What a great day at the Brooklyn Food Conference. I met so many fab folks and was inspired by how many people in my city are dedicated to having a clean, accessible and sustainable food supply.
Many of my Natural Gourmet Institute colleagues were on hand too... here's a link to their blog, Blanched and Shocked, and Elliott Prag's post about the conference.
Well, except for the rapist.
One of the things that make it possible for me to live in the city is getting out of the city. Here in Philadelphia, I am able to do that without actually leaving. The Fairmont Park system is a huge network of trees, trails and water nestled inside the City of Brotherly Love, and over the years, I have spent countless hours enjoying the quiet solitude of this magical place.
I can recall being nine months pregnant with Number Two, hiking up and down snowy trails with Number One in a backpack and our dog Lucy (who was petrified of heights after a 20 foot nosedive off an icy cliff in that same park) gingerly following behind. Later that Spring, with Number One still in the backpack and Number Two safely ensconced in a front sling, we spent hours, rain or shine, watching the fiddleheads transforming into ferns in the underbrush and quietly hoping the nine-point buck would visit us once again.
Aside from the fact that Number One got frost nip on his cheek that winter, and I had to remove a deer tic from Number Two before he was a month old, the woods were our safe haven from the noise of the city.
Fast-forward a dozen years and you’ll still find me traipsing through the woods, although now that I’m unencumbered by little people, I’m logging in a lot more miles running trails and (with impressive battle scars on my elbows and knees thanks to surprise interactions with roots, rocks and slippery terrain) loving the fact that I can get my exercise, meditation and dose of the wilderness all in one handy package, just blocks from my doorstep.
Except…
for the rapist lurking in the woods who recently attacked a woman along the very route that I run. Over the last five or so years, he has violated a handful of women throughout the park and in one even more horrific incident, committed murder.
After a too-short hiatus, he resurfaced a few weeks ago on the two-year anniversary of his last attack. At 6:30 on a busy Tuesday evening, he grabbed a woman runner out of her car, put a gun to her back, dragged her into the woods and raped her.
Now what?
I really don’t like
making decisions based on fear. But I really don’t want to be stupid either. So
I have stopped running alone except during the busiest of weekend afternoons.
And even then, accompanied by my 96 lb. black lab/German shepherd body guard, Jake, I
am hyper-aware of my surroundings and staying only on the most well traveled
trails…because I am afraid, which makes me really, really, really mad.
Fear and anger. Fear and anger. Fear and anger.
Oh, how very zen of me.
Yup. How very zen.
Well, what did I expect? This is life. And life is fraught with things that rock our worlds and move us into places of discomfort and into feelings that we’d rather not feel. And the “zen” part about it comes from staying with the feelings and observing them rather than judging or pushing them away.
Because
when we stay present in the discomfort and allow ourselves to just be with the feelings, we give ourselves the
opportunity to grow.
This is what happens in meditation… when we sit in meditation we are inevitably faced with emotions that we’d rather not have. Or we become aware of parts of ourselves that we’d rather not see. But if instead of suppressing those thoughts or feelings we simply allow them to arise without judgment, acknowledge them for what they are, and then let them go, we move one step closer to awakening.
And we realize that very often, the ugly parts of life are our greatest teachers. The people who irritate us most are our gurus. And the emotions that most freak us out are the ones with which we ought to get intimate.
What I love about My Woods is that I could run for hours and see few, if any people. I could forget that I was in the sixth largest city in the United States and just groove to the sound of the wind in the trees and the waterfall in the distance.
But what I love about My Community is that people are forming meet-up groups to walk, run or bike together. And what I love about My Life is that I have a best girlfriend who loves to run in the woods as much as I do—AND who laughs at all (OK, most) of my jokes.
Yet I am still afraid. And I am still angry.
But I’m not alone. And that’s super cool.
So for now, I’m allowing myself to feel the fear and the anger while I work on letting it dissolve. And in addition to exercising my body, I am working on exercising compassion—for the victims of these terrible incidents, for our community, for myself and (on a good day) for the perpetrator.
(And, by the way, here’s a link to a previous post that offers more insight on fear and also includes a handy-dandy breathing exercise…)
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity... Oliver Wendell Holmes
When I spend an entire
afternoon cleaning up after a Snow Leopard encounter (the new Mac OS guaranteed
to turn all QuickBooks files to confetti) followed by a three-hour weed-whacker
symphony (courtesy of my neighbor’s yard service) I crave quiet
simplicity.
Peace, contemplation, reflection…the space that allows us to recharge our battery, listen to our intuition and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.
Lately I have been craving that kind of experience. After spending the summer in Vermont, living in an open-air cabin, waking to the sound of the loons and the crickets, I find myself particularly susceptible to the cacophony of city life and not so sure I want to acclimate just yet.
Being in the rhythm of nature…eating according to the seasons, waking with the sun and listening to the sounds of life around us…enables us to see the connectedness of ourselves to something infinite and helps to take the edge off of the things that just don’t matter.
When I get overwhelmed with the complexities of life, there are a few things that always seem to put me right: First, I remove the clutter that keeps me distracted. Next, I unplug and look for contemplative time either by sitting in meditation or walking in the woods. And most importantly, I try to connect to things that are beautiful, like a simple bouquet of zinnia from my garden… or a platter of figs.
The fig is considered
to be the first cultivated tree, and similarly, I suppose the fig leaf could be
considered the first cultivated fashion statement.
Figs are sexy in that that food porn sort of way. Out of hand (or better yet, out of someone else’s hand) figs are the absolute perfect food. Delicate and sweet, softly yielding to the bite while offering textural interest on the palate… you can’t rush when eating a fig, because it draws you in to the sensuality of the moment.
All of the sudden, the world becomes a little sweeter. The weed whackers yield to the songbirds and
the figs find their way to a bed of arugula with thinly sliced prosciutto and
Manchego… a statement of sublime elegance and simplicity and a gorgeous way to start the weekend.
I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment...Patti Smith
Adjusting. Working. Adapting. Working.
It’s been a wild ride these last two months… completely off the blog radar as well4good took center stage. But it’s been well worth it.
First off, our new site, www.well4good.com is up. Second, we’ve had three really successful workshops (see photos) that are a combination of yoga, meditation, cooking and education all based on a theme. In February we launched the series with “Heart Centered Living,” in March, “Women’s Wellness” and in April, “Spring Detox.”
Our workshops have been a blast—not to mention completely full, with a wait list—and two more are on the calendar (“Mothering Ourselves” and “Body Beautiful”) before we take a summer break and I head off to cook at Farm and Wilderness Camp in Vermont (more about that later). And please visit the well4good site for info on the upcoming workshops and classes.
Because these workshops are based on the well4good philosophy of sustainable lifestyle practices (when we do what’s really, truly right for ourselves, it will naturally be good for our family, our community, our society and the planet) we move beyond the self-help model to engage in a deeper exploration of the larger impact and implications of our choices. We work together to find realistic and practical solutions to help us live intentionally—and of course—with beauty, grace and flavor.
Sara Lomax-Reese (my partner in well4good) and I are also teaching a two-part class through the Mount Airy Learning Tree on May 12th and May 19th that takes and in-depth look at holistic health and the choices that we face as we navigate this ever-evolving paradigm. I warmly invite readers in the Philadelphia area to join us for these lively, interactive classes.
It is exciting and energizing to see the level of interest surrounding our work. We have received incredible support from leaders in our city government (a special thanks to Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown and State Representative Dwight Evans) and have been honored to submit proposals for community outreach projects that offer an opportunity to bring tangible relief to some of our most under-served communities.
We are even being featured on a TV program (New Visions, on WPVI Channel 6 in Philadelphia this Saturday, May 2nd at 7:30 pm.)
It really is a dream come true.
And as all of these things take shape, I find myself energized by the work and motivated to move forward. I also find myself in a state of perpetual adjustment. I’m working harder (yet hopefully smarter) than ever and am doing everything I can to employ the principles of w4g so that I can personally stay well4good as the business unfolds: taking care of myself by eating well, exercising, meditating and spending quality time with friends and family… and most importantly, enjoying the ride.
We've got the power, we've got the juice. We should do the job… Bill Clinton
This past weekend I was invited to speak at the Holiday Tea for the Professional Women’s Roundtable, a group that brings businesswomen together for networking and development. It was a lovely event, held at The Union League on Broad Street in Philadelphia…one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
The topic was, “Balance during the holiday season,” and as an expert on Holiday Imbalance, it was a welcome challenge.
Actually, I think of balance as a relative state of mind...and true balance as the ability to be centered in the face of chaos and distraction. What better time than the holidays to put this concept to the test?
So, during the presentation, while gorgeous three-tiered trays of petit-fours were being delivered to each table, I led an exercise in mindfulness where I played my favorite holiday song (Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses) and we all attempted to stay focused and centered as music played, tea was poured, and plates were cleared.
What I liked about this meditation (aside from the wonderfully irreverent opportunity to blast the Waitresses at The Union League!) was that it wasn’t about meditating at a Zen retreat in Northern California, or in a yoga class in Center City. It wasn’t even about a quiet moment with a cup of tea alone at home. It was about the reality of a busy, working woman’s life during the holiday season.
When we can be graceful—even peaceful—in the midst of the daily drama of life, then (and only then) will we find balance. So as we go merrily, merrily into the holiday season, I wish you all grace, peace and juice.
Yup. Juice.
As the holiday season gets into full swing, and your party card is literally hopping with opportunities (I think I have a full dozen soirees to enjoy this year!) a beautiful balance for holiday revelry (pate and champagne anyone?) is fresh juice.
I have had this hulking behemoth Champion Juicer for about 15 years and I find that this is the season where it is absolutely guaranteed to get a workout. Yesterday for breakfast I made a yummy elixir of
pineapple, apples, carrots, fennel, and beets… a sweet way to kick-start the day. Tonight, I rang in the cocktail hour with a spicy blend of carrot, fennel, parsley, spinach, celery, garlic and ginger, mixed with some tomato juice and finished with a squeeze of lemon. Today I received a delivery of a case of tangelos and a case of oranges purchased for a local school fundraiser…that means that we will enjoy fresh-squeezed citrus tomorrow—and, who knows, maybe a shot of Amaretto in that orange juice for a real holiday cocktail
treat!
“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper”...Eden Phillpotts
For the past two months it’s been nearly impossible for me to post to this blog as often as I'd like. I've been working hard on the development of my new website: www.Well4Good.com (set to launch in the not-too-distant future) and the creation of a new daily-digest style blog (set to launch even sooner).
I also hostessed a Thanksgiving celebration that
included a sit-down dinner for 35 at my house... gratefully sharing food prep (and dish washing) with my delightful posse of foodie friends and family. (see the photos of the ingredients that soon became Roasted Hubbard Squash Soup with Hazelnuts and Chives (Fine Cooking Oct/Nov 2008), wild rice stuffing with dried cranberries (featuring rice that was lovingly harvested, by hand in Minnesota, by my dear friend, and fellow homeopath, Jake Kiakahi), fresh cranberry/ginger/orange chutney, gravy, and a Pumpkin Mousse Trifle...
But the biggest draw on my time and energy has been the arrival of Fall and its fresh batch of
colds, coughs, a nasty stomach virus, and a boatload of new clients. I have been one busy Homeopath.
Which reminds me to remind you that Homeopathy is a very good choice when dealing with acute ailments such as the previously-mentioned seasonal colds, flu, and of course, the crud.
Sometimes it’s like a parlor trick where a remedy is taken and symptoms disappear, POOF! And many times it simply, yet effectively, shortens the duration and eases the suffering, thus allowing the body to heal itself in a more efficient manner.
For example, a stomach bug is making its way through our house (yes, homeopaths and their children get sick just like everyone else!). Number Two came home early from school on Monday afternoon and after getting a remedy the vomiting stopped and he started to feel better. He still, however, needed another day at home under a blanket with loads of TLC to recover fully. His symptoms included: feeling relief immediately after vomiting, thirst for ice cold drinks but feeling worse after they warmed in his tummy, and an overall sunny disposition despite the fact that he had just thrown up. The remedy that helped him along was Phosphorus…
This morning, Number One woke with vomiting and so I immediately gave him a dose of Phosphorus. Guess what happened? He threw up again. Drat. So I looked more closely at his presentation and discerned that he was not acting at all like his brother. Number One was noticeably anxious (didn’t want me to leave his side), he was chilled and trembling. He said the vomit burned his throat. Aha! One dose of Arsenicum and he immediately fell back asleep and has been peacefully resting for about five hours.
What’s important to note here is that not everyone with the same bug needs the same remedy. Each person experiences symptoms in their own, unique way. Homeopathy is about the person—not the illness.
It's also important that I note (for liability reasons) that the above examples are not meant as medical advice; they are simply to offered to help open the mind to thinking about the body in a different way, right?
If you are interested in learning more about using homeopathic remedies for yourself or your family, I recommend these two comprehensive, easy-to-use books:
Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines by Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman
Homeopathic Medicine for Children and Infants by Dana Ullman
Homeopathic remedies are FDA regulated and approved and many health food stores carry a basic selection. If you start using homeopathy more regularly, it’s good to have a home “kit” on hand. My favorite comes from Washington Homeopathics and features 50 remedies in a handy storage/travel container.
And if you are looking for a Homeopath in your area, be sure to check out the National Center for Homeopathy’s comprehensive database, or send me an email and I will try to direct you to someone who would be a good match.
A few months ago I got an email from a foodie-friend saying she had Tibetan kefir grains to share and wondered if I was interested… despite the fact that I had no idea what to do with them, I said, “Sure” and just like that, a new odyssey began.
Kefir is a pro-biotic, much like yogurt, and as such it contains beneficial bacteria that help to maintain a healthy balance in the gut, which in turn enhances overall well-being.
I’ve been buying commercially produced kefir for years both for its pro-biotic benefits and its good taste, but I didn’t know that I could make a much more healthful version of it with little cost, fuss or time.
Because most commercially produced yogurt and kefir is pasteurized and/or heat treated, very little of the actual beneficial bacteria survives and as such, more bacteria must be added in after the fact. (Dannon’s Activa products are an example of this.)
Aside from the convuluted nature of the commercial process (kill all the locals and then bring in untrained experts later to try to fix the mess you made) studies show that not enough of these “after-the-fact-good guys” survive the stomach acids anyway and therefore there isn’t enough oomph to populate the intestinal flora as needed. So eating mass-produced yogurt or kefir is actually delivering far less of a benefit than perhaps originally thought. (And let’s not forget that much of the mainstream yogurt is full of artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and Aspartame).
But who cares about beneficial bacteria anyway?
You should, that’s who.
There is much to be said about a healthy internal ecosystem. And anyone who’s gotten diarrhea or a yeast infection after a course of antibiotics can confirm this fact. But the net benefits of a healthy gut extend far further than that. I recommend you check out this link and read the best explanation I’ve seen thus far.
And then I recommend that you start thinking about what you can do to get that gut in shape.
If you’re interested in making kefir, the hardest part about the process is finding someone to give you some grains (also referred to as curds). I am sure that there are good online sources, so check around… but also, start asking your neighborhood healthy foodies. Once you find the grains, you are tapped into an unlimited supply.
You see, the grains are actual living organisms (like sea monkeys only different). When you go through the process of making kefir, you are "feeding" the grains which, through the process of fermentation, grow and multiply leaving you with plenty to share.
Making your own kefir requires little more than good quality (preferably raw) milk, a plastic strainer and a glass bottle with a plastic lined lid or cheesecloth. Here's how to do it:
Place the kefir grains/curds in a glass jar and cover with milk. (Our family of four goes through about 1 quart each day.) Leave out (loosely covered either with cheesecloth and a rubber band or with a lid that is not screwed down) at room temp, and after about 24 hours, give the jar a good shake and then strain through
a plastic strainer (don’t use metal, it isn’t good for the culture). That’s it. Done.
To prepare the curds for the next batch, rinse them with fresh water (I use purified water, not tap), add to a clean jar and cover with milk once again. Easy peasy.
Don't forget that the grains are alive, like a sourdough starter, and so they need to be kept fed... if you don't want to make kefir every day, you can stall the fermentation process by covering your grains with a little milk and refrigerating in a lidded jar for up to a week.
If you have extra curds and no one to share them with, you can eat them or feed them to your pets. My dog, who is notorious for his sensitive gut, loves them. Other friends feed them to their backyard chickens.
Kefir can have a slightly effervescent quality to it and the taste is a little sour, like yogurt. For best gut propagation, drink a small glass first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.
We like to make it into a shake with frozen fruit, a banana and maybe a little splash of maple syrup or honey.
Cheers to your gut!
Two things scare me. The first is getting hurt. But that's not as scary as the second, which is losing... Lance Armstrong
While slicing carrots the other day, my knife slipped and with it went a nice portion of the pad on my right middle finger. After doing the OUCH dance, washing the wound and applying pressure, it occurred to me that I needed some Calendula--and I needed to blog about Homeopathic FIrst Aid. So here I am, with a well-healed finger, able to type once again!
Homeopathic First Aid is a fantastic introduction to home prescribing. From bumps and bruises to sprained ankles, bee stings and burns, there are Homeopathic remedies that can ease pain, lessen swelling, minimize collateral damage and speed the overall healing process.
In assembling your Homeopathic First Aid Kit, there are a few remedies and tinctures that you don't want to be without:
Arnica is the workhorse of the Homeopathic arsenal. Arnica is the single most important remedy for bruises, contusions, shock and trauma. It is useful in dental procedures, sore muscles, sprains and even for labor and delivery. Arnica is commonly given both before and after surgeries to deal with the shock and trauma as well as to speed the healing process.
Rhus Tox is the most commonly indicated remedy for sprains and strains when there is pain upon initial motion that is relieved by continued motion. (I find that it is very common to start with Arnica for the bruising and swelling and then move on to Rhus Tox when the picture becomes clearer.) Rhus Tox can also be useful for certain skin conditions such as chicken pox, shingles and eczema, however, you'll want to seek further information before routinely giving Rhus Tox in skin affections.
Ledum is useful for deep cuts, puncture wounds and bug bites/stings. When Ledum is needed, the affected area may feel cold and will likely be relieved by a cold application or compress.
Hypericum is indicated for injuries to nerve-rich areas, such as fingers and toes, and for pains that are shooting, sharp, neuralgic or really sensitive to the touch. Think of Hypericum for a toothache with shooting pains or for fingers that get slammed in a car door. Ouch!
For more information about Homeopathic Remedies and how to take them, click on the "About the Remedies" button in the upper right corner of the web page.
Salves, Sprays, Gels, Creams and Tinctures
In addition to remedies that are taken orally, there are creams, salves and gels that can be applied topically. Tinctures are substances that are preserved in alcohol and thus come in a liquid form (as opposed to the remedies which are most commonly seen as little pellets or tablets). Using a tincture typically requires dilution of at least 2:1. For dilutions, I recommend distilled water or water that has been boiled and cooled.
Calendula tincture is absolutely necessary in the home kit. Used topically, Calendula will stop bleeding, reduce inflammation, act against infection and promote the healing of tissue by promoting healthy granulation and rapid healing.
Think of Calendula for skin abrasions (it is the best thing ever for skinned knees and "road rash" from falling off a bike), for cuts, bug bites and burns. It is also fab for canker sores.
It is important to note that you never want to use Calendula on a deep wound as it works so quickly in healing the skin that it can sometimes heal the outside skin before the tissue underneath is completely healed--thus creating a hospitable environment for infection.
For wound cleaning, I use about 10 drops of Calendula tincture in about 3-5 cups of water. Companies such as Hyland's also make a convenient Calendula spray that does the job quite nicely.
For canker sores, dip a Q-tip into a 2:1 Calendula tincture dilution, apply directly and let the healing begin.
Calendula creams are great for diaper rash and dry skin patches. Weleda is my favorite brand as it uses all natural ingredients and is gentle and non-irritating. Calendula gel is a good choice as a second line of defense (after cleaning with a tincture dilution) for burns, sun burn and abrasions.
Arnica cream and gel work wonders on sore, tired muscles as well as pulls and sprains. These topical solutions are a good choice for when you need a little something but don't need to take a remedy...
Which brings up a very important point:
Homeopathic Remedies are Super Fantastic tools--but not every little scrape, bump and soreness warrants something Super Fantastic.
In our culture of quick fixes and a-pill-for-everything, it's easy to jump in and give a remedy when it might be better to let the body "exercise its muscles of healing" and wind up stronger in the long run. Have confidence in your body and if you think everything will be just fine... it probably will.
Remedies are available in a variety of over-the-counter potencies. For a home first aid kit I recommend either 12c (if you are new at this) or 30c if you've gotten a little more confident or are working in tandem with a professional Homeopath.
You can find all the remedies I mentioned at health food stores, co-ops and at Whole Foods Markets. And if you are the mother of a small child (or if you are accident prone like me) you may want to get a second tube of Arnica to keep in your purse or in the car.
But this is just the beginning... If you are interested in learning more, I would recommend taking a class and getting a user-friendly book on first aid and home prescribing. There are a number of good books out there and my favorite is: Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines by Stephen Cummings M.D. and Dana Ullman MPH.
In addition to first aid, the book also addresses common ailments such as sore throats, upset stomachs and allergies. It also provides practical information on how to use remedies and how and when to treat something at home.
So anyway, what did I do when I lost that bit of finger? I opted for a soak in diluted Calendula tincture, a sterile gauze wrap, and a week without washing dishes.
Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius--and a lot of courage--to move in the opposite direction... Albert Einstein
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