Lucy's BLOG

Aloha Friday full of morning exercise then home to babysit Colin... and more!

4/20/2018

Kahala Mall and Kilauea park are my 2nd and 3rd home!
I was lucky to get a charging station for my EV at 6:45AM at Kahala Mall.
Took my 4 laps and our daughter, Caroline, walked with me, too.
Met with other friends and students before our 8 o'clock Luk Tung Kuen exercise.
LTK is always fun and stimulating among many long time friends of various background.
Took down our audio equipment, then headed off to Kilauea park for setting up our Olelo brand new Sony video cameras for shooting our non-instructional tai chi session. It was our rehearsal for our big event, World Tai Chi Day, our 5th annual at Kahala Mall on April 28, 9:30 AM at center stage area.

Rushed home to put camera equipment away and get ready for baby to be dropped off for the afternoon. He's not quite old enough to enjoy the Iolani fair with his older sibs .

Now that baby is taking a nap, I have time to take pictures of the new produce we have in our home today.

White albino bitter melon home grown by our tai chi students that will be our dinner soon!

and fresh guavas to be enjoyed by us, especially, Andrew and Les, this weekend or made into kale, mango, banana, orange, lemon, soy milk, mint smoothies soon.

Last but not least I will find time to edit our tai chi footage that Ken and Victor filmed for us in preparation for World Tai Chi Day.

Baby fell asleep holding onto his favorite toys while Gungie strolled him...but it's more fun when Grampa keeps baby company!!

Vegan Sticky Rice with taro topped with ribbons of shiso

4/19/2018

and a plump pomegranate from our yard.

Lucy is inspired by Koko Head & Koko Crater...Home Sweet Home

4/19/2018

Lucy Plays Tai Chi in the neighborhood of her childhood days...

4/19/2018

and in the neighborhood where she currently resides!
There is NO place but HOME!!

Never a dull moment...this is happening this very moment, right in the front of our home

4/17/2018

Construction is really going full blast right below our home. The angle is taken from our dining room. We have been fortunate to have had an unobstructed view for 40 years...and we'll still have a nice view, in spite of the 2 story home coming up.
Now we have ring side seats to observe how a home is built, lots of action, lots of excitement in the privacy of our own home!

We can still see ships sailing by!

Another vegan creation...2 separate dishes blended into 1: Sticky rice, like joong blended with taro Shiitake sesame stir fry

4/17/2018

Today's experiment was quite tasty!

The combination of ingredients flavored with the right seasoning in essentially two different dishes were then blended to make one big entree.
The sticky rice dish was steamed with peanuts, black eye peas and red dates. It was seasoned with heong liu fun, or Chinese 5 spice, and vegetarian oyster sauce and finely chopped fresh ginger.
The taro mix was seasoned with fermented tofu, bean paste, vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil and seeds, and fresh turmeric.
Garden fresh Chinese sweet peas and green beans were pan fried lightly for texture and crunch.
Together, garnish with shiso, Okinawa spinach, green onions and chives.

Roast Teriyaki Chicken for the grandkids, Vegan brown rice with steamed veggies for the adults...

4/16/2018

We each have our own food preference and we try to accommodate everybody.

Lucy's Aina Koa Non-Instructional Session...Yang 24 Tai Chi

4/16/2018

Popo & Gungie babysit baby Colin, Sophia and Andrew tonight...we all had such a nice time!

4/15/2018

Baby was so happy to be able to brush his own teeth he wouldn't let go of his toothbrush!

It's 9pm so Popo can now relax and put together a slideshow and video of tonight's fun activities.

After Andrew's baseball game our grand kids came over to shower and relax before dinner.

Gungie poached fish for dinner...Popo couldn't feed baby fast enough as he loved the seasoning.

Baby took a short nap while Popo cleaned up the kitchen.

Popo's tai chi programs were on and we played and watched tv.

Baby insisted on his own toothbrush as he watched Andrew and Sophia brush their teeth.

While Gungie was telling bedtime stories Popo calls them out of the bedroom to watch themselves on television! Just by coincidence the program that Popo had submitted to Olelo was our trip to Hawaii Island. So the grand kids got to see themselves on t.v.

Even baby made his debut on Olelo 54, staring at himself!

The video below shows the many more things we did this evening, such as playing on Popo's piano, the exact same one she played on some 60 years ago! Andrew and Sophia also played some games on Popo's laptop. But, the very best experience was watching themselves on Popo's television program. By coincidence, what was broadcasted was one Popo had made when we were on Hawaii Island. Sophia, Andrew and Colin got to see themselves on TV. What an unexpectedly surprise and treat!

P.S. Sunday morning update:
Everyone slept well, last night. We all woke up at 6AM and had a nice breakfast of over easy eggs on brown rice with soy milk or homemade smoothie.
Later, the others left for Sophia's basketball game at Kilauea park and then to the UH baseball game, Popo and Gungie continue to watch baby Colin!

Never too late to taste veggies for the first time...gandule, or pigeon peas, a popular bean in Puerto Rican dishes, and other home grown veggies our tai chi friends shared with us

4/13/2018

lucy cooked Puerto Rican tonight...well sort of ! Here is a vegan dish using gandule beans with brown rice with kale, corn, mushroom, turmeric, ginger, garlic, seasoned with cumin, pepper, tomato sauce, with garden herbs of fresh oregano, rosemary, and green onion...oops almost forgot the olive chopped fine.

Our green salad was enhanced with garden grown shiso or perilla or beefsteak plant along with the purple Okinawan spinach, also home grown. The shiso was prepared carefully using the chiffonade technique.

We hope that with all these flavorful, colorful, new tasting veggies and legumes, we can move towards a healthier life style!
P.S. It's never too late to try some new veggies and acquire some new taste to expand our taste buds!

Friday Non Instructional Session at Kilauea Park was another FULL House as you can see...

4/13/2018

everydaytaichi lucy's 5th Annual World Tai Chi Day, 2018, Program at Kahala Mall on Saturday, 9:30-10:30AM on April 28

4/12/2018

Click here to learn more about lucy's World Tai Chi Day 2017 Kahala Mall event.

Please join us at Kahala Mall center stage area by Starbucks and the Apple Store for our annual World Tai Chi Day event from 9:30-10:30AM. Our everydaytaichi students along with lucy will perform tai chi for the community in celebration of the international celebration of World Tai Chi & Chi Kung Day, held annually on the last Saturday in the month of April. This is a FREE event open to all.

Ken's fish dish...poached branzino

4/12/2018

It tastes as good as it looks!

How your next meal could help fight depression and stress

4/12/2018

FOOD AND DIET

How your next meal could help fight depression and stressBy Max Lugavere
Updated 5:43 AM ET, Tue March 20, 2018
Story highlights

Whole, healthy foods provide micronutrients that help the brain better cope with stress
Sugar and highly refined, processed oils have been linked to mental health issues

(CNN)Do you find that food deeply affects your mood? Science is beginning to back up such gut feelings.

The link between poor diet and mood disorders has been long known, but what has been less clear is the direction of causality. When we're depressed, we tend to reach for lower-quality comfort foods, but can more comfort foods contribute to depression? And if we're depressed, can improving our diets improve our symptoms?
New research is helping to pave the way toward greater clarity. One small but important trial was recently published from Deakin University's Food and Mood Centre (the center's very name a testament this burgeoning line of research). It involved men and women who were taking antidepressants and/or were in regular psychotherapy.

25 (scientific) happiness hacks
All of the 67 subjects had unhealthy diets at the start, with low intakes of fruits and vegetables, little daily dietary fiber and lots of sweets, processed meats and salty snacks. Half of the subjects were then placed on a healthy diet focusing on extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and grass-fed beef. The other half continued eating their usual diets and were required to attend social support sessions.
Before and after the three-month study, the subjects' symptoms were graded on a common depression scale. After three months of healthier eating, those in the intervention group saw their scores improve on average by about 11 points. Thirty-two percent had achieved scores so low that they no longer met criteria for depression. Meanwhile, people in the social support group with no dietary intervention improved by only about 4 points; only 8% achieved remission.
What this early research demonstrates is that even for patients with major depression, food may be a powerful antidepressant. And with no negative side effects.
One way a healthier diet may improve one's mood is through our bodies' immune systems. The same process by which we respond to acute injuries or threats also puts out fires initiated by our diets and lifestyles. That's why poor diet can lead to chronic low-grade inflammation, a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and even Alzheimer's disease. These sorts of illnesses now account for 60% of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Stress eating helps, when they're these superfoods
Though the mechanisms linking inflammation to depression are just beginning to be understood, other studies involving compounds with a known anti-inflammatory effect, such as curcumin (a component of the spice turmeric), have also demonstrated some efficacy in reducing symptoms. Though the studies are small and warrant further research, they strengthen the notion that depression may be the brain's response to inflammation in the body, at least for some.
Whole, healthy foods also provide micronutrients that help the brain better cope with daily stress. Today, with 90% of Americans deficient in at least one vitamin or mineral, it has left our brains weaponless as it attempts to repair from the damage. Case in point: Nearly 50% of Americans don't consume enough magnesium, a mineral involved in DNA repair. And yet it is easily found in foods such as almonds, spinach and avocado.
Some of the most nutrient-dense foods include dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, eggs and even properly raised red meat. A large study found that women who consumed less than three to four servings of red meat per week were twice as likely to have a diagnosed depressive or anxiety disorder. The study was performed in Australia, where more of their meat comes from grass-fed cows, a caveat the researchers call out as noteworthy.

What foods should we avoid consuming to maintain a healthy, balanced mood? Sugar and highly refined, processed oils, which include canola, corn and soybean oil (the use of which has skyrocketed up to 1,000% over the past century). These foods have been linked to mental health issues including depression, and both now saturate our food supply, constituting in large part the ultra-processed foods that now make up 60% of our caloric intake. These foods, when consumed chronically, drive inflammation and deplete our bodies' protective resources, compounding the damage done.
Although the science regarding diet and mood has a long way to go before being settled, there's little reason to wait given that switching to a healthier diet may help and is definitively better for your overall health. Research suggests that a better diet may even be easier on your wallet.Max Lugavere is a health and science journalist and the author of "Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life."

Nice salad for lunch...

4/12/2018

To our organic home grown Manoa lettuce we added more from ken's garden: tender watercress, sweet baby kale, crunchy green pepper, moringa, Japan tomato and store bought mushrooms. Topped off with our dill vinaigrette, shoyu garlic ginger turmeric with li hing mango infused sauce. Last but not least, a slice of walnut cranberry toast with a mug of Chinese green tea.