A New Raw Experience 生机新体验

It's been some time since I started on a diet of a mixture of raw and cooked vegetables. Along the way, I've read many accounts of how people who switched to a mostly or completely raw diet managed to stick to it. Simply because RAW is too wonderful. You feel more alert, lighter, fresher, etc etc, and probably, the bottom line is: raw simply tastes better.

改变饮食已有一段时间，基本上我每日饮食生熟参半。这过程当中，参考过不少人的经验，他们为什么能彻底改变饮食，坚持完全生食，或者大部分生食？因为生鲜蔬菜实在太棒了，吃了感觉更精神奕奕，更轻盈自在，更神采飞扬，等等等等。但是最根本的原因似乎很简单：没煮过的生菜好吃多了。

I'm glad I've never disliked raw vegetables, so there never was any struggle with accepting raw. But to me most vegetables were good, whether raw or cooked (except overly cooked vege). I hadn't come to the stage where my body could tell me that raw cabbage was decidedly superior than cooked cabbage. Even though it wasn't difficult to accept the logic that cooked food is dead food, that remained as knowledge in my brains, my body couldn't sense it.

我庆幸自己从来没有讨厌过生菜，所以改变饮食对我来说一点也不困难。但是，不管是生菜或是熟菜，我都很喜欢（除非是煮得太烂的）。煮熟的蔬菜是失去了生命力的东西，这个道理我觉得相当容易接受，但是这只是我知性上的理解，我并未能透过自身的饮食很直接地体会一块没煮过的生包菜如何胜于一块熟包菜。

But recently, while I was having lunch and munching my food, all of a sudden, I felt a sudden jerk. Hey, what's this thing that tastes so wonderful? And I realized it was the purple cabbage. I've always liked salads, but I couldn't feel the 'vibrancy' of raw vegetables. But that day, it was quite a direct experience, my body was telling me that the shreds of crunchy purple leaves were what it really needed. I always wondered what 'high energy food' meant, I've never been someone sensitive to 'energy levels', but that moment, I thought, this raw cabagge IS high energy food, this is real nourishment for the flesh.

然而不久前，一天，我正吃着午饭，吃着吃着，猛然一阵觉醒，嘴里咬着的菜怎么这么可口无比，这到底是什么？再看看我盘中的菜，才发现是沙拉里的紫包菜。虽然我向来很喜欢沙拉，但是我从来感觉不到所谓生菜的“生命力”。可是那天的经验是很直接的，似乎我的身体在告诉我，那爽口鲜脆的生菜，才是我身体真正需要的滋养。以前我总是想，到底何谓“高能量”食物？我向来对所谓的“能量”是相当迟钝的人，但是那一刻，我感觉到，那生的包菜就是高能量食物，是我们肉体真正的养分来源。

It was quite a revelation. All of a sudden, the rest of the cooked vegetables paled considerably. Cooking kills the enzymes and rids the vegetables of vitality and nutrients, blah blah blah... These no longer seem to be merely theory...

那是相当巨大的震撼。霎时间，盘中其他熟菜变得相形见绌。烹煮的过程把蔬菜宝贵的酵素、营养、生命力都消灭掉，等等之类的论说，刹那间好像不再只是理论了……

Wow...

太不可思议了。

I was at a meditation retreat when this episode happened. Even though I fared terribly terribly terribly badly during the meditation sessions, I can't help wondering if this sudden realization had anything to do with all the meditation practice. After all, our total well being is multi-dimensional.

这是我日前在静坐闭关时的体验。虽然我静坐做得简直是糟透了烂透了差劲极了，但是我还是禁不住想，这跟我的静修有没有什么关系呢？怎么说，所谓健康，是身、心、灵各方面的平衡，不是吗？

你今天便便几次了？How many times have you moved your bowels?

这是我跟老公之间常有的对话。

This is a common dialogue between me and my husband.

“哇，我今天已经5次了呢！”

"Wow, I've moved my bowels 5 times today!"

“真的啊？我今天才两次呢！”

"Oh really? I've only cleared twice..."

是不是觉得我们真是无聊恶心，真是低级趣味。或者觉得，一天排这么多次身体有毛病？

Perhaps you're thinking, what disgusting conversations we have. Or you might think that there's something wrong with us moving our bowels so many times?

那么，你每天便便几次呢？还是，一星期便便几次呢？

So how many times do you move your bowels each day? Or perhaps, how many times do you move your bowels a week?

要是你每天都便一次，很抱歉，你便秘了。要是你两三天排一次，你是极度严重便秘。不骗你，我最不喜欢给人惊吓。

If it's once a day, I'm sorry, you're constipated. If you do it once in every 2 or 3 days, then you are pretty much severely constipated. I'm not lying, I don't enjoy frightening people.

我大概是3年前左右开始发现自己一天排便平均至少两次（有时候3、4次，最高纪录是7次）。那时候还不知道一天排一次其实也是便秘，但是觉得自己身体这新现象很有意思，于是跟一位正在学中医的朋友分享。她说，一天两次还可以吧，3、4次就太多了。当我跟人提起我最高纪录是7次时，一般对方会有点理直气壮地说，那是腹泻！哈哈，我不是腹泻。（其实，最高纪录那天我是做蔬果汁断呢，有意思吧？）

It was about maybe 3 years ago when I first noticed I had bowel movements at least twice a day (sometimes 3 or 4 times; my highest record was 7 times). I didn't know that once a day was constipation then, but I thought this phenomenon was something very interesting, so I shared this new experience with a friend who was learning traditional Chinese medicine. She told me that twice a day was acceptable, but 3 or 4 times wasn't quite right. Whenever I mention my highest record of 7 times, people tend to think I'm absurd, and say, that's diarrhea! Oh, but it's not diarrhea... (Actually, I was having a juice fast on this day of my highest record, interesting huh?)

怎么会这么多次呢？一般我起床以后，半小时以内会排第一次。然后吃完早饭，排第二次。下午或晚上，再排第三次、第四次。但是，也并不是每天都这么顺利，比如，要是那天有跟平常不一样的活动，或者一天在外头，那我几乎一定便秘。我有心理病，只要在不熟悉的地方，或是在不能让我完全放松的地方，我就不能排便，或者不想排便。所以我不喜欢一天到晚都在外头吧，因为，有便意却不能顺利如厕，是很辛苦的。

How do I manage to clear my bowels so many times? Usually within half an hour after getting up, I'll go once. Then after breakfast, I'll go a second time, and then another once or twice in the afternoon or at night. Ocassionally it doesn't go so smoothly though, typically when there's some activity that's out of my routine, or when I'm outside for a long time, then I would almost definitely end up constipated. I'm psychologically not right somewhere, if I'm somewhere I'm not familiar, or somewhere I can't totally relax, I just can't get my bowels going, or sometimes, I refuse to. That's I guess one of the reasons why I don't like to be outside the whole day, it's a torture feeling the need to clear your bowels yet not able to do so.

我并不觉得自己现在这样就算肠胃健康了。但是，跟过去比较，是非常大的进步。以前，我总是要么便秘，要么腹泻，肠胃从小就不好。不久前，妈妈告诉我一个我婴儿时期的趣事。她说，我是宝宝的时候跟其他兄弟姐妹不同，一天到晚睡觉，不吵闹，连便便也是两三天一次，那时候奶奶等人都感叹说，真是天生爱干净！这样的宝宝很好带吧？又省尿布。但是，现在才知道那是极端不正常，天生肠胃有问题，两三天排一次，里面是多么脏啊！（宝宝虽然只喝奶，还是应该一天排几次的。）我还记得，小时候很怕跟妈妈去Cold Storage超市，不知道为什么，一到那里，因为冷吧，我几乎一定肚子疼。

Although I generally move my bowels 3 times a day, I don't think that qualifies me to say that my digestive system is very healthy. However, compared to how I was like, I've improved lots. In the past, I either was constipated or had loose bowels, my digestive system had never been well. My mum told me something interesting about my baby days recently. She said I was quite different from my siblings, when I was a baby, I never gave much of a din, I would sleep day and night, even when it came to moving my bowels, I would do it only once in 2 or 3 days. My grandmother commented, what a clean baby! I was an easy baby to take care of wasn't I? I must have saved my parents quite a lot on diapers. But now, we know that I was clean outside, but horribly filthy inside, my digestive system wasn't working well right from the beginning. (Even though babies only drink milk, still their bowels should be cleared a few times a day.) I also remember that when I was young, I didn't like to go to Cold Storage with my mum for shopping, it might be because of the cold, my stomach would almost always give me problems whenever I was there.

那怎么现在一天为什么能最少两次，平均三次，多则四、五次呢？当我知道一天排一次其实太少以后，感到颇为惊喜，好像获得了很宝贵的讯息。我回想自己开始多排便的时候，正是我开始常吃糙米饭、吃沙拉的时候。

Then how come now I can do it at least 2 times, on average 3 times a day, or even 4 or 5 times on certain days? When I first found out that once a day was too little, I was quite pleasantly surprised, it was like I discovered some really wonderful news. I looked back and realized that the time when I started having frequent bowel movements was the time when I started having regular meals of brown rice and salads.

我们吃东西，目的是摄取营养。当然现在一般人不是这样，吃东西只是因为嘴馋，我也是……。但好在我们的身体比我们聪明，比我们理智，比我们伟大。我们身体是一个很大很复杂的工厂，尽管我们身为身体的主人，我们并不了解这工厂日以继夜如何为我们拼命，但是，它还是这么默默地为我们劳作。尽管我们总是对它施与各种压力，总是往里边倒入各种它根本不能接受的垃圾，它还是这么任劳任怨。遗憾的是，再棒的工厂，也不可能永远这么受尽虐待却依然坚固。

We eat to receive nutrients. Of course, most people today don't, we eat to enjoy ourselves, that's me too! But we're lucky that our body is smarter and wiser than us, it's so much more remarkable than us. Our body is an enourmous and complex factory. Despite how we, the owners, being so ignorant of how it works, bombard it with all kinds of pressure, dumping into it all kinds of waste that it can't take, our body toils for us day and night with no complaint. Nevertheless, however well made a factory is, it's just a matter of time that it succumbs to torture.

我常常懊悔，为什么自己对人体的构造这么不熟悉？不，应该说是一无所知。肝在那里，肺在哪里，什么是大肠，什么是小肠，很丢人，我都不知道。是因为我以前学习不好？又或者，我们的教育也并不太重视这方面？正如Norman Walker所说，我们每个人都应该好好认识我们的身体。我记得，升中三的时候，我就希望能修读生物。其实凡科学的科目我都想回避，但是既然要学，就学生物吧，我觉得，生物好应该比化学或者物理有意思多了。我这么告诉姐姐，一下子被她泼了冷水：想得可真美！原来，生物是要学习非常好才可以选修的，我连物理和化学都搞不定了，还学生物？我偏偏对学校要我先学会的物理和化学都没兴趣，或者说，讨厌到了极点，害怕到了极点，但是，身体是个什么样的东西，生命是怎么来的，我倒是感到相当有意思。不过，我总是觉得，这也是塞翁失马，焉知非福，因为，我怎么可能对动物做解剖？甚至，我庆幸我不需要做这样的事。我生生世世都不干这种事。

I often think in regret, why do I know so little about our body? Or rather, I should say, I know nothing about it. Where is our liver? And the lungs? And what's the colon? What are small intestines? It's a great shame, but I knew nothing of these. Perhpas I did too badly in school, that's why. Or perhaps, our system doesn't put much importance on this? Just like what Norman Walker said, everybody should learn about the anatomy of the human body. When I was moving on to Secondary 3, I thought maybe I should take up biology. Actually, if possible I'd want to avoid any science subjects, but since I had to learn them anyway, biology seemed a good choice. It seemed much more interesting than physics of chemistry. When I reported to my elder sister of my decision, she dampened my enthusiasm by telling me that biology was for those who did well on physics and chemistry. Oh, I see... I couldn't even handle those two, much less biology. Unfortunately, I didn't care for what the system wanted me to study as basics, in fact, I hated physics and chemistry, I was scared of these subjects, especially chemistry. But how the body works, what our body is like, what nature is like, what life is all about, I found these quite worthy of pursuing. But on hind sight, I think it was a blessing in disguise. How would I have been able to cut up animals? And I think I was lucky that I didn't have to do so, this is something I won't want to do in all my future lives.

在这里我也不敢冒充专家，只是略略把自己所学到的传达一下。

I won't try to pose as an expert here, I'll just share a bit of what I've learnt.

打从我们把食物放进嘴里，身体这大工厂就已经开工了。如果你是习惯囫囵吞枣的人，请注意，吃东西一定要细嚼慢咬。因为，当我们咀嚼的时候，口腔就会分泌唾液和酵素，这就减轻了我们胃部的负担。究竟要咀嚼多少次呢？有的说，至少也要三四十次，有的说五六十次，甚至有说一百次的。(《大长今》里头告诉我们至少10次，天啊，那实在是太少了，太少了！）有一次，我跟几个朋友吃饭，我们做了试验，朋友咀嚼20次，就吞下去了，我咀嚼了60次。20次，怎么咽得下去呢……当然，咀嚼多少次也得看是什么食物。我想，还好我天生吃东西吃得慢，要不然，我这天生不好的肠胃，不是更辛苦了？

As soon as food enters our mouth, our body starts working. If you're someone who gobbles up your food, then please take note. Chewing well makes for good digestion. As we chew, saliva and enzymes are secreted, which helps lessen the work load of our stomach. How many times should we chew? There are different theories, some say 30 to 40 times, some 50 to 60 times, some even a hundred! (If you've watched Jewel In The Palace, it's mentioned that we should chew 10 times, that's way too few!) Once, when lunching with some friends, we did a little experiment. My friend chewed 20 times and swallowed her food, while I chewed 60 times. I wouldn't have been able to swallow down what was in my mouth with just 20 chews. Of course, how long to chew would also depend on the type of food consumed. I think I'm lucky to have been born a slow eater. Had I been fast, how much more burden would my already weak digestive system have to bear?

食物吃到身体里，我们的胃、大肠小肠就开始忙碌了。不只是肠胃忙哦，其他的器官也不偷懒的，比方说我们的肝，它可是大功臣，工作多着呢，其中一个是帮我们解毒。别跟以前的我一样，以为只有杀虫剂啦，吃了马上就吐白沫倒下死去的那种东西才是毒。我们每天在外面买来包装得精美无比的所谓“美食”，在在都是毒！对身体是负荷的东西，身体所不能好好消化，善加利用的，都是毒。我们喝的酒，吃的药，无一不是毒。而无所不在的动物的肉，都是毒。（这是个大话题，这里不详说。）

As the food enters our body, our stomach and intestines start working. It's not just them who slave away, our other organs don't laze around either. For example, our liver has lots of tasks to manage, one of its functions is to help us remove poisons. If you're like how I was, thinking that poisons are stuff like insecticides or things that make you cough out white foam and drop dead immediately upon ingestion, then you're wrong. Poison is nicely wrapped up in the seemingly delicious "food" that we buy from outside. Anything that the body can't properly digest or make use of, is poison. The alcohol that we drink, the medicines that we take, these are all toxins. The different forms of meat that we find everywhere, these are all poisons. (This is a very big topic that I shan't dwelve on here.)

……写到这里，感到有点吃力了，已经江郎才尽，啊哈哈！既然我不是专家，那就跳过这工厂的工作程序吧……改天我会再介绍一些书，有兴趣的朋友请直接跟专家学习。

... Ok, the above has proven to be quite tough for me... haha. Since I'm not an expert, let me skip the workings of our wonderful factory. I'll be introducing some more books, so those interested can learn directly from the real experts.

那么回到排便的问题。一般的说法是，理想的是每天排一次。但是，也常听说，两三天排一次也是正常的。真的正常吗？

Back to the matter of bowel movement. It is generally thought that once a day is ideal. We also hear that once in every 2 or 3 days is acceptable too. But is this true?

我们的粪便是什么？为什么这么臭？因为是我们身体不需要的东西，是身体的负担，是身体希望早点排出的废物。也就是，我们吃进去以后，经过身体细细分解，身体所要淘汰，所要扔掉的东西。

What are feces? Why do they smell so terrible? Because they are what our body doesn't need, they are a burden to our system, they are something that our body wants badly to remove as soon as possible. That is, they are what our body, after doing all the breaking down, classifies as unwanted, as waste matter to be discarded.

那一天为什么要排便数次呢？并不是我们吃完一顿饭，马上就把刚吃进去的排出来。早上排出来的，是昨天吃进去的，下午晚上排出来的，则是早上吃进去的。正如Ray Kent常常说，这就像我们的地铁。出发了，当然要到站，要是出发了不到站，那是不是很诡异？你要是一天吃一餐，那一天排一次就正常得很。

Then why do we need to move our bowels a few times a day? It's not that what we eat comes out immediately after every meal. What comes out in the morning is what we ate yesterday, similarly what comes out in the afternoon or at night is what we had in the morning. Just like how Ray Kent puts it, it's like our train system. If a train departs, of course it has to reach somewhere. If it doesn't, wouldn't it be extremely bizarre? Unless of course, you eat only one meal a day. That would make one bowel movement a day perfectly ok.

我们吃进去的东西，离开胃以后，慢慢就进入了小肠大肠，胃空了，我们就开始想吃东西了，因此又开始进食。那么之前吃的东西现在在哪里呢？到了肠子了，算是成了粪便了，也就是身体不要的毒素，但是，要是我们纤维不够，就等于我们体内少了清道夫这么至关重要的员工。没有清道夫，垃圾就这么停滞在里头，累积在里头了！想想，这多可怕啊！废物留在里头越久，就失去越多水分，变得越干，越难排出来，慢慢就粘在我们的肠壁，越积越多，也就是我们常听到的素便（宿便）。也许有人会说，素便多就多嘛，有什么大不了？既然是毒素，为什么让它留在体内？我们的身体是一个有机体，我们的身体是活物，器官之间都互相影响，肠子里毒素累积多了，当然会影响我们身体其他部位的正常运作。这些毒素累积多了，我们各种各样的慢性病也就来了。其实，现代人几乎都有很多素便，就是像我们一天排3、4次，也是素便多多！

As food leaves our stomach, it enters the small intestines and colon. Our stomach, being empty now, calls us to feed it with the next batch of food. And so we succumb to the call and start eating the next meal. By this time, what has happened to the food that we had previously? It's already in the instestines, pretty much having become fecal matter and getting ready to leave our body. However, if our fibre intake is insufficient, it's akin to having an important post vacant inside, that is, the post of the sweeper in our body. Without him, waste accumulates inside, don't you think this is really gross? The longer waste matter stays inside, the more moisture it loses, and so the harder it becomes, and the more difficult it is to pass out. It then sticks on the walls of our colon, and when it accumulates, that becomes what we call old fecal matter. Some people might say, what's the big deal about old fecal matter？Well, since it's unwanted toxins, why leave it inside? Our body is a living organism, the different organs all affect one another in an intricate way. If the intestines are clogged up and unwell, of course it will affect the workings of our other organs. As toxins accumulate, we'll find that we're plagued with all kinds of chronic illnesses. In fact, the vast majority of people today have accumulated quite a whole lot of old waste inside them. Even people like me who move their vowels 3 times a day!

常常听人说自己肠胃不好，似乎这是通病，是人人都有的，司空见惯的，不足为奇的小毛病。其实，我们深入去思考一下，就不难发现，肠胃不健康，身体不可能健康。有的人可能其他方面好像很好，但是，那可能只是病症还没有爆发出来。要照顾好身体，首先就要照顾好肠胃。肠胃健康，我们的身体才有可能健康。肠胃怎么才能健康呢？因素很多，但是，饮食是至关重要的，也是我们最能掌握的一环。

We often hear people say that they have digestive problems, or something near that. It seems to be a pretty common problem, so common that I wonder if people consider it trivial. But in fact if we think deeper, we'll realize that a weak digestive system can't possibly result in good health. Some people might seem ok in other aspects, but seriously, couldn't it be just that other problems just haven't risen to the surface? To take care of our health, first we have to take care of our digestive system. Many factors have to be taken into consideration, but first and foremost, our eating habits are crucial. They are also one factor that is within our control.

我们常说病从口入，但是，多少人真正体会到这句话的精髓？

You are what you eat. This is a very common saying, but how many people truly understand this and keep it in mind?

很多所谓的食物，是我们身体根本无法吸收的东西，是有害物。什么东西不该吃呢，这恐怕要长篇大论一番了，今天就不多谈了。但是借用姜淑惠医师的话，肉、蛋、奶，都是今天社会的三大毒素。你要是不能断掉这三大毒，至少，少吃点吧？

Many 'foods' are in fact not stuff that our body can take in, and are harmful to our health. What are the things that we shouldn't eat? This would produce another lengthy post, so I shan't drive in on that. But to summarize using Dr Jiang Shuhui's words, the 3 leading poisons of today's society are meat, egg and milk. If you can't discontinue consumption of these, maybe you can try cutting down on them?

至于什么东西应该多吃，这倒是简单一些。除了上次我提过的蔬果汁以外，我们还应该多吃纤维。从哪里摄取？蔬菜、水果。而且应该尽量吃生的。生鲜蔬菜水果饱含了我们身体真正需要的营养，别煮熟了煮烂了，把这些宝贵的营养都毁掉了，那多可惜，多浪费！另外，只吃肉不吃菜的朋友可能会很失望：肉类都没有纤维，吃了只是白白给身体添加毒素负担。

As for what we should consume, I guess this is simpler. Apart from juice, which I recommended in a previous blog, get a high intake of fibre from fresh vegetables and fruits. As far as possible, try to take them raw. Raw vege and fruits contain such an abundance of nutrients that our body needs, it's such a waste to cook them and hence destroy the nutrients! Another point, no fibre is available in meat. Meat only gives your system unnecessary burden with its loads of toxins.

你今天便便了吗？几次了呢？

So, have you moved your bowels today? How many times?

方麒招牌沙拉 FQ's specialty

方麒招牌沙拉，这名字起得这么响，脸皮真够厚，哈哈。

Let me present FQ's specialty... oh, that's a bit too thick skinned...LOL！

只不过是家里常吃的沙拉，没什么大不了。不过，这是我最喜欢的！喜欢的原因有：

It's just our staple salad, nothing great, but it's my favourite! Reasons I like it:

1）是咸味的。虽然我很喜欢甜品，但是一般我都偏好咸味食物，比如说包子，我偏好咸味的，如菜包。再比如豆沙饼，我不喜欢纯甜味的豆沙饼，喜欢咸豆沙饼。

1) It's salty, not sweet. Although I love desserts, generally I prefer salty foods to sweet ones. Take buns for example, I prefer salty ones like vegetable buns. Another example, tau sar piah, I usually go for the salty version, not the sweet one.

2）可跟小米饭、荞麦面搭配，没什么闲空做饭的时候，也可简单凑成一餐。

2) It can be topped on millet rice or soba noodles. When I have not much time for meal preparation, this would easily make a simple one.

3）沙拉酱三两下子就调好了，快速简单。

3) The dressing is easy to make.

沙拉酱调料：

麻油 5汤匙

有机酱青 12汤匙

日本甜酒味醂 5汤匙

龙舌兰甜浆 5汤匙

柠檬汁 2汤匙

Dressing ingredients:

Sesame oil 5 tbsp

Organic Soy Sauce 12 tbsp

Mirin 5 tbsp

Agave Nectar 5 tbsp

Lemon Juice 2 tbsp

我觉得跟以下蔬菜是绝配：

包菜

西芹

豆苗

生菜（生菜有太多种了，我都弄不清楚，不过我觉得Romaine Lettuce/ Cos Lettuce较好吃）

红萝卜

小番茄

苜蓿芽

榨蔬果汁剩下的红萝卜渣

I think the dressing goes well with the following:

Cabbage

Celery

Doumiao

Lettuce (I prefer Romaine Lettuce/ Cos Lettuce)

Carrot

Cherry Tomatoes

Alfafa

Left over carrot pulp from my morning juice

一般我几乎一定用的有包菜、豆苗、小番茄和苜蓿芽，因为最容易买到，它们都是家里冰箱的常客。我一般会把所有蔬菜都切得比较细。包菜当然要切细，红萝卜当然要切丝（现在我用红萝卜渣，所以这工夫就省了）。甚至小番茄，我也切成四半。外面吃的豆苗（沙拉）一般都不切，长长的一条，当然这样比较美观，而且看起来分量也多，但是我觉得吃起来有点不方便，在家里我喜欢把它切成几节。也许喜欢食物切成小块只是各人癖好，但是真的，切得大或小，会影响口感，因此就影响味道了。特别是沙拉，生鲜蔬菜本来就要细嚼慢咬，口感很重要。

I almost always use cabbage, doumiao, cherry tomatoes and alfafa, because these are the most easily available ones, they are the 'regulars' in my fridge. I like to cut my vege into small pieces. Cabbage will have to be chopped finely, carrots will have to be shredded (but now I use my carrot pulp, so I don't shred carrots anymore). Even for cherry tomatoes, I usually cut them into four. As for doumiao, in restaurants, usually they are not cut, this makes for better presentation, and it would appear that it's a generous portion! But at home, I chop it up. It might be just be a personal preference, I tend to prefer food made into smaller pieces, but really, I think size does matter in food preparation, especially salads, which calls for thorough chewing, finely chopped vege makes a salad so much more yummy.

淋上沙拉酱后再撒上：

松子（我酷爱松子，觉得吃这沙拉松子必不可少！但是松子容易坏，记得一定要存在冰箱）

南瓜子

葵花子

葡萄干

营养酵母或者三宝粉（大豆卵磷脂、啤酒酵母与小麦胚芽，一般有机店都买得到）

After pouring the dressing, add:

Pine nuts (I love pine nuts and I think they are indispensable in this salad, but they turn rancid very fast, so remember to store them in the fridge)

Pumpkin seeds

Sunflower seeds

Raisins

Nutritional yeast or '3 treasure powder' (which consists of wheat germ, lecithin and brewer's yeast flakes, available in most organic shops)

其实，这酱料也算是偷学来的吧。以前工作时，常常在明治屋买沙拉，很巧，料理师傅也是吃素的，我跟他买就觉得放心，因为有时候不吃素的人不知道我们不吃什么，偶尔菜里会找到一些我们不能吃的东西，比如葱头大蒜。那时候我做沙拉还是新手，总是苦恼沙拉酱怎么都是甜味的或者都是用坚果调配的。所以吃到他们的沙拉，真是如获至宝！虽然结果调配出来的味道跟他们的不怎么像，但是也不比他们的逊色哦。

Actually I learnt this dressing from a food stall in Meidiya. One of the cooks happened to be vegetarian too, so I felt at ease buying from him. (Sometimes non-vegetarian cooks might give me stuff that I don't eat, like onion/ garlic.) I was still very new at making salads then, and was looking for salty salad dressings. I wondered why the dressings that I came across were either sweet ones or nut based. So when I tried their salad, I thought, wow, this is what my taste buds have been yearning for! Although the dressing I've come up with isn't quite the same as theirs, but it's comparable =)

这沙拉跟荞麦面一起吃（摇身一变成为日本料理Soba Salad！），或者跟小米饭一起吃，都很不错。（做小米饭的话，小米听说可以不预先泡水，但是只要有时间，我一定先泡一泡。水分跟小米相等，比例是一比一。）

This salad goes well with soba (just top it on soba and it becomes soba salad!), or with millet rice. I've heard that millet rice need not be pre-soaked, but I usually do so unless I don't have the time. The ratio of water to millet is 1:1.

这是拌好的小米沙拉：

This is my half eaten millet salad:

以上调料的分量是偏多的，因为这是我常用的沙拉酱，所以总是多做。一般配好以后，我一人份的沙拉（一大碗）用大概2、3汤匙（要是你不怎么特别爱吃沙拉，那可能1汤匙就绰绰有余了），跟小米饭或者荞麦面可能就5、6汤匙吧。别放太多，免得凉拌面变成咸汤面了。

The dressing recipe above is a little voluminous. I use this dressing pretty frequently, so I usually make more of it. I'll use about 2 or 3 tbsp for a typical serving for myself (1 big bowl, if you're not a salad fan like me, then perhaps 1 tbsp would be more than enough), with millet rice or soba salad, I'll use about 5 or 6 tbsp. Not too much, unless you want to end up with salty soup noodles...

不嫌麻烦的话，还可以掺一点姜丝，不但味道更香，也可以去寒（如果你觉得吃沙拉很‘寒’的话……）。

If you don't think it troublesome, you might want to add some finely shredded ginger, it would taste nicer, and also would be less 'cooling', that is, if you think salads are 'cooling'...

Why this blog? 部落格缘起

LY kind of mocked me for having become an avid blogger.

被利源嘲弄，说我现在一天到晚在打部落格。

Indeed, now when I'm at home and not busy in the kitchen or with other housework, I'm pretty much stuck with BLOGSPOT. I'm not a natural writer, I don't even have much ability to keep my thoughts clear and lucid. I wish words would flow freely out of my fingers, and end up neat and tidy in persuasive paragraphs on the monitor. Now I'm kind of back to my schooling days, spending so much time trying to perfect essay assignments. And I even try to impress my lecturer with an attached translation!

确实啊。现在我不是泡在厨房里或者忙着别的家事，就是成天跟BLOGSPOT为伴。我不是天生的作家，甚至连保持思路清晰的能力也没有。我多么希望我的思绪能自我调整，不用我特别费神指挥就整整齐齐透过我的指尖在荧光屏上排列成富感染力的文字。现在我犹如回到求学时代，为了交作业日夜琢磨字句。我甚至额外讨好老师，连翻译都呈上了！

My inherent inability to write isn't the sole reason why I take a long time to make one posting. Truth is, this is quite a challenge for me and at times, I do feel a little awkward as I type. Vegetarianism, environmentalism, nutrition, food preparation, what do I know of these? Nothing!!! I'm far from an expert, yet by blogging, in a way I seem to be projecting myself as one. I got to be extra careful not to post wrong information, so most of the time, I'm doing research as I type. I'm expert at forgetting though, out of what I've read or learnt, I can safely say I remember only less than 1%. It's like doing revision, and of course learning new things along the way.

费那么多时间写部落格，不光是因为自己不具写作本领。说实在，这部落格对我来说是颇具挑战性的，有时候，写着写着，真觉得别扭。素食、环保、营养、烹饪，关于这些，我懂什么呀？我什么都不懂，却来个不懂装懂！我得格外小心，不能给读者错误讯息，所以大部分时间都花在翻查资料。把所学过的都忘得一干二净，这我倒是相当拿手的……一般学过看过的东西，我能记住百分之一就很了不起了。打这部落格，对我来说应该说是温故知新吧。

I truly wonder how many people would be interested to read the essays that I've spent time polishing. I myself can't be bothered to read about things I'm not interested in. But some friends gave me positive feedback yesterday and today, and that was great encouragement, THANK YOU!

其实我非常怀疑，有多少人愿意看我这么呕心沥血写出来的文章？我自己对于不感兴趣的东西，向来都懒得去多看几眼。不过这两天，几个同修给了我正面的评价，实在是一大鼓励，感恩之至！

After a ‘hard day at work’, I tend to have doubts whether or not I'm again spending time unwisely. Just a few days ago, while we were bantering, I told LY that he was a fast learner, because he had a wife who was so too, and he grabbed the chance to mock me: a fast learner, but a slow worker. Yeah… that struck me deep. I have been seriously thinking if I should quickly get over this phase of spending all my time in the kitchen trying out new recipes. A housewife has better things to do other than serving food. That said, I do think I was born to spend time in the kitchen. When I was in primary school, I loved to step into the kitchen and ask our maid to let me help her cook, and she would say things like, the kitchen wasn’t a place for us to go in. I even liked to scrub the kitchen sink till it was sparkling clean. Imagine, a girl barely 10 years old and who had a maid, doing such mundane chores and enjoying herself!

因为好不容易才交出一篇作品，时不时怀疑自己是不是又把宝贵的时间花在不该花的地方上了。前些天，跟利源一番胡言乱语，我说他学东西学得快，因为他有个也同样聪明的太太，他却趁机说这太太虽然学东西学得快，做事却做得慢。真是当头棒喝。这些日子我也时常想，我是不是该早点结束这段不停尝试新菜肴的日子？黄脸婆除了给夫君端茶送饭以外，还有更值得做的事吧？但是话说回来，我觉得我天生就是喜欢泡在厨房的。我还是小学生的时候，就特别喜欢踏进厨房，请女佣让我帮忙做饭。当时得到的回复，常常是，厨房不是你们踏入之地，出去出去！我甚至没事就喜欢把洗碗槽刷洗得亮晶晶的。一个10岁的孩子，家里还有个女佣，竟然乐于干这样无聊的活儿，还忙得不亦乐乎！

Anyway, back to the subject.

言归正传……

Well, I think in life, we come to different stages, when it's time to embark on one, we do so, and when it's time to end, it just ends. I think I’ve only just come to a new page in my life.

我想，人生就是好几个不同的阶段。有时候该踏上新的旅程，有时候该把它结束。我想，我刚翻开了人生新的一页。

To keep myself going, I drive myself back to the purpose of this blog.

为了鼓励自己前进，我时常提醒自己，写这部落格目的是什么？

It's a cause so great, and so complex, that I don't know how to put into words.

背后的意义实在太大，似乎是超乎语言所能表达。

I'm only half an old hag who knows so little. But even though I can only grasp so little, I know what little I have grasped is of paramount significance not only to myself but to everyone else. How can I bear not to share it with all? There's just too much that I wish to convey!

我只不过是半个黄脸婆，所懂的只有那么一丁点。但是，虽然我只能掌握那么少，我知道，我所体悟到的，不但对我本身具莫大意义，对所有人，也是极为重要的讯息。我怎么忍心不把这么珍贵的宝藏与大家分享？我所要传达的，实在是太多太多！

To put it simply, I want to become a bridge.

简言之，我要成为一座桥。

I want to be the bridge, for those who are willing, to come and meet the compassionate souls who have inspired me. To come and see for themselves, that everything is so wonderfully connected. To feel the message in their hearts, that our health, our earth, our animal friends, we are inseparably ONE.

我愿成为一座桥，让所有愿意跨过来的人，跟那些给了我无限启发的充满慈悲的智者，结下良缘。让他们亲眼看到，万物都互相交织地这么完美。让他们聆听内心的呼唤：我们的健康、我们的地球、我们的动物朋友们，都是不可分割的一体。

Just a little side track. Yesterday, I helped to man the booth at the Vegetarian Society exhibition. The video wasn't working, so there weren't many people attracted to the booth. Half an hour before knocking off, I was reading the comments left by previous viewers, and was contemplating writing a response to those that apparently were quite ill informed and had biased views of the vegetarian cause. Then George popped in. Probably as a form of encouragement, he told me he usually would hand out the society’s brochures to those who seemed to be interested enough to read the exhibits. As he shared this I felt a little tension within myself.

话题稍稍岔开。昨天，我到图书馆帮素食协会做展览管理员。本来该播放录像的，但是录像机坏了，所以没几个人对展览感兴趣。离我退勤时间约半小时，我正在看数天来看展览录像的人所做的留言，这些留言当中，有一些很明显对素食的真实意义并不理解，对素食颇有成见，我正想如何针对这些留言做个回应，George就来了。一番寒喧后，他大概是为了鼓励我吧，说他一般会主动把协会的一些传单发给愿意停下脚步来看展览的人。他这么一说，我感到心里莫名地紧绷了。

About 10 minutes later, another volunteer appeared, apparently she came down just to get to know me. She asked if she could enlist me as a volunteer, so that they could ask me for help in future. But I told her I'm pretty selective when it comes to volunteering, and said frankly that 99% of the time I might decline. I must have come across as a horribly cold hearted soul, in contrast to how passionate she was. Very soon, she got the video working (so it wasn’t spoilt!), and was busy handing out the pamphlets to some who had started to gather around the tv. I stood aside, half of me feeling like a little girl who wasn't very sure of what to do, the other half feeling like I was openly lazing on my job.

大概十分钟后，又有另一个义工来了，显然是为了跟我结识而来。她问我，可不可以把我列入义工名单，以后有事可以请我帮忙。我坦白地告诉她，我做义工是相当挑剔的，很可能99%的工作我都不能帮忙。她多半觉得我真是个冷酷无情的家伙，相比之下，她是多么热情啊。没多久，她就把录像机打开了（哦，原来并没坏……），然后忙着给凑过来观看的人发传单。我站在一旁，像个不知所措的小女孩，又像个公开偷懒的义工。

Quite often I wonder if there's something seriously wrong with me. I envision myself doing things that are truly beneficial to others, but yet when I am approached to volunteer, I'm so picky about the job per se.

我也时常怀疑自己是不是有点问题。一方面我希望为大众服务，另一方面当有人找我做义工的时候，我总是这么挑剔。

And I'm very stingy with my time. I need LOTS of time for myself, and LOTS of time to be at home. A day spent mostly outside drains me. If I have to rush from one place to another, meeting people, then it's almost a guarantee that by the time I get back home I would be a little out of sorts.

而且，我总是非常吝惜于交出我宝贵的时间。我是个极端需要独处的人，也是个酷爱留在家里的人。要是一天到晚在外头，我就感到虚脱无力，烦躁难安。要是还得东奔西跑，到处跟人见面，那晚上回到家，我肯定是失衡了。

There might be some deeper issues that I need to resolve, but for the moment, what I know for sure is that, I can't be the typical active volunteer that we usually come across.

也许这当中有一些我需要处理的更深层的问题，但是我知道至少目前，我不能做一个一天到晚到处忙忙碌碌的义工。

If you still don't get what I mean, I'm a little too shy to do most forms of volunteer work. (Although recently I realized that some people don't seem to think that I'm shy and quiet. Does that mean I'm improving, or am I not being myself when I'm with people?) To make things worse, I'm too much of a homebody to be taken out of my nest for too long. I remember even right till my twenties, whenever I was out the whole day, I would be homesick by night time, I seriously missed my parents!

要是你还不明白我想说什么，简单地说，我有点太过内向害羞，不太适合做大部分的义工。（但是最近，我发现有些朋友似乎不觉得我是这样的性格，是不是我进步了，还是我跟人相处的时候把真实的自己掩藏起来了？）更糟的是，我太恋家，不能太长时间离开暖巢。记得一直到20多岁，我要是一天都在外头，那么到了晚上我就会想家了，真的想念爸爸妈妈！

……So you see...... I'm not left with much choice as to the kind of bridge I can become.

……所以，到底能成为什么样的一座桥，我似乎没有太多选择。

I don’t know if anybody will want to step on this bridge. But I hope that it will be a well constructed one.

我不知道会不会有人愿意走上这座桥，但是，我希望这会是坚固有用的一座桥。

Why Juice? 为什么喝蔬果汁？

这是我们几乎每天喝的蔬果汁。以前同事问我，我又没病，干吗喝蔬果汁？要我说呢，没病的人应该喝蔬果汁，有病的人则是不能不喝蔬果汁。

This is the juice we drink almost every day. An ex-colleague was perplexed and asked me, you're not sick, why do you drink juice? Well, people who aren't sick should drink juice, while those who are, can't afford not to drink!

是不是觉得，喝蔬果汁多浪费，费时费力费钱，还留下一大堆残渣，不如把整个水果或者蔬菜吃下去？我以前也这么想。不是说纤维很重要吗？

Perhaps you might think, isn't it such a waste to drink juice, a waste of time, effort and money, and you'd be left with so much pulp! Wouldn't it be better to simply eat the fruit or vege whole? I used to think so too. Isn't fibre supposed to be very important?

纤维为什么对我们这么重要？其实，纤维本身并没有什么营养，但是，它就像我们人体里面的清道夫一样，帮我们把里面的垃圾扫出来，是我们身体的大功臣，不可或缺。我们每天应该摄取大量的纤维，确保排便通畅无阻。

Why is fibre important to our health? In actual fact, fibre itself is a nutrient that doesn't really have much nutritional content. What it does is, it acts as a broom in our body to eliminate waste, so it really is indispensable. In order to make sure that we clear our bowels well, we need to have a high intake of fibre.

那好端端地干嘛把这么宝贵的纤维取出来？

If fibre is so important, why remove it just to get some juice?

我们要确保健康，除了需要纤维帮我们把垃圾清扫出来以外，还需要很多养分。这些养分从哪里来？从我们摄取的食物。但是，我们平常所吃的东西，真的给我们足够的养分吗？如果我们吃的，都是煮熟的，煮烂的，那恐怕养分都消失殆尽了。

In order to maintain optimum health, apart from fibre to clear our body waste, we also need to have adequate nutrients. Where do we get the nutrients? From the food we eat. However, do we really get enough nutrients from what we eat every day? If we only eat cooked food, then we probably have lost most of what nature meant for us.

我们身体需要酵素，酵素是我们生命的源泉。当我们把所有的食物都煮熟以后，酵素都死了，我们吃进去的东西，就没办法给我们充分的滋补。所以，我们需要每天都摄取足够的生菜、水果。

Our body needs enzymes. It is said that all life depends on enzymes. When we cook our food, the enzymes are dead, and what we eat are not able to nourish us anymore. Therefore it is necessary that we have enough intake of raw salads and fruits every day.

只是，光吃生菜水果，养分还是不够。固体食物需要消化，因此，要经过一段时间以后，我们的细胞才接收到养分，效果远远不如蔬果菜汁，它一点也不给消化系统带来负担，并且在第一时间把养分输送到我们的细胞。

However, it's not enough to only consume raw vege and fruit. Solid food requires digestion, and it would be quite some time before our body receives the nutrients. In this respect fresh juices are much more effective. A glass of fresh juice does not cause any burden to the digestive system, and its nutrients are therefore made available to the body very quickly.

特别是生病的人，喝蔬果汁效果极佳。现在我们生病，都不看医生，也不吃药，我的良药，就是断食，就是蔬果汁。有一次我感冒，一开口讲课把学生吓坏了，我的声音就如青蛙一样，喉咙疼得很，难受极了。那天我就做蔬果汁断，记得喝了六杯吧，哦，好像还吃了一点水果呢，根本不算断食……到了下午，喉咙奇迹般地不疼了，虽然还没有完全恢复平常甜美的声音（?!?），但是说话已经觉得跟平常一样舒服，根本不像感冒，康复得这么快速，我都觉得难以相信！

Sick people especially would benefit tremendously from fresh juices. When my husband or I fall sick, we no longer go to the doctor's, nor take any form of medication. My best medicine is a juice fast. Once, I was down with a cold. As I started to speak in class, I gave my students quite a startling shock, for I sounded like a frog. My throat hurt, terribly. I did a juice fast that day, I remember I had 6 glasses of juice, I think I had some fruit even, so in effect it wasn't much of a fast I guess... Miraculously, by the afternoon, my throat no longer hurt. Although I hadn't completely regained my natural voice, I was already speaking like normal, with no discomfort whatsoever, I didn't feel like I was having a cold. I recovered with such miraculous speed, I was totally amazed!

我们家里榨的蔬果汁以红萝卜为主，搭配一般是:

红萝卜、黄瓜、甜菜根

红萝卜、青苹果、甜菜根（俗称“ABC” - apple, beetroot, carrot）

红萝卜、西芹、甜菜根

红萝卜、西芹、青苹果

The juice we have every day is carrot based, usually in the following combinations:

Carrot, cucumber, beetroot

Carrot, green apple, beetroot (usually called "ABC")

Carrot, celery, beetroot

Carrot, celery, green apple

说实在我并不清楚这些蔬菜我各别用多少。红萝卜因为是一箱一箱地订购，一箱20公斤，一般10天左右就用完，所以我估计一次我就用上将近2公斤。黄瓜呢，如果是超大的，我就用1根，如果中的或小的，就用2、3根。至于甜菜根，一般认为不用太多，1人1拇指般大小的分量就够了，而且甜菜根虽然有它独特的甜味，有些人并不喜欢那味道（好在我和我先生都蛮喜欢的），我一般用大概一个大葱大小的分量吧。以上的搭配，最好喝的，当然是有青苹果的，但是我最常喝的黄瓜、甜菜根搭配，也很好喝哦。

Frankly I am not sure how much I use of each. Because we order our carrots by the carton, each carton being 20kg, and since I usually finish everything in about 10 days, I reckon that I juice nearly 2 kg of carrots a day. For cucumber, if it is a very large one, I would use 1, if it is medium or smaller, I'd grab about 2 or 3. As for beetroot, what I've heard is that about one thumb size per person is enough. Some people can't take the peculiar sweetness of beetroot. Luckily my husband and I seem to quite like it. I use about the size of an onion each time. Of course the best tasting ones are those with apples, but my staple, that is, that with cucumber and beetroot, tastes wonderful too!

甜菜根喝了尿会变红，不用惊慌。至于红萝卜呢，摄取多了皮肤可能会变黄，就像我一样！=) 这也不需在意，除非你特别爱美。我就常常被人问，怎么这么黄？哦，我姓黄嘛，而且是半个黄脸婆，哈哈……。但是这确实让我觉得有点意思，因为我虽然每天照镜子，却从来不怎么觉得自己黄，就是黄也不怎么放在心上，但是别人怎么这么在意？甚至买东西的时候，不认识的店员也会问，你为什么这么黄？哇，对不认识的人，而且是顾客（还是女性！），竟能这么……这叫坦率吗？？？佩服！现在我是不是还很黄，我也不知道，但是被这样问的次数少得多了。

Consuming beetroot would make your urine red, so don't be alarmed. As for carrots, if you consume it in bulk, your skin would turn yellow. This, again, isn't a cause for fear, unless you are extremely conscious about your appearance. I was very frequently asked, why are you so yellow? Well, because my surname is Yellow (Huang means yellow in Chinese), and because I am already half an old hag ('yellow faced old woman' in Chinese refers to wives who are bogged down by household chores and have no time to take care of their looks)... I actually found these episodes quite funny. I looked into the mirror every day, but I hardly noticed that I was yellow. Or even if I did, I couldn't care less. Why were others so bothered by it? I had even been asked by shopkeepers whom I hardly knew. I would always be quite taken aback by the sudden, why are you so yellow? Wow, I think this is quite something, to ask such a question to a lady customer whom you don't know! I'm not sure if I am still yellow, but I don't get such questions that frequently anymore.

有的朋友担心我是不是有病。有一回，聊天的时候顺便请一位中医朋友给我把把脉，把完脉以后，她颇为惊讶地说，你看起来脸色不太好，但是把了脉好像身体还挺不错呢。我有生以来第一次有大夫给我把脉以后说我身体还不错呢！颇有点胜利者的得意忘形，真想跑两圈运动场！

Some friends were worried if I was sick. Once, while chatting with a Chinese physician friend, I asked if she could take my pulse, which she did. After taking my pulse, she told me she was quite surprised, because my pulse fared much better than how I looked. That was the first time in my life that I was told my health was quite good by a physician! Try imagining me showing you a big V sign with a broad broad broad smile! =)

我从来不因为喝红萝卜皮肤变黄而担心。最黄的那段期间，总是有人劝我，也劝我先生，少喝点吧！我可是如如不动，对红萝卜非常非常有信心。为什么皮肤会黄呢？不是因为身体排斥红萝卜，而是红萝卜帮助我们把肝脏的毒素排出来，因为是大量地排除，来不及以排尿或排便方式清除，于是就靠淋巴系统，从皮肤排出来了。尽管我告知这是我身体在做排毒，还是有很多人劝我，先停一下吧。我不明白，这是非常好的现象，我在做打扫啊，我身体还有这样的精力我高兴还来不及，我扫得不亦乐乎，干吗要停？是因为我黄得实在太难看了吗？我宁可外表难看，也不要内脏败坏。

I'd never been worried about being yellow from carrots. When I was at my yellowest, there'd always be people who would discourage me from continuing with my carrot juice. I never bulged, I had very deep faith in Mr (or perhaps Ms?) Carrot. Why does the skin turn yellow? This is not because our body rejects the carrot, but because the carrot is helping us to remove the toxins from the liver. According to Norman Walker, 'this (the material clogging the liver) is released so abundantly that the intestinal and urinary channels are inadequate to care for this overflow, and in a perfectly natural manner it is passed into the lymph for elimination from the body by means of the pores of the skin.' Despite my assuring them that this was a sign that my body was undergoing a good cleansing, many people still advised me to stop taking carrots. I couldn't understand why. My becoming yellow was such a wonderful phenomenon, I was doing spring cleaning, I was fortunate that my body was still capable of such a chore, I had better be grateful for that, why stop? Did I look that terrible being yellow? I'd rather look terrible on the outside than be truly terrible from the inside.

据说，红萝卜汁的分子结构跟人体血液的非常接近，实在是多喝无碍哦。

The carrot juice molecule is exactly analogous to that of the blood molecule, no need for any worry about taking loads of it.

目前，我把早上榨好的蔬果汁分成两半，存进冰箱，下午再喝。也许你会担心这样营养不是流失了吗？确实，马上喝是最理想的，但是，喝总比不喝好，不喝的话，你一点营养都摄取不到，喝的话，至少摄取得到80%吧？营养流失多少，也得看你用的是什么样的果汁机。而且，这一杯可能流失了些许营养的果汁，远远比你喝的可乐、美禄、咖啡，以及市面上任何灌装饮料，甚至是家里的清水，都来得安全、健康、营养！

Currently, I save half of what I juice in the morning in the fridge, and consume it in the afternoon. Perhaps you might worry if the nutrients might be lost. Of course, ideally we should consume it straight after juicing. How about thinking it this way, if you don't drink any, you don't get any nutrient at all, but if you drink some, you'll at least get maybe 80%. How much nutrient is lost also depends on the juicer you use. In anycase, a glass of juice that has lost some nutrients is definitely safer, healthier, and more nutritious than a glass of coke, milo, coffee, or any canned drink you can find in the supermarket, or even your water at home...

我喜欢把所有的渣都去除掉，外面买的果汁一般渣还很多，我喝过的最顺滑的果汁，就是家里的果汁了！不只是因为没有渣更好喝，也因为好不容易弄了果汁，何必留渣影响身体吸收？我的纤维是从每天的沙拉水果摄取，不是从蔬果汁。把渣去掉的另一好处是，大部分的农药都会残留在纤维里，所以要是你喝的不是有机蔬果汁，也许去掉比较好吧？

I like to remove all the fibre in my juice. What we find outside is usually quite full of fibre, the smoothest juice I've ever had is my self made juice. I prefer it smooth, not only because it tastes better, but also, since freshly squeezed juice is so precious, why retain the fibre so that it slows down absorption? I have my daily intake of fibre from the salads and fruits that I take, not from my juices. Another plus point about removing the fibre is, most of the pesticides are retained in the fibre, so if what you're having is not organic, at least you manage to remove the bulk of the pesticides along with the fibre.

来吧，为我们的健康，干杯！！！

（要慢慢喝哦，吃东西要细嚼慢咬，身体才能好好吸收，喝饮料也一样！）

Cheers to our health...

(Do drink slowly, sip it. Just as we should chew well when eating so as not to tax our digestive system, don't gulp down your drinks...)

把伤害降到最低 Minimising Harm

有朋友就吃素提出看法。她说植物也有生命，只不过我们吃它们的时候，它们喊不出痛来。最重要的是我们到底是怀着什么样的心态摄取三餐，是纯粹为了果腹呢，还是为了满足欲望？而为了满足欲望，是否恣意伤害动物，浪费资源？

A friend shared her thoughts on vegetarianism. She commented that plants are living beings too, it's just that when we eat them, they can't shout to tell us their pain. What's most important is our state of mind when we eat, do we eat just to assuage our hunger, or to satisfy our greed? And if it was to satisfy our bottomless greed, whether we go all the way to hurt animals and waste resources?

尽管我心里有着极明确的想法，但是要把思绪整理好，完整地表达出来……还真不知从何说起，这素食小使者还实在不容易当啊！

Despite having clear answers deep within, when it comes to sorting out and sharing my thoughts, it sure isn't an easy task. What a tough job as a vege ambassador!

吃素，是不是就不伤害生命？

Do vegetarians cause no harm at all to other beings?

答案是否定的。农夫在翻土、收割的时候总会捏死踩死一些昆虫。不吃不喝也能生存下去，也许这就是应该追求的最高境界？然而，就是我们真能不吃不喝，平时走路，也会踩死蚂蚁而浑然不觉。我上高中时比较多愁善感，不愿意踩在草地上，因为觉得小草也会怕疼，也不愿意被践踏。

Yes we do. When farmers plough the field, there are bound to be insects and worms that are killed in the process. If only we could live on without having to consume anything. Perhaps this is the goal we should strive to attain? But even if we could live without food and drink, we can't avoid unknowingly stepping on ants while walking. I was a little sentimental during my college days, and avoided walking on grass, because I thought they would feel pain and wouldn't like to be treaded on.

那么植物本身是否有生命呢？有啊……要是没有，一颗渺小的种子又怎么会变成参天大树？植物也会对外界起反应，它朝着阳光生长，要是失去水分、阳光，它就没有生长的条件。我们也常听说，花朵种在充满噪音的地方就枯萎凋谢，树木听着佛咒就茁壮成长。甚至水也有生命，几年前江本胜博士的书《生命的答案，水知道》就揭示了水的灵性。

So, are plants living beings? Definitely, a tiny seed grows up to become a giant tree because it's alive. Plants react to the environment, they grow towards the sun, if they are deprived of sunlight and water, they lose the conditions to grow. We also hear of many stories like flowers withering when bombarded with loud noises, and trees growing luxuriantly when nourished with Buddhist mantras. Even water has life energy, Masaru Emoto's book "The Hidden Messages in Water" has shown us this.

但是，植物没有像动物那样发达的中枢神经系统，它们不会像动物那样感受疼痛，一般佛教的观点也不列植物为有情众生，它不会投胎，不会带着动物被宰割时的那种恐惧愤恨而轮回转世。植物的生命，犹如我们的头发和指甲，长长了我们就把它修剪，但是它似乎并不怎么样，剪了又长，就像野草一样有它自身的生命力。

Plants, however, do not have a central nervous system like animals, so they don't register pain like animals do. Generally in Buddhism we do not classify plants as sentient beings either, they do not have reincarnations, they do not take rebirths like animals do, carrying with them the fear and hatred they felt when they were killed. The life of plants is akin to that of our hair and nails, when they grow long, we cut them, they don't seem to care so much about being cut or chopped, and they grow back pretty fast, like grass.

然而，就该不该吃素这问题而言，我认为，我们并不需要在这方面钻牛角尖。因为，我们活在这世上，不可避免地会伤害到其他生命，因为我们毕竟离完美还非常遥远。

Nevertheless, with regards to whether or not to take the vegetarian path, I do not think this is a point we need to ponder so much upon. We cannot avoid causing hurt in one way or another to other beings, for we are all far from being perfect.

关键是如何把这伤害降到最低点。

The crux of the matter is to minimize the harm that we cause.

对我而言，吃素最根本的原因，就是这么简单。

To me, this is the fundamental reason for choosing vegetarianism/ veganism.

把自己给周围的各种生命形态所带来的伤害，减到最轻。

Minimizing the extent of harm that we cause others.

我们不能十全十美，但是我们可以尽力而为。

We cannot be perfect, but we can always try our best.

我们食用的动物，吃的是什么？是植物。也许有一天，我们发现植物果然能感觉疼痛，植物真的会投胎。难道因为如此，我们就应该先把植物喂给动物吃，让植物先感受疼痛、恐惧，然后我们再吃动物，这回让动物也来承受同样的痛苦？这违背了为什么要吃素的根本原因。如果我们直接吃植物，那么也就只有植物痛苦，动物就免了这场灾难啊。难道我们能说，反正总会伤害到生命，少杀不如多杀？

What do the animals that we have for food eat? They eat plants. Perhaps one day, we might realize that plants indeed feel pain, and they do take rebirths. But does this mean that we should then first feed them to animals for them to first feel the pain and fear, and then we in turn feed on the animals, for the animals to feel again the same pain and fear? This would be in discordance with the vegetarianism cause. If we were to consume plants directly, then it would only be the plants suffering, the animals would be spared of the same fate. It wouldn't be logical to say that since we're killing anyway, let's kill more!

诚然，我们每一餐是怀着感恩的心情咀嚼每一口饭，还是带着享乐的心情大吃大喝，也决定了这一餐的价值。

Undoubtedly, whether we take a meal with gratitude or with gross desire, would make a huge difference.

假设我学会了每一顿饭都满怀感恩，我吃饭，不是因为嘴馋，只是因为肚子饿了，只是为了换取下一口气。而我的眼前，有两份套餐，一荤一素。我选择哪个呢？自然选择素的，因为我没有选择荤食的理由。素食套餐能让我果腹，也能让我把对其他生命的伤害减到最低。

Let's say I have learnt to be grateful for all my meals. I eat not because of indulgence, I eat simply because I need to alleviate my hunger, simply because I need to live on. And in front of me, I have two meals, one vegetarian and one meat. Which one would I choose? The vege one, for sure. There's simply no reason for me to choose the other. The vege meal fills my stomach, and it also minimizes the harm I cause.

我们大部分人每天面对的，就是这样的选择。

Making a choice is exactly what most of us need to do everyday.

很多人吃素面对各种障碍，但是，只要我们有这样的心愿，所有的障碍总能去除。这条路，并不是那么难走，并不是那么另类。

Many people face obstacles when they think of going vege. All sorts of obstacles. But if we really put our minds to it, I believe these can be overcome. This path of vegetarianism isn't really that difficult to tread on, neither is it anything bizarre.

这是一条我们朝往真正自由快乐的必经之路。

This is the inevitable path to true happiness and freedom.

珊瑚草甜品 Coral Jelly

这是一些素食馆常看到的甜品，也是我们家常做的甜品。几乎所有的访客也都喜欢吃哦。做法非常简单，平时不进厨房的人也做得了。把以下“海燕窝露”跟2000ml的水一起煮沸，然后倒入杯子、小碗，放入冰箱。冷却后即成果冻，也可以趁热当饮料喝。

This jelly has become quite a common dessert in vegetarian outlets recently. I also make it regularly to serve whoever visits... mostly I make it to serve ourselves, haha... =) This is probably the easiest dessert to make, almost kitchen-idiot proof I suppose. Put the whole pack (see picture below) into 2000ml of water and boil. Transfer into bowls/ glasses and refrigerate. The liquid will solidify once cooled down, it can also be taken as a hot drink.

包装上面写着用2500cc的水，水量可依个人喜好酌量增减，我个人觉得2000比较合我的口味，果冻做出来也比较有弹性，吃起来口感较佳。另外，你可能跟我一样，不明白cc和ml有什么区别，它们是一样的，台湾似乎都说“cc”。

It's stated on the package to use 2500cc of water, you can have more or less of it, depending on how sweet or firm you want the jelly to be. 2000ml is about just right for me. If you are wondering whether 'cc' is any different from 'ml', from what I've researched, they're the same, seems like in Taiwan they use 'cc'.

一般的果冻用的是白糖，这个则全是黑糖，不但健康得多，也好吃得多！其他成分还有红枣、桂圆（龙眼）、寒天、珊瑚草。珊瑚草（别称海底燕窝）含大量胶原蛋白，据说不仅养颜功效大，而且富含钙、铁、镁等矿物质，对骨骼也很有益处。

The usual jelly that we eat are full of white refined sugar, but this uses only brown sugar, not only is it healthier, it's also tastier. Other ingredients are dates, longan, kanten and coral seaweed. Coral seaweed contains a high amount of collagen (good for the skin), as well as lots of minerals like calcium, iron and magnesium (good for bone health).

这果冻优于我们从小吃的果冻的另一点是，就算搁置一段时间，也不会变成水状。这一整块我一般做出大概10或11杯的果冻，就是放在冰箱一个礼拜，也没问题。我尝试过把它切半，但怎么砍都砍不断，大概是刀法太拙劣，确实有人砍成两块保存起来的……不过，一般不用等一个星期已经扫荡完毕，所以我也没必要研究刀法或锻炼臂力……

Another selling point is that, this jelly doesn't 'melt' like the usual jelly. I can make about 10 or 11 glasses with a single block, no problem at all leaving them in the fridge for a week or so. I've tried chopping it into two, but it was hard as a rock... Some people can do it apparently, but since we usually finish everything within a week, I suppose there's no need for me to perfect my chopping skill.

上图的海底燕窝（健康之道）现在一般售价S$9.90（以前S$9.50呢，涨价了！），最近我也看到一些别的牌子，我尝试另一个S$5.70的，味道还不错，但是没有那么香。

The brand above that I usually get retails at S$9.90 (used to be S$9.50), but I've found some other brands recently. Tried one ($5.70), it was pretty good, but not as fragrant.

要是你在餐馆吃这果冻，一般他们上面会给你淋上豆奶。以前我也买来浇上，但是现在我自己做坚果奶。很容易，只是稍微费时:

This jelly is usually served with some soy milk on top. You can get those packaged ones, or you can make your own nut milk. It's very easy, except that it can be a little bit troublesome.

1）预先浸泡美国杏仁、腰豆（最好隔夜）

1) Soak some almonds and cashews (overnight if possible)

2）泡过的水倒掉

2) Discard water

3）加入水、蜜枣、葡萄干，然后用搅拌机搅拌（最好也都预先泡过水，容易搅拌，干果的水一起倒入，别扔了）

3) Add water, dates, raisins, then blend well in blender (it would be better to pre-soak the dates and raisins as well for easy blending, don't discard this water though, this is precious syrup, I pour it all into the blender.)

4）倒入过滤袋，滤干

4) Use a nut bag to strain.

坚果、水、蜜枣等的量都酌量吧，我也是每次都看着办的……哈哈。过滤好了以后尝一尝味道，甜度不够我再加龙舌兰甜浆。

I leave it for you to decide how much nuts/ water/ dates/ raisins to use, I myself have never used the same amount twice... =) After straining, if the nut milk is not sweet enough, I'll add some agave nectar.

因为容易坏，又有点麻烦，所以我喜欢多做，做好了倒入冰块盒，以备随时享用。（要是不过滤就简单方便，但是不过滤的话，特别是放在果冻上，口感就不怎么好。）我们一般不吃/喝冰冷的东西，所以坚果奶冰取出来以后，跟珊瑚草一起放置一下，解冻以后再吃。但是一般不等它退冷，我已经迫不及待用汤匙敲碎奶冰，果冻虽然还冷，还是吃了下去……

Because nut milk spoils quite easily, and the straining part is quite labourous, so I like to make more at one go and save it in ice cube boxes, then I'll have nut milk whenever I need it. (If you skip the filtering part then it's really quick and easy, but it won't be smooth and not as yummy.) We don't usually take cold food/ drinks, so when I'm having this dessert, I leave the nut ice to defrost together with the jelly. But I usually can't wait till nature finishes its job, I'll hit the ice repeatedly till it melts, and gobble up all the jelly when it's still pretty cold...

坚果奶也可以就这样当下午茶喝，代替美禄或咖啡……

You can also make this nut milk and drink it as and when you like, it's better than having Milo or coffee...

剩下的坚果渣可以放在沙拉，或者做沙拉酱，但是记得这不能保存很久，要尽快把它吃完。

The left over pulp can be used in salads/ as salad dressings, but remember that it spoils easily, so you have to finish it soon.