Dear Body:

I would like to thank you for putting up with my actions this week.  I have used and abused you this week but please know that I appreciate you putting up with me.  I have fully indulged in frozen pizzas and fresh take and bake pizzas, Amber Ales and Pale Ales, Season 1 of Vampire Diaries, late nights, second suppers and little to no exercise.

My intention was not to be so neglectful but it all was so good.  As you know I rode my bike to work today and I fully intend to not eat too much pizza or drink too much beer to hinder my ambition to move in the upcoming weeks!

Thank you.

Okay die hard meat eaters I Get IT!  I am working and a woman who came in that smelled like coffee and it made me say "yum" and it made me go over to the coffee shop to get a Mocha with whip cream at 2:00 pm!!!  I will be sorry but it smelled good.  So, I get it when people can't turn that trigger in their brain off when they smell something delicious like cooking meat.  Although, I do understand I am still going to ask to please make a conscious effort to not buy meat from factory farms!!

Shop at farmer's markets or co-ops or Whole Foods.  Whole foods isn't at the top of my list but it is far better than typical grocery stores and YES it is more expensive but that is because they are REAL animals who can still live in the outdoors and still have their reproductive organs.  Oh, and the money is supporting a family

So, I am in the placenta business it is about time I write about one. 

I have just finished up with a client who will be called Placenta Number Three.  She is feeling healthy, her milk has come in and her postpartum bleeding has almost stopped 5 days after the birth of her sweet little girl.

Working on her placenta was different from the other two that I have been granted the opportunity to encapsulate.  Her placenta bled well and the membranes separated from the placenta with ease.  I felt that her placenta was willing and ready to help her transition into motherhood.

The placenta print (baby side of placenta placed onto acid free paper) was beautiful as all are and hers reminded me of a wide rooted tree, with a wide trunk you would need your whole family to place your arms around, sprawling wide reaching branches with moss that reached towards the earth.  This was a strong, wide tree, that stood strong in its roots and provided elements of play amongst the strong branches, and hanging moss.

Alton Brown is the host of the Good Eat's Show he uses science to create recipes.  He made a comment,

"Notes: Alton doesn't drink milk because it makes him want cookies, cake, etc.
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/b/2010/02/10/alton-browns-four-list-eating-plan.htm

It got me thinking could the milk campaign be pushed so hard because we have a tendency to want high sugar or highly processed foods when we eat it.  Like oreos and milk, warm chocolate chip cookies and milk, milk and cake and for some reason pizza makes me want milk but I think that is a topic for another blog. You want milk you want Nabisco and when you think about it there are now only a few major corporations that own a vast majority of the market share and big business fares well when working together competitors or not.  

It's kind of like McDonald's coke.  I have heard numerous times that McDonald's coke just tastes better.  Why?  They are large enough to control the temperature, water filters, Co2 and they sell enough where the syrup doesn't get old and in essence it is fresh, if you can really consider high fructose corn syrup fresh but it obviously makes a difference.  (http://howlermunkey.hubpages.com/hub/Why-does-Diet-Coke-taste-better-at-Mcdonalds)
The fact that they are so meticulous about their soda is what to consider.  You want a McDonald's soda most likely you are going to what fries and a burger which contain MSG and both MSG and high fructose corn syrup are addictive so why not spend so much time with their soda to hook ya' and than reel ya' in with addictive food substances.  

Events can also make us crave food good or bad.  A trip to the cabin:beer, a late night at work:pizza, a great bike ride:grains and veggies, meditation and yoga: whole, high energy foods.

It's just another something to think about in the world of conscious living and eating.  What we hear on the radio or see on television does effect us and blindly if we don't take the time to consider our everyday actions that we do, and have, taken for granted mostly just because that is how we were raised.  We are creatures of habit and milk and cookies is hard one to break especially if you haven't thought about it.

It begs me to the ask question:  why are eggs a breakfast food????

Let's love our mistakes and laugh at our failures.  Throw our hats to the wind and smile.  Reading a funny food blog about spaghetti pie.  Her camera was stuck on the foliage setting and she still posted her pictures. I would've freaked out, felt bad for myself, say I sucked and than waited until everything was perfect to post.  She did not.  She took it to planet foliage with mutant patty-pan squash. Hilarious.  This inspiration from an unexpected place.  I gues that's sort of what life is about.  Inspiration from unexpected places.  Oh, and did I mention I never would've honestly admitted I was a perfectionist until this very moment.  Thank you cheap- ass Monday Blog for the self-realization that I can have fun with mistakes. 

I was thinking about veggies and how much of the actual veggie we end up throwing away and asking why do we do this?  It seems to me that we typically discard edible parts of the plant because we assume they cannot be eaten, that they do not look pretty and that's just the way it has always been done.

Maybe I am stretching here but I find that we too do this to ourselves.  We constantly want to get rid of things.  Take dandelions for instance it has been longed thought of as a weed but the health benefits of dandelions are amazing: acne treatment, bone disorders, eczema, jaundice and urinary disorders just to name a few.  Who decided dandelions were a weed anyway?  Lawn care companies?  Weed Killer companies?  Supermarkets?  It needs to be reconsidered perhaps the real "weed" are those damn companies filling our heads with nonsense.

How does this relate to caring for ourselves?  We have been conditioned to believe that any excess weight is unattractive, any wrinkle needs to be taken care of, any pimple needs to disappear, any stretch marks need to be hidden because heaven forbid you wear a two piece after you have given birth.  THOSE ARE BEAUTIFUL MARKS WOMEN.  YOU PASSED LIFE THROUGH YOUR BODY.  OWN IT. EMBRACE IT AND LOVE IT. Wrinkles too, sorry Mary Kay but wrinkles are memories of a life lived of hardships and smiles, the fun times and the sad times All the times. It's time to stop drinking the kool-aid.  Respect our bodies and respect our food.

EDIBLE BUT YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN
Seeds of apples, oranges, tomatoes,  whatever. Papaya seeds are spicy.  I haven't indulged in any "pits" like avocados or mangoes but you can.   Brazilians eat the seeds of many of their fruits and veggies.  That's actually where  I learned about eating the whole fruit or veggie

Skins of everything are useful either to be eaten,  medicinally or thrown into a compost pile.  Kiwi skin is yummy.  Orange skin can be squeezed for the oil and used as a disinfectant.  Banana Peels can be eaten raw or boiled but rub it on your skin first to smooth out wrinkles, fight psoriasis, and improve skin tone!  Ha!  Everything we throw away can help with all the "problems" society tells us we have.

ANOTHER FOOD TIP   
If you don't have a compost you can save the trimmings of your veggies for homemade soup stocks.  I have a ziploc bag in the freezer for veggie "waste" this includes skins of garlic and onions because they are packed with super good nutrients.


Do you do anything clever with your food?  Or eat any parts that are not typical? I would love to hear about it.  

I think celery needs another chance.    It is time to reconsider this veggie as more than a boring low-nutrient accompaniment to the relish tray.

Celery is low in calories but it is high in Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Folate.  It is an anti-inflammatory protecting the digestive track against inflammation and it helps protect us against unwanted oxygen damage to our cells, blood vessels, and organ systems.(WHfoods.com)  

Fry up some celery and carrots in olive oil and garlic.... yum.

Celery and peanut butter is always a winner

The leaves are not waste!! Lots of nutrients are left in leaves and they are a great addition to salads or as a burger topping instead of lettuce.

Recipe and photo from 101cookbooks.com

Parmesan Celery Salad Recipe Set aside any celery leaves you might come across while prepping this salad. I always try to buy bunches of celery that are leaf-heavy on top. That said, don't despair if no leaves are visible when you're choosing cellar, there are usually some hiding out atop stalks deeper in the bundle. And for a salad hinged on so few ingredients, my recommendation would be to cook your own beans. Not essential, but well worth the effort.

8 large celery stalks, stripped of strings
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
1 1/2 cups / 10 oz / 285 cooked cannellini or garbanzo beans, heated
3 tablespoons currants (or golden raisins)
1/2 cup / 1 1/2 oz / 40 g sliced almonds, deeply toasted
sea salt or homemade celery salt
freshly chopped herbs (or herb flowers), or reserved celery leaves

Slice the celery stalks quite thinly - 1/8-inch or so. Then, in a small bowl, make a paste with the olive oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Set aside. In a large bowl toss the heated beans with the olive-Parmesan mixture. When well combined, add the celery, currants, and most of the almonds. Toss once more. Taste and add a bit of salt if needed. Serve in a bowl or platter topped with herb flowers and/or celery leaves.

101cookbooks.com

I have been craving sauerkraut lately... weird, right?  Anyway, found an awesome website and YouTube video on how to make your own.  Sauerkraut is a great way to get your probiotics and it's way cheaper and produces less waste to make it at home.  Haven't tried the recipe yet so I can't comment on length of process or other details but this woman knows what she's talking about.

Next time you need saline solution for your neti pot, clearing your kiddos nose when they're all stuffed up, wound care, in your Nebulizer, or a mouth rinse when you are bothered by an irritating mouth sore...MAKE YOUR OWN!

It saves time and money and it's fun to be resourceful and frugal.

1 cup Water (filtered, if possible) boiled for 10 min
1 tsp salt

Dissolve salt in water and let cool.  All done

At what point in history did it become OKAY to live a life full of guilt; daily G-U-I-L-T usually coupled with regret?  This viscous circle of feeling bad for every decision I make or I don't make?

Things I felt guilty about yesterday (this is for real folks)
-Not starting a placenta the night before
-Harper not taking long enough naps.  Asking what should I do different I am screwing with her brain development shit!
-Having Derrick pick up the chicken that needed rescuing when I knew he had homework to do
-The chicken being stressed out and traumatized by the move, the dogs and her new home
-Having to bring Harper to work with me and her nap getting interrupted by customers
-Not paying enough attention to Harper during the day
-Not having enough time for myself
-FEELING GUILTY

Is this because I am a woman?  To men feel this way?  When was I expected to do 15 billion things a day and not lose my wits? Maybe I am just looney.

However, I don't think this is all my fault. I am pretty sure somewhere a long the line guilt was or is used as a psychological tactic to persuade us to do things one way or the other and I have just happened to eat that up and live by this nagging feeling of guilt. Corporations use it, my parents definitely used it, as a wife I have done it and where does this leave us as a whole? Absolutely nowhere.  What is my fault though is buying into all this jargon.  Sure guilt has its place just not as the underlying factor of how I live my life.

Today, begins the time in my life where I trust myself and not Google.  Fancy that.  I will make decisions on what I believe to be best for me and than my family.  Yes, me first, I am important. If something goes awry it's okay. 

It is a blessing to make mistakes.  It is a blessing that people do things differently than I do.  It is a blessing to have everything I need here and now.