Healthy Tips to Feed Your Family

Recently Denny Waxman, leading authority on macrobiotics and natural healing, wrote a blog on  "Achieving your ideal Weight”. His article really rings true in that more and more people are overweight and suffer from obesity. What scares me the most is the number of overweight children.

Weight gain is epidemic and childhood obesity is on the rise. More and more children suffer from
 illnesses that are directly related to their diet. I find is sad to see kids starting out their young lives with health problems that can be completely avoided by parents making better food choices.

As a macrobiotic teacher and counselor I offer menu planning. My clientele ranges from people with serious health concerns to those who simply want to make a transition to plant-based foods. Many of my clients are moms who want to eat better and make healthier food for their families. However, they 

often struggle implementing the transition, fearing their children will not like the new food choices.

Here are some of my suggestions for introducing plant-based foods to your children: 

1. Establish regular family mealtimes and try to eat one meal together each day. If this seems like a stretch begin with a few times a week. Mealtimes are great way to connect with your children and really find out what is going on in their lives. 
2. Begin introducing healthier foods into their diets. Start with grains and grain products such as brown rice, millet, couscous, noodles, pastas, oatmeal and corn. Try unyeasted sourdough breads, pita, and tortillas instead of commercial white breads. Each meal should have a grain or grain product. The word ‘meal’ implies grain. Make grains the main part of the meal. Our brain functions on glucose, which is derived from the breakdown of complex carbohydrates. Grains, beans and vegetables are the main source of complex carbohydrates. 
3. Serve fresh vegetables with every meal. Experiment with a variety of vegetables prepared in a variety of styles. Vegetables complete and balance our meals and help to provide us with freshness. 
4. Take control of your cupboard. Read labels and simply don’t buy junk! After a certain age you cannot control what your child eats outside of your home, but you can control the quality of the foods you bring into your home. What is most important is that they are eating good food at home during mealtimes. 
5. Have good snacks available, fresh seasonal fruits, toasted seeds and nuts, rice cakes. For those of you who enjoy cooking try making some snacks together with your child and introduce them to cooking at an early age. 
6. Try to find your child’s taste and follow their appetite for good food and little by little introducing new foods. Keep reinforcing the health and the environmental benefits from eating plant based foods. 
7. Finally, not exactly food related but equally as important, encourage your child to engage in outdoor and indoor physical “play” activity. Limit the time they spend with electronic devices and cultivate their participation in the arts and in nature. 

Home Popped Organic Popcorn 

This snack is a favorite of both kids and adults. It is great because popcorn is familiar
to and loved by just about everyone. I use specific good quality ingredients that are even healthier than anything you can buy in the health food store. By making your own snacks you can control the amount of sodium used and the quality of the oils. This snack takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and will stay fresh for several days. 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of “high heat” Safflower oil or Sunflower oil (This is an oil of thicker consistency)
1 Tablespoon of organic Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/16 - 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of organic non-GMO popcorn

Suggested cookware: A two quart stainless steel pot with a lid or stainless steel pressure cooker.

A large serving bowl and a wooden utensil.

Preparation:
Pour the oil in the pan and turn the flame on the lowest setting.
Add the popcorn kernels and sea salt.
When the oil begins to sizzle, place a lid on the pot.
As the corn begins to pop pick up the pot and give it a gentle shake to allow the
popcorn to cook evenly. You will repeat this step several times throughout the cooking.
When you hear little to no popping sound the popcorn is done.
Pour the hot popcorn into a serving bowl.

Option: If you like more of a rich flavor gently drizzle additional olive oil over the
hot popcorn. Add another tiny pinch of sea salt and gently mix with a wooden utensil

to blend all the seasonings.
For teenagers and adults add a little hot spice.
For a rich gourmet flavor top off the hot popcorn with truffle oil.

*Too ensure freshness, the popcorn needs to cool completely before storing it. 

*To order Susan Waxman's "Healthy Treats" kids snack booklet contact her office.

The Joys of a Good-Quality Beer

For many people, a good beer is like nectar from the gods. I, too, enjoy high quality
malted beverages from time to time. Fortunately, I live in Philadelphia, where people drink more Belgian beer per capita than anywhere else (except Belgium), and is home to and neighboring city to many fantastic microbreweries. June marks the annually celebrated Philly Beer Week. Walk into almost any bar in Philadelphia, and you will have your pick of delicious and refreshing microbrews. Maybe this is why they call Philadelphia “the City of Brotherly Love.” Or is it “Brewerly Love”?

Good-quality beer has health benefits because it is both nourishing and refreshing. Microbrews are made in smaller batches with high quality ingredients: water, barley and other whole grains, yeast, and hops, as well as some creative additions from time to time. Some of the health benefits we get from good-quality beer are:

• Improved digestion 
• A natural source of good quality fermentation 
• B vitamins 
• Helpful for new mother’s milk 
• Relaxing for the kidneys, which helps us to eliminate excess salt 

Here are some of my favorites Philadelphia-area microbreweries:
Victory
Philadelphia Brewing Company
Dogfish Head
Weyerbacher
Flying Fish
Sly Fox
Stoudt’s
Yard’s
Dock Street
Nodding Head

Our founding father Ben Franklin said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants
us to be happy”. Yea Ben, you’re a true American hero!

Check out Denny Waxman's blog on the benefits fermented beverages!

Welcome Back

Photo taken last year at Bahia Honda, one of our favorite beaches in the Keys

Hi Everyone! After a wonderful vacation in Key West, Florida we are back in
sunny Philadelphia, resuming our seminars (Health Intensive) and our Year Long
Certificate Course. You can become a health consultant or an accomplished cook.

Check out our courses and latest newsletter!

Open Doors of Health - Extended Offer for June Programs

I have to admit it isn’t easy getting back into work mode, especially after spending time in Key West. Mid-May marks our annual trip and really is a perfect time to visit. Tourist season is waning and the weather is just a little warmer, so returning to Philly we do not experience severe temperature shock! Key West is a bit of paradise for us, I absolutely love it there and cannot think of a better place to unwind, relax and just do nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the something you need to re-charge and stimulate your creativity.

Paradise

Please stay tuned for future posts and some of my island inspirations.

The Wonders of Brown Rice and Cooking Tips

Pressure cooked Brown rice with Quinoa

Brown rice is the most unique grain of all the whole cereal grains. It is a very adaptable grain in that it grows on both dry land and in water. It combines beautifully with other grains (whole or cracked), beans and vegetables. Grains and beans which require a longer cooking time, when cooked with brown rice, adjust their cooking time to that of the rice.

I believe that we are what we eat. My theory is that you have the potential to become more flexible and adaptable- like the rice itself- from including brown rice as part of your regular diet.

Many of my students say they have difficulty in preparing brown rice well. I often hear the comment that they cannot get their rice to taste like mine. So, here are some of my tips for cooking brown rice- I hope you find them to be helpful and inspiring!

The most important factors in making a good pot of brown rice is to have respect, appreciation, and love for this powerful food. All these aspects will help with your approach in preparing the rice, and every step is done with care and intention from beginning to end.


Sorting and Soaking Brown Rice

The first step is to carefully measure out the desired amount of grain you wish to cook. Use a “dry” measuring cup. Place the rice in an earthenware bowl to wash the rice and remove any debris.

Note: If you are using freshly hulled rice you need to sort through the rice to remove any of the remaining hulls.

Fill the bowl with filtered water, enough to cover the rice by a couple of inches. I use my hand and slowly move the rice in the water. Next, I use my hand as a sieve and pour off the rinse water. I generally rinse two more times.

Carefully measure the amount of water. This may vary according to the environmental conditions. Brown rice is alive and sensitive to its environment, so we need to adjust the water proportionately to the consistency we desire. When pressure cooking I use a ratio of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of water for every 1 cup of grain. When boiling the rice, the ratio is 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of grain.

Pour the water over the rice and cover the rice with a bamboo mat, allowing the rice to soak up to 23 hours, preferably overnight. Note, the longer the rice soaks the more nutrients are released. I have found the rice tastes sweeter when it soaks overnight. During the night the atmosphere is more yin. At night we also receive more of an active charge from the celestial world. This in turn affects the type of charge and ki we create in the rice we make. During this process it is important to think of happy, positive thoughts, which in turn create a more peaceful, harmonious type of nourishment.

Cooking Your Brown Rice

How do you know which cooking method to use? Each cooking method has its advantage. The difference is in the texture, consistency and overall energetic quality of the rice. Pressure cooked rice tends to be more glutenous and chewy, while boiled rice is more soft and moist. The glutenous texture of pressure cooked rice strengthens the digestive system by helping to restore the natural flexibility to the intestines. Additionally more chewing is required which is alkalizing to the blood and builds good immunity. Boiled rice creates a more soft and moist texture. This consistency is more relaxing to the digestive system and helpful if someone has hard and tight intestines.

Pressure-Cooked Brown Rice:

Place the soaked rice and the soaking water in the pressure cooker. If additional water is needed you may add it at this time. Add either a small pinch of sea salt or a postage size piece of kombu/kelp

Place the lid on the cooker and bring up to pressure on a medium flame. The pressure will make a hissing sound, which becomes louder and clearer as the cooker reaches full pressure. Most modern cookers have a button on the lid, which pops up. You can test the pressure by lightly pressing on the button, it should be firm. Next, place a flame deflector under the cooker and lower the flame. This is the part that can get a little tricky you want to maintain enough pressure so the consistency of the cooked rice is glutinous and somewhat sticky, but not too much that the texture becomes dense. As the rice cooks a wonderful sweet fragrance can be detected. If you smell different and your cooker keeps hissing at you, please adjust your flame! Remember, “Your nose never lies”! When the time is up remove the pot from the stove and allow the pressure to come down naturally. Carefully place the cooked rice in a wooden bowl or earthenware-serving dish and cover with a sushi mat.


Boiled brown rice

Boiled brown rice requires more water than pressure cooked rice. It has more relaxed energetic qualities and the consistency is more soft and moist. To prepare the rice follow the same initial steps of sorting, washing and soaking the grain. When you are ready to cook place the rice and the soaking water in a pot, then turn the flame on to a medium lower setting. Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil. When the water begins to boil add either a small pinch of sea salt or a small piece of kombu/kelp. Cover the rice completely, place a flame deflector under the pot and turn the flame to the lowest setting.

Simmer on low for 1 hour. When your rice is done, remove it from the pot, place in a serving dish and cover with a bamboo mat.

Helpful hint: Boiled rice turns out best when you use a heavier pot with a heavier lid.

A Day of Resting in Mindfulness

Recently I had the opportunity to attend “A Day of Mindfulness,” a seminar given by meditation

teachers Anh-Huong and Thu Nguyen. The Day of Mindfulness is a very special event that is offered twice a year in Philadelphia.

Anh-Huong and Thu are dharma teachers in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. 

They have dedicated their lives to teaching others the practice of mindful living. 

Whether mindfulness is in the form of meditation, movement, eating or relaxation, 

this practice brings you back to a sense of awareness within, or as they say, returning home.

Being someone who leads a very active life, I found it very challenging to be still. As
I was lying there during the guided meditation, I realized that even though my body was
still, my mind was racing. I started to wonder if I would be able to make it through the seminar.

Most of us experience some form of stress in our lives. When pressure builds, it is
easy to become frustrated. Too often we become busy and focus on our work rather
than taking care of ourselves. We don’t take time to walk. We rush through our meals or,
even worse, skip them. As I continued to breathe mindfully, I realized that I needed to slow down and be more gentle with myself. At that moment when I let go of my thoughts, my mind became still, my body totally relaxed, and I was able to experience the deep rest.

There is no separation of body, mind and spirit. I believe that learning how calm your
mind is essential to your overall well being. When our mind is still we become clear and
more open to the endless possibilities in life. When we make time to take better
care of ourselves, we have the ability to become more effective, productive, healthier
and happier human beings. Be kind to yourself so that you can be kind to others.

I am grateful and appreciative for a day of relaxation, peace, renewal and
resting in mindfulness. Thank you Anh, Thu, and everyone who made this day possible.

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!

Green Cocktails Anyone?

Every Spring I like to give my liver a break and begin my own form of “cleanse”.
Typically I like to eat breakfast, but when the weather gets warmer I enjoy starting
my day off with a nice green vegetable juice. This is not a huge pint glass, but rather
a small 1/2 cup serving size, because a little fresh greens juice goes a long way! 

In oriental medicine Spring is associated with tree or wood energy. The corresponding
organs which are most affected and active at this time are the liver and gall bladder,
whose main job is to aid in digestion and metabolize fat. In the colder months we
naturally consume heartier foods which include more savory seasonings and fat.
Additionally, a higher percentage of baked foods are consumed which make our
overall condition more dry. I find that juicing makes me feel more light, positive and
fresh, just in time for Spring.

In Spring, the taste du jour is mild sweet and sour. Combining these two tastes helps to relax
our liver and gall bladder, giving them a break after heavier Winter foods. These juices have a 

refreshing quality that allow us to detox the excess and help to boost our metabolism for a new
Spring cleaning!

Here are some of my favorite green cocktail combinations: 

Ah, so green and fresh!

Napa, green apple and cabbage juice
This combo offers a nice sweet and sour taste.

1/8 cup of napa cabbage juice
1/8 cup of green cabbage juice
1/4 cup of green apple

Napa, cucumber, green apple juice
This combo is mildly sweet and a little
more tart. The cucumber makes it bit of a natural diuretic. 

1/4 cup napa cabbage
1/8 cup green apple
1/8 cup cucumber

Green cabbage, bok choy, cucumber, parsley and lemon
This juice is very fresh, green, and alive with chlorophyll. It is also a diuretic.
1/8 cup green cabbage
1/8 cup cucumber
1/4 cup bok choy
A few sprigs of parsley

Cheers!