In Chinese Five Elements Theory, where each of the organs is associated with an emotion, the liver is not just about detoxifying blood but also discharging stress and anger. It makes sense. If any of these toxins (chemical or emotional) build up inside, they’ll affect all your body’s functions.

So where does hunger come in?

That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering.

We can look at the relationship between hunger and anger in a number of ways. . .

• Is blood sugar affecting your hunger and anger? Certainly, if you get too hungry and your blood sugar drops too low, you’re bound to feel less benevolent. Studies show that hungry judges give less favorable rulings. Well, they’re not alone.
• Are you hungry for something other than food? If your belly is full and you still feel a grumble, it’s always good to take a look at what other plate might be empty. Are you hungry for change? Love? Sex? Connection? Wisdom? Fulfillment? Chances are these deficits may leave you feeling both hungry and angry.
• And biologically, the liver itself ~ that way-station of all things potentially hostile ~ is a source of feedback for hunger. If the liver starts to release its stored sugar (called glycogen) to meet the body’s energy requirements, it will signal the brain to initiate hunger to address the energy through food.

But what I’ve been realizing this week is that sometimes its not a matter of analyzing. Instead it’s a matter of being. Being with the hunger.

The food writer Molly O’Neill says it best:

“When spring is in the air, appetite, like other basic human urges, responds.”

And ultimately, that’s my very favorite part of the TrulyFood Cleanses. Each seasonal cleanse provides an opportunity to indulge in the foods, emotions and organs of the season. It’s the immersion of nourishment. I may go in feeling hungry and angry. Those sensations may even be more stirred up as I start to bring my attention to my liver. Yet I know I’ll leave feeling sated and supported.

I know I’ve given my body the blessing of being in sync with the season.

When it comes to my liver, it really does deserve a break today. I can tell! (Gerrrr.)

Still warmly,

P.S. There’s still time to Rejuvenate your liver.

Tune into the foods of the season.

Try some sweet little beets or cabbages. Look for fennel and asparagus. Don’t forget the mint and celery. Shallots are thought to help dispel nervousness and agitation.

And come get cleansed and inspired with us in the third annual TrulyFood Cleanse of the season,Rejuvenate: A Spring Cleanse.

If you’re left wondering what I mean by “toxins”. Let’s take a look. . .

Your exogenous (outside coming in) toxins can include:

• pesticides
• parasites
• pathogenic bacterias
• heavy metals
• coffee
• tabacco
• sugar
• food preservatives and more

Your endogenous (inside in excess) toxins can include:

• estrogens (which lead to bloating, weight gain and increase our risk for certain cancers)
• histamine (which can increase our allergic responses)
• brain chemicals (which can lead to a wide array of symptoms from impulsivity to diarrhea, depending on the neurotransmitter)

What else is on my plate this month?

My latest little treat was inspired by Passover charoset. I’ve been throwing a chopped green apple with some Brazil nuts into my mini food processor with a spices, stevia, and a smidge of salt. My spices have ranged from cinnamon and nutmeg to maca and mesquite to carob and vanilla. When hunger strikes, break out the food tools and start playing!

They’re so good for you!

I have to admit that I’d never been a fan of goji berries.

My son doesn’t fancy them either.

But really, they’re so good for you! They’re protein and antioxidant-rich, hormone balancing, powerful chewy little nuggets that promote health and longevity. So over the years I’ve gotten pretty crafty about sneaking that goji goodness into myriad recipes.

One of my favorite goji berries recipes is my Oh-Gee Goji Berry Nakayummy. They’re just perfect for Easter.

I wanted to get this recipe into your hands for the holiday weekend. This week I’ll be sending you my all-time favorite goji laden smoothie recipe that the kid in your kitchen or in your heart is going to gobble up with goji giddiness.

And don’t be shy about giving a handful of gojis a go. While I’m not a fan of the flavor, most people just lover them. Use them like you would raisins in GORP, cookies or bars. Sprinkle them on your morning bowl of oats or grain-free seed porridge, you can even throw them in a pot of broth as I suggested last month! Think matzoh ball soup with a little nutritional boost.

Happy Passover and Easter to you!

Warmly,

Oh-Gee Goji Nakayummies

What’s a Nakayummy? It’s a sweet little confection of course!

But you don’t need to be limited to the chocolate variety.

The goji flavor profile in the Oh-Gee Goji Nakayummy is perfect for either Passover or Easter. The bright dried berries create a lovely marbled affect, just like a dyed Easter Egg.

When making Nakayummies, remember you can pour the mixture into any shaped mold you like. I have finally found little egg shaped molds to add to my collection of cubes, hearts, stars and an array of funny forms including mummies for Halloween (we love our Naka-mummies). Really, anything works, a small glass dish from which you cut the candy like fudge, rolling the semi-hardened mixture into a log and then cutting off disks as you want more, etc.

Be creative and enjoy a little healthy nugget of goji goodness.

ingredients:
1/2 cup goji berries, ground to a paste in a coffee or spice grinder
1/2 cup gently melted cacao butter
(use a double boiler or glass inside of a pan of boiled water)
1/2 cup gently softened coconut butter
1/3 to scant 1/2 cup raw honey
zest of two oranges (blood oranges work great)

preparation:
1) Thoroughly mix all ingredients together until blended.
2) Spoon mixture into flexible ice cube trays or candy molds (see note above). The mixture might separate a bit–the oil from the sweet goji paste. Don’t worry. This is what creates the lovely marbled effect. Just be sure to get some of each portion into each mold.
3) Once the molds or tray are filled, put the container in the freezer for a couple of hours. You can eat the candies right from the freezer or store them in the fridge after they’ve hardened.

Oh gee goji. . . pretty AND yummy. Enjoy!

Goji: Why the Craze?

The goji berry, also called the wolfberry, is one of the most nutritionally rich foods on the planet!

• Gojis can grow in remarkably diverse conditions—from the tropics to the deserts. When I think about the energetics of a food, and consider the adaptability of the goji berry, I know that it would be beneficial to be consuming more of these morsels. I want that adaptability in my life!
• The Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolians have been growing gojis for over 5,000 years; drying them to raisin-like texture for preservation. This makes gojis a traditional food, not a new-fangled fad.
• Goji berries have also been grown in America—mostly in the southwest. They were an important food source for several native American tribes.

Nutritional benefits:
• Goji berries are actually a complete source of protein—including 19 amino acids and all 8 essential amino acids. What this means is that consuming them is a great way to add protein to your daily snacks or morning smoothies.
• Goji berries contain a wide array of trace minerals, including zinc, iron, calcium, & selenium.
• Goji berries contain 2-4 times the amount of antioxidants found in blueberries! In terms of their antioxidant profile, I always like to say they’re like blueberries on steroids.
• They also contain more carotenoids than carrots. Don’t be blinded by their carotenoid rich redness.
• The goji berry has anti-inflammatory properties.
• Goji berries are a great digestive aid—they draw the digestive juices into the stomach and intestines.

You can easily find goji berries at your health food store or whole food market these days. Look in the bulk section or near the packaged dried fruits or superfoods. If you live in Portland, you can order your gojis monthly from Our Community Pantry. Order date is this Friday!

Happy Face Smoothie Replenish Style

You’ll notice that this recipe calls for non-GMO soy lecithin. You might also know that I’m not a big proponent of soy consumption. But there are exceptions to the rule ~ exceptions like miso, wheat-free tamari, and even tempeh, which is made from fermented soybeans.

Soy lecithin is another one of my exceptions. See below the recipe for more information and important tips on what to look for when you purchase! (Don’t skip that part.)

ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons liquid sweetener (raw honey or yacon syrup)
2 tablespoons non-GMO soy lecithin
1/4 cup goji berries
4 ounces warm tea or water (I recommend the goji-nettle tea on this page)
4 to 6 drops liquid stevia
1 tablespoon quality protein powder (whey, fermented rice or pea protein)

preparation:
1) Soak goji berries in warm tea while you prepare the other ingredients. (This is an important step if you don’t have a high-speed blender.)
2) Throw the other ingredients into the blender. Pour the tea and gojis on top. Blend on medium until the mixture is completely smooth.
3) Put on a happy face.

More notes on soy lecithin:
Soy lecithin has myriad health benefits, including support to the liver. Lecithin is one of the few food sources of the B vitamin choline, which we can get in ample amounts from eggs. For those of us who don’t or can’t eat eggs, soy lecithin is a great way to incorporate this essential nutrient. It will help with digestion, muscle and joint complaints and also boost memory and mental clarity.

But beware. You don’t want to choose just any soy lecithin. You want to make sure you’re purchasingnon-GMO soy lecithin. GM (genetically modified) crops are damaging the health of our bodies and our planet. Numerous studies are already showing the short-term effects of these altered crops, including increased risk of allergy and neurological problems. But the long-term hazards are yet to be determined.

When you buy the good stuff you get the good stuff. Non-GMO soy lecithin does everything from support brain function, weight management and balance cholesterol levels to helping protect fat from accumulating in the liver, allowing it to do its job as your gate-keeper that much better.

I got my non-GMO soy lecithin at my co-op. You can also get it right here.

Have you noticed it too?

The nut butter aisle at my health food store is growing.

In fact it’s not just growing, its stretching. . . stretching into the realms of cinnamon, spices and superfoods. Fancy stuff! I couldn’t be happier.

The other day my son and I dipped slices of green apples in a nut butter confection that I swear tasted just like caramel.

Last year I wrote about all the amazing alternatives to peanut butter that are now available.

I definitely have my faves:

• hazelnut hemp butter and macadamia nut butter by Wilderness Poets
• fall harvest nut butter (with sprouted Brazil, pecan and pumpkin seeds) by Wilderness Family Naturals
• cashew butter by Better than Roasted
• and even my old standby, sunflower butter by Maranantha

These are the jars I’ll turn to for a spoonful of protein.

I’ll scoop for a smoothie, spread for half of my son’s gluten-free nut butter and jelly sandwich, or dip for what we used to call a nut butter boat (simply nut butter on a spoon ~ a heaping pack of goodness to get you through the day).

But these gourmet flavored combos are like the new kids on the block.

In my opinion. . .
they’re not to be hidden in smoothies,
they’re not to be used for the lunchbox,
but, well, maybe they are good for a little love boat ride to heaven.

These gourmet flavored nut butter combos are like prepared dessert in a jar!
(And they don’t have to contain refined sugar, evaporated cane juice and certainly not corn syrup to deliver their sweet goodness.)

Really, check out the options (and try not to drool on your keypad):

• that caramel tasting almond butter?: Cinnamon and Red Maca Almond Butter by Jem
• hankering for that old jar of Nutella but gave up the white stuff?: indulge in some Rawtella
• looking to spoil your superfood fascination?: behold the Berkeley Buzz Butter by Living Tree Community Foods (OK, there are no nuts in there, but I couldn’t resist!)

Next time you go to your health food store or co-op, linger in the nut butter aisle. Pick up some jars. Read some labels. Contemplate the flavors.

With nut butter in the mix, I can condone the urge to splurge.

Warmly,

P.S. Don’t be afraid to get crafty. Get out your food processor and start blending some nutty flavor combos of your own. Cinnamon. Maca. Cacao Nibs. If you want to add a touch of sanctioned sweetness go for it. The possibilities are endless. . .

P.P.S. Come up with any winning combos? Let me know here!

special offer

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Make that I ALMOST never get sick. . .

Spring has arrived and everything is coming up, well, everything is coming up BROTH.

It’s true. Broth is springing up all over the place.

Last week I was a part of two very active Facebook conversations about broth. One about cracked bones and fish heads. The other about cracked mason jars and non-toxic freezer containers.

I’ve been having detailed discussions with a holistic chef who is making nutrient-dense broths for blended soups for a number of clients I have on a specific gut-healing protocol. Broths blended with cooked veggies and healing spices.

And, thankfully, I’ve been the lucky recipient of broth-laden care packages to help heal what’s been ailing me. Ice cubes of bone broth and a jar of Magic Mineral Broth. Because even though I never get sick, I actually got knock-down sick last week!

I was sick enough to have to postpone a class I was scheduled to teach this past weekend. A first for me. And the responses I got to my email of the date change were tremendous. The students were kind. They were thoughtful. And, there were many that said: I never get sick either and I’m sick too!

Sensing that I’m not the only one with the shift-in-weather seasonal virus, I decided to spread a little magic and bring some broth to you too.

Rebecca Katz’ Magic Mineral Broth is one of my favorites. It’s rich, warming and nourishing. And broth is so versatile. Once you have it made, dinner is a cinch. Last night I threw in some fish, chopped greens, grated ginger and two kinds of medicinal mushrooms ~ shiitake and maitake. Easy. Healing. And in no time, everything’s actually coming up roses.

Stay strong. Stay well. Get your broth on.

Very warmly,

Rebecca Katz’s Magic Mineral Broth

Rebecca Katz has been one of my food heroes for as long as I’ve cared about food. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past fall and loved her in person as much as I love her books. This recipe is from her insightfully resourceful book, The Cancer Fighting Kitchen.

Rebecca says about this broth: “This is my Rosetta stone of soup, a broth that can be transformed to meet myriad nutritional needs, serving as everything from a delicious sipping tea to the powerful base for more hearty soups and stews.”

makes 6 quarts

ingredients: 
6 upeeled carrots, cut into thirds
2 unpeeled yellow onions, cut into chunks
1 leek, white and green parts, cut into thirds
1 bunch celery, including the heart, cut into thirds
4 unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
2 unpeeled Japanese or regular sweet potatoes, quartered
1 unpeeled garnet yam, quartered
5 unpeeled cloves garlic, halved
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 8-inch strip of kombu
12 black peppercorns
4 whole allspice or juniper berries
2 bay leaves
8 quarts cold, unfiltered water
1 teaspoon sea salt

Replenish optional booster ingredients for a Mega-Magic Mineral Broth. . .
3 tablespoons dried astragalus root
1/2 cup goji berries
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
5 to 10 slices fresh ginger

preparation:

1. Rinse all the vegetables well, including the kombu. In a 12-quart or larger stockpot, combine the carrots, onions, leek, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, garlic, parsley, kombu, peppercorns, allspice berries and bay leaves. Fill the pot with the water to 2 inches below the rim, cover, and bring to a boil. If using any or all Mega-Magic ingredients, you can add them now.
2. Remove the lid, decrease the heat to low, and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours. As the broth simmers, some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to peak out. Simmer until the full richness of the vegetables can be tasted.
3. Strain the broth through a large, course-mesh sieve (remember to use a heat resistant container underneath). then add salt to taste. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.

Broth: The Healing Elixir

There are many different kinds of broths ~ from bone broths to vegetable broths. All are beneficial for their high amounts of easy-to-digest and easy-to-assimilate minerals.

The nutritional properties of any broth are going to depend on what goes into the pot.

Some of you might choose chicken feet. Others goji and juniper berries. Whatever you choose, you’ll have a healing elixir with myriad healing powers to sip on throughout your day. Don’t be scared to use what you have, get brave with your experimentation, and let that baby simmer for a long long time.

Why?

When I’m on the road I’m already away from routine.

I’ve already been lifted thousands of miles in the air and taken from the comfort (and grounding) of my home.

When I’m on the road I’m unable to prepare my meals and I’m essentially entrusting my health, beauty and general feeling of wellness to the care of others.

And all this right when I want to be sure of all of the following!:
1) my immune system is functioning top notch so I don’t get sick on the road or at home
2) my energy is good so I can keep up with a busy schedule
3) my brain is sharp so that I can learn, take in new information & have inspired conversations
4) my skin is clear and I feel my best while meeting new people & making new connections

That’s a pretty tall order!

And that’s precisely why I tighten the reigns.

But the big question many people want to know is not Why, but HOW!

OK, I’ll tell you two of my travel secrets. . .

1) I bring my own food, including some superfoods
examples?. . .

• right now I’m sipping on a superfood elixir made from raw cacao, maca, some medicinal mushrooms and other herbs, whey protein and stevia ~ my version of a morning mocha
• last night, when I landed in Long Beach, CA, I walked to a restaurant, ordered some roasted veggies on bed of greens that I brought back to my room and ate with a can of wild sardines that I had packed in my suitcase

2) I never ever ever eat sugar while traveling
confession. . .

• Truth be told, I don’t eat sugar anyway. But I’m uber-careful about it when I travel, ordering food as simply as I can to make sure I’m skirting any places where it might be hiding

But here’s the best part. . .

MARCH IS A SPECIAL MONTH

And here’s why: I’ve got lots more secrets to share with you.
First. . . You may be familiar with the pain around feeling overweight, unhealthy, lethargic, not living your full purpose or potential, or sabotaging your success, on the road or not.

Many of us are!

That’s why I want to tell you about a completely free opportunity to reshape your thinking about your body and your health.

It’s called The New Beauty Revolution: Transforming Body Image and Health!

And yes, its an online program that you can take from your very own home, and it’s totally free.

You can join me and over 16 experts in the fields of health, wellness, self-growth and anti-aging as we discuss powerful questions (and answers!) about how the negative media images have sabotaged our own healthy body image and what you can do to reclaim it.

The intention of the The New Beauty Revolution is to change the way we view our bodies and our health. Together many of us women are discovering that wholeness is an inside job. I was honored to take part in the program and I’m eager to share some of my secrets (completely tied in to my travel tips) with you.

You can click here to sign up now to for the free Telesummit!

It starts March 5th with best-selling author Marianne Williamson.

And I’m so excited to share my talk with you on March 29th.

Here are just some of the things you’ll discover in the program:

• the real truth on finding your beauty
• how loving your body is like cultivating any other love-relationship
• some top Superfoods for youth, vitality, and wholeness
• how to transform emotional eating
• how to transcend aging and menopause
• and more!

Wait until you hear what I have to share with you about sugar and aging! Eeek. Then you’ll understand quite a bit more why I tighten those reigns while on the road.

Sign up now and I’d love to hear your revelations as you listen on the Replenish PDX Facebook Page. Let’s harness our health, beauty and vitality and keep the conversation going, while at home or on the road.

P.S. Ah yes, there is a second set of secrets I have to share with you. Stay tuned as I’ll be sure to reveal that this week.

P.P.S. If you haven’t seen mine and Gilbert’s video outtake, you can check it out here. My boy sure does crack me up!

Adrenals.

You may know exactly what they are, what they do and where they sit in your body.

Or, you may just have heard the term adrenal fatigue.

So many people have it and use the phrase that its virtually become synonymous with everyday living!

Your adrenals are your “fight-or-fight” gland. They secrete cortisol and adrenaline. They’ll readily release excesses of those hormones under times of stress, flooding the system with a profusion of biochemicals that send the body and brain into a tailspin.

Evidence of taxed adrenals can take many forms:

• weight gain
• severe fatigue
• depression, anxiety and overwhelm
• skin troubles such as dry skin, hair and nails
• and a cascade of other hormone challenges including PMS, infertility, low libido, challenged menopause and more!

This is why I love Revitalize: A TrulyFood Winter Cleanse, where we get to support and begin to bring balance to those poor little stressed out glands.

Here’s where I have to confess: I’ve been working like a dog lately. While I knew that the last two months were going to be a stretch, knowing and doing are two different things. Through it all, I’m so thankful that I have my handy-dandy toolbox of tricks to keep be feeling energized, alert and balanced. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be sitting here writing to you right now!

It’s this toolbox that Andrea Livingston and I are going to share with you this weekend inRevitalize: A TrulyFood Winter Cleanse. But I wanted to give you a few pointers right here!

My Top 5 Tips for Supporting Balanced Energy:

1. Reduce or eliminate caffeine (you can read more about coffee and adrenaline in this article I wrote last month)
2. Balance blood sugar (ditch the rollercoaster)
3. Avoid the feeling of deprivation (wait until you try the food on the Winter Cleanse!)
4. Sleep! (to bed, to bed sleepy head)
5. Find your cradle . . . (these are the places where you feel most held and supported; go lean!)

Just what does this have to do with feeling Dandy?

Well, the Dandy Blend in my cupboard serves each one of my goals for supporting my adrenals and harnessing my stamina and moxie in even the most trying times.

Dandy Blend is one of those instant herbal coffee substitutes, and I love it.

It’s caffeine-free, gluten-free, non-GMO and super yummy IMO. It adds just a touch of sweetness to every drink while still keeping that full-bodied flavor.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with it in smoothies (see below) and elixirs (check out the Mocha Dandy Latte at the bottom of the coffee article) with great and varied results.

And it keeps the Top 5 in check.

• I can easily reduce the caffeine with a viable substitute.
• I balance my blood sugar by sipping delicious and warming drinks between meals when needed.
• I totally side-step the deprivation by indulging in the yumminess.
• Sleep is more dreamy as a result of not coffee-dipping.
• And I most definitely find some cradling support with my hands wrapped around a warm mug of goodness on these chilly winter days.

Check! All 5 tips for supporting my balanced energy in one Dandy cup of brew. I’ll take it! I hope you’ll join me too!

Warmly,

P.S. Dandy Blend is made from the water-soluble extracts of five ingredients; three roots and two grains (barley and rye), not from the ingredients themselves. This is how it can contain the extract of those glutenous grains and still be gluten-free. You can read more about how that works by clicking right here.

Dandy Green Superfood Smoothie

This has become one of my favorite blood-sugar balancing and energizing ways to start the morning in the cool winter months. It’s infinitely adaptable. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the exact ingredients. Play around and give it a smoothie whirl!

ingredients:
2 cups water
1-2 tablespoon inner-eco liquid coconut probiotic kefir
1 scoop protein powder (either Plain Defense Nutrition Warrior Whey OR Plain Sun Warrior Fermented Brown Rice)
1 green apple, chopped
1 handful spinach, washed
1 small knob fresh ginger (about thumbnail sized)
2 teaspoons Dandy Blend powder
2 teaspoons Frank’s Finest Autumn Blend OR 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 pinch sea salt
1 good-sized-squirt liquid vanilla stevia

preparation:
With a high-speed blender, throw all ingredients into the container and blend on low-medium for about one minute. (If you don’t own a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or a Blentec, chop all ingredients more thoroughly before attempting to blend.)

serves 1 to 2

Gong Hey Fat Choy!

(That means Happy Chinese New Year.)

Back in the days when I worked in book publishing, Chinese New Year was a grand time for sweet indulgence and taking a deep breadth. I worked with suppliers from around the globe, but most were located in China, with offices in Hong Kong.

When I traveled to Hong Kong it was hard work. I was often on press check, woken up around the clock to go to the print factory and look over sheets as they came off the printing presses. Certain books wouldn’t be printed without my approval and it took a keen eye and stellar fortitude to check for color perfection at 2, 3, 4am. Though not much could bring me to tears, the pressure of those excursions could, and often would!

But there was always the reward.

The reward for me in Hong Kong was the food.

Time after time my Chinese colleagues would ask me: What kind of food do you want tonight? My response was always the same: Chinese of course!

There was Cantonese, Hunan, Szechuan and more. There was Dim Sum, hot pot and these little lotus buns I would procure from tiny bakeries tucked down damp alleys early in the morning. While I could let the chicken feet go, I was keen on walking the wharf with my printing friend Francis (who was also an amateur fisherman). He would buy the fish fresh off the boat, take it to the hole-in-the-wall restaurant down the pier, and tell the chef exactly how to prepare it. It was food heaven.

My biggest surprise came in the form of dessert. Sweet bean soups and squares of jelly, like thick Jell-o, unusual yet satisfying in both flavor and texture.

It was several more years before I found the constituent that turned those bean pastes and fruits into little wobbly squares of sweetness. It was agar agar! A clear, flavorless seaweed that works like magic.

I first bought it unknowingly to create the blueberry glaze in a Lemon Pudding Cake in Myra Kornfeld’s The Voluptuous Vegan over a decade ago. And there it was. . .

The secret ingredient.

Back in San Francisco, with advance copy books and press sheets piled around me, when Chinese New Year rolled around, my colleagues sent me their good wishes in the form of oranges, sticky cakes, almond cookies and luscious little moon pies. And then they would disappear. For two weeks there were no faxes, no emails, no packages and no after-hour phone calls. They were off to celebrate with family and friends. And all work came to a pleasant pause.

Though I no longer eat some of the ingredients that were included in those delicacies (or work in book publishing), it’s fun to tinker with alternatives that rekindle my Chinese culinary fancy. It’s also quite lovely to think of that sweet pause!

And thus my recent obsession with agar.

Happy year of the DRAGON!

Very warmly,

P.S. Are you ready for a pleasant pause?
Ring in the (Chinese) New Year with delicious foods to nourish your kidneys and adrenals with this season’s TrulyFood Cleanse. Revitalize: A TrulyFood Winter Cleanse.

The adrenal glands produce hormones essential for your overall health. Symptoms of adrenal imbalance include fatigue, non-refreshing sleep, salt cravings, muscle and joint aches & pains, weight issues, irritability, hair loss and more.

Don’t let the symptoms rule your life and get you down. Take a pause from your regular habits of coping. Come learn how to nurture yourself back to health and vitality. Click here for details.

Pear Agar Jellies

There’s no need to be scared of seaweed. Really. It goes well beyond sushi with myriad possibilities for flavor sidestepping the salty sea. Seaweeds are a natural way to boost your immunity, cleanse your body of toxins and protect you from heart disease and cancer. And not that I’m a calorie counter, but you can make a no-to-low cal. something to satisfy your afternoon snack attack. Agar-agar has no calories at all!

serves approximately 2 to 4

ingredients:
4 cups water
1 tablespoon agar-agar flakes
2 Red Bartlett Pears, cored and chopped
1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 good squirt liquid vanilla stevia
pinch sea salt
nutmeg for sprinkling (optional)

preparation:

1. Heat the 4 cups of water in a pot to boil. Add the agar flakes and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to allow the agar flakes to dissolve.
2. Allow the agar water to cool slightly and then pour the contents of the pot into a blender. Add remaining ingredients. Blend on high until liquified.
3. Taste the warm blended mixture to make sure it meets your taste requirements. Add more spice or sweetener to taste.
4. Pour the liquid into molds, Jell-o cups, or a flat glass dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg if you choose. (If choosing the flat glass dish, allow the jelly to harden and cut it into squares or shapes with a cookie cutter.)

Agar-agar: The Secret Ingredient

Agar is a vegetarian gelatin. It’s made from red seaweed that is processed into bars, flakes or powders. You may find the bars labeled as ‘kanten’.

According to Myra Kornfield:
“One kanten bar is equivalent to 1/4 cup flakes. Either one bar or 1/4 cup flakes is the correct amount to gel 1 quart of liquid. The amount can vary depending on what else is in the recipe. The powder is five times as strong as the flakes, so 1 tablespoon of powder is equivalent to 5 tablespoons of flakes. Use the powder only when you are also using a sweetener such as maple syrup, never when you want to gel only juice. This is because the powder has a bit of a sea-taste that the flakes and bars do not have.”

You can usually find agar flakes or bars in health foods stores or Asian markets.

The Health Benefits of Agar:

: : Agar-agar has a very cooling thermal nature. This means it can help reduce internal inflammation and heat conditions such as headaches, fevers and even acne!

: : Agar’s cooling effect can also help relieve that heavy feeling after a meal.

: : Agar is rich in calcium and can help to counterbalance the acid-forming nature of commercial sweeteners in the blood.

: : It helps to eliminate constipation by lubricating the digestive tract. How perfect for after dinner!

: : This seaweed can help with weight loss and reduction. Not only does it have zero calories, but it contains an indigestible fiber that absorbs and retains water, ultimately making you feel fuller faster.

: : Agar soothes the digestive tract and is a great detoxifying agent. it binds to toxic and radioactive pollutants within the body which can then be expelled.

: : In the world of ayurveda agar-agar helps to balance all Doshas of the body.

Two more recipes to try with your agar!
1) This Lemon Millet Bar is a great make-ahead breakfast-on-the-go.

2) My son Gilbert and I are eager to try these tasty looking Coconut, Red Bean and Matcha delicacies with some key ingredients swaps (coconut sugar to replace the demura and full-fat coconut milk and almond milk to replace the ones listed here). If you try it before we do, let us know about your results on the Replenish PDX Facebook page!