Eating for evolution

I've been wanting to write about food so I'm just going to write and see what happens.  The last thing I ate was a Dove dark chocolate truffle which was pretty yummy and also came out of a big dark red heart-shaped metal tin.  Which was a love gift I got on, you guessed it, Valentine's day.  I think that love is the best kind of food for our being.  But I find it's easier to feel the love when my body is feeling good, and my body feels better when I give it some kinds of food rather than others. 

I'm also drinking a cup of yummy herbal tea made of nettles and dandelion and oatstraw and mint and a bunch of other stuff.  This is a tea that tastes good and I believe is good for me, based on information I got from reading New Menopausal Years : The Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90, by Susun Weed.  I was interested in this book because when I was younger, my friend Erin told me about another of her books, Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, and I used the information in that book to help me help my body get ready for giving birth.  I had a rough pregnancy, and after seeking lots of help from doctors, midwifes, and healers to get through it, it was the information in that book about taking vitamin E to heal a placental abruption that I believe ultimately got me back on track.  To a wonderful natural birth and easy and healthful post-natal experience.  So I trust this woman's information, and she says that nettles is a great herb for menopausal women because of its mineral rich properties.  

It's a cool story how I discovered this tea.  Last year, I had to go to Portland often to bring my son Casey to his orchestra rehearsals.  I got an email from Groupon one day that advertised a store in Multnomah Village.  I didn't get the Groupon, but I did investigate and discover that there is this cool neighborhood not too far from where the rehearsals were.  So one afternoon I found my way to Multnomah Village and browsed around in the stores. One store that was selling some beautiful clothes and shoes made in Israel was offering cups of tea to the customers as we came in.  And I tried two of these teas they were offering, and it turned out that they were made by one of the employees there.  The teas are called Possiblitea, they come loose leaf in a tin, and the one I like is called Daily Dose.  I noticed that drinking a cup of this tea before bedtime helped me sleep better.  And it feels good to be consuming a local product. 

It's hard to pinpoint because there is so much going on in life all the time, and I have made so many changes, but it seems that mid-life is bringing a particular kind of change and process that asks me to be more mindful about what I put in my body.  

One of the things that I was looking into recently was having a more alkaline diet.  I came to this discovery after reading an article in the New York Times about calcium and osteoporosis.  The article observed that a high protein diet, including the dairy products that are generally recommended to support bone health, might actually contribute to osteoporosis by making a person's body more acidic.  This is because the acid created in metabolizing these foods must be neutralized in the body, and the body does this by pulling calcium out of our bones, or at least using up the calcium that's around and not putting it into bones.  (Probably this explanation is not well-stated, but as I said in my very first blog entry, I am not a scientist).  Then it was noted that in Asian countries in which the people eat almost no dairy products, but do eat lots of vegetables, they don't have the trouble with osteoporosis that we have over here.  

This fits with other information that I've seen concerning the effects of inflammation as being harmful in the body in myriad ways, including heart disease.  So I was reading about this here and there on the internet, and reading one person's comment that the easiest way to change was to just change one meal a day at first.  I liked that idea, and the idea that felt good to me was to change some of my breakfasts.  

I decided to eat miso soup with seaweed for breakfast.  This is a very easy way to give myself a super alkalizing dose of nutrition with no cooking.  Here's how it's done: First I go down to my garden and cut a few small leaves of swiss chard, which has survived there all winter.  I wash the leaves and cut them into little bits so the boiling water can cook them on contact.  I put the leaves in a bowl and put in some dried seaweed, usually wakame.  Then I pour boiling water over the veggies.  The wakame expands like crazy and turns a beautiful green, while the chard also deepens in color.  Pretty soon it's a stew!  Then I add about a tablespoon of miso and stir it all in.  I think the best miso is a low salt organic miso called Jorinji that is made in Portland and I have only seen at Uwajimaya.  (If you have never been to Uwajimaya in Beaverton, check it out! It's a huge and fun Asian grocery store).  Then what really makes this soup taste fabulous is adding some kimchi, and, if I have some, a little lime juice!  This is a super alkalizing probiotic feast!  

Also I've found that almost any green will be quite edible by cutting it up in little bits and pouring boiling water over it - so I've used kale, parsley, cabbage (not the thick parts), and spinach to make soup.

Here are some pictures of the fun transformation of wakame.  I didn't put anything else in, just to show what happens.  Took about 90 seconds to do this:  

Wakame expanded - veggie from the sea!

Pretty cool, eh?  So, getting back to my theme here, I think that eating well supports evolution.  A few years ago a sweet young man named Julian was living in Salem and dancing with my group sometimes.  He was really into having only raw food.  One night he said that the thoughts you think and the food you eat are both important, but the food is more important.  Well that may have been true for him, but I have to say that I've known a few people who were very fastidious about what they ate but not necessarily in a great mood most of the time.  I've found that the thoughts I think are certainly the most important thing that I'm feeding myself at any time.  But choosing good food makes it easier to think good thoughts, and thinking good thoughts about the food I eat sure makes the whole deal go better!  So I'm grateful to Julian for bringing this to my attention. 

Here's a gorgeous video that helps with thinking wonderful thoughts.

Speaking of good thoughts, here's another thing I want to share:

This is the wetland in the back of Dave's property.  Isn't it stunning?  At night about a million geese roost here and we hear them honking all night. And this is the hub of some kind of willow that grows on the east side of this fantastic seasonal pond:

You have to tromp through some high grass to get to it, but it's a cool little hidey place in there!  I am having lots of fun with my camera since I started this blog.  And sunshine is so precious in the winter in Oregon.  These things are as delicious as the best, most healthful foods.  

I am really looking forward to a good growing season this year, and doing gardening together with Dave.  He knows lots more than I do about growing things, and has a nice big plot where he's been growing food and tossing compost for twenty years.  Yum.  

Here's one last picture to let people know that spring is just about here: 

Thanks again for reading my blog.  I hope it brings you some happiness, reminds you to eat well, think enjoyable thoughts, and feel hopeful about spring. 

May peace, freedom, and contentment prosper in this world. 

- Julie