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Holiday Stress? Mindfulness Can Help

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Here it comes – the wave of winter holidays. Time seems to speed up now, and the season can seem a bit sugar-coated and a bit stressful. Suddenly so much to do! Decorating, attending gatherings, figuring out if you should send cards or get gifts for the people in your life, and dealing with extended family can be overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you find yourself feeling holiday-rattled and you’re not basking in a glowing sense of cheer, the practices of mindfulness might help you take a break from expectation and reconnect with the reason for the season.

Can Mindfulness Really Help?

The short answer is yes. Practicing mindfulness – both the meditation practice, and taking a more mindful attitude toward the activities of the holiday – can help. Mindfulness can provide that little shift in attitude that can be the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling excited about the holiday.

Mindfulness practice and attitudes can help you become more aware of your own needs as you move through the season of giving. It can make you more aware of your choices and give you space to choose in a more thoughtful way. Mindfulness can also help you to be a little easier on yourself for being human should you not create holiday perfection or if you over-indulge.

How does Mindfulness Manage Stress?

A mindfulness practice can help you step away from the fire, mentally and emotionally, and practice the power of pause – of taking a breath when things get overheated or overwhelming. When we get triggered by an unkind or unintended nastiness, or feel that we are not up to the job of holiday bliss, pausing for a breath tends to help us take a step back and see things in a little less pressured light.  Then, we can respond in a wiser, kinder way. This take practice, my friends, but it is interesting how quickly the attitudes around mindfulness – kindness, compassion – can make life better and ease the tension of the holidays.

With a mindful attitude, we become more aware of the results of our choices – how our choices impact how we feel, and how our lives unfold. Eventually (with practice, self-compassion and awareness) the practice of mindfulness can be a framework within which we begin to choose to feel a bit better, then make the choices that will create that result.

As it happens, this particular time of year is excellent for cultivating quietness and a meditative mindset. It may be one reason that we can feel so overwhelmed with our over-commercialized holiday – that this season is, naturally, a time of slowing down and turning inward. The winter solstice is  akin to the end of the exhale for the earth – a time of dark and quiet and reflection before the next year begins. In the Celtic wheel of the year this is a time when the veil between worlds is thin – when you can “see” or imagine your way into your future, and “see” and appreciate you past. It is a great time of the year for honoring  and integrating what has unfolded for you, and for visioning what may come. Mindfulness practice can help with that.

So, What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a meditation practice, and it is also the attitudes and mindsets that a meditation practice encompasses. In mindfulness, you:

  1. Adopt a meditative mindset. We humans have the capacity to change our consciousness from our everyday distracted state to a calm, clear relaxed and open one. With this change, you focus attention inward and relax.
  2. Pay attention to what is happening moment by moment. Mindfulness is meditation while…(whatever you are doing). So, you get curious about whatever you are doing – be it walking or eating. Slowing the process down so that you can get fascinated enough that you lose yourself – you lose track of time – is mindful meditative absorption.
  3. There is a particular attitude of mindfulness called non-judgmental awareness. As you practice, you become aware of judgements like comparisons (this food is heathy therefore good, that food is less healthy, therefore not so good, for example). In mindfulness while eating, for example, you aim for a direct, sensory relationship with what you are eating. Cultivate an attitude of kindness – toward yourself and others.

How can I Practice Mindfulness this Holiday?

There are limitless ways to practice through this particular season.

Here are just few ideas:

Start or re-charge your morning meditation practice. If you are just beginning, start with just 5 or 10 minutes to sit in a quiet place, with music or not, and get quiet. You can focus your attention on your breathing – on the expansion of the inhale, and letting go of the exhale.  Alternatively, you can focus on your thoughts – noticing your thoughts as they arise, label them “just thoughts” and let them float away.

Practice mindfulness meditation while eating.

Practicing mindful eating can help you explore your sensual relationship with food as well as your hunger and satiety (fullness) indicators. When I see people eat more of their bites as a mindfulness meditation practice, they begin to recognize that their eating patterns are tied more to external signals – things like getting home from a stressful day of work, or seeing one of the endless food-porn ads on TV. Over time, the practice of mindful eating tends to help people tune-in more deeply to their internal guidance system with regard to hunger, fullness and how much food is enough.

Here’s my post on how that can unfold.

Mindful Eating: The Practice of Eating Better 

It’s difficult to practice mindful meditation while socializing – meditation just doesn’t work that way! But, you can be mindful of your breath, mindful of something kind you would like to say to someone, or practice appreciation of your friends and family. With regard to food, can you simply practice what I call the power of pause – and take in the visual beauty of the holiday food?

Another practice you might play with this year is the mindful practices of kindness and of contentment. How might you be kind to yourself and others through this season? Is there something that you do, or way you are through the holidays, that doesn’t really serve you anymore?

In yoga contentment is a practice – one of my wise teachers used to say “try less”. What a great motto for life! Can we practice – intentionally – being content with things as they are right now – in their perfect imperfection.

 

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Gwen’s French Carrot Soup Recipe

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Gwen Gaillard was the belle of Nantucket’s culinary scene for years. We have a tattered cookbook filled with Gwen’s recipes from her heyday. This carrot soup is one of them, with a little of my own updates and thoughts.
Carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions are really all this soup consists of. Simplicity. But it packs a grounding sweetness – rooting I should say – of tubors. Perfect for this transitional season of surprising coolness and breeziness, when you get hungry for hearty but don’t want to slide into dough-eating.
We got a beautiful bunch of carrots from the Farmer’s Market in Great Barrington this week, along with a turnip, so it was time to get this one rolling. This soup is a great base for adding a variety of other flavors – toss in an apple, or a thumb-sized piece of ginger, or some spicy peppers for variety. Gwen’s recipe calls for butter, but you can easily make this soup vegan and delicious by simply sautéing the onions in olive oil rather than butter. Easy.

Carrot Soup Ingredients

1/4 large yellow onion, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs fresh carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 large turnip, washed and cubed
2 large potatoes, washed and cubed
2 quarts water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorns

Directions

Saute the onions in the butter over medium-low heat.
Place the carrots, turnip, and potatoes in a soup pot with water, and simmer over low heat. After a half-hour, add the sautéed onions, salt and pepper.
When vegetables are soft, blend with a hand-blender (or a regular blender if need be).

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Pre-Holiday Tune-Up Coaching Session

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Something about the time between Halloween and New Years – it’s both the most challenging nutritional time of the year, and the time of year when, well, dietitians might just go on vacation. We know you’ll be looking for us come New Year’s!
That’s why I am offering a quick tune-up coaching special for October and November. During these months, you can have a session with me either by phone or zoom. It’s 22% off the usual cost for a 60-minute session with me.

Here’s a step-by-step of your Coaching Tune-up

Before the session, you’ll fill out some quick intake information to help us both think about how the holidays unfold for you and how you’d like them to unfold from a health perspective. You’ll book your appointment and off we go.
During our coaching session, we’ll review your intention, co-create a high-impact doable strategy,  brainstorm how to overcome barriers, and talk about how to think about this in a way that will help you build on your practice, strengths and success in the new year.
You can also continue the conversation with follow-up sessions – but the idea is one session, buff you up. Boom.
Sound good? Sign up now.
coaching

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What is Shamanic Plant Medicine?

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It makes my heart sing that shamanic plant medicine, and shamanic plant communication are on the rise.The interest to connect more deeply with nature and the earth, and to look to history to explore what we can learn from our indigenous ancestors is a very good thing. I’ve found these practices fun, interesting and meaningful – they’ve provided me a prism through which I view the events of my life.
This post will do some basic defining of terms and touch into why and how you can benefit from shamanic practice.
What is shamanism, and what is a shaman? Shamanism is a approach to life, a point of view that has to do with healing. Shamanism is a set of healing practices of ancient indigenous people. A shaman, then, is a practitioner of these practices. The shaman of a indigenous community is a medicine man or woman.
There are hallmarks and common beliefs of shamanic practices around the world, and the commonality is due to the universality of the laws of nature. I’ll focus on the laws of nature in other posts, but just know that there are universal principles of energy and nature (google it to get started!). Here are 2 common beliefs of many shamanic practices and systems share:

  • Everything is sacred. Plants, clothing, you, me, our pets, cars and apartments. They all have the potential to contain sacred content. It is all about the point of view that we have about our own lives. IMHO (in my humble opinion) this principal is an invitation to change our point of view of our lives.
  • Disease and disfunction have energetic origins and can be addressed through re-alignment with energy and nature. If we can connect with nature, and understand how it operates and how we operate within it, we can begin to heal from disease, disfunction and misalignment. This is not to say you will live forever or that it will be easeful, but you can move toward healing.

A related definition:
What and who are indigenous people?  Indigenous people are those whose lives are guided primarily by the laws and rhythms of nature. So, the seasons, sunrise and sunset, astrological calendars and the like that draw from nature and the earth determine how life unfolds.
And the big question:
How can these practices help modern people? I love my modern life and science-centric healthcare – I’d be gonzo without it! I love my home and my car and my blog and my MacBook. Love.
Working with flower essences, taking shamanic journeys and connecting energetically with plants and nature remind me of who I am, where I came from, and inform me of how I can be in better alignment with nature. Nature is an undeniably powerful force.
Shamanic plant medicine, when done without the hierarchy “I am a Shaman” stuff, but is used simply as the collection of practices it is, with the aim of bringing everyday magic into our lives, invites to a live more deeply from our hearts and our energy bodies. We can surf the static and craziness of life a little more easily.
From an evidence-informed perspective, these practices are adjuncts to change – they support us to follow a more healthful life and to live more mindfully and more gently on the earth. They work along with sciences like positive psychology.
We’ll be practicing shamanic journey, and shamanic plant medicine in Costa Rica in February.

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Egg ‘Poached’ over Wild Mushrooms & Sweet Potato Recipe

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A chef from Kripalu taught me the eggs over veggies trick. It’s quick, easy and satisfying. You can substitute any vegetable for the mushrooms and sweet potatoes in this easy breakfast recipe- try spinach, onions, tomatoes or your favorite blend of vegetables.
Let’s talk about wild mushrooms!
This year, our local farmer’s market has had a bumper crop of really beautiful mushrooms for a really reasonable price.  Look at these beauties – oyster mushrooms.

Do you know that mushrooms have characteristics of both plants and animals? They are strange and wonderful little beings, and nutritionally rich in vitamins and minerals (not, however, protein as is often suggested). You can substitute any mushroom for those I use in this recipe.
This dish, while simple, is wonderfully balanced from a protein-carbohydrate-fat perspective, as there are healthful versions of each. Egg protein will keep you satisfied, as will the bit of anti-inflammatory monounsaturated olive oil. Sweet potatoes are a complex fiber-filled carbohydrate and they and the mushrooms are nutrient-dense, filled with vitamins and nutrients.
Here’s a quick weekday breakfast.

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup wild mushrooms, chopped
1/3 cup sweet potato, cooked (leftover from the weekend!) and cubed
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or the fresh or dried herb of your choice)

Directions

Warm olive oil in a small pan and sauté mushrooms and sweet potatoes for 3 or 4 minutes over medium-high heat.
Crack an egg into the pan, sprinkle with herbs, cover and turn down heat to low-medium. Let the egg “poach” in the steam of the vegetables for 3 or 4 minutes.
Slide onto a plate and enjoy.

Check out my collection of easy healthy tasty recipes.

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Women Finding Fulfillment, Passion, and Purpose After 50

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Hey friends,
I’m thrilled to be involved in an online summer for women in the wisdom years. For me, moving into the second half of life is a serious blend of satisfaction, and well, a little confusion – what’s next?
Here’s the information on it.
The Shift Network’s Thriving in Your Third Act: Women Finding Fire & Fulfillment After 50
You’ve lived a rich life, filled with knowledge, experiences, and accomplishments… and you may now be asking yourself, “What’s next?”
Maybe you find yourself thinking, “I’ve loved my career, my family, but I want to spend the rest of my life doing _____________ (fill in the blank)…”
If so, don’t miss this opportunity to join bold leaders who are on fire with possibility and purpose — including Jean Shinoda Bolen, Dr. Judith Orloff, Dr. Joan Borysenko, me, Anodea Judith, Yeye Luisah Teish, Grandmother Flordemayo, Cynthia James, Katie Hendricks, Rev. Deborah Johnson, Camille Maurine, Sarah Marshank, and others. Women who will guide you with their hard-earned wisdom and support your personal journey of transformation.

During this unparalleled 5-day gathering, you’ll discover:

  • How to be a “juicy crone” & discover the Goddesses and Archetypes that are active in the postmenopausal phase of your live
  • Practices for worry-proofing yourself & avoiding the midlife “happiness dip” by retraining your brain
  • The role of stress as the most critical (yet unrecognized) nutrition issue of our time
  • Explore how to harvest the charge in your energy body and bring more life force into your tissues
  • Exciting possibilities for reinventing your life, your focus, & your passions
  • Key practices to help you renew your life and reinvent yourself — free of cultural myths — and bask in the great joy of presence, connection, & new forms of play
  • How to create a supportive, thriving community of your choice
  • How to maintain optimal health during your wisdom years
  • How to express yourself spiritually as you become an Elder
  • Practices for igniting the power of your empathy and intuition to revitalize every area of your life
  • Step into the fullest expression of yourself as you journey to a new adventure in your 50s and beyond
  • Embody your inner boldness, expand your capacities in standing for Love

Join us for Thriving in Your Third Act, August 20-24.
RSVP at no charge here. 
If you download the summit to listen to later, I will receive a modest referral fee. Last year I listened to it for months! So much wisdom!
Yours truly,
Annie

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How to Receive the Gifts of Plants (and Life)

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Receive.
Receive what comes to you.
My plant spirit teacher taught me that plants that will heal me will come to me. All I need to do is receive.  Receiving – coming into relationship and taking that in, however – takes a little preparation.
Those of you who read my newsletter know that my family had quite a struggle through the winter with a life-threatening illness – happily we’re on the mend and the dark rider passed us by (sheesh!). Through that time I cut way back on work – we lived on air and the love of family and friends. We are resting and integrating that experience. This morning it dawned on me that my garden this year has serious messages for me and mine.
Is this obvious enough?

This mullein plant (the tall fellow in the back) sprung up smack dab where my usual sunflowers gather. Hi mullein. Guess what mullein does, on the energetic level? It is protector of home and supporter of abundance, among other things.
Other plants that have nearly overwhelmed us with no input from me are calendula – a beautiful healing fire plant (it’s the yellow-orange flower up front), borage (that blue fellow) a 5th chakra healer of communication for me, and dill. So much dill (again a protector of home an supporter of abundance). Oh, and a bumper crop of wild strawberries are right outside my office – food for my indigenous genetics. I could go on and on, but will stop there.
Get the message, Annie?
These plants are three feet from my front door. All I have to do is receive their support.

How to Receive the Support of Plants

So, how do you receive the support of the plants that make their way to you?
In order to participate in any ecological system (and plants belong to an ecological system along with you) meaning that there are complex dynamic inter-relationships, you first need to get out of a consumer mindset. We humans and certainly Americans get into consuming – eating as fuel or in a mechanistic way, for example. Instead, think of a plant as another being. A person, if that’s helpful. Or think of them as akin to a power-animal or guide. You might thing of eating as receiving – rather than consuming.
Then, get quiet and open your heart. One easy way to do this is to sit quietly, and lengthen and deepen you breath (without forcing it – let your breath deepen as in response to an invitation). You might imagine yourself seated in the velvety dark cave of your own heart. take a few moments to quiet and center yourself in this way.
Next, make contact with the plants. Be among them, breathe them in. Admire them. If they are edible, slowly and mindfully, as a meditation, taste them. Breath and relax, and notice how it feels to commune with the plants in this way.
The practice of receiving is simply the practice of being open and feeling how it feels to be in relationship. The practice of receiving is a practice of appreciation – of acknowledging, as my teacher would say, your place in the magnificent web of life and nature. All is well.
As you receive the gifts these friends, these guides have for you, expressing gratitude is an excellent next step if it feels right for you. Take a moment to appreciate what’s happened, a few notes in a journal may be helpful, and off you go on a blessed day.
You can receive the gifts of any part of your life – be it your yoga or meditation practice, the love of a friend, the good work you do, anything you enjoy or find interesting or challenging in your life – can you receive it? Can you slow down enough to take it in?

Benefits of the Practice

Learning to have a bit more of this in your life can help you to understand your place in the ecology – in the interactive web of life – in which you live, and that you have created. It may help you see aspects of life, or things in your life that no longer serve you or that actually injure or inhibit you. You can let go of those things. Learning to be a little more receptive can inform your next step.
Be well, and here are a couple other posts that may interest you:
How Mindful Presence Transforms
Mindful Eating: The Art & Science of Eating Better

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Subtle Body Nourishment: Benefits of Learning the Art & Science of Energy

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Getting the balance of eating and yoga practice down is a challenge for anyone. We overdo it, we under-do it, we practice when we’re full. We under-eat and don’t have the energy to perform. Sigh. Our energy, as well as our hunger peaks and valleys – getting it right is a dynamic dance.
Understanding and experiencing your own subtle body (in yoga, that includes your thoughts, intuition and energy bodies) takes practice. When you practice skillful navigation of your subtle body, particularly balanced with the knowledge of your nutritional needs, it can help prevent you from falling off a nutritional cliff of over- or under- doing it. This is especially handy once you begin the esoteric energy practices and learn that you have greater control over hunger and satiety that you’d realized. Then, having the wisdom of science to anchor you in adequacy is even more important to maintaining physical health.
That’s subtle body nourishment.

 Why Bother? Benefits of Energy Practice

When you learn eating meditation techniques you are learning how to turn inward and participate in your body’s guidance systems – you have the option of taking more control –  be it breath or eating or even thinking. That’s what all the hoopla is about. If we don’t understand that we are taking the steering wheel of hunger and satiety, it’s easy to under-eat once prana (life force, or energy as in your breath) starts expanding and getting excited. Then, it’s easy to overeat through your inevitable energy contraction.
Many a yogini seems to get into eating trouble when learning these more esoteric practices. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Life is an energy experience. Meditative practices are energy practices, and require that you spend time within your inner landscape – the more time you spend there exploring and curious, the better you will know and be able to navigate that landscape.
By learning how to operate your own subtle body, you can ultimately better navigate the chaos without getting overwhelmed by static. You can operate in a more intentional way.
This sort of practice brings consciousness to your personal energy ecology; the conditions under which you shine, for example.
Energy practice, meditation, mindfulness can help you learn how to improve your digestion – how to basically give your bodies what it needs (time and calm, primarily) to digest properly.

What is the Subtle Body?

In yoga philosophy, the subtle body is the aspect of you that is unseen by the human eye. It includes your thoughts and emotions, the wisdom aspect of you – your intuition, and your energy body.
The subtle body profoundly determines how you feel, react and respond to the world around us. When you learn how to guide your own thoughts, for example, you can literally change your perception of your own life. When you learn to ground your energy body, you can handle the spiral of chaos that the world at times seems to be, rooting in the real rather than swirling away in yet another frenzied tweet.

Food & Yoga Practice

The truth of the matter is that everyone is different – physically but also nutritionally. How well you can perform right after you eat, and the ideal makeup of a meal to fuel your practice is individual. There are, however, guidelines – rules of the road. Ayurveda practitioners say that certain foods create certain energies. Western science has their own version of the same idea – in a very different language. The language of macro and micro nutrition, and meal timing.
Ultimately, the way to figure out what works for you is to do the experiment. Notice how it works for you.
I’ve been thinking about subtle body nourishment and how food and practice interact in preparation for a gathering of souls at Kripalu July 8-11, Sunday through Wednesday morning. If these topics get interest you, consider joining me to practice, explore and learn about what the yogis and Western nutrition has to say about it.
Be well, practice on.

 

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Lemon Violet Chia Pudding

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So easy. So tasty. So healthy. Make this lovely spring breakfast or not-too-sweet dessert right now.
If you have violets in your yard, here’s a whole new way to enjoy them. Violets are filled with antioxidants, so are health promoting in all the ways so many herbs and botanicals are. The lemon and violets both lend a light fragrance to this no-cook pudding.
anniebkay.com
I think of the ratio for chia a lot like the ratio for grains – that is, one part seeds to two parts liquid (for a pudding like this). I don’t count the yogurt in liquid – to me, that’s to make a creamy texture.
Make this the night before your breakfast, or a few hours before dinner for dessert. I used yogurt for a big of creaminess – for a vegan version, use a coconut yogurt or just skip the yogurt, perhaps boosting the chia for thickness.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
juice and zest of 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chia seed
1/4 cup plain yogurt (good quality any level of fat)
1/2 cup violets – use heads (if you are up for chewing) or just the petals

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix almond milk, lemon juice, zest, honey, and vanilla. Stir in yogurt and chia. Add most of violets, saving a couple to decorate your creation.

Place in refrigerator overnight, or at least for 4 hours before serving.
Makes two – 2/3 cup servings.
For breakfast, if you top with 1/2 cup of blueberries, you’ll have a fiber, protein and nutrient rich start to your day.
Report back!
Annie
 

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Mindful Eating: The Art & Science of Eating Better

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Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is a mindfulness meditation practice that has the ability to transform your relationship with food and eating. This simple (though not always easy) practice has done nothing less than revolutionize nutrition therapy, when combined with evidence-based steps that shift lifestyle toward health.

So, What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a meditation practice wherein you:

  1. Adopt a meditative mindset. We humans have the capacity to change our consciousness from our everyday distracted state to a calm, clear relaxed and open one. With this change, you focus attention inward and relax.
  2. Pay attention to what is happening moment by moment. Mindfulness is meditation while…(whatever you are doing). So, you get curious about whatever you are doing – be it walking or eating. Slowing the process down so that you can get fascinated enough that you lose yourself – you lose track of time – is mindful meditative absorption.
  3. There is a particular attitude of mindfulness called non-judgmental awareness. As you practice, you become aware of judgements like comparisons (this food is heathy therefore good, that food is less healthy, therefore not so good, for example). In mindfulness, you aim for a direct, sensory relationship with what you are eating.

Now, Apply it to Eating

In eating meditation, you slow down, breathe and relax, and enjoy your food. Just how might that unfold?
Here’s are a few steps to get you going:

  • Make an intention to meditate while eating. Clear distractions (like TV, phones, internet).
  • Eat with all five senses. Enjoy the beauty of your plate and each food item on it. Take in the aroma.
  • Notice what thoughts and emotions come up for you, as you practice. Breathe, relax and resist the temptation to ‘push away’ thoughts. Just note – there’s a thought. Feel it, honor it, release it.
  • Chew and savor. Can you chew each bite 10 times? 30?

Here is my Kripalu video on Mindful Eating.

Getting Started

Do you need to eat like this evermore? Nope. Think of it as a practice – something you do regularly, and build like you might build a muscle.
When I teach mindful eating at Kripalu, I encourage people to begin where they are, so if you don’t currently do this practice, and you take a few mindful bites each day, terrific.
If you find that you are not practicing, chunk it down until it is ridiculously easy. So, can you take one mindful bite each day? How about one mindful bite on your day off? One mindful breath? If you don’t have the 10 seconds it takes to take one mindful breath, well…you are indeed a busy person, and there’s hope for you yet! Try try again.

What Does the Science Say?

When I wrote my first book, Every Bite Is Divine, there really wasn’t much research explaining the mechanisms by which mindfulness eating meditation or yoga, does what they do. We just knew it worked. Times have changed! Now, places like Harvard are summarizing the science of why mindful eating can be helpful for weight management. Cecilia Clementi of The Center for Mindful Eating compiled a comprehensive list of references on mindful eating last year. Impressive!

If You Liked This…Check out:

Yoga’s East-West Moderation
Let’s Get Coherent

What Has Mindful Eating Done for You?

We want to know! What keep you practicing? Share your tips and reports!

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Let's Get Cooking at Kripalu

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Want to eat better? Cook.

People who cook at home are healthier – studies like this one suggest they eat fewer calories, more nutrients, less sugar and more fiber. When you eat better, you feel better, look better and just might live longer. It’s worth it – you’re worth it.

Want to really eat better? Learn to cook (and eat) at Kripalu.

When people come to do yoga at Kripalu, the largest yoga and holistic education center in the country, they rave about the food. The food there is rave-worthy, filled with fruits and vegetables lovely prepared into delicious dishes.
A couple times a year, I team up with Kripalu’s Executive Chef Jeremy Rock Smith to offer a program called Nutrition and Cooking Immersion. Over the course of a five night program, we take you through the basics plus of a mindful approach to nutrition, and the basics plus of preparing delicious balanced whole food cooking tips for home.
I think of this as the perfect program – the perfect balance of information (I teach nutrition and mindfulness in the morning) and experiential learning (in addition to mindfulness experiences in the morning, the knives come out – in a good way – in the afternoon). Through the week, you put together – while understanding why – a balanced meal with variations. What you leave with is a plan. And some skills. And the know-how to feed yourself. Well.
What unfolds looks a little like this:
Sunday night: Welcome and introductions – of each other, of the program.
Monday & Tuesday morning: The new basics of whole-food plant-based nutrition
Wednesday: Supporting positive change
Thursday: Planning for success: meals, recipes, shopping lists
Friday: Take it home

Now, let me tell you about my colleague Jeremy.

To say that Jeremy is entertaining is an understatement. He’s funny. I’ll let you be the judge of just how funny he is. He’s not only funny, however. He brings the goods. Even foodies learn a little something new from Jeremy. He’s designed the afternoon cooking session to give you cooking tips and the principles of whole food plant based cooking, and then a flexible framework to help you make it seasonal and flexible and varied.

Five-day Transformation

I’ve been teaching this program for 7 years or so, and I love to see the transformation that happens to people from Sunday night when we come together – nervous, afraid it ‘won’t work’, stressed from life, to Friday morning – roaring to get back to our own kitchens, confident and ready to go, rested and yoga-ed up. Another part of the secret sauce is the bonds you make with other people in the program – I have a growing Facebook group of grads of the program, and years later, they’re still cooking.
So, if you want to get into your kitchen with a little more enthusiasm and a little less angst, see you there.
If you want to bring whole-food plant-based eating into your life, and learn cooking tips to do that, see you there.
If you want to know the why 0f eating – and the how of eating – see you there.
Here’s where you can check out all mu upcoming workshops.
Be well.

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Cherry Turmeric Spicy Shot Recipe

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Spicy shots! I love ’em.
A couple years ago Free Fire Cider, based on a folk recipe, popularized by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, and trademarked, with great controversy in the herbal world, but a group in WMA, had it’s moment in the sun. Here’s my fire cider recipe.
Since then, I’ve been enamored with making spicy shots – delicious concoctions designed to warm and give a nutritional zing-ha to your morning. It’s a practice I especially get into in these (still!) cooler months.
Here’s one I whipped up this weekend, with tart cherry juice and apple cider vinegar. Cherry, ginger and turmeric are all anti-inflammatories and packed with antioxidants. Apple cider vinegar is a natural probiotic. If you, like me are in the second half of life, this drink is vata-pacifying – grounding and warming.
Quick, easy, and makes you say “haaaaaa”.  I aimed for warmth rather than heat in the spice. Raw garlic makes me burp, though my husband is focused on eating more, so I suggest he use this to wash down a nice raw clove for himself. Pow.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened cherry juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
3 Tsp turmeric, dried spice
1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste

Directions:

Place everything in a blender and blend away. Pour into a small mason jar with a lid. The ginger and spice tend to separate, so give it shake before your morning shot. I take about an ounce after my morning coffee and morning practices, a few minutes before breakfast.
I have a spicy-shot-for-every-season vision!
Have a favorite spicy shot you make?
Please share!

Cherry Turmeric Spicy Shot RecipeRead More