The Ayurvedic Vegan: How to Survive Winter

“Vegetarian diet stimulates those forces in the organism which bring man into a kind of cosmic connection with the whole of the planetary system”. -Rudolf Steiner

While it's hard to argue with cosmic connection, sometimes we need to be brought back to Earth.

As the clarity and illumination of early fall morphs into biting winds and dreadful temperatures of late Autumn and early Winter a discernible shift takes place not only in the weather but energetically as well. I've misplaced my keys, can't seem to settle into meditation, my hands have turned freezing and will not return to normal temperature for at least four months. I'm spacing out in the middle of conversations, getting distracted in yoga class, more easily aggravated by my little ones. I'm craving hot showers every day. And as usual, but in a much more intense way, I'm hungry. I mean really hungry. In Ayurveda, this is the shift into vata season, and I am of a very strong vata constitution, and also vegan. Which creates a bit of a conflict with the philosophy of Ayurveda which recommends dairy and animal proteins to ground that spacy vata energy.

Vata represents cold, dry, wind, air and ether. This can be the most challenging time of year for those of us with vata constitution. Animal proteins are heavy and grounding, oily, filling; and warm raw milk at the end of a meal is meant to aid in digestion, cool down and soothe that wiry energy.

Ayurveda is a perfect science, and also ancient, and also based on ancient assumptions. Taking Ayurveda literally and placing it in the context of modern America can be a tricky thing. I wonder if the ancient Yogi's would still feel our current systems of agriculture and food processing to be congruent with the principle of ahimsa (non-violence). Something to chew on. But first:

Chew your food, set an intention: Of course this is important year round, but in winter, when all kinds of viruses are going around and we are in “survival mode”, it is extra important to eat your food with intent. What is this meal doing for you? Creating alkaline? Grounding and stabilizing you? Satiating a fierce hunger? Recognize when you are eating impulsively and slow down. Chewing thoroughly releases digestive enzymes in saliva that break down carbohydrates into simple sugars (helping to combat sugar cravings) while you enjoy your meal more slowly and experience healthier digestion. Try using chopsticks. Great satisfaction comes from chewing mindfully.

Stew your food. Hearty soups and stews chock full of grounding root vegetables such as winter squash, carrots, burdock, and potatoes are moist and dense. Find some great recipes that excite you and try them out. Make double batches so you can eat throughout the week (or freeze some so you will have a delicious meal on a cold day too unbearable to leave the house!). Switch it up by stirring in brown rice or quinoa, add water and miso to make more of a different concoction. Add raw garlic and ginger to boost immunity. Don't be afraid to eat outside the box and have soup or stew for breakfast either, a very warming and grounding way to start the day.

Bake your own bread: What a great project for winter. The idea is that upward vata energy wants to be redirected downward and channeled in a creative way; hand kneading bread is a fantastic way to do this. On top of which a good, hearty, spelt bread does wonders for filling up that hungry belly. Add chia, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds to your dough for extra protein!

Black beans soaking

Learn how to cook beans: Beans are an indispensable part of a plant based diet, yet Ayurveda recommends cutting them out in winter, when vegans need extra protein the most. Beans have a drying quality because they absorb water in the body. So be sure to soak your beans for at least twelve hours in tons and tons of water, and then cook your beans in tons of water as well. As the beans absorb the water through cooking, add more. The more water the beans absorb through cooking, the less they will dry out the body. Cook your beans for several hours, this is how our ancestors did it. Since it is a long process, cook a lot and freeze for future use. Add herbs that aid in digestion such as epazote, cumin, and garlic (also tasty). Pay attention and see which beans agree with your body the most! For me, the smaller the bean, the easier to digest, so I favor lentils, split peas, and mung beans in winter.

Increase superfoods: Superfoods have so many benefits and most importantly for winter, boost immunity. If you are looking for nutrient dense foods that pack a lot of punch to keep you strong and energized throughout winter, incorporate superfoods rather than animal products. Some of my favorites are maca, spirulina, cacao, and goji berries.

Warm up your smoothie: If you are a smoothie head like me, you will notice that switching up your smoothie routine seasonally can be of great benefit. While in the summer I often have smoothies for breakfast, this time of year I switch breakfast to a bowl of warm oats or stew, and have smoothies in the afternoon when digestion is fired up and the sun is working it's mojo. Add a knub of fresh ginger and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to your smoothie and replace ice with cold fruit. Your smoothie will take on a much more warming quality this way.

Oil up: If you love to take warm baths and showers, be sure to slather on some coconut oil before you hop in, especially on the palms of your hands and bottoms of the feet. You will feel more invigorated and energized afterward rather than drained.

Increase meditation and a long cool down period after exercise or yoga. Life is so busy, sometimes we only have five minutes or so for meditation or savasana. Wintertime is not a good time to skimp on these. They are the most grounding practices one can incorporate, so sit down and enjoy the stillness. If you really don't have time, get creative. Alternate nostril breathing at traffic lights, legs up the wall while talking on the phone, or dare I suggest five less minutes of screen-time in exchange for five extra of meditation?

Enjoy this time of hibernation and don't worry, this too shall pass! The delicate blossoms of Spring would be nothing without Winters deep freeze.

Lisa Hicks is a Holistic Health Counselor and passionate Yogini, vegan, and mindful mama.  To learn more about her practice Grassroots Nutrition, or to schedule a free one hour consultation, visit http://lisahickshc.com/

How I Got My Kid to Eat Leafy Greens

 I got to experience a very proud Mama moment today .  Dashing some raw kale salad with finishing touches I let my two year old Leo try a bite and he said “Mmmmm”, meaning, yum.

I've always read that if you're kid doesn't like a food, to keep offering it, and eventually they will come around. Well, this is about the many-eth time I offered Leo leafy greens, and he finally responded positively. Here's how I did it:

1. I snuck it:  Although today was the first day he volunteered to eat a big heaping plate of leafies, he has actually had them many times before. Maybe not the ideal way to get your kid eating vegetables, I thought if Leo at least had greens in his memory palate, he would eventually choose to eat some. We blend leafy greens into smoothies, and include them chopped up teeny tiny in stir fry's, pasta sauce, scrambles, etc.

2. I asked for help. Leo is my partner in crime. Although I often dream of going by myself, I am glad to take the kids with me to experience the store. Since we eat little processed type foods, I can ask Leo to pick out lots of things.  (If we were eating processed foods he would not pick based on instinct but rather based on the advertisements, that is why I mention this). I ask him to choose his own apples, I ask him to smell the spices we get from the bulk aisle to make sure they're extra smelly, I ask him to help me put the groceries away, and I ask him for help while cooking. This makes him feel so special.  
   
   
   When making raw kale salad you have to break up the kale into small pieces and massage them with your hands until they become tender and juicy. A child loves this task.  In this particular kale salad I added dried cranberries and walnuts. Leo saw me do this and became interested in the salad because he knows he likes cranberries and walnuts in his oatmeal and for snacks. He began to equate the salad with stuff he already likes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. We ate and continue to eat greens. A lot. Any parent knows how sponge-like kids are, how observant and watchful they are, and of course, how much they admire, and want to be just like their parents. If we are drinking out of coffee mugs, Leo wants one. When I eat with chop sticks, Leo wants a pair too. Aside from the few months when he first started solids and I made purees, I have never gone out of my way to feed him different food than we eat. If he doesn't like what we are eating I excuse him from the table and in a kind way explain to him that he will not be offered food again until the next snack or meal time. Often times he will come back around a minute later and eat. If he doesn't, I know he is not going to starve, give him extra snack later and let it go. 
   
   
    So the scenario goes something like this: We sit down to eat and lets say tonight we are having tofu scramble, home fries, greens, and toast. Leo's plate doesn't have any greens on it because I know he doesn't like them. He observes our plates and see's what is different. He wants to be like us so he inquires about the greens. I offer him a bite off my plate, he spits it out, we move on. No judgment, punishment, reward, it is what it is, and we continue to eat. Until today. Triumph! Not only did he eat a big pile of kale, but then asked for seconds.  It was truly amazing.  
   
   
   
   
   
4. I stopped worrying. Once, for about two seconds, I started to worry about Leo not eating his greens. But when I thought about the healing properties of greens as blood purifiers and for detoxification, it dawned on me that a healthy toddler may not really need these things. His diet up until now has consisted of breastmilk and whole foods. His organs, intestines, and blood are still so very young and healthy; he doesn't need greens the way that adults do. So I stopped worrying about it. He loves lots of vegetables that are great for development, such as carrots and squash. I didn't have my first bite of kale until I was in my twenties, so I thought, even if it takes twenty years, he will probably come around.
   
   
   Although I am writing this about my toddler, I am confident that it can be applied to any picky eater or person who does not have a lot of experience preparing or eating greens. And if you've heard about or read about all the amazing benefits of leafy greens but simply don't like them, keep trying. There is a recipe, or a type of green that will work for you, and eventually, your palate might ask you for more. 
   
   
   A great place to start is with kale chips. They are very easy to make and taste like potato chips.
   
   
   Another tip is to start fresh. The difference in flavor and texture between a fresh bunch of local kale, and conventional kale from the store (or frozen or canned) is indisputable. Try it out sometime. If you have a garden or farmers market, start there. You may find you didn't like greens before because of quality.

The recipe for kale chips and raw kale salad are on my website and linked below, along with a fantastic article about the many benefits of incorporating leafies into your diet, yes you!  

 http://lisahickshc.com/raw-kale-salad-cranberries

http://lisahickshc.com/kale-chips-12

http://www.organicauthority.com/health/reasons-kale-is-the-new-beef-nutritious-sustainable.html


Lisa Hicks is all about everyone, everywhere, eating leafy greens.  To learn more about this visit:  http://lisahickshc.com/

Almond Milk

Ah milk alternatives.  We've tried them all, spent way too much time at the store staring at the ingredients in those mysterious Tetra Packs wondering, "what's THAT?".  We've dabbled in cows milk, awkwardly trying to figure out the best one to choose, seeking out sources for raw milk, and still, nothing resonates.   

Here is my conclusion:  homemade almond milk is a super effective way to incorporate the yummy, comforting, white liquid into one's diet without compromising health, ethics, and budget.  As a Mom who practically lives at the grocery store, I am constantly weighing out the nutritional value of foods I spend money on, versus their actual cost.  In other words, why spend $3-$4 on a box of some snacky type food which has very little nutritional value, is highly processed, and comes with all kinds of packaging when I could make a big batch of homemade granola bars which would not only be just as, if not more cost effective, but also more delicious, more fun, and of course, much healthier.  Or, use that $3-$4 on some extra pieces of fruit to have for a snack, what an idea!  

So once my son finally weaned himself from breast milk we went on the search for a good alternative that would soothe and delight him, and not make me worried about compromised quality of ingredients, etc.  Making my own nut milk has proven to be the best alternative for us.  Here are some of the options we tried:   

First, cow's milk (and dairy products in general).  Organic, hormone free, etc, the stuff is expensive and you still don't know the particular ethics and methods of the company you're buying from.  If you have the opportunity to get involved with a local dairy farm, that is wonderful.  I highly encourage anyone adamant about having dairy in their diets to visit the local farm or even volunteer to work on the farm for a day.  Experience the food, the animals, and make sure it continues to resonate.  

I'm not going to pretend that I support this industry for the sake of not being controversial on my blog.  As a Holisitc Health Counselor, 100% committed to sustainable agriculture and environmental practices, I simply cannot advocate the use of abundant dairy in any diet.  The hazardous environmental impact that dairy farming has had on the environment is catastrophic.  When examining the nutritional value of milk and dairy products, it becomes clear that they cause more harm than good in humans- raw or pasteurized.  There is nothing found in dairy products that cannot be found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.  Nothing.  Plant based alternatives are also easily digestible and have many  other nutrient-dense qualities.  What was once a comforting luxury is now an overused staple in American diets and many common health ailments could easily be minimized with the elimination of dairy in the diet such as obesity, sinus and respiratory problems, headaches, hormonal imbalances, acne, and indigestion to name just a few.

Needless to say that experiment didn't last very long.  When giving Leo cows milk (both raw and pasteurized), I found him to have excess mucous, congestion when sleeping at night, and inconsistent bowel movements.  

I have heard wonderful things about the benefits and digestibility of raw goats milk.  While having the pleasure of spending a summer landscaping in Woodstock, NY, I couldn't resist the urge to stop by the infamous herb and nutrition guru Susun Weed's place for some of the real deal raw goats milk.  It was fun.  I didn't like the taste of it, and quite simply, if I don't like the taste of something, I don't eat it.  A wise philosophy indeed.  

Onward to soy milk and nut milks.  There is so much contradictory information out on soy these days, it can be mind boggling.  In a nutshell (or perhaps a bean pod) soy beans have an immense wealth of nutritional benefits.  They are an excellent source of protein with higher levels of folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, fiber, vitamin K, as well as other minerals and omega-3 fatty acids than animal proteins.  Fermented soy beans in products such as miso, tempeh, and tofu take on a magical quality.
      

However, something to mull over.  Pick a bunch of soybeans from your garden, or get some from the grocery store, and see how long they stay fresh in your fridge.  Then take a look at the expiration date on a carton of soy milk at the store.  Hmmmm.  How can something that lasts for only five or six days in your fridge last for several months, un-refrigerated, in a store or warehouse you wonder?  Heavy, heavy processing.  The nutritional benefits of soy are not recognizable by the time you pour the stuff onto your favorite granola.  Paul Pitchford so honestly expresses:  "Regular soymilks are corporate junk, they are denatured and a non-food. Be part of the revolution to grow and make your own soymilk!"  http://www.documents.healingwithwholefoodsproducts.com/a_soygood+.pdf

Apply the same logic to other milk alternatives.

Aside from heavy processing, unless you very specifically seek out unsweetened milk alternatives, they almost all have evaporated cane juice or some other type of processed sweetener.  This perpetuates an unfortunate cycle of tricking people who try to make healthy food choices into becoming addicted to sugar.

Lastly, the Tetra Packs used to package various foods these days such as milk alternatives, soups, and stocks, are not as environmentally sustainable as they claim to be.  Tetra Pack prides itself on being "green", and while it is positive that the inner linings of Tetra Packs do not contain BPA, only 20% of America has access to the recycling facilities that process Tetra Packs.  The rest goes into landfills.  Just a thought.  

 Here are the ingredients in Blue Diamond brand Almond Milk:  ALMONDMILK (FILTERED WATER, ALMONDS), EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SEA SALT, POTASSIUM CITRATE, CARRAGEENAN, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D2, D-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL (NATURAL VITAMIN E).

The ingredients a homemade recipe calls for are:  

• 1 1/2 cup of raw almonds
• 64 ounces good quality water

Here is the link to the almond milk recipe on my website as well as three recipes that incorporate the use of the leftover almond pulp:
http://lisahickshc.com/almond-milk
....Including raw chocolate pie...

Enjoy!

And Asheville peeps, stay tuned!  A fermentation class at my house is in the works!  Soy milk, tempeh, coconut kefir, sourdough starter and other easy DIY delights!

Lisa Hicks is a Board Certified Holistic Health Counselor who loves living in Asheville, NC, being a Mama, and spends entirely too much time in her kitchen... visit her website to get inspired and learn more about Grassroots Nutrition:  http://lisahickshc.com

Practical Cooking Adventures

I have recently fallen in love. With practicality. My life pre-Leo was filled with hobbies, and the more complicated, the better.  The longer I could sit in front of my sewing machine contemplating a few yards of fabric the better.  Need to paint a room? How about multiple colors? Ooooh a racing stripe! At the library? This one with a thousand pages has my name on it!

And in the kitchen, oh the kitchen. Hours and hours in the kitchen. I could probably spend the rest of my life pouring over cook books. They are the books I am most proud of in my collection because they are a part of me. Every recipe I have devoted myself to, tweaked, doubled, stained with turmeric, or completely screwed up has become one of my life experiences. Something I have pushed around my mouth slowly, mindfully, mulled over, wrote a note about in the margins, enjoyed with a loved one, or turned into soup the next day; those recipes have literally become my blood cells, my skin and hair, the glimmer in my eyes, even my offspring, and I love them all. Even the ones I've turned into smoke and thrown in the trash.

So, in my pre-Leo life I was more than happy to wander around the natural food store, co-op, conventional grocery store, Asian, Mexican or Indian market in ambitious search of cornhusks, not just an apple but a Winesap apple, not just lettuce but Boston lettuce, an almost but not quite ripe mango, overly ripened bananas, Amchoor powder, don't you have Hijiki seaweed?! You know, the basics.

Now I am a busy, sleepy, Mama. Leo, at a healthy one and a half doesn't last in the grocery store for longer than half an hour these days, and with another on the way my motivation is lacking to say the least- hence my recent love affair with practicality. The novelty of wandering around the grocery store with wide eyes and impulses is no longer a part of my time budget. Yet nutritious meals that will satiate everyone in my family are a major priority, so fast food is not an option either.

I recently decided in an effort to incorporate more vegetables, yes more vegetables, into our diets, to prep my veggies in advance. Go to the store, get the veggies, take them home, wash them and chop away. This way, when I scramble an egg in the morning, it takes no effort to throw in some roasted garlic and zucchini. A little sprinkle of parmesan, piece of fruit and whole grain toast and suddenly a simple breakfast turns into a healthy feast, yet no extra dishes, my chef's knife doesn't leave its drawer, and I've not taken any time away from Leo and our morning routines. By 8am I've had a coloful meal with something from each food group!

Sometimes I know I could use some greens for lunch but can only work up the motivation for lettuce and dressing. Now my salads are graced with shredded carrots, peppers and steamed broccoli. By the time dinner rolls around if the only thing I have energy for is some soup and rice, or a pb&j, its okay because I've already had several servings of vegetables and have yet to use my knife or cutting board. Victory is mine!

As far as this mealplan plan goes, some of our cookbooks are more practical than others. I must say, practicality thy name, is Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, by the lovely folks of the Moosewood Collective in Ithaca, NY. It has a ton of recipes without being overbearing, is organized in an accessible way, and if you have a well stocked kitchen you will already have the ingredients you need for most recipes; if not, they are easily tweakable. There is a section on half hour meals, “kid-pleasers”, pantry list, and even a section on menu planning and sample menus.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about the book is the section devoted to fish. After many years of vegetarianism I started incorporating fish into my diet and was completely clueless on how to prepare it. The Moosewood recipes for “fish in a packet” are absolutely brilliant: Carribean, Greek, Asian and French. You place a filet in some foil, make a simple marinade and drizzle into the foil packet with veggies, herbs, cooked rice, etc. You wrap everything up securely in the foil and marinate in the fridge anywhere from one hour to overnight. All you do to cook the fish is stick the packet in the oven for twenty minutes. No dishes. For me this is perfect because I am really the only one in my family that likes fish, so its great for just one person.

Onto the menu: Last week I made Coconut Basmati Rice with raisins which Leo LOVED. I made it with dahl and curried vegetables, which we ate on all week. I doubled the basmati rice recipe and later that week for lunch, turned it into a curry stir fry: a can of diced tomatoes, a few handfuls of spinach, garlic, and a half a block of tofu- amazing. Another success with Leo. That kept us busy starting Sunday and with a few hummus sandwiches to fill in a gap or two, we finally polished it all off on Wednesday. On Thursday I made some easy Golden Spanish Rice (doubled the recipe) with fish and a little salad. On Friday we had the rice with cheddar cheese melted on top, avocados, cilantro, and spicy kale on the side. On Saturday I made a tasty batch of Carribean Black Beans that went awesome on top of the leftover rice, and on Sunday we turned it all into burritos with some smashed sweet potatoes, avocado, and lime juice.

Black beans soaking

Just a few simple, delicious, and healthy recipes stretched out throughout the course of a week, all courtesy of the Moosewood Collective.

At first my idea of menu planning and pre-prepping vegetables seemed daunting, but if you know where to shop, have good recipes, and are just a little comfortable in your kitchen, this method is an absolute relief and delight. To think, I have access to whole cloves of slow roasted garlic at my fingertips at any moment...what a sweet luxury.  Prepping the vegetables took about two hours, but hey, I got to have a reggae marathon while chopping to keep me energized and up beat. My kitchen filled with the smell of the garlic roasting, and the amount of time I saved throughout the week was unblievable. My dishes were more colorful, contained more fiber and nutrients, and plain and simple made me really happy.

The right recipes are absolutely essential for this process, and the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day), by the Moosewood Collective, has easily become an indispensible and comforting part of my collection.

Here is the recipe for Coconut Basmati Rice:

1 ¼ cups water

1 cup basmati rice

½ can coconut milk

½ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon salt

1 piece cinnamon stick (about an inch)

¼ cup currants or raisins

1 dried chile (optional)

In a heavy saucepan with a tightly fitting lid, bring the water to a boil. While the water heats, rinse the rice well*. When the water boils, stir in the rice and all of the remaining ingredients. Return to a boil. Stir, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and chile, stir to fluff the rice, and serve.

*I am a huge advocate of soaking rice (and all other grains). It softens the outer case on the grains, making them more digestible and helps to remove any impurities that the rice may be exposed to during the milling, storing, and packaging process. It also makes the texture of the rice fluffier. A few hours of soaking is sufficient.  Rinse after soaking.  

After years of cooking, I am still finding new ways to re-invent my relationship with food, enjoy healthier meals, and stay inspired.  I encourage everyone to do the same, food makes us who we are!  Have fun with food, and have fun in life!

*Lisa Hicks is a Certified Health Counselor.  Check out her website at http://joyinwellness.net/  for more information, recipes, and to set up a free one hour consultation!

Wild Fermentation! Ode to Kimchi!

SO! I am super-jazzed about my latest batch of kimchi and let me tell you why. I walked into the French Broad Food Co-op and what did I see. WHAM! Local daikon radish, local hot peppers, local napa cabbage, local beets, local carrots, local garlic, and local ginger. Local ginger??! That's right, ginger grown right here in NC. I had a blast examining the produce and letting it speak to me in order to pick the perfect amounts of everything, the shapes that felt right in my hand, the colors that grasped my eyes the most, I practically danced up to the checkout with my goodies. Before I get into my recipe, a few words on why the thought of fermented foods makes me want to dance.

Several years ago when I was hip deep in my battle with migraines and chronic fatigue I did lots of reading and research about foods that would help me and almost everything I read instructed me to adopt a mostly raw foods diet. This was not a dramatic transition as I had already adopted a 90% vegan diet, it was summertime, my garden was in full swing and my roommate had a Juiceman juicer he was willing to share with me and even inspired him to juice more too.

That summer I was landscaping and the hours were long and hot, I was coming home to practice yoga and keep up with daily house chores and garden. Because of my active lifestyle I was burning many many calories and with my new raw food approach I was not taking many in. Sure I was incorporating oils, nuts and seeds, coconut products and lots of other good fats, but the amount of calories I was burning was extreme. After a super-long day in 115 degree heat index, after a super-long week, I went home on Friday dizzy with a firework migraine.  I collapsed in bed and didn't return for nearly a month.  My body completely shut down. I had no health insurance and was tested repeatedly for lymes, lupus, mono, HIV; getting these tests without insurance has been the only debt I have had in my life, which I am still paying for, seven years later. All were negative. For three weeks I could not hardly get out of bed.  I quit my landscaping job, slept all day, read Haruki Murikami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez novels; stories that would take me out of my universe and guide me in completely forgetting about my life. How could this have happened? How could I start over? WHERE would I start over?? This is the healthiest possible diet I had ever adopted in my life and made me the sickest I have ever been.  I was in major debt being out of work and having had all of that testing done and had absolutely nowhere to turn. My body craved soups, potatoes, root vegetables, stews and teas; healing to the core, comforting foods. I slowly rebuilt, and started over.

What I have learned over time, through more education and research, and that great hindsight 20/20 vision, is that yes, I was not taking in enough calories. But second, that my personal nature is very cool. I am the type of person that always has chilly hands and feet no matter how warm the weather is. When most are sporting a t-shirt, I have a little pullover on top. Drinking water with lots of ice in it makes me feel like my throat is closing up. I can drink hot tea and enjoy soup during the most brutal heat wave, and I can lay out in the sun without shade and be happy as a clam.

So, let us examine an analogy. Imagine that your belly is a cauldron, a vessel for the food you've been eating. Since I am a cool-natured person, my cauldron tends to run on the chilly side, like a gazpacho. If you are a hot natured person, your cauldron would be hot and bubbly. Ideally, our cauldrons would be at a gentle simmer most of the time we are digesting food. So for me, since my nature is so cool, I have to work to keep the heat up on my cauldron by eating warm foods and beverages, perhaps with spices. Cold (raw) foods, tend to exacerbate my chilliness and slow down my digestion in a shocking way, that is not healthy for me. If you are a hot- natured person, you may notice that when you eat spicy Mexican or Thai food you might feel impatient afterward, sweaty, on a “short fuse” (think George Costanza after the Kung Pao). If you are a cold-natured person and you've just had a big salad for lunch with a glass of ice water, you may find yourself craving that 3pm cup of coffee or sugar jolt. This is the delicate balance.

As far as my experience, I was basically starting at square one. The many benefits of raw food are undeniable and I am a firm believer that everyone should incorporate some raw foods into their diets no matter what your constitution, on account of live enzymes and nutrients that simply disappear once cooked and cannot be attained elsewhere. However, this should be balanced delicately according to your nature. This is where the beauty of fermented foods comes in: Enter Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and person who changed my life and thoughts about food.  In the foreward of Wild Fermentation, Sally Fallon writes:

“The science and art of fermentation is, in fact, the basis of human culture: without culturing, there is no culture. Nations that still consume cultured foods, such as France with its wine and cheeses, and Japan with its pickles and miso, are recognized as nations that have culture. Culture begins at the farm, not in the opera house, and binds a people to its land and its artisans. Many commentators have observed that America is a nation lacking culture- how can we be cultured when we only eat food that is canned, pasteurized, and embalmed? How ironic that the road to culture in our germophobic technological society requires, first and foremost, that we enter into an alchemical relationship with bacteria and fungi, and that we bring to our tables foods and beverages prepared by the magicians, not machines”. (Fallon, Wild Fermentation, pp xii)

Fermentation is a beautiful process of the transformation of microorganisms. Just like the transformation from sorrow to joy, fermentation allowed me to reincorporate raw food into my belly and life in a new and joyful way. When food ferments, its enzymes, fungi, and healthy bacteria are pre-digesting the food. Fermented food like kimchi or saurkraut is so alive, that it has already been working hard to digest itself, before it even touches my lips. Therefore my digestive system reaps all the benefits of the raw food, live enzymes and nutrients, healthy bacteria for strong intestinal flora, and really amazing flavor; without having to do much breaking down or digesting at all. The less hard your body has to work to digest your food, the more energy your food will give you in return.

Fermented food is the perfect compliment to any meal aiding in digestion and bringing joy to the palate. Ancient cultures have been fermenting food since the beginning of time, and it has been something lacking in our Western culture for a long time. Now that people are becoming more aware of the benefits, it has actually become a bit of a trend. Anyone who shops at a natural food store and hasn't noticed the kombucha craze has not been paying attention. Many dairy products like yogurt now tout the label “Contains Probiotics!!”. I believe one of the reasons for this sudden trend is that Americans have been tragically over prescribed antibiotics that kill our instestinal flora. By the time our course of antibiotics is over, we are left with no healthy gut bacteria to defend ourselves from the next disease. And it starts all over again. Americans are (no pun intended) starving for fermented foods.

Kimchi is similar to saurkraut, but with other healing vegetables and herbs besides cabbage. I love beets and the color they turn the kimchi so I improvised and threw some in, if you love snow peas and have access to them, incorporate, whatever you love!

So without further digression, here is my variation of Sandor Katz's kimchi recipe:

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (or more) of sea salt

1 liter of filtered water

1 Napa cabbage

1 daikon radish

1-2 carrots

1-2 beets

1 bunch of scallions (you can use leeks, onions, or shallots, have fun!)

3-4 cloves of garlic (I'll admit right now to using A LOT more than that, about double ;)

3-4 hot chilies (or more, whatever you can handle, this is a good amount for me)

3 tablespoons (or more!) fresh grated ginger

First mix a brine of one liter of filtered water and and 4 tablespoons of sea salt. Stir well to dissolve salt, the brine should be very salty.

For now, set aside garlic, ginger, scallions and chilies.

After washing the rest of your produce coarsely chop into chunks. Save yourself lots of time by then moving your veggies to the food processor. Pulse a few times, remove the top of the processor, scrape the sides of the processor bowl and repeat. Do this until you have a good blend of veggies, some tiny and grated and some more chunky. That's the way (uh-huh, uh-huh) I like it. Add the veggies to the brine and place a plate or other weighted object on top of it, keeping vegetables submerged in the brine. Leave for a few hours or overnight, until the vegetables are soft.

When ready, mince garlic and chilies, and grate fresh ginger. Combine to make a pasty consistency. If you hate to chop, you can throw the whole chilies into the final project, the kimchi will absorb the spice and you can remove them as a last step.

When veggies are ready drain the brine off, reserving the liquid. Taste vegetables for saltiness. “You want them to be decidedly salty, but not unpleasantly so”.  If they are too salty rinse them. If you cannot taste the salt, sprinkle with a few teaspoons, mix and taste. Adjust accordingly.

Mix the vegetables with garlic, ginger, scallion, chilie paste. Mix everything thoroughly and stuff into a clean quart sized jar. I used a giant cabbage and giant daikon radish so it made more than I expected, and I divided into two quart sized jars. Pack it tightly into jar or jars using clean fingers to press down until brine rises up. Add more brine if necessary. Weight the vegetables down with a smaller jar or some other type of weight.

Ferment in kitchen or another warm place. I like on top of the fridge. Taste the kimchi every day with clean fingers and push back down to submerge in brine. You can cover with cheesecloth or saran wrap to keep away dust and flies.

After about a week of fermentation when it tastes ripe, get ready! At this point, I divide into smaller jars so I can give some away to friends or freeze some. Enjoy with meals as a condiment or side dish. Feel those digestive enzymes doing their thing and keeping your cauldron at a gentle simmer!

Other fermented food reccomendations that I love are miso, coconut kefir (in a smoothie, yum!), sprouted grains and beans, tempeh, kombucha, and of course...beer. Happy digesting!  

A Brighter Tomorrow

Here we are once again! Digging around our closets for scarves and mittens, monitoring our thermostats, changing the clocks, and warming up our cars before our daily departure. Spending less time outdoors enjoying the sunshine and more time rushing to get inside.

It is also the time of year when we go inside mentally and emotionally. We prepare for less social functions and sidewalk dining, and more time curling up with a book or movie. More time to be alone, in the quiet darkness of our homes. As a result this introspective time of year can cause a shift in our thoughts and habits; here are a few tips to help you find and embrace the light this winter season:

-Wake up slowly. Allow for just a few moments to quickly rub your hands together and take a few deep breaths, let your muscles and joints warm and wake up to the day.

-Love your morning smoothie? Try starting out with some hot water and lemon...When you are feeling more awake enjoy your smoothie with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a small knub of peeled ginger; delicious herbs with healing and warming qualities, yum!

-Enjoy hearty soups with grounding root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and turnips. Make a big pot and freeze some so you can take it out and re-heat it at your convenience, maybe during that snow storm when everyone else is scurrying to the grocery store!

-Dance. Winter often creates lethargy and our daily exercise routine becomes a challenge. Take a few minutes to put on some of your favorite music and dance around while doing chores. You will feel refreshed and energized!

-Light a candle during dinner, and take a moment before your meal to think about someone you love.

-Take a "hot" yoga class. If you love yoga this is a great time of year to try out "hot" yoga. Great for generating some sweat, detoxifying the body and mind, and getting your heart pumping during this slow time of year.

-Put up Christmas lights; even if you don't celebrate Christmas or Chanukah, Christmas lights are fun and bring a soft and pretty light to even the darkest days.

-Take a warm bath with essential oils such as cinnamon, sandalwood, sage, vanilla or clove.

-Hug the one you love! Your Mom or Dad, best friend, roommate, partner, or kid. Grab them and feel the light!

Enjoy this introspective and intense time of year and cherish it for what it is: a crossroads in life that allows us to reflect, give thanks, set goals, and rest.   

The yoga of dissonance: a tribute to New York

Recently I have had to grapple with something so scary, so uncomfortable, so hard to piece together:  my past.  For one reason or another, last week, over the course of about three days, I had four very uncomfortable conversations with people from my past.  People who I care very deeply about, yet for some reason experience a sort of disconnect with.

I read recently in an article about yoga that people feel they need to fall in love to be whole.  This writer was of the opinion that we are born whole, and that falling in love breaks us, cracks us, and that that crack is how light gets in.  Often times falling in love is incredibly inconvenient, maybe we fell in love with the "wrong" person, at the "wrong" time.  Maybe this love is causing a huge interruption in our lives, jobs, families and friends; maybe falling in love and getting our hearts broken is the exact same thing.  To take it further I could say that these cracks, the dissonance that we all experience at one point or another, whether from falling in or out of love, are not only what makes us different as individuals; but are also what make us the same.  Love is one of the universal concepts, love is THE word in the universal language; of all the things I have taught my son in his short fifteen months of life, I never had to teach him to smile.  He just knew.  His many smiles, no doubt, come from all the love he receives.

So despite these uncomfortable conversations, confrontations between people who strive to avoid confrontation, and breaks in the routine of pretending nothing is wrong, I suddenly feel more whole.  Ready to let go of my past and move on to the future.  Once again, the alchemy of creating joy out of sorrow.

However, things are happening all around me.  Not in my family, or my neighborhood exactly; but in my global universe, in my country.  We recently discovered that the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate, and I certainly feel that in my being.  How do I keep up?  How do I make more joy, out of more sorrow, at a more accelerated rate?  Since my family has begun to uproot to North Carolina we have experienced an earthquake, a hurricane that took the livelihood from many farmers in my sweet community of upstate New York; the tenth anniversary of something from our New York past so painful, so confusing, so heart wrenching, so exhausting it is hard to think about even now, ten years later.  We have seen a man be executed, despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence.  And now, people, people everywhere, speaking their minds on the streets of New York.  People who might generally avoid confrontation, expressing themselves, protesting injustice, asking questions and demanding answers; people who feel the pain of the broken-ness, the ramp-up of economic instability in the past and present, the disconnect between brother and sister.  People being met with hostility and rage from those who are supposed to be protecting them.  Plenty of cracks, but where, may I ask, is the light?  When will the universal disconnect between cultures create universal, harmonious, inconvenient, pain in the ass love?

I don't know.  I do know, that to truly love someone, you have to ask uncomfortable questions and demand answers.  That being a member of a strong family, a strong community or a strong country, that being patriotic, truly patriotic, truly in love with your country; you have to have scary confrontations.  In order to piece together the past and let more light in for the future, sometimes you have to fight.  And it may not happen right away, but you have to have faith that the broken-ness and the darkness of the past, and the possibility of light in the future, will come together to create one, beautiful, satisfying, sweet, harmonious, present moment.  And that is the yoga of dissonance.

So without further ado, here is to my Dad, who has worked hard in corporate America for over twenty years, so that I could get a liberal arts education, have a roof over my head, and write about yoga.  Thank you.  Here is to my Mom, who will never let a New York season go by without reflecting and reveling in the beauty of the present moment.  Thank you.  Here is to my brother, who although may be rooting for the Cardinals tonight, is a G-man through and through.  Thank you.  Here is to my other brother, a Yonkers policeman, who has seen more cracks and less light than I ever care to imagine, and still has the strength and courage to love and be loved.  Thank you.  Here is to my sister, who is a brutally honest and beautiful person.  Thank you.

Here is to all the New Yorker's who are scrambling around to buy firewood, ice scrapers, shovels and salt; preparing for the darkness, yet knowing there will be light once again on the other side.  Thank you.  Here is to the farmers of upstate New York, slowly putting the pieces of their lives back together.  Thank you.  Here is to Ani Difranco, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Wu-Tang Clan (yes I just put those three musicians in the same category), bonified New Yorkers whose music got me through many a tough time.  Thank you.  Here is to Elissa, who made me laugh so hard, so many times, who showed me so much love, who drove my sorry butt around Yorktown Heights so many times, and who forgave me for forgetting to say thank you.  Thank you.  Here is to a professional Chef, who gets the best boss ever award, who showed me that it is possible to run an ethical business, who made me the best tofu scramble I've ever had in my life.  Thank you.  Here's to a little place whose grassy fields, quiet lakes, and creaky doors will always hold the most special of places in my heart, Pine Lake Manor, and for those of you whose familiar faces I look forward to seeing year after year...thank you.  Here is to Hartwick College and especially a Mr. Sandy Huntington, who taught a skeptical young lady without judgement.  Thank you.  Here is to a Mr. A.J. Burnett, who I doubted, and who humbled me.  Thank you.  Here is to my husband, a bonified and official, aggressive New York driver and die-hard Yankee fan; and my son, who will always be originally from New York.  Thank you.

Here is to those folks, those hard-working folks who are really and truly in love with their country.  Who are breaking the routine of pretending nothing is wrong, who are showing up on Wall Street today to ask the uncomfortable questions, to demand uncomfortable answers, not knowing whether they will end up in jail or in love; taking small cracks and driving pressure into them to make bigger cracks, so that there can be a bigger and better platform for more light, more justice, more wholeness.  Thank you.

Here is to lil ol self-absorbed me.  My tough New York past, with my tough big brothers, coming together in harmony with a beautiful, motherly femininity that is all my own.  My uncomfortable past, the possibility of a bright future, and the only thing I know how to do in the meantime, in the grace of this present moment....breathe.