On the radio the other day I heard a commentary about unwanted gifts. You know, all that stuff we give and get just because we feel like we have to. The woman on the program was adding up the cost of a gigantic vase she’d received. First, the cost of the vase itself. Second, the cost of storing it in her home (pro-rated based on the size of her house and monthly rent). Third, the more abstract but equally valid cost of her peace of mind – she said she looks at that thing and wishes she didn’t have it about 3 times per day.
The premise was that we waste a lot of money (and time and peace of mind) every year on the gifts we give and get.
A friend told me that her 3 year old niece makes lists of stuff she wants from the Toys R Us catalog. When presented with a gift wrapped in simple craft paper, the 3 year old declared, “I want a pretty one!” and refused to open it.
What does all of this say about our culture and the way we live our lives?
I haven’t been truly sick in over two years. I mean, sure, a sniffle here and there, but nothing that has me on the couch for a week with a box of tissues.
Let’s see, what was different two years ago? First of all, I was still working in advertising, a daily drain on my being. I was eating whole foods, though mainly a vegan diet and not enough dark, leafy greens. Hmmmm. And I rode the subway every day.
I got sick fairly often back then, come to think of it.
Well, this week I started to feel a bit run down. Dragging. Not hard to imagine given pregnancy, moving and trying to sell our place. On Tuesday night my head felt a little thick, my throat a little sore. I woke up the same way. Uh-oh. Not now, I thought. I can’t get sick now! I have open houses to deal with, and packing and we’re going to go to Kripalu next week before Thanksgiving and on top of it all I can’t/don’t want to take medicine!
Oy.
But today, two days later, I’m feeling much better. And that thickness in my head has retreated instead of blossoming into a full cold or flu. How’d I do it?
Well it’s certainly been both busy and chilly around here, how about you?
At 28 weeks pregnant, our grocery shopping trips have turned into marathon affairs. I gave my husband a list yesterday that went something like this:
- Big thing of almonds
- Big thing of walnuts
- Cheese
- Cottage Cheese
- Yogurt
- Carrots
- Celery
- Chickpeas
- Pears
…and it went on for another 10 items or so. Basically, I want to eat well but I want to eat fast. And I know you can relate, whether you’re pregnant or not!
Nutrient-dense snacks are important. But quick soups are a lifesaver, like the one I wrote about a few weeks ago.
My grandma had recipe boxes, full of 4×6 cards, handwritten notes on scraps of paper and magazine clippings. Sometimes, magazine clippings taped to 4×6 cards if she felt particularly neat and tidy that day.
With all the technology we have, I actually find it more difficult to keep track of and store my recipes. Most of them come from the internet, and I’m apparently allergic to printing so I hardly ever do. Anyway, then it’s on 8.5×11 paper and I end up folding it in half and sticking it into a cookbook where I’ll never find it again.
Alternatively, I cook straight from the screen. Damn that screensaver when my hands are full of food and I need to know what comes next!
By the way, this whole issue is why my new holiday recipe ebook has printer-friendly recipe cards in addition to full page recipes and photos. Yay! It went on sale this week socheck it out.
**Hey, don’t forget to enter to win my Uncle Sam’s breakfast cereal giveaway! Contest is open through Nov. 21st so get your entries in!**
Necessity is the mother of invention, right?
Take our new litterbox purchase, for example. With 3 cats, we’re always looking for a better way to approach litter issues. So we bought a new fancy system with fancy pebbly “litter” and an absorbent pad that goes in a tray underneath the box. Whatever, it looked promising.
Cat #1 steps in the box immediately and proceeds to pee over the edge. Ah, yes. This box is not as tall as the old box. I see.
Cat #2 tries to eat the new litter.
Cat #3 doesn’t even look at it.
My husband used a plastic paint try and some duct tape to make a higher wall on the front of the box and…yes! Success for Cat #1! The others we’re still not sure about.
Anyway, it’s this kind of creative thinking that can come in handy in the kitchen. Ok, forget all talk of cat pee, I realize it’s not a very appetizing combination of stories.
What I really want to talk about is the extra special, extra fast soup I made the other night. I literally pulled it together in under 5 minutes because, well, I only had 5 minutes.
Ahhh. The pomegranate. Recently it’s got some press as a superfood…have you heard about it? It’s kind of a bunch of crap. A pomegranate is good for you, but so is a grapefruit. Or blueberries. Or an pear, whatever. All fruit has antioxidants and vitamins. So don’t buy into the hubbub. In fact, POM was just given a bit of a smackdown by the FTC because of its arguably false advertising claims.
I think it’s hilarious because the last project I worked on at my old advertising job was for a Cran-Pomegranate juice by Ocean Spray. They made us call it a “Super Fruit” and make as many vague health-related statements as we could. 100% Bulls**t. It’s full of sugar, that’s all you need to know about most bottled juice.
Weekends are getting interesting around here. We started with Newborn Essentials – a class to teach us how to swaddle and take rectal temperatures. Oy. Next up is Breastfeeding Basics. And Hypnobirthing. And Stroller School. I suppose it might be overkill, but it really does make me feel calmer to learn from an expert. Anyway, to keep the weekend fun and relish our quiet time while we have it, I whipped up some delicious and filling pancakes that are way, way better than anything out of a box.
The win for me? Whole grains and no added sugar! Otherwise, pancakes put me directly into a sugar coma and I’d be starving an hour later.
The win for my husband? They’re so good he doesn’t even bother adding maple syrup. I couldn’t believe it, but it happened. (This is a man who adds maple syrup to a glass of milk to drink with dinner. What the…?)
I’m drawn to winter squash. Maybe it’s the nutritious, yummy flavors of each variety: pumpkin, kabocha, kuri, delicata, spaghetti, etc. Maybe it’s the way they sit on my counter for well over a week until I figure out what to do with them – no refrigeration required.
Maybe it’s because they’re big and round and well, kind of like me lately!
It was a pretty major moment in my life when I realized that a quick breakfast doesn’t have to come out of a box. Or from Dunkin Donuts.
For years I had coffee with a bagel and cream cheese in the mornings. You know what I was feeding myself? Empty calories, a blood sugar spike, increased mucus production, and a hard punch to my adrenal glands. Sometimes I ate a bowl of cold cereal, but even the healthy ones are often loaded with sugar. Seriously. Check out those ingredient labels.
Yikes. No wonder I felt crappy.
But no worries! I have a suggestion for a hot, healthy breakfast you can make in just 3 or 4 minutes in the morning. It all starts with a big pot of pre-cooked quinoa, or oats, or brown rice, or wheat berries, or millet, or… you get the idea. Some kind of whole grain.
When cooking whole grains, it’s a good idea to soak them overnight in water and a splash of lemon juice or vinegar. This deactivates nutrient blockers and make the grain easier to digest. (You don’t have to do this step, whole grains are always better for you than Cap’n Crunch!)
In the case of quinoa, no need to soak. Just rinse those suckers off and you’re good to go. That’s what I did this week. On Sunday I made dinner and simultaneously cooked up a few cups of quinoa. We ate dinner and the quinoa went in the fridge.
In the video above, I show you how I make an awesome breakfast out of that leftover quinoa! See? Now I’m feeding myself fiber, vitamins, nutrients and protein (quinoa is high in protein) without any garbage or empty calories.
This is good, whole, real food. Try it! You will feel better. And if you really love cold cereal, find one without sugar and try making banana milk.
** PSSSSST have you entered to win a free DVD from Gaiam? Get to it! Click here to enter.
** ONLY 6 SPOTS LEFT in my small group health counseling program! Sign up quick – we start soon. Details here, or email me!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Those holiday TV specials seem to think so anyway. Perfect snow falls, families are loving and strangers help each other with heavy bags. Have your holidays been simply joyous?
Or have there been some sour spots? 9 out of 10 of you just nodded. It’s ok.
Please, who hasn’t had to deal with some kind of drama around the holidays – family related or otherwise? Just because it’s December doesn’t mean everyone is suddenly cheerful, loving and forgiving. It makes sense that we’d run into some buried-away sadness as we try our darndest to be jolly.
No worries. Complexity can be a good thing. (Think wine!) If happy feelings and not-so-happy feelings are all mixed up this week, that’s to be expected. A good way to deal with it is to practice gratitude. Notice I said “practice.” It doesn’t always come easy:
Start with the simple ones, whatever they are for you:
I’m grateful for my husband. I’m grateful for my health.
Move on to those that take extra effort.
Even though I miss my grandma like crazy around Christmas, I’m grateful for everything she taught me while she was alive. I’m grateful for her influence.
Then, spend some serious time practicing gratitude around things in your life that are downright painful.
I am grateful for difficult relationships because they teach me something about myself. Handling tough situations allows me to grow.
You get the idea. It’s a valuable exercise, and much more useful that letting our ears droop as we watch another Christmas go by that’s less-than-perfect. Instead, embrace the holidays for what they are – sweet and sour! Sounds delicious to me.
Here’s a great recipe that balances sweet and sour to its tasty advantage. Now, can you?
Sweet and Sour Cabbage and Bread Stew
3 to 4 cups torn pieces of whole wheat bread
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large or 3 medium potatoes, diced (I used parsnips)
4 cups coarsely shredded green cabbage
…get the whole recipe here!
I help busy people find balance in their over-worked, over-stressed lives. Trust me, it's not an all-or-nothing situation! A few shifts in diet and lifestyle can rock your world like they did mine. (And if you're a health coach, I can help you do the same for your own clients.) Read on
