Just Relax, Man

Summer is short here in the Northeast.  It seems every year I have all weekends from June through August booked well before we even hit the solstice.  This means that summer can be relaxing, but it can also be rushed and overwhelming. On a really hot and sticky day (like today in Buffalo), just to eat your vegetables can be daunting (oh, the chopping, slicing, and chewing!).

If you are lucky enough to have air conditioning or not, being alone can not only make you feel cooler, but also calm the fires of the mind during a hectic work (or play) day.  We always talk and hear about the "little voice" inside our heads, but our heads (more specifically, our brains) can talk us into anything, whether is it positive or negative for us.  Our bodies, on the other hand, use their voice to warn us. They speak to us every day through aches and pains, rashes, and even broken bones.  Our bodies are the physical messengers for what is going on emotionally, energetically, and psychologically.  In solitude, a "non-meditation" such as the following will center you and bring awareness to possible causes of any negative feelings.

Quick, Calming Non-Meditation (Nonitation?)
Sit for ten minutes and do absolutely nothing. Look at your phone or watch periodically if you need to mark the minutes, but just hang out with yourself, in your body.  Sit inside your body, as opposed to in your head, that customized PC that keeps going and going.
Notice any part of you that feels off, different, sore, or is in some way asking for attention.  Try and make connections between it and other body parts, emotions, or behaviors.   If you want to keep going beyond ten minutes, be my guest.
Do this for a few days to discover which sensations recur, then use your brain to think about possible origins of the most bothersome.

Anything your discover can be useful in your healing and will definitely be positive for taking charge of how you feel.

For the Fun of Fat

It's fun to try new foods, especially when you're getting into different uses for a healthy and satisfying ingredient.  To help clarify options when avoiding food "aggravators" when necessary while using a Total Body Analysis remedy, I blogged about wheat and flour alternatives.  I highlighted coconut flour as being excellent in baked goods without the potential consequences of gluten and as having healthy fat as its energy source.   I regularly enjoy "good" fats, not only because they diversify my diet so that I'm not relying too much on grains and other carbohydrates all day, but also because they taste awesome, keep me feeling full (I have a mind that's constantly looking for an excuse to eat again), and are fun.  Fun, like dark chocolate topped with goat cheese for breakfast fun.  And as with most forms of "fun," sometimes I just don't know when to draw the line.

I was hungry after the kids went to bed last night and wanted something simple and guilt-free.  So I made a "baby cereal" out of plain coconut flour, water, and cinnamon.  With enough water, it went down like Gerber rice and filled me up 'til morning...noon...afternoon.  Something had gone wrong in the digestion-elimination process.  Nothing was moving out and wicked, painful gas bubbles erupted up my back and through my chest like in an unburped baby.  I then decided to research eating uncooked coconut flour (when I'd eaten the "cereal" I had no idea if it was digestible in that form or even safe to eat), and I found that coco flo is used "raw" to thicken smoothies and puddings.  One or two tablespoons are usually mixed in to create a more viscous concoction, but I straight up ate about 1/3 cup of flour.  So, as I sit waiting for some sign of eliminatory life in my gut (mercifully, the gas bubbles have ceased), I can only fantasize that the umpteen grams of insoluble fiber I so cavalierly consumed are slowly sweeping out all the rotting remnants of high school chicken finger subs and raw cookie dough from my intestinal tract.

On that note, I will not provide you with a recipe for coconut flour, but rather one using another favorite form of plant-derived fat:  Coconut cream.  No one in my house had the opportunity to overindulge in this creation since I had (a little selfishly) rationed it out for the kids and myself (breakfast and snack!) and left the rest for my husband.  I didn't expect Mike to more than tolerate the cheesecake because of his picky nature, but I will quote him here:  "That cheesecake was awesome.  Incredible, Mojo."

"Awesome & Incredible" No Bake Cheesecake

  (grain and gluten free)

Recipe by Maureen Hann

For the crust:
2 1/4 cups almond meal

1/2 cup sugar (or ground sucanat or honey)
1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter

Pulse dry ingredients in food processor until combined.  Add oil and pulse until well mixed. 
Press mixture into a 9-inch tart or springform pan.  Chill or freeze until set.

For the filling:

8 oz. cultured organic cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup honey (raw, if you have it)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coconut cream

   (Refrigerate a can of full fat coconut milk to separate cream from water.  Flip can over and remove bottom.  Pour off water and reserve for another use. What you have left is the coconut cream.)

Beat cream cheese, honey and vanilla.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, whip cold coconut cream until light and whipped cream-y.  Fold coconut cream into cream cheese mixture.  Pour filling into crust and refrigerate at least three hours. Done!

Do You Do Dairy?

When my daughter was 14 months old, she had her first milkshake.  It wasn't actually her own, but her fair share of her father's "home-made," double-thick chocolate peanut butter  shake at little soda shop in Cape Cod.  While some of you might be appalled that a nutrition-conscious mom would feed her barely-toddling little one a commercial dairy and white sugar frappe, others ask, "Why'd she wait so long?  Milkshakes are a God-given American right!"  Still others will identify when I say that I felt both ways about my first child's initial exposure to the joys (and potential consequences) of going out for shakes. 

When we enjoy a conventional milkshake we experience the guilty pleasure of instant gratification, a Zen-like rush of creamy flavor and thick, satisfying sweetness.  However, just as with all other junk food, when we slurp on that straw we're putting lots of calories carrying very little nutrition into our bodies.  For me, the occasional dietary digression prevents me from feeling deprived and actually helps motivate my healthy eating.  But we have to be selective about splurging; since you're reading this post, you probably don't use a milkshake as a daily source of calories - why would you since you're privy to multiple, more nutritious options?

Do you use milk (or milk products) as a source of nutrition? What kind? (Don't say chocolate) Why?

We've been taught to expect that cow's milk and its products can deliver us three important nutritional components:  Calcium, vitamin D3, and protein.  These nutrients, along with any antibiotics, hormones, and/or pesticides the cows were exposed to, are present in fresh, raw milk.  The milk we buy in stores has been pasteurized and homogenized.  This processing keeps the calories, but alters the milk so that the very nutrients we need (the reason we're drinking it) become indigestible and unusable in our bodies. Pasteurization also kills all of the good bacteria and enzymes that would help us digest the milk.  Many people who have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant can consume raw milk and its products without problems.  Products like yogurt and cottage cheese (anything made from pasteurized milk) suffer as well.  Due to pasteurization's corruption of milk's nutrients, commercial milk is fortified with vitamins A and D2.  However, vitamin D3 (the nutrient we get from sunlight) is what we need in order to absorb calcium.  We've also been conditioned to avoid milk fat, but the fat is the vehicle for milk's vitamins and minerals.

So:

Fresh (raw) milk = Milk fat - good fat calories, calcium, vitamin D3 (to absorb calcium)

                            Protein - casein and whey

                            Sugar - lactose

                            Enzymes like lactase to break down lactose                           
                            Good bacteria to aid digestion

We need to unlock energy from our food to survive, but we might not give much thought to how our bodies access that energy.  We eat, we poop, we move on.  Most of us are happy just to poop once a day, and we only fret when our morning potty routine is put off by stress, illness, or indigestion.

Digestion: A substance goes into our mouth, is broken down in our stomach and intestines, and comes out as poop without causing us distress.

Assimilation or absorption:  A substance's nutrients (made available through digestion) are carried to and used by our organs. 

Now ask yourself again if you use milk as a source of nutrition, keeping in mind:

1) If you can't digest it, you can't absorb it. 

2) Just because you can chew, swallow, and poop out the remains of a substance (digest), doesn't mean you've absorbed any nutrients (I am debating printing this post as a word-find activity for my four and five year old to see who can count all the times I've written "poop").

My children and husband, like many westerners, love cow's milk by the glass and in cereal.  We're lucky enough to have a raw milk cooperative program at a farm in the vicinity where we get fresh organic milk each week.  If raw milk is not a choice for your family, the next best dairy option for nutrition and digestibility is organic vat pasteurized milk (available at select establishments like Five Points Bakery in Buffalo). 

If you mainly use milk as a vehicle for your smoothie, then coconut milk is a great choice.  It contains little phytic acid (i.e. it doesn't prevent you from assimilating nutrients) and has some good calories from the fat.  Steer clear of those with carrageenan, which can cause problems in your gut after a while.  Almond milk is a second choice because it is mostly water and contains phytic acid (unless it's made from sprouted almonds), and many almond milks contain additives like carrageenan.  A coconut or almond milk smoothie with kale or spinach and a drop of cod liver oil will give you calcium and the D3 you need to absorb it.

I know that many of us rely on Greek yogurt for an easy, protein rich breakfast or snack, but it carries the same inabsorbability problems as pasteurized milk.  Yogurt does contain live cultures (probiotics) to aid in digestion, but we still can't break down the protein that has been compromised in pasteurization.  Greek yogurt can be really satisfying (it takes a long time to get through your system), and some brands taste so creamy, they're reminiscent of a milkshake, but we're sacrificing the very nutrition for which we thought we were choosing the yogurt to begin with.  There are various raw, sprouted-grain protein powders on the market that are highly absorbable, and mix easily into your liquid of choice (for about $1 a serving).  I mix up what I think I'll need for the week and leave it in the fridge to have handy after a run.

Just as those who have problems with wheat, individuals who have negative symptoms from dairy can use Total Body Analysis to pinpoint and antidote the cause of the intolerance or allergy, rather than eliminating the aggravating food group and the inconveniences that arise with such avoidance.

Please leave a comment if I've left anything out or you'd like further explanation.  I've struggled with all of the research and data to make this post as straightforward and unconfusing as possible. Let me know if I've done my job!

Easy Sprouted Flour Pancakes!

This morning, March 30, my kids and I woke up to a wintry wonderland at my parents' lake house. Outside, instead of calm water with a backdrop of upstate New York hills, there was a blanket of white as far as the eye could see.  In response to the dismally unseasonal environment my son said, "I need pancakes for breakfast."  And so this recipe was born from the last of my bag of sprouted wheat flour (yes, I travel with baking supplies).

Click here for my post about wheat and a sprouted flour chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Sprouted Wheat Pancakes

     Recipe by Maureen Hann

Makes about 12 pancakes

1 cup sprouted wheat flour

1/3 cup sucanat, ground (or sugar of choice)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup milk of choice plus 1/2 tbls. vinegar

1 egg

1 1/2 tbls. melted butter or coconut oil

  

Preheat griddle.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk milk mixture, egg, and melted butter or oil.  Pour wet mix into dry ingredients and stir until combined (add a bit of water to thin, if necessary). Cook on a greased griddle until golden on both sides.  

The Talk

This is another post about food.

I was eleven and in the bathroom, doing whatever eleven-year-old girls in the late '80s did (probably something involving a curling iron).  I know I wasn't texting or socializing via media. Maybe I was stealing a few private moments on the cordless phone, but what I did not want to hear was an innocent knock on the door followed by my mother's voice asking:  "Can we talk?"  I'll skip the awkward details of my "coming of age" conversation, but I will tell you it was a chat I did not want to have.  I did not want to think about why my body was changing or how my life would be different as a result, and I certainly couldn't process that everything was evolving, and that I had to evolve and adapt as well.

So, knock knock!  Can we talk?  Don't lock the door and turn on the shower - this is about food, remember?

As we go through life, we need nourishment to grow and maintain our bodily functions.  Our diet is a source of energy and nutrients necessary for daily life, but it can also be a cause physical and emotional complaints.  Total Body Analysis is all about shedding toxic layers to allow healing.  Some toxins we're born with and some we acquire over time from stressful situations, germs, the environment, and (you guessed it) food.   Processed, hybridized and pesticide-ridden items bring energetic frequencies into our systems that are not compatible with healthy human life.  Food can play another role in the hurting-versus-healing dichotomy:  Highly nutritive "healthy" whole foods can often be what I call "aggravators" - catalysts for disagreeable and sometimes life-threatening symptoms we experience and often try to treat with medication and/or elimination or "special" diets.  If a client is allergic to soy, for example, soy is an aggravator for her.  TBA allows us to antidote why she gets hives when she eats tofu, to address the root cause of her reaction to the soy, and when her body is ready, to detoxify (get rid of) the real problem.

In the modern world there are a variety of foods that can be aggravating as well as toxic to our systems. Over time, human beings have evolved and adapted to our environment, but more recently, we have been changing the food we grow and how it's propagated to feed our explosive population.  The result is crops that are easier to grow, harvest, and distribute, but are vastly different from what the human body has come to recognize as nourishment.  Although this hybridization and modification applies to myriad modern day crops, I am going to focus on the one most prevalent in many of our lives:  Wheat. 

Before we get into it about the glutenous grain, let it be known that I loooove baked goods.  Bakeries are one of the first (if not the first) things I check out in a new city, and our local cooperative bakery/café is one of my favorite places in the world.  I love the radiant heat of the ovens, the comfort of a cup of coffee and a soft, handmade breakfast treat, and the unmistakably appealing scent of toasty, powdery wheat alchemizing into... anything, really.

Wheat can be the culprit for a variety of ailments from digestive gas to "brain cloud" to muscle soreness. It may also not be simply that you eat wheat, but the kind of wheat, how it's been processed, and the amount in your diet.  Even if you are not having problems with wheat (or simply haven't noticed), for nutritional reasons alone, it is a good idea to consider replacing it (even whole grain sandwich bread for the kids) with a variety I've listed below.

Spelt!  Spelt is one of my favorite baking grains.  Its flour looks, feels, and smells like wheat, except it retains its ancient grain form - it hasn't yet been hybridized, its gluten is weak and can be much more easily digested, and many gluten sensitive individuals can easily tolerate it.  When baking bread, spelt can be hard to work with because its gluten won't give the structure of that of wheat flour.  But in muffins, cakes, and some cookies, spelt will fool even the most wheat-centric eater.  The only drawback is that in order to "unlock" all of its nutrients, spelt, like wheat flour and other grains, needs to be soaked or soured. Don't worry if you're not ready to climb down the rabbit hole of soaking and using sourdough starters, we can get to those in later posts.

As far as convenience and nutritional back for your buck, sprouted flour wins.  Sprouts=Vegetables.  Sprouted wheat or spelt = vegetable to your digestive system.  Sprouting the grains before grinding them into flour also reduces gluten and causes nutritive changes in the grain that produce digestive aids. No soaking or souring required here. You can purchase sprouted grain bread (and other sprouted goods) frozen in most large grocery stores.

If you use a lot of sprouted flour, buy it in bulk online (it is shelf stable for six months).  Or consider buying freshly milled spelt flour from a local farm or bakery and storing it in the fridge or freezer to preserve precious nutrients and prohibit rancidity.  Sprouted flour absorbs more moisture than unsprouted, so be careful in substituting in in recipes.  There are many great sprouted flour recipes in the internet.  I've included my own chocolate chip cookie recipe below. 

Coconut flour is a gluten-free "flour" made simply from the fruit of the coconut.  It's main source of calories is medium-chain fatty acids, which give quick and lasting energy without triggering insulin reaction like carbohydrate calories do. That means you won't crash after a couple of coconut flour scones for brekkie.  It's also high in fiber for that fully satisfied feeling after a meal.  Coco-flo can be found at most supermarkets, but cannot be directly substituted for regular flour; it needs lots of liquid and egg or a flax slurry to hold it together for baking.  Coconut flour does not have to soak or sour to get its nutritional benefits.  Like sprouted wheat or sprouted spelt flour, it can be used right out of the bag.  Don't be concerned about its price, because it absorbs so much liquid, you'll use at most one-third of the amount of wheat flour you'd normally need.

I employ all of the aforementioned flours and techniques, but, as I said, I loooove baked goods and this lends variety to my repertoire.

Here is a recap list of options for making a slow shift away from everyday "junk food" wheat toward a "cleaner" burning fuel for your metabolic fire:

Spelt Flour = Easiest to sub for wheat pastry flour (whole spelt for whole wheat, "white" spelt for all purpose or white pastry flour).

Can be soaked our soured for optimal digestion and nutrient assimilation.

Sprouted wheat or sprouted spelt flour = Digestible and nutritious right out of the bag.  Be careful subbing for regular flour as sprouted absorbs more moisture.

Coconut Flour = Gluten free.  Great (fat) energy source and can be used right out of the bag as well.

Enjoy these easy, sprouted flour muffins as a guilt-free and highly nutritious breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Sprouted Flour Muffins

  Adapted from Arrowhead Mills recipe

1 3/4 cup sprouted wheat or spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil

1 cup milk of choice with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

1/2 cup maple syrup or sugar of choice

2 eggs

1-2 cups chocolate chips, nuts, or other addition

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.  Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk wet ingredients.  Stir wet into dry until combined and then add chips.  Bake 15 minutes and let cool until just warm.

Mindfulness Is Only the Half of It

This post is a follow up to my previous installment entitled New Year, So What?  In that post I discussed the value of choosing change and how Well Vibrations helps your body allow the transformation by identifying energy blockages and negative beliefs.  Today I am writing to stress the importance of clearing the energy in which lay our negative subconscious beliefs in order to enable change in our attitudes, health, and overall abilities to act positively.  Only then can we experience the follow through of positive change:  Our true selves reaching toward and achieving our goals and dreams.
I recently read Susan Albers' "Mindful Eating Pledge."  It caught my attention because of my own desire to think more about what, when, why, and how I am eating to facilitate nutritional balance and overall digestion and assimilation.
Albers advises (source):

1. Eat mindfully: I will be more aware of each bite.
2. Pace, not race: I will eat slowly and with intention.
3. When I eat, just eat: I will eat without distraction.
4. Calm without calories: I will find true comfort and soothing without food.
5. Eat less, nourish more: I will eat foods that nurture my body.

These recommendations make perfect sense; they are practical and each is simple enough to parse out and attempt to master systematically rather than simultaneously.  The only hitch is actually living them, day after day, bite after bite, and not worrying when we might give in to the next marshmallow craving or sweet potato chip binge.  That worry and temptation don't come from mental weakness or a desire to be unhealthy. They stem from inner, unconscious beliefs that we have assimilated over time from our families and schools, the media, and our own choices.  We don't and can't choose what negative energy our unconscious allows to form any belief, be it positive: "I am a fit and active individual" or negative:  "I will never enjoy exercise or healthy foods."
Those of us who have difficulty taking this pledge and following through on it (or any other positive life change) need to rid ourselves of the energetic blocks that are the root cause of our, in this case, inability to separate food from emotion and eat for the purpose of nourishing our bodies.
At Well Vibrations, I have created a protocol for clearing negative beliefs in the order of which our bodies and minds are ready so that positive changes occur with almost no effort from the client and results appear in all aspects of life.  Stop worrying and start achieving; it's all within you.