Emotions and Holiday Eating

The holidays are a timely season for the subject of emotions and food. Pleasure foods are everywhere, so it's helpful to know that we do get important emotional and social needs met by gathering with friends and loved ones at maybe-not-so-healthy holiday meals, potlucks, and even restaurants. Also, foods which comfort and warm us can help take the edge off holiday stress.

When we’re together with friends and loved ones, sharing delicious food, we’re usually flooded with feelings of contentment and gratitude. I say usually, because I have a real family too, and the scene isn't always joyful. But when the vibe is good, science has lately proven that feeling good emotions while eating aids digestion and nutrient assimilation, and tells our bodies that we’re safe and happy. So, when eaten while feeling these kinds of feelings, even comfort food can be transformed into building blocks for a happy, peaceful, grateful, and yes...a healthy being.

Generally, the emotions we experience while we’re eating, are just as important (and sometimes even more important) than what we’re eating. This idea comes from the study of quantum physics; that our thoughts and feelings affect everything, and that thoughts and feelings definitely have the power to change physical matter. There’s now scientific proof as to the energetically transformative effects of placing our hands over the meal we’re about to eat, closing our eyes, and giving thanks for the nourishment. Whether it’s a macrobiotic, home-made delight, or a quick meal from a food truck on the go, thought and intention can change the physics of matter into good energy in our bodies.

When I think back to how obsessed I was for so many years, about whether the foods I was eating would cause or cure cancer, that I didn’t allow myself to enjoy my favorite comfort foods (or much of the food that could have been shared with friends and family), I’m sad that I limited my experience of life’s pleasures. If I'd let this behavior continue for more years than it did, the stress of all that worry could have made me sick. And it would have definitely been socially stifling, leading to feelings of  isolation, which alone could have lead to illness. 

The stress I caused myself for many years in trying to eat only 100% whole foods, contrasts greatly with this balance and ease I now feel around the big picture of my diet. My spirit is wonderfully uplifted by spending time with people I love over delicious food, healthy or not. Eating is one of the most common social activities, so the amount of quality time and heart-connection I’ve experienced since widening the scope of what I let myself eat, has increased greatly. What a deep blessing this has been!

These days, to stay healthy and in balance, about 80% of the time I eat whole foods that I’ve made at home before my busy week starts - foods that are balancing for my body type and my changing needs. And then I let the other 20% of my diet be an emotionally-soothing deviation from that healthy foundation. Sometimes it’s okay (or sometimes very necessary!) to relieve my stress and maintain my sanity, by feeding the little girl inside of me a quality ham & cheese croissant from my favorite artisan bakery, or a big juicy guacamole burger from Sylvester’s, or maybe a piece of quality dark chocolate. 

I love my dear friend Karyn’s prayer. She says this to herself whenever she eats food that is less than ideal for health, “My mind is strong. My mind keeps my body healthy. Everything I eat turns to health and beauty.” And Voila! It is so! This spiritual wisdom is a wonderful tool that all of us can use in today’s world brimming with questionable foods. I hope you use it to go forth this holiday season, trusting in the power of your joy and good thoughts to create fantastic experiences with your loved ones, and also great health.

Duh Note: If you have severe food allergies, diabetes, cancer, or you're on a candida diet, etc, then you’ll need to prepare all your own whole, organic meals and green juices at home until you’re back in balance and feeling well again.  

     What do my Whole Foods Lunches & Dinners look like?
  
   It seems like the main proteins I usually reach for are eggs or beans. For me, both are easy to digest and aren't extremely concentrated proteins, so they help my body stay in balance. 

   In the fridge, I’ve always got a pot of beans with sea veggies, and a pot of brown rice (or millet or buckwheat, etc) to use as the base of most of my weekly meals. When I need a quick, nutrient-packed meal, it’s so easy to just mix some of this pre-made beans & grain together in a saucepan, and then warm them up on low heat while I’m washing & chopping some veggies to toss into the pan or steam on the side. During the warmer months, I’ll fix a salad instead of cooking my veggies, as raw veggies are cooling to the body.

   Right now (fall), I’ve been loving the yam, winter squash, brussel’s sprouts, green beans, and purple kale I find at my farmer’s market. I usually steam the veggies, layering the chopped root veggies on the bottom of the steamer basket to steam for a few minutes, and then adding the less-dense veggies into the pot. When they’re done, I’ll toss them into a bowl and drizzle them with lemon juice & olive oil. I’ll then eat my warm beans & rice on the side, or I’ll dump them right on top of the veggies. Diced avocado (and possibly ripe tomato) as a garnish on top of everything, is always delicious. And, about once a week, or when I'm feeling like I need some more dense protein, I’ll warm up some leftover meat to have with this, or I’ll sprinkle some raw goat cheddar on top. YUM!

   When Don & I make a dinner together, we often opt for the taco format, which is so wonderfully versatile. We’ll start by washing & dicing veggies and then cooking them into either scrambled eggs, or adding them to our pre-made beans. We use organic corn tortillas (I like Mi Rancho and Food For Life sprouted corn tortillas). Whether it’s black bean tacos, grass fed beef tacos, or scrambled egg tacos, we always prepare a big salad to go alongside our meal, and a plateful of chopped cilantro, tomato, homemade kraut, lime & avocado. Yum! Oh! And we usually drizzle Don’s amazing lemon-tahini salad dressing on top of our tacos...Double Yum!

   Over the weekend, we baked an organic heritage chicken with red potatoes, carrots, yellow onion, celery, whole cloves of garlic, and rosemary. It was delicious, and we had chicken & veggie leftovers for two more meals! We saved the drippings, and couple of days later, we warmed up this rich stock and pureed it with steamed carrot, green beans & kale for a deeply satisfying soup! We also made stock with the bones, which we then used as a base for a less-rich, butternut squash soup. Awesome resourcefulness, right? Just like our ancestors did...

   Stir-steamed seasonal veggies are another staple dish for dinner at our house. I call it a stir-steam because it’s a stir fry with about a cup of water added. This water does 3 wonderful things in a stir fry; it keeps the oil temperature lower so trans fats aren’t formed, it steams the dark leafy greens at the end, and it creates a beautiful sauce in the bottom of the pan with the ground spices, herbs, fat, and soy sauce, which can be ladled onto warm brown rice, quinoa, or millet for a fantastic flavor element! We often use organic shitake or crimini mushrooms in our stir-steams, especially when we want a meat-like richness in our meal, but we want to keep it vegetarian. The stir-steam format is excitingly versatile!

   Sometimes, when we're tired of our usual dishes, we’ll flip through the pages of some of our favorite cookbooks like The Moosewood Cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, The Self-Healing Cookbook, or a cookbook by our new favorite Japanese chef Harumi Kurihara. We’ll find a recipe we have most of the ingredients for, and we'll see if we can ad-lib the rest, which is usually a lot of fun, but sometimes the dish turns out less than amazingly delicious. It's nearly always edible, so the food is rarely wasted when we're trying something different. I believe that experimenting in the kitchen is very important to broadening our culinary skills and knowledge.

  

   About once a week or so, when we don’t feel adventurous in the kitchen or inspired, we’ll get in the car and go eat at one of our favorite, affordable restaurants like Taco Temple, or Taco de Mexico. When we do go out to eat, we don’t worry about how organic or unprocessed everything is. We make fairly healthy decisions in choosing from the menu, and then we simply enjoy our meal....deeply!

Getting Started with Whole Foods

7 vital steps

 

   Recently, a client asked me to outline the 5 most important things anyone can do to get started on a healthier diet & lifestyle. Many of us are overwhelmed with tons of healthy food information, and there are so many differing opinions available online these days, sometimes it's easiest not to make any changes at all! Most of us have lots of friends and family who don't know these basics of whole foods diet & lifestyle, so I composed this as a resource for anyone just beginning on the path.
   This wisdom below comes from the ancient philosophies of Macrobiotics & Ayurveda, as well as tips and guidelines from awesome whole food educators like Craig Lane and Dr. Joseph Mercola. I tried to keep this article brief, and just to 5 steps, but it was nearly impossible...why fight it?

1) Start drinking enough re-mineralized water daily
   Amount: Hydrate with ½ your ideal body weight in ounces per day.
   When: Drink about a quart at times other than when you eat, as to avoid diluting your stomach acids & enzymes which aid digestion of food. Up to 4 oz warm water or tea with meals is okay.
   Re-mineralize: For better hydration, re-mineralize your micro-filtered, purified, spring or distilled water with a pinch of whole sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon or so of raw apple cider vinegar, or an ounce of any 100% fruit juice - each contains trace minerals (aka: electrolytes) for much more efficient water assimilation.

2) Get your greens daily
   Whether it be a big pile of lightly steamed dino kale drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil, or a huge green salad with chopped dandelion greens, I feel so alive, so alert, and so much energy just from eating my greens daily. In fact, this is the very first whole foods step I took about 15 years ago when I had no energy and several health issues due to my Standard American Diet. My energy level shot up by at least 50% when I started eating a big spinach salad every day. “Greens, glorious Greens! Life-giving sustenance!”
   Seasonal regional vegetables of all kinds comprise about 70% of the meals of healthy indigenous people all over the world. You can start shopping farmer's markets for the bulk of your diet, wash & chop those colorful veggies on Sunday before you get busy, and cut way down on after work cooking time. You could even make a tasty stir-steam on Sunday to stuff into a few mason jars to take with you each day as the bulk of your lunch. I promise you'll feel more energy and vitality as soon as you start getting more veggies in. And then, there's less room in your stomach for the refined foods that may be the only foods available away from home for lunch like chips, cookies, bread/flour products, and commercially raised meats and cheeses. 

3) Choose whole, unrefined sweeteners as opposed to refined sugars
   A low-glycemic diet is now found to be preventative for not only diabetes, but for high cholesterol & heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, thyroid dysfunction, depression & anxiety. Wow, right?!?!
   Choose (or make your own!) sweets treats with moderate amounts of: rapidura sugar (aka: sucanat), barley malt syrup, carob, brown rice syrup, yacon powder, mesquite powder, coconut sugar, grade B maple syrup, organic molasses, pure glucose, and small amounts of raw honey.
   Stevia leaf extract is a natural, no-sugar, no-calorie sweetener for those on a no-sugar diet (the best stevia with no bitter aftertaste is Nu Naturals brand - their liquid vanilla flavored stevia is excellent!).  Also, Xylitol is a wonderful, non-chemical sugar alternative made from sugar alcohol that’s great used cup for cup vs. white sugar in recipes.
   Maltitol is another sugar substitute made from sugar alcohol, but it often can cause gastro-intestinal distress. Agave syrup I can no longer recommend, as it’s now found to have more detrimental long term effects than high-fructose corn syrup! True agave is thick and dark, like molasses, so the stuff you see in the natural food stores is fairly refined.

4) If you get vitality from eating grains, choose whole grains vs. white flour bread products
   Because of the genetic modification, the high glycemic aspect, rancidity of pre-ground flours, and general overuse of wheat & corn in processed foods, I believe that regular consumption of these grains, as well as other high-glycemic grains like white rice, are major factors in the most common degenerative diseases of modern people.
   Corn & wheat are both high glycemic. Commercially grown corn is also really bad for us because, like most other genetically modified crops such as soy and canola, it contains pesticide and has been linked to cancer and sterility in both men & women. Wheat now contains 40% more gluten than ever before, due to it’s hybridization over recent decades. Gluten exists not only in wheat, but in spelt, barley, rye, kamut, triticale, and others. It’s been recently proven to not only cause systemic inflammation (which has been known for years), but is now considered cardiotoxic and neurotoxic!    Each of us is sensitive to gluten in widely varying degrees, and with widely varying symptoms, the most common of which are stomach pain & intestinal/digestive disorders, asthma & skin rash, chronic pain & inflammation (arthritis), heart arrhythmia, infertility, thyroid deficiency, and brain chemistry imbalance which can lead to psychosis.
   There are many other wonderfully nutritious, low glycemic whole grains that are gluten-free. The late-life vitality of indigenous people is due in part because they eat only the lower glycemic, nutrient-dense whole grains like millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and brown rice. And, you can make these grains even more nutritious with certain methods of preparation. When these grains are soaked (aka: sprouted) and simmered, OR freshly ground & cultured, they provide an easily digestible, long lasting energy source for many people (carb-nutritional-types). The modern processed food industry skips these important steps in preparing grains. These steps help break down the complex carbohydrates in the grain, making them much easier to digest, and also neutralizes the phytic acid in the bran of the grain, which makes it’s vitamins & minerals much more bio-available. Go figure!

5) Choose unrefined fats and oils for cooking, get more omega 3 fatty acids, and eat way less refined vegetable oils
   Hydrogenated vegetable oils (found in shortening, margarine, and in many processed foods) are the very worst kinds of fats for the body. The copious amounts of long chain trans fatty acids in hydrogenated oils accumulate in the arteries and form net-like structures. Trans fats are especially bad for people who also eat saturated fats (which is most modern people), because these good, saturated fats from butter, marbled meat, eggs, cheese, and coconut oil, come through the arteries and get caught in the net that’s been formed by the trans fats. Trans fats also occur when heat or pressure are used with refined vegetable oils, as in the processing of packaged foods like cookies, crackers and chips. So, we're talking about refined vegetable oils like canola, corn, soy, and “vegetable oil”....the oils we've been told are good for our heart! These molecularly unstable, refined vegetable oils are what most restaurants cook with, so you ay want to cut way down on oil-laden foods at restaurants. Also, avoid cooking with these refined vegetable oils at home.
   Smoking, not drinking enough water daily, spiking the blood sugar regularly with a more than medium glycemic diet, and lack of exercise all contribute to buildup of plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis).
   Unrefined, or “extra virgin”, high-quality olive oil and sesame oil are wonderful oils for raw use on salads, or for very low heat cooking for short periods of time (eggs or a quick stir-steam), and should not be used in medium or high heat cooking. Whole, unrefined fats such as butter fat, palm oil, coconut oil, and lard are very stable molecularly with heat, and thusly do not form long-chain trans fatty acids which block the arteries. Use these oils for high heat cooking. Whole fats from animal sources are a very important source of bio-available vitamin A and are important for many bodily systems such as brain & nerve function, reducing inflammation, hormone balance, healthy skin and connective tissues, and of course, a natural & healthy blood lipid profile. These whole fats are what  indigenous people, and our own ancestors, eat and use for cooking, and they live very heart-healthy late into life. Note: these people don't have access to packaged foods (cookies, crackers & chips), and they eat a low glycemic diet, both of which are key for heart-health.
   It’s also very important, for all of these bodily functions I just mentioned above, to get enough omega 3 fatty acids from either good quality fish oil or krill oil. Plant sources of omega 3 fatty acids such a flax, pumpkin, or chia seed may be all you need if you’ve been on a whole foods diet for a long time, and thusly your body can easily convert the alpha-linoleic acid from these seeds into the important, hormone-like substances called prostaglandins that your body needs. Fish and krill oil are direct sources. 

Whole Food Fats & Oils Cooking Guidelines 

~To cook on high heat: ghee, coconut, animal fat, peanut, grapeseed, and palm or palm kernel.                  
~To cook on medium/low heat: olive, sesame, almond, apricot kernel, walnut, high-oleic sunflower or safflower, rice bran and avocado. Cooking w/ water helps keep oil temp lower. These oils are almost always sold in a highly refined state, so be sure the label says unrefined -  usually available at natural food stores.


6) Choose only high-quality, naturally raised, organic, or grass fed animal products
   Environmental toxins and other cancer-causing elements bio-accumulate in exponentially higher and higher concentrations, each step up in the food-chain. Bummer!

7) Good sleep, regular exercise, plenty of sunshine, and healthy relationships are huge for health - www.mercola.com - nuf said!

Here's a recent interview about the importance of eating cultured vegetables with Randol White on 
Eat Drink Explore.com...enjoy!

http://youtu.be/Ygish4QkPE4

Celebrate Safe Sunning

   Ahhhhhh! The deep warmth and relaxation of laying out...that’s what we used to call it, “laying out”. I remember the coconut aroma of my Mom’s Tropicana suntan oil, and how she would fall asleep, stretched out on a lawnchair, while I played in the yard. I remember looking through the fence at the older neighbor girls, as they took time after school to bare most of their young skin to the brilliant, Southern California sun. Each of them was on a quest, a quest to achieve the perfect summer tan.

   Throughout the 80’s and 90’s skin cancer rates climbed, and people slathered chemical sunscreens on their skin in an attempt to block out the cancer-causing UVA rays. It’s so sad to me that chemical sunscreens with parabens and phylates, are now known to actually increase risk of certain types of skin cancer.

   Scientists are now discovering the many benefits of getting a safe, daily dose of UVB rays of sunshine (more about UVB rays below). These benefits, aside from getting a deeper skin color, include; natural vitamin D production (which cuts cancer risk by 60 %), improved mood and energy through release of endorphins, synchronization of biorhythms, treatment various skin diseases, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, tuberculosis, and more.

   Since embarking on the quest for these benefits myself a few years ago, I too am now addicted to the warm, meditative retreat of lying out in the sun. It has become my 20 minute escape when I have the extra time...whenever the sun decides to bless me out here in otherwise foggy Los Osos.

   Throughout the day, there are two different types of rays we get from the sun. One type is beneficial, and one is detrimental. The detrimental, UVA rays, can damage our skin in the morning and in the late afternoon, when the sun’s rays are bent (or whenever the sun is less than 50 degrees from the horizon, which happens year-round in high latitudes such as Alaska). And the beneficial rays, the UVBs which help us make vitamin D, occur generally between 10AM - 2PM in the late spring, summer, and early fall in most latitudes, when the sun is overhead and the rays are more direct.

   For your regular sunning-pleasure, safety, and knowledge, I listed below the safe sun exposure guidelines and tips according to Dr. Joseph Mercola. Here’s a LINK to one of his best articles on vitamin D benefits and safe sunning.

   Get out in the sun in the midday, and only stay out in it as long as it takes your skin to turn a slightly darker shade. For me, since I’m fairly fair (thanks to my Irish heritage), that’s about 15 minutes in the spring & fall, and only 5-10 minutes in the summer. As soon as I turn slightly pink, I go back inside. I’ve been able to spend longer and longer periods out in the sun without burning, as my protective tan has developed. It’s best to let your natural pigmentation (tan) develop slowly to avoid burning even slightly.

   Avoid burning at all costs. Sunburn is one of the biggest risk factors for skin cancer and photo-aging. If you accidentally do burn, use raw aloe vera to sooth & heal your skin. If you have to be out in the sun for extended periods, cover up or use a non-chemical sunscreen. I like California Baby and Elemental Herbs SPF 33...you can also make your own natural sunscreen! Here’s a LINK to a great recipe for natural sunscreen.

When sunning, get as much of your skin exposed as possible, even if it’s simply rolling up your sleeves and pant legs, but shade your delicate face and eyes.
Avoid sunning through a window or glass, where UVB rays get blocked but UVA rays come through.
 

Avoid foods which weaken your skin’s natural sun protection: refined vegetable oils, processed foods, foods with chemical additives, and inflammatory foods. Eat plenty of real foods which contribute to your skin’s natural sun protection: virgin coconut oil, plenty of omega 3 fats, quality vitamin C, oral Vitamin D3, and the supplement Astazanthin. Here’s a wonderful article which explains all of this.
 
Wash your armpits and groin with soap, but try not to scrub the rest of your skin with soap as it interferes with you body’s ability to absorb vitamin D. You see, vitamin D production happens in the sebum (oils) of your skin, which can take up to 2 days to be absorbed into your body....no wonder we’re all vitamin D deficient!

Keeping Cool (And Warm) With Foods

JULY ARTICLE

                      Keeping Cool (And Warm) With Foods

I’ll never forget how amazed I was, when I first learned that our body temperature can be controlled with food. It was a hot summer day, and I was at a friend’s house (a friend who had been studying Macrobiotics for many years). He said that the day before at his house had been so hot, that he and his wife just stayed in the shade and ate only melon during the hottest part of the day. ‘What?’, I thought.  ‘Melons help you feel cool?’...Yes! Every kind of melon is hydrating to the body and has a very cooling thermal effect. In fact, most of the foods which grow at the hottest times of year, tend to cool our bodies down.

It’s intriguing to me how often Mother Nature knows best. The spring and summer crops tend to be cooling and cleansing, whereas the fall and winter crops tend to be warming and building. Go figure! The ancient diet and lifestyle systems of Macrobiotics and Ayurveda state these principals clearly, as guidelines for maintaining balance through the seasons. A powerful tool for maintaining balance in mind, body, and spirit, is to eat seasonally and regionally, just as our ancestors and indigenous people all over the world today do.

Another amazing fact is that different cooking methods impart either a warming or cooling thermal nature into our food. When feeling too warm, eat fruits and vegetables raw, or just lightly steam your veggies. Blanching or sauteing with water also tend to help keep the body cool. Quicker cooking methods using stainless steel are suggested in hot weather.

Conversely, in the colder months (or when feeling cold), bake, pressure-cook, or cook for longer periods of time in cast iron. The fall and winter foods which tend to be more warming and building are; whole fats like butter, quality meats, root veggies, winter squash, sturdy winter greens like Brussel’s sprouts and cabbage, and the hearty winter grains like oats, heirloom wheats, rye, kamut, and amaranth.

Okay. Let’s get back to those cooling foods, before you have to go jump in a swimming pool! The cooling summer vegetables are cucumbers, lettuces of all kinds, bok choy, mustard greens, turnip and radish tops, green beans, sprouts, summer squash, and zucchini. Most fruits have a cooling thermal nature, especially melons, tropical fruits, summer fruits, grapes, and berries.
And the cooling grains are: millet, corn, and quinoa.

It’s important to note, that, for easy digestion, eat melons and fruits by themselves, as they do completely different acid-dance in the stomach compared to other foods. If you have sensitive digestion (like me), you may want to eat all vining fruits, like cucumber, alone. It’s best to wait 2hrs after eating a meal, before eating fruits, melons, or cucumbers...and afterward, it’s best to wait another 2hrs before eating other foods again. Eat them alone.

And, of course, during these hot days, remember to stay hydrated with plenty of re-mineralized water, around the clock, by adding to your water any of these electrolyte-rich, water metabolism enhancers; a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar, an ounce or so of any 100% fruit juice, or a pinch of real sea salt. And, because many of us forget to drink, set out half your ideal body weight in ounces of water each morning, and drink 1/4 of it about 45 minutes before breakfast. Then, stagger the rest of your water throughout the day, between meals, so as not to dilute your valuable stomach acids or enzymes. Better digestion means better health all the way around. Yay!

Hope that helps y’all till the fall!

 Animal Proteins and Saturated Fats

In deciding to do a liver cleanse recently, I browsed the liver/gallbladder chapter of my favorite book, Healing With Whole Foods, and discovered that I’ve been way too liberal with both red meats and saturated fats.

For years, I’ve been gleefully mounding heaping tablespoons of ghee and virgin coconut oil into my skillet for high-heat cooking because I’d studied that eating a low glycemic, whole foods diet makes one’s metabolism switch from burning sugars for energy to burning fats. Also, it’s now well known that the trans fats from refined vegetable oils in processed and restaurants foods are what clog arteries (especially in conjunction with saturated fats in the diet). And, healthy indigenous people often eat as much as a 60% fat diet of natural, whole, unrefined fats. But, I’ve been stopped in my tracks with this fat-fest after reading that too much saturated fat is really hard for the liver & kidneys to process.

Saturated fats cause internal heat to build up because the energy released from digesting fats is more than twice the amount of energy released from proteins and carbohydrates. No wonder I’ve been opening the windows and waking up sweating at night. According to Chinese medicine, eating too much saturated fat slows the liver’s ability to cleanse the blood, which leads to liver heat and stagnation, which then can lead to excesses and inflammations such as acne, tumors, cancer, obesity, boils, carbuncles, liver/gallbladder disorders, heart disease, and kidney disorders. Whoah Nellie! No wonder my acne has come back again lately...I’m glad I came across this information when I did!

So, how much saturated fat is too much? In a nutshell, even though my metabolism had switched to burning fats, and even though I lost another 5 pounds without even trying on my low-glycemic, whole foods diet, my saturated fat consumption (pasture butter, ghee, virgin coconut oil, etc.) should be no more than 1 teaspoon per meal (as opposed to the tablespoon or two I’d been wallowing in for years). Okay. This guideline is best for me because my diet includes meats  and other animal products, which have copious amounts of their own saturated fats. If I were a low-glycemic, whole food-eating vegan, it would be okay to increase my saturated fat intake to 2 teaspoons or so per meal. But, since I want to continue to enjoy my eggs & greens a few days a week, and my grass fed beef once in a while, I need to eat less saturated fats, and enjoy more monounsaturated fats like high quality, extra virgin olive oil, unrefined sesame oil, raw nuts & seeds like flax, chia, and pumpkin seeds...and of course, avocado! Hallelujah! 

I’ll be using more water in my stir frys now, and way less ghee or butter in my beans. But, I won’t omit these wonderfully flavorful, saturated fats completely, because they’re very important in small to moderate amounts for everyone. Our bodies absolutely need good quality, saturated fats from both plant and animal sources, for brain & nerve repair and function, for glandular secretions & hormone balance, for healthy skin, and for internal warmth in the winter or when feeling cold. If we don’t get any saturated fat & cholesterol in our diets, our liver will begin to over-produce it because it plays such an important role in so many bodily processes. Chinese medicine says that fats should be used more liberally in the winter, or when feeling dry, cold, nervous, underweight, unproductive or ungrounded.

I believe that most health problems in modern people happen from three habits of the standard american diet; 1) eating packaged, restaurant & other refined foods such as iodized salt, refined sugars, refined vegetable oils, and refined grains like wheat flour, 2) in spiking the blood sugar throughout the day and throughout the lifetime, and now 3) in eating too much saturated fat, red meats, or pasteurized dairy products.

Okay. This is the perfect segway into what I just read about animal proteins. Animal foods, especially red meats, contain arachidonic acid. When this substance builds up, the body will experience pain & inflammation, blood clotting, and the inhibition of omega-3 fatty acid uptake. Excess animal protein & especially red meat consumption for long periods of time can eventually lead to: rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, dermatitis, rhinitis, psoriasis, lupus, and tumors. If you’re a regular red meat-eater (protein nutritional type or type O blood), and you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you’ll probably want to eat at least 50% less animal protein, and replace your red meat with consciously raised, organic poultry (LINK to Dana’s heritage chicken) and clean fish. (Fish LINK: http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/pc/home.asp).

I do really well as a type A blood type, on a complex carbohydrate-based diet, so, I’m going to reduce my egg consumption from 10 eggs/week down to 4 eggs/week, my poultry and fish consumption down to 4oz twice a week, and my red meat consumption down from 8oz once a week to just 4oz once a month. This is how most healthy, rural, Asain people eat, and seasonal veggies are the base of their diets.

If you find yourself craving meat, spirulina and chlorella are GREAT ways to supplement your protein needs while supplying your body with everything it needs nutrient-wise, including chlorophyl and gamma-linoleic acid (highly absorbable form of omega-3). Micro algae is not really a plant, and not really an animal. It’s sort of between the two. It’s considered a super food, and you can live very healthy, solely on it! Spirulina and chlorella are recommended specifically for people transitioning from over-eating meats to a more vegetarian platter. The recommended dosage is 1-2 teaspoons per day.

Right now is a perfect time to address these issues of overeating meats and fats & oils in our diets because June marks the warm return of summer, and it’s this time of year when our bodies need less meat and fat, and more of the the cooling, cleansing summer fruits and vegetables to maintain balance in mind, body, and spirit. It’s amazing to me how nature gives us what’s most balancing, season to changing season, right where we happen to live.

One Of My Favorite Breakfasts...

Arame Eggs & Greens w/Avo...YUM!

MAY RECIPE: The Seasonal Casserole To Go
This is a great casserole to make ahead of your busy schedule. What I like most about it is that you can totally individualize the recipe; it can be made with any of your favorite veggies, with or without cheese or meat, and even without eggs! It takes about 2 hours to make, but it’s well worth the effort. The entire dish can be cooled and refrigerated for easy spatula servings into wax paper baggies for lunch on the go all week long. Yay!

PART 1
Soak 1 cup whole grain millet and 1cup whole grain amaranth overnight under 2 inches filtered water in the medium saucepan you plan to cook it in. Soaking whole grains does 3 things: 1) it makes the grain's vitamins & minerals more assimilatable, 2) it initiates the sprouting process and then many more amino acids develop for your body to make proteins from, and 3) it makes the complex carbs much easier to digest.
Okay, the next day, strain off the soak water and refill the pot with 3 cups filtered water. Bring to a boil, stir in 1/2 tsp whole sea salt, reduce to a low simmer, put the lid on the pot at an angle so the steam can escape, and simmer for 25 minutes.
This thick gruel is a nutrient-packed base for any meal. Use it for breakfast or dessert alongside raw nuts & seasonal fruit, OR with beans or stir-fry!

PART 2
Stir-steam a bunch of diced seasonal veggies (below), and then mix in a dozen beaten eggs along with the simmered millet & amaranth (high quality meat & cheese optional) and pour everything into a casserole dish to bake. 

INGREDIENTS
8 cups diced seasonal vegetables:
   in spring/summer use: yellow squash or zucchini, asparagus, broccoli & bok choy
   in fall use: carrot or parsnip, green beans & collard greens
   in winter use: yam, burdock root, yellow onion & kale
3Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
1Tbsp yellow curry powder
3-4Tbsp Ohsawa or Eden brand shoyu or tamari soy sauce (or 1Tbsp sea salt if you can’t do soy)
1Tbsp minced fresh rosemary and/or marjoram & dill
12 high quality eggs (the eggs can technically be left out because the amaranth holds the ingredients together pretty well after the dish cools)
Optional: 1/2 c. drained sun-dried tomatoes (kids usually don’t like these)
Optional: 1 cup grated organic cheese (I like goat cheddar!)
Optional: 1lb cooked & diced high quality, consciously raised meat like organic chicken or grass fed beef

HOW TO
Sauté most dense veggies (root vegetables & onion) in ghee or coconut oil in a large wok or deep pot with a fitting lid with curry powder and 1 cup water for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Next add less-dense veggies (green beans, summer squash, broccoli, asparagus, etc.) and stir, then saute for another minute. Next add dark leafy greens like kale or collards, cover the skillet and let saute another minute. Uncover skillet and stir greens into bottom of pan until they’re all slightly wilted and wet looking. Turn off the heat & add shoyu or tamari soy sauce and herbs. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes (optional), a dozen beaten eggs, 4 cups simmered millet & amaranth, and optional cheese/meat. Pour into buttered 9 x 13” casserole dish (use two baking dishes if needed) and bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 350°. When a wooden skewer stick comes out dry, it’s done! Let cool for at least 20 minutes.
Lemon juice squeezed over each serving tastes fantastic! Refrigerate the rest for easy meals to go. I just put a 4” square of it into a wax paper bag and take an avocado along for a hearty lunch away from home. Having this dish ready in the fridge is a God-send on those rushy mornings!

I Had No Idea Our Adrenals Were Fatigued!

Don & I laughed harder than we had in weeks while we were driving recently. Don was commenting on how tired he’s been feeling lately. He said that when he wakes up in the morning, he feels about 80% as tired as when he laid down to go to sleep. I shook my head. We were stopped at a light behind a heavily bumper stickered car. Don said, “They should make a bumper sticker that says, ‘I wonder if Jesus was this tired too’.” And we laughed, hard, even though we realized something was seriously wrong.

The Symptoms
A few months later, I was on the phone with a girlfriend, and she was telling me about her symptoms of adrenal fatigue. It was a bit scary when I realized that Don had been waking up feeling tired, I’d been getting tired around 1PM and needed either a nap or caffeine or sugar to make it through the rest of the day, and we both had been experiencing pounding hearts when lying down to nap or sleep. The other symptoms are; loss of head hair, feeling rundown or overwhelmed, craving salty and sweet snacks, feeling more awake and energetic after 6PM than you do all day, slow to start in the morning, gastric ulcers, afternoon headaches, feeling full or bloated, blurred vision, unstable behavior, becoming shaky or light-headed if meals are missed or delayed, cannot stay asleep or cannot fall asleep, and dizziness when moving from sitting to standing or lying to standing.

What Causes Adrenal Fatigue?
I started researching, and discovered that 66% of people in our modern world experience this disorder to one degree or another. This is no surprise to me, as I hardly know anyone who doesn’t over-use coffee (For 14 years, I always had a strong cup of green or black tea to get going in the morning, and usually another cup in the afternoon). Stress is the main issue, and it permeates our lives in many forms. Here’s what Diane Sanfilippo has to say about the many causes of adrenal fatigue and recommended supplements to overcome it. Her entire article is an excellent read, by the way.

“Contributors to the stress that leads to adrenal fatigue can be lifestyle stressors including but not limited to: lack of sleep, poor food choices, use of stimulants, pulling “all-nighters” or “pushing through” a day despite being tired, perfectionism, staying in no-win situations for too long, over training, lack of fun or stress-relieving practices. Those who are: students, medical professionals, single parents, unhappily married, unhappy or unsatisfied at work, are self-employed or starting a new business, abuse drugs or alcohol, have alternating shift schedules or who are the “all work and no play” types have lifestyles that lead to adrenal fatigue. Furthermore, life events that can lead to adrenal fatigue include: unrelieved pressure or stress at work, any crisis or severe emotional trauma, death of a loved one, major surgery, extended or chronic illness, sudden change in life situations such as loss of a job or moving without much friend or family support in a new location and repeated or extended chemical exposure. (Wilson, 17-18) The problem of stress might not be such an issue if we weren’t compounding many stressors over the course of days, weeks, months and years without much downtime for our systems. So, while the condition of adrenal fatigue can come on suddenly as triggered by a traumatic or severe life event, most commonly it is experienced after a gradual, cumulative effect of multiple stressors.”


How Do We Heal?
Nearly each of us are bombarded by multiple stressors in our modern world. So, how do we work to heal our adrenal glands?

• Wean yourself off more than one cup per day of coffee and other stimulants. Ideally, we shouldn’t need any stimulants to get going in the morning, or to keep going in the afternoon. A fresh green juice each morning is a wonderful way to get lots of oxygen-rich chlorophyll to the brain, which, I find energizes me nicely. Don & I make a green juice about 4 mornings a week with: 3 carrots, 6 stalks celery, 1 large cucumber, 1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger and/or fresh turmeric root, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/2 bunch either cilantro, parsley or dandelion greens (or all three). This combination is very cleansing and nourishing, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and soothing to the digestive system. Recommended teas to substitute for coffee are: Tulsi (aka: Holy Basil), Ashwaganda, Ginseng, Ginger, Licorice Root, and Ginko Biloba. CAUTION: use only small amounts and light steeping of ginseng, ashwaganda, or any other stimulating herbs, as they work the adrenals  - just use enough to take the edge off your caffeine-withdrawl tiredness and headache, and within a couple of weeks you won’t need these herbs anymore either. You want to work toward waking up naturally with all the energy you’ll need for the day, as our bodies are designed to do. What’s normal and encouraged is to begin feeling tired and then lying down for a nap around 4 or 5PM.  
• Get more sleep. Getting to bed by 10PM at the latest is encouraged, before your second wind kicks in around 11PM. And, sleeping in until 9AM whenever possible is necessary for full recovery in severe cases of adrenal fatigue.
• Eat a well balanced, low glycemic, whole foods diet with lots of organic vegetables and fruit, plenty of good fats (especially Omega 3s), and the kind of protein that works best for your nutritional type. Here’s Joseph Mercola’s free nutritional typing test.
• Never skip breakfast, and make it a protein meal
•  Get enough re-mineralized water each day
• Don’t spike the blood sugar, even with with high glycemic complex carbs such as bread products, corn, white rice, potato, and super sugary fruits such as melon. The lower glycemic fruits are berries, green apple, lime, lemon, currants, cherries, apricot, guava, grapefruit, kiwi, papaya, orange, peach, and plum.
• Avoid trans-fats such as french fries, all other fried food from restaurants, and cooking at home with refined vegetable oils like canola, soy, and “vegetable” oil.
• Learn to establish healthy boundaries in unhealthy or draining relationships - practice saying ‘NO’ to demands of your time and attention so you can have time to take care of yourself.
• Whatever you aren’t enjoying in your life, take steps to change or leave the situation.
• Exercise in ways that are fun for you, and don’t over exercise or under exercise.
• Schedule time each day to play with people you love or your pets. Laugh several times a day.
• Journal about everything you’re grateful for.
• Take vitamin C, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and vitamin .
• Take pregnenolone and DHEA, as needed.
• Avoid becoming over-tired.

Great Breakfast Ideas!    

SO MANY PEOPLE ask me what I eat for breakfast. Yes, I too have experienced that breakfast is a huge key to whether or not I feel great and have vital energy throughout the day.
For me, it basically breaks down to what I feel like eating that particular morning. Having the same thing every day would get old fast, and wouldn’t serve my body’s need for diversity of nutrients and flavors. Usually, I want a couple of over-easy eggs with some steamed fennel bulb, carrot, and dark leafy greens drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil. But often, I feel like having a complex carbohydrate-based breakfast on the sweet side...sweet, but still low-glycemic.

EGGS & GREENS   
Whenever I want a protein and greens breakfast, I wash, cut and steam my veggies and greens (recipe below), turn them out onto a plate, drizzle high-quality olive oil and lemon juice, and set them aside. Then, I fry a couple of high-quality eggs over easy in my favorite cast iron pan, in either a teaspoon of butter or ghee. I usually set my eggs right on top of all the luscious veggies & greens, so that when I break into them with my fork, the rich yolk drips down onto the veggies. YUM! Eggs from pastured chickens are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are only bio-available when the yolk is left runny....how ‘bout that!

RECIPE: Steamed Veggies & Dark Leafy Greens to alkalize the body
In a deep, medium sized stainless steel saucepan, place a fitting steamer basket and about 2 cups of water in the bottom. Wash and slice 1/3 of a fennel bulb, and a small carrot into 1/4 inch pieces. Burdock root (blood cleanser and overall body strengthener - pictured in photo above) is great here too, when it’s in season. Place all the root veggies in the bottom of the steamer basket, and steam for about 3 minutes until almost tender. Next, stuff two big handfuls of washed & chopped kale, collards, and/or broccoli on top of the root veggies, cover again and steam for another minute. Uncover to make sure all greens are slightly wilted and wet-looking. Steam another 30 seconds if not. Remove lid immediately, and carefully (so you don’t burn your hands with the steam) turn all the veggies and greens out onto a plate. Drizzle lemon juice and a high-quality virgin olive oil on top. After you eat this, you’ll feel invincible all day long!


BROWN RICE-BASED BREAKFASTS (these also double as desserts!)
Whenever I feel like having that sweet, carby yet low-glycemic meal (not just at breakfast, but often for dessert!), I’ll break into the leftover brown rice I always have in my fridge. I’ll put a cup or so of rice into a bowl, chop whatever seasonal fruit I have on hand, and mix the fruit into the rice. Lastly, I’ll sprinkle some fresh, raw nuts on top. With a bit of fruit and nuts in each bite of brown rice, I’m in heaven! Who knew such deliciousness could happen from three simple ingredients!

Whenever you’re feeling a bit more extravagant and you want more flavor, you can warm your leftover rice in a saucepan with several other ingredients of choice. Below is one of my favorite recipes I call Apple Pie Rice. Use this recipe structure to flavor your brown rice-based breakfasts or desserts in whatever way you please! Just choose a fat (coconut oil, butter, or ghee), a spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, carob, etc.), a salt (Himilayan pink, etc), a liquid sweetener (Nu Naturals vanilla stevia, Sweet Leaf english toffee stevia, or one teaspoon of raw honey or grade B maple syrup for a medium glycemic treat), and whatever seasonal fruit and raw nuts you like (or dried coconut!). Voila! You’ve got a delightfully flavorful, whole food breakfast or dessert!

RECIPE: Apple Pie Rice
This is a low-glycemic treat - better for you than apple pie, and tastes twice as good! In a small saucepan over low heat add 1/2 cup water and 2 cups freshly simmered (or leftover) brown rice, 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, ½ tsp whole sea salt, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice and ½ tsp allspice. Simmer & stir for 3 minutes or so, adding more water if it’s too thick for you). Turn off heat & add 12 drops Sweet Leaf brand English Toffee stevia (1 tsp grade B maple syrup or raw honey if not using stevia). Stir until mixed well & add 1 medium diced fresh apple. Enjoy warm, and top individual servings with pecans, walnuts or almonds and possibly....raspberry drizzle! Here’s how to whip it up: in a small bowl mix the juice of 1 ripe lemon (Meyer lemon is best), 8 drops Nu Naturals vanilla stevia & 1 cup mashed raspberries from fresh or frozen. Wow! That tastes like apple pie with a raspberry drizzle!

Comfort Food, Human Connection, and Quantum Physics
                                        March 2013

    Ever find yourself magnetically drawn to the shelves of chocolate at the CoOp or New Frontiers? Ever think, “awe, to hell with my food-allergy restrictions today...I need that croissant!” Pleasure foods sometimes give us a very necessary, temporary comfort which can ground us in feelings of safety, help us move on with a stressful day, or simply help us access joy and gratitude. Let’s face it. The world can be way too fast-paced, hectic, and even frightening. When the pressure builds, letting ourselves enjoy our favorite foods, gives us that short retreat we may need to remember that everything will be okay.

    I’ve recently realized that eating pleasure foods can be key to cultivating joy in life. For some people, it’s one of the few pleasures we have left. I’ve also seen that eating with others is many people’s most common venue for sociability. I’ve come to understand this, only after 18 years on my path of discovering which foods make me feel best, day to day, situation to situation, emotion to changing emotion.

    For most people, it’s nearly impossible to eat a 100% whole foods diet, and ultimately, I don’t believe that should be the goal. Coming from being overly disciplined with my diet for many years, in finally allowing myself (with awareness) to indulge once in a while, I can now experience the wonderful blessing of tasting delectable foods! Also, I get tons of needed human connection in going out to eat about once a week with my husband Don, or when meeting a friend for lunch downtown, or when gathering with people at a potluck. Granted, I choose wisely based on my food-knowledge, but I don’t obsess about each ingredient anymore. I’m now uplifted emotionally by spending quality time with the people I love over delicious food. 

    I think it’s also sometimes important to experience these feelings of joy, contentment and gratitude with delicious food when we’re alone...whenever we need an emotionally-soothing deviation from our usual diet. Of utmost importance to having a healthy relationship with food, is the awareness of why we’re making certain choices. Are we being emotionally driven? When we’re aware of this, we can then either choose to indulge, or choose to re-write our patterns of eating for comfort. When we’re unaware, indulgence tends to happen so often that it leads to imbalance and illness.

    This food-wisdom has been bestowed upon me by my wonderful husband, who believes that the emotions we experience when we eat, are as important (and sometimes more important) than what we eat! To be always worried about whether the food we eat will cause or cure cancer, that we never allow ourselves to enjoy our favorite comfort food, or food shared with friends and family at the holidays, limits our experience of life’s pleasures, and can cause stress and social isolation, which can lead to illness.

    Science has lately proven that having good emotions while eating, aids digestion and nutrient assimilation, and tells our bodies that we’re safe and happy. According to quantum physics, whatever food we eat can be transformed into building blocks for a happy, peaceful human being with our thoughts, beliefs, and intentions. Now, that being said, since none of us are disciplined spiritual masters, I would not recommend eating mostly processed or fast food, thinking that a prayer will change it each time into beneficial nourishment. But I do LOVE my friend Karyn’s prayer. She says this to herself whenever she eats food that is less than ideal: “My mind is strong. My mind keeps my body healthy. Everything I eat turns to health and beauty.” She believes it, and voila! To a mysterious degree, it is so! Karyn is an extremely healthy, vital, glowing woman who’s approaching 70 years old, who can still squat easily while working in her garden or playing with her neighbor’s children. This food-prayer she’s offered us, is a wonderful tool, which each of us can use in today’s world full of refined and genetically modified foods.

    Of course, comfort foods are definitely not beneficial for people with illness. Someone with a progressed disease such as diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer will benefit greatly by preparing 100% of their meals with whole, organic foods and probably by also drinking green juices until they’re well again. Only when a person is well and healthy and in balance, do I suggest deviating form one’s healing, nourishing, whole food diet. The key in cases of illness would be creating a pleasure food which is emotionally satisfying from whole ingredients, like one of those amazing raw desserts sweetened with Nu Naturals vanilla stevia!

    So why aren’t each of us able to eat only the refined, packaged and fast foods, and willfully transcend all of the ill-effects? I don’t believe the answer is simple. Each person is dealing with a variety of factors other than what they eat and drink regularly, including stress, quality of sleep, regular exercise, regular connection with others, mental and emotional habits, exposure to toxins, etc...all of which add up to whether we are healthy or sick or any shade of grey between. And, lets certainly not forget the biggest factor: The Great Mystery of this life, with it’s physical challenges and lessons which cause us to learn and grow spiritually. Life is so humbling, and I am grateful every minute for my healthy body.

    In reverence of The Great Mystery of life, I have also seen lots of evidence that we can take a powerful role in our health by feeding our body whole foods regularly. In doing so, we are building the physical, structural foundation for a healthy body, which effects our minds, emotions and habits. Everything is connected. What’s most inspiring to me, is the fact that our bodies are designed to be self-regulating and self-renewing, and that cellularly, we are totally new every seven years down to our teeth and bones! Our bodies naturally balance and heal themselves when given the tools of whole foods. I’m also inspired by people who are able to consistently eat whole foods and maintain quality connections with others. I love the photos of tribal people with elders squatting around the fire at 90 years old, laughing and cooking with the rest of the tribe.

    In teaching people to CookWell, I hope to help them learn to use the natural flavors of whole salts, whole fats, herbs and spices, lemon juice, and the freshest ingredients, to create amazingly tasty whole food snacks and meals which also comfort them emotionally. As people begin to eat more and more whole foods, the extreme flavors of packaged foods become less appealing. Our taste buds eventually adjust to enjoy natural flavors. For me, my usual lunch or dinner of black beans, brown rice, seasonal veggie stir-steam, and avocado is deeply gratifying and comforting. I hope to re-define the words, “comfort food”, to mean food which is BOTH emotionally comforting and physically nourishing...food which is grown, harvested, and prepared with love, food which is totally nourishing and vitalizing, and food which is so delicious that it soothes our hearts and minds. I’d like to help make this experience possible for everyone in the world, for a healthier, happier humanity. I know it’s possible at the level of the individual, because I’ve done it for myself. I believe it’s possible for you too, in your journey of learning to cook with whole foods.

JANUARY ARTICLE

Praise To Water Kefir - How To Make The Easiest And Best Probiotic Drink Ever!

I can’t imagine what I would do without my favorite, new, cultured drink. I surely wouldn’t feel as well as I do right now! My new love is called water kefir, and it’s an amazing probiotic drink that has 30 different strains of beneficials. I’ve been culturing and drinking it regularly for about 3 months now, since my awesome friend Lauren Bell gave me a some kefir “grains” so I could start my own batch.

Water kefir is the easiest to make, and the most potent homemade probiotic drink I’ve experienced yet, and I highly recommend it to everyone, young and old. Kefir is traditionally made using raw milk, but a slightly different strain of kefir grains (called water kefir) can be cultured using water as a medium with organic sugar and molasses (or raisins) to feed the grains. Kefir has beneficial bacteria AND beneficial yeasts, while kombucha has just beneficial bacteria. I feel so good from having water kefir as a regular part of my diet, that as my kefir “grains” multiply, I’ve been giving them away to friends to start their own batches. Water kefir has kept my inner ecosystem in better balance than any probiotic I’ve tried so far. Also, it’s way less expensive to culture than buying pricey probiotic supplements. Hallelujah!!!

Water kefir grains usually look like tiny, jell-like, cauliflower heads, but sometimes they take the shape of cubes. I know. It’s weird, but water kefir has recently saved me from experiencing candida yeast overgrowth symptoms, even throughout the holidays!

Kefir grains need clean, filtered water (not tap water), as they are very sensitive to chemicals like chlorine. And, they don’t like metal, so always use a wooden spoon when working with them. They need fairly refined, organic sugar to multiply. Don’t worry about the sugar; the grains metabolize the sugar, and when the drink is ready after 1-2 days, there’s little to no sugar left in it (details below).

The ratio of kefir grains to sugar & molasses to water is:
1 cup of water kefir grains
1/3 cup organic cane sugar (sugar that’s almost white - not brown like rapidura sugar or sucanat)
4/5 quart of filtered water (or, as much water as will fill the jar with the grains in it)
1tsp unsulphured molasses to supply the grains with minerals (instead of molasses, you can use 1/3 cup organic unsulphured raisins, but it’s a bit tedious to fish them out & throw them away each time you drink the liquid and feed the grains again).

To dissolve the sugar and molasses into the 4/5 quart of water, either shake it up in a separate quart jar, or slightly warm the water in a saucepan and stir the sugar in until dissolved (be sure water is not hot to the touch when adding it to the kefir grains). Once you’ve provided the kefir grains with sugar water and molasses or raisins, it’ll take 1-2 days to culture. In warm temperatures (70-85 degrees), 1 day of culturing is sufficient for the sweet taste of the sugar to diminish significantly. If it’s colder, (55-70 degrees), it takes up to 2 days for the sugar to fully metabolize. I like it when it’s way less sweet (don’t get me started about eating low glycemic as preventative medicine!). Generally, after 24 hrs of culturing, water kefir has about 20% of the sugar you initially fed the grains, and after 48 hrs, it has only 5% of the sugar left. After the sugars are metabolized, it will develop about 1% alcohol content, and it’ll become higher in alcohol the longer you let it ferment (much like kombucha). I don’t let it go for too long into alcohol-land because the beneficial probiotic bacteria can’t survive for long in an alcoholic environment. But, like Lauren says about a slightly alcoholic kefir brew, it’s like having a beer that yields vitality instead of depletion!

To culture water kefir, place the jar on the kitchen counter or in a cupboard out of direct light (indirect light helps the grains multiply) with a loose-fitting lid so the fizzy gasses it produces can escape. When you estimate that it’s ready based on the temperature of your home, pour a bit of the liquid into a cup to taste. If it’s fizzy and no longer super sweet tasting, just discard the raisins if you used them (most of them will have floated to the top), and strain the liquid into a glass for drinking. Drink the liquid within a few hours or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. An easy way to strain the liquid is by holding your clean hand against the lip of the jar to hold back the grains as you pour the liquid into a glass for drinking. Or, you can strain the liquid using a hand-held strainer basket - just hold the basket over another jar or drinking glass and pour.

About every 2 weeks, you’ll want to transfer your kefir grains into a clean jar because there will be a film that has accumulated at the waterline at the top of the original jar. If you go away from home, just feed your grains fresh sugar water, and store them in the fridge for up to a week. The grains will even bounce back to life after being frozen, which is amazing to me!

Kefir grains often multiply quickly, so after about a month or so, you can give excess grains away to friends (one cup at a time) as Lauren did for me, along with the instructions. Lauren also taught me that excess kefir grains can also be given to pets as probiotic support, or tossed into your compost to add beneficial bacteria and yeasts to your future soil! Lauren Bell is an amazing woman, by the way, and I absolutely must share with you her local consultation & support business for helping make your home (or any building) energy efficient, water efficient, and toxin-free: www.globellgreen.com

I like to get 2 quarts of water kefir culturing 24 hrs apart, so that I can enjoy an entire quart of my amazing, fizzy kefir drink daily. Lauren has a family of four, so she has 4-5 quarts culturing at a time, each batch with its own post-it noting the estimated drinking time. Lately, I’ve been most enjoying the flavor and fizziness of a 48 hour brew because our kitchen has been cooler than usual in this wintery weather. Have fun finding your favorite water kefir culturing time throughout the various seasons. And big cheers to your abounding health this new year, and on forevermore into our budding golden age!