So much for new year's resolutions, well, at least the one that involved blogging regularly! As you can see it's been 7 months since my last entry. That sounded oddly reminiscient of a catholic confession. Here's my confession: I've missed writing and my holistic health junkie-ing. It didn't help that a science dude I had dated missed the quirkiness that was my soon-to-be post on water quality issues. I thought a chemist would appreciate musings on H2 the Izz-O. Water is, afterall, pretty cool. I interpretted his response as a sign of disinterest. I took a writing hiatus. It was a stupid excuse.
I should also mention that I have been and continue to be in a little bit of a health and dietary funk. After several additional tests and follow-ups I haven't pinpointed the cause of my skin condition, which is slowly improving but not there yet. That's sexy, huh? Let's talk about skin. On second thought, let's not.
Over the next few months I'll be experimenting with a 50/50 raw and cooked food plan to build immunity. I'm also going to ease into my commitment to laying off the dairy, which is both my love and my enemy. I've started making more green juices and am 21 days into my no-coffee-right-now challenge!
Reacting to black coffee was the worst, considering that I was just starting to like black coffee. I used to be a little-coffee-with-my-cream girl and had weened myself off yummy but uber bad non-dairy creamer....and then the real cream too. Seeing that I have been reacting to virtually everything I eat, it's time to work on my immune system. Bye bye caffeine, hello hot water with lemon! And hello, exercise! I haven't seen you in ages? How have you been?
I coaxed myself into morning walks with the goal of strengthening my immune system. Plus the air was crisp and I am in love with this time of year. In addition to the "not now" to coffee, "yes" to working out, and more green juices I'm starting September with no cheese for a week. Setting a longer goal has not proven successful. Actually, attempts failed on every day 1. Today is my new day one. Temptation du jour: Feta cheese that came with my brown rice nut salad. My dear friend Susan offered to be my cheese sponsor. We played out the scenario:
Jen: "Susan, I really need some gruyere. It's been three days!"
Susan: "Put down the fucking cheese."
Jen: "Ok. Thanks, Susan."
This might pan out :)
More on all this later. It's still day 1.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Eating Like an Ape
I was uber excited to find episodes of The Truth About Food on the Internet. I first saw the show, which aired in the US on the Discovery Health channel with Mehmet Oz. Unfortunately re-runs were sparse and the DH website was stingy with clips. Had I known then that the BBC produced the original series, I would have found the video and posted it a long time ago!
The series includes 40 different investigations/experiments on food and it's relation to health, sex, beauty, weight, you name it! My favorite episode Can Eating Like an Ape Save Your Health? demonstrates what a raw food diet can do to improve quality of life and reduce risk of some major illnesses in just 12 DAYS!
Does it mean that you should to go completely raw? Not necessarily. But it's empowering to know how much we can personally effect our overall health with real food. And the experiment, at the very least, will inspire people to eat their veggies. If the participants could eat 11lbs of raw food, surely the rest of us can eat our recommended daily servings of fruits and veggies!
And if you're tired of the same old produce or think you've tried it all, mix it up with this abundant food list.
The series includes 40 different investigations/experiments on food and it's relation to health, sex, beauty, weight, you name it! My favorite episode Can Eating Like an Ape Save Your Health? demonstrates what a raw food diet can do to improve quality of life and reduce risk of some major illnesses in just 12 DAYS!
Does it mean that you should to go completely raw? Not necessarily. But it's empowering to know how much we can personally effect our overall health with real food. And the experiment, at the very least, will inspire people to eat their veggies. If the participants could eat 11lbs of raw food, surely the rest of us can eat our recommended daily servings of fruits and veggies!
And if you're tired of the same old produce or think you've tried it all, mix it up with this abundant food list.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Food For Thought
As the new year approaches and millions resolve to "lose weight" or "eat right" they may want to consider Michael Pollan's advice: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Here's his New York Times Magazine article, "Unhappy Meals: 30 Years of Nutritional Science Has Made Americans Sicker, Fatter and Less Well Nourished. A Plea for the Return of Plain Old Food."
It's a longer article but definitely worth the read! Pollan articulates simply what has become such a complex issue for consumers (the eaters and the spenders) and so lucrative for the "food" industry AND the U.S. "Healthcare" system - What is food? How existential!
Here's his New York Times Magazine article, "Unhappy Meals: 30 Years of Nutritional Science Has Made Americans Sicker, Fatter and Less Well Nourished. A Plea for the Return of Plain Old Food."
It's a longer article but definitely worth the read! Pollan articulates simply what has become such a complex issue for consumers (the eaters and the spenders) and so lucrative for the "food" industry AND the U.S. "Healthcare" system - What is food? How existential!
For more of Michael's works, visit http://www.michaelpollan.com/
Wishing peace and good health in 2009!
P.S. My resolutions:
More Veggies and Home Cooking
More Dancing
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Makin' Sweet Love
It's been a while since I've cooked a meal. My side of the fridge had been empty for months. I used to have a weekly ritual of shopping at Whole Foods, filling the cart with a rainbow of colors from the produce aisle, and prepping food for a week's worth of cooking. I took a very long break and got lazy. I ate out a lot. I enjoyed it. And I feel a little guilty about that. I have also been overcoming the guilt that comes with daily Starbuck's stops by rationalizing "it's the holiday season" and "I haven't yet bought a coffee maker" and "the coffee at work can't compare to the delectable starbuck's white peppermint mochas." I can last on one all day. Bad. Yum. Sinful. Sold!
As we approach the New Year, I should start practicing what I preach. I resolve to eat my veggies, go green with juice, consume whole foods, and prepare my own meals. And...lighten up on Starbuck's.
Even though it's a lot more work and it's not always as exciting as eating out, thinking of daily cooking and food preparation as a form of self-love is motivating. It's healthier (usually) and tastier (usually). It fosters a closer relationship within the food chain and usually yields more knowledge of what it is you are actually consuming (sans additives, pesticides...)! It also allows for a creative side to emerge! Even the Dalai Lama advocates it in his Instructions for Life: "Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon."
Do it with the lights on. Use music to get you in the mood. Buddy up and do it with someone!
Chopping. Stewing. Juicing. Blending. Smelling. Tasting. Touching. It's time to get to know your food!
Recipe for Love Soup:
As we approach the New Year, I should start practicing what I preach. I resolve to eat my veggies, go green with juice, consume whole foods, and prepare my own meals. And...lighten up on Starbuck's.
Even though it's a lot more work and it's not always as exciting as eating out, thinking of daily cooking and food preparation as a form of self-love is motivating. It's healthier (usually) and tastier (usually). It fosters a closer relationship within the food chain and usually yields more knowledge of what it is you are actually consuming (sans additives, pesticides...)! It also allows for a creative side to emerge! Even the Dalai Lama advocates it in his Instructions for Life: "Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon."
Do it with the lights on. Use music to get you in the mood. Buddy up and do it with someone!
Chopping. Stewing. Juicing. Blending. Smelling. Tasting. Touching. It's time to get to know your food!
Recipe for Love Soup:
(Measurements are of your discretion)
* Chop onions and garlic; sautee in olive oil* Add vegetable stock (low sodium) and a small can of tomato paste
* Mix until the tomato paste disolves then add a can of canned tomatoes (diced)
* Add 1-2 bay leaves and basil
* Mix. Simmer.
* Add chopped celery and carrots. Mix. Simmer.
* Add cannelini beans and let the stew stew.
* Add pasta.
* Feel the love!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Still Thankful
Thanksgiving is over and it's already time for the next holiday. Forget the fact that the radio stations were playing christmas tunes weeks ago and that stores were well-stocked with trees and trimmings right after Halloween! Next! Thanksgiving never gets the recognition it deserves. Maybe it's because there's not much spending involved when compared to its neighboring holidays.
I have a love/loathe relationship with this time of year. I love the twinkly lights, the vacation and family time, and the white peppermint mochas at Starbucks. I loathe the endless hustle and bustle and self-inflicted stress of getting the "right" gifts.
After running around for a week, gearing up for the next holiday I realized (yet again) the need to slow down. You know, smell the roses? Relax. Unwind. Be thankful.
Here's my belated "What I'm thankful for" list:
Loving family
Supportive and fun friends
Family pets
Shelter from the cold
Abundance of food
Access to affordable and quality healthcare (when I'm thankful, I'm thorough!)
Good doctors
Health; Able-body
Employment
The opportunity to have traveled this year
My iPod
And just in case I've missed anything, I'm starting a daily gratitute journal (no worries, I won't be recording it here!). I think it will be helpful in slowing down and appreciating what I have. So often we strive, hope and sometimes fixate on things that are out of our control and reach. I don't always recognize what I've got. And I don't want to have regrets later, having missed an opportunity to appreciate something when I had it.
"Be thankful for what you have: you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on the things you don't have you will never have enough." Oprah
I have a love/loathe relationship with this time of year. I love the twinkly lights, the vacation and family time, and the white peppermint mochas at Starbucks. I loathe the endless hustle and bustle and self-inflicted stress of getting the "right" gifts.
After running around for a week, gearing up for the next holiday I realized (yet again) the need to slow down. You know, smell the roses? Relax. Unwind. Be thankful.
Here's my belated "What I'm thankful for" list:
Loving family
Supportive and fun friends
Family pets
Shelter from the cold
Abundance of food
Access to affordable and quality healthcare (when I'm thankful, I'm thorough!)
Good doctors
Health; Able-body
Employment
The opportunity to have traveled this year
My iPod
And just in case I've missed anything, I'm starting a daily gratitute journal (no worries, I won't be recording it here!). I think it will be helpful in slowing down and appreciating what I have. So often we strive, hope and sometimes fixate on things that are out of our control and reach. I don't always recognize what I've got. And I don't want to have regrets later, having missed an opportunity to appreciate something when I had it.
"Be thankful for what you have: you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on the things you don't have you will never have enough." Oprah
Monday, November 17, 2008
When in Rome
Eat (Or Drink Cappuccino)
Pray (In Thanksgiving)
Love
My parents and I had the great fortune of taking a Fall trip to Italy with a weekend stop in Basel, Switzerland. My love for italian food definitely put this country at the top of my "places to see" list. As far as I'm concerned you cannot have a bad meal in Rome. Of course many of the foods I'm supposed to avoid - chocolate, cheese, milk, and yeast - were in abundance. I used the "I'm on vacation" card. It would have been a sin not to!
Pizza, cappuccino, gelati, pasta, Oh my!....god.....was it good!
It helped that we walked a lot. We also got a good workout climbing 350 steps (some of them steep) to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. Yowza. It was well worth the view.
All in all it was a spectacular and invigorating trip!
I was thrilled to get to visit my friend Melinda and her husband Rob in Switzerland. We took in sights of their city and lake Luzern, which is about an hour train ride from Basel. The views were breathtaking! I hope to meet up with them for a hike in the Alps after their little person arrives!
Mom and Dad at the Lake
Jen and Melinda in Basel
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Get On the Ball
After eliminating most of the foods to which I'm sensitive as well as soy (more on that later) I have noticed a significant reduction in runny/stuffy nose and lethargy - both are common reactions to foods the body is sensitive or allergic to. The headaches, on the other hand, had lessened in severity but were still occurring regularly.
Two weeks ago my co-worker swapped her desk chair for an exercise ball. She had visited a local green design firm where all employees were using them. After mentioning this to my acupuncturist, she recommended using it to see if it would prevent headaches. "One of the worst things we do is start putting kids in chairs at school. The body isn't designed to sit that long." And most people essentially do this until they retire! Imagine all the stiff necks!
She then felt around my neck and found the stiff muscles that were related to regions where I had recurring migraines. Virtually all of my migraines were in my left temple and behind the eye. My left neck muscles were particularly tight.
For $20 I can say the exercise ball has been the cheapest and one of the most beneficial investments in my health. I've been on the ball for two weeks and I haven't had a headache! I had no idea how crucial good posture was to health. Did I mention that being on the ball is fun too? Or that your abs will be amazing? Or that stronger abs/core will protect your back? Or that it might even help your mood? Or that you can literally tell your boss you're "on the ball?" :P
What are you waiting for?
Note: I purchased the Reebok exercise ball at Target. They sell them in three sizes by your height. $20 bucks gets you a dvd, pump and of course, your fun new chair!
Two weeks ago my co-worker swapped her desk chair for an exercise ball. She had visited a local green design firm where all employees were using them. After mentioning this to my acupuncturist, she recommended using it to see if it would prevent headaches. "One of the worst things we do is start putting kids in chairs at school. The body isn't designed to sit that long." And most people essentially do this until they retire! Imagine all the stiff necks!
She then felt around my neck and found the stiff muscles that were related to regions where I had recurring migraines. Virtually all of my migraines were in my left temple and behind the eye. My left neck muscles were particularly tight.
For $20 I can say the exercise ball has been the cheapest and one of the most beneficial investments in my health. I've been on the ball for two weeks and I haven't had a headache! I had no idea how crucial good posture was to health. Did I mention that being on the ball is fun too? Or that your abs will be amazing? Or that stronger abs/core will protect your back? Or that it might even help your mood? Or that you can literally tell your boss you're "on the ball?" :P
What are you waiting for?
Note: I purchased the Reebok exercise ball at Target. They sell them in three sizes by your height. $20 bucks gets you a dvd, pump and of course, your fun new chair!
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