Eco Nutrition Revolution

New website

2010-09-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Eco Nutrition has a new website that is up and running. Future articles will be posted there. Please visit: www.ecologicalnutrition.com.

In health,

Ryah

More Greens!

2010-06-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

The CSA season is underway, and here in Colorado, we have a lot of greens! Were you able to use all the greens last week? If you are not used to eating so many greens, it can be a challenge to get through them all before the next ones arrive. Here are some ideas for adding greens to your day beyond the salad.

Add spinach to scrambled eggs.
Add greens to oatmeal or other cooked grains for a savory breakfast. Top with sausage or an egg.
Add spinach or chard to a smoothie.
Finely chop arugula or kale and add to pasta or rice dishes.
Substitute arugula or cilantro for basil in your favorite pesto recipe.
Experiment with different dressings and sauces.

Do you have other ideas? Share them here.

Spring Pesto

4 cups (packed) arugula, cilantro, spinach or other greens (or a combination)
¼ cup walnuts, roasted
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 clove garlic or a few stalks of green garlic or spring onions
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Splash of lemon juice
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Enjoy on pasta or whole grains, as a sandwich spread, pizza sauce or add more oil and use as a salad dressing.

Original recipe by Ryah Nabielski, 2010

We Always Return

2010-06-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

My year with the Institute for the Psychology of Eating (IPE) has come to a close. I am filled with gratitude and wonder and I am left with a beautiful container from which to grow my practice. I now posses a new language to better communicate topics around nutrition and nourishment.

I am in awe of Marc David, his wisdom, authenticity, vulnerability and the unconditional love he brings to his work and the field of eating psychology. I am blessed to be one of eighteen who came together this year to blossom into our gifts and become the first certified Dynamic Eating Psychology Counselors. I cherish the intimate connections I have made.

Part of me hates the long, drawn-out sappy goodbyes. I much prefer to pull it off like a band-aid. And part of me loves the sappy goodbyes, like my secret affair with cheesy, romance movies. Although, I don’t feel like this is a goodbye; I feel it as a beginning, quite possibly the most significant beginning this far in my 29 years. I have been a student since I was 3 years old, and the years I took off from formal education, I spent studying the soil and how plants grow and how food can be the magic that brings a community together. That led me to an amazing graduate program in nutrition that filled me up with nutrition science, clinical experience and an exploration of the environmental, political and cultural components that shape what we eat. I was still hungry and my search for the missing piece of the nutrition puzzle led me into the nourishing arms of IPE. I’m sure I will be a student, in some form, forever. I have a long list of nutrition and garden-related courses I want to take and certifications I want to put behind my name.

But for now, I chose to be still. I chose to transition from student to teacher and offer my medicine to my community.

I will always be a nutrition science geek, wanting to understand the latest research, the physiological mechanisms and making connections between how nutrients cycle in the environment and how they cycle in our bodies. I will maintain my focus on clinical nutrition, real food, and the simple, practical ways to live in congruence with nature, by gardening, cooking and fermenting. But now I have a bigger context from which to do my work and I have new skills to execute this vision.

In addition to working with clients around the “what to eat’” piece of nutrition, I am confident in working with the missing piece of “how to eat” and exploring who we are as eaters. What we bring to the table is as important as what is on the table. We, in the nutrition world, can talk in circles about vitamin D, omega-3s, antioxidant pathways, amino acid precursors and any star nutrient of the moment. But sometimes this conversation doesn’t mean much without the conversations about Pleasure, Relaxation, Time, Desire, Relationship, Power, Truth and Love. We are soulful creatures and true healing flourishes in both realms: bodymind and soul.

This has also been a year of personal journey. I’ve learned to relax with myself more and love myself more. I’ve begun to practice loving what is, which is no small feat, but can bring big results. I’ve become clear about what is important in my personal life, like being close to family, and my professional life, like practicing from my truth and not selling-out when the financial landscape gets rocky. In fact, it seems my personal and professional selves are meshing more and more.

My own relationship to food is changing because of the work I’ve been doing with IPE. I feel so much more connected to my body and what it needs from moment-to-moment. I have am deeply aware of the subtle energies that different foods create in my body. I feel more in tune with body wisdom and I am empowered by the choice that listening to this wisdom provides. I’ve started grocery shopping with my gut, instead of my brain or a list and my cooking has become much more intuitive and creative. And beyond the deepening relationship I have with my gut, I’m learning to digest with my heart as well.

This year has had ups and downs, darkness and light, powerful insights and been kissed with the Divine.

So, to my new Boulder family, I will certainly miss our once a month retreats, but If I’ve learned anything, and I’ve learned so much, it is that: evolution is now, love heals, and we always return.

Spring Greens!

2010-06-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

I’m moving my nutrition practice to the 63^rd Street Farm for the summer! What a lovely place to sit and talk about food and our relationship to it, while making a direct connection to where the food comes from. I’m so excited to become a part of this amazing permaculture community.

I will be contributing to their CSA newsletter over the course of the next several months with recipes, tidbits about nutrition and the latest in the local-food-meets-natural-medicine realm. I thought I’d share my articles here as well. I think the recipes and information will be relevant whether you are a CSA member of any farm, an avid shopper at the farmers market or just getting interested in local food.

************

I love when the spring greens finally pop through the soil and suddenly there is food again! Spring can be the sparsest time of year for farmers as storage crops dwindle and the new crops haven’t begun to fruit.

Spring greens have a lovely sweet flavor. The cool weather of spring, or the cold weather of winter if the greens have been “over-wintered,” causes the plants to produce more sugars to help them survive the cold. The plant sugars are the equivalent of anti-freeze for the plant. Hence, sweet greens for us! In the hot weather of summer, greens tend to be more spicy or bitter as they produce compounds to help the plant produce seeds.

I invite you to notice the changes of flavors over the CSA season. The flavors represent compounds that help plants adapt to the environment and in turn, they pass these nutrients on to you. Eating seasonally has many benefits and this is just one: local food helps your body adapt to the environment in which you live.

Ginger Dressing

This dressing was inspired by Serina’s deconstruction of the ginger salad dressing at Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon.

1/4 cup unrefined sesame or extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1-2 tablespoons chives or spring onions, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped

Put all ingredients in a jar, put the lid on tight and shake to mix. Use as a salad dressing or a sauce for braised greens. Also makes an excellent marinade for meat or vegetables. Store extra in the refrigerator.

I made this dressing the other night and added a couple teaspoons of miso. I used it as a marinade for some pork chops from Rocky Plains. Yum!

Spring Cleansing

2010-03-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Happy spring! We have past the equinox and the days are getting longer. The change in season invites us to let go of the old and welcome the new into our lives. In the nutritional realm, we often hear about spring cleansing and detoxification protocols. In fact, there is a whole industry of pills, powders, shakes and diets with the promise of cleaning the toxins out of your body and loosing weight. When ever someone comes to me for a cleanse, the first question I ask is what does cleansing mean? I find there is a lot of confusion.

Detoxification is the natural process the body undergoes to rid itself of toxins. Our body produces toxic substances every day as a result of normal metabolic and cell processes. And then the body naturally clears these substances via the skin, kidneys, colon, liver and lungs. These are the five systems of natural detoxification and they are working for you right now.

The toxic load that our body faces is higher than at any time in history because we are also exposed to toxins from our environment and food like never before. The standard American diet, high in sugar, caffeine, alcohol, low quality animal proteins and pesticide-treated food, puts additional pressure on the organs of detoxification. Further, toxins can enter the body by breathing polluted air, drinking polluted water, using chemical-based cleaning products and modern convenience tasks such as heating food in plastic containers.

Many of these environmental chemicals are fat-soluble molecules. It is the liver’s job to turn the fat-soluble molecules into water-soluble molecules that can be filtered by the kidneys and excreted in the urine. This is accomplished in two phases.

Here is a list of nutrients and compounds that we know the liver requires for both Phase I and Phase II detoxification: Riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, glutathione, amino acids, flavanoids, phospholipids, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, manganese and coenzyme Q10. These nutrients are found in whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat.

As you can see, good nutrition is important for detoxification. This is why fasting may not achieve desired cleansing results. In fact, popular programs such as the Master Cleanse (where you drink lemon water with maple syrup and cayenne pepper) only induce Phase I detoxification. Phase I, without Phase II, can actually create more of a toxic burden for your system by producing intermediate substances that the body can’t get rid of. Further, depriving the body of nutrition actually slows metabolism, making it difficult to both clear toxins and lose weight.

My approach to detoxification is to use whole-food nutrition to support the five organs of detoxification in the body, while simultaneously reducing the chemical burden that we are exposed to. I also like to take a wider, more holistic view and look at other areas of life that could benefit from detoxification. Are there toxic friendships or relationships that it is time to let go of? Is there emotional energy that needs to be processed? Are new ways to nourish yourself and reduce stress in your life?

Spring-cleaning is a common ritual and I see yard sales popping up every weekend. As we clear the clutter from our homes, why not take this perfect time to clear the clutter from our diets as well, if only as a short-term experiment. You might be surprised about what you discover.

I am now taking new clients in the Boulder area if you are interested in a personalized spring cleanse, identifying food allergies, improving your relationship with food or any other nutritional topic.

Resolutions

2010-01-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

It is the time of year for resolutions. The darkness of the winter months provide a wonderful time for reflection. I have certainly been thinking about letting certain things go, celebrating the ritual transition time of the New Year and setting intentions for the future.

I want to talk about the resolution to loose weight, which many of us make year after year. Often this resolution doesn’t work or is short lived. Why is that? Well, resolutions surrounding weight loss are generally about deprivation. This deprivation, lack of pleasure around eating and over-exercise create stress in the body. It is difficult to create a healthy and sustained weight loss in a stressed state. No wonder many of us relapse into old eating habits when we follow such restricted ways of living. In fact, over 95% of people who loose weight will gain it back.

I think many people regain weight because they are not addressing the whole picture. There is so much more to weight loss than eating less and exercising more. The idea that the calories we eat minus calories we burn equals our weight is based on outdated science. We know now that our metabolism is affected by not only what we eat, but also when we eat, how we eat, how we move, stress in our lives, how we nourish ourselves, our relationships, thoughts, emotions and more. We are so much more complex than just what we eat and how much we exercise. We are so much more interesting. Our body, mind and spirit are all involved.

My teacher, Marc David, says, “Loosing weight is about gaining life.” With that in mind, instead of resolving to loose weight, let’s resolve to love ourselves more, move in joyful ways and fulfill passions that have been sitting on the back burner. Focusing on these goals may just create the shape shift that we desire.

Eco Nutrition has a home!

2009-12-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

I am writing today from my new office space at Chautauqua Health in Boulder, Colorado. I’m so excited to have a beautiful healing space in which to work with clients and grow my practice. This big leap in my professional world has me thinking about my bigger vision, how my own journey with food has brought me to this exciting place and the gifts I am now ready to offer.

Our food is a daily reminder of our intimate connection with the earth. Externally, what we eat can work to create a sustainable, healthy and peaceful planet. We can choose food that is produced by sustainable methods that build soil fertility, preserve farmland and support our local communities. Internally, what we eat literally makes the cells of our body! That still blows my mind, even after all of my study of biochemistry. Or maybe because of all my study, I am so aware that how nutrients cycle through the environment and in plants are the same way they cycle within us. In fact, it was my love of ecology and sustainable agriculture that led me to the field of natural medicine and nutrition. It is so connected.

Nutrition is such a multi-faceted topic—it’s political, environmental, social, cultural, agricultural. It’s not just about eating more vegetables, but asking questions like where did this vegetable come from? Who grew it and under what conditions? Was the soil cared for in the process? How far did my meal travel to reach my plate?

Nutrition is also about getting back in touch with our inherent body wisdom. Does this food taste good? Does it give me pleasure? Am I eating in a state of relaxation and joy? Does this food feel good in my body and give me energy?

My nutrition approach is to focus on natural, whole foods that support our bodies in the environment in which we are living. Eventually, I would like to have my own small farm that houses my nutrition practice/wellness center, where I can literally connect people to the earth and where their food comes from. I want to empower people to trust their inner wisdom when it comes to food and their own bodies. And I think we will find that what is good for our bodies, is also good for the earth.

In celebration of my new practice space, for the months of December and January, I am offering a FREE personalized grocery store tour for every new client who comes to my office for an initial 90-minute consultation.

Chautauqua Health is located at 2600 30^th Street, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80301

To schedule an appointment, please call me at 206-898-8493 or email ryah@ecologicalnutrition.com

Bone Soup

2009-10-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Boulder certainly has some real, no-nonsense weather! It snowed 23 inches this week and today it is warm, sunny and feels like spring with all of the melting snow. At the Boulder Farmers Market this morning, the farmers and vendors were dressed in their Halloween finest as they displayed their beautiful fall crops. It’s time to stock up on root vegetables and squash for winter storage.

I have been making a lot of soups lately. Earlier this week I made a pumpkin soup with a pie pumpkin from Cure Organic Farm and had enough pumpkin leftover for a large batch of pumpkin pancakes. Today I made a vegetable and bean soup with ingredients I picked up at the market. A big pot of soup provides wonderful leftovers for healthy lunches and quick dinners during the week.

Bone broth is the base of any good soup and also a great way to get more nutrition out of a part of your dinner that is often thrown away. Simmering bones over a long period of time, with a splash vinegar, releases the minerals and amino acids from the bones into the broth. Bone broth has medicinal benefits for everything from osteoporosis to digestive disorders. Add onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf and herbs to flavor the broth. I also add kombu seaweed for added minerals and lately have been adding a couple pieces of astragalus root. Astragalus is a Chinese herb, called huang qi, that is a great immune system booster, and especially helpful during flu season. I make my bone broth in a crock-pot and let it simmer for a day or two before straining. Excess broth can be frozen in jars for convenient future use.

Here is the recipe for today’s market soup:

1 tablespoon ghee (or butter)
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium rutabaga, skin removed and cubed
5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups bone broth (I used broth made from organic turkey bones)
2 bay leaves
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, black pepper, thyme and sage, to taste
1 ½ cup white kidney beans, cooked (or other type of bean and/or cooked turkey meat)
5 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a stockpot, sauté onions in ghee until translucent. Add carrots, celery, rutabaga, garlic and sauté a bit more. Add the bone broth, bay leaves, herbs and spices. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until the rutabaga is nice and soft. Add the beans and kale and simmer for a bit longer. Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings as necessary. Enjoy!

What is your favorite fall soup?

The Number-Free Diet

2009-10-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

People are always talking about something-free diets: cutting out a food, a food group or a whole macronutrient category in order to achieve some result, usually weight loss. How often do you hear someone talk about fat-free or carb-free diets?

Also, there is no doubt that one result of processed foods replacing traditionally prepared whole foods is a dramatic increase in food allergies and sensitivities. So, gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free diets are commonplace in daily conversation (well, at least in my circles). I will write more about food sensitivities in future blogs, but here I’m going to suggest something else to cut out from your diet and your life. Just go with me, think of it as an experiment.

In our diet-obsessed culture of counting calories and points, weighing and portioning, exercising and tracking, this is going to sound radical. I challenge you to try a number-free diet, if only for a week. What would it be like to be completely free of the numbers that hold power over us?

Take note this week. Where in your life do numbers rule? Do numbers of calories or numbers of points make your food choices rather than listening to your body? Does the scale dictate how you feel about yourself for the day? Do the green blinking numbers on the treadmill at the gym decide how much exercise you need? Or are the bank account numbers or the numbers on the clock making you anxious?

Once you’ve inventoried the numbers that hold power over you, identify the places in your life where you can begin to take back the control. Obviously this can be a long process of reframing how we think about important things such as diet, body image and stress, but I want to plant the seed of a new way of life. Let me know how it grows.

The Heart of Cholesterol

2009-09-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

The greatest nourishment we can ever take in is that of love. Love infuses every morsel of food we ingest. Without it, we starve our hearts, and ultimately, our soul. --Deanna Minich

The fat and cholesterol conversation has been coming up a lot for me lately. There is so much misinformation in the medical community about cholesterol and heart disease. The notion that high cholesterol levels (levels above 200 mg/dL) are responsible for heart disease is based on poor and outdated science. In fact, as many as 50% of people who suffer heart attacks have normal or low-normal cholesterol levels. My intention here is to clear up a bit of the confusion.

First, let’s talk about cholesterol’s role in the body. Cholesterol is found in every cell of your body and is imperative for cell structure, integrity and function. Further, cholesterol is the starting material your body uses to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to just about every chronic disease including osteoporosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis and depression. Our body makes all of our steroid hormones out of cholesterol. These include the stress hormone, cortisol, and our sex hormones including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Cholesterol is also the precursor to bile salts, which we need for digesting and absorbing dietary fat.

So, as you can see, cholesterol is a very important molecule for the health and balance of our body. I’m more interested in the conversation about where our cholesterol is coming from, rather than the push to avoid this important nutrient. Healthy sources of cholesterol include meat from 100% grass fed cows, meat and eggs from pastured chickens, wild game, wild fish, organic raw dairy products and other sustainably raised animals such as goat and pig. In the Boulder area, I've been quite happy with eggs and meat from Windsor Dairy.

Most of the cholesterol that circulates in our body is made by our liver with the help of the necessary enzymes and cofactors. This means we need to be eating a diet that provides adequate protein, vitamins (such as niacin) and minerals (such as magnesium) for the system to work. When we eat more cholesterol, our body makes a little less, and vice versa, but it is important to note individual variation along this continuum. When speaking of diet, foods such as refined grains and sugars that create a high insulin response, will signal our body to turn on HMG CoA reductase, the key enzyme in the liver’s cholesterol production. This is the very enzyme that statin drugs (the cholesterol lowering drugs) work to block.

So, we’ve all heard the story of LDL is the “bad” cholesterol and HDL is the “good” cholesterol. Actually, these lipoproteins are transport mechanisms for cholesterol. LDL takes cholesterol from your liver and delivers it to the cells of your body that signal for the need. HDL goes around and scoops up excess or unused cholesterol and brings it back to the liver. But there is more to the story than this. There are several types of LDL and HDL that doctors can now measure. The small, dense LDL particles, primarily of genetic origin, seem to be the ones that produce a higher risk of atherosclerosis (inflammation of the arteries).

Our cholesterol levels fluctuate during the day, with the seasons, with trauma or any time the body is under stress. So one blood measurement at the doctor’s office doesn’t really tell the whole story. And if cholesterol is high, the question to ask is why is it high? There is likely a natural way for the body to achieve balance without the use of statin drugs and their insane side effects. And let’s not even get started on the unfounded idea of the use of pharmaceutical drugs—in this case statins—for “prevention.” Or, even more enraging, in children, which is becoming an increasingly common protocol.

I’m not here to say eat as much bacon as you want and don’t worry about heart disease: I’m saying that we have been led to believe that cholesterol numbers are the number one factor when the story is much more complex. If these are concerns for you, I urge you to find a heath care practitioner who will test your cholesterol profile and assess it along with other factors such as smoking, mercury and lead toxicity, insulin levels (and other diabetes risk factors), homocysteine and C-reactive protein. If it is important to work on your diet in terms of heart health, seek a nutritionist who will not simply put you on an unmanageable low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, but rather sees the value of these nutrients in the context of a whole-foods balanced diet that works for your individual physiology at this time in your life.

The story continues beyond these medical tests and what we as a nation put into our mouths, and thank goodness it does! We live in a culture that teaches us to suppress our emotions of compassion, gratitude, love and forgiveness; and as a consequence, our heart charkas become blocked. How you process emotions of the heart as well as the presence of loving relationships and fulfilling sexual experience also plays a role in the health or disease of the heart. Our emotions are perhaps the most important piece of the story. What would it be like if our nation shifted focus from cholesterol scare tactics to cultivating love and compassion for our selves and each other? This is where the healing begins.

And if it strikes your fancy, please enjoy some high quality, nitrate-free bacon from time to time. Minus the side of guilt.

Kombucha Karma

2009-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve developed quite a kombucha habit this summer; I find this fermented tea gives me energy on these hot days, especially in the afternoon. However, at $3.00 to $4.00 per bottle, this obsession is reaching latté proportions. Time to start brewing my own.

Kombucha is fermented sweet tea that originated in Asia in the late 1800s. Although often referred to as a mushroom, the organism responsible for the fermentation is a symbiotic relationship between yeast and bacteria called a zoogloea. The zoogloea culture metabolizes the sugar, caffeine and other compounds in the tea allowing the proliferation of beneficial bacteria (including the same Lactobacillus found in yogurt or traditionally prepared sauerkraut), which is helpful for the digestive tract. Other beneficial compounds in kombucha include antioxidants, polyphenols, glucuronic acid, acetic acid, amino acids and electrolytes, which may be responsible for heath claims ranging from improved liver function to increased metabolism. The best test, I believe, is to try it and see how you feel. As with any new food, listen to your body’s wisdom.

Let’s talk kombucha lingo. A mother culture produces a pancake-like layer on the surface of the fermenting beverage. This new layer appears with each batch and is called a kombucha baby. A baby can be separated and used as a new mother culture.

Having recently moved to a new town, and without a fermenting community to call my own, there was only one place to turn for a kombucha baby. I posted an advertisement on Craigslist. "Wanted: Kombucha Baby," it read. A nice woman answered my ad and invited me to her tiny cabin in the mountains. The only requirement for a kombucha baby is to pay it forward. In my opinion, it is bad karma to charge for such things. And now, I should have a new baby about every ten days, so if you want to start your own, just let me know!

Recipe for kombucha:

You will need:

One large wide-mouth jar

Kombucha baby

1/2 cup, or so, mature kombucha brew

Water

Black tea (about 5 tea bags or 3 tablespoons loose tea per gallon of water, or to taste)

Organic cane sugar (about 1 cup per gallon of water, or to taste)

Breathable cloth

Rubber band

Boil enough water to almost fill your jar. Add the tea and sugar and steep until the water returns to room temperature. If the water is too warm, you may kill the baby. Remove the tea bags or strain the loose tea. Put the tea, mature kombucha and kombucha baby in the large jar. Cover with a breathable cloth and secure with a rubber band. Keep in a warm place, although not in direct sunlight, for seven to ten days. Once you have your materials, you can brew your kombucha for mere pennies per cup.

Experiment. Play. Taste your kombucha along the way and see which stage is most appealing to your palate. Try adding herbs and spices when you brew the tea for flavor or adding a splash of fruit juice to the finished product.

Road Food

2009-07-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

It is hard to eat well on the road, when what is quick and convenient can hardly be characterized as food. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to visit natural food co-ops. On my recent road trip and move to Boulder, Colorado, I mapped out my trip using the National Co-op Directory, which is a great publication that lists co-ops by state. I also have an old copy of The Tofu Tollbooth by folk singing sensation Dar Williams; which is somewhat outdated, but provides driving directions to co-ops from major highways.

On my route, the only co-ops along the way were at my starting point in Ashland, Oregon and the Boise Co-op. I was sure to stock up at both places with fruit, veggies, crackers, nuts, crunchy seaweed and smoked salmon. I also hard-boiled some eggs.

It takes a little planning, but bringing some fermented food on a long road trip is a good (and tasty) idea. I made fermented black beans and fermented salsa (both using recipes from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon—and both are great with crackers or chips) and a basic sauerkraut using Fry Farm cabbage, onions and garlic. Fermented food travels well: if the ice in the cooler melts or your jars need to be out of the cooler for a while, the food won’t go bad. The tang just intensifies along the way! Plus, all the beneficial bacteria help to keep digestion regulated as you sit in the car for long hours, day after day.

What is your favorite road food?

Sunflower Seed Pâté

2009-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here is my version of Ashland Food Co-op's Sunflower Seed Pâté. This dip was a hit at our 4th of July celebration. I used onions, garlic and parsley from Fry Family Farm. This is a fantastic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that delivers the weekly box of produce directly to your door along with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. Each time I have had CSA or market produce from the Fry Farm, I've been impressed with the produce quality and it is clear that the farmers are passionate about what they do. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have a tour of the farm from Susie Fry.

Here is the recipe.

1 and 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1/4-1/2 of an onion
1-2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon miso, or more to taste
1 bunch parsley, stems removed
juice from 1/2 a lemon
freshly ground black pepper

Soak sunflower seeds in water for about 4 hours. Adding a splash of vinegar or lemon juice to the soaking water will help break down the phytates in the raw seeds, making them more digestible. Strain. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy. Serve with crackers, veggies or use as a sandwich spread. I also think this recipe would be great with lime juice and cilantro in place of the lemon juice and parsley. Maybe even add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

During this celebration of independence, I've been thinking how lucky we are to be able to opt out of the dominant food culture in America. We have the freedom to create our own local food systems, know our farmers and eat fresh, real food. And maybe our grassroots efforts will reach the masses, one delicious recipe at a time.

How do you like your corn?

2009-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get asked if high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is actually really that bad for you, especially in light of the huge advertising campaign that has been underway for several months touting the “naturalness” of HFCS. It’s made from corn after all.

When I get asked if any food is nutritious, I ask myself a few questions. Has the food been used by traditional cultures? Would my great grandparents recognize it as food? Can I imagine it growing and prepare it at home? If the answers to these questions are no, I am skeptical.

From a biochemical perspective, we do know that fructose does not require insulin to enter our cells like glucose does. With decreased insulin release, lower amounts of leptin are circulated. Leptin is the hormone that lets us know we are full. Therefore, HFCS messes with our hunger and satiety cues and may actually contribute to overeating.

Further, from an agricultural perspective, HFCS is made from genetically engineered commodity corn that requires high amounts of fossil fuel input in the form of fertilizers, to run tractors and other farm equipment and for the transportation and processing of the corn. The entire system pollutes the air and water, depletes the soil, contributes to climate change and favors industrial agriculture corporations that force small farmers off their land. Can something be good for our individual health, if its entire existence is unsustainable and out of balance with nature? I argue no.

Yet, HFCS is in many, if not most, of the processed foods found in your average supermarket. It’s in everything because it is cheap, and it’s cheap because of huge government subsidies that keep the current system in place. Our American culture craves sweetness and the food companies know this. Fructose is sweeter than sucrose and by putting it in processed foods; it ensures that we keep coming back for more.

* * * * * *

Over the weekend, I visited the Davis Farmers Market, one of my favorites, with my good friend and fellow plant-lover, Jessie. Smack dab in California’s Central Valley, this market houses some of the best produce in the country. After a stone fruit tasting, we picked out the sweetest plums and white nectarines and devoured them while perusing the other market booths. We biked home with bags of fresh figs, carrots, spring onions, mushrooms and greens. The highlight of the trip, and the subsequent dinner plate, was the fresh, organic corn. This corn was so fresh that it barely needed to be cooked. Every bite of our dinner burst in my mouth as if I could actually taste the California sunshine. I was reminded of the natural sweetness that the earth provides. No HFCS required.

June in the Garden

2009-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

I've been busy in the garden, finishing up my Master's and preparing to move. I have a lot of ideas for blog posts, but they will have to wait a little longer. For now, enjoy some of the garden bounty and actual Seattle sunshine!

Giving Garden

2009-05-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Fresh, organic produce is probably the least available food for those who need it most. Low-income populations often rely on cheap, often outdated processed food and disproportionately suffer from diet-related health conditions as a result. Food banks are an obvious place to turn when in need, yet food banks are at the mercy of corporate and community donations. In this economy and season, donations are low. The donations that do come through are more of the same processed substances that are produced by our toxic agricultural system. What would it be like if those who need food assistance had access to fresh, local produce that is nourishing rather than depleting?

In 2007, Bastyr’s Giving Garden program was launched in an effort to both provide organic produce to meet a community need as well as build a connection between nutrition students and the garden. Isn’t it funny that out of all those with their hands in the garden over the years, very few have been nutrition students? The garden is the basis of nutrition. We can’t have healthy food unless we have healthy soil.

Our modest Giving Garden is comprised of nine vegetable beds in the larger Bastyr University Garden. Through an application process, four nutrition students are chosen each year to tend the beds and all of the produce is donated to food banks near our school. In the first year we donated 350 pounds of produce and last season we donated almost 500 pounds! This spring, we just made our first delivery of beautiful lettuce mix and have rows of carrots, onions, potatoes and bok choy growing right on schedule.

As you are planning or planting your garden this summer, I encourage you to grow a row (or nine) for your local food bank. What a wonderful way to support the health of your community.

Ode to BUG

2009-05-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

The most fulfilling part of my three years at Bastyr has been working in the Bastyr University Garden (BUG). In 2006, I left behind a happy life in California and moved to Seattle on my own. Quickly, I felt a sense of belonging in the garden. I made fast friends with the BUG gardeners, a group of inspirational and powerful healers, who are always supportive of my love of plants and ideas that are outside those of the mainstream nutrition world (and even a bit outside of the Bastyr nutrition world). I’ve always made friends quickly when working the earth together. There is something magical about growing food that builds solid connections, community and a sense of place.

BUG has been the constant in the rollercoaster of the last three years. My favorite time in the garden is early in the morning before anyone else is there. On summer mornings, before our irrigation system was installed, I walked up and down each row carefully assessing soil moisture and watering each plant, making sure to water Solanaceae from the base and lettuces from overhead. I would watch the honeybees wake up, in their drunken stuper, and think about big life questions. When I went through a breakup, the garden was there. When school became stressful or I was struggling with what to do after graduation, the garden was there. Working the soil is the perfect way to process my thoughts. There is nothing like having my hands in the dirt, growing food and medicine, to put things in perspective.

So thank you garden, you gave me so much more than a full belly of delicious vegetables and jars full of herbal remedies. And thank you Jenny, my boss and mentor. Jenny is an amazing herbalist and teacher who radiates a passion for plants. I have learned so much from her.

My time at BUG has definitely shaped my vision for the future. So, during these last few weeks I have before the next adventure begins, I will garden with gratitude.

Preconception Disease Prevention

2009-05-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

I’ll be the first to admit that I am a total dork. I went to Vancouver, BC last weekend, not for the nightlife or even the marathon, but for a conference on epigenetics. Epigenetics translates as “above the genome” and explains how our interaction with the environment determines gene expression. I like the library analogy: if our genome is all the books on the shelves (all of the possibilities), then our epigenome decides what books are taken off of the shelf and read. We know, mostly from twin studies, that even though people may have the same genes, the expression of their genes (phenotype) may differ. The reason? The environment. Sleep, stress, nutrient status, and basically any environmental exposure can influence gene expression. Our most intimate connection with our environment, besides breathing, is what we eat. It is amazing to think that the food we eat signals our body to turn on or turn off specific genes! And those genes may contribute to health or be a factor in disease progression.

So, when is the best time to prevent disease? After listening to Dr. Nigel Plummer speak for two days, I would argue that the best time to prevent disease is before you are even conceived. A woman’s nutritional status before pregnancy can have profound implications for the baby’s health, both as a child and later in life when the symptoms of chronic disease become visible. During preconception it is important to have optimal overall vitamin and mineral levels and storage from which to draw from during pregnancy.

Many studies link birth weight and fetal under-nutrition to the development of diabetes, hypertension, depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, rapid progression through puberty, hormonal cancers and even left-handedness. The conditions in the womb “program” the fetus for what to expect in the world. There are many complex biochemical explanations, but I will spare you the details. One main idea is that if the baby isn’t getting adequate vitamins, minerals, and essential amino and fatty acids, the baby will expect to be born into a world with the same conditions, and gene expression changes accordingly. When, however, the baby is born into a world of abundant food (and, in the case of this country, processed, chemical-laden food), its epigenetics may not be suited to the environment and play a factor in disease development.

After Dr. Plummer’s presentation, it is clear that we have a window for optimizing health, and that window is the year prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and the first 6 months of life (the perinatal period). I’m fascinated and definitely convinced that it is the most optimal time to focus on natural, preventative medicine.

If nothing else, attending this conference has given me scientific reason to blame my mother. :)

An eating meditation

2009-05-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

The act of eating transforms light into consciousness. This idea was first presented to me at a recent garden talk by David Crow; but I think I've always known this wisdom on some level, especially because of my fascination with plants. The concept is that the energy of the sun and moon combines with the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) through plants to create food. We eat the food and that food, which is not us, becomes us, nourishing our body. The essence/qi/ojas/prana that is strengthened as a result of this nourishment supports our consciousness.

Think about that the next time you eat an apple!

Or a Big Mac. What kind of consciousness are you creating?

Tube Feeding

2009-04-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Tube feeding is not exactly what I had in mind when I decided to study nutrition, but here I am calculating tube feeding protocols for the critically ill. Don't get me wrong, I see the need for tube feeding and give much gratitude to the compassionate and dedicated dieticians who work in inpatient settings. I just recognize that this is not my passion because it seems so far removed from my philosophy of whole foods.

It's disheartening, and unfortunately not at all surprising, that hospitals--like other institutions--are feeding the crappiest food to the populations who need the most nourishing nutritional environments. The Nestle Corporation holds a monopoly on the enteral nutrition (tube feeding) formulas. These formulas contain such ingredients as corn syrup and hydrolyzed corn starch as carbohydrate sources; soy protein isolate as a protein source; and refined vegetable and seed oils for the necessary fat component. Undoubtedly these ingredients are products of our industrialized, subsidized and unsustainable food system and are most certainly coming from genetically modified plants. These are ingredients that I avoid when I am well; I can't imagine that this is the only option for calories when someone is so sick that they cannot eat.

A friend, who recently had her appendix removed, commented that hospitals are not a place for well people. She couldn't wait to get home so she could eat healthy again. Wouldn't it be nice if our hospitals were places dedicated to healing instead of the economic agenda of multinational corporations?

There are some strides being made within the local food movement as far as getting locally grown produce and organic meat into hospital cafeterias. These farm-to-hospital programs are starting to pop up across the country, with 227 hospitals signing the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge. Eight hospitals in Seattle have signed the pledge and have already started by hosting farmers markets and including local and organic options on cafeteria menus.

I'm not sure what it would take to get local food into the tube food itself, but this shift in food economy to favor local producers who care for the land has to start somewhere. I think being able to order organic green beans from a hospital bed is a good start.

The First Asparagus

2009-04-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today, finally, I saw the asparagus peek up from under the ground. The eight plants that were originally planted produced about twelve asparagus shoots last year. We didn't eat any of them, letting the plants grow into flowering asparagus trees, in hopes that this year (or next) we would have given the patch enough time to provide a bounty of spring food. As a gardener, it is torturous to see delicious asparagus growing and have to practice restraint. That's why I was so excited to see two shoots popping up where there was only one last season. Maybe this year I can eat a few.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial in the lily family and native to the Mediterranean. Now this plant is found growing all over the world, even in Seattle, and provides a tasty sign of spring.

Asparagus can be used in the treatment of arthritis because of its anti-inflammatory properties (including unique antioxidants and, for you biochemistry buffs, the inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme). It is high in protein, namely high in the amino acid asparagine, which is also responsible for the distinct odor of post-asparagus urine. Further, asparagus is a good source of the minerals potassium, phosphorus and iron, and the vitamins K, C, A and several B vitamins... and probably many other nutrients that reductionist scientists have yet to identify. I think asparagus is most nourishing when it is grown locally in lush soil and enjoyed fresh, preferably with olive oil and salt, and good friends.

In two short months, my time at Bastyr will come to an end; and if there is to be a reminder of all of the work and love I have put into the garden, I want it to be the asparagus patch.

The Healing Power of Culture

2009-04-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

On the airplane there was no first class. The flight attendant came on the loud speaker and politely told us that we were about to be sprayed with insecticide, but that it was "environmentally friendly and did not contain DDT." Thirty minutes later, my colleagues and I were in Habana, Cuba. We rode in a rusty Volkswagen van to the hotel; the solstice moon illuminated the streets.

We traveled to Cuba from Seattle, as a group of five overly optimistic natural medicine students, with dreams of revolutionizing health care at home. We set out to see the integration of the Cuban health care system with urban gardens and to discover a model that we could bring back home with us -- a sustainable model of preventative, community-based natural medicine. I imagined Cuba as a utopia, with lush green gardens outside of every clinic, where doctors would go outside and harvest herbs necessary to treat their patients. I imagined urban space teeming with vegetable gardens, meeting the nutrient needs of the neighborhood.

I didn't find what I expected or a tangible way to bring acupuncture and organic broccoli into the lives of everyone in the United States. Instead, I was blown away by Cuba's big heart. The joy and unselfishness I experienced from the Cuban people will shape my life and career in the years to come.

The most important piece of information I came away from this experience with is that the Cuban community-based culture is preventative medicine. The day-to-day way people live in Cuba creates health and vitality in the individual and the community. The lives of Cuban people are filled with love, dance, simple food, art, music, socializing with neighbors and a generally stress-free, slow paced life. I noticed that despite their economic status, as a whole, the Cuban people are happy and healthy. This is a stark contrast to the United States where we have so much wealth, but suffer from high levels of stress and discontent.

Health and education are main priorities for the Cuban government, with 40% of each municipality's budget dedicated to medicine and schools. In 1959, at the time of the Revolution, many doctors fled Cuba and only two medical schools remained. The life expectancy was 60 years, the infant mortality rate was 65 per 1000 live births and communicable diseases and parasites were increasing. Creating a system of free, universal health care that is available in every town became a top priority in the Fidel Castro government. By 2008, there were 72,000 Cuban doctors, which equates to one doctor per 153 people. This is the best doctor patient ratio in the world. The life expectancy is now comparable to developed countries with men expected to live 76 years and women 78. The infant mortality rate is 5.7 per 1000 live births. There are 498 polyclinics that offer natural health modalities spread throughout Cuba's 169 municipalities.

Beyond statistics, Cuba's health care system displays generosity to populations that might otherwise be marginalized, despite limited resources. I was particularly amazed by how Cuba takes care of their elderly by providing assisted living facilities, food, exercise and social programs (crafts, gardening and educational programs) to anybody who needs or wants them. The facilities are staffed with medical professionals, family doctors, dentists, hair-dressers, teachers, etc. and provide full support to people as they age. The senior citizen homes we visited provided the best example of urban agriculture integrated with health care. The homes had gardens of vegetables and medicinal herbs where the residents could work as well as receive herbal remedies from the on-site pharmacist.

Since the Special Period and unable to import petrochemicals (except for the insecticide we were sprayed with on the plane), Cubans have returned to a traditional form of agriculture that is local and organic. Habana has 30,000 hectares devoted to urban agriculture which is far more than any city in the US. All of the urban gardens in Habana seemed to be set up in the same way, growing the same crops, and using the same plants (oregano, neem and marigold) for pest control. So, it is apparent that communism runs through the system of community gardens, but we also visited a larger urban farm that was run in a cooperative (and dare I say democratic) way.

I came away with a sense that the Cuban government has good intentions as far as promoting sustainable agriculture and providing land for community farms; however, resources are lacking and access to healthy food seems to be an issue that the national government is only beginning to address. It is a challenge for families to get fruits and vegetables, especially if there isn't a garden in their neighborhood, because produce is not provided by the monthly government rations and is quite expensive for the average Cuban.

The question remains, what can we take from the Cuban experience and apply at home? The Cuban culture is based on community, so a health care system that is based in community works well. The US does not have a culture rooted in community so I am unsure Cuba's model would work here, especially from a government mandated perspective. But from a grassroots level, community clinics can work to meet the needs of local populations throughout the US. I plan on having my nutrition practice based on my small biodynamic farm, creating a connection between the community, their food and the land. Traveling to Cuba has solidified these goals and showed me that health is as much about having access to many modalities of medicine and healthy food as it is about cultivating joy in one's life and community.

Cheetos

2009-04-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about gardening is that you never know what you will uncover, literally. Today I was turning in some cover crop in the soggy back vegetable rows of the Bastyr University Garden with my coworker, Jen, when we spotted something orange in the soil. Let me rephrase--not just in the soil, but under the the soil and under the growing cover crop. Yes, you guessed it, Cheetos! First of all, what Bastyr student eats Cheetos, let alone buries them in the garden? Second, those Cheetos must have been there since at least October given their position in the bed. Through the rain and snow of the Seattle winter, they maintained their shape and were only slightly soggy.

All I have to say is that if the earth can't digest it, you probably can't either.

The nettles are out!

2009-04-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

I will confess an affinity for weeds that are nutritious, healing and free! It may seem radical to tromp through the forest harvesting stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) to eat, but this practice is based on traditional wisdom. I have developed an intimate relationship with nettles during these last few years in the Pacific Northwest and try to drink a nettle infusion daily. Nettles are a powerhouse of nutrition and contain more minerals (especially calcium, magnesium and iron) than the greenest kale. Nettles are rich sources of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K and amino acids. Besides providing an abundance of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds, stinging nettles are known to stabilize blood sugar, support the kidneys and adrenal glands, regulate digestion and decrease allergy symptoms.

Harvesting:

Nettles are native to Europe, but can be found throughout North America in rich, wet soil. Although there is a way to hold a nettle plant from the underside of the leaves in order to harvest without getting stung (and without the subsequent red welts), I usually harvest with gardening gloves and scissors. Harvest the top six inches (first two or three nodes) of young plants, before they go to seed. Cooking or drying the nettles will denature the compounds (including formic acid) responsible for the sting.

Garden uses:

Because of their high nitrogen content, nettles are an indicator of rich soil. As gardeners, we can use this to our advantage by adding nettles to the compost pile or making a liquid fertilizer. Dried nettle makes an excellent addition to the diet of chickens, goats and other livestock. The fiber from mature plants can even be made into rope.

Food as medicine:

Nettles can be added to soups, stews, stir fries and quiches. Substitute them for any dark leafy green in your favorite recipe. This weekend I made nettle pesto by blanching nettles and combining them in a food processor with cilantro, garlic, roasted walnuts, sea salt, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. I love eating nettle pesto with my eggs for breakfast. Yum.

Welcome to my blog!

2009-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

I am passionate about food and have received a diverse education on the subject, ranging from formal studies in agriculture and nutrition to an Alaskan childhood complete with hundred pound cabbages and moose meat chili. In the years following college, I worked on organic farms, spending much of that time living without electricity and relying on the abundance nature provides. Now, as I near completion of my graduate coursework and prepare for a career as a nutritionist (and farmer), I'd like to begin sharing what I'm learning on this journey. I hope you enjoy.