A blog for conscious people who wonder about food-and-the-earth in all the detailed ways that I do. I promise to bring you palatable research, commentary, and musings for you to chew on.
I realize summer isn’t exactly “shroom season,” but I’ve been toting around a bag of dried morels and a jar of porcini salt while house-sitting. I mowed down some lawn mushrooms, inadvertently chose a mushroom-patterned cloth napkin, have been inundated with psilocybin ads on my Facebook feed, and was delighted by the colorful felt mushroom my daughter made at art camp. I’m surrounded by fabulous fungi!
Read MoreHave you been drawn to the trails to revel in the wildflowers? Or magnetized by the energy of last week’s “strawberry” full moon? And did the solstice mesmerize you to marvel at the colorful evening sky?
I have been rearranging my schedule to get outside more and enjoy the magic of spring, witness the river’s powerful flow, soak up the rain. Vegetable gardens may have been stressed by last week’s frost, but nature’s vegetables are abundant. Yes, wild vegetables!
Read MoreMy son just turned 10, and while reflecting on a decade of motherhood and nourishing my kids and myself, I ache to slow down. I want more time with my kids, less time on the computer and, yes! less time in the kitchen. When cooking, I’d prefer quality time instead of rushing through dinner prep while simultaneously making lunches, considering breakfast, and failing to be present.
The universe must have heard my plea because the next day…
Read MoreIf you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know I look to nature to help guide my food choices. Seasons. Soil. Science. Solar eclipses. Yep, astrology, too. This Saturday we’ll experience both a new moon and a solar eclipse. What does that mean for us nutritionally?
First, some astrological background…
Read MoreSome say spring equinox is the real New Year, when we rise with more light than yesterday to start fresh. So why not begin each day with a new morning ritual? Many books and personal guides teach about the importance of a morning routine that can literally change the pulse of our lives with a few subtle shifts.
Where to begin?
Read MoreNow that masks are optional in most places around the mountain valley where I live - and elsewhere - perhaps I’m not the only one smiling more. Or maybe it’s the spring-like weather.
Regardless, there’s an underlying essence of freedom has been restored (Smiles! Faces! Choices!), but I’m cautious about being overly hopeful because while walking around mask-free feels carefree, freedom lies within our own hands. Or, perhaps, our own health.
Read MoreShadow or no shadow, it’s the dead of winter. In our Idaho climate and latitude, historically we’d be eating stewed squash, onions, and potatoes, the last of fall’s tomatoes (red but no longer tasty), and jerky. We’d be fattening up on bread, dried fruits, pickled foods, and preserves.
But we don’t eat seasonally because we have every imaginable food at our fingertips – papaya, bananas, avocado, coffee, cacao…
Read MoreA week into 2022, I’ve put away holiday decorations, reorganized toys, and marked boxes of “old stuff” to give away. I’ve cleaned out cupboards, making space for my new pasta maker and fluted tart pan. I’ve tested my frother. Eaten buckeyes. Now: time to assess achievement of 2021 goals.
What were they, again? (Do you recall yours?)
Read MoreEvery three weeks I receive a reminder about my Idaho Mountain Express column, an alert evoking a cascade of musings on possible topics – holidays, community events, national celebrations, family traditions, and which foods trend with the natural seasonal flow. Or I’ve just been down a rabbit hole for client research, my food memoir, or contract work, and feel compelled to tie the findings to more existential subjects.
Read MoreGot your attention? Call me judgmental (many do), but I assure you it’s primarily passion. No, I’m not embarking on a “mine is better” contest for the sake of food competition. Not in the slightest! Instead, I‘m inviting you to think about how your food and food habits could improve – even a little.
Read MoreThis fall I’ve been swapping salads for soup, coffee for lemon tea, and ice cream for gut-healing food. Knowing gut health is essential for supporting my immune health and sanity, it’s more complicated than probiotics and avoiding sugar. We’ve got to get to the root of our health problems.
One of them is glyphosate – the most common herbicide in the US – unleashed in the 280 million pounds sprayed on conventionally grown field crops, orchards, vineyards, vegetables, pastures, nurseries, forests, lawns, gardens, and parks.
Read MoreAs a kid living briefly in Reno, Nevada I was enamored by the Hot August Nights festival – classic cars and roller skates, hot dogs and root beer floats. Today in my native state of Idaho, I associate hot August with wildfires and unpredictable smoke that may extinguish end-of-summer camping and hiking plans. I certainly never associated auto exhaust, grilling wieners, or wood smoke with human health. Only cigarette smoke was bad for us, right?
Read MorePerusing our local Farmers’ Markets, you may relish in the overwhelming array of spring greens, sprinkled with a few herbs and a side of blushing cherries. Even with the early onset of summer weather, seasonal fruits still are sparse. Have patience! Anticipate the ripening of strawberries and apricots. Watermelons – disappearing icons of Idaho’s banana belt – may not be available by July 4th, yet well worth the wait to buy them fresh and local.
Read MoreIt’s almost June, national What You Think About Grows month. Also Dairy, Country Cooking, Soul Food, Fresh Fruit and Veggies, Great Outdoors, Camping, and … Candy month. Common denominator? FOOD.
Alternately, June is National Headache & Migraine Awareness month and Effective Communications month – understandable, as families head into a big shift with kids home (or still home) from school. Just thinking about planning the week’s food can be a headache. Want some help? Read more…
Read MoreThis week’s Super Moon invites us Super Moms to reflect, find clarity, and consider fresh approaches. Coupled with the fickle snowy/sunny weather, the changing season beckons us to look around, look within, notice. There are so many ways to mimic springtime’s rejuvenation – what would you like to create?
Read MoreWriting from the beach, I was enjoying the sunrise, waves crashing, rustling palm fronds, birds chirping and reading a chapter in my book about workaholism and how peak performers have one thing in common: they rest.
Rest?!
It’s something I teach in my detox programs (detoxing from “doing-it-all”) and particularly with my mama clients…
Read MoreDespite continued challenges and life-altering restrictions, a sense of hope seems to be resurfacing. Longer days promise more sunshine; spring break is on the horizon; and for some, there’s optimism that life will “open up” again.
Nonetheless, perhaps you’re still feeling a bit like me: anxious, fearful, indecisive and stuck.
Read MoreI’m energized about the fact that many people returned to cooking in 2020. Of course, there wasn’t much choice - and the impact of COVID on human lives, our artisan restaurants and other small businesses has been immense. But now we are seeing layers of sustainable benefits due to an entire shift in the food system: better for our personal finances, for our families’ nutrition, and for the environment.
Read MoreHealth trends for 2021 are shaping up to be a lovely balance between personal and community wellbeing. We can look forward to accessing individualized data to hold us accountable to feeling good in mind and body (vs. just looking good), as we continue cooking at home and improve ourselves with functional superfoods. Also, we’ll redefine roles of healthy communities, outdoor spaces and local food, prioritizing collective consciousness.
Read MoreThere are infinite ways to describe “how to” create healthier holiday meals with little time or “5 ways to” reduce holiday stress. But you can google those concepts. Will you actually carry out these tips to simplify this crazy 2020 season?
Read MoreServe With Love.
My kitchen is my happy place. When seeking balance in this tumultuous life, I find solace in creating nourishing meals for family and friends. We feel more present as we lean in over the chopping block of scattered veggies and fragmented thoughts.
Food permeates a long list of my life’s experiences, though it was witnessing conventional treatment and cancer’s wasting effect on my sister’s body that ultimately propelled me toward the path of integrative and functional nutrition. But I was already walking the walk.
Each food decision is conscious. An idealist, I try to remain gentle and flexible after a mistakes in the kitchen, in the garden or in town. Energetically, every cell is affected by actions.
Years of investigating the physiologic interconnectedness of the body and its response to food and environment, has led me to simplify nutrition, meal planning, and a busy life, and to prioritize wellbeing through mindset, behavior change, and the power of healing foods.
If you’ve ever been challenged by food or relationships (and the cross-section of both) and if you appreciate raw & authentic stories that inspire awareness about yourself, then you may enjoy “Clean Food, Messy Life: A food lover’s conscious journey back to self.”
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Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose medical conditions, prescribe, or discontinue medication, though I am happy to work in collaboration with your primary physician as part of a complete care team. The information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as medical advice.
