Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Top Ten Reasons to Go Green (Vegetables, that is)

1. They are high in fiber and rich in minerals. 
2. They are a good source of calcium. 
3. They go great with any meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. 
4. They can be sautéed, steamed or blanched. 
5. They can be cooked in grain and pasta dishes. 
6. Some of them can be cooked with their roots, very dynamic! 
7. They can be sautéed and added to beans dishes. 
8. You can roll them up and smoke them (don’t worry, just kidding!) 
9. They can be used in salads. 
10. They can be grown in a backyard garden or on your back porch. 

Here is a list of my favorite greens that also just happen to be the most beneficial for your health. 

Arugula
Baby bok choy
Belgian Endive
Bok choy
Broccoli Rabe
Collards
Carrot greens
Daikon radish greens
Dandelion greens
Escarole
Kale, such as Lacinto, Red Russian, Green Curly
Leeks
Lettuce greens, such as Iceberg, Romaine, Red Leaf, and Bibb
Mizuna (a kind of green that can often be found in an Asian market)
Mustard greens
Napa cabbage
Purslane
Red radish greens
Turnip greens
Wild Watercress

I wish you all good health and good luck! Also, érinn go brách!

Peace, Love and Joy

Just a quick note to wish all of you and your loved ones happy holidays!

 

As we reflect on the season may our hearts be filled with love and compassion. I will return after the New Year, with recipes in hand! 

I wish you all good health and happiness in 2013.

Love,

Susan

Love Park, Phildelphia, PA
Photo credit ronsaari.com

Thanksgiving Thanks!

What does the word “thanksgiving” really mean? Try reversing the order of the words to get “giving thanks,” which implies something that goes beyond just saying “thank you.” Giving thanks means demonstrating appreciation. While the words “thank you” are mannerly and polite, appreciation goes deeper than words as it implies action.

Some acts are small, and others are larger. Macrobiotic Philosophy teaches us that the small shows the large, or the part shows the whole. What can we do to demonstrate our appreciation?

Thanksgiving is also a time when families come together. Who is our family? In a sense, our family is larger than just our blood relatives and close friends. What about the food that we eat? The food that we eat creates the quality of our blood, establishing a connection between people who eat similar foods. Food also carries a vibrational quality, which means that food creates our spiritual quality and influences our dreams and goals.

What do I mean by all of this? Well, we are all in this world together. While we may have our separate differences we also share the commonality of the food that we eat. We need to unite and work together to make the world a better place. This is the only way to get what we want, a healthy society, good quality organic foods, and a healthy environment. Together we have a voice and a bright future.
And remember, everyone feels good when they are appreciated.

To show you my appreciation, here is a haiku that I wrote 20 years ago, when I first started practicing macrobiotics:

Brothers and Sisters
all from One Infinity
Love One another

I would also like to share a holiday recipe for Walnut Rice. This grain dish is so simple to make and loved by all. The combination of the walnuts together with the brown rice provide a rich, satisfying, and nourishing quality.

Please follow my recipe for cooking brown rice from my previous post.


Preparation:
Place 1 cup of walnuts in a bowl and rinse with filtered water.
To begin toasting, place the walnuts in a skillet.
Turn on the flame to a lower setting and begin toasting.

*Note: When toasting nuts or seeds it is helpful to be patient and take your time. 

Use a wooden spatula to move and turn the walnuts to prevent them from burning.
The walnuts are done when they are lightly toasted. Place the nuts in a bowl and allow them to cool. When the nuts are cool, they are ready to be chopped. My preference is to chop them by hand.
To serve, place a layer of rice in a bowl and a layer of  walnuts on top of the rice. Continue to layer, with the final layer being walnuts.

Thoughts On Exercise

I think that most people are in agreement that exercise is an important part of healthy living. But how do we decide which exercises will give us the most physical and mental benefits, allowing us to develop good muscle tone and bone density, be flexible, and have strength and endurance? Is there really one particular exercise routine that will serve all of our needs?

Modern society is obsessed with achieving what is perceived as a "hot" body. Image is everything in our culture. People spend large amounts of time and money going to the gym: it is even considered fashionable to have one's own personal trainer. Some people will go so far as to have surgical procedures to attain their idea of the "perfect" body.

I have to ask, is this kind of thinking realistic? Is our obsession with physical perfection actually benefiting our overall health?

Do you really need the bulky equipment, the personal trainer, and the fancy gym to have a flexible, well-toned body? I suppose that it is a matter of preference, but personally I can’t think of anything more boring than spinning on a stationary bicycle or strolling on the tread mill, glued to the TV. We gain much more benefit from choosing an activity that brings us more in touch with our bodies and our natural environment. By this I mean choosing life-related physical activities and other forms of exercise that we enjoy and that allow us to maintain our health.

With that in mind, here are my suggestions for activities that will give you optimal health benefits, both physical and mental.

Walking along the river by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

1. Walking outside
2. Stretching
3. Finding an activity that you ENJOY!

Walking outside:
Taking a daily walk is the most important exercise for everyone.
Walking is a great way to achieve your ideal weight, and clear and calm your mind. While walking is great cardiovascular exercise, you also benefit from the rhythmic aspect of walking: when you walk, you balance the right side of your body with the left side of your body (chambers of the heart, kidneys, ovaries, testicles, lungs, intestines, etc). Walking outside also helps you become more aligned with your natural environment.

A morning stretch at SHI!

Stretching:
I think that stretching is one of the most over-looked aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Stretching is especially important as we mature. Children are always running around, playing, and engaging themselves. However, as we age, we tend to lead more sedentary lifestyles, whether we are sitting at our desk, driving our cars, or performing repetitive physical tasks. This means that we are not using portions of our body on a daily basis. As with anything that does not get used, the less-used portions of our bodies get tight. While proper diet can do a great deal to keep our minds and bodies relaxed, it is often not enough to keep our tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues loose. This is where regular stretching helps us. Regular stretching will keep the less-used portions of our bodies more flexible and will allow us to maintain good muscle tone, which in turn keeps us feeling and looking youthful! If you are looking for some good stretches, I recommend yin yoga, or other gentle forms of yoga.


Finding an activity that you ENJOY:

Picking organic veggies!

Finding an activity that you enjoy is very important. You want to find an activity that allows you to set your mind free and become playful. Some people prefer to find an activity that they do solo, whereas other prefer something that they do with others. Basically, finding something that makes you feel alive is important. How do you determine if an activity is good for you? Forget about calories burned per hour and exertion levels. Ask yourself these questions: do you feel more peaceful and calm after this activity? Do you feel more energetic? How does this activity affect your appetite for healthy food? How does it affect your appetite for life? If you have positive answers to these questions, then it sounds like you have found the right activity. If you feel depleted after your activity, or you find yourself so hungry that you immediately are reaching for junk food, then you should probably try to find something else.

Most of all, have fun and play!