Crossing the Morraine

Snow caps the trees at Lapham State Park

Green Dragon Smoothies

Oh, don’t you think that name makes you want to fire up the blender more than Pineapple-Kale Smoothies? So many of you want to know how to get your kids to eat more leafy greens without bribing them with M&M’s.  Or for that matter, you are wondering how you will gag down some leafy greens.  Here’s a super easy way to add some raw kale to your diet.  It’s even better than M&M’s because it supplies that precious Vitamin K, among others.  And it’s a lovely way to add more vegetables to your breakfast routine.  By the way, no slurping down 24 ounces of smoothie, ok?  That would defeat the purpose.  This recipe makes 4, 3 oz servings of smoothie – fits nicely in an Italian demi-tasse and gives you a kick, just like espresso.  My kids do like these, especially when served with a crazy straw.  Apparently they will drink anything served with a crazy straw, including a liver-onion smoothie.  (Just kidding)

Pineapple-Kale Smoothies

Green Dragon Smoothies – a.k.a. Pineapple-Kale Smoothies

Makes four 3 oz servings

2 cups of chopped pineapple

8 leaves of kale, torn off of the thick stems

Procedure:

1.  Blend the pineapple

2.  Add the kale a little bit at a time, blending until super smooth

Note: You can juice leftover pineapple cores and kale stems together for a tasty treat!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Even if I have gone low-glycemic, I still want a cookie now and then.  This is my current best take at an old standby, chocolate chip cookies.  They taste great, are low-glycemic, vegan and gluten-free.  What’s left you might ask?  High fiber, high protein, amazing taste and satisfaction!  They are so satisfying that you don’t feel like eating 25 in one sitting.  And if you make them smaller (1″ diameter balls) you can enjoy a few with a steaming cup of darjeeling tea or a coffee, or a cold, tall glass of almond milk.

These cookies are soft and cake-like.  They lack the sugar and fat necessary to make them crispy.  The almond butter is so subtle that you don’t really taste it as a pronounced nut flavor.  I believe the base recipe would stand up well with other types of mix-ins (nuts, dried fruit, etc.).

High protein and fiber, gluten-free and low-glycemic.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

325 degree oven

3 tbsp ground flax meal

4 tbsp warm water

3/4 cup ground almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)

3 tbsp coconut butter

2/3 cup raw agave nectar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

3 tbsp water

Procedure:

1.  Mix the flax meal and warm water together in a small bowl.  Allow to rest.

2.  Combine the butters, agave nectar and vanilla and cream until smooth.

3.  Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

4.  Add the flax mixture to the wet ingredients.  Then gently mix in the dry ingredients.

5.  Add the chocolate chips and water and mix well to evenly distribute the chocolate chips.

6.  Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto a baking sheet.  Wet your hands and press cookie flat with the heal of your hand.  Bake 10-12 minutes until the cookie begins to brown around the edges.  Allow to cool two minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

Net Loss or Net Gain?

For about six weeks I have been adopting a lifestyle that celebrates eating low glycemic index foods.  This choice was fueled by an overall dissatisfaction with the state of my body after two pregnancies, a fear of developing the diabetes that runs on both sides of my family and a deep-seated feeling that even though I “ate well” I was missing a piece of the puzzle. Oh, did I also mention the fact that in a one week span, three different people asked me when my next baby was due. Nothing like the universe speaking to you through complete strangers!

I’ve been working with a lifestyle coach and a small group of two other people going through the process who have helped keep me honest and encourage me in the process.  I hope to share a few insights from this with you along with many of the recipes I have found or created.

My most profound insight is that if you frame transforming your body as “weight loss“, then your body, spirit and cells will do everything possible to resist that loss.  Who wants to lose anything? Imagine life at the cellular level within our bodies.  Each cell is a universe unto itself, with a drive to survive, be it a blood cell, a skin cell or a fat cell.  The cells are in constant competition for resources and yet they succeed in coming together in a homeostatic equilibrium to sustain this precious thing called life, or metabolism.

At the end of the day, I reframed the whole process as a creative shift.  Instead of focusing on all that I was “losing” – the fat, the food I couldn’t eat, the lost food rituals, the sugar rush – I honed in on what I was creating: a healthy body, a prolonged future with my kids and husband, more energy, more wardrobe options, a better yoga practice and so on.  Slowly, over the past six weeks, the fat has been fueling the creative process that is making a lighter, fresher me – full of new energy, glowing and more centered in the truth and light of who I really am.  Thank goodness for all those fat cells.  🙂

A Lard Na by Any Other Name…

So a few weeks ago I challenged myself to come up with something that reminded me of pasta because I was four days deep into a fruit and vegetable cleanse and sick of eating crunchy, wet, moderately cold or room temp foods.  My sister once served me a shiitake mushroom broth that was super satisfying so I built on that concept.  In sum, this dish hits the spot and is super low calorie, carbs & fat, but super high on flavor, fiber, essential vitamins and minerals.

I think that as the cleanse progressed I developed a love affair with portabellas, not only for their daily serving of Vitamin D but the fact that they are vegetal while offering a suggestion of meat and are super versatile.  Why do I call this “Lard Na”?  The thickness of the noodles reminds me of that caloric-bomb dish and the meatiness of the mushrooms really satisfied my craving for carbs at the time.  I remember how I used to eat real lard na at lunch after a stressful morning in New York; what a healthier alternative!

A vegan "Lard Na"

“Lard Na”

Makes 2-6 servings (depends on how hungry you are!)

10-12″ skillet with cover

1/2 -1 cup vegetable broth

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and minced

1 medium sweet onion, halved and sliced thinly, or 2 shallots, minced

2-3 large portabella mushrooms, sliced as thinly as possible (see pic)

10 large leaves of kale (tough stems removed), cut into wide ribbons

10 stalks of asparagus (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1.  Bring the broth, garlic, ginger and onion to a slow simmer and cook down until the onion is wilted and the broth has reduced and concentrated some.

2.  Turn the heat to low and layer the mushrooms over the onions.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the mushrooms.  Cover and allow the mushrooms to sweat for 10-15 minutes.  They will turn a darker brown color and become soft and noodle-like.  You may need to use tongs to turn and coat the mushrooms once or twice.

3.  Layer the kale over the mushrooms and then lay the asparagus stalks over the top.  Cover and cook until the kale is steamed and the asparagus is lightly tender.

NB:  This dish works well with bok choy and spinach as the alternative to the kale.

Thinly sliced portabella mushrooms become "noodles" in the final dish.

Slowly layering and "sweating" the ingredients allows you to create an amazing vegan and low glycemic winter delight.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia Banana Chocolate Pudding

Today I discovered that chia seeds are not just for growing kitschy little terra cotta topiaries. They are really for
making raw pudding! And if you have been eating like a cave woman like I have for the past six weeks, then you are going to find this recipe to be extra good. Chia seeds contain amazing amounts of lignans, omega-3 fatty acids, soluble fiber and protein. And, they are a low glycemic food (meaning they deliver sustained energy without spiking your blood sugar).

I haven’t eaten any grains for six weeks as I purge my body of my high-glycemic carbohydrate addiction. This recipe interests me because it almost tasted like oatmeal, especially after I let it sit for 60 minutes. I want to continue to tweak it to recreate a morning bowl of oats courtesy of Chia. The thing that really gets me is that one of my hard crushes in college used to call me Chia Pet as his term of endearment for me. It’s hard for me to admit how much I love this pudding in spite of Blaine’s endless taunts about my curly mane of hair. Long live the Chia!

Tasty delight for breakfast or as an afternoon pick-me-up. Truly fast food.

 

Banana Chocolate Chia “Pudding”

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup chia seeds

1 1/2 cup nut milk (almond,cashew, hazelnut, etc.)

1 TBSP raw cocoa

3 TBSP raw agave nectar

1 TSP ground cinnamon pinch of salt

1 TSP of double-strength Penzey’s vanilla extract or some fresh vanilla bean

1-2 ripe bananas Holy Kakow Chocolate Agave Syrup (for garnish) – optional

Procedure: 1. Whisk together the cocoa, spice and salt. Slowly add the nut milk, whisking until smooth.

2. Add the chia seeds and stir well.

3. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes until the pudding is set.

4. Slice up the bananas and distribute in serving bowls. Ladle on the pudding and drizzle with agave syrup or sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

 

Adventures in Rolfing – Getting to Know Me

About a little over a month ago I decided to begin seeing a Rolfer (If you don’t know what rolfing is, check it out at the Rolf Institute online.).  Tomorrow is my sixth session.  I intended to write about each session but I’ve been lazy.  Rolfing has had PROFOUND, positive effects on my body and my psyche, and most wonderfully on my yoga practice.  I have experienced Rolfing as a box of chocolates.  Each session has brought me something unique, exquisite and satisfying.  Honestly, I’ve come to anticipate Tuesdays the way some people live for Fridays, and feel giddy when 10 am rolls around.  When the session is over, the parts of my body that haven’t been rolfed are saying, “Hey man, what about me?”

In an attempt to catch up,  I want to share some of the major outcomes of the first five sessions.  As I head into the second half of the 10 session process, I’ll break it down session by session.

I’ve gained enhanced range of motion in my neck (turning side to side), length in my torso, freedom in my hips and inner thighs, reduced SI joint pain, increased stability in my feet and ankles (especially the one I sprained twice), greater flexibility in my shoulders and less pelvic congestion overall.  These changes have improved my yoga asana practice, particularly the following poses:  uttanasana, gomukhasana, baddha konasana, halasana, salamba sarvangasana, urdhva dhanurasana, virabhadrasana I and II, paschimottanasana, and upavishta konasana.

Now when I forward bend I actually feel the belly of the hamstring stretching instead of this painful tugging on my ischial tuberosity.  I’ve still got discomfort on the SI joint but hope that this will resolve by the end.  The changes in my feet (arches) after session two have been the hardest thing to manage.  My sense of balance still isn’t where it was before we started this process, but I have faith it will be better than the initial state when I finish.

Overall, each session has been amazing.  I had some major physical detoxing after session four and I chalk that up to the fact that working the line from the groin to the foot also encompasses three meridians – liver, kidney and spleen.  After session five I had some emotional detoxing.  That was almost unexpected because I’ve felt pretty balanced with all of the others.  Session five went deep in the iliopsoas.  Everyone told me that Rolfing was “so painful,” but during session five was the only time I felt like crying from the physical sensation – and that was only once or twice during 75 minutes.

Tomorrow will be more work on the pelvis. Looking forward to reconnecting with the seat of my creativity, pleasure and feelings yet again in my sixth rolfing session.  Whose body is that?  Oh, yeah, it’s mine!

PS.  I’m being rolfed by Kevin McCoy.  He’s excellent!

Photo of the Day: Mussels

Mussels in white wine sauce for New Year's appetizers.

The shadow side of laughter

I got some great feedback on “The Dark Side of Laughter” which I want to share.  Initially I was just going to post the feedback as a comment to the original post.  But the conversation kept going, so I’m going to share it as a separate post.  The feedback comes from my friend, Alisha, who owns Nurturing Balance in Brookfield.  She’s a talented woman and a fantastic massage therapist.  I’ve always appreciated her insight and assistance when I’ve been working through issues in my life through my relationship with my body.  Here’s the synopsis of our interchange:

Alisha: Good Morning Laura! Your post made me tilt my head and click on your link and take a few moments to read. I understand your viewpoint and at times definitely agree. However, anger isn’t alway or mostly rooted on the dark side. 😉 Laughter is a great and productive way for the body to enjoy excitement, joy and happiness…yes. But laughter is often a way for the body to release tension, anxiety and fear in a way in which the body is comfortable. Yes, it can, at times, be viewed as anger. But more often it is an anxiety or fear that the body sees laughter as a way to shed the ‘negative’ and let your soul be more comfortable in your own skin and allow you to come to a more grounded position to deal with what it is you need to.

While we might be actually saying the same thing…I just wanted to share my ‘two cents’ incase it’s a helpful viewpoint.

Laura: This is a great viewpoint. I’m not totally convinced that getting the giggles means it has something to do with anger. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. 🙂

When I was writing this last night I felt that you would have a great perspective to share. In my yoga practice last night, during the final relaxation (after the giggles subsided) I experienced a great wave of sadness. I did a lot of hip and abdominal work. It definitely dredged up some stuff.

Of course, I know in my case that I do have some repressed anger over many things in my life. Maybe saying “shadow” side would have been better than dark side. Oh, shit. You know Mercury is in retrograde. I’ll be challenged with communication for the next fortnight. 🙂

Today during my 4th rolfing session I also got some giggles. It seems like working at the deep layers of the body – particularly the fascia for me – elicits this response. The emotional aspects (using Mein’s approach) tied to the areas most intense and most dysfunctional for me correlate well (SI ligament – feeling of being unsupported, PSIS – lack of knowing, fascia – fear of emotions).

Alisha: lol you are correct sometimes a ‘cigar is a cigar’ however I think that in life we choose to find a deeper meaning in things that we either have a path to connect to or an emotion we desire to connect to. Your experiences during rolfing of the giggles, to me, shows that your body is using the giggles as a protective mechanism. The giggles allow your emotions as well as body to adjust and open to an area of deep protection. Often times these bouts are followed by cold chills, tears, or shaking…not always but can be common. While your past harbors many challenging stability emotions and ‘shadows’ your body is very intune and has the ability to let go of these areas when you are ready. Sometimes it’s not even that we need to ‘let go’; it’s sometimes that we only need to acknowledge that a block or void is there…and then to grow from there and gain an acceptance that something has occured but you no longer ‘need’ it and are strong or grounded enough to move forward.

Laura: I always use humor to diffuse serious or scary situations so I also feel that it may be tied to that…like, maybe I locked up some laughs with whatever else is in there. I totally agree on the idea that simply acknowledging blocks or voids helps clear them. I have stopped trying to overanalyze each release. Some are stronger than others and I delve more into the deep ones. I’ve come to the perspective that I don’t need to understand it all at the minute detail…sometimes it’s ok just to be a detached witness.

So if you care to share, have you experienced emotional releases during a yoga practice, dancing, energy work session, massage or other form of body working?  How do you experience it?  What meaning have you attached to the releases?

The dark side of laughter

I’ve been reading a book called “Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils” by Carolyn Mein.  Somatic or emotional release is something that is very interesting to me as a healing modality.  I’ve had the experience of stuffing many emotions in my life.  When they bubbled back to the surface, they would always come out in negative, self-destructive ways.  I believe that many of the states of disease that we manifest in our lives come from our inability to healthfully express or transform our emotional states.

Reiki and Yoga are two modalities that have really helped me release stuffed emotions and reprogram my thinking patterns in a positive way.  I found the Reiki attunement process to be extraordinarily cleansing.  I released multiple deep-seated sanskaras that simply evaded eradication through my yoga and mediation practice.  These sanskaras are impressions left on our lives or psyches that will form the basis of our desires and future responses and behaviors to various stimuli.  I first absorbed this concept when I read Patanjali’s “Yoga Sutras”.  In my opinion, Patanjali was the world’s first psychotherapist.  The Sutras are like a manual for mental health.  Experts disagree on the exact date of his writings but place them somewhere between 100 and 500 BCE.

In September of 2009 I experienced my first Raindrop Therapy at Young Living’s annual convention.  Afterward I felt great…light, completely aware, peaceful.  Everything seemed sharper and more alive.  The next day and for the following three days, I was on an emotional roller coaster.  I’m generally an even-keeled sort of gal.  Lots of people tell me I’m grounded — like Mother Earth.  (I suppose it helps being a Virgo.)  I was literally swept away repeatedly for days by waves of emotion – sometimes giddy, other times distraught or downright sad.  Later, when I read more on the emotional effects of the oils in the Raindrop Therapy, these experiences made sense.  (I’ll break this down in another post some time.)

Tonight, during my yoga practice, I found myself laughing almost uncontrollably after several very challenging asanas and kriyas.  When I receive energy work, I tend to release my stored items as laughter.  I always thought this was funny, saying to myself, “Awww.  I really am a happy person – look, when I release garbage it comes out as laughter.”  But the book gave me some interesting insight into this release pattern.

Every emotion is like a coin.  It has two sides.  We generally perceive laughter as a great thing (unless our parents chastised us for laughing as children), but the flip side of laughter is anger.  We all have our share of angry moments, thoughts and actions.  So I’m guessing that getting the giggles when you release is just a way of saying, “You gotta a lot of anger inside there, girl!”  Time to get back on the liver balancing Yin Yoga practice.  (Each emotion tends to pool in a particular organ.  Anger likes to reside in the liver.)