autumn cleansing

fall is definitely here.
with the crisp cooler weather,
warm, golden sunlight and
my body's craving for warmer, heavier foods.

I've avoided anything oaty for months.
now I can't get enough of oatmeal for breakfast,
a scoop of walnut pieces, shredded coconut with
a spoonful of pure maple syrup.

it keeps me full and satisfied all morning long.
my frozen fruit and almond butter smoothies
just don't cut it these days.

with the planets in motion, the daylight disappearing,
our bodies and minds are trying to catch up with nature.
being in cities or towns, so apart from the natural rhythm of the wilderness
this is the time when colds shiver in, aches don't fade,
and our hearts feel just a little more fragile.

doing a fast or cleanse during this time
is a great way of handling the transition.

however you cleanse, your digestion is given a
mini-vacation so the rest of your body has time to heal
and rid itself of toxins & build-up from your diet and life.

we eat so many build-up foods every day:
meats, fats, dairy, sugar & chemicals.
it does our bodies and minds good
to give them a break now and then.

try this simple fast for fall:

chose 1-3 days where you can lay low.
don't schedule a vigorous work-out at the gym,
or pick a day when a big presentation at work is due.

cleansing and fasting is a time of renewal
and rejuvenation - it's a time to slow down and reflect.

eat a combination of cooked food and raw:
raw fruit, sprouts and veggies
steamed leafy and root veggies like
kale, collards, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and more
cooked grains - brown rice, millet, quinoa
cooked legumes - mung beans, aduki.

include lots of water and herbal teas
and, if you like, add a few green drinks too
(you can buy green powders, spirulina or chlorella
in a health food store - mix these with pure water or fruit juices).


some helpful reminders
* chew your food very well, this gets digestion working right away,
instead of relying on your stomach acids to do all the work.

* stay warm - if you're cold, try drinking ginger tea
or cuddling up with a hot-water bottle before bed.

* avoid overeating - remember, the point is to give
your system a break, not keep it churning with food.


for more info on cleansing check out paul pitchford's book

healing with whole foods: asian traditions and modern nutrition or prescription for nutritional healing by phyllis and james balch.

I'll be starting my own three day cleanse on wednesday,
so I'll check back then let you know how it's going
and what it feels like.

hero stuff

everywhere I go, heros follow

first the book I picked up in an antique mall in georgia
The Hero Within by Carol S. Pearson

(resting on a cramped bookshelf
really, the alter-ego of my own shelves

all of those books coinciding with various phases of my own:
raw food cookbooks, spiritual goo, language lovers
it all looked so familiar)

then, an article in spirituality and health
about the hero's journey

what's there for me?
I have some vague, whitney houston love song approach to it all
like it's some grand status or place to be
I've never thought about it like a journey...
only the western white man slays dragon -
gets girl - becomes king - they live happily ever after
sort of thing

what do I have on hero?
not me - something to measure up to - responsibility
selflessness - powerful - brave - male energy
action - struggle against norm or evil
knight on horse - waiting to be rescued


maybe I felt I was not grand enough to be a hero
like only the privileged few tackle that one

pearson’s book helped me see there are all kinds of heroes
all on different paths, leading to the same direction:
knowledge of self, grasping that big "I"

hero doesn't mean slaying dragons,
doesn't mean denying my feminine nature
it is strong, innocent, self-sacrificing, lonely, trusting and magical
all at different steps along the way, all at once sometimes

why is this important?
heros in the old stories see coruption and set out
on a quest to bring happiness/love/peace back to their land

Heroism for this age requires us to take our journeys, to find the treasure of our true selves, and to share that treasure with the community as a whole - through doing and being fully who we are. To the degree that we do so, our kingdoms are transformed.
- Carol S. Pearson

what treasures are awaiting your discovery?
what jewels can you unearth and bring them back
to your world, your family, your job
gleaming and glistening like diamonds?

itchy itchy scratchy scratchy

remember that old campfire song?

itchy itchy scratchy scratchy
ooo, I got one down my backy

that's a little how I feel -
I just got back from camping in georgia

the sun was out but under all those big beautiful trees
I rarely felt the burn, but the chiggers and jiggers,
well they are another story - we became intimate friends

the weird thing is that they really didn't itch
until after I returned home, some freakish delayed reaction
and here I thought I'd gotten away relatively bite-free

all this scratching brought me to my aromatherapy bible
The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy
(Valerie Ann Worwood)

some great big oils to have on hand to soothe the skin:
* thyme * lavender * eucalyptus * chamomile

on chiggers and jiggers:

these are burrowing insects which attack mainly
through the feet. they lay their eggs in burrows
under the skin and also spread infection.

huh, makes me wish I'd read this before I went
traipsing through the woods and wilderness

lavender has been my number one girl
one neat drop on each bite makes them feel oh so good

for mosquitoe bites you'll need a little something more
measure out one cup of cider vinegar or the juice of 2 lemons
add 10 drops of lavender and 5 drops of thyme
pour this into a bath of water and soak
then after apply lavender to each bite

so how to prevent them in the first place?
the easiest way is to combine 2 tablespoons of base oil
(peanut, almond, etc - found in most health food stores)
with 30 drops of lavender oil

slather all of your exposed skin with this magic potion
after you shower, before a hike, before you go to bed

you can never have enough!

shoo-fly pie

butter, eggs, molasses, brown sugar
sounds decadent, no?

I just returned from hangin' with the amish in pa

what I loved:
- the farmer's markets around every bend
- kids and old-folks on the amish version of scooters
(two smallish bike wheels with a long foot pad and
a tall handles like a bike)
- cruising up and down and over the lush green hills
- all the free samples of pickled veggies and raisin bread
- rusty tin stars

what made me sad:
- tour buses
- generic knicknacks in the stores made halfway around the world
- absence of veggies on menus (except corn, there was lots of corn!)
- absolutely, 100% all carb breakfasts at the hotel
(seriously, I'm a different, crabbier person if I start my day
off with sugary muffins or cereal - ask my family, they know
and really, no veg-friendly items on menus, save coleslaw or
a "house salad"? ick.)

back to the shoe-fly... it's damn good
much less sweet than you think it might be

me, I like to eat simple foods
the smaller the list of ingredients, the better
small list usually means big taste
and somehow, more pure
even if it's pure sugar, I suppose

fewer ingredients means fewer processing
which means it's closer to it's natural state of being
which helps me maintain my own natural, health way

like humus for instance...
if you find it in a grocery store and it has only three
ingredients listed, it's probably going to taste fresher
and your taste buds and body will be grinning

find one with lots of additives or different oil blends
with preservatives and more, it's likely to be lacking
and your body wears a big ol' frown

we don't want that now do we?
:)

birth & education

my angel cards today
when I thought about this brand new blog

wacky, how these little gals always know exactly what is needed

it's way too early to be up on a sunday morn
but I've been up and pacing since 2:30 am

thinking about this, about working and shopping at the coop,
about my family just on their way here for a long visit for which I've planned almost nothing

I've eaten raw almond butter & jam on toast, a handful of "good friends" cereal and am watching the water boil, waiting to drink my kukicha tea

could life be any better?

want to know more about kukicha?
it's my new crack (not that I ever had an "old" crack, or any crack for that matter)
all I know: this tea is amazing - I hate going a day without it
I'm notorious for bring my own tea bags everywhere I go, especially on airplanes

it's also sold as "bancha twig tea"
so it's actually the stems of the tea plants

- it has a very grounding energy: more yang (contracted), compared to the yin (expansive) energy of tea made from its leaves
- minor amounts of caffeine (most of teh caf is in the leaves)
- drink it after a meal to aid in digestion
- when craving something sweet, add fresh lemon juice and sip away

you can find it in most health food stores - the eden brand is the best

try it, let me know how you like it!
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disclaimer: all information contained in this blog should not replace guidance from your trusted medical advisor. these are simply my thoughts on what works best for me, based on my own experimentation and my work with my holistic health clients