T2C: Losing Our Minds

A photo from Olivia's old apartment in Philly.

Your two favorite (wink wink) green health junkies are at it again. I’m teaming up with Olivia to launch a new weekly feature, A Tale from Two Cities (T2C), which will document various health and food adventures from our respective corners of the world: Philadelphia, PA, and Seoul, South Korea.

Our first blog title is not meant to announce an onset of psychosis or to imply that we have indeed gone bonkers. It’s true that our lives have gotten pretty darn busy (but extremely exciting) in recent months –an engagement and long-distance wedding planning from Seoul and a part-time gig with an awesome nutritionist in Philadelphia – and with such events naturally comes some stress and a need to unwind and just “be.” With that said, we’re focusing our first post on the very important topic of meditation and relaxation.

Jen ~ Philadelphia

I have always been a fidgety person. I still can’t manage to, well, sit still. My mind easily wanders and is cluttered with to-do lists, worries, thoughts of the future, and more menial wonderment of things like what’s going to happen on the next season of Dexter. And I imagine it’s this way for a lot of people. How can it not be? We live in a fast-paced culture with never-ending workdays, fast food at every corner, 24-hour news cycles, incessant tweeting and facebooking, and an urge to bring our blackberries with us on vacation. Oy! Where does all of this get us and what kind of world do we create for ourselves in the process? We need some room to breathe, people! And the only person who can help you is you.

Everyone will choose a different path to get to that breathing space. I’m not one for traditional meditation on a regular basis…not yet. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t appeal to me right now. In the meantime, yoga is serving quite nicely as my meditation and “me” time. I deem twenty minutes of it a day to be an accomplishment. My other current “go-to” inspirations for centeredness are passages from Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and Kris Carr’s recent vlog on taking mini-vacations every day.

I highly recommend Tolle’s chapter “Freeing Yourself from Your Mind.” Newsflash! You are not your mind! He recommends monitoring your thoughts as an outsider (without judgment) to observe thought patterns, especially those that are repetitive, negative, and subsequently destructive. In doing so, you can practice being fully present in the “now.” When I last did this exercise I felt as if a weight had been lifted…no worries…just happiness…just being. As for the mini-vacation exercise – that starts tomorrow. Got to start planning. Might simply entail a 15-minute break/walk during the workday or a 30-minute “check-out” at Starbucks with a girly magazine. How do you unwind? How do you get centered?

Olivia ~ Seoul

If someone told you they knew of something that would help you be more productive at work, sleep more soundly at night, and improve your overall happiness, you’d probably be clamoring to find out their secret. Especially when you found out it was free, could be done anytime, anywhere.

Meditation, of course, is all of this, and more. So why don’t we all sit down and let go every day? Or, more precisely: why don’t I have a daily meditation practice yet, even though I’ve been practicing off and on for over five years and love love love the benefits?

The honest truth? I don’t know. So I’m letting this little write-up serve as a reminder for some of my favorite meditation tidbits. With any luck, this will inspire you to take five or ten minutes in your day to check in—or check out.

• Even five minutes a day can make a big difference

• If you exist, you can do it. You don’t need any props or special knowledge. You don’t even need a secluded space (though it can be nice).

• When in doubt, close your eyes and focus on the breath as it passes through your nose. If your mind is being particularly uncooperative, go ahead and count to a given series of numbers as you inhale and exhale. (For example, inhale to 5, exhale to 7.)

• If you do it before bed, it will help calm what I call “hamster brain”—that incessant racing of thoughts that you don’t want to be thinking.

• If (when) a thought keeps popping up, go ahead and acknowledge it, thank it for coming to the party, and tell it you’ll give it your full attention to learn from it later. But now is not the time.

• It provides many of the same benefits of a glass of vino (relaxation, a ritual for letting go of the work day, an increased likelihood of cracking a smile) without those pesky price tags/calories/toxicity.

Check Green Junkie Living next week for more resources and techniques to take your meditation practice to the next level.

Namaste!

Strawberry Seduction

Warning:
Consuming this dessert will elicit incessant
"ooh-la-las" and multiple orgasms!

Sweet Strawberry Pie
Courtesy of Christina Pirello at Christina Cooks

2 pounds fresh strawberries, tops removed, quartered
Juice of one half lemon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup brown rice syrup
Sea salt
2 cups raw almonds
1 3/4 cups pitted dates

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, vanilla, rice syrup and a pinch of salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside while you make the crust. Place almonds in a blender and pulse on high until they resemble bread crumbs. Empty into a 9-inch pie plate. Place dates in blender with about a teaspoon of water and pulse on high until well-chopped...it will be a little clumpy.

Combine almonds and dates until they hold together and then press evenly onto the bottom and sides of pie plate to form a crust. Spoon berries generously into the crust, discarding any remaining liquid. Refrigerate for 2 hours before slicing into wedges and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

State-Dependent Running

I finished (emphasis on finished) my second 10k trail race of the season this past Saturday in beautiful Wissahickon park. But it was by far my toughest run for several reasons: despite a good night's sleep, I was exhausted after a jam-packed workweek, my regular practice runs had subsequently taken a backseat to work, it was hot on race day, and there were inclines on the course I hadn't really trained for. All of these factors led to a less-than-desirable (ok, outright shi**y) situation: I almost passed out in the woods.

When I started feeling sick, desiring an IV or someone to whisk me to the finish line where I would have appeared to have beaten Ed, I was nowhere near a road. I was, in fact, half-way up a steep hill, which probably made matters worse. The only thing I could do was walk it out...walk towards help. My head was pounding and I was nauseous. Any minute now, I thought, I'll blackout. I wasn't too worried. There were plenty of runners around if I absolutely needed assistance and I knew I'd see a volunteer soon. I remember thinking that the feeling would eventually subside. But all I wanted to do was be done with the race and I was only about half-way through at this point.

I started putting out vibes to the Universe. "Please let me reach someone who can help me" and "Please let me get out of here as quickly as possible."

While I had pictured the help being a person with a walkie talkie, I soon met a fellow racer who had also taken a break from running the trail; we walked 1/4 mile together, commiserating about the heat, the course, and how baffled we were to be experiencing trouble after having finished the Broad Street Run just a month ago.

Surprisingly, I started to feel better after this talk. We both began a light jog and a 1/2 mile later I was running full-steam ahead. I couldn't believe that the pain/nausea has ceased and that I had any energy left. I had never run faster in the final stretch towards the finish line. Thank you, Universe!

In the end, I completed the trail with a time of 1:21. At the start of the race I had hoped for a time of 1:07 (the time of my last 10k trail run) but all things considered, to have just finished this race was an accomplishment. And I fared much better than the guy last year, who needed to go to the ER and get paddles to jumpstart his heart because he didn't hydrate during the race.

Ed ran fabulously on race day, finishing with a time of 52:35 and placing 72nd out of 449 runners. Congrats, Ed!

Next up: a military-style 10k, complete with mud and obstacle courses. Things are going to get dirty.

Macro Monday ~ Blanched Vegetables

Every Monday I'm trying a new macrobiotic recipe and posting the results at HHJ. I'm looking to incorporate macrobiotics into my dietary plan but am not sure if I'll go 100% with it. I've definitely felt better since adding macro dishes to my plate so we'll see where it leads...

Last Monday I checked out a recipe using burdock root and kept it even simpler this week with blanched vegetables.

Blanching is a great way to enjoy your veggies; this technique keeps them crisp and tender at the same time, providing a perfect balance in texture. I find them easier to digest this way too, although this result will likely vary from person to person.

Take your favorite veggies (I used cauliflower, broccoli, snap peas and carrots) and immerse them in a pot of boiling water. Remove after one minute and transfer them to a bowl of ice water, letting them sit for another minute. Strain and enjoy!

I eat blanched vegetables without a dressing but you can experiment with seasonings or sauces if you need a little something something. Black pepper, olive oil and lemon is a refreshing concoction to add to veggies and salads.

Interested in exploring macrobiotics? Click here for a cliff notes version to get you started

Burdock for Breakfast?

My latest addition to the healthy books nook at my nest is devoted to macrobiotic living. I first learned about macrobiotics while watching Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer documentary, which aired on TLC in March 2007. Macrobiotics was one of several different healing diets that Kris explored during her journey through cancer and it's the diet that saved my boss' life.

The word macrobiotics means "large life" and is a diet consisting mostly of grains, vegetables (including sea vegetables), and beans. Dairy, meat, caffeine and refined or processed foods are out due to their stimulating (and thus exhausting) effect on the body. Seeing that I had cut most of these foods out already I wanted to add some variety to my food plan with more healing foods and recipes.

Modern-Day Macrobiotics by Simon Brown provides a great introduction to the principles and benefits of a macrobiotic diet as well as a variety of recipes and menus. And when I decided to be adventurous and buy some burdock root without knowing what the heck I'd do with it, I knew Simon's book would come in handy.

A popular use for Burdock includes a macro recipe and style of cooking called Kinpira.

Simply cut one burdock root and 1-2 carrots in matchstick pieces. Saute the burdock for a few minutes with some olive or grapeseed oil. Add the carrots to cook for an additional minute. Glaze the pan with some mirin rice wine and stir for an additional 5 minutes or until tender.

Why eat burdock?
It is said to be a blood purifier and can help with skin issues including those of the scalp (like dandruff) and acne (among other things).

It's healing, but does it taste good?
Carrots and burdock root were not foods I had expected to eat for breakfast but I felt the meal grounded and balanced me; it was a perfect feeling with which to start the day. I've made it several more times for it's healing effects, particularly the effect on my skin. And burdock tastes earthy like potatoes. It kinda reminded me of breakfast potatoes I had in college. Totally do-able for breakfast. Just took a little getting used to.

I make Kinpira a few times a month. I'm not totally committed to macrobiotics but am finding that the recipes I make definitely make me feel more energetic and centered.

What's next?
I'll be posting a new macrobiotic adventure every Monday as I continue to explore this way of eating. My fingers are crossed that the sea vegetables are palatable. Oy.

If you're in the Philadelphia area and looking to check out macro cuisine, visit Essene's Natural Foods Market for their buffet of prepared foods. Yum!

One Tough Broad

There was hype.

There was heat.

There were open fire hydrants.

And there were two holistic health junkies...

rocking the Broad Street Run.

The running guru and I met up in the wee hours of Sunday morning, as per the advice of the organizers, to make plenty of time for the expected crowd. The Broad Street Run is the largest 10 mile race in the country, consisting of 30,000 runners. Broad Street was also going to be my farthest race, and run for that matter, to date. Yikes!

In the three weeks leading up to BSR I had been majorly slacking with running; my weekly routine consisted of two 2-4 mile runs with a 7-9 mile weekend run. I was counting on adrenaline and the cheers of people who lined the streets to get me to the finish line. Little did Ed and I know that it would be the hottest race day on record since 2001 with humidity and a high of 89 degrees.

The race was very well run (pun-intended), especially in light of the weather. Organizers upped the supply of water and gatorade and opened fire hydrants to spritz runners. Ed got sick and towards the end I felt pretty weak but surprisingly I experienced none of the usual issues during practice runs (cramps, knee problems, etc...). We passed a number of people who needed medical attention; some were less than 1/4 mile from the finish line! Ed and I did cross the finish line...and with decent timing too!

Ed's time - 1:18:12 - placed 1995 out of 26251 runners.

My time - 1:38:17 - placed 11749 out of 26251.

I want to give a big thank you to Ed for being my running guru and helping me meet my goal! And if you're thinking of doing a 10-miler, Broad Street is the race to run! You'll get pumped. You'll want to do it again.

What's next? A half-marathon in Philly, of course! Stay tuned.

Photos courtesy of Ed and Rose, the iPhone.

Subway Ride to the Starting Line

The Crowd at the Starting Line

View from the Finish Area - 5 miles from City Hall

Health Hiatus

For the past three weeks, life has been pretty busy. My regular 9-5, which is actually more like 9-7 most days, has been kicking my butt. I've also been very fortunate to find a freelance gig that is a part-part-time version of my dream job. I get to write, review others' articles on health issues, and work for an organization and its founders who are as passionate about holistic health as I am. So it was strange that my health routine started to veer a bit off course in the midst of this new health-centered adventure.

First, my training for the Broad Street run went to the back burner for a few weeks. Food preparation was also lacking. I didn't prioritize trips to Whole Foods and, as a result, I started eating a lot of burritos. Chipotle had become my default destination when I needed vegan food (ie beans, rice, peppers/onions, guacamole burrito) because I hadn't cooked my own food. It's not that these burritos were "bad" but my food plan had started to lack the variety and fruits/veggies and juices I used to consume regularly.

Aside from the break from exercise I've felt guilty about my return to regular coffee-drinking with as many as two cups per day. I even debated this with myself in my head on the way to work one morning. It went something like this:

I'm planning to have coffee today.
You really should not drink coffee today.
I like the taste.
But it's not good for you.
It's one little vice. Can't I have one vice?
First, you've got more than one vice right now. One vice my a#%.
Second, this vice is acidic
And it will negatively effect your immune system right now.
And what about your kidneys?
You are having it every day these days.
I thought we negotiated having it once per week.
Yeah, but I need it to get through the long work days.
Ok but it's got the potential to make you jittery.
Do you want to gamble with that?
Can't I just have some gd coffee today?
Everyone is drinking it and I want to too.
Seriously? The "Everyone is doing it" excuse?
Ok, ok. I'm out of excuses...
But I'm still having the gd coffee.

While I've been beating myself up over what I consider to be a divergence from my health plan, I have remained committed to several important things.

* I have not entertained any soda urges. I find it odd that I crave soda at all, seeing as I never really drank it in the past.

* I have not touched meat since the start of the Lenten challenge.

Ed and I are engaged in a pseudo "sudden death" match to see who will go the longest without meat. We are in this challenge for the long haul and for serious reasons (health, animal well-being, health). But the competition aspect has reinforced the commitment during those rare occurrences of temptation.

This challenge has subsequently made for several hilarious dreams. I've had two so far involving me accidently eating meat, which felt similar to the real-life slip-ups I'd had regularly on Fridays during Lent when I was a kid. I was eating chicken salad in one of the dreams and my mom quietly reminded me, in her New York accent, "Um you are a vey-gan [vegan]." Shocked that I had forgotten the challenge, I proceeded to spit out the meat.

In the second dream, Ed and I were lunching at a picnic table and I was eating a McDonald's chicken nugget (this would never happen in real life). As I ate it, Ed elately shouted at me, "Ah ha! I win the challenge, sucka!" I screamed a stereotypical slow motion "Nooooooooooooooooo!" and woke up.

I recently shared the dreams, the coffee dialogue between me and me, and my frustrations with my fellow holistic junkie. Interestingly enough, she had been experiencing a hiatus from health around the same time! We both agreed that it's completely fine to take breaks so long as the health plan gets back on track eventually and doesn't do any major harm (ie eating a food that's really non-negotiable). So how long will our hiatuses last? My friend believes that getting back into a routine will be somewhat easy; she's attuned to how great her body responds to better health practices and how cranky it gets on vacations from them. She shared some talk back she got from her body as a result of recent indulgences. It asked, "Where did the smoothies and yoga go?" It also mentioned a preference not to play with sugar and dairy in the future because "They are mean bit*%es." :P

So far my body has been ok with the hiatus ~ the coffee, the many scrumptious burritos, and the short break from working out. She says she is happy I started running again, although I always get this feedback when the run is over. :)