Happy New Year!

As we say goodbye to 2008 and welcome in a new year, I invite you to ask yourself what you are ready to let go of in 2009. What do you not want to bring with you into the new year? What would you like to live your beautiful, precious life without?

For me, I am ready to let go of the ongoing self-talk about what I "should be doing".

I have noticed this year that there are times I feel wonderful, alive, healthy, connected and other times that I feel stressed, in pain and at odds in my relationship with food.

The common thread I am noticing is that the wonderful moments are the ones I am fully present in. The uncomfortable ones are the ones where, if I pay close attention, I realize I have an ongoing stream of thoughts running of all the things I "should be doing" instead of being present for what I am actually doing.

I don't think that letting go of this habit is going to happen overnight but I am willing to make changing it a priority. My intention for 2009 is to be more fully present in each moment. I hope that many of you will be there to share some of those moments with me!

I would love to hear from you about what you are ready to let go of. Please share your comments.

I wish you tremendous blessings and peaceful good health for the coming year.

Organic Wine

So what is the scoop with organic wines? This article tells a bit about it and also recommends some wines. The main thing I think worth noting (other than the obvious point of not using chemical pesticides when growing the grapes) is that the true organic makers can't add chemicals to adjust taste and acidity and can't add sulfites to preserve the wine (although there is some naturally occurring sulfites in wine from the fermentation process).

What does this mean for us? Well, some people think that the sulfites are what cause some of the problems people may experience when drinking wine (headache, hangover etc...). So it is possible that you may feel better if you drink an organic wine.

But watch out because"Organic" and "made from Organic ingredients" don't mean the same thing! As I discovered when I decided a taste test was in order, it is fairly easy to find wines that are "made with organic grapes" but a little more challenging to find true organic wines that are not only made from organically grown grapes but also created in a truly organic manner. You need to look for the ones that say "no sulfites added" or "no detectable sulfites".

We tested one at my birthday party a few weeks ago. It was a 2005 Pinot Noir from Amity Vineyards in California. Here were the responses from my limited tasting survey:

"Very Grape-y."

"Goes down way too easy." (I think that was a compliment.)

"Very silly for $26." (That was from my husband.)

If you are looking to try others, I also recently sampled a Bonterra Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) that was pretty good and made with organic grapes (not fully organic). I also learned that Benziger Family Winery has just received an organic certification and they have a 2005 Cabernet that is also about $15 per bottle.

Bottom line? I still haven't found an organic that I prefer to some of my other favorities but I am willing to keep trying in the name of good health!

Here is a link to another article that explains the benefits of organic wine.

Broccoli Rabe with Toasted Pecans and Currants

Is the cold weather beginning to make your cravings for salad disapear? This recipe is a simple, quick and delicious way to keep getting greens in your diet when salads aren't so appealing.

It is from one of my favorite books, Greens, Glorious Greens.





Broccoli Rabe with Toasted Pecans and Currants

1/3 cup lightly toasted pecans, coarsely chopped (you can just put them in a small pan on the stove over medium heat for a few minutes, they are toasted when you can smell the nutty aroma wafting up from the pan, be careful, they can burn quickly)

1 pound of Broccoli Rabe (about 6 cups chopped)

2 cups water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup currants or raisins

Sea salt to taste

• Chop off about 1 inch of the base of the stalks of the broccoli rabe and discard. Slice the stalks into ½ inch pieces and coarsely chop the leaves and florets. Wash well by swishing in a large bowl of cold water. Drain.
• Place 2 cups of water in a large skillet with a tight fitting lid. Bring the water to a boil then add the broccoli rabe.
• Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until tender, 3-4 minutes. Remove to a colander and drain.
• Rinse and dry the skillet. Heat olive oil over medium heat in the dry skillet, lifting and turning the pan to coat.
• Add the garlic and currants (or raisins) and sauté for 30-60 seconds, stirring constantly to prevent garlic from burning. Currants/raisins should be glossy and slightly puffed.
• Add the precooked rabe and stir to combine. Season with salt and cover for a minute until the greens are heated through. Serve hot, garnished with the pecans.

Turning 40...Happy Birthday to Me!

No one could have been more surprised by this surprise party than me. When told by my husband that there would not be any kind of diversionary tactics that would have led to my being appropriately dressed for the occasion, my cousin is reported to have responded "She is going to divorce you."

But his devotion to the element of surprise was not to be dissuaded. So...here I am unshowered and completely shocked when friends began arriving at my door. As you can see from the picture, many bottles of wine arrived with the guests and I suppose this quickly softened the shock of being discovered disheveled and completely unprepared. I loved it.

I also love these birthdays that end in zero. There is something about marking a new decade of life that seems to call for a look back at what the past ten years have meant and a look forward towards what the next ten could hold. That kind of reflection generally causes me to turn my focus inward and I had intended for the celebration of my 40th birthday to be a fairly private event with time for some journal writing and quiet moments alone and a little snuggle on the couch with my husband and kids. Alas, life (and my husband!) had other plans and the surprise party was just one of several occasions over the course of more than a week that were filled with friends, family, food and, yes, wine!

I took this turn of events to signal a sort of opening up of my heart and my life to mark the beginning of this new decade as a time that will include bigger events and broader horizons than I had originally imagined. And being thrown into a party looking like I just woke up...well...I had always hoped that by the time I was 40 I really wouldn't care too much about that kind of thing anymore and...well, I cared. But not nearly as much as I would have at 30 which I feel pretty darn great about actually. Happy Birthday to me!

Surging vs. Dwelling

I've been hiding. Hiding from holding myself accountable. To new goals. To endless lists. To my own health counselor. To my health counselor buddies who find me anyways.

Being a self-admitted over-achiever, this hiding out has been a welcome break from my usual approach of throwing my hand up and volunteering to be held accountable for whatever I am planning to be my next big giant goal.


In his blog post "What Consumers Do in a Downtown", Grant McCracken, an anthropologist affiliated with MIT, describes two modalities of consumer behavior. In a surging mentality, the world "teems with new features, new things, new opportunities, new excitement." In a dwelling mentality the consumer is focused not on the future but on the present, we "stop anticipating and start savoring."

So maybe I haven't been hiding so much as dwelling. But it has nothing to do with the economy.

Reality Check

Somewhere around May I got a wake up call that sent me running into my hide-out (aka my home) for a much needed breather and a long session of introspection that has focused largely on my role as a mom.

On Mother's Day week, my children's preschool held a tea for the Moms. My daughter's teacher created a project for the kids to list three things that their mom liked to do. The lists were decorated and posted on a wall and all of us Moms had to "find ourselves" on the wall.

I knew right away that I wasn't the mom who liked to: Eat Cheeseburgers and Swim Underwater. But when I started reading about the moms who liked to "read with me", "pick flowers with me", and "watch me ride my bike", I started getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

And then I saw it. A beautiful pink sheet covered in silk flowers that I recognized immediately:

My Mom Likes to:

Work

Drink Tea

Eat Granola

And there I was. I wanted to cry. No where on my four year old daughter's list was any mention of what I liked to do that involved her.

But she was amazingly accurate. Our lives had changed last year as I went to school and created a new career. And just when I was starting to feel that the transition was becoming too much for all of us, she felt it too.

In one swift moment, I knew our lives would need to change again. This was not the mom I intended to be. This was not the life I had meant for us to have.

So I have been hiding. At home. With my family. Hiding from all my lists of life goals and personal ambitions while I regroup as a woman and a mom.

It has been beautiful and painful all at once. And I am beginning to see how I am now ready to emerge into the next stage of my life with a new perspective on accountablity and self-care.

And a new vision for what my "unpredictable future" can be.

More soon on what that all means...

Halloween

Have you started wishing they'd invent a candy-free Halloween or are you already sneaking into the stash you've got on hand for trick or treaters?

Fortunately for me, we take our kids trick or treating in my brothers neighborhood so I can avoid buying the candy since we won't be home to hand it out. (This, I think, is kind of preferable to being the weird lady who hands out raisins or stickers- something I admit I've considered doing). But just because I am not buying the candy myself doesn't mean it isn't getting into my kids hands...

So what is Halloween like when your mom is a health counselor? Actually it is not as scary as you might think!

I have a Halloween strategy that we all can live with. Basically, I let the kids eat a bunch of stuff from their trick or treat baskets. They come home, we sit together and spread it out on the kitchen floor and they have at it. Interestingly, there is only so much candy you can eat in a half hour or so. Usually it is just enough to start to feel sick. And that, is kind of the point.

I look at it this way- this is a teaching moment. Seriously. Sure I would love it if my kids turned up their noses at most of the scary stuff that arrives home in those pumpkins but, to them it mostly seems like great fun. So they try it (and honestly a lot of it they don't like) and then they usually feel gross and we talk about why.

And then? We throw it all out. No arguments. That is just the rule. They have their fun and then it is over and we declare the following day a "vegetable day" (kind of kidding... but not really).

Of course, I can't seem too okay with this. The kids know I think it is a bad idea to eat this much candy and I throw in a few comments as we're rummaging through the goods like, "Oh, yuck, Mommy doesn't like this one, it has fake colors. That's like eating a magic marker."

In the end, Halloween fun is had by all and it's over before the witches go home. Next day- vegetables all day!

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of our family favorites. My mom has been making it for years on Thanksgiving but these days we make it throughout the fall and winter just because it so yummy and so simple and quick!

Butternut Squash Soup

(as always use organic ingredients whenever possible)

2 lbs chopped, peeled butternut squash (feel free to buy it chopped and peeled to make it even easier!)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

12 whole raw almonds

1 apple, chopped (granny smith is good, but any kind will do)

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp of ground marjoram

½ cup white wine

4-5 cups chicken broth (you won’t need to add salt if you use regular salted chicken broth)- my favorite is Pacific Foods Free Range Organic

· Heat the oil in a large soup pot

· Sauté the onions until they are really soft and translucent

· Add the squash, apple, almonds, curry and marjoram to the onions and stir well

· Add in the wine then add the chicken broth until it just barely covers the other ingredients

· Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until squash is tender (about 20 minutes)

· Use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients into a creamy soup (you can also use a food processor or blender but the immersion blender makes this job super easy and neat).

Enjoy!

NOT a Sweet Surprise

Have you seen the new commercial claiming that High Fructose Syrup is "all natural" and "no worse for you than sugar"?

You can see the video here.

The Corn Refiners Association has spent $30M on this campaign to boost the reputation of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Of course, you recognize that these commercials are an outrage. Based on those commercials, we should all be drinking other corn-based products, such as ethanol.

The Corn Refiner's Association doesn't want you to know that HFCS may be linked to:

Diabetes- Obesity- Liver Disease

Make no mistake- HFCS is not a healthy food! I would even argue that it isn't a food at all.

If you want to understand more about HFCS, the following are great sources:

Dr. Andrew Weil

Dr. Joseph Mercola

Dr. Christine Gonzalez

Grown Up Tantrums

Have you ever thrown a tantrum? As an adult? Until recently, I would have answered no. But something was going on with me that I couldn't explain and it occurred to me that maybe a tantrum wasn't a bad name for it.

What is a tantrum? By most definitions it is a fit of bad temper. And by some it is abrupt and violent. Ok, not much violence going on with me (thankfully :). But I have had a bad mood of sorts stewing about something and a grand resistance to doing anything about it for going on three months.

So what is this fit about? Well, for me, right now it is about my weight. My WEIGHT? Did we hear that right? My WEIGHT? What? I'm a health counselor. I'm supposed to have this all together, right?

I'd like to share something I have learned in a very personal way recently. When something in your life is out of balance, it frequently shows itself most clearly in your weakest link. For me, the area to always show a lack of balance first is my weight.

It didn't take me long to notice the extra five pounds. What took me a few months to really understand was my lack of motivation to really do something about it. Until I realized that my imbalance was precisely in the area of "doing". As in, doing too much. So, naturally my reaction to this imbalance was to simply do nothing about it. Unfortunately, that did not make my weight magically readjust itself back to normal (what is normal, anyway?).

So back to my "tantrum". I have really been having a silent "fit" of sorts against the imbalance I brought on by adding so much to my plate in the past year. The fit has manifested itself in too much ice cream and too little exercise (hence the five pounds) but that is just the downside. The upside is that my need to slow down has also resulted in endless hours of delicious time with my kids and a re-discovered love affair with mommy-hood. Hurray. Also, the kids don't notice the weight. Gotta love them.

Now that I have a clearer understanding of what has been happening with me (thanks to a lot of long talks with my fellow health counselor buddies), I feel a lot more loving towards my self about it and I can really see the need and the benefits for my grown up tantrum.

So I leave you with this thought to consider for yourself- What is your weakest link and how can your honor your own resistance to "fixing it" by recognizing how it might be serving your best interests?

Crunchy Munchy Oatmeal

Crunchy Munchy Oatmeal

I love this because it goes along with my "kitchen sink" approach to nutrition- just throw in as much healthy stuff as you can to start your day yummy and satisfied!

1 cup rolled oats (not instant or quick)- I like Bob's Red Mill
2 cups water
Dash of sea salt
Agave or Raw Honey
Splash of Rice Milk (or Almond Milk, Soy Milk or Cow's Milk)
Crunchy Munchy stuff that you love- my favorites- organic raw shredded coconut, walnuts, raw sunflower seeds, dried cranberries or raisins

Bring water to boil in a small saucepan. Add in the oatmeal and salt and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until water is absorbed and oatmeal is soft. Sweeten with a little agave or honey. Add a splash of your favorite milk and then throw in all the good crunchy munchy stuff that you like. Enjoy!

Self-care and Home-care

I have a confession to make...I am a closet homemaker. One of my favorite books of all time is Home Comforts, The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. There is something so incredibly satisfying and comforting about living in a space that feels comfortable and beautiful to you and that works well for your life.

But I recently realized that what was causing me a great deal of stress these days in that my home was no longer working well for my life. My life has changed so dramatically over the past year with returning to school and changing careers and I didn't make time to stop and re-organize my surroundings to match the life we are now living in our home.

Suddenly it hit me that I needed to make some changes....now! So I have been on an organizing kick this week and it feels wonderful. One of my favorite tasks has been realizing that I can't stand the amount of space that gets taken up by CDs and DVDs. So I am recycling all the cases and moving all of my media into binders. I found some beautiful binders at Russell and Hazel ans CD binders at IKEA, a great online store with a tagline I love- Add life to your work.

I also finally bought a book shelf to house the dozens of new books that returning to school has brought into my life and I am inspired to bring back an old tradition called the Homekeeping Notebook. I found a great blog about it which you can check out here.

I admit, I have neglected a few workouts and I have cooked a little less than usual this week but, for right now, I recognize that my self-care is my home-care. And I know once I complete some of this and feel happier in the space we are living in, my energy will shift back into other areas of my self-care. It is all about balance, right?

Food Focus: Greens

Leafy greens are some of the easiest and most beneficial vegetables to incorporate into your daily routine. Densely packed with energy and nutrients, they grow upward to the sky, absorbing the sun’s light while producing oxygen. Members of this royal green family include kale, collard greens, swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe, watercress, beet greens, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, spinach and broccoli.

How do greens benefit our bodies? They are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous and zinc, and are a powerhouse for vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed full of fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Their color is associated with spring, which is a time of renewal and refreshing, vital energy. In traditional Asian medicine, the color green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity. Greens aid in purifying the blood, strengthening the immune system, improving liver, gall bladder and kidney function, fighting depression, clearing congestion, improving circulation and keeping your skin clear and blemish free.

Leafy greens are the vegetables most missing from the American diet, and many of us never learned how to prepare them. Start with a simple recipe such this one or this one. Then each time you go to the market, pick up a new green to try. Soon you’ll find your favorite greens and wonder how you ever lived without them.

For more about greens, get this great book Greens Glorious Greens

Adapted with permission from Integrative Nutrition.

Shiitake and Kale

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 bunch kale, chopped
pinch of salt


Directions:
1. Warm oil in pan on medium heat with minced garlic until aromas of garlic are released, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add chopped shiitake mushrooms, stir-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped kale, stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add a splash of water and pinch of salt to pan, cover and let steam for 4 minutes.


Used with permission from Integrative Nutrition.

The Coffee Thing and Other Experiments

I promised several weeks ago that I would post soon about my no-coffee experiment. It has been interesting. As you may know, I am a coffee lover. I love the smell of it, I love the taste of it, I love a good coffee shop. I just love it.

Recently, however, I wasn't sure it was loving me back. I have had a really busy year and in January I was really starting to feel the stress accumulate in my body in an intense kind of way. I tried to tune in and really understand what I might need to change and I got the message that coffee might not be working for me.

My coffee consumption was about 1 cup a day of 1/2 regular coffee, 1/2 decaf. So I stopped it and switched to tea for about six weeks. It was interesting. I felt better, I lost a few pounds I had been hanging on to for a few months. I believe the weight loss was partly due to just the overall stress reduction. But there are also some folks who see a connection between coffee and blood sugar levels that could affect weight. You can check out an interesting article here.

So I was going along quite merrily without my coffee for several weeks and actually not missing it and feeling quite good. Then I decided to experiment with tweaking my diet a bit by doing an elimination of wheat and dairy for a week. The idea was not to eliminate these things from my diet permanently but just to see how I felt when I removed them and then reintroduced them.

Well guess what? I did that for about six days and then I wanted coffee again.

Am I telling you all this to confuse you? NO, hopefully the opposite. What I hope to share with you is that these past two months have been a really good reminder to me that the best changes happen slowly over time. I tried to do too much too close together and I really saw the tendency within myself to overdo the experimentation.

I think a lot of us do this. We make a change, we see some success, we want more success, we make more changes. But sometimes, if we really haven't given our bodies and our minds the opportunity to fully adjust to the last change, introducing another change may not only not succeed but it may undo some of the positive changes we have already made.

My advice (from personal experience)- go easy on yourself! Make changes slowly over time and they will be far more likely to last.

Oh, and in case you are wondering about the results of my experiment:

1. I started drinking coffee again but not daily and now mostly decaf.

2. I didn't notice any significant impact of reintroducing wheat and dairy but I am sure both of them only work well for me in real moderation.

3. I am not doing any more experimenting for a while. Well, only with my hair. I just got most of it chopped off for the first time in more than 10 years and that felt great!

What I'm eating today

I get asked this question pretty regularly so I thought I'd post a day in my food life every so often. Here goes today:

Breakfast: A smoothie. Today it included whey protein powder (I don't always do protein powder but I felt like I needed it. My choice is Jay Robb- no artificial stuff in it) and water. I also threw in some almond butter, some ground flax seeds, a little banana, some frozen strawberries and some collard greens. The greens definitely turn the smoothie green and they taste great. This is an awesome way to get your greens in!

Snack: My favorite- Ezekial Toast with Almond Butter and Agave. I also had a cup of tea with rice milk (I am day 8 no coffee here so I will post more on that soon).

Lunch: Leftovers from dinner last night- Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Quinoa (I steam them in my rice cooker to warm them up) along with some whole wheat pita and homemade hummus.

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Salad, Black Beans, Broccoli and a little Brown Rice with Barley

Ok...it isn't over yet. I stayed up too late and got hungry so, yes, I ate again (which I normally don't like to do because I think I sleep better if I stop eating a few hours before bed).

The last snack: Some protein powder and water with a spoon of coconut oil and a spoon of raw cacao nibs. Yum.

This is definately still reflecting some winter eating habits (ie: eating kind of a lot!). I sense a spring greening in my future and some lighter eating on it's way. Stay tuned...

***Disclaimer- Not every day is exactly like this. Someday I will confess about my love of the Fat Witch Bakery Brownies***

Reinventing Date Night

Check out this article on Reinventing Date Night:

New York Times Article

I am not suggesting you crawl across the floor with your hands and feet tied (don't freak out, you have to read the article to know what I mean) but maybe a new hobby with the love of your life could be good for your relationship?

I'll let you know if Rod and I decide to take up country line dancing or play racquetball or fly to Italy sometime soon.

Preventative Eating and My Favorite Snack

I'm not a big fan of eating when you are not hungry but I've had enough poorly planned meal times to know that if I don't think ahead, I don't always leave myself with great choices.

So I am sitting at my desk and having my tea (more on my no-coffee experiment later!) and I decide to run out to Target to pick up a couple things I need and take a break from my computer.

I'm not really hungry yet. BUT I know I am going to be gone for an hour or more and I will probably be starving before I get back. This all sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? But how many times have you left yourself stranded without a good choice of something to eat?

In these kinds of moments, you've got to either pack a healthy snack to bring with you or do what I call some "Preventative Eating". In this case, for me, it is my favorite snack in the whole world:

Ezekiel 4:9 Toast with Almond or CashewButter (I prefer Raw Organic Tree of Life) and a little bit of Agave Syrup or Raw Honey (buy Raw Honey locally when you can and check out this link for more on the benefits of raw honey!)

Yum!

Now I'm off to the store and I know I won't get hungry because, really, what in the world are you going to eat at Target? It kind of scares me to think about it...

Happy Valentine's Day

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

At our house it is a family event and we've decided to skip the chocolates and the store bought cards and go for something more personal.

We're cutting paper hearts and making a kid and adult friendly I Love You Dinner. Aside from Nick insisting on using glue with no help from Mom, so far the planning is going well.

So what is an I Love You Dinner? Well, for the moment, it means that everyone gets to pick one part of the dinner. We're saying "I love you" by cooking our favorite foods. So far (you won't even believe it) the kids have chosen Chicken and Broccoli. I don't know when Alexa is going to remember that cake exists but I am expecting it to come up when we start talking about dessert. Rod and I haven't decided on our choices yet but I am leaning towards Miso Soup.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Heart Day to you and everyone you love. Oh, and don't forget, Dark Chocolate (70% and above) is actually good for you in small quantities. One of my favorites is Green and Black's 70% Dark. Green and Black's is committed to ethical trading and organic products. Check them out here.

Preschool Cooking Class- Hummus

Alexa and Caroline at the Small Scholars Cooking Class.

Miss Cathy's class of four and five year olds had a great time talking about whole foods and making hummus.

My kids love this as a dip for carrots or cucumbers or as a spread on whole wheat pita. We tend to double or triple the recipe and it keeps well in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can always add a bit of olive oil if it starts to get a little too thick.

Everybody Loves it Hummus

1 can organic garbanzo beans – rinsed and peeled
1 clove garlic
2 tbp fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
3 tbsp tahini
½ tsp sea salt
Aprox ¼ cup water (add a little at a time to get the right consistency)
Aprox 2 tbsp really good tasting olive oil

· Throw this all in a food processor and mix until smooth or put it all in a bowl and mix it up with an immersion blender (just a little more effort but it works great).
· Adjust the amount of oil and water for texture and taste
· Optional add-ins: pepper, cumin, paprika (the kids tend to like it better without these)
· You can easily double or triple this recipe
· An easy way to peel the beans is to rinse them in a colander then put them in a bowl of water while you peel them. The skins tend to float to the top. You can just skip the annoying task of peeling the beans if you want to do this super fast but the texture is a lot smoother when they are peeled. Don’t worry about getting every single one if it is driving you crazy.

Extra bonus- making hummus at home saves money! Especially if you want to make it organic.

Reducing the Noise...and Tuning in

Do you ever get mad at yourself for craving something you "know you shouldn't have"? For most of us it is usually sugar, right?

But our bodies are amazingly intelligent, aren't they? Your heart beats, your blood circulates, how many incredible things does your body do for you without you ever having to think about it?

And yet...when the craving for something "bad" hits, why don't we trust ourselves? Why don't we recognize that our body really does know what it is doing?

I'm going to post more soon about cravings but for now I'd like to suggest something to consider:

If our bodies are super intelligent, then the messages they send us about what we need have real value. But what if our interpretation skills are a little off?

What if our body says....REST! And we hear...SUGAR! (Because, probably, we're too busy to rest). What if our body says...SLOW DOWN! And we hear...COFFEE! (Again, sorry, too busy!).

In her book Healthy Living from the Inside Out, Mariel Hemingway talks about "noisy foods". Noisy foods are processed sugar, caffeine, and chemical additives.

Take a moment to think about the possibilty that the noisy foods you are consuming might be interfering with your ability to correctly interpret what your body is saying. What if you could reduce the noise a bit and tune in to what your body is really trying to tell you?

More on cravings soon. In the meanwhile, I will be working on reducing the noise in my body and my house tomorrow since the impending snow storm here in Massachusetts may mean the kids will be home from school!

Here it is..The Granola Recipe

Since I gave this granola as Christmas gifts, I have had countless requests for the recipe.

I have been trying to figure out why it is so fantastic and I am really not sure. Maybe we are so accustomed to eating things that have been in a box for months (or, yikes, much longer!) that having something this fresh and homemade is just simply an incredibly welcome treat.

My great friend (and cousin by marriage), Fabiana Esteves, gave me this recipe. Fabiana is a graduate of The Natural Gourmet Cooking School in New York and is a great teacher and cooking inspiration to me. (As an aside, she and her husband Fabio are also incredibly generous hosts, letting me crash at their apartment every month while I am attending school in New York. But, this generosity is, I think, a part of the big picture of who she is and the love she brings to her food and her friendships).

I made a small change to the recipe (substituted Coconut Oil for the Canola Oil she uses- you can try either) but, Fabiana deserves all the credit.

Be warned...you may not be able to stop eating this!

Fabi’s Fab Granola

2 cups rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
½ shredded coconut
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

· Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
· Spread on a jelly roll pan (it will be very full but it seems to cook best when it is all on one pan)
· Bake at 275 degrees for 45 minutes (turn in the pan at 20-25 minutes)
· Different nuts can be substituted,
· Use as many organic ingredients as possible

Happy New Year

I'm keeping it simple in 2008. My resolution? Just be really good to myself. Whatever that means each day, I intend to tune in and really treat myself right.