My favorite thing…

If you followed my year of breakfasts & eating for recovery you know that I started out not liking oatmeal - at all. It was boring and mushy with zero thrill. I knew it was good for me though so I kept eating it and then one day, I woke up and realized I was in love with it. Finally, I had fallen in love with something that was good for me! Beyond being convenient, cost effective and versatile it is fiber rich and nutrient dense making it ideal for anyone in recovery. I personally prefer oat groats to the traditional rolled oat stuff they gave me as a kid. Technically they are the same thing but the groats (or steel cut oats) are less processed, have more texture and a nuttier flavor. Starting the day with them accounts for about 11% of my daily fiber which fuels my brain, is good for my guts and lowers any extra risk of cardiovascular disease I caused by years of drinking, smoking and eating like crap. It is also great for my bones (most alcoholics run the risk of developing osteoporosis) with its high phosphorus content and they have a fair amount of iron. About 20% of women are iron deficient. I know I was and the effects were shitty and noticeable. I got light headed, felt tired and weak, my hands were always freezing, my heart rate was high for no clear reason and my nails chipped all the time. Groats to the rescue! The copper and zinc doesn’t hurt either. These minerals support the immune and nervous systems. So vital.

Okay okay, enough raving about the nutritional benefits. I say all of this to throw a new recipe your way. It’s easy, delicious and I can not stop eating it! In fact I even had this dish for dinner a few nights ago.

Vegan Oat Groat “Risotto” aka Grisotto
1 serving (for all my fellow single ladies out there)
can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled

1/4 cup oat groats
1 1/4 cup veggie stock
1 heaping table spoon nutritional yeast

Soak 1/4 cup of oats in about 1 1/2 cups of cold filtered water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar over night. Just throw it in a bowl and leave it. This softens them and saves you time in the morning.

Drain and rinse before cooking.

In a small pot add the rinsed groats and the stock ( + salt if your stock is unsalted - don’t go nuts) and cook at medium heat while stirring every so often to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. It will come together pretty quickly. Once the groats have absorbed the liquid take the pot off of the heat so it does not dry out and turn into cement. Throw in your nutritional yeast and stir. Viola!

The nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor with none of the negative effects of dairy PLUS it is a great source of B vitamins which we desperately need - especially in early recovery.

This is as versatile as regular risotto. You could add mushrooms or top it off with tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Your imagination is the only limitation really. I had mine for dinner the other night with sautéed greens and a roasted portobello mushroom cap. A++

Our Body & Our Consciousness

“What we eat is very important. Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are. Tell me where you eat, and I will tell you who you are.
We are what we consume. If we look deeply into what and how much we consume every day, we’ll come to know our own nature very well. We have to eat, drink, and consume, but if we do it unmindfully, we may destroy our body and our consciousness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Eat

Today it looks like I am eating Mr. Bill… “Oh no!”
I wonder what Thich Nhat Hanh would have to say about that. He is right though. We are what we consume. It goes beyond our food choices too. The music we listen to, the company we keep, the air we breathe, the books we read, the things we buy, the podcasts we listen to… you catch my drift. It all effects us. Physically, emotionally and energetically. Keep that in mind today and see what you notice.

Day 326: Ginger coconut rice with kimchi, sunflower sprouts, bloobs, braggs amino acids, Udo’s 3*6*9 oil and a soft boiled egg. I cooked the rice in coconut milk, a few slices of ginger and a little pink salt for flavor but also for comfort and extra nutrition. Ginger has such a unique flavor and it is great for soothing the gut, lowering inflammation, cutting cholesterol, fighting infections, boosting your brain function, making you feel warm from the inside out and maybe preventing cancer. Coconut milk adds some extra fat to the dish which we need for hormone production and brain proper function.

Know your farmer..

Today is a twofer! Breakfast AND dinner! Started off nice and easy with a juice. Put a bow on the day with a bowl of ramen made by my friend Ryan Farnau who owns and operates F-Stop Farm. Shio style ramen topped off with some of his OG kimchi, local eggs and veg. I am so ridiculously lucky to live in a spot that has so many urban farms, local markets and people who care about their community in this way. It makes me feel nourished and cared for. Like there may be some hope for us humans yet. That is mostly what we talked about tonight. All the bad and beautiful shit that is going on in this world and can be done to balance it all out. Suffice to say we had a lot to talk about. He sipped his whiskey and I had my Mircalo sparkling kefir. It was a real treat to hang with the dude who grows a lot of my food. His energy is infectious, his level of self awareness is inspiring and his ramen is A++. My advice. Get to know your farmer.

Day 181:  Kale + Pineapple + Cucumber + Ginger and Coconut Water. Have you ever seen anything so green? It did the trick. Spicy, sweet and everything in between. If you have been following me for a while you know I do not advise on replacing meals with juice and or smoothies. I am a fan of chewing and fiber. They are ultra important and our bodies dig these things. BUT I had pizza last night. Which was enjoyable but left me feeling heavy and not all that hungry this morning. Sometimes juicing is the answer.. I swear I live to contradict myself.

Dinner and photo credits go to Ryan Farnau

Look Mom! No hands!

Last night I was prowling around on my bike. Watching the moon come up. Racing the fire flies and sweating out the day. I’ve been feeling more confident on two wheels lately. Cruising the back streets I finally did it. I stretched out my arms and flew down the road, hands free! Queen of the world! I know this seems like something I might have mastered in childhood but truth is I have been heavily bike-afraid since I was 10. I had an accident that resulted in a month long hospital stay, major emergency surgery and 187 stitches on the right side of my head. Riding at all feels fairly heroic to my inner child. So a hands free cruise is kind of a huge deal. I was scared but it was great! …She said repeatedly throughout her life… I am totally going to do it again. I never thought that this is what crowding 40 would look like. That this is the kind of thing that’s got me still surprising myself. I’m not sure I ever imagined it all that well. I feel like my mind drew a long gray blank between 35 and 50. Some kind of dead zone. Like the actual place where the side walk ends or the closet door opens only to reveal a desert full of hungry two headed Saturnian sandworms.. you know, a decade (and change) long bummer. I’m grateful to be feeling well balanced and optimistic about whatever is ahead.

Day 130: Hot Salad for life! Six minute egg, kale, Hungarian wax peppers, crispy leeks, seared golden tomatoes, tahini, feta, dukkah and.. blueberries. I’ve decided that blueberries are a fine addition to anything at all. Full of antioxidants, vitamin C, K and Manganese plus they are about 85% water. They help repair your DNA that has been damaged by free radicals (a thing I feel has yet to earn its ultra fun title). Plus, studies show that blueberries can delay the aging of your brain. Keeping you sharp for whatever happens in the dead zone and beyond.

When you’re smilin’..

Quarantine can be a little gloomy and monotonous at times.. but I’m not ready to give in. We all have a secret list of cure-all’s that thrill us. I happen to love Louis Prima. So when I woke up and didn’t know what day it was and quickly realized it didn’t entirely matter, I put some on turned up the stereo. What we choose to engage with is one way we hone our own power. It is everyone’s job to be mindful of what we give our attention to. We lose when we give it to “those people”, the daily news, too much sad bastard music, overly processed foods, self limiting beliefs, the ego, the past, etc. Small doses, if any, of all that shit. If things have gotten too blue try the now, a great tune and a little messin’ around in the kitchen instead. With the right ingredients you can keep your mood in check. I grabbed some beets at the farm today for that very reason. They are chock full of tryptophan & betaine which have been scientifically proven to boost your sense of well being. Plus they are so gawd damn pretty. All of that makes me smile. And not to be simple or down right annoying but honestly, we need smiles right now. They are contagious.

Day 105: Quinoa (for some protein), kale, red cabbage and golden beets tossed in olive oil and grapefruit juice (for Betaine, Iron, Anthocyanins, vitamins C & K), avocado and Greek yogurt dressing with herbs (potassium, calcium, vitamin B6, more protein, vitamin C and a little probiotic). Eight minute egg on the side for that sunny stare and a little omega 3’s.