Guilt and Negative Self-Talk Do Way More Harm Than a Bagel!

Yep, me again.  Two posts in one day.  A dangerous precedent, I know, but I really wanted to share my experience with CRAVINGS from earlier today.  I think it's important to post the challenging moments alongside the seemingly effortless (HA!) healthy successes.  So, here goes.

In the interest of full disclosure (because we all deviate from our intentions once in a while, and that's OK)...

Today I had an intense craving for protein. It didn't help that the owner of the coffee shop where I was working was eating (and waxing poetic about) an amazing-looking burger from the place down the street. I was unprepared (didn't bring my own food) and eventually I broke down and ordered a toasted sesame bagel with peanut butter, which is a rarity for 90% gluten-free me. I have to say that it was heavenly. And it satisfied my hunger for protein enough that I could regain focus and get some work done.

The point? Don't let your own "food rules" be so limiting that they run your life. It's okay to deviate once in a while, and it's critical that you are gentle with yourself when it happens.

Guilt and negative self-talk do way more harm than a bagel!

What's your experience with challenging cravings?

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Be Gentle With Yourself.

Creative Cooking: Making the Most of What You've Got

With all the traveling I've been doing lately, I keep missing farmers' markets (and even grocery store trips), and I've found myself throwing together some interesting meals.  Today I'm sharing with you my Greens-Beans-and-Millet "Burgers", but keep your eyes open for my other interesting, healthy, and totally slapped-together concoctions, including Cherry-Vanilla Coconut "Ice Cream" (coming soon!).

I was driving home late last week, thinking about what I could possibly make for dinner without going shopping, and all I could picture in my fridge was a container of leftover sauteed veggies from the night before.  A couple nights earlier I had hung out with my good friend Sadie who's been on a homemade veggie burger kick of late.  So then it hit me.  I'd use my veggies to make some sort of burger.  It turned out really well.  I ate one that night and froze the rest, and it's been really nice to have homemade veggie burgers these past few days.

(Gluten-Free) Greens-Beans-and-Millet "Burgers" (photos below)

Step 1: The Sauteed Veggies (my leftovers)...

I sauteed the following veggies in olive oil and some Braggs' Liquid Aminos: 3 cloves chopped garlic, 9-10 sliced shitake mushrooms, 1 med. sliced summer squash, and a bunch of swiss chard leaves (and stems -- I like to chop up the stems like celery).

Step 2: Making the Burgers...

• Prepare the following ingredients:
• 1 cup leftover sauteed veggies, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cooked millet (1/2 cup dry)
• 1 can Eden organic pinto beans, smashed (I used a potato masher) and refried with a dash of olive oil, salt to taste, and the juice from 1/2 lime
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Form into burgers/patties.
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (optional).
• Bake burgers on cookie sheet for ~30-35 minutes (everything is already cooked.  you just want your burgers to get a little crispy on the outside and hold together.).  Flip burgers after 20 minutes.
• Top with your favorite condiment (I used some hot sauce).  Remember that your burgers will hold the flavor of your sauteed vegetables.
• Enjoy!

So, the next time you find yourself saying, "There's nothing in here that's edible!", take a second look.

Feel like sharing one of your successful (or not-so-successful) desperate dinner creations?

Please inspire us with your story.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Be Creative.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Top 10 farmers markets in U.S. (gadling.com)
• Getting Your Greens on the Road: How to Eat Well While Traveling (wisebread.com)
• Pledge to check out your local farmer's market (socialactions.net)
• Is Hexane in Your Veggie Burger? (& What is Hexane?) (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• Are Veggie Burgers Deadly? (passionatefoodie.blogspot.com)

Free Hugs for Graduation!

You may have already seen this video: Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy, or one of the other Free Hugs video clips.  They've been circulating and they are really wonderful.  I don't even want to say that much about it.  Just see for yourself.  Trust me -- it's good stuff!  What?  You've already seen it?  Go ahead and watch it again.  Positive interactions, smiles, hugs, and even just positive thinking nourish us and keep us happy and healthy. 

"For one moment our lives met, our souls touched."  - Oscar Wilde
 

Oh right, the graduation part is this: on Sunday, July 25, we had our graduation ceremony in NYC at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  During my time at IIN, I met some really lovely people (you know who you are!) and had the rare opportunity to learn from some of the brightest doctors, healers, and teachers in our field, including John Douillard, Mark Hyman, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, Geneen Roth, Marion Nestle, Bernie Siegel, Arthur Agatston, Sally Fallon, Harville Hendrix, Neal Barnard, David Wolfe, David Katz, Barry Sears, Annemarie Colbin, Joel Furhman, Paul Pitchford, and Joshua Rosenthal. And I logged a lot of time on buses between Boston and New York!  But wow, time really flew by.  Oh, and for those family and friends who thought I was finally done with school... not quite yet.  I begin the Integrative Nutrition Graduate Immersion Program next month :-)  Lifelong learner, what can I say?

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about health coaching or about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, contact me here.  I'd be happy to talk about what I do and about my experience at IIN.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Hug Freely.

 

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Free Hugs Campaign in Helsinki, Finland [Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)] (scienceblogs.com)
• Free Hugs Campaign - Learn Social Media By Example (thoughtpick.com)
• Free Hugs-Watch This Inspiring 'Abbracci Gratis' Video (beliefnet.com)
• Tube Photo of the Week - Free Hugs (london-underground.blogspot.com)

Image via Wikipedia

"Humane" Certification: More Food for Thought

I just came across this post about Supporting "Humane" Certification (from the Natural Gourmet Institute's blog), and I wanted to offer you the link to continue the discussion about ethical food choices that we started last month.  For some different perspectives on this important and sensitive topic, give their posting a quick read.  And if you feel so inclined, comment here to share with us your perspective.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  

Feeling Hot? Just Breathe.

A friend recently sent me an article stating that June 2010 was the hottest June on record.  Well, at least I'm not going crazy!...it really has been as hot as it's felt.  Not surprisingly, the focus of my blog and newsletter topics of late has been staying cool and feeling refreshed in this summer heat.  I've written about cooling summer foods and staying hydrated naturally, and here's one more: you can also cool down by breathing.  Yup, it's true.  Here's a breathing technique that you can use to feel cooler right now.  Keep this one in mind for easing all kinds of heat: summer heat waves (the hottest July ever?), hot flashes, or even that hot feeling that can accompany frustration.

Breathing to Stay Cool (Shitali Pranayama)

• Exhale completely.
• Before you inhale, place the tip of your tongue between your upper and lower front teeth, so that your mouth does not close completely.  Curl your tongue in a U-shape between your teeth if you're able; if not, simply place the tip between your teeth.
• Inhale deeply, feeling the cool air as it passes across your tongue, to the back of your mouth, down your throat, and beyond.  Try closing your eyes and imagining the cool air traveling throughout your body.
• Before you exhale again, pull back your tongue and close your mouth.
• Exhale completely through your nose.  The air exiting your body will be warmer, so exhaling through your nose will keep your mouth and throat feeling cool.
• Continue to breathe this way -- alternate inhaling through your mouth and exhaling through your nose -- and observe your body as you cool down.

What are your tricks and tips for staying cool?  Please share.

Have you tried the Shitali Pranayama (above)?  Let us know how you like it.


Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Breathe Well.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 8 Ways To Keep Cool Without Using The Air Conditioner (hellobeautiful.com)
• Stay Cool! (merrymicrofiberblog.com)
• Summer Hydration Tips (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• Directing Prana (teachstreet.com)

Join the Discussion.

Hello All.  I've been traveling and feeling a little under the weather lately, and I realize my blogging has been a bit slow during the past couple weeks.  But those of you who subscribe to my newsletter should have received the July issue several days ago -- all about cooling summer salads and seaweeds.  If you aren't already on the newsletter listserv and would like to be, you can sign up here (or in the sidebar, at right).

I have an endless list of topics I'm eager to blog about, and I'll get back to that shortly, but in the meantime I want to thank those of you who have started to join the discussion by posting comments on existing blog entries, such as Iced Tea Month, Summer Solstice, Not a Vegetarian, and Watermelon Juice.  I also continue to receive individual e-mails from many of you with your thoughts and reactions to my posts.  I appreciate every e-mail I receive, but I would love it if we could begin to have more open discussions.  I'm sure it's just like speaking up in class -- each of us thinks our perspective isn't valid or interesting enough, but it is.  Conversation is one of the things I value most.  So, if you're at all inclined, consider clicking on that comments link at the end of an entry and share with us your thoughts, opinions, reaction, relevant links, or whatever else you'd like to contribute.  I know we're just getting started here, but I hope in time we can turn this blog into an interactive health forum.

Will you be next to join the discussion?

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Share Well.

Naturally Refreshing Drinks (Part II): Jugo de Sandia

Back in May, I told you that when I lived in Costa Rica I discovered my 2 favorite naturally refreshing drinks.  In that original post, I wrote about agua de pipa (coconut water).  And now, given this ridiculous heat wave we are experiencing, it's time to mention the other: jugo de sandia (watermelon juice).

Flashback to April 1996.  It was Easter Break and I headed to the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica with a few friends.  Our plan was to spend the week camping on the beach in Guancaste.  And we did.  The sweltering heat was not part of our plan.  It was easily over 100 degrees every day that week.  There was little shade.  The tent provided no real shelter.  And you can really only swim for so long!  The sunsets were glorious.  Not only because they were gorgeous paintings of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks, but also because we loved nighttime that week.  We would just lie down in the shallow water and stare at the moon.

But the sun always came up again, seemingly hotter than the day before.  We tried to stay hydrated, but it was tough because we had to lug all of our drinking water all the way down the beach to our campsite.  One day I was headed up the beach on a water run (Ha!  run. sure.) and I stumbled upon a little shack.  Several people were hanging around with plastic cups of something red.  They were smiling and laughing.  I wanted that!  Don't get me wrong.  I was happy.  I mean, come on, I was sleeping five feet from the Pacific Ocean.  I was happy.  But smiling and laughing were a long way off -- it was just too hot for that.  Until...

I went and ordered myself one of those cups of something red.  They told me it was jugo de sandia.  Huh, watermelon juice?  Up to this point in life, I had no desire to drink watermelon juice.  The idea of watermelon juice conjured memories of Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Pops, rather than refreshment.   As I was laying there in a hammock in the shade, drinking my fourth plastic cup of watermelon juice, and listening to the waves of the Pacific Ocean, I thought, "How could I have been so wrong?  This is hands down the best thing I've ever had to eat or drink in my entire life!"  Maybe all those people were smiling and laughing at how wrong they had been too?  Maybe. 

Now I realize that context is king, but I still find watermelon and watermelon juice to be the most refreshing food and drink on a hot day.  I am currently having a big watermelon breakfast.  And last night, after I carved up my watermelon, I poured off the juice into a glass.  I closed my eyes as I drank it, and I swear I could almost hear the waves of the Pacific Ocean.  Good stuff!

So, there's my watermelon juice story, in honor of the power of watermelon to keep you sane during a heat wave.  It's not only refreshing, it also naturally satisfies your sweet tooth, is packed with antioxidants, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.  If you haven't already, go get some watermelon.  If you want to make watermelon juice, just chop it up, remove most seeds, and blend (or just smash by hand), strain, chill, and enjoy.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Stay Cool and Healthy with Watermelon.

Ahimsa

Ahimsa.  All week long that word has been inhabiting my thoughts.  Ahimsa.  But what does it mean?

Yoga is much more than the collection of poses, stretches, and exercises that we practice when we go to a yoga class.  About 2,000 years ago in India, Patanjali codified many of the existing yoga practices into a unified text, in which the practice of yoga is described as having 8 limbs (one of which is Asana, or the physical postures you may be familiar with).  The first limb is Yamas.  The yamas are the five restraints -- essentially a list of moral and ethical rules to live by.  And the first yama is ahimsa.

Ahimsa means non-harming.  So, of course this means that we should not harm other people or animals.  It is important, though, to think about what "harming" means to us -- how might we be harming people/animals in not-so-obvious ways.  And it is also very important to remember that, perhaps above all else, we should practice non-harming towards ourselves.  Many of us have a habit of treating strangers better than we treat ourselves.  But how can we be expected to thrive and to do our best for others if we are neglecting our own needs?  Whenever I'm on a plane and they run through the safety speech just before take-off, I think of ahimsa when they get to the part about the oxygen masks.  "...if you are seated near someone who needs assistance, put on your own mask before helping others." 

So, while I think we should practice ahimsa in all areas of our lives, I encourage you to take some time to think about how your actions, inaction, and even your self-talk may be harming YOU.  Next time you can't seem to squeeze in your yoga practice, going to the gym, going for a hike, meditating, setting aside an hour to read for pleasure, cooking healthy food for yourself, or whatever your particular needs may be, ask yourself: if I was to give my best friend advice about this, what would I tell her/him to do?  Then follow your own advice.

What does Ahimsa mean for you?  

Make a list of the ways you can practice Ahimsa in your life. 

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Practice Ahimsa.