I received two requests for protocols in this month’s column: immune support and hormone balancing. Big topics! Both complicated. Yet, nutritionally, both boil down to these basic concepts: eat a wide range of colorful, whole, uncontaminated foods, manage stress well, and spend ample time outside in nature. Keep reading to learn more.

Often, it feels mentally restrictive to “eliminate” certain foods or beverages, even with intention to feel better. Many people express hesitation to work together because they aren’t ready to “give up” coffee, alcohol, gluten, sugar. In truth, I don’t require anyone to restrict anything against their will (though we discuss the attachment). Readiness is key. When we’re ready to feel better, we’re ready to try letting go of what may not be serving us.

The concept of “the never-ending meal” doesn’t mean eat endlessly, particularly not during the holidays – please consume mindfully. It means prepare every meal to feed into the next. Find your meal planning flow. The basic idea: each time you prepare food, make extra of something and set aside one or more ingredients for subsequent meals. It’s simple, versatile, and uses leftovers creatively to avoid waste and overwhelm.

I’m just home from a rainy week in Spain where I created authentic Andalusian meals using out of seasonal, fresh foods from the region for a women’s retreat. The experience was nourishing and memorable though exhausting from the effort of procuring local food in a foreign country using my less-than-optimal language skills. I chopped onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes for days while standing on a marble kitchen floor; over-ate and under-slept; and traveled home on three airplanes across two countries and an ocean over the course of 32 hours.

I returned to another packed schedule: elections, clients, planning an annual women’s yoga retreat, writing this column, and most of all some time and meals with my kids. Whew!  

Eating more plants doesn’t mean you have to be a vegetarian or vegan. Simply, incorporate more roots, fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, seeds, seaweed, herbs, spices, and fungi (technically not a plant) into every meal. Truly, why do we still not understand that plants are SO good for us? The Average American eats 1 fruit and 1-2 veggies per day, with only 10-12% of Americans meeting the 5+ per day recommendation. As many of us struggle with health challenges and making ends meet in this economy, increasing plant nutrients affordably into our meals is a vital – and viable – goal.

Summer flaunts the perfect season to relax, unwind, connect with friends, family and nature, be adventurous… In reality, summer can feel more stressful – we contend with irregular schedules, kids at home, entertaining houseguests on vacay while we work, tourism, traffic and construction. Planning a simple weekend campout ignites extra effort, anxiety, to-dos. Long days, social activities, late nights equals less sleep, more exertion, increased potential for short tempers, irritability, and the inability to enjoy the moment. We know we need to slow down, yet we remain ramped up!

My kids and I did not embark on an Italian “vacation” simply to visit the birthplace of pizza and gelato or trace our family’s heritage. No, it was a work trip dedicated to food discovery, with reconnaissance for upcoming family food retreats. We under-scheduled most days to enjoy being a part of the vibrant, fresh life enticing us with scents of waffle cones and freshly baked croissants. We ate simple meals. I shopped in mini-supermarkets, touristy farmers markets, bars (yes, “bars”), pasticcerias, panneterias, and massive grocery stores.

...the largest object next to me at the terminal workstation was a woven basket full of food. My second carry-on contained a small cooler bag with our lunch, plus a small tote with non-perishable bars, seaweed, jerky, dried fruit. Eating during travels is anxiety-provoking (for me), as finding nourishing foods can be a formidable chore. Considering most people get sick when they travel – added stress, poor sleep, less exercise, strapped time, irregular mealtimes, cramped quarters, new exposures, unforeseen challenges, lots of waiting – it's worth having a plan with food I enjoy.

YES! It does. Despite all the pushback from modern agricultural systems and special interest groups promoting the safety of conventionally grown foods, eating foods grown as naturally as possible is, at the very least, the most responsible thing we can for our one Earth. We humans are extensions of nature – we literally, physically, and biochemically would not be alive on this planet without nutrients and nourishment from Mother Earth.

Last weekend I taught a “Sourdough 101” class at my friend’s shop – an endeavor to bring her farmer-husband’s organic food to the small town that sprang up generations ago during southern Idaho’s agricultural boom. Over time, sugar beet farms expanded, and the commodity market thrived, while residents spent their time and dollars in bigger cities, shopping for mass-produced, convenience foods in a system they helped create. The town center dried up – no place to buy local melons, milk, eggs. With little to draw people in, the community shriveled under the hardly-fertile cropland encircling town.

Over the years, I’ve slowly slipped from eating organic food 95-100% of the time. Two decades ago, it was a requirement for me, and easy considering the plethora of food options in Portland and no children to feed. The effort became more challenging while raising a young family on a tight budget in the Wood River Valley’s high cost of living. Even so, I anchored to the belief that how our food was grown was more important than almost anything else.

Today is my birthday. One year ago, I traveled to France to attend the annual “Fete du Citron” – the lemon festival – to sample all things citrus. I learned how to make an authentic “tarte au citron” in a chateau amongst the blooms of a botanical garden showcasing plants of the unique microclimate region. My friend and I reveled in citrus-infused everything – croissant cream filling, liquor, gnocchi, bon bons. Our daily visit to the market resulted in perfect rounds of chèvre de brebis, fragrant herbs, olive-pistachio pâté to set off creative juices as we whipped up simple meals bursting with flavors we don’t experience in Idaho.

It’s end of January! How well have you “cleaned up” after the holidays? No one holding you accountable to lofty goals? You’re not alone. (My meals and meal-timing are a bit of a mess.) Hence, I guide an annual “Liver Detox” program as a reboot, with focus on supporting our natural detox pathways always. 

Read on for my top 12 detox tips (and, no, juicing and supplements aren’t on the list).

At this time every year, my regular clients spread out appointments while simultaneously sharing their guilt for “cheating”, eating too much sugar, and feeling frustrated that busy-ness takes over their wellbeing regimen. The “I’m too busy to focus on myself right now” activities are supported by the idea that January “should be” calmer. Unfortunately, slacking on accountability and adhering to woos of wonderful treats, only a few weeks of indulgent holiday behaviors is enough to tip the scale…

‘Tis the season to be intentional about activities to which we say “yes” or “no” and mindfully navigating fall, which always seems busier than we envision – work increases, mini retreats abound, travel for kids’ sports is ongoing... With Thanksgiving on the horizon and impending excess associated with fall festivals and winter wonder, now is an ideal time to evaluate the effort to nourish ourselves. Are we being intentional, or is food prep still a chore? 

When I cook a meal “out of the norm” for my kids and their expectations, I feel a twinge of anxiety, a gut instinct foreshadowing the complaints in response to the dinner inquiry. “Tofu teriyaki stir fry!” I announce, quickly adding, “with peppers, broccoli, and coconut rice – I know you like those.”

In preparation for fall retreats and a consciousness medicine group, at which I’ll be presenting meaningful food experiences, my colleagues and I have been discussing the concept of “food as medicine.” In the functional nutrition realm, food is our anchor, so this idea is not new. But what does it really mean?

I talk about poop every day. Numerous times each day, in truth. After all, I’m a functional nutritionist and a mom. Why, then, have I never written about poop? Like the topics of death or sex, poop conversations are uncomfortable. Intimate. Personal. I think it’s time to normalize poop talk.

We’ve long awaited these hot, summer days! Out and active early – and late – with commitments scheduled mindfully around midday heat, it’s time to be extra aware of hydration!

You might feel drained from endless activities in the sunshine; hikes, bike rides; barbecues and eating/drinking less consciously in between everything else. While chapped lips and sticky skin indicate need for more water, unprepared active folks have let dehydration lead to devastating outcomes.

Envision me singing, “This is the dawning of the Age of Asparagus…” as I snap the ends off a pick-up-stick pile of bright spears, then toss them with extra virgin olive oil, rosemary salt, and pepper. It’s my foodie mom version of The 5th Dimension’s “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” My kids love the silly lyrics as much as they love roasted asparagus (especially when wrapped in “Italian bacon” aka prosciutto).