Pareidolia....Or Is It?

Some people see the Virgin Mary in a water stain and others see Jesus in their pancakes. This condition is known as pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon in which a person tries to find recognizable or significant subject matter in random objects. Sometimes this phenomenon can occur in fairly normal situations, such as when one spots a tree that looks like an old man or a cloud that looks like a fish. But of course, pareidolia can pop up in far weirder locations, such as the above mentioned holy sitings, or, on a more personal level such as with this carrot I had intended to add my to salad the other day. Granted, there is no resemblance of Krishna or Buddha in this carrot, but just look at this carrot and tell me what you see. Very Georgia O'Keefe, if you know what I mean.

Juicin' Like A Fiend

Apparently, I just can't get enough juice these days as I've been drinking at least two juices a day! As my friend Katlin so wisely commented, my Breville centrifugal juicer has indeed become my new favorite toy!

Because it's so fun (and yummy), I thought I'd do a post about some of the juices I've drank in the last two days. They might look a bit nasty, but they taste great. In a few days I'll do a post on the benefits of juicing and why it is better than blending your fruits and veggies. But for now, humor me and enjoy the pictures cataloguing my newest obsession.

Power Juice:

-3 stalks celery

-1 carrot

-1 green apple

-1 broccoli stalk

-1 zucchini

-lemon juice

Comment:

What a powerfully rich and healthy juice! Zucchini, a sadly unappreciated, oft ignored vegetable, is super high in potassium, Vitamin B and C, and calcium. It's also a great thirst quencher and its juice has been drunk for this purpose in tons of cultures worldwide for centuries. Carrots are high in antioxidants and Vitamin A as is celery (which is also high in Vitamin B). Apples are great sources of antioxidants and flavenoids which are important for a healthy heart and heart disease prevention. And lastly, broccoli. Broccoli, which is sometimes called a 'miracle food', is high in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and is known to prevent a number of diseases such as lung cancer, diabetes, tumors, Alzheimer's, stomach and colon cancer, heart disease, and arthritis.

'S' is for 'Saturday' and 'Sinister Juice Bar'

I've been on a juicing binge lately, and, for the past three or so weeks it has been my habit to drink a tall glass of cold, live juice after my bikram class. Today, however, I thought I'd change things up a bit and alter routine...quite a lot.

Instead of heading to Bikram Yoga in Glastonbury for the noon class today, I decided to try out a new yoga studio, West Hartford Yoga, and to take a hot vinyasa class-- my first vinyasa (non-Birkam) yoga class in almost three months!!!

Stepping into the soothing, female empowering confines of the studio, I remembered why I used to love going to vinyasa yoga so much, but during class and after class, I remembered why I switched over to Bikram: I simply get a better workout that stretches, works, challenges, and detoxes my body far better than any other form of yoga. I also have to admit that it's hard to love something that you aren't good at. Although I have been practicing yoga for years, taking a three month hiatus on ashtanga/vinyasa style yoga has really taken its toll on my practice. It's quite bizarre when your body is so fit and competent at one form of excercise and yet completely inept at another.

After class, I decided to drive to a nearby raw food cafe and juice bar that I had read about on the internet rather than drive the 25 minutes home to juice, shower, and do homework. Let's just say, it was a bad decision.