Hungry for Change Film Screening

Mark your calenders.
On  March 6th at 6:30 pm, I will be hosting a screening at the New Glasgow Library of the documentary film Hungry for Change. A question and answer period will follow.

"Dispelling the dieting, weight loss and so-called health food myths constructed by 

mainstream media, “Hungry For Change” features Britain’s most famous health food 

crusader, Jamie Oliver, as well interviews with best selling health authors and leading 

medical experts including Dr Alejandro Junger, Dr Christiane Northrup, David Wolfe, Daniel 

Vitalis, Dr Joseph Mercola, Jason Vale, Jon Gabriel, Kris Carr and Mike Adams.  The film 

also tracks real life stories of people who have struggled for years with their weight and 

managed to turn their life around including Evita Ramparte, Frank Ferrante and Joe Cross.

“Hungry For Change” shows you how many of the ‘health foods’ we eat are keeping us 

locked in the dieting and bad health cycle and how by educating ourselves about what we 

eat and where it comes from, we can truly take control of our appearance, our health and 

ultimately, our life,” said Laurentine ten Bosch." www.hungryforchange.tv/ 

Finding New Resolve

Years ago, I used to make New Year’s Resolutions. If my memory serves me correctly, I don’t think I ever kept one. Sighting myself as a dismal failure, I then started skipping the whole tradition all together.  What I realize now, that over the past few years I have accomplished more “resolutions” than ever but it came from a different place not a “to do” list that you wake up January 1^st and make happen.

So many times we write down or mentally catalogue all the ways we wish we were better. Basically we take our “I suck” list and turn it around into our resolution list. In my mind this sets a negative energy toward these so called goals before they ever get started.

Instead of resolutions, I now set intentions. I don’t wait for a new year to do so but welcome the reminder of this tradition. I set an intention for nearly all aspects of my life. This is different from setting a goal because it doesn’t matter if I accomplish what I have set out for myself. The important thing is to set out.

True change and growth are born out of compassion. It is an evolution. It comes from choosing life at every opportunity.  Putting one foot in front of the other but allowing yourself to stop, change directions even - allowing life to happen. Yes, this takes a healthy dose of fearlessness.  We so very often get unnerved by the idea of not know where we are headed. This is why so often we resort back to our old ways of “same”.  The same that leaves that list of resolutions balled up in a corner somewhere. It’s safer.

This kind of living change takes practice. You can’t make it happen.  Willpower is a misunderstood word if you ask me.  So often I hear people tell me they have no willpower as if it is something that was handed out one day and they were absent. Willpower is a practice - a vehicle of intent.  A vehicle that is often out of its main source of fuel. I am talking again of the compassion needed for change. Compassion for self. A compassion that allows for failures, changes of mind and  plain old sucky days.

I have been very lucky that I have had some up close and personal experiences that showed me that living is a choice and that the only true legacy of how you lived is how you love. Let me tell you that these were not easy lessons or lessons that I woke up one morning and learned. It has been an integrative practice of intent.

All I can say is that, in the past few years, with new level of self compassion, I have found a new resolve. Just some of the fruits of this practice have been a new profession I am completely in love with and a now one year old business that is growing and more rewarding than I could have imagined. I am a healthier, happier me. Loving living.

So, do I hope you get up tomorrow morning and excise more, eat a whole foods diet and get to bed on time? Damn straight! If however by next Tuesday, you are coming down with a cold, have way to much work to do after your holiday, and forgot to pack your lunch….May this not be your excuse to stay as you are but allow it to be just Tuesday.  Celebrate the fact that you at least had some water during that coughing fit. There is another day lined up right after and another on after that. Just choose life, show a little compassion for you. Fuel that new resolve.

Intending the very best that 2013 has for all of you.

Happy New Year!

bella

Mark Your Calenders

November 1st at 6:30 pm

New Glasgow Library

Mindful Nutrition is excited to host a screening of FORKS OVER KNIVES at the New Glasgow Library, November 1st at 6:30 pm. This film ”examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major story line in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.” www.forksoverknives.com The film highlights many of the findings from THE CHINA STUDY, the most comprehensive nutritional study to date, and clinical based research in nutritional healing. It will prove to be very thought provoking and inspiring. 

Annabelle Cameron, RHN will be happy to host a Q&A period after the screening.

Hope to see you there.

Happy Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but I have so much to be thankful for: family, friends, blossoming business and good health. I wrote these words in the sand during a recent walk on one of the most beautiful beaches around- Melmerby. I am forever thankful to have such an amazing place to bask in the summer sun or walk its shores all year long.

Not all of us are farmers, so are not celebrating the harvest necessarily, but this is a time to stop and give thanks to the harvest of our lives. As we head into what is more like a new year to me than January, it is the perfect time to count our blessings and set our intentions for all that will come.

So what did you plant in this past year? Are you reaping the harvest now? Did you care for the soil, tend to it regularly? Did you savour all the flavours of your harvest, the bitter and the sweet? Are there things that you won't be planting again? These may seem like strange questions coming from a holistic nutrition consultant but I think they are exactly what needs to be asked. Our nutritional profile does not live in a bubble, it part of the fabric and foundation of our lives.

The practice of giving thanks before partaking in a meal is a great analogy here. Giving mindful presence to our lives is a tool for stress reduction. Stress is the underlying cause of most if not all imbalances in the body. Stopping, being present, being thankful lowers your stress response which has positive effects on how you digest and absorb your food. Stress lowers stomach acid significantly. This affects the top end of the digestive chain of events so all that follows is compromised.  Some of the results are heartburn, indigestion, constipation which all can lead to allergies, lowered immunity, weight gain and more. What better time to deploy this tool then as we sit before our next meal.

So give thanks today and everyday and absorb all that this life has to offer, on and off the plate.

Champion Breakfast

With the Olympics now over, many of the medal winners will soon adorn the boxes of breakfast cereal. I find it strange the products that many of the athletes end up supporting. If they actually consumed the “breakfast of champions”, chances are pretty good they wouldn’t be number on in the world.

I find that breakfast is a challenge for many. Poor elimination and low stomach acid can leave some not wanting to eat anything or if they do eat something, feeling a bit squeamish (if this is you, you might want to see me) For others it is a matter of trading in the highly processed sugary boxed cereal for something wholesome and sustaining. It is so important to start your day with your blood sugar balanced otherwise you are spending your entire day playing catch up. This has direct effect on all your hormones in general.

One of the main rationalizations I hear from those struggling with breakfast is the time card. Morning schedules too hectic. Breakfast needs to be quick and convenient. I am sharing a recent breakfast of mine. At the most, it may have taken 7 minutes to put together  

My champion breakfast:

            whole grain millet topped with homemade maple strawberry preserves

            raw pecans

steamed broccoli and cauliflower

I am a big fan of whole grains to start your day. Its nutrient and fibre content are great for balancing blood sugar, sustaining energy and having a positive effect on mood.  I had soaked and cooked the millet before hand so all that was needed was a quick heat up in the toaster oven.  I topped it with some local strawberries I had sweetened with a little maple syrup. You can use any grain and fruit combo that suits your fancy.

It’s important to include some healthy fat in your first meal of the day. I chose pecans today but any nut or an egg or even avocado would do.

So you may be questioning the veggies as a side dish.  Not our normal breakfast but if you look to our neighbours around the world you may see many examples of this.  So, why not? Step outside your cereal box and choose nutrient dense foods over “supposed to” foods.  Steamed brassica family give a little morning love to your liver helping it better process reproductive and thyroid hormones. This makes them a great choice to start you day. I had previously steamed the broccoli and cauliflower, again saving time. 

So take some time to think about breakfast and be your own champion.

Simple tradition on a hot summer's day.

Nova Scotians, Maritmers, we are a sea people. I love this part of our collective character but my house, however, is about as far away from the ocean as you can get in this province. Granted that isn’t very far considering the tell tale salt residue left by the fog on my windows. So it is a farming heritage that flows through my veins; a people who worked the land not the sea. In this tradition the largest meal of the day was dinner time, noon.  Supper was a lighter and easier meal at the end of the day. I would argue this to be a better way to eat though our lives are no longer always organized to allow for this. It is at this time of year that I am reminded of simpler suppers. Growing up it was a given that as soon as the wax beans were ripe and ready to be picked - that was supper. Just a plate full of delicious, fresh harvest dripping in butter to feed the body and the soul. It is a tradition that I have continued. There is nothing more satisfying than a simple pleasure steeped in tradition.  My own beans are not quite ready yet but I have been enjoying the bounty from the farmers market. So the next time you can’t think of what to make on these glorious hot days, keep it simple. Make it tradition. For those who are unable to enjoy the pleasure of butter, try drizzling your beans with cold pressed olive oil and a pinch of celtic sea salt. Thinly sliced local garlic would be divine as well. Enjoy!

If you are going to have some pasta it better pack some punch!

Come on now you lazy leprechauns, time to green up your comfort food. It adds great flavour and turns what is a flour-based potentially fibre less and inflammatory meal into a nutrient dense delight.

Here are two ways:

First, regular tomato based sauce. If you are reaching for the jar, then we need to talk. Pasta sauce is easy and quick and freezes well so no need to buy prepared, processed, sugar loaded versions. I do use organic canned tomatoes, especially since my own tomato plants didn’t produce enough to make a teaspoon of sauce last year. Look for a brand with the least amount of sodium and with tomatoes as the only ingredient. So here it goes:

               1 16oz can of organic tomatoes, crushed or diced

               1 medium onion

               3-5 cloves of garlic

I put these in my food processor but if you don’t have one just dice up small.

Now when it comes to greens, you have choices here. I usually use spinach but have also used swiss chard but let your taste buds guide you. I will very often, especially when making for kids or fussy adults, put the greens in the food processor too but they can be added at any point in this recipe. A big handful per person.

I place all of the above in a sauce pot and add 1 tsp each of basil, oregano, and cayenne. I say this but the truth is, I never measure so go with your taste. A teaspoon of cayenne may be more than you can handle or you may want more! If I have the fresh version of these spices I use them, it adds so much more to the flavour.

This mixture can simmer on the stove until heated through and flavours combine. This is can be used as is on your favourite pasta choice, frozen for days ahead or ramped up with more nutrition! Makes a good pizza sauce too.

Next I take some ghee or stock in a frying pan and sauté up my choice of veggies. Peppers, zuccuni, asparagus, mushrooms, (you can insert greens here if you didn’t add them to be processed) or whatever vegetables suit your fancy.

Pour sauce and veggies over pasta and serve.

Finishing touches: dizzle pasta with some cold pressed olive oil or sprinkle chia or hemp seed over finished dish .

Note that there is no meat in this sauce. That is my preference when it comes to pasta. It could be added first at the sauté stage, cooked through before adding vegetables.

Second. My favourite pesto, arugula pesto. Makes a simple and delicious side dish.

In food processor or blender place a large bunch of arugula, garlic cloves, pine nuts and spin until finely chopped. Add in olive oil until proper consistency. Poor enough over hot pasta to coat and then sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan. YUM! This too can be spruced up with any kind of veggies if desired. The pesto will keep for a while in the fridge and also freezes well. Save the cheese for last minute though.