Discovering A Vegetable Brush

 

The more I learn about food and cooking the more I like trying new kitchen gadgets.  Even though some kitchen gadgets have been on the market for years many are new to my kitchen.  I had heard about the virtues of a vegetable brush. It cleans off the skins of veggies like carrots or potatoes so I can keep the skins of veggies on and cook them.  I love the idea being able to keep the skin on because it contains phytonutrients and fiber.  The first time I used a vegetable brush on some red potatoes I saw how easy it was to get the dirt and grime off potatoes.  It makes cleaning my vegetables so easy.  Who would have thought such a small little gadget would make my cooking so much easier ?

How Yams and Sweet Potatoes Got Confused

One question people ask me all the time is what is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes.  I think this is a great question too so I did a little research and this is what I came up with as an answer for you. 

The similarity is that they are both tubers or fleshy root but they are not related at all.  The confusion apparently started during slavery times when there were two main varieties of sweet potatoes. In order to differentiate between the two types slaves started calling the softer type “yams” because they were the most similar to yams found in Africa.  The mis-labeling has continued to today.  Here are some basic differences. 

Yams are primarily grown in tropical climates predominantly in South America, Africa, and the Caribbean. Scientifically, Yams are considered monocot plants that come from one seed leaf and are part of the Dioscoreaceae or yam family.  Yams are starchier than sweet potatoes so they appear to have a sweeter taste.  They are also drier than sweet potatoes.  Yams have a brown or black skin on the outside and inside have purple, red or off-white. 

Sweet potatoes are dicots. They come from two seed leaves and are part of the Convolvulacea or morning glory family.  Sweet potatoes are elongated with ends that come to a point.  The outer skin can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown in color.  The inside flesh can also range from white to yellow, orange, orange-red or purple in color.  The most common colors are usually orange or creamy white.  Sweet potatoes have large amounts of beta- carotene.  Beta carotene is the pre-cursor to vitamin A which is important for the repair of all cells in the body.  Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants which protect cells from being damaged.  Sweet potatoes have anti-inflammatory properties and help to reduce chemicals that cause inflammation in the body.  Even though sweet potatoes are starchy they have been shown to help balance blood sugar levels!  They help release a protein that helps with insulin release.  They are a good source of fiber along with the vitamins and nutrients.

A Review for Daelicious! Recipes for vibrant living

Today I received an email with a lovely review of my book by Cara Nitz.  I'm so excited to hear that Cara found the book helpful and supportive to creating a healthy food lifestyle.  Click on the link below to read it. 

http://yourworldnatural.blogspot.com/2011/03/daelicious-cookbook-review.html

The Poached Egg – A Love Story

Foods have many types of textures and sometimes the texture of a food causes people to have difficulty eating it.  I am fortunate I don’t seem to have a problem with textures. Avocado, mussels, tofu-- bring them on. I love them all.  The one food that seemed to stop me in my tracks – poached eggs!  The runniness of the yolk just seemed too much for me so I would pass on them.  Several years ago one of my close friends, who happened to be my naturopathic and oriental medicine doctor, Dr. Joanne Wu, (practicing in Takoma Park, MD) recommended that I eat poached eggs to nourish my yin energy.  When she shared this with me, I thought, I’m not going to be able to eat runny eggs!  I put Dr. Wu’s suggestion out of my mind.  A year ago I worked as a waitress for a few months and we served poached eggs every weekend.  I decided take advantage of this environment to see if I could push my way past the poached egg situation.  The key for me was having the chefs prepare may favorite brunch specials with hard poached eggs on top.  Over time I got to be able to have soft poached eggs – not runny but semi-solid.  The final step in my transition was learning to make them at home.  Poached eggs are so fast and easy.  I serve them over vegetables and have a great combination of protein and veggies.  I shared my process with Dr. Wu and she is so proud of me for figuring out how to become comfortable eating my yin nourishing foods. 

Picture : poached egg over brown rice bread and sauteed zucchini and red bell peppers - One of my favorite breakfast options.

Our Heart Teaches By Example

For the last 7 years I have taught Anatomy and Physiology to nursing student as an adjunct professor.   Interestingly we are studying the chapter on the heart during heart health month.  I have been thinking about the exquisiteness of the heart as a muscle and as a metaphor of how to live our lives. The main function of the heart is to act as an engine or a pump that allows the rest of our body to perform it’s functions.  Our hearts are is the only muscle in our bodies that never rests - it is always working for our good to stay alive.  As an engine it pumps out 4-5 liters of blood to the entire body every minute (that’s two 2-liter sodas worth of blood every minute).  When we choose to exercise it can be five times that amount in one minute’s time.  Its ability to be flexible as the environment changes is amazing.  Our heart provides nourishment to itself first before supplying blood to any other part of the body.  It recognizes without self-care and nourishment it will not be able to keep all the other parts operational.  When our heart’s arteries become blocked it creates new ones to continue to feed the heart.  It has the live-saving ability to change and adapt to correct a dangerous situation.  It has an intricate communication system so that muscle cells can work as a collective to pump at the same time.  It understands the importance of collective work and communication to get a task accomplished with split-second accuracy. The heart regulates itself but can be influenced by positive outside factors from other body systems.  It takes new input to change direction for the good quickly.  The heart does all of this yet it is only the size of our human fist.

Why do I share all this about the heart?  I believe that heart health begin with awareness of how fantastic our heart muscle truly is and how it has so many qualities that we as humans find important.  I think if we can have an appreciation for what our heart does for us perhaps we will treat it better. Perhaps when we get a diagnosis of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or coronary artery disease we might really consider listening to our health practitioner’s advise about how to take better care of our hearts.  Perhaps we will eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains every day. Perhaps we will become willing to exercise 30 minutes 5 times per week.  Perhaps we will manage our stress to reduce extra burdens for our hearts.   Perhaps we will help to extend the life of our heart through changing our behaviors that cause damage to our hearts.  Perhaps with this new knowledge of how exquisite our heart is we can change the statistics that 1 in 2 women will die of heart disease. 

I believe our hearts have a lot to teach us about how to love ourselves better.  Are you willing to listen?

One of my Favorite Sweet Treat Spots in DC

Picture of Quince Fruit

One night a few weeks ago, I was dropping one of my girlfriends off after a dinner party when we approached one of my favorite “frozen” treat shops – Pitango Gelato!  I happened to see a coveted parking space in front of the store.  I saw it as a sign from the universe for me to share this treat with my friend.  I asked if she was up for a heavenly dessert made with high quality ingredients. She was all for it!   I know she, like me, appreciates dairy-free options and all the sorbets are dairy-free which is a bonus to the luscious flavors like hazelnut, mojito and spicy chocolate sorbet.   One of my favorite things about the shop is the customer service they provide as well.  The sorbet scoopers encourage you to try any and every flavor to pick your favorites.  We both got the quince, a pear-shaped fruit that tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear.  She loved the sorbet so much she even called to tell me how great it was the next day.

I have to be honest: Pitango gelatos and desserts are my favorite creamy, lovely, decadent treat!  The first time I ever tasted it was in Baltimore with one of my friends, Dr. Lisa Gengo, who was visiting from her practice in Connecticut.  We tried every flavor in the store and I picked chocolate and mojito and it was a wonderful culinary experience.  What is even better is that Pitango is committed to using organic and local, high quality ingredients.  I often recommend to patients to stop using dairy products to help improve certain conditions.  The dairy-free sorbets are a wonderful treat for them.  I also avoid dairy as much as possible so that is one of the first reasons I wanted to try their products.  I thought the gelato and sorbets were so good I called all my foodie friends and wanted to plan a trip back to Baltimore to get more of their frozen treats.  To my delight my friends told me there were stores in Washington DC and Virginia.  In the last 2 years I have brought all of my friends and co-workers to this wonderful shop and they all love it too. 

When I want a sweet treat I go to Pitango because if I’m going to have a something sweet it has to have high quality ingredients.

Live Vibrantly,

Dr. Dae

Naturopathic Medicine is moving Close to Licensure in MD and you can help!

The Maryland Association of Naturopathic Physician is requesting your support for licensure of naturopathic physicians in the upcoming Maryland legislative hearings:

On March 8^th and 9^th the Maryland House and Senate will hold hearings on granting licensure to naturopathic physicians. 

This licensure will provide:

·      Protection for the public.  Board-certified naturopaths who have attended accredited schools will be licensed; people who have a ‘degree’ from the internet or through the mail will not be licensed.

·      The ability for licensed naturopaths to order lab tests and imaging, and to conduct physical exams as needed.

·      A possible first step to insurance coverage for naturopathic care.

Please copy and letters below into a word document to let the state legislature know you support naturopathic licensure. 

·      The letter is more effective if you fill in your own story about naturopathic medicine.

·      Please sign & print your name, provide your city or town, and give the date.

·      BY MARCH 4^TH: please return the form to your favorite naturopathic physician OR you can fax it directly to: 410-773-9432. (This is the fax for Emily Telfair, ND, who is the vice president of the Maryland Association of Naturopathic Physicians.)

THANK YOU so much for your support!  

LETTER FOR MARYLAND STATE HOUSE


 

Health and Government Operations Committee

Hearing on HB 1100 - Health Occupations – State Board of Naturopathic Medicine

March 8, 2011

POSITION: SUPPORT HB 1100

Chairman Hammen and Members of the Committee:

I ask for your support in licensing naturopathic physicians in Maryland. While our state searches for solutions to prevent the growing rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, naturopathic physicians can meet the need for a cost-effective and patient-focused approach to health care. Using diet and lifestyle change as the basis of primary care, naturopathic physicians empower patients to restore health and prevent disease.

Naturopathic physicians are experts in the safe and appropriate use of natural-based therapies. As the popularity and use of supplements and herbal remedies grows, licensure for naturopathic physicians will ensure that citizens of Maryland will have access to qualified health-care practitioners to monitor for drug-herb interactions or safe dosages of nutritional supplements.

Licensure will also ensure that naturopathic doctors in Maryland will be able to practice within the full scope of their training offering me access to this cost-effective approach to primary health care.

I urge this committee to give HB 1100 a Favorable Report.

Sincerely,

________________________________________

Signature

________________________________________

Printed Name

City / Town: ___________________________

Date: ___________________________________

LETTER FOR MARYLAND STATE SENATE

Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee

Hearing on SB 560 - Health Occupations – State Board of Naturopathic Medicine

March 9, 2011

POSITION: SUPPORT SB 560

Chairman Carter Conway and Members of the Committee:

I ask for your support in licensing naturopathic physicians in Maryland. While our state searches for solutions to prevent the growing rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, naturopathic physicians can meet the need for a cost-effective and patient-focused approach to health care. Using diet and lifestyle change as the basis of primary care, naturopathic physicians empower patients to restore health and prevent disease.

Naturopathic physicians are experts in the safe and appropriate use of natural-based therapies. As the popularity and use of supplements and herbal remedies grows, licensure for naturopathic physicians will ensure that citizens of Maryland will have access to qualified health-care practitioners to monitor for drug-herb interactions or safe dosages of nutritional supplements.

Licensure will also ensure that naturopathic doctors in Maryland will be able to practice within the full scope of their training offering me access to this cost-effective approach to primary health care.

I urge this committee to give SB560 a Favorable Report.

Sincerely,

________________________________________

[Signature]

________________________________________

Printed Name

City / Town: ___________________________

Date: ___________________________________

 

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

I love to cook! One of my favorite inspirations for creating new recipes is making

food for and with my friends. It is one of the ways I show my love for them to

nourish them. Here is an example of how I create an recipe. I was having brunch

with a dear friend and he asked me if I had a recipe to make butternut squash soup.

I didn’t at the time but I had created an oven-roasted butternut squash recipe for

another friend of my a couple months before. A few days later I decided to make

soup to take to a friend’s house and used the roasted butternut squash recipe as

the base for a yummy creamy butternut soup recipe. I taste tested this recipe with

another dear friend and a fellow naturopathic doctor, Deirdre Orceyre, and it was a hit.  It is simple recipe and a nice complement to meal. Here it is. Enjoy!

Oh! By the way, I did send the recipe to my friend too. After all, he was the one that

got my juices simmering to create the soup in the first place! I hope it nourishes you

too.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

6 cups of  butternut squash peeled and diced ( approximately 1 butternut squash)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon of sea salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

4 cup of vegetable broth

½ teaspoon of maple syrup

½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of coriander

½ teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl toss the squash, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper, nutmeg until well coated.  Place the squash on parchment paper and bake for 40-50 minutes until the squash is tender.  Put butternut squash in the blender along with the vegetable broth, maple syrup, cinnamon, coriander, ginger and lemon juice.  Puree for 2 minutes.   Pour the pureed soup into a soup pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Turn off heat and serve.

Food Facts on butternut squash:

The key healing quality for butternut squash and winter squash in general is its

antioxidant qualities. The beautiful orange color lets us know that there is plenty

of beta carotene, which is the pre-cursor to Vitamin A, which is important for cell

healing. There have been studies that show these squashes have anti-inflammatory,

insulin-regulating properties for diabetes as well.

Live Vibrantly,

Dr. Dae

Dr. Dae and Chef Rebecca – Great Food Happens When Healthy Foodies Collide – Catherine’s Magic Green Tea Rice

Brown rice is one of the first alternatives to white rice recommend to my patients.  It takes a little longer to cook brown rice because of its fiber content.   Fiber is one of the benefits of whole grain, making it a healthier alternative to white rice.  Even though I have been preparing brown rice for years, I have to admit it doesn’t turn out very fluffy.  This is disappointing because in preparing a wonderful meal for friends and family my brown rice comes out sticky; stuck to the pot and spoon.  I have found the perfect solution for my sticky brown rice!  Rebecca Katz’s recipe, Catherine’s Magic Green Tea Rice found on page 135 of her cookbook, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. I love this recipe because it is so incredibly easy and your brown rice will come out fluffy rice every time.  This is a healthy twist to preparing brown rice; you use green tea and vegetable broth instead of water.  The green tea is a brilliant way to add antioxidants to brown rice.  You can cook as much as you like and store the leftovers in the freezer, to use later in the week with other meals.  Try this recipe for baked brown rice and you may never go back to cooking rice on the stove!

Yoga As a Lifetime Practice

When the mind and the heart are stretched together in expanding self awareness, I assure you, there is instantaneous self transcendence and, therefore, limitless freedom -  SHRI SWAMI NIRMALANANDA Jivamukti

I love the practice of Yoga! I have been consistently practicing for 12 years.  I love everything about yoga – the breathing, the stretching, the chanting, the lessons of life that are shared by the instructor.  Yoga is a way of being not just a form of exercise.  The definition from wordnetweb.princeton.edu is A Hindu discipline aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility that is achieved through the three paths of actions (exercise) and knowledge and devotion.  I came to yoga originally from practicing it with my mom as a child.  I don’t remember much of it then because I was so young.  In fact the only pose I remember is the Lion. It is designed to help clear your sinuses, so whenever we were sick my mom would tell us to get on the floor and launch up like a lion and roar to clear our sinuses.  At the time I thought she made up the pose just being silly when we didn’t feel well. 

Now I know it was yoga she was teaching us to help us heal ourselves.  The next time I came to yoga was during naturopathic medical school. I started taking yoga because it was the “naturopathic thing to do”.  I didn’t enjoy my experience at all.  The class I went to was boring and hard.  I didn’t ever think I would like yoga.  Finally I had the experience of going to a Jivamukti class, a specific form of yoga practice.  Jivamukti classes start with breathing and chanting, then the instructor presents a thought for the day for us to consider as we are practicing the yoga asanas (poses) during the class. Finally we chant again to close our practice for that day.  This form of yoga completely spoke to me.  I love the physical challenge of this form that made me sweat after 90 minutes.  I love the peace of the chanting at the beginning and end of class.  I have deep appreciation of the thought about how to live the life in a loving peaceful way.  I love the reminder to breathe that happens constantly during class.  All of these components create peace and health for my mind and body. 

I realize that when I don’t practice yoga I feel different.  I miss it. It sustains me.  I find I’m not as compassionate, sure of myself or as calm.  I feel less flexible mentally and physically.  It is a practice that I have to do to remain balanced and open to any situation that shows up in my life.  I love going to class but when I can’t I open up my mat in my living room and practice at home.  It is a gift to be able to practice anywhere!

NOTE - There are many forms of yoga and different forms speak to different people.  If you are not familiar with yoga and want to try it, I recommend you try many different forms until you find the one that speaks to you.  When you do you will understand the joy it brings me too!

 

Dr. Dae and Chef Rebecca – Great Food Happens When Healthy Foodies Collide

Rebecca Katz is one of my favorite chefs, who happens to also be a friend.  Rebecca is the award winning author of two of my all time favorite books One Bite at a Time and The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. I love to prepare food out of her books.  Several months ago Rebecca contacted me and asked me to work with her on a special project she called Project Yum.  Of course I jumped at the chance to work with her.  It required me to cook several recipes out of Rebecca’s book and I just loved getting to taste and try so many new recipes!  As a result I started taking pictures  (and some video) of the food I prepared from her book. 

This is the first of several blogs that I will title Dr. Dae and Chef Rebecca – Great Food Happens When Healthy Foodies Collide.  It is my spin-off of the movie Julie and Julia but all the recipes are using Whole Foods and are designed to create yum in the taste buds and health in your body.  In these special posts I will share the recipes that cooked from her books.  I decided on this just because I don’t have many good recipes for cauliflower and I wanted to get some new ideas for the future.

Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, a very healthy family including collard greens, broccoli, kale and cabbage.  Cauliflower has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.  Which make a wonderful addition to almost any type of diet. 

Today’s dish is actually 2 recipes out of Rebecca’s book.  The soup is Curry Cauliflower Soup Page 67 and the dollop of yum on the top is Apricot Pear Chutney page 175 from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen.

A Morning Walk Turns Into So Much More

I am a morning person by nature so whenever I go to visit friends or family I have created a morning ritual to get up early before people wake up and to walk around the neighborhood.  It is wonderful way to connect with myself while satisfying my curiosity about my new surroundings.  On this morning I am visiting family in Phoenix and they have moved to a new home since I last visited.  This home is near the foothills of Camelback Mountain. Today I decide to explore the mountain and see what life looks like from the top.  I stroll out of the neighborhood and up to the base of the mountain.  I notice the gravel path and head up it.  As a get about half way up the mountain I start to realize that I can only see the path about 15-20 feet ahead of me as the path is dipping down and around the contours of the mountains. The thought hits me that this path is not so different than my life in general and as a business owner in particular. What I mean by that is that even when I plan for things I’m never really sure what is coming up in front of me.  As a small business owner I have had to learn that there are always unexpected miracles and obstacles ahead and I just have to take the path in front of me and be ready for what comes. I just have to trust that taking one step at a time I will get to my destination.

So I keep walking and I see as I get around the turn that now the path is starting to look overgrown and even more difficult to follow.  So I start looking more closely for signs of where to place my feet.  I realize that every time I look down I find a place to put my foot. Once I have become surefooted with one foot I find the place to put my next foot. This very simple exercise fills me with extreme appreciation and gratitude knowing that there is always somewhere to plant my feet – a path is always being created for me. I see this great metaphor for my life - if I just take one step and trust that I’m headed in the right direction then I will see the next step show itself immediately.

I am basking in this wonderful discovery continuing up the hill until suddenly I see no clear path.   Oh no! I just found this happy moment and now I’m being challenged again. A totally new decision - do I turn around and go back or step off the path and create my own way? I’m stumped and starting to feel momentarily disappointed and then I look out and see the view from the mountainside.  It is lovely and I just breathe and relax exactly where I am.   

I look up the mountain and the way up looks a little dangerous. I pause momentarily and decide to continue up the mountain.  After all, I am a risk taker, so I push up to three quarters to the top.  At this point I don’t feel dressed appropriately to continue. I stop and look down again at the view - even more beautiful.  I just rest, taking deep breaths, and take in the sights. I decide I have reached my limit for today and decide to descend.

On my next visit I will wear better hiking gear and be able to get to the summit, no problem.  I take the triumph and lesson for the day and carefully find my way back to the path and back to my family’s home. Besides, I’ve worked up a an appetite and it’s time to make breakfast.

 Living Vibrantly,

Dr. Dae

Sweet Sauteed Kale Video and Recipe by Dr. Dae

Early in my practice I realized that many of my patients didn't know how to prepare green leafy vegetables. I actually found out many of my patient had not even tasted different types of green leafy vegetables!  So I when I started doing cooking demonstrations I often chose different green leafy vegetables to teach people how easy it can be to prepare them.  One of my favorite green leafy veggies to prepare is kale.  It is quick easy and tastes great. Kale is part of the cruciferous vegetable family along with its cousins broccoli, cabbage, collards and Brussel sprouts, just to name a few in the family.  Kale has been shown to have antioxidant and anti inflammatory phytochemicals so it is great for anyone having cardiovascular disease, skin diseases, blood sugar problems, or stressful lifestyles.  Kale has also been studied for it's anti-cancer properties as well because of kale's number of antioxidant phytochemicals. Kale has been shown to have cholesterol lowering benefits that are highest when kale is steamed.

Kale has a high amount of Vitamin A, C and K.  It it also a good source of Calcium. Kale's growing season is from the middle of winter to the beginning of spring.  It can be found almost year around in local grocery stores.

You can find this recipe in my book Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living Sweet Sauteed Kale page 67.

Accidently Teaching Health

I have been living with my Grammy for the last 2 years to allow her to be able to continue to live in her home instead of going to a nursing home.  In the last 6 months her health has changed and we now have to have nursing support around the clock.  We have been fortunate to have the same people helping us since June.  Many of these nurses had been friends because in essence we have been living together for the last 6 months.  As I result, the nurses have smelled and tasted my food, gotten food from my garden, talked with me about everything from exercise to relationship issues.  It is part of everyday conversation, the conversations you would have in your home.

In the beginning of December one of the nurse left to go to on vacation for 3 weeks.  On her last day before vacation she left me a Christmas card.  I read it after she left and it was so touching.  She simply said to me thank you for teaching me and my family how to eat!  I had NO idea that all the conversations about food, sharing my herbs in my garden, and having her try many of my recipes had translated into improving the quality of her health and the health of her family.  It was a confirmation that the way that I live is healthy and I am leading by example.  It was such fun to share my ideas (the good one and the bad ones) with others to try to figure out how to enjoy living a healthy life.

Her simple card helped me to decide to change my practice and take my visits into peoples home so they can learn practical behaviors to make their lives happier and healthier at the same time.

If you are interested in me, Dr. Dae coming into your home and doing house calls to treat your health conditions and help you change your behaviors contact the office at 202-248-1907 or send me an email at drdae@healthydaes.com.

Live Vibrantly,

Dr. Dae

Leftovers Make Lunch or Dinner - Dill Salmon Vegetable Saute

I wanted to share a meal that I threw together by looking at items I had in the refrigerator.   I share this with you in hopes that it may give you ideas about how to create a whole foods meal quickly and easily.  You might even like this idea enough to go out and buy the ingredients to prepare a meal for yourself or your family.

This meal was inspired by Dill that I bought for another recipe last week.  I was looking at some vegetables that I didn't want to go bad and I thought how could I combine dill and vegetables to make lunch.  I also had some leftover salmon from dinner. And the meal came together quickly. 

*A note about extra virgin olive oil and cooking.  Extra virgin olive oil has a low smoke point so it is not a good oil for sauteing.  If you want to saute Olive Oil is a better choice.


I can't give the exact recipe because I just threw everything together in the pan but here is the basics of how to make it (Adjust the spices for your taste buds).  I will prepare it a few more times and get exact measurements before I put any recipes in my book.

1 teaspoon of Olive oil

½ cup of onion diced

¼ cup of dill chopped

3 garlic cloves diced

¼ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

1 cup of carrots sliced

2 cups of zucchini diced

2 cups of Bok Choy chopped ( or spinach, Swiss chard)

1 cup of Salmon cooked and chopped

Pour oil into a sauce pan on medium and add onion, dill, garlic, salt, and black pepper.  Add carrots sauté for 5 minutes.  Add zucchini, Bok Choy  and Salmon and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve over brown rice.

Areas to Set Goals in 2011

Several years ago 2 friends and I started a weekly support group called a Mastermind Group.  Renaissance Unity has created a one year journal that has activities for the year, each month, week and day.  The journal also has exercises on how to set goals for the year.  The categories they suggest are: Career, Financial, Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Family, Personal Relationships, Things You Want to Do, Things you want to Have, Things You Want to Be, Feelings you want to increase. For years I have set goals but until I found this book I never set goals in all different categories of my life.  I have been setting goals in all these categories for the last 3-4 years and it is a wonderful experience.  The mastermind journal allows me to really think about what are all the goals that I want to accomplish.  For example under "Physical" the book recommends physical activities of the body but also your personal physical appearance as well.   I would not have thought looking at physical goals would include new clothes to purchase as well as going to yoga classes.  Under "Mental" they ask me to consider learning new skills, tapping into my creative talents or getting rid of erroneous mental attitudes.

There are 11 categories in all and I set at least 3 goals in each category.  Some of my goals were lofty and some were every day behavioral modifications.  It gives me so many things to think about and opportunities to create in my life.  It is not too late to set goals for 2011.  So if you have not sat down to write out your goals consider looking at all the different categories of your life and seeing what you come up with?

The mastermind journal also recommends that in 6 months you review your goals to see how many you have already accomplished.  It's a great way to keep you focused and on track for 2011.  Enjoy your goals! 

It takes a Village to See a Dream Realized

This week I have been preparing for a cooking demonstration with NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo.  I have been asked to be one of the presenters for the last 4 years.  This year I was asked to present on both Saturday and Sunday.  This is great news for me because I love presenting at venues where there are hundreds of people to cook and talk about food with.  It is great to have group participation and feedback on what issues or questions people have about their health. For the first couple of moments I am up on stage it feels like a piece of my dream is being realized then I get all involved in whatever I am teaching I'm connected with the audience and the food.  I would love to be the host of a TV show about healthy living and healthy eating.  When I am up on stage cooking or talking about health I feel like I am hosting my cooking or health show.  This is definitely one of my dreams.

I also realize that when I am doing a demo for so many people I have to recruit the help of others in order to make it a successful educational event.  I have been working with and recruiting friends and family to help get me there and to handle all of the little details to make this work.  I am happy and grateful to report that I have wonderful people in my life that stepped up to help me get everything done. So I have spent the last several days rushing around to get it all done.  I have gotten help with all the prep work too.  The help comes from ideas about how to present something or physical labor.  It comes from phone calls after the event to help prepare for the next one.  It comes from the enthusiasm of my friends smiling and cheering me on at the event.  Or the emails or calls from friends that remind me of how far I have come from when I started.

As I have a few minutes of quite to reflect on the last couple of days I realize it takes a village or a community to get a dream realized.  Without the kindness and support of my friends, patients, family and complete strangers each step that I take towards my couldn't really happen.  Having the dream is important and sets everything in motion but being open to receive support from any where that it shows up is equally if not more important.  It moves the dream forward and help the dream take on more momentum than I could create on my own and that is a blessing. As I continue to move forward with my dreams I am grateful for all the members of my village that have supported me and will continue to support me as I continue to pursue and realize my dreams.

Humbled by Inspiration

This morning I received an email titled Super Bowl Dip by Deborah Brown.  She shared with me that she has been inspired by our interaction and my book, Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living. I was so humbled that Deborah was able to take the information that shared with her and create her own recipes. 

I believe that I was placed on mother earth to help others understand how to improve the quality of health for myself and others.  I love to talk about about food and health.  I love to eat food.  I love to talk about recipes.  I love to cook.  Receiving the email from some one I have worked with inspires me to continue to do what I do and know that I am making a difference in the life of others.  I have copied her recipe below for you to try too! 

 

Thank you Deborah Brown for sharing your thoughts with me.

Be Well,

Dr. Dae

 

This is a dip that will not rest on your hip! (Smile)

 

2 (15.5 oz cans) Goya Red Kidney Beans (Low Sodium) and Drained

1 (16 oz jar) Nature's Promise Organic Chilpolte Salsa (Low Sodium) *Giant Food

1 (12 oz jar) Victoria All Natural Roasted Red Peppers (Drained) *Giant Food
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 Teaspoon Red Star Nutritional Yeast

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Teaspoon Ground Shallots

1 Teaspoon Chile Powder

1/2 Jalapeno Pepper (Seeded) *Intense Flavor

 

Preparation:

Place all of the aforementioned ingredients in a food processor, blend until smooth.

 

Alternatives for this dip:

1. Warm and serve over whole wheat pasta

2. Serve cold over Swiss Chard

3. Warm and eat as a soup

 

Please share with your patients if you wish to do so.

 

Happy eating,

 

Deborah D. Brown

Early Morning Meditation in the Peace of the Snow Fall

Picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/39017545@N02/4342289178/

This mornings meditation occurred while I was shoveling snow before sunrise.  I actually love shoveling snow early in the morning before the neighborhood wakes up.  I find it very peaceful and serene breathing in the cold crisp quiet air.  The beauty of snow right in front of me would temporary take my breath away and then I would have to take a deep breath in.  I found a beautiful rhythm of breathing in filling the shovel and breathing out while emptying my shovel.   As I was shoveling my eyes were caught by the millions of sparkles that I saw in the snow.  For 30 minutes I was just mesmerized by twinkle of the street lights in the snow that began to disappear as the sun began to rise.

As I swept the walk I had a completely different experience. I decided to sweep with my left hand in the power position which is my non-dominant hand.  I was surprised at how clumsy I felt trying to clear the snow.  I also realized how my posture changed and I was slumping forward as I tried to sweep.  Lastly, I noticed pretty quickly that I was recruiting all of the muscles in my back to clear the snow. After about 5 minutes of that I switched back to my right hand in the dominant position.  It was so much easier and more comfortable.  It reminded meet that sweeping and shoveling snow is a good work out and people need to remember and be careful as they clean their driveways and sidewalks.  It also reminded me to take an epson salt bath so that I won't feel my sore muscles tomorrow morning!

Enjoy the snow! It will be gone soon!

Peace,

Dr. Dae

Increasing My Abundance

A few days ago I was given a homework assignment that I thought was a great idea and I wanted to share it with you.  The assignment came from a free monthly call sponsored by Jack Canfield.  Jack Canfield is a wildy successful motivational speaker, seminar leader, and best selling author of Kitchen Soup for the Soul series.  He is also one of the stars of the Secret DVD.  This month the topic of Jack's call was on goal setting.  He  spent about 1 hour answering the audiences questions on how to set goals for the new year.  At the end of the call he gave this homework assignment.  He said pick a feeling or emotion that you want to feel more every day of your life.  Examples of emotions are happiness, joy, peace, love, etc.  Once you picked your feeling then 3 times a day stop what you are doing and see how much of that emotion you are experiencing in that moment, rate it on a scale of 1 to 10.  Then see if you can do something or think of something that will increase your experience of the emotion at least one level on your scale.  The goal of this assignment is to experience your positive emotion more in your life by experiencing it each day.

I started my assignment yesterday.  The feeling I choose was abundance.  I set my phone alarm for 3 random times during the day so I could take a moment to complete my exercise.  Last night when I was out at dinner with a friend I noticed that my phone was vibration over and over again.  It was my alarm for my moment to sit with my feeling of abundance.  I told my friend about my assignment she thought it was a great idea.  We went on to talk about other topics and at the end of our conversation she handed me $2 for some tea that I had accidentally paid for her. As she handed me the money I laughed because that is an example of abundance showing up.  She helped me complete my homework assignment right there at dinner! 

I'm looking forward to completing this assignment for the rest of January.  I'm sure that taking a few moments 3 times a day to pray and meditate on abundance will be a wonderful life experience!

Picture/Image comes from lifemagick.net website.

Lunch Leftovers

Some of my favorite dishes have come about because I threw together a little bit of whatever I found in the kitchen.  I want to invite you to start thinking about your leftovers as a healthy nutritious meal too.  In this salad I have avocado, tomatoes, a granny smith apple and turkey.  I whipped up a lemon vinaigrette (olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, and maple syrup) and poured it over top of my salad. I call it leftover lunch because the tomatoes and mixed salad was from new year eve dinner.  The apple were sitting on the counter from Christmas Day's apple crisp (Daelicious page 89), the avocado was from sale at the local grocery which was starting to get too ripe. The turkey meat was from the dinner I prepared my Grammy's new years day (use no nitrate deli meat).  The salad took 5 minutes to prepared and it was simply delicious.  You can do this too. Let me know about your yummy lunch leftovers too!

Some nutritional information about lunch:
Many deli or cured meats have nitrates as a preservatives.  Nitrates can be converted into nitrates which form nitrosamines, a powerful cancer-causing chemical.  Whenever possible buy nitrate free deli meat.
Avocado is a great source of monounsaturated fat which has been shown to increase HDL Cholesterol, known as good fat.  Avocado helps to absorb lycopene which are found in tomatoes.

There are 6 grams of protein, 8 grams of dietary fiber, 12 grams of fat (healthy fat from the avocado).

New Year's Brunch

This year I have decided to share my journey on the path of living a healthy life.  I thought I would start with my New Year's brunch that I prepared with my dear friend and fellow naturopath, Dr. Deirdre Orceyre.  This is the second year we have made New Years brunch together, we had so much fun last year we decided to do it again.  When I tell people that I am a naturopathic doctor they automatically assume that I am a vegan, a person that doesn't consume any meats or animal products. This is not the case for me or Dr. Orceyre.  I focus on eating the best quality foods that keeps me feeling good, healthy and energetic.  I eat local, seasonal and organic whenever possible.  I eat a mostly plant-based diet but for special occasions might eat richer foods like dairy, bread products, or have some alcohol.  The key to the way I eat revolves around whole foods everyday.  Our brunch had some juice and dairy which are not everyday foods but I enjoyed them to help kick off the new year.

Today we went to the farmer's market in Dupont Circle and purchased cage free eggs and a croissant. I had brought corn muffins, field green salad and a black-eyed peas that I made from Marcus Samuelsson's The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa.  We scrambled some onions and eggs and sprinkled some parmesan cheese over top.  Finally we had a wonderful pumpkin and veggie soup with fresh squeezed apple cider.  Brunch was perfect. 

Good food and good friends it is the best way I can think of to start the new year!