Part of the credit goes to the merciless public, who mystically decided, en masse, to not buy their kiddi-winkies CDs for Christmas – as yet anyway. Yes, selling CDs is what Baby Boomer Girl does for a living. (Of course, you were just about to click into her kids music shop this very moment … But, not receiving your order quite yet, and her own album not quite ready, Baby Boomer Girl decided to take a break. She distracted you too … and you find yourself indulging alongside her in your fantasy of all-consuming interest … food).

Visualise a lush, semi-rural vegetable garden. Beans are bursting, birds singing, and all around, kale and mustard greens bolt toward the heavens.You mercilessly uproot three large plants – their season done, they have to go. (Yes, you can be merciless too – though you did thank the plants for their sterling service and how they sacrifice their lives …).  You don’t toss them cruelly aside. Not being one to waste a single leaf, you now chop every salvageable bit of green and head for the camp stove to cook your crop in a tad of water. By now you’ve completely forgotten that cup of tea … Instead you’re happily preparing food in a similar way to the resourceful cooks of the rural third world, discovering more about food than you have in your whole life.

Palak panner, at least the palak bit, is a natural discovery when living in austerity. Greens are easy to grow cheaply. And they’re one of the best foods a person on a budget can eat.  This morning break, in one blinding flash,  you’ve discovered how to make greens eminently palatable, forever more, in vast quantities. Global recessions can’t touch you now. Your survival problem is solved in one dish: saag.

Saag is another name for the ‘palak’ bit of palak panner: the green sauce. The paneer (cheese) makes you fat and gives you heart attacks so you’re happy to not have dairy any more – it’s too expensive anyway. But the green sauce? Greens blended with plant milk and a pinch of salt and Indian spice? It is so delicious you simply cannot stop tasting it – and it’s only morning tea time!  Will there be any left for dinner?  Will you get back to your online CD shopping? When will Baby Boomer Girl’s album be released? Will she get back to her cup of tea?  How do the rural cooks of India make such smoooooth palak greens without blenders?

I pay homage to all the resourceful cooks of the rural third world, whose food is healthier, tastier, and can claim the smallest global-footprint in the world. Have a boomer afternoon and enjoy a little Indian music with your evening meal.

Pretty well all baby boomers love Bob Dylan – his lyrics, his melodies.  For many, he and Leonard Cohen rank as the lyricists & songwriters of the era along with Joni Mitchell.  So why would Baby Boomer Girl trumpet their glories instead of her own upcoming, stunning album? …  The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind … or maybe in the bath tub – something to do with a plug …

Yep. I’m plugging Bob Dylan. But, more honestly, the new album, Kids Sing Bob Dylan.  And you’re right – I did have a hand in producing it. The good karma aspect? Mine was to be involved – to work with such talent as the kids have – unbelievable!  And to enjoy a deep satisfaction and pride in the result. This is what it looks like on iTunes, Amazon and many other MP3 Download sites. If you’re into your iPod, it’s all there.

This is what the physical CD looks like. And I’m going to give a little plug about physical CDs. With a professionally produced CD you can give ‘the gift of music’. Who would give the gift of music on a home-burned CD, the title almost illegible in someone’s handwritten scrawl? Sadly, the ‘gift of music’ is in danger of dying out because of this. With a physical CD you have a lovely package; a lasting gift with all the lyrics, who did what on the album, and where your best mate can get one. Plus, would you believe it, physical CDs are sometimes cheaper to purchase than on some download sites in certain countries. Keep you local record shop, and the gift of music, alive!

And your good Bob Dylan karma? To buy it of course! To see the kids in your extended family discovering the Dylan magic – the legacy being passed on.  Say no more. Let the music speak for itself … (click Listen to these Samples)

Happy festive season!

Footnote
Writing and recording children’s music has been Baby Boomer Girl’s primary occupation for the past 25 years. Working creatively with business partner and friend, David Antony Clark, she has produced many award-winning albums.  Do take a look at them and their terrific website full to the brim with great kids’ albums, free books, and articles. And spread the word; your good karma will triple!

Meanwhile,  let’s journey back to Pandora, and see exactly how those Navi Aliens maintain perfect health and their slim, blue waists.

What is Plant-based Wholefood Nutrition?
It is eating a balanced diet of plants and unprocessed, plant-based foods: that’s all they eat there on Pandora. And it’s what our human ancestors ate way back in our primate days.

Meeting up with all those gorgeous Aliens munching vegetation, I asked them “You’re not Vegan are you?”
They told me that, in common with vegans on Planet Earth, they don’t eat animal foods. Like vegans they eat plant foods. But they are horrified at what can constitute ‘plant foods’ here on Earth: highly processed foods such as white flour, sugar and oil. The Navi won’t touch those, as they are not whole foods.  Like vegans they have compassion for animals and so don’t eat them. But the Navi Plant-based heritage is centred primarily on health.

Why don’t they eat Oils?
The Navi tell me that ‘healthy oils’ are the oils inherent in whole foods themselves. There is no need to eat that refined oil stuff we have on Earth: it is far healthier to not eat it. While oil is essential to their health, all the oil they need can be adequately sourced from plants – even the omegas. That goes for we humans too, they said.

Do the Aliens only eat Raw Foods?
So far they seemed to have no particular emphasis on raw, though they eat lots of it!  But they eat cooked too.  They told me that this enables them to get more balanced nutrition, and better protein levels. The foods they cook are mainly those either not healthy or not easy to eat raw – e.g. potatoes, soy, dhal & beans, grains (yes, they love those foods up there on Pandora too!). Together with greens, these provide the Navi with complete protein, and billions of micro nutrients. They prefer including legumes & grains to the high intake of nuts & seeds, dried fruit and rare superfoods needed in a dedicated raw food regime.

Did this Way of Eating Originate on Planet Pandora?
It did. but it also did on Planet Earth at the same time – amazing eh!  With their extra-terrestrial powers, the Navi have been able to watch us down here on planet Earth. They were happy that plant-based wholefood nutrition formed the predominant content of the human diet for millennia. They knew that peoples such as the Inuit, the Tibetans, and others in cold climates evolved to eat animals; – they had no other choice – not many plants grew there!). Humans have always eaten some form of animal food, which would’ve been necessary to get Vit B12. But aside from the wealthy elite, they ate much smaller quantities than we do today. The Navi are so evolved they even synthesize their own B12 – they reckon we’ll evolve to that too!

Well, thanks guys! I’m sold. I’ve been vegetarian for forty years, all the time struggling somewhat with my weight. Hey – I wasn’t gross, but I did need to get into that good BMI level. The secret for me was taking those extra few steps – cutting out animal foods, oil, sugar and processed food. I have never felt better!  Charles & I will be giving a presentation on it on Tuesday (23rd Aug), via the Transition Town movement. Venue: Alicetown Community Centre, Victoria St, Lower Hutt. Time: 7.30pm. Gold coin donation on the door.
Meanwhile , the following  ‘Earthly’ credits are due …

The contemporary plant-based whole-food movement, where no animal protein is eaten, grew from research done by several American nutritionists, doctors and scientists. At the core are Dr T Colin Campbell, (Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Cornell University), Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, (heart surgeon, Cleveland Clinic), Drs Dean Ornish & John McDougall, John Robbins. (see the bios in the last section of the Presentation Folder).  Find out more on the T Colin Campbell Foundation website.

Why?

The reason is clear in Baby Boomer Girl’s latest Gothic-rock number – (yes, the pic is me in costume, about to grab my guitar and rage it out with the band).  Black lyrics, below, touch the essence of the black trend.

And you? You just bought a classy new frock, trou, jacket, shirt or boots? Something you know you’re going to look and feel good in? I bet that something is black …

Unless you follow the dictate that white, pastels or specific hues are the only colours ‘spiritual’ people wear, you’re likely to be one of the trendy people who wear black. Black has so much status, and has maintained that status over so many years, it can’t be ousted no matter how much marketers try and hoist their latest fad up onto the pedestal declaring desperately ‘(Such-&-such) is the new black‘. It just never is!

This is such a serious topic I hope you’ll have your say.  Do you ‘wear the uniform?’ Being such a hot, sweaty colour, is black cool? What percentage of your wardrobe is black? Do you think Baby Boomer Girl looks good in a black wig? Readers look forward to your comments on the social phenomenon that is Black …

Black

© Radha Sahar 2010

Black as jet, black as night
Colour’s wrong, black is right
Black magic at witching hour
Black has balls. Black has power
Gothic girl, Dracula drools
Vampire black, very cool
A Mahler Symphony, a bouncer, a waiter
Not in black? Then see ya later

We buck the system, refuse to conform
But we choose to wear the uniform
A sea of people on the street
Black from their heads
To their burdened urban feet

Black – gives strength to your hair
Black – makes your stomach disappear
Black -  you look thin as a twig!
Black – makes your eyes look big
Black – makes you graduate prouder
Black -  makes your stereo louder
Black – it’s bold and testy
Black – makes your underwear sexy! Black

I bet ya you have never seen
Johnny Cash or Iggy Pop in pink or green
Black leather boots. Black spinning vinyl
Black undertaker – Black is final
Top to toe in formals and burkas
Artists, designers and office workers
Wear that black – it’s a guarantee
That you’ll be taken seriously

Black – makes your limo longer
Black – singlets make you stronger
Black – makes your hard drive harder
Black – prunes make you regular
Black -  makes your tyres turn quicker
Black – makes your Guinness thicker
Black – makes your banker grin, and
Black – makes the All Blacks win!
Black!   Beautiful black!  Glorious black!
Victorious black!

Download the Lyric-Sheet,  Black

A triumphant Baby Boomer Girl, the band, rocked Wellington fans at their launch,  Saturday 12th June, delivering an energetic set of pithy & humorous original material to a boomer audience. From crowd-shouter, Black – (Gothic metal topped with a black wig) -  to ‘play it again’ Baby Boomer Girl signature song, the audience was right there relating to both groove and lyrics. General feedback: Great songs!

The programme opened with a close sound in the first set by Baby Boomer Girl duo, Bernard Wells & Radha Sahar. And yes, the audience feedback  confirmed “there were tears in our eyes” during DNA,  senses touched by Roll On and Captured, and knowing laughter during I Won’t Forget You and Wardrobe Full of Shoes. Thanks to engineer David Antony Clark’s skill on the desk, we enjoyed a resounding  “we could hear every word!”

During break people sipped mid-winter wine & punch and stocked up on Baby Boomer Girl tee shirts, singles and a memoir Live EP of the duo. Then a hushed audience adjusted their trilbys as the band juxtapositioned Radha’s ‘mother’s apron’ look with the rebellious Not Gonna be Invisible lyric, to a driving rock pace.

Evan Williams, an excellent drummer, and Matt Parlane on a mean bass, are known for their talent in bands such as  Pearl, the JediNites and the Cattlestops. Bernard Wells is a well known and much loved multi-instrumentalist in acoustic bands such as Chilli Jam, Ballyscully, Dargaville and his duo with Peter Daly. In his move to electric guitar in Baby Boomer Girl Wells gets a great  sound in tasteful licks and raunchy rock lead breaks. Together with Radha’s strong vocal sound and energetic rhythm guitar, the band earned an enthusiastic ‘Cool!‘  from boomers, teens & twenties alike.

Look out for the Baby Boomer Girl band and duo.  Be there – introduce yourself – we’d love to meet you!

From left: Bernard Wells, electric guitar, Evan Williams, drums, Radha Sahar, acoustic guitar, Matt Parlane, bass.

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Baby Boomer Girl

From Left, Bernard Wells, electric guitar, Radha Sahar, acoustic guitar, Evan Williams, drums, and Matt Parlane, bass,  set to launch the band on Saturday 12th June.

All their material is new, written by Radha, who has previously won several international awards for her music. Many of the songs have a theatrical flavour and wacky humour.

Core band members, Radha Sahar, alias the notorious Baby Boomer Girl herself, and Bernard Wells, are already delighting audiences in ever expanding circles, starting at the Masterton Club in the Wairarapa. Baby Boomer Girl also recently had a hoot of a time strutting her stuff at the infamous Musicians Club in Whanganui.

The songs, touching both heart & funny bone, are likely to sweep you off your rocker – (especially those with rocking chairs)  -  so mark your diary for

Sat 12th June, 7.30pm
Pukerua Bay School Hall
Rawhiti Road, Pukerua Bay
$15 at the door

Baby Boomer Girl & the crew look forward to meeting you there.
Since it is mid winter, you may wish to bring a small throw of some kind to warm up your chair … Tee shirts and EPs will be available to purchase on the night, and there’ll be a comp glass of wine waiting for you to warm you up.

Now before you elaborate on the finer differences between me and the Navi Babe in part 1, relaise we are on another planet. Here on Pandora there is no way you would learn about food in terms of slimming; that is such an unheard of idea!

Here on Pandora your body is simply a result of an attitude of gratitude for what little un-poisonous food there is around. Food does not come neatly processed and stacked on supermarket shelves. You have to hunt and gather.

You skip through the forest collecting ripe treats here and there. It’s tempting to graze but you learn that food is actually precious. The protocol is gathering and hunting for the whole family – none of this individual indulgence stuff. You will get what you need and no more – no private pigging out! Anorexia? Bulimia? Obesity? – such diseases of ‘civilisation’ do not occur here.  Meanwhile, your morning hunt has taken all morning; what happened to breakfast?

Panic. Everyone on Earth insisted on eating breakfast. Will you die if you skip it? There’s plenty of pure water, and the Avatar Tea in your hunting pouch sports a little milk; just enough protein to keep you going. By midday you experience a new feeling – hunger!!! You realise what you used to call hunger was just your stomach rumbling around in digestion mode. Real hunger feels different – primal and healthy. It only occurs in waves every four to six daylight hours. The Navi explain that they still observe the ancient ways; the ancestors ate according to the sparse cycle of hunger -  if there was food to go around.

So much for all the slimming tips and recipes you had secretly hoped to pick up during your training! Evidently the apex of your induction has just been reached. You aimed, you fired and you’re on target. You now have the knowledge you need to get a body like an Avatar Alien:  be active & eat healthy food in moderation when you’re genuinely hungry, period. Back to Earth … Galump!

Oh well, there are zillions of books on what foods are healthy, so ignorance won’t be a problem.  Gratitude, healthy choices and sharing look like being the big three; not taking more than we need is easier said than done. As mother used to say “Give thanks”, “Eat your greens” and “Think of all the starving children.” Indeed.

All your extra indulgences now go into the food bank trolley at the supermarket – lots of struggling families now, what with the recession and all … You tune into the old body, or the young body, whatever you happen to be blessed with, and find you’re gradually turning a rather triumphant shade of blue …

Thank you, readers, in anticipation!
Supporting each other to reach ‘the goal’, I think we’re going to need a good number of comments below. What tips do you have on taking only enough of the foods that keep you healthy and fit?

If you live in a privileged country, you’re noticing how much Free food is appearing: dairy free, sugar free, meat free, gluten free, fat free, salt free and just about anything-free except for ‘pay-for-it’ free – unless your little Pandora-style vege garden is thriving, you Avatar you! Going dairy free has helped your singing voice, but overall, Free food doesn’t seem to be making you any slimmer.  Your Avatar body is taking longer to manifest than you’d hoped.

It seems you’re on a plateau, and the plateaus on Planet Pandora are extremely fecund – ripe crops, rich harvests, nuts, seeds, fruits & vegetables …  far too much delicious Free stuff you just have to try. The gluten-free orange & almond cake was the ultimate! It is even flour free.

Mind you, the Na’vi don’t eat refined flour, gluten free or not, because of  its strange effects; they gain weight, (whoever heard of that?), and their beautiful blue skin goes pale.  On Earth, some gluten free flours are highly refined – (corn, potato, white rice flour, and wheat-flour with just about everything removed). None of that for the Na’vi.  They exercise their molars on a huge variety of whole grains, refining only to ‘stone grinder’ level. So much for that paste-y gluten-free cake!

You’re back on the ups & downs of the ongoing-learning curve. Life is for living. Love is for giving. You are stirred into great acts of humanity, like clicking website links to donate food to the poor – after all there is not a food problem on planet Earth, only a distribution problem. After a few link clicks you even start giving real food away,  eating less so others can have more. This magnanimous gesture will help you attain your Avatar body faster, and the compliments will start flooding in.

Meanwhile, I’m flattered: the Na’vi recommended you take a little break to enjoy one of my songs – (evidently they related to the ‘eyes are open wide’ line)    …

Free Food
© Radha Sahar, 2009

When I was a kid we ate white toast
Butter pudding, Sunday roast
Pastry, greasy pies
Burgers, cheese and fries

Cola, cake with cream
Dougnuts, margarine
Artificial this and that
Sweets galore, and despite that we felt

Healthy, and age was on our side
We didn’t know a thing
But our hearts were open wide
Life was sweet and it seemed to me
Everything rocked and the food was free!

Now we’re sugar free and dairy free,
Meat free and GE free
The implications are immense
When we eat nutrient dense

We’re spray free and oil free
No more empty calories
The scruple-free food industry
Will have to do without you and me

We’re picking pumpkins, planting beans
Growing all of our greeens
Wanna trade? We have zuchini
So does every damn greenie!

We’re low on salt, high on greens
Cool and hot on chilli beans
Dhal and rice – brown is great
We veg all day and still lose weight!
Our energy is way up there
We run and walk everywhere
Our global footprint’s down to low
But still we have a way to go

We’re healthy and age is on our side
Now we know a thing or two
And our eyes are open wide
Life is sweet and it seems to me
Everything rocks
Life is precious and you love me
Everything rocks! – and the food is free!

Free Food – click to download lyric-sheet

You’ve been great at hunting for bargains and gathering weight, but now you’ve seen Avatar …

1. Back to the Plot
Square one. You realise that, like the Na’vi, you’re living on a plot of soil – well it was, before you had it concreted a decade ago. It’s out with the concrete and in with a magical, Pandora-style vege & herb garden. Out with that designer pebble courtyard and in with a luscious little lawn. Trimming inches off your waist as you trim the grass with a dinky little push-mower, you’re in tune with nature. Exercise, now integrated into daily home-living, is not only burning off calories, it is increasing your metabolic rate and your lean tissue mass! Every muscle sings as you dig compost and plant and weed your green heaven. Gathering your very own harvest, you thank the goddess you haven’t lost the plot.

2. Out with Labour Saving Devices
Was there white-ware on Pandora? You didn’t even see a laundry, let alone white-ware. You realise over-civilization has you in its deadly, muscle-wasting grip. No longer. You’re washing laundry by hand, picturing yourself dressing real scanty like the Na’vi once your new body is fully formed. Hanging clothes out in the sun, your big-stretch regime has new meaning. Everything hums as you ‘vacuum’ the floor with your hand-sweeper (remember those cute push-things grandma had?). Manual labour is back ‘in’ as do-it-by-hand beaters, graters, peelers and lemon-squeezers consume energy – yours, not the environment’s. Your thighs are lithe from constant knee-bends, your arms are firm enough to go sleeveless and you’ve actually got a waist! But what to do with the waste? A boomer truckload of white-ware & electrical gadgetry is donated to those in need – frantic parents with a house full of kids to raise, for instance. You are now free to fight the good fight …

3. Facing the Cold, Hard Fax
On the 3D battlefield, you were in retreat and your stomach, in advance.  You stand on attack, bravely facing the fax – the cold, hard truth aliens have been bleeping to humans since consumerism took over planet Earth. It is this:
Consume Less. If you have surplus fat, you’ve eaten more calories than you need. There is no way to shed weight, and keep it off, other than eating less and exercising more. End of transmission. Gulp. Blush. Surely the facts don’t have to be that black & white? That cold?

Luckily, you’ll only need to eat moderately less, and exercise moderately more – that’s hot! But you soon go cold realising it has to be ongoing. As it turns out ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ are your friends’ – extreme temperatures can increase your metabolic rate by up to 20% – it’s all gong to work out as you work out.

It’s off to hot yoga, or at least a weekly sauna. You  jog in the winter air, take bracing, short, cool showers and go easier on the central heating. Being cold makes you fidget, but fidgeting is also your friend! According to US research, fidgety humans are more likely to be slim than laid-back humans. Movement, of any sort, is hot – that’s cool!  You pace around. You rapidly improve at yoga, Avatar suppleness now yours to show off! You’re stronger too as you do a little weight-lifting at the supermarket, grabbing five pounds of butter in each hand and carrying them up and down the aisle. You’re so smart! But your stroppy playfulness is short lived. It dawns on you that this 10 lbs of butter is how much extra fat you’ve got stored inside you. Groan. You’re gonna have to do the calorie drop sometime.

If only you could get it over with and go back to normal life. But no, it’s not a quick fix. It’s going to take months to lose that weight in a healthy way, and the rest of your life to keep it off. Yes, you’ll have to permanently eat less if you want to keep your new Avatar body. You won’t be able to go back to the amount you used to eat, because your Avatar Metabolism is slower. It’s slower because you have less weight to carry around.  It’s slower because you now eat less. You’re not so hungry because your stomach has shrunk, (and that’s one big stretch you’ll never need to do again!) You will eat less from now on. You’ve faced the cold, hard fax. They took a bit of digesting … but at least you’re digesting something!

4. Learning New, Ancient Ways

You’ve come to learn. It’s induction time; you’re the chosen one – the one who will be super-gorgeous, lithe, fit, muscle-endowed and trim. Your hope for a bright future lies with the alien ancestors. You’ve already started Echo Living, so you’re well on the way backwards. Step further now, into the ancient ways …

~ Mining Precious Minerals
Planet Pandora’s bogglingly valuable mineral, ‘unobtanium’ is not nearly as in demand on planet Earth as the one you’re discovering: ’weightlossium.’ Weightlossium is highly active when you get back to the essentials; minerals & vitamins. You discover seaweed, the ultimate mineral-rich food, and other ancient, super-foods. Every calorie counts. You go nutrient-dense – high in nutrients, low in calories; juicy fresh fruit & vegetables being the most valuable. You tread carefully with energy-dense foods – high in calories and low in nutrients; gluggy fries & donuts, and ‘empty’ foods like candy for instance. You start digging into the garden instead of digging in at the bakery, dessert restaurant, sweet shop, or fast food stop.  You’re high on nutrition, low on calories. Your new culinary goldmine is raking in the profits.

~Becoming Unrefined
Leaping around in the wild, you’re eating foods as nature made them. Nothing is refined on Pandora – no food industry exists to refine it. No fillers, additives, artificial preservatives, colours, flavours, humectants, emulsifiers, sweeteners, acidity regulators, modified genes and other profit-making, up-sizing ingredients. Your taste buds burst you into new heights of ecstasy.

As you serve up dinner in your little cabin, you’re doing the diet and it’s delicious! All the vitamins you need are within the healthy, natural foods you love; (though being vegetarian on Earth you take a few omegas & a multi-vitamin & mineral). You reach a new level of ‘regular,’ enjoying just a kiwifruit, delicious whole grains and the all that natural fibre you eat without even thinking – each day is a moving experience! What a relief – returning to your, natural, unrefined, radiant self!

Tell us how you go experimenting with your new Avatar body – or at least what you think about ‘weightlossium!’ There’s more coming up, so look out for Part Two … (it will find you if you subscribe by email, top right column). May the force be with you!

What are your thoughts about it? Do you think it’s possible, or am I deluding myself? Have you experienced growing younger? If so, we’d all like to read your comments! To get the discussion going, here’s a song …  I’ve still to record it, but there’s plenty of time -  I’ll still be singing it fifty years from now

Growing Young With You
© 2009 Radha Sahar

As the sun is setting, we talk about growing old
How people go quiet, they slow down
And set into a mould
But we are far from setting, our love is fresh & new
It’s summer. We have come in from the cold

I’m growing young with you – how wonderful!
No need to go the old way we’re expected to
I’m feeling young with you, so beautiful!
I’ll dance with you until our song is sung
I’ll still be young with you

Vast spaces open out in me, deeper every day
My body’s growing taller instead of shrinking away
A flood of life expanding. No winter dark or grey
The power of love reversing time a way

Every day is born anew, clear and sparkling bright
And every star in the sky shines for us tonight
Thankfulness has got me. This only came to be
Coz you are into being young with me

I’m growing young with you – how wonderful!
No need to go the old way we’re expected to
I feel so young with you and you’re so beautiful!
I’ll love you till our children’s children grow
And have children of their own
I’ll still be young with you

Until we turn at least a hundred and ten
And the cycle starts again
I’ll still be young with you

Growing Young with You – PDF