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One thing that has been an indispensable tool for me is recognizing that everything feeds us – not just food. The people we spend time with, the papers we read, the television we watch – all of this feeds the bodymind sensory information that teaches it how to be. One thing I do very little of is watch television. This is because I'd rather create my own story than passively watch someone else's story, especially when, more often than not, the characters being portrayed in that story don't reflect the beauty of reality: women's bodies as they are.
I consciously choose to spend a half hour a day doing mindfulness practice because it opens things up, helps me to take myself less seriously, and furthers my curiosity about the nature of existence. This feeds me in a way that nothing else ever has.
Food choice is also critical. It feeds my emotions, my brain and my body. The slogan We are what we eat is so true. But we can take this one step further. We are what we can digest. Our cells vibrate to the foods that we choose to put into our bodies. It can be really tempting these days to be swayed by the enormous advertising campaigns that promote non-sustaining food choices. Highly processed foods do not provide our cells with a quality of energy that enlivens them. Vibrant fresh fruits and vegetables do.
When I was healing I ate everything my mind jumped toward because I had been told that this was the way to overcome my fears. As a result, my choices did not consistently reflect true nourishment and I developed new patterns of addiction. Because of the lack of information I had about nutrition, my suffering continued. I didn't realize that sugar is a direct immune system suppressant, or that constipation is not a natural condition. It took a raging yeast infection to invoke an inquiry into my dietary habits. Now when I speak to young women, I encourage them to eat lots of raw vegetables – especially spinach salads. Dark leafy greens and soaked almonds provide the essential calcium that young women need, especially given that the way we eat during our teen years sets our bones up for life. If we don't eat well, we may risk setting ourselves up for osteoporosis or chronic immune deficiencies.
By tuning in to how my body actually feels through mindfulness practice I have over time become conscious of the foods that make me thrive. Food is our emotion, it is our creativity, and it is our power.
I am really attracted to sun foods – foods that are in their natural state that haven't been cooked. Eating this way has greatly helped me to restore my intestinal fauna. Furthermore, it is one of the secrets to my energy when I'm presenting. One thing I've noticed is that when my body image goes wacky, it's usually a physiological response to something I've eaten. When I eat plenty of live greens, cabbages and soaked-almond-redpepper dressings, I just feel incredible!
Making our own food is a great way to nurture ourselves. Love the foods as you touch them. Feel their textures in your fingers. See their colors. Smell them. It actually signals your body to get your digestion ready for nourishment.
Chocolate-Avocado Pudding
1 avocado
1 tspn raw cacao powder
2 packets truvia or 1 tspn honey
1/4 cup water
Blend and enjoy!
Orange-Fig Ice Cream
Soak pecans for a couple of hours
Mix them with figs in a food processor
Roll the mixture into balls of ice cream
Roll it in a cinnamon-honey-coconut-orange sauce
Put it in the freezer for a few hours or overnight
Delight!
Zingy Dressing
1 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon
2 tsp fennel
2 tsp dill
2 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic
a squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 shakes Nama-Shoyu
Super Salad
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
1 cup finely chopped kale
1 cup butter leaf lettuce
1 grated carrot
1 handful sprouted lentils or mung beans
1 handful alfalfa sprouts
Sprouting Instructions:
Soak lentils in water for 24 hours. When they grow tails, they're ready to eat!
Wildberry Parfait
1 avocado
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup blackberries
1/4 cup water
1 tspn honey
Blend and enjoy!
Chia Seed Porridge
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tspn honey
almond milk
Soak chia seeds for 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water until you get the consistency that you like. Mix all ingredients and blend.
Winter Green Drink
3 beet leaves
3 kale leaves
1 myers lemon with some skin left on
one green apple peeled
1/4 cucumber
4 mint leaves
1 piece of ginger
Vitamix/blend it for a couple mins and it comes out sweet and warm!
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