Let Your Life Bloom

Which way do you eat?

Eating food is a sensual experience. The taste, texture, smell. The feeling of being nourished. The sharing of a meal. How often do you eat your food in this way, for pure pleasure?

Chances are, not often. Like body language, we get into ruts or habits around our food. Which way of eating is most like you?

Eating as a chore - "I know I need to eat. Not really hungry. Nothing sounds good. Whatever."

Eating as a pastime - "There's nothing else to do. I'm bored."

Eating as an emotional cover up - "I can't deal, where's the chocolate?"

Eating as an energy boost - The car ran out of gas. You'll take anything, fast food to vending machines, to spike that energy back up, just shove it in there.

Eating as a multi-tasking activity - You're driving, talking on your cell, making a note to yourself at the stoplight, and shoving half a sandwich in your face.

Eating as a meditation - Setting an intentional space, calm and without distraction, taking a deep breath before your first bite, chewing slowly, being grateful for the meal.

Eating for pleasure - Overcome with compliments for the food, indulging your mind in food fantasies as you eat, enjoying the combination of flavors.

Eating for health - Being conscious about what you feed yourself, mostly whole foods, organic, nutrient dense and superfoods, helpful food combining, listening to your intuition around what would be best for you.

All of the above ways are ones I'm personally familiar with. The more I come to care for my overall health, the easier I find it to eat from the bottom 3 categories. It feels much better and I appreciate the whole experience even more.

Which way do you eat? I challenge you to try out the bottom 3 categories of eating this week. Leave a comment and let me know how it went.

Say grace and digest your food better

One of the most powerful ways you can start a meal is by expressing appreciation for it. Not only is it a gift to have food, it also nourishes you emotionally, mentally, and physically. I mean, really, how cool is it that we get to eat? That's something to be grateful for!

Saying grace acknowledges this gift, relaxes your body, and thus, allows you to better digest your food. The book A Grateful Heart is filled with a variety of ways to say grace. Here's a few of my favorites:

"For each of us food is the source of sustenance, the basis of life; and when we offer this gift to one another, we are not only nourishing each other's bodies, we are feeding one another's spirits. So receive - and give - the food of your life as the powerful gift it is." ~ Daphne Rose Kingma

"We begin by honoring the Light. We light these candles for our families, our beloveds, our friends, for all our relations; For those who are near and for those from who we feel an unwanted distance; For the newborn, for the elderly, and for all the wounded children. May the candles inspire us to use our powers to heal and not to harm, to help and not to hinder, to bless and not to curse. May their radiance pour out upon our hearts, and spread light into the darkened corners of our world." ~ adapted from a Passover Haggadah by Rachel Altman and Mary Jane Ryan

And one from my mom:

"Bless this food and all those who brought it forth from the planet, and for the planet for producing this beautiful, nourishing, and tasty food, for the people who put it together, and for being able to share it with each other."

Healthcare reform and food

Healthcare reform has been on my mind for several reasons beyond the obvious political conversations that are happening around it. Coming from a holistic perspective, I can appreciate what the mainstream medical system does offer. It is also clear to me that the system itself, beyond the tangled mess that is otherwise known as "insurance," is also diseased and out of balance.

The current system is based on survival, fear, profit, mismanagment, and lack of the whole picture of what it really takes to be healthy. It's not about "fighting the disease" as if the enemy was our own body. As if we had no choice but to go to battle with ourselves to stake a claim on our health. It's time for a new paradigm. One that integrates the best of conventional and alternative. One that focuses on prevention, thriving, and relationship - with  ourselves, our community, our environment, and our health practitioners. This has a huge impact on health!

Michael Pollan, well known food advocate and more, has written a piece for the New York Times called "Big Food vs. Big Insurance." I've included on the next page. Let's educate ourselves so we can responsibly create health now, and for the future. 

Tips to help digestion

Being able to digest your food is a key to good health. In Ayurveda and Weston A. Price traditions - digestion is seen as the key, the place where all health or illness begins. It makes sense when you think about it. The different systems of our body need certain nutrients in order to work effectively. If something is impairing our digestive process, those nutrients won't be broken down and assimilated. Simply put, the car can't go without gas. And if it's missing an essential part like a tire, or say, the engine is defunct, you won't be in for a smooth ride.

In our culture, there is a lot of emphasis on what to eat. While definitely important, what often gets overlooked is how we eat. Chewing your food well is essential for optimal digestion. This post has lots of good info on chewing your food, including ideas to help you remember to do so. I've included a few more tips below on how to eat, helping you to digest your food well.

Tips to help digestion:

Eat without distraction

I have to admit, this was initially one of the hardest tips for me to implement. Now, it's my favorite way to eat. I'm a multi-tasker, many of us are. I ate while working on the computer. While standing up and walking around. Watching a movie rental. Even driving!

All of this motion throws off your nervous system. You may not notice it, but you're always in the middle of an adrenal (and often mental) spin. This makes it hard to digest. Instead, sit outside in nature or clean the area around where you're eating so the meal is the main focal point. You'll not only enjoy your food more, you'll support your overall health.

Eat until 75% full

Often, when eating becomes one of the many tasks we are doing at the moment, we tend to not pay attention to how much we're eating or realize that we were full five minutes ago. Eating without distraction gracefully leads into this next tip. When you're focusing on your meal, on chewing thoroughly, you'll notice when you've had that "just right" amount. Kinda like Goldilocks. When we overeat, our body works overtime to try and break everything down. It's like moving through sludge, even if the ingredients were healthy to begin with. 

Lay on your left side for 10 minutes after eating

Depending on where you are, it may not always be possible to do this. Though I did see a man do this once, about 10 years ago, at a sushi restaurant, followed by a very loud sound coming from, oh, the middle of his backside. Besides laughing, I dismissed it, figuring it was just a ritual he did.

Turns out, he was onto something. I learned about this tip a few days ago from my Ayurvedic practitioner Kim. In this position, gravity works with the digestive tract and flow of the digestive process. It's also relaxing, and again, when relaxed, digestion works easier (as does any area of your life!). 

What other tips have you learned about to help with digestion? Share your resources here...

The food connection to your health and body

The info below was a forward that I've received a few times before. Every time I see it again, I'm amazed at how food not only supports our health, but how it specifically relates to the part of the body that it helps. If you know the source where this comes from, let me know so I can give credit.

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A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the  eyes.  

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The  heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopene and are indeed pure heart  and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen  neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
 
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.  

Avocados,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).  

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.  

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.  

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.  

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts..  

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

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Pretty amazing, huh?!

Two kinds of fresh - Ganesh & food

Coming off of yesterdays post, and my MC Yogi mention, one souvenir from this weekend was a t-shirt. It says Ganesh is Fresh with a picture of Ganesh and an old school radio. You can see it on the left corner of the screen here. For those of you that don't know, Ganesh is known as the remover of obstacles. That is something we'd all love, right? To have those obstacles transform into opportunities.

That's exactly what's happening with our food and healthcare system in the United States. As consumers - of both - it is one way where we can have a profound impact with our choices. We absolutely vote with our dollars, as well as our activism.

I learned about the movie Fresh just recently. It looks like another winner in a long line of powerful food movies out today. I've previously posted some other trailers, Edible City and Food, Inc.

One of my favorite quotes from Fresh is: "I am a caretaker of creation. The point is to leave this place better than when we found it, for future generations." That's the truth! Enjoy the trailer and make sure to watch all the way until the end. Seeing the guy love up his food is so worth it!

Herbs and spices to ease digestion

For the last month, I've been working with an Ayurvedic practitioner. Since it's an area I only studied briefly in grad school, I'm really appreciating learning about this holistic health care system more deeply. As I learn, not only do I get healthier, I also get to share it with you.

According to Ayurveda, all disease starts in the gut, our good ol' digestive system. Luckily, there are many things that you can do to support a healthy digestion. Let's start with some herbs and spices...

Fennel - Also known as nature's antacid. You can chew on the seeds either raw or dry roasted.

Mint - Notice how some restaurants give you mint candy at the end of the meal with your bill? It's usually those red & white striped mints or the chocolate mints. Instead, order mint tea or find a natural mint candy at your local health food store.

Ginger - Best used for nausea. It is a warming herb, so use sparingly in the summer.

FCC - I learned about this one today. It's a combo of powdered spices including fennel, cumin, and coriander. You can put them in a portable spice jar, and use it as a digestive aid when eating out. If the food you're eating doesn't mesh well with those spices, no problem, pour some into warm water to drink with your meal. 

Got any other tips on digestive spices? Add them here...

Pay it forward with food

On Sunday, a guy came up to me and offered a bag of plums from his tree. Like many trees, it produced way more food than one family could eat. His kids usually share the plums in the neighborhood, but were gone for the weekend, leaving him to gift a lucky passerby - me!

Though I was with a group of friends, there were still way more plums than we could eat. The nearby packed cafe was the perfect place for me to pay it forward as the local food fairy. I shared that bag of plums with 12 other people. It felt fantastic! It makes me want to grow food just so I can give it away. Everyone was so appreciative, especially because they didn't expect it to happen.

Here are a few other ways to pay it forward with food:

♥ Near my downtown, there is a stand with 6 baskets in it. Neighbors put their extra garden helpings into those baskets and are free to take what is already there. Even if you have nothing to give, it's there for the taking.

♥ There's also the Karma Kitchen, whose tagline is "Growing in generosity," and the bill is always $0.00

♥ Urban foraging is becoming more and more popular. Here's one example with links to others.

♥ Got a yard but not into gardening? Have other people farm your property in San Francisco or LA.

♥ Participate in a city farm, share the goods.

What would you like to do to pay it forward with food?

How would you like that cooked?

Last weekend, good friends visited and brought with them a 13 year old (family member) from Switzerland. She only spoke French. Which was Ok, and kind of fun, especially if her Dad was around to translate. Enter Sunday morning, no Dad, and a hungry teenager.

I proceeded to show her everything in my fridge. I'd hold it up, point to the item, smile, and nod. Yogurt? No. Leftover pizza (Dad's choice, not mine)? No. Salad? No. Eggs? Yes!

Now what? I made gestures indicating how it could be cooked. That went nowhere fast. How do you imitate a hard boiled egg? Scrambled? Over easy? The girl just looked utterly confused. Then the a-ha moment hit - Google images! Thank you Internet.

Cool down with herbs

I don't know where you are in the world, but where I am it's H-O-T! Half the day was spent feeling like my brain had melted, only to be restored by ice and a fan. My appetite has diminished and I'm craving cooling foods.

Last summer I wrote about what foods you can eat to cool down. This year I want to share some cooling herbs with you. Most of us know that mint is on the top of the list. Just thinking about it cools me down (great post about mint can be found here).

Here are a few other herbs that have similar cooling properties:

Dandelion - Both a common "weed" and the base for a gourmet salad. Dandelion leaves are very cooling as well as detoxing, helping the liver and improving digestion. It is also antiviral, helps with PMS, and lowers your blood sugar. For an old fashioned dandelion wine and salad, click here.

Borage - This was a new discovery for me. I'm used to seeing Borage oil advertised as a needed EFA (Essential Fatty Acid in the form of Gamma- Linoleic Acid aka Omegas). I didn't know it could be used as a straight up food too. You can add the blossoms to salad, use the leaves instead of grape leaves to make dolmas, or add to pasta sauces. Borage cools a fever, is an antidepressant, and supports the heart in addition to being a cooling food. Really interesting info on borage here and some recipes here. 

Cilantro - Definitely cooling and great in a salsa. Cilantro helps with digestion, nausea, mental stress, headaches, UTI's (urinary tract infections) and quenches your thirst. Coriander is the seed of cilantro and is often used in Indian dishes. If you're like me and your cilantro has gone slimy before its time, these tips will help keep it fresh. Lots of cilantro recipes here.

One last point I have to make here - I think it's so awesome that we have access to information. Anything we want to know about, we can look it up and it even comes with pictures and video! I love the internet!

What are your favorite cooling herbs? Do tell...