Day 15 - September Lab Results

I am a little disappointed the B-vitamins haven't been included.  I think these results look really good, though.  I am proud of how well I have taken care of my body -- No flags!

The only item that is a little deficient seems to be MCH (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin).  MCH levels below 27 indicate anemia and levels above 33 indicate thyroid problems.  In my case, I am at 27.5, so still over 27 but close to being low.  I am not too worried, as anemia is usually based on a combination of the MCH, MCV, and MCHC numbers; they are all within range. 

I am a little confused about Ferritin.  I have 19 and the  Reference Range column says >14, but then underneath it says '15-49 Probable Iron Deficiency'.  I interpret this as >14 being the thresh-hold for flagging.  Anything over is no major cause for concern, but there is room for improvement if it is between 15 and 49. 

In the past, I have had low levels verging on anemia.  I would say this test is consistent with my health previous to embarking on the post-apocalyptic lifestyle. However, with all the leafy greens in my freezer, I expect that to improve on the next test!

Day 14 - Friends Who Forage

Once again, friends with hearts of gold step in and make things even better!   Every day I wake up feeling terrific and grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life.  I honestly feel in love with the world.

Nearly tossed into the dumpster of a local production outlet, a cache of produce was saved by a very kind and knowledgeable friend.  He was driving by when he saw a man throwing away perfectly good produce.  Surprised, he stopped and asked the man if he could have the food for the homeless, and now I have the produce in my kitchen...

Here is what he recovered:

Bananas, 2 Cantaloupe, Oranges

8 Eggplants, 2 Broccoli Crowns, Assorted Produce

4 Apple-Pears, 1 Yellow Pepper, 2 Tomatos, 1 Plum, 1 Kiwi, 1 Jalapeno Pepper

The following items were foraged with the help of previously mentioned friend.  Lavender for tea.  A tomatillo, some stalks of chard, dandelion greens, spearmint, chives, and lemon thyme.
 

Wild Plants

This amount of produce is more than I can consume before it spoils, so I dragged out the old dehydrator and put in slices of cantaloupe and apple pear.  As I went, I juiced the most aged fruit and parts of the fruit I couldn't dry, and created 1 Million Mile Juice.

Now my place smells like candy as this dries!

Next, I steamed the broccoli to stop the yellowing and stored it in the fridge for later.  The eggplants, yellow pepper, jalapeno, and some of the herbs went into this Fall Casserole.

I used the 3 most ripe bananas to make Banana Blackberry Muffins.

Before Baking.  See Recipe for 'After'.

You might think all of this preparation took forever.  It was actually only 2 hours for everything, including cooking/baking times.

But that is not all today had to offer!  From a very nice grocery store, a friend procured the following dry goods (and squash):

2 boxes of coucous, coffee grounds, tea, soy peanut butter, squash

Knowing how much I love coffee, she showed great ingenuity with collecting the coffee grinds.  You know how when you grind coffee at a store there is a little bit that falls into the tray below?  This is that coffee.  It is a blend put together by chance that can never be re-created.

Day 13 - From East 4th to West 4th

Sunday morning was a major highpoint in this project.  I started off for East 4th and Commercial to pick up a free Kombucha culture.  (NB: I had a family of Kombucha before and they died.  This time will be different.)

Kombucha Tea in a mere week!

Kombucha tea contains B-vitamins, which few of my rations contain.  The monthly blood tests will include a B-vitamin inventory.  After this month's base-line test, it will be interesting to see how my B-vitamin levels fluctuate.

Next, I bussed over to Kitsilano where I harvested a beautiful and bountiful garden.  I spent much of the afternoon washing vegetables and bagging the kale for freezing.

Carrot Greens and Kale Stems for Juicing

Tomatoes, Carrots, Shallots

Also, Beans and Chives!

Dehydrating Kale

This is only one head of Kale.  There are 4 more like this.

I also went out and harvested another container full of blackberries.  I might try to berry-pick once more this week, but I think the season is pretty much over.

I feel like I have such an abundance of food I want to have a dinner party when my Kombucha is ready :-)

Day 12 - Mushroom Hunting I

When fall rains start, mushrooms begin to emerge from the forest floor.  Curious to see what Forest X had in store, I packed a knife and a Ziploc and was on my way.

I found six different fungi on my walk and took them home to examine and reference against books from the library.  What I learned is that identification is really difficult.  Next time I will be better prepared to recognize trees and write down the site where I found the mushroom.

Here's what I found:

 

Mushrooms from Forest X

Five hours later, I was able to identify most of them and unfortunately they are all inedible or leading scientists are just unsure or I wasn't able to confirm identity.  Part of the lesson here is in what not to pick next time.

Fancy latin names and spore prints

If you are interested in the particulars of each mushroom or think you might be able to name some of the unknowns I challenge you to: Identifying Mushrooms

Today I also picked a bunch of blackberries, as the season is coming to a close.  I froze them for later.

Day 11 - First Dumpster Dive

So I decided to see what was available around Surrey in terms of dumpster spoils.  I went to the Fleetwood Save-On Foods and Safeway.  Both had 'receiving' areas with carts and stuff, but no food!  Seems like everything goes into a chute that leads to a garbage compactor.

My intrepid companion and I spied a set of dumpsters behind the Evergreen Plaza.  We investigated the unlocked ones and found that only one was full.  I asked my taller companion to hold the lid while I fished around.  Lots of bags with pharmaceutical bottles from the Shopper's in the complex.  Then, I slid my hand in a box and pulled out a leaf of lettuce!  Thinking this was the jackpot, we began to fish out the box, heaving it up and over the edge of the dumpster.

The bottom of the box broke and what came out was garbage sludge and corn husks and just really nasty stuff that splashed against my sweatshirt.  At this exact moment a couple of employees from the Ricky's came by with bags.  We could not stop laughing.  I quickly regained composure as they drew closer.  The guy asked us which place we worked at...and we said we didn't....we were...uhhh....here to get the boxes for ... moving? and this box fell out?  The guy was super chill about it all and hauled it into the next dumpster and said, "Cool."  Furiously applied hand sanitizer.

Kind of disappointed by the dumpster diving portion of the evening, but high on laughter, we felt emboldened enough to straight up ask for morning pastries from Starbucks.  We spent about 10 minutes outside trying to figure out what to say when asked what the donations were for.  The truth?  Which version of the truth and what amount of detail?  Turns out it was enough just to ask without all the justifications and explanations.  We asked if they had any pastries to donate and walked away with a bag of goods. 

The good news is that I should gain back all that weight by the time this bag of treats is done!

Sugar High Me: Cake Pop and Pumpkin Muffin

Day 10 - More on that Apocalypse

Initially the apocalypse was a vehicle to lend drama to this study of abundance.  Many people I discuss this project with get hooked on the nature of the apocalypse.  I can understand that what it looks like is important for thinking about what is available and how to develop rules that can mimic such a thing.

However, I have to ask: Does the apocalypse have to be as dramatic an event as the word implies? Is it possible we are already living it without the go-ahead from network media?

We live in a 'zombie' culture of over-consumption.  We commodify and then energetically devour each other.  If you have ever worked a minimum wage job, you know exactly what I mean.  If not, just observe the next clerk you encounter.  Many of us have this Pavlovian relationship with our cell phones, automatically interrupting real face-to-face conversations when we hear that diminutive electronic chime.  Some of us drink/eat/smoke/watch tv excessively to avoid feeling, avoid living.  I'm not a doctor, but I'm going to say this general lack of awareness and mindfulness is symptomatic of the walking dead. 

More practically, there was that whole economic crisis where a lot of people lost their homes and their jobs.  Dumpster diving, charitable donations, and foraging is probably a reality for many in this situation.  In fact, in On a Dollar a Day the authors posit that for many families living around the poverty line, food is the first expense to go.  Families who receive food stamps do purchase food, but as the authors cover: food stamps are meant to be supplementary, meaning that there are definitely days without meals.

I apologize for the less-than-uplifting rant.  I feel that this project has gained a new level of relevance and usefulness.  For something a little more fun: (Waffles!)

I love waffles!

Day 9 - A Garden-ian Angel

Today I met a positively radiant woman who has given me access to her overgrown garden in Kitsilano.  You cannot imagine how grateful I am for this opportunity.  Particularly, in light of the fact that according to my scale I have lost 8 pounds since I started.  I haven't noticed the difference that much.  I feel like I weigh the same, though eating popcorn late at night likely gives the illusion of satiety and weight.  Also, I see myself everyday, so it's hard to tell.  To be completely candid, the only place I have noticed a difference is in cup-size.

I am fortunate to have friends who worry about things like bone density and vitamin depletion.  A friend mentioned that Morgan Spurlock had a medical team on stand-by when he documented eating McDonald's everyday in Supersize Me.  I considered creating a rule that I would end the project if my health was suffering.  I then dismissed the thought when I realized I had no real metric to base this on.  I mean, sure, I have felt dizzy, fatigued and yesterday I had a slight fever, but I feel convinced this was a virus of some kind. 

My plan is to see a doctor and get blood work done once a month.  These tests will indicate organ function and nutrient/mineral levels.  In addition to safety, this data will be interesting to observe as the project progresses.  This data may even support the post-apocalypse as a viable lifestyle choice.  I will post the results when I get them.