems to be helping, you really feel helpless and like giving up. But there is hope! We are lucky enough to live in a world where there are so many alternatives that there is something out there for everyone. I will continue to post about my journey as much as I can, in hopes of helping out anyone out there who may feel alone, frustrated or helpless.
Thursday, 8 October 2015
My Experience with IBS
I wanted to share my experience with irritable bowel syndrome (ISB) because I just recently discovered digestive problems have become all too common in this day and age. Hopefully the things that helped me out can help someone else out who may be going through a similar problem.
A few months ago I started feeling unwell and began my journey of going through grueling doctors appointments (with specialists) to figure out what was wrong. I will spare you the graphic details, but long story short: I was getting constipated on a daily basis and it was quite painful to say the least. I thought I was doing everything right: eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, eating food high in fibre, working out. All the things you are supposed to do to stay healthy. But nothing seemed to be helping. Some nights I would have to take milk of magnesia right before bed. It would clear up by morning but then the entire cycle would start all over again.
There were days I just wanted to stay home because I was in so much discomfort. My husband dragged me out a couple of times, suggesting that getting some fresh air and seeing other people might help me feel better. We had a family potluck coming up which I was conflicted about. I wanted to go because I wanted to see everyone. However, I knew there would be lots of food there that I couldn't eat. The potluck took place a day before my Birthday. I was going to be turning 30 and although I wanted to celebrate it at first, I lost my mood for it afterwards. I know I am still young, but it was just a reminder to myself that as I was getting older, my body was slowly deteriorating.
The day of the family get together arrived. When it was time to eat, people filled up their plates with all the delicious food at the table. I barely filled my plate and ate very little. The little that I did eat, I had a feeling it would still make me constipated the next day, but I couldn't starve myself. People made comments like, "It's your Birthday, that's all you're eating?!" Or people would be telling me to try some of their dish. I tried explaining why I wasn't taking more food, but they would say not to worry because the food would easily digest. In my head I was thinking: sure in a normal body it would digest, but not in my body. They were not trying to be rude or offensive, they just didn't fully understand the problem/illness. I barely understood it myself, so I couldn't blame them.
Despite people trying to force feed me stuff I couldn't eat at the party, in the end I was glad I went. For my potluck dish, I brought a red velvet cake (which I baked and decorated). Since everyone knew it was my Birthday the next day (because I very shamelessly announced it to everyone), when it was time for dessert, they called out for me to cut my cake. I cut the cake while everyone sang me Happy Birthday. It was a small gesture on their part, but it meant a lot to me and was very special. I had fun and it temporarily distracted me from my pain.
I had a follow up appointment with my doctor the following week and she told me what I have is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS.) It's basically irregularity in the bowels and goes from constipation to diarrhea. For me, it was mostly constipation. She gave me some tips on how to handle the illness and I went the next couple of weeks taking her advice. She suggested to take Metamucil if necessary but also to make sure to drink lots of water through out the day along with it. Another thing she said was to keep a food diary and see if there are patterns of what foods were triggering me to get constipated.
The more I spoke to people about it, the more I realized how common digestive problems have become. I also realized that everyone's bodies are different. There may be some foods that trigger me, but another person with IBS is totally okay with. I made small changes to my diet such as the following:
In the meantime, I have discovered what to do to control my issue and keep my body healthy. Besides, people have a false notion that vegetarians miss out on all the good food in life. The truth of the matter is, there are plenty of non-meat dishes out there that are very delicious. My experience expanded my horizon to so many new recipes and dishes that I normally wouldn't have tried if I hadn't gotten ill in the first place. It is what it is and I will have to deal with it. I'm not ashamed of it and I don't feel sorry for myself (anymore) so I don't want others to feel sorry for me either.
A few months ago I started feeling unwell and began my journey of going through grueling doctors appointments (with specialists) to figure out what was wrong. I will spare you the graphic details, but long story short: I was getting constipated on a daily basis and it was quite painful to say the least. I thought I was doing everything right: eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, eating food high in fibre, working out. All the things you are supposed to do to stay healthy. But nothing seemed to be helping. Some nights I would have to take milk of magnesia right before bed. It would clear up by morning but then the entire cycle would start all over again.
There were days I just wanted to stay home because I was in so much discomfort. My husband dragged me out a couple of times, suggesting that getting some fresh air and seeing other people might help me feel better. We had a family potluck coming up which I was conflicted about. I wanted to go because I wanted to see everyone. However, I knew there would be lots of food there that I couldn't eat. The potluck took place a day before my Birthday. I was going to be turning 30 and although I wanted to celebrate it at first, I lost my mood for it afterwards. I know I am still young, but it was just a reminder to myself that as I was getting older, my body was slowly deteriorating.
The day of the family get together arrived. When it was time to eat, people filled up their plates with all the delicious food at the table. I barely filled my plate and ate very little. The little that I did eat, I had a feeling it would still make me constipated the next day, but I couldn't starve myself. People made comments like, "It's your Birthday, that's all you're eating?!" Or people would be telling me to try some of their dish. I tried explaining why I wasn't taking more food, but they would say not to worry because the food would easily digest. In my head I was thinking: sure in a normal body it would digest, but not in my body. They were not trying to be rude or offensive, they just didn't fully understand the problem/illness. I barely understood it myself, so I couldn't blame them.
Despite people trying to force feed me stuff I couldn't eat at the party, in the end I was glad I went. For my potluck dish, I brought a red velvet cake (which I baked and decorated). Since everyone knew it was my Birthday the next day (because I very shamelessly announced it to everyone), when it was time for dessert, they called out for me to cut my cake. I cut the cake while everyone sang me Happy Birthday. It was a small gesture on their part, but it meant a lot to me and was very special. I had fun and it temporarily distracted me from my pain.
I had a follow up appointment with my doctor the following week and she told me what I have is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS.) It's basically irregularity in the bowels and goes from constipation to diarrhea. For me, it was mostly constipation. She gave me some tips on how to handle the illness and I went the next couple of weeks taking her advice. She suggested to take Metamucil if necessary but also to make sure to drink lots of water through out the day along with it. Another thing she said was to keep a food diary and see if there are patterns of what foods were triggering me to get constipated.
The more I spoke to people about it, the more I realized how common digestive problems have become. I also realized that everyone's bodies are different. There may be some foods that trigger me, but another person with IBS is totally okay with. I made small changes to my diet such as the following:
- Dairy was one thing that was triggering me so I switched to almond milk. It comes in a variety of flavours such as vanilla, chocolate and coconut (sweetened or unsweetened.)
- I did not eat any meat for a couple of weeks, and only stuck to fruits and vegetables.
- Rice, white flour, white breads and pastas were another trigger. Instead of rice, I now have other grains like couscous, and quinoa. (I bought brown rice and brown pasta but haven't tried them yet.)
- My husband and I visited our local farmer's market and bought all organic fruits and vegetables. Some of the fruits/veggies can be a bit more expensive, but not by much.
- Making sure I drink at least 6-8 glass of water every day.
- I drink a glass of Metamucil every morning and every night.
In the meantime, I have discovered what to do to control my issue and keep my body healthy. Besides, people have a false notion that vegetarians miss out on all the good food in life. The truth of the matter is, there are plenty of non-meat dishes out there that are very delicious. My experience expanded my horizon to so many new recipes and dishes that I normally wouldn't have tried if I hadn't gotten ill in the first place. It is what it is and I will have to deal with it. I'm not ashamed of it and I don't feel sorry for myself (anymore) so I don't want others to feel sorry for me either.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Tips and Tricks on going Sugar-Free
Hubby and I are still limiting our sugar intake but we do cheat from time to time. Our rule is: we get to eat one sugary treat once a week. Sometimes we do end up eating sugar more than that. Usually twice a week at most. By going sugar-free we are not only cutting junk food out of our diets, but sugar all together. Meaning: we are not taking sugar in our tea, coffee, oatmeal, baked goods, etc. We watched a documentary, in which they did a study on lab rats of the addictiveness of sugar and cocaine. The rats got addicted to sugar faster than they did the cocaine! That right there is a red flag on the danger of sugar.
Going sugar-free doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds. The key is to substitute white granulated sugar with a healthier alternative. We started using honey in our tea, coffee, baking, etc. instead of sugar. However, hubby has a client who's a registered nutritionist. He told us that once you put honey in a hot substance, the heat takes the benefits of the honey out of it. He suggested to use agave nectar as a sweetener and to eat honey straight. Agave nectar is sweeter than sugar, and doesn't have a strong distinct flavour like honey. So now we've started sweetening our food/drinks with agave nectar and we really like it. You should be able to find it in any health or bulk store. It makes our morning coffee tasty and we feel good about ourselves for eating healthier.
My husband went cold turkey on cutting out his sugar, and he said it was really hard (as you could probably imagine.) For me personally, I slowly decreased it week by week. We both have sweet tooths, so it was definitely a big adjustment. However, the neat thing is that once you cut it out of your system completely, you don't even crave it anymore. It takes a lot of self-control and when you are hanging out with family and friends and they are all having some sweets, it can get very tempting. The key is to keep yourself disciplined and remind yourself why you cut it out in the first place.
Going sugar-free doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds. The key is to substitute white granulated sugar with a healthier alternative. We started using honey in our tea, coffee, baking, etc. instead of sugar. However, hubby has a client who's a registered nutritionist. He told us that once you put honey in a hot substance, the heat takes the benefits of the honey out of it. He suggested to use agave nectar as a sweetener and to eat honey straight. Agave nectar is sweeter than sugar, and doesn't have a strong distinct flavour like honey. So now we've started sweetening our food/drinks with agave nectar and we really like it. You should be able to find it in any health or bulk store. It makes our morning coffee tasty and we feel good about ourselves for eating healthier.
My husband went cold turkey on cutting out his sugar, and he said it was really hard (as you could probably imagine.) For me personally, I slowly decreased it week by week. We both have sweet tooths, so it was definitely a big adjustment. However, the neat thing is that once you cut it out of your system completely, you don't even crave it anymore. It takes a lot of self-control and when you are hanging out with family and friends and they are all having some sweets, it can get very tempting. The key is to keep yourself disciplined and remind yourself why you cut it out in the first place.
Monday, 21 October 2013
From City Mouse to Country Mouse
My husband and I recently decided to make the change from city life to country life. It's still in the beginning stages right now, so it's hard to determine whether I see myself living this way for the rest of my life. What I do know is how different the lifestyle is! We're definitely not living in the city anymore!
The first night we slept here, loud gun shots woke me up in the morning. Normally, a gunshot would mean something really bad happened. But out here, gunshots come from hunters out hunting for ducks, deer, etc. We walked into a gas station the other day, and the people working there had a full conversation about duck hunting! Never in my life (in the city) did I ever hear of people talking about any kind of hunting!
In our condo, everything was walking distance for us. Mall, grocery store, public transportation, etc. Out here, it's a 30 minute drive out to the city. However, we do have local shops which are 5-10 walking distance. (Grocery store, hardware store, convenience store, etc.) We drove out to the city yesterday afternoon and this town seems super pet-friendly! In just a 10 minute drive, we saw pet shop after pet shop after pet shop! I counted and I saw five pet stores almost side by side! This is my kind of town/city! ;)
It is not recommended to drink the tap water, since it comes straight from the lake, so you have to stock up on bottled water for everything. We use it for cooking, drinking, making coffee/tea, and feeding our kitties. Our mail doesn't come straight to our door, like it did in the city. You actually have to either drive (or walk) to the post office and pick it up from there! I haven't met the post office lady yet, but apparently I'll get to know her on a first name basis lol.
One change I found really amusing was the garbage man. Today was our garbage day, so I was expecting a big garbage truck to come up to the house, like the ones we used to see in Toronto. But the garbage man actually came in a small pick up truck!
Since there is no light pollution out here, the star gazing is incredible. The first night we were here was the first time I saw so many stars bunched up together. The last couple of nights, the moon was shining bright, so the stars were not as visible. But on a clear night, it is just amazing.
It's definitely much colder her up here, but you give and take what you can get. I'm just praying to make this change easy (for us).
The first night we slept here, loud gun shots woke me up in the morning. Normally, a gunshot would mean something really bad happened. But out here, gunshots come from hunters out hunting for ducks, deer, etc. We walked into a gas station the other day, and the people working there had a full conversation about duck hunting! Never in my life (in the city) did I ever hear of people talking about any kind of hunting!
In our condo, everything was walking distance for us. Mall, grocery store, public transportation, etc. Out here, it's a 30 minute drive out to the city. However, we do have local shops which are 5-10 walking distance. (Grocery store, hardware store, convenience store, etc.) We drove out to the city yesterday afternoon and this town seems super pet-friendly! In just a 10 minute drive, we saw pet shop after pet shop after pet shop! I counted and I saw five pet stores almost side by side! This is my kind of town/city! ;)
It is not recommended to drink the tap water, since it comes straight from the lake, so you have to stock up on bottled water for everything. We use it for cooking, drinking, making coffee/tea, and feeding our kitties. Our mail doesn't come straight to our door, like it did in the city. You actually have to either drive (or walk) to the post office and pick it up from there! I haven't met the post office lady yet, but apparently I'll get to know her on a first name basis lol.
One change I found really amusing was the garbage man. Today was our garbage day, so I was expecting a big garbage truck to come up to the house, like the ones we used to see in Toronto. But the garbage man actually came in a small pick up truck!
Since there is no light pollution out here, the star gazing is incredible. The first night we were here was the first time I saw so many stars bunched up together. The last couple of nights, the moon was shining bright, so the stars were not as visible. But on a clear night, it is just amazing.
It's definitely much colder her up here, but you give and take what you can get. I'm just praying to make this change easy (for us).
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Behind the scenes "Organic" Garbage tour at Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre had some booths set up for Earth Day yesterday afternoon. One was set up with colouring pages, one had a "make your own pine cone bird feeders" station, and one had a large glass cylinder filled with plastic bottles. Participants had to guess how many plastic bottles were in the cylinder and the winner will receive a $100 gift certificate for the mall. My favourite was the behind the scenes tour.
Our tour guide took us through the food court, showing us organic waste bins set up next to each garbage can. (Although these bins are meant for food waste ONLY, of course people throw in napkins, plastic forks, and Styrofoam containers, because they are lazy and can't walk less than a second to the garbage can next to it!)
Then he walked us to the back doors, through the long tunnel which lead to the "ORCA" room.
Step 1: Each restaurant in the food court has big plastic bins, where they collect all there food waste (leftover food, fruit/vegetable peels, etc). The "garbage" workers collect all the bins from the mall at the end of each day. (Some restaurants request more bins, depending on how much food waste they collect. Example, places like "Freshly Squeezed" have more bins because of all the fruit peels.)
Step 2: The bins are weighed. The "garbage" workers log in to their log book how much food waste was collected for the day. Some days there's more, some days there's less. On average, about 40-45 bins are collected on a daily basis.
Step 3: The bins are stored in a large refrigerator to prevent the food from rotting and smelling up the room. (Note: The room has it's very own deodorizing system set up, and it actually doesn't smell at all.)
Step 4: The ORCA machine is fed four bins every few hours. It can't take any more than that. Just like our bodies can't eat all our 3 meals in one sitting, neither can the ORCA. The only food it cannot accept is beef bones and oil. The leftover oil is collected in a separate container. The oil is poured into a tank, which transforms the cooking oil into bio fuel.
How the ORCA works is: It has little black pieces in the machine which contain enzymes. The enzymes break up all the food and turns it into water. The ORCA system leaves behind a small amount of residue (like a muddy/pulpy substance), which goes through a mesh (with 0.44 mm small holes) and turns the food waste into water. The water goes through pipes, which leads to a water plant. The water is then purified, and recycled. The entire process (of breaking down the food) takes 24 hours. There's always people monitoring the machine: Two men during the day, and one man on night duty.
The entire system is entirely environmentally friendly. Furthermore, there is no need for trucks to come and pick up food waste, reducing STC's carbon footprint. Scarborough Town Centre is one of the first shopping centres in Canada to develop this technology. Although this system has been in the United States for a while now, it is relatively new to Canada. Other places that use the ORCA system are Credic Valley hospital (in Mississauga), Seneca College (King campus), Costco, and the Metro Convention Centre downtown. The MCC actually has two machines, since they accumulate so much traffic. STC started using the ORCA system about a year ago. Within the last year, they have successfully diverted over 330,000 organic waste from landfills.
The tour was really neat! I've always been fascinated with what happens behind closed doors. I don't know if I'll ever been able to look at the mall the same way again. It was interesting to learn the step-by-step process of what happens to all the food waste. Furthermore, it's nice to know places are starting to use this (environmentally friendly) technique to get rid of garbage!
Our tour guide took us through the food court, showing us organic waste bins set up next to each garbage can. (Although these bins are meant for food waste ONLY, of course people throw in napkins, plastic forks, and Styrofoam containers, because they are lazy and can't walk less than a second to the garbage can next to it!)
Then he walked us to the back doors, through the long tunnel which lead to the "ORCA" room.
Step 1: Each restaurant in the food court has big plastic bins, where they collect all there food waste (leftover food, fruit/vegetable peels, etc). The "garbage" workers collect all the bins from the mall at the end of each day. (Some restaurants request more bins, depending on how much food waste they collect. Example, places like "Freshly Squeezed" have more bins because of all the fruit peels.)
Step 2: The bins are weighed. The "garbage" workers log in to their log book how much food waste was collected for the day. Some days there's more, some days there's less. On average, about 40-45 bins are collected on a daily basis.
Step 3: The bins are stored in a large refrigerator to prevent the food from rotting and smelling up the room. (Note: The room has it's very own deodorizing system set up, and it actually doesn't smell at all.)
Step 4: The ORCA machine is fed four bins every few hours. It can't take any more than that. Just like our bodies can't eat all our 3 meals in one sitting, neither can the ORCA. The only food it cannot accept is beef bones and oil. The leftover oil is collected in a separate container. The oil is poured into a tank, which transforms the cooking oil into bio fuel.
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| The ORCA system |
How the ORCA works is: It has little black pieces in the machine which contain enzymes. The enzymes break up all the food and turns it into water. The ORCA system leaves behind a small amount of residue (like a muddy/pulpy substance), which goes through a mesh (with 0.44 mm small holes) and turns the food waste into water. The water goes through pipes, which leads to a water plant. The water is then purified, and recycled. The entire process (of breaking down the food) takes 24 hours. There's always people monitoring the machine: Two men during the day, and one man on night duty.
The entire system is entirely environmentally friendly. Furthermore, there is no need for trucks to come and pick up food waste, reducing STC's carbon footprint. Scarborough Town Centre is one of the first shopping centres in Canada to develop this technology. Although this system has been in the United States for a while now, it is relatively new to Canada. Other places that use the ORCA system are Credic Valley hospital (in Mississauga), Seneca College (King campus), Costco, and the Metro Convention Centre downtown. The MCC actually has two machines, since they accumulate so much traffic. STC started using the ORCA system about a year ago. Within the last year, they have successfully diverted over 330,000 organic waste from landfills.
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| The clever little guy is the Trademarked Scarborough Town Centre (ORCA) logo |
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| The toilet tank is used as a "power flush" system. The system is flushed several times a day, to avoid a food flood! |
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| This is where the food waste was originally collected, for trucks to come and collect it and take it to landfills. It is now only used for recycling. |
The tour was really neat! I've always been fascinated with what happens behind closed doors. I don't know if I'll ever been able to look at the mall the same way again. It was interesting to learn the step-by-step process of what happens to all the food waste. Furthermore, it's nice to know places are starting to use this (environmentally friendly) technique to get rid of garbage!
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