Happy Summer!!!

Hi Everyone,

It's hard to believe that my last post was back in February. We are fully in summer now & it's beautiful thing! I just finished my 6 month series of cooking classes & nutrition workshops at the Stone Ridge Healing Arts. I am taking a breather over the summer so I can play with my kiddies & gather my energy for the fall.

I am in the process of coming up with topics for the next series. If you have any requests for cooking class themes or nutrition topics, please let me know and I will try to include them in the series.

I will post a recipe tomorrow from a class I lead on Sunday entitled "Sumptuous Salads".

That's all for now~

Lysa

Why Food, Farms & Eating Local Matters!

Hi Everyone,

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the "Why Food, Farms & Eating Local Matters" event held at Woodstock Elementary School that was sponsored by the Woodstock Land Conservancy. It was really an amazing event! There was a lot of really great information shared but that's not what I am going to write about.

Joel Salatin, who is one of the main farmer's featured in the movie Food, inc, was the main speaker of the event. If you haven't seen that movie, I highly suggest seeing it. I admit that I had an aversion to seeing the film because I feel like I know enough about the meat industry and do my best to eat both poultry and meat from local sources. However, I finally saw the movie the other evening. There were different aspects of the industry I was unaware of and it did inspire me to become more active politically in the way of exercising my rights as a citizen in regards to food policy.

From the talk, I walked away with the inspiration to make a push for our school to have a functioning vegetable garden and really organize people to get excited about it. So far, I have collected almost 10 families for this project and I am sure others will join in!

So, why I am sharing this? I want to encourage you to do whatever you can to be a part of changing the food system as we know it! We can all do small things to make a difference. Eating as much local food as possible is a start. Planting a garden is another step. Avoiding processed food is yet another. There are so many things we can do. The coolest thing is that it not only is the healthiest thing for us, it's the healthiest thing for the earth, for our local economies and so forth.

For those of you who live in the Hudson Valley, there was a great farmer there named Miriam Latzer who is going to teach canning classes through her farm called the Loose Caboose Farm. Canning and preserving is one way we can eat local throughout the winter. Pickling is another, I have a friend, Peter Barrett who teaches Pickling classes among other great foodie classes.

Okay, that's it for now! Write soon!!! Enjoy the snowy day! Lysa

Flu Buster Tonic for those in need

Hi Everyone,

I have let some time go between writing (again!), but here I am back in action. I was speaking with a friend who has been struggling with a persistent cold/flu the last couple of weeks which made me think of the "Flu Buster Tonic" from Renee Loux's the Balanced Plate book. I may have posted the recipe for this last year, but I want to do it tonight for those who did n't see it and just in case I didn't!

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic (if you dare)

1/4 cup shredded ginger

2 teaspoons wasabi powder ( I never have this so I skip this ingredient)

1-4 tablespoons raw honey

In blender, combine the vinegar, garlic and ginger and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine strainer and press with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard pulp.

Whisk in the wasabi, cayenne, and honey. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Serve 2 tablespoons at a time on an empty stomach. Add to 1 cup hot water for a warming tonic.

I usually omit the wasabi and squeeze fresh lemon juice into this tonic as well. I also just put all the ingredients in the blender except the lemon juice (squeeze that in at the end). It really does work wonders if you feel like you are getting sick or if you are sick, it speeds up the process.

The Balanced Plate cookbook is an amazing resource of healthy and delicious recipes, healing tonics, macrobiotic guidelines, healthy cleaning product recommendations and much more!

Good night!

Lysa

Birthday Post!

Hi Everyone,

It's my 41st birthday today so I thought I would start it with a new blog post!

It's a gorgeous sunny, blue skied day out there with icy snow on the trees. It is truly a

winter wonderland today!

So many thoughts on what I hope this year brings, but most of all, I hope I can keep in my

mind the contentment of being happy with where I am. I always receive a quote daily from a group called "Gratefulness.com" that my dear friend Bobbi shared with me. The quote two days ago read something like "to be spiritual is less about being godly like and more about being "deeply human". I love this quote! So, this year, I will do my best to not shut down in a hard moment and keep myself open and deeply human.

I am so happy to share that I made it to the gym last night. I know that doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment but I have been having neck trouble which has caused me not to exercise. There also have been a bunch of snow days which has kept me home with the kids, etc, etc. Anyway, it is excellent to feel great in my body this morning. I want to encourage you all to do something physical today. Even it's stretching, or doing 10 squats while you are cooking in the kitchen, lift some weights in between emails, do some lower belly squeezes while in your office chair, just use some muscles and connect with your body today.

That's it for today, enjoy it. Here's another beautiful quote that is an old native american prayer "get out your rainbow colors and make today a beautiful day"! be happy and well, Lysa

On again off again cleanse!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a bit since I've blogged so thought it was high time for me to get writing!

Well, I need to admit that this round of no sugar/no alcohol was a bit harder than the spring round. Perhaps it's been harder because my neck has been out of sorts so I haven't been able to exercise which really helps me feel good in my body.

I haven't hard such a hard time with sugar as much as missing a glass of wine. However, what I have noticed is that when I let myself have the wine, then I want the sugar. So after all these years of self experimenting and figuring out what works for me and what doesn't. I have finally realized that for me, alcohol and sugar are partners in crime! Now of course I need to decide what I want to do this info. For now, I will tuck it away since I am back on my sugar/alcohol cleanse after a three day weekend of letting myself have a bit of wine and some cake.

A friend introduced me to a gentle vegetable cleanse that I think I am going to play with a little next week that I will share with you. Just focusing on baked and steamed veggies and some veggie broth. Seems like a nice way to cleanse and rejuvenate in the winter.

I received my Feb. issue of O magazine, which is my favorite. The cover reads "Imagaine, Yes, You Can Have... Your ideal body, A Better Job, Extra Energy, More Love, Less Stress, A Fresh Outlook: The New You Begins Here!

So many great things to think about...

What would you like to focus on this year?

I am always working on my ideal body, which to me means being as strong and fit as I can realistically be. Working on building my practice and of course most of us would love more energy, love (although I must admit love is something I have plenty of in my life) & less stress. All sound great.

My belief is that if I keep coming back to the areas in my life I want to focus on, even if I only have a little time to deal with a particular area, it makes a big difference.

So again, I ask you: what would you like to work on this winter? Write it down and plan what steps you will need to take to manifest the change you want.

Cheers!

Lysa

Muffin splurge

Hi Out There,

Well, I started my New Year's cleanse on January 2nd ( avoiding alcohol and sugar). The week went fine without any cravings. Yesterday, my husband brought home my favorite muffins (Morning Glory) from a great local pancake spot. Not thinking about the cleanse, I took a bit out of the muffin and immediately remember as I was swallowing its deliciousness! So, wanted to share that. There was a part of my mind that said, "since you had some muffin, you might as well as have a glass of wine tonight". Lucky for me, I know that voice, it's the one that says, "since you had a cookie, you might as well have some ice cream". It's not a voice I listen to often and it's one that leads me to feeling not good in and about my body. So I ignored it and continued on the rest of my day.

My husband who is a wine lover, has joined me this week. It hasn't been easy for him, but he is happy he has been doing it for this temporary period.

Here's a thought to ponder: What are you ready to cleanse from your life even temporarily? What new thing, thought, feeling are you ready to try?

Patience and perseverance are on the top of my list along with courage. Patience with myself and my children. Perseverance with my business, personal fitness goals, computer skills, getting my house organized, getting my kids to school on time, and the courage to face the variety of fears I typically like to hide from. That's what I would like to try.

Foodwise, I would like to add trying a new recipe once a week. I will share with you! What's on your list? Write in and share it with me.

All the best,

Lysa

Holiday Detox/New Year Cleanse!

Hi Out There!

Happy New Year to you! I did a decent job this year of not eating too many holiday sweets but certainly indulged more than I had planned. Also found myself having a glass of wine or so each night over the 10 days that I spend with family during the holidays.

So for me that means that by the end of it I wasn't feeling like myself. Sluggish, and puffy, not good! That prompted me to think about what I wanted to feel in the New Year. Here's what came to mind: energized, strong and clear! So, I am on my third day of no alcohol or sugar and feeling like I am returning back to my spunky self again.

I invite you to do a 3, 7 or 21 day cleanse with me. Give your body a break for a bit.

Start with these simple steps:

1. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day.

2. Get 1/2 hour extra of sleep per night (it's winter, you need it)

3. Move your body as often as you can: take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from wherever you are going to get the extra walk. Go to the gym, dance at home, take a zumba class (which I did today for the first time, very fun and sweaty). You get the point.

4. Try eating 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch and 1/2 veggie on your plate.

5. Avoid alcohol and sugar this week or couple of weeks.

6.Make the effort to spend some time reading, writing, meditating.

Feel free to write in, would love to start a healthy New Year's trend!

Cheers to your healthiest self!

Lysa