February 2008 Newsletter from your Favorite Holistic Health Counselor

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. – Henry David Thoreau

So, what (or who) is your drummer? We’re all very good at being responsive to the needs and interests of others, but how are we at responding to our own? Maybe you can suffer with good humor the country music karaoke scene with your niece, knowing that you have tickets to the philharmonic the next night, where your soul will be rebalanced. Rather than going on the big flashy vacation so you can have stories to tell upon your return, maybe you stay home for the week to focus on your painting, thus nourishing your soul to take bigger creative risks. While you can enjoy time with your niece and the flashy vacation, listen closely for your personal drummer to ensure that you are truly nourished on all levels.

Soul Food

While it’s been a relatively mild winter so far, February still feels like a long awkward month. The good thing about it is that the days are a bit longer, though not long enough to fend off the gray introverted feeling of “will it ever end?”. In other words, a perfect time for soul food. As our diet improves, your definition of soul food will vary with the season & your frame of mind. At this time of year, soups & stews are the thing, creamy is the favored texture. In the spring & summer, lighter, fresher, crunchy is the thing.

Soul food, aka comfort food, is unique to each of us and our upbringing. It fends off the chill of winter, reconnects us with our heritage and childhood. It just makes us feel better, usually in the short term. It also tends to be high fat and heavy on the carbs. It can also lead to feelings of lethargy, especially if you wanted to take that Saturday afternoon nap anyway. Comfort food is usually an indulgence. Be it mashed potatos and gravy, beans and rice, meatloaf or fried plantains. Assuming your exercising sufficiently, and mostly eating healthy, go ahead and savor the preparation and partaking of whatever your personal soul food. Notice how it feels to prepare it and the memories invoked. My grandmother taught me to bake break and to this day, I’ll cut off a heal fresh out of the oven, drown it in butter and salute my grandmother who started the tradition. Also notice how you feel afterwards, comfortably sluggish, restful, perhaps uncomfortable if you over did it. Notice and fully experience the whole process, whatever it is. If you’ve overdone it, get back on your plan the next day, confident that you’re taking care of your primary food* needs sufficiently that you can get back on track easily without feeling deprived.

* Primary food are those aspects of wellbeing that don’t include food, satisfying relationships, healthy spiritual life, and enjoying your work. More later on that in the upcoming months.

Food Focus: Protein in Whole Grains, specifically Quinoa

Whole grains (with as little processing as possible) are a great source of protein as are legumes & soy. All of these served in combination with a broad range of vegetables provide all of the amino acids for complete protein, easily accessible to your body. While the range of grains is truly staggering, this month’s focus in on quinoa, a Peruvian seed related to spinach. Of the grains, it has one of the only complete proteins, cooks relatively quickly, and mixes very well with other things and is full of all of the minerals and phytochemicals needed for easy digestion. It has a slightly nutty flavor and crunchy texture. Being gluten free, quinoa is a perfect alternative for those with celiac disease (you don’t tolerate wheat). It can be found in health food stores and online.

It’s an easy grain to work with. There are some that think it needs to be rinsed 3 times before use to clean away naturally occurring residue. With modern processing, there are those who dispense with this step to no effect. It cooks in about 15 minutes, though you can soak it to speed that up a bit. Quinoa works well in most everything, soups, salads, stuffings, sweet & savory puddings, and some baked goods.

Risotto, usually made with Arborio rice is a favorite comfort food with its creamy texture made up of the starch from the rice interacting with the liquid stirred in slowly. Quinoa reacts in a similar way (as does barley). Any variation of risotto can be added to the comfort food category while still fitting easily into your regular health maintenance routine.

Recipe of the Month: Quinoa Risotto with Arugula and Parmesan
http://www.healthyworld.com

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped (any kind will do and will change the flavor slightly)
2 garlic clove, minced
2 cup quinoa, well rinsed and dried by toasting in skillet a few minutes before cooking.
5 cups of any combination of vegetable or chicken stock and white wine (drinkable, not the “cooking” wine).
4 cups chopped, stemmed arugula (or any other tender bitter green, i.e. dandelion, endive, chard, spinach)
2 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
1 cup thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (or your favorite mushroom)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Don’t let the garlic brown.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite but slightly hard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer.

Stir in the cheese and season with the salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

The technique of risotto (with quinoa or Arborio) lends itself to experimentation. Play around with adding pine nuts, a mix of greens and/or mushrooms. If adding meat stick w/ Arborio risotto, as quinoa is a bit delicate and overpowered by animal proteins.

Send This On!
I hope you have found this newsletter to be as informative and inspiring to read as it has been for me to share it with you. Please feel free to forward it to those friends, family and colleagues in your life that you think might also be interested and inspired by it. If you refer someone who signs up, it’s $100 in your pocket or a free exercise session.

Toni Taylor
Holistic Nutritional & Exercise Consultant
212-586-0681
ttatpdt@hotmail.com
http://www.integrativenutrition.com/graduates/ttaylor.aspx

January 2008 Newsletter from your Favorite Holistic Health Counselor

To insure good health: Eat Lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life. – William Louden

With apologies for being late w/ the January newsletter . . . . . .

What with the post holiday, winter time sluggishness, this month’s quote is a good reminder of how to get back on track after the holidays, especially the cultivate cheerfulness part. At times there’s an argument for faking it until you make it. Assuming nothing of any importance is wrong, faking a bit of cheerfulness (especially in the midst of a grey winter afternoon) some how changes the chemical relationship of the body with itself that you might find yourself genuinely feeling cheerful and interested in life.

Getting back on track after the holiday season ? The pros and cons of fasting and cleansing diets.

After the diet excesses of the holidays, there might be some thought of some type of cleansing diet or fast. Cleansing & fasting are related though different exercises both needing to be approached with much thought. As there is much detailed information available on both topics, I’ll focus on the high level designations of both.

For centuries, most religious practices have included fasting to various degrees as a spiritual practice. These can vary 24 hour water fasts to 3 week water and juice fasts. Generally speaking a 24-48 hour water fast can be approached with a sense of adventure, of course assuming your overall health is good. As anything more than a 48 hour fast should only be conducted with the assistance of a medical professional, I’ll only discuss 24-48 hour fasts. The purpose of fasts is not specifically to lose weight, though that might happen in the short term. Some find that occasional fasts help clear their systems after a bout of illness and nutritional indulgence. Thought and preparation need to go into the pre-fast stage, the fast itself, and the post fast stage. Pre-fast preparation includes a diet of high quality fruit and vegetables with little if any meat consumption. Use this time to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies that can be juiced and to clear your calendar and clean your house, so there will be nothing to induce any sense of stress or the “I should be doing .. . . . .” Fasting is not the time to catch up on your to-do list. It’s a time to indulge in gentle reading, resting, & meditation. This allows your body to focus it’s energies on clearing your system of built up toxins. The 2 – 3 days after a fast should include very simple, basic fruit & vegetables, ideally raw but perhaps steamed, slowly introducing back into your diet protein (animal or otherwise). Some benefits some find with fasting is recalibrating their tastes to simple foods, losing or lessening their taste for sugar, salt, fat, & caffeine. Some allergies might disappear as will some respiratory issues. Others find a spiritual rejuvenation with a short fast. Some practice water fasts, though much of the literatures cautions against it.

Cleansing diets are similar to the pre & post fast diet, high quality, fresh vegetables & fruit for a prescribed amount of time. While cleansing might not have the same level of spiritual satisfaction, it serves a similar purpose as fasting. They should also be approached with a similar sense of caution. Though they can last a bit longer (no more than 2 weeks) augmented with more water than ususal, a similar level of preparation is required. You might not need to completely clear your calendar, but you still need to clear your calendar of anything too stressful and prepare your family and friends for the fact that you will need a bit more down time than usual. Gentle exercise in the form of easy yoga, tai chi, and perhaps strolling can be beneficial.

Most western medical professionals advise against fasting or cleansing for anything except spiritual purposes as their view is that the body is self cleaning and regulating requiring nothing in the way of extra cleansing. Some with specific medical conditions shouldn’t consider it (diabetes, pregnant, any type of eating disorder, etc.) I’m of the opinion that an occasional well planned; well executed; 24-48 hour can have some benefit for a general healthy person. But it isn’t something to take lightly and should only be undertaken if all preparations can be made. Feel free to check in with your doctor before undertaking either a fast or cleansing diet. To re-iterate, if you’re curious about a lengthier fast, only do so under licensed, medical guidance. Fasting is definitely not for everyone, but some might find an occasional gentle fast good for their body and soul.

Easy to Digest Foods
In the spirit of easing your digestive system out of the holiday excesses, this month’s recipe is very simple with simple ingredients. While OK before going into a fast, this recipe would be better on day 3 or 4 after your fast, as the first few days should be a gentle easing into your diet with raw or gently steamed vegetables.

Feel free to leave out any of the spices as need be. This and a serving of steamed vegetables would be a complete meal.

Baked Curried Brown Rice & Lentil Pilaf

recipe is ready in 1-2 hrs Ready in: 1-2 hrs (mostly unattended)
Serves/Makes: 6
1 table spoon butter
1 cup brown basmati or brown jasmine rice
4 1/4 cups water
1 cup brown lentils
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cinnamon stick
4 slices (1/4-inch-thick) peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons red curry paste
OR
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
4 scallions, sliced

Directions:

Place rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°F.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large ovenproof Dutch oven; add rice and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 1/2 minutes. (If using curry powder, add it now and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds.)

Add water. Stir in lentils, garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger, curry paste, if using, and salt; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the curry paste.

Cover the pot tightly with a lid or foil. Transfer to the oven and bake until the rice and lentils are tender and all the water is absorbed, 50 to 55 minutes.

Fluff with a fork, removing the cinnamon stick and ginger slices. Serve garnished with scallions.

Send This On!
I hope you have found this newsletter to be as informative and inspiring to read as it has been for me to share it with you. Please feel free to forward it to those friends, family and colleagues in your life that you think might also be interested and inspired by it. If you refer someone who signs up, it?s $100 in your pocket or a free exercise session.

Toni Taylor
Holistic Nutritional & Exercise Consultant
212-586-0681
ttatpdt@mac.com