Merry Christmas with Love

Yes, I am a 'lil late... got caught up in the flurry of Holiday activities! Hope it was HAPPY!

Merry Christmas to all.  

You are the gift.  Give this gift freely and make the world a better place to be.

You ARE the Gift

As we pull ourselves together for Holiday celebrating 2013, remember that you ARE the gift.

We so often get caught up in the corporate world's version and vision of what a holiday should look like:

1. Credit cards bending to the $$ weight of gift purchases, because, well, that is what we are supposed to do, right?

2. Over stuffed gift giving all to the benefit of the corporate world's bottom line.

3.  Over stuffed eating and merry making leaving us feeling washed out after the celebrations are over.

Giving You As The Gift

Take time to do things for others that count; make someone else's life easier, happier, and healthier by giving You as the gift.  It is a gift of LOVE.

Happy Holidays

and may your 2014 be Happy, Healthy, and Whole 

in Mind, Body & Soul.

Eggnog Latte*

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. dark maple syrup

1-2 tsp. decaffeinated instant coffee (Or use the caffeine and enjoy!)

pinch or two of nutmeg

pinch or two of cinnamon

optional: whipped cream

Place all ingredients, except whipped cream, in a blender and gently blend together.

Pour into a pan and heat slowly and gently. I heat on low for 2 minutes and test the temperature.  If not warmed enough, I keep heating and check every 1 minute.  Yes, I set the timer.  Over heated eggnog gets clumpy!

Pour into your favorite mug, add whipped cream (or not), enjoy!

*I opt for all organic, naturally-raised ingredients to better nourish me, to nourish those I am making my "eggnog love", and to inadvertently nourish the earth through better food and farming choices.

Mount Hagen Organic Instant Coffee available through special order at  Nature's Storehouse, Canton, NY.

Gustatory Guru of Gastronomy

Gustatory Guru of Gastronomy

So recently, I received a very sweet email, thanking me for my support in cleaning up this divine person's diet and contributing to their vibrant health.  And... "Gustatory Guru of Gastronomy" was the "alliterative moniker" she used for me!

Seems a lighter label than Diet “Dr. Doom” from an earlier blog post inspired by an encounter with a "health" chump of mine!

I find this to be true of people who are ready, on the cusp of making healthy changes in their lives:

When you are a stick of dynamite, ready to blast off into health and healing, changes are easier to accomplish and feel good about!

I light the fire under you and inspire you to activate your beautiful mind. You then peel back the layers to uncover your perfect soul. Healthy changes happen because when you feel good, you want to feel better.  What a ripple effect!

And... when one is not quite ready to dive headlong into major changes (Maybe you are one for a more subtle metamorphosis!), I help plant a seed.  A seed that will bloom and grow in your life, when the "soil" and conditions are right for growth.

Recipe:

Ethiopian Smothered Brussel Sprouts and Carrots with Turmeric 

1-2 tbsp butter, ghee, or toasted sesame oil

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

Unrefined Sea Salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

¾-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or use dried ginger powder in a pinch!)

2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 lb carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into bite sized chunks

2 lbs Brussel sprouts, cut in half to make bite sized pieces

How to throw this together into a scrumptious pile of food:

Saute' the onion in butter, add ginger and saute' for 1-2 minutes more

Add carrot and Brussel sprout chunks

Let simmer in a cover pan for 10 minutes or so (I like the veggies to have a crispness to them)

Sprinkle turmeric over veggies, add crushed garlic cloves and stir well.

Turn off heat and let sit, covered, while you finish getting the table ready.

Serve:  over red lentils.

I bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil, add 1 cup red lentils,  and gently return to simmer.  Shut off heat when it returns to simmer and keep covered.  I then take the dog for a good 1/2 walk and the lentils are ready when I come out of the woods!

Options:

Use cabbage and potatoes instead of carrots & brussel sprouts

Add garlic, ginger powder, and turmeric to 1 cup pasture raised milk in your blender.  I also add 1/2 to 1 cup shredded coconut.  Blend to a puree and pour over veggies, stir well and gently re-warm.

Use coconut milk with the above spices.

As you can see, I added a few raw cashews on top!

The veggies are all local, seasonal, and organic.

The spices, coconut, and cashews... well, not so local!  

Follow Your Head or Your Heart....

"What the head makes cloudy,

the heart makes clear..."

Don Henley from the song  "New York Minute"

Lego Hearts compliments of Jakob Schechter

Gospel of the Slaw

So, you may be wondering if I have lost my mind, maybe a new chapter has been added to the Bible that you did not hear about yet, or something weird is going on... well, it is none of the above.

I have the best encounters with people I work with, one on one and in group settings.  People are truly amazing when we allow them to be at their very best.

I am often encountered with the "I eat nothing but salads and I still cannot lose weight" issue.  I try to explain that summer vegetable salads, in the fall and winter, are very cooling to our body.  Summer veggies are for summer eating.  When we summer cool ourselves, in the winter, we also slow our metabolism.

Want to rev up that metabolism with warming, winter nourishing veggies?  Try a root veggie and cabbage slaw.  Recipe below.

Now for the title, it goes back to the people I meet thing I mentioned above.  An endearing client labeled my slaw recipe as the "Gospel of the Slaw" and paid the good recipe forward to many friends and family members.  The slaw is a great way to get yummy, raw veggies into your winter diet and keep it all seasonal.

Be well, eat slaw.

PS  Grating a butter nut squash and spicing the salad dressing with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla is another fun way to enjoy raw winter veggies.

Root Veggie & Cabbage Slaw

Assemble enough vegetable to feed the people who will be gracing your dinner table, red and green cabbage and root vegetables:  beet, parsnip, rutabaga, celeriac, carrot, purple carrot, turnip, winter storage radishes (bigger than the summer salad radishes), kohlrabi, salsify, burdock, horseradish, etc.

Fine chop red and/or green cabbage

Grate, on a metal cheese grater, root veggies. Pick root veggies you grow or can acquire locally.  I use 2-4 root veggies with the chopped cabbage, choosing different root veggies with each meal.

Add a grated apple.  My kids eat more, and more willingly, when the juicy sweetness of a grated apple is part of the salad.

Mix together in a bowl with the above dressing

Cover and refrigerate until meal time.  I make this dish last and serve immediately with every fall and winter meal.

Optional:  add a few raisins, add walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds… just make it yummy for you.

Salad Dressing

1 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. organic prepared mustard; preferably made with apple cider vinegar, not grain vinegar

Dash unrefined sea salt

Dash fresh pepper

Crush clove of garlic

Herbs to taste:  rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley

Optional: 1 – 3 tbsp. dark maple syrup or sucanat unrefined sugar

I make this dressing in a Ball, wide mouth, quart canning jar so I always have it available for dinner salads, whatever the season.

Thorns or Roses

Thorns or roses?... your choice!

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”    Abraham Lincoln

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.                                     John F. Kennedy

 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I am very grateful to all of you, walking with me on my path, as I support and educate others in their quest for health and healing.

I am grateful for all the local farmers and the food they bring to my table, feeding my family.

Be well, Much love, Paula