Food and Spirit with Deanna Minich » Articles

Grilling, Gurgling, and Gulping: Top 8 Summer Foods for Men

Deanna — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 06:26:44 +0000

(1) Spice up meats – Did you know that spicing up your meat can protect you from toxic compounds formed during cooking? A recent study by Dr. Li and fellow researchers ( May 2010) demonstrated that adding a spice blend to hamburger meat before cooking resulted in a 71% decrease in a toxic compound that promotes cancer and heart disease. This blend contained eight different spices, primarily ground paprika, oregano, garlic, and ginger. Two other potent spices, black pepper and curry (turmeric) have amazing effects in the body. Black pepper contains a compound (called piperine) that helps nutrients to be absorbed in the intestine. And curry has healing properties throughout the body, including the brain, where it has been shown to reduce the accumulation of beta-amyloid (accumulation of beta-amyloid is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease). (2) Turn down the heat! – High-heat can lead to setting the body on fire – inflammatory fire, that is! High-heat cooking promotes the formation of harmful substances known as Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) which have been associated with inflammation, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A study by French researchers published in May this year showed that eating high-heat cooked foods resulted in less sensitivity to insulin, lowered body omega-3 fats, and increases in cholesterol and triglycerides compared with eating mildly steamed foods. The acronym says it all – “AGEs” age you! Try to stay young, fresh, and vital with lightly steamed, poached, and raw foods. (3) Choose fish first – Compared with beef and other land meats, certain fish contain higher amounts of the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. These fats are used throughout our bodies, and are especially beneficial for the brain and heart. Just one serving per week compared with no fish consumption resulted in a 12-13% lower risk for coronary calcification, a marker associated with atherosclerotic plaque (Heine-Bröring et al., AJCN, 2010). Additionally, with the brain being 60% fat, it is important to ensure that healthy fats are swimming their way into your brain matter, keeping your thinking sharp and your mood pleasant. The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish per week. (4) Cool down with leafy greens – With summer gatherings comes fresh salads, a perfect dish for getting a variety of high-color-powered phytonutrient vegetables like cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, delivered on a bed of cooling greens. Deep, luscious leafy greens like spinach, arugula, and mesclun are rich in folate, an essential nutrient for keeping down blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk. (5) Reduce your grip on the salt shaker – Salt is sprinkled on so many processed summer foods, including chips, bread, lunch meats, and cheeses. Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease risk in sensitive individuals. Aim for fresh, home-cooked meals where you can control the amount of salt that goes into your dish. And, choose coarse sea salts in place of refined salts for their additional contribution of minerals. For healthy young adults, keep sodium consumption between 1,500 and 2,300 mg of sodium a day, and if you have high blood pressure, are middle-aged, or are African-American, stay at the low end of that range. If you choose for high-salt, processed food items like packaged grains or prepared frozen dishes, add vegetables and non-salted substitutes to dilute the salt load. (6) Go for the green – tea, that is! – Instead of beer, try an alternate drink that tastes good and has health benefits – green tea. Iced green tea can be made by steeping several tea bags in a gallon of distilled water in the warm sunlight. Add lemon to make it even more refreshing. The best part is that green tea contains active compounds to assist with burning calories. In a study with animals predisposed to becoming obese, feeding decaffeinated green tea resulted in less weight loss and better blood fat levels than placebo (Richard et al., Pharmacol Res., 2009). (7) Color your world red – A group of Harvard researchers compared men’s incidence of prostate cancer with that of their consumption of tomato products, which contain the red-colored plant compound, lycopene. They found that men who consumed more tomato products had reduced prostate cancer, especially when they consumed tomato sauce (higher amounts of bioavailable lycopene) (Giovannucci et al., J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002). Aim for 10 servings of a variety of high-lycopene containing foods per week (tomato sauce, watermelon, tomato soup, whole tomatoes, ketchup, salsa, pink grapefruit, sweet red peppers). Additionally, lycopene-rich foods are important for reducing cardiovascular disease risk. (8) Don’t get “snowed-in” by sugar – Studies have indicated that consumption of nutrient-poor, high-sugar soft drinks leads to obesity. Sugar is an addictive substance and having a little can lead to being hooked by the intensity of flavor. When the blood sugar spikes, it causes high amounts of insulin to be released, almost like the ups and downs of a rollercoaster. Over time, this process causes a metabolic disturbance known as metabolic syndrome, which can be high blood fats (triglycerides), high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, low “good” cholesterol, and increased belly fat, ultimately leading to greater risk for chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Instead of sugar, stick to fiber-rich foods that keep your blood sugar balanced, your appetite healthy, and your energy high! Great fiber-rich foods are legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains (instead of white rice, choose brown rice!). ©Deanna Minich, PhD, [...]

The Sunny Side with Sonny Rosati: Life, food, and chakras

Deanna — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:48:50 +0000

http://www.thesunnyside.hypnosisvancouver.com/recentmeditations

Are you a “feminine” or a “masculine” eater?

Deanna — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:24:44 +0000

For me, this weekend was a smorgasbord of an interesting yin-yang mix of relaxation and activity, as well as contemplation and intellectualizing. As part of the long weekend, I spent some quality time in meditation, diving into the soul waters within, which was helpful for allowing me to get perspective on my relationship to my [...]

The Energetics of Exercise!

Deanna — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:33:15 +0000

It seems like every day studies are coming out about how good exercise is for the body. In a general sense, it’s healthy because it removes stagnation: blood, oxygen, waste, and nutrients can freely flow unobstructed to get where they need to be when we start moving around. Movement is an excellent therapy for clearing blocks not only in our body, but also in our energy (chakra) system, especially when coupled with nourishing foods for these energy centers. Here are some ideas of how to get the best out of your movement for your chakras: • Feeling ungrounded? Stimulate your root chakra with exercises that require the lower part of your body: whether running, walking, squatting, doing floor exercises, dancing. • Need to express emotions? Allow your true feelings to flow through your sacral chakra with the conduit of water: try swimming, water aerobics, or a steam sauna. • Do you feel more controlled by stress than you are in-powered to be your sunny self? Enliven your solar plexus and reduce your stress with the balance of harmonizing exercises such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong. • Is your heart heavy? Circulate the love in the heart chakra territory by supercharging with some aerobic exercise. • Do you feel like you can’t speak your truth, that your tongue is tied? Let your throat chakra voice itself through the clarity of sound: chanting or singing in the shower or car can help you find your authentic self. • Is your mind on overdrive? Toss away the clutter of thoughts from your third eye chakra through meditation, sitting in silence, or reciting an invigorating or calming mantra to replace the “monkey-mind”. • Do you feel disconnected, unplugged, and depressed? Connect to the whole of life by praying, setting intentions, and giving gratitude in every [...]

Are you gulping down the “energy of fast”?

Deanna — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:20:43 +0000

A couple of days ago I was suddenly overcome by the realization of how incredibly fast and furious we are living and how quickly our technology is changing, even just within the short span of my paltry 40 years of life. Remember when we used to pick up the stationary bulky phone to call someone? Maybe we didn’t leave the house for fear that we may miss that “important call”. Or, we might get a busy signal back in the day before “call waiting”. What about coming home to a blinking red light on our “answering machines”? Compared to those times, we are light years ahead, simply texting our pithy messages on our slick, handheld cell phone that fits in our back pocket. Or, what about music? I can recall collecting albums and have fond memories of receiving my first Supertramp LP as a pre-teen. However, soon after, LPs became outdated with cassette tapes taking their place if even for a blink of an eye, to be further replaced by CDs. Now, we just buy iTunes from the Internet in single songs if we choose. In fact, a friend of mine has discarded all of her CDs and now has all her music on her laptop so she can take it wherever she goes. Who needs the bulk, right? What I am observing is that our lives are becoming a series of sound-bytes rather than short stories. We may not have time for novels but we certainly have a blip of time to catch the latest Facebook posting. Indeed, the feel of time transitioning is now in micro-seconds rather than minutes. We can dip into the river of the quickly moving information, allowing it to wash over us, or to run through our fingers and mind, leaving us with lots to digest. It’s difficult not to feel overwhelmed... There is no doubt that the rapidity of our lives translates its effects into health. In some cases, ease of information transfer is a good thing. After all, think back to what it was like before the Internet – we actually had to drive, bike, or walk up to the library and hunt down encyclopedias for our knowledge the old-fashioned way. Now, anyone anywhere can learn anything – about how to get healthy, their symptoms, what other people do for these ailments and then even buy products for these disease conditions. Telemedicine is on the verge of breaking through mainstream medicine. We are only steps away. Textbooks are being revamped and renewed with the latest information on how the body works. We are learning that what we were taught in school 20 years ago has been re-formed and re-sculpted, as if it were a piece of art. Science and medicine are among the fastest evolving disciplines. On the other side, fast could also have a flipside – and mean less quality. “Fast food” is the bane of contemporary society. Kids are fed convenient foods like pizza and chicken nuggets in school because they are quick to prepare and inexpensive. Unfortunately, they lack the nutrient quality we’d like them to have for healthy minds and bodies. Fast eating at any age often results in eating more than we need and more of unhealthy, highly refined foods. In essence, in this day and age, we are eating the “energy of fast” and getting indigestion, becoming overweight, and falling out of balance and harmony with our bodies. If you are aware of the more recent emerging theories within quantum physics, what you have gathered is that we are more than our physical bodies: we are a blend of both dense matter (the slower energy body) and fine matter (mind, emotional body, soul). Our less physical, tangible self may be able to process the chaotic flux of energy, thought, and emotion to some degree, but our body moves slower. And, the greater the gap between our body, mind, emotions, and soul, I believe, the greater the occurrence of symptoms, and, ultimately, diseases. For example, thoughts translate into matter, it’s just a matter of time. That is why visualization techniques are so powerful. If we continually visualize an outcome, there is a high probability that it could occur compared to not visualizing it. But what if you have cluttered thoughts piled in your mind – how do these manifest? As disordered physiology and scattered psychology? It is highly likely, in my opinion. The unearthing of issues of the 21st century such as adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue, non-specific pain syndromes, rampant indigestion, bloating, and food intolerances may be simply a deficiency of not the “taking in” but the lack of “reflection and contemplation”, the scarcity of the slow. I predict that if we had ingestion in equal measure to that of assimilation, we may be able to harmonize our body, mind and spirit in a way that resonates optimal, vibrant health. Here are some ways to introduce the “energy of harmony” into your everyday life: • Take 20 minutes to eat a meal so that your gut and brain can talk with each other about your sense of fullness from eating. • Keep listening in balance with talking. • Spend at least 5 minutes per day in silence and reflection. Slowly graduate to higher levels. • Spend at least 5 minutes per day in nature – at a park, in your backyard, admire a tree. • As one of my favorite teachers, Paramahansa Yogananda has stated, 'if you read one hour, then write two hours, think three hours and meditate all the [...]

Spring Cleaning for Mind, Body, and Emotions!

Deanna — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:24:35 +0000

What a breath of fresh air - Spring has been birthed just a few weeks ago and now Easter is upon us! Traditionally, the change of the seasons, and in particular, springtime, is a time for renewal, cleansing, and purification. I don't know about you but it is in March and April that I start to move out of the seeming slow-motion hibernation of the cold winter months...I start trimming trees, preparing the garden, and cleaning out closets that have piled up all sorts of items. Along with that movement is the transition and urge to clear the body of all it has accumulated that is no longer serving. Some of us may call this process "detox" or cleansing. The idea of "spring cleaning" the physical body, clearing out any toxins like pollutants or unhealthy food and water contents that we have ingested, as well as any mental thought patterns and stuck emotions that have lodged their way within our psyche, may be a refreshing focus for you at this time. Of course, there are many ways to go about a cleanse. If you do a search on the Internet, you will find everything from foot baths to herbal concoctions to colonics. Some of these are relatively drastic while others are more mild. Please note that whatever you do to your body will generate responses and reactions from your thoughts and emotions, so be prepared! I think about cleansing in an all-encompassing, body-mind-emotion-spirit sense, encompassing 7 consecutive steps: The FIRST step in the process is to begin at the earth element foundation, the root chakra, igniting the spirit of ELIMINATION. Ensure that you are clearing your bowels by eating enough dietary fiber. On average, we need between 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day. Unfortunately, the average American diet provides much less than this amount (as low as 12 grams per day). Pack in some high-fiber foods during the day for healthy, regular elimination. Legumes are an excellent choice, as they typically provide the highest fiber per gram when compared with other foods. For example, 1 cup of cooked split peas has more than 16 grams of fiber, 1 cup of cooked lentils, 15.6 grams, and 1 cup of cooked black beans, 15 grams. Wow - if you had just one cup of any of these legumes, you'd already have half of your daily requirement! Don't forget to drink lots of water with all the fiber to maximize its "eliminating" effect! In addition to physical elimination through bowel movements, evaluate what thoughts, emotions, and situations in your life you would like to "let go of"... The SECOND step harnesses the creative energy of the sacral chakra and the water element in the MOVEMENT of substances in and out of the body. By increasing water intake, sweating through sauna use, and taking epsom salt baths, we allow the body a vehicle for transporting toxins out of the body. A general rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces spread throughout the day, and more if you are active or using hydrotherapies like saunas or baths. Also, allow gentle movement to wisk away blocks in your creativity and/or emotional stagnation that needs some "shaking up!" The THIRD step in cleansing is the power of TRANSFORMATION, a process associated with the fiery nature of the solar plexus chakra where the digestive system is housed. The liver plays a pivotal role in the conversion of toxins so they can be excreted from the body. Foods like cruciferous vegetables, watercress, apples, beets, garlic, high-quality protein, bitter vegetables, pomegranates, and green tea assist the liver in transforming toxic substances. Eliminating alcohol, refined sugar, and coffee reduces liver congestion. And, most importantly, it is essential to introduce action into one's life in areas where it is needed, especially if anger or resentment is present. Anger is a catalyst to "do something". If we do not act accordingly by releasing anger in healthy, beneficial ways (e.g., journaling, exercising, etc.), it may turn into bitterness and depression. The FOURTH step is CIRCULATION, connecting intimately to the heart chakra which embraces the heart, lungs, and circulatory and lympatic systems. The heart and lungs work through the conduits of blood, breath, and lymph to remove impurities. Dandelion, burdock root, and chlorophyll are excellent blood purifiers; deep breathing can release old, stored toxins in the lungs; superficial skin movements and massage can assist the lymph in its circulation for the health of the immune system. The goal is to circulate the ultimate elixir, love, to dissolve clots of resentment, traces of bitterness, and plaques of hurt. Love and its partner, forgiveness, are healing salves for removing emotional hurts and pains. The FIFTH step in cleansing is COMMUNICATION, a quality which is uniquely represented by the throat chakra overseeing the throat, mouth, thyroid, nose, and ears. we communicate to our body through the quality of our food choices and HOW we choose to eat. Cleansing requires that we choose foods of a higher quality (e.g., organic, locally-grown, in season, not genetically modified) in order to send our cellular kingdom the very highest of health. By choosing to eat slowly and mindfully, we clear away the noise of mindlessness, stress, and doing-ness. Looking at what we put into our bodies, as well as what we put into words, speech, and voice, we can clear away toxic language, limiting beliefs, and artificiality and replace them with truth and authenticity. The SIXTH step is MEDITATION, linked to our third eye chakra that guides our brain activity. Clearing the mind of cluttering thoughts is one of the most cleansing processes for many people living in the hustle and bustle of the Western world. We are always thinking, doing, and living either in the future or past. If we allow ourselves to take a clearing mental bath of stillness, we can better reflect, gather, receive and let go. the stillness becomes a purgative for old thoughts that have taken up residence in our consciousness that may not serve us. The SEVENTH step is CONNECTION, which is ONE with the crown chakra that wires our being with divine intelligence through the fibers of the nervous system. We let go of stored nervous tension when we release our worry, stress, and fear to the infinite reserve of calm and kindness available. Basking in gentle sunlight and the emerging warmth of Spring can help us to reset our inner biorhythm so that we can more fully connect with our inner, deep self, others, and God (Source). Therefore to summarize: PROCESS - CHAKRA - BODY - VEHICLE - GOAL Elimination - Root Chakra - Bowels - Fiber - To purge Movement - Sacral Chakra - Sweat - Water - To express Transformation - Solar Plexus Chakra - Liver - Cruciferous Vegetables - To act Circulation - Heart Chakra - Blood, Lymph, Breath - Love and Oxygen - To forgive Communication - Throat Chakra - Throat - Choices - To extract Meditation - Third Eye Chakra - Mind - Stillness - To still Connection - Crown Chakra - Being - Harmony - To unify Enjoy your springtime full of cleansing, healing work! ©Deanna Minich, PhD, [...]

Welcome to Food and Spirit!

Deanna — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:46:31 +0000

Eating is an essential part of all of our lives – we simply can’t escape it. How we choose to experience food is up to us as individuals. We can think of food as pure physical nourishment – to give us the calories we need to function – to move, speak, and think. Or, we [...]

Mexico and mindfulness, corn and centeredness

Deanna — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:12:27 +0000

"Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts." ~Jean Cocteau, Professional Secrets, 1922 I just returned from Mexico after a week-long business trip. At the end of the trip, I had some profound insights that radiated through my consciousness like beams of sunlight filtering through a dense forest. Being away from home always gives me a unique perspective… Of course, going from the 30 degree Fahrenheit wintery weather of Seattle to the 77 degree balmy weather of Los Cabos was not all that difficult. The place I was staying was on the edge of the ocean, and one of the first things I did was to meditate on the rippling ocean waves, all moving harmoniously together, as if they were all laced together underneath the surface. At once, I felt a sense of calmness. This feeling translated into a seamless, unobstructed movement of electric energy coursing through my body. In this moment, I wasn’t thinking about e-mails, or the presentation I’d have to give, or any expectations of me. I was connected to the purity of the moment. I slept well, savored my vivid dreams, took long baths, and ate beautiful native food – corn tortillas with authentically-prepared refried beans (not the kind with all the lard!), fresh-squeezed papaya juice (now this is truly amazing – it was pulpy with nothing added and refreshingly, naturally sweet! Great for the digestion because of the papain content.), pungent sprigs of cilantro, chunky, home-made guacamole. There is something so earthy about eating the food in Mexico. The corn products, which I normally don’t consume much of at home because of its genetic modification, took on a whole new feeling for me here– a sun-like brilliance. With every bite, I felt linked to the ancient civilizations of Mexico, sending my DNA dancing in the sun. My root chakra became anchored in this beautifully surreal place and my solar plexus was spiraled forth its sunny vibration. The solitude was healing. The full moon was heavy with secrets and mystery, pouring them into the expanse of sea below. How often do we get the opportunity to find ourselves locked within the peace of still moments, in the soothing grasp of nature? I felt blessed... And, if the message about relaxation and connection weren’t apparent enough, on the way home from the airport, I happened upon a radio station that was featuring a speaker by the name of Eva Hoffman, who was talking about “Time” (http://www.kuow.org/program.php?current=LI). She was commenting on how she grew up in Europe in the era of “slow time” where people gathered around the kitchen table to talk in small circles, and how she now was confronted with the “fast time” the Western world now lives by. We have created technology to help us do many things at once, but ultimately, we are not benefiting from streamlining and multi-tasking. The reason why is because we are not giving ourselves adequate time to assimilate the knowledge we are taking in. She said that we expend more energy in our neural circuits to multi-task rather than saving on energy. And the more we do this, the less efficient we become. Now that’s a twist! I would agree that we are sleeping, reflecting, thinking, and processing less. We can’t digest all the information we are bombarded with so we end up having gastric ulcers, esophageal reflux, indigestion, and abdominal bloating. We develop food allergies because our outer environment cannot align with that of our inner. Both are on different speeds. As ancient medicine taught us, we need the yin together with the yang – the "be-ing" together with the "do-ing", the reflection with the action, and without one, we remain unbalanced. So it is with our relationship with eating. In a hurry, eating is just another thing we have to do. It feels like a bother. Or just another function we have to partake in. And it could be that, or we can take it up a notch. We can multi-task in a unique way that is all about reflection intertwining with action, “being” in line with “doing” – with each meal, we can be aware of the lineage of the food, its roots, ripeness, and nourishment. And then we can be present with how our body responds to these gifts. Food speaks an intimate dialogue with the human body. What do foods say to you? And how do you respond back? I thought about this as I was eating the corn, beans, and vegetables. The message I felt was one of harmony. That my inner self was connecting with the outer world - and it felt pleasantly satisfying. I know how easily I could snap out of balance if I wasn't aware. When we are in harmony with what cultural anthropologist, Angeles Arrien calls our “inner” and “outer” houses, we are connected. I see this as being in respectful relationship to our external environment, letting go of food allergies; to our food, receiving physical and spiritual nourishment; and to our sense of being present, shedding the clutter of multi-tasking and too much doing. I thank the energy of Mexico, of its waters, sun, and food for this experience and I send you wishes of the brilliant sun to balance the dark days of winter. Tip: Become aware of how you feel when you are “not present” or when you are doing something without your full presence. Develop some quick strategies to help you sink into the sea of your being. Some examples include eating high-protein foods, taking a brisk walk, or enjoying a deep, belly breath. Affirmations: My aliveness is in the now. Through solitude, I listen to the call of my inner voice. The brilliance of life radiates through my center. Food Focus: Corn It’s really amazing to me that the image of corn has become transformed in the Western world relative to its once revered lineage. Corn (Zea mays) is thought to be native to America, originating in Mexico and Central America. It was a staple food for ancient civilizations going back 7000 years and greatly honored as an icon of sustenance for Mayan, Incan, and Aztec cultures. Unfortunately, in our current society, it has been adulterated and woven into foods in the form of corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids – yikes! It pervades just about everything being eaten – from meat, dairy, and any sweetened, processed product (high fructose CORN syrup). In the movie, Food, Inc (http://www.foodincmovie.com/), it was stated that about 80% of the food in grocery stores is made from either soy or corn. And the corn used in these products is rather un-pure – it is in a form that does not resemble the ancient varieties. Most is genetically modified. I highly recommend watching the documentary called King Corn (http://www.kingcorn.net/). My recommendation would be to purchase ORGANIC corn at all costs! It’s unfortunate that our corn supply has become tampered with and that it is no longer true to its roots. Despite this, if we stick to organic corn and buy different varieties, you can still tap into its nutritional qualities and benefits. Even though we probably typically think of corn as yellow in color, it actually comes in darker color varieties such as red, pink, black, and blue. The nutritional content of the darker varieties tend to be high as they contain antioxidants called anthocyanins. Blue corn tortillas can have, on average, 20% more protein compared to white corn. Corn also gets a bad reputation as being starchy and spiking the blood sugar, which it surely can. However, with proper food combining – such as complementing it with beans, guacamole, or vegetables, you can change its effect on your blood sugar. A corn tortilla and corn chips have a moderate effect on blood sugar with its glycemic index (GI) of 50 while polenta (cornmeal) has a greater effect with a GI of 70. Ideas for corn-containing meals: - Eat as a cold salad: combine corn kernels, cooked quinoa, diced tomatoes, diced green peppers, black beans, and cilantro. - Try a cornmeal crust pizza – available at health food stores. Great if you are gluten-free! - Try polenta medallions with tomato and mozzarella, sprinkled with fresh rosemary. The Energy of Corn Corn resonates with the solar plexus chakra since it carries the golden sunny energy of yellow as well as the countries it comes from. It provides starch (carbohydrate) which feeds the solar plexus chakra, or our ability to transform, digest, and exchange energy within and out from our [...]

Creativity in the kitchen

Deanna — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:36:30 +0000

I realized today at about 3 o'clock this afternoon that Mark and I were going to have a dinner guest. Unfortunately - or as I later learned, fortunately - the "cupboard was bare." I didn't make time to go grocery shopping this weekend so we were left with residual eats from the past week. I found myself in the kitchen and a shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins. What are we going to eat? Once I got past the initial wondering of what I was going to do, I became excited that I would be "forced" into being creative. If there was one thing (and actually there are many) that I learned from my mom, it was how to be creative with food. She could whip up an amazing meal from some bare-bones dry goods and slim-pickins vegetables in no time! I felt the surge of creative juices running through me as I scanned the cabinets. I picked out some chana dal (dry yellow lentils) and basmati rice. I felt that I could do something with these, especially since my food comfort-zone is Indian cuisine. Of course, I needed vegetables, and all we had was some dried up Brussels sprouts (not very appealing), baby carrots (a maybe), fresh spinach (definitely), and half a head of broccoli (oh yes!). I could see the meal coming together like paint on a canvas. I also noticed that we had 3 neglected yams on the windowsill. I took a couple of seconds to admire their unique personalities. Two of them were curvy and thick in the middle with curled, tapered ends and one of them was a bit more straight-laced and simple. OK, I thought, I could definitely do something with these guys. I started with the dal. Made it from scratch by boiling the legumes for 30 minutes. Then I ravaged the cabinet for all my Indian spices. Found half an onion on its last day and chopped it, put it in the frying pan with some clarified butter (ghee), and speckled the onions with a showering of Indian spices. I took a two second break and lit an incense stick...I was really in the Indian mood now. The spices' aroma wafted through the kitchen and with the curls of incense smoke, they moved together through the kitchen, filling the space in a sacred way. In a quick moment, I see myself in a colorful sari twirling around in the kitchen with incense wand in one hand and spices in the other. I run upstairs to start the music from the iTunes on Mark's computer so that I can hear the mystical beats and delicate chiming from my latest musical favorite, Christopher of the Wolves (CD title: Transcendance!). Now the picture is complete! I run downstairs, thrusting myself into the cloud of cumin, curry, and cardamom... The rice found its place in the confine of the rice cooker. Yams were cozy in the oven. I had some time before the next steps so I became inspired enough to make a gluten-free chocolate cake. I had a Bob's Red Mill mix in the cupboard and one last egg in the refrigerator from Al, the neighborhood farmer. Luckily, I had enough coconut milk left from yesterday...perfect. The culinary creativity was moving through me...I was floating in a spiced incense bliss...happy to create and serve a meal to a friend on the fly! Although I didn't get time to engage in my typical artistic afternoon of painting on the weekend, I manifested my creativity in spicy chana dal with delicate basmati rice with a heaping dash of yam sweetness. It's interesting how easy it is to form "pegged" definitions of what creativity is. Creativity is any act of personal expression. So much of who we are can come through even the preparation of a meal. When we have to work with what we have, we span the reaches of what we are capable of. Creativity in the present moment - how fulfilling it can be - all within the art studio of the [...]