Eating Local

I picked up a new book today and I am in love with it! It is called Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America's Farmers. It is everything I want a cookbook to be. It is big and filled with the most beautiful pictures and loaded with delicious sounding recipes. I have to admit that I haven't tried any of them yet because I just got the book today but I am looking forward to experimenting with my finds from the farmer's market.

The recipes are listed alphabetically and are separated into the sections of vegetables, fruits, and poultry, meat and eggs so it is easy to look up an ingredient and find a yummy recipe to whip up. Some of the recipes I can't wait to try are carrot-zucchini bread with candied ginger, grilled cauliflower steaks with tahini sauce, Portuguese potato and kale soup, roasted butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds, and slow roasted tomatoes with oregano and feta.

In addition to the enticing recipes and photos, we get transported to ten small farms like the Dancing Roots Farm or the Full Belly Farm. We are introduced to the farmers who are dedicated to making local eating possible. Their stories give you a feel for what it is like to live and work on a small farm. These farmers also have included some of their favorite recipes such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm Ketchup and Crepes with a Warm Kumquat Sauce from the Morning Song Farm.

If that all isn't enough, there is a section in the back that tells you how to get started with your own kitchen garden, talks about composting, planting fruit trees, storing your produce, and keeping animals on your property.

I highly recommend the book. It has given me quite a thrill today and I know it will continue to do so as I experiment with new recipes. I got mine at Costco but you can also pick it up at Amazon

A New Stage in Life

This one goes out to my son Dallas who is going to prom tonight and graduating highschool on Sunday. I heard it on the radio last night and it brought a little tear to my eye. It's amazing how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday he was my little peanut that I brought home from the hospital, weighing only 6 lbs 2 oz. Now he is taller than me and about to begin a new stage of his life. Wow.



May the good Lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud
Dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young

May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven
with a prince(cess) :o) or a vagabond

And may you never love in
vain and in my heart you will remain
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young Forever Young

And when you finally fly away
I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose
I'm right behind you, win or lose
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young ,Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
For, Forever Young, Forever Young

Mosaics and Tea

Something you may not know about me is that in my life before becoming a Holistic Health Coach and Emotional Release Practitioner, I was a mosaic artist. I traveled the world learning mosaics from some of the best artists in the field. I even taught mosaics in my community.

One of my trips was to Philadelphia to work with this eccentric artist named Isaiah Zagar. It was an interesting concept for a workshop. Basically we got a tour of his studio which is a wild place and then he put us to work. We broke massive amounts of tiles and then we moved to the site of his new mural and he put us to work. The next day we went back and grouted. Basically the workshop participants were his workers. My dad was impressed. "You mean you pay him to do his artwork? Genius!"

Well you might imagine it was strenuous work and it was hot. One day for lunch one of the other women in the class and I went to a local Thai restaurant and I ordered my first glass of Thai Tea. I was hooked! I loved the taste so much. Having a major sweet tooth, it was my kind of drink.

For those of you who have never had Thai Tea it is a different flavor. I've noticed that people either love it or hate it. The traditional drink is made with a blend of tea and spices, heavily sweetened and then topped with cream and sweetened condensed milk.

As a holistic health coach who doesn't eat sugar, caffeine or dairy anymore, you might think my days of Thai Tea are over but you would be wrong. I created my own version that isn't as spicy as the original but tastes delicious. I'm so excited by my yummy drink I thought I would share it with you.

Thai Iced Tea
2 cups of brewed black tea (You can use decaf, I do)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Stevia to taste
Coconut Milk
Ice

Add the almond extract and the stevia to your brewed tea. Fill your glass with ice and pour the tea about 3/4 of the way up. Stir up your coconut milk and pour on top of the tea. Enjoy

Perfectionist? Who me?

Lately I've been working with clients that have some perfectionist tendencies. Usually when I work with a client I will see my issues mirrored in them. When they tell me how much they are addicted to sugar I can totally relate. When they describe their love of chocolate...I'm right there with them. When they tell me they just don't have any time to take care of themselves, I tell them they are preaching to the choir. I get it!

But this perfectionism thing just didn't resonate with me. I just don't see myself as a perfectionist. I've had conversations with my friends and family about this and my comment is usually something like, "Well, I know I can't be a perfectionist because I don't do anything perfect, and it doesn't really bother me."

Well, this morning I was listening to an audio broadcast about perfectionism and something strange started to happen. I began to see myself fitting into the mold of perfectionism. What? How weird! As I scribbled my notes I got an uneasy feeling. Could it be? Could I really be a perfectionist? No, that just doesn't make sense.

But then the woman said two words that hit me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly it was so clear. It all made sense to me. Those two words were; perfectionist procrastinator! It perfectly describes me. It explains why I couldn't even see myself as a perfectionist because I procrastinate doing things until I can do them perfectly which of course we all know can't happen so I just don't do them. Ha! What an aha moment.

Now you might be wondering how as a health and wellness coach who specializes in working with women I could miss something so completely obvious about myself. Isn't that interesting? Well the truth is, it is so much easier to spot things in other people than it is ourselves.

Just last week I was working with one of my clients and I hit one of her issues on the head and she was taken back by my ability to see her so clearly when she had been unable to figure it out for herself. That's the beauty of working with a coach or a mentor. You get insight that you most often are unable to give yourself and you get support to work through the changes.

I work with a health and wellness coach myself. We meet every two weeks and she has been a Godsend for me. She sees things I can't see and she helps me look at things with a different perspective. When I am down she inspires me to pick myself up and keep going and when I am up she fuels my momentum. Even health coaches need health coaches.

What areas of your life could you use a little support in?

If you are interested in finding out more about how I can support you, contact me today and we can set up a free breakthrough session to uncover your goals begin making changes.

Loving Yourself Thin

I am still making my way through Geneen Roth's Women Food and God

and I keep finding all kinds of wisdom nuggets. It is a wonderful book that really gets to the heart of emotional eating.

Here is the quote that got me thinking today:

"Although the very notion that hatred leads to love and that torture leads to relaxation is absolutely insane, we hypnotize ourselves into believing that the end justifies the means. We treat ourselves and the rest of the world as if deprivation, punishment and shame lead to change. We treat our bodies as if they are the enemy and the only acceptable outcome is annihilation. Our deeply ingrained belief is that hatred and torture work. And although I've never met anyone - not one person - for whom warring with their bodies led to long lasting change, we continue to believe that with a little more self-disgust, we'll prevail."

When I read that passage it cut right to the bone. How many times have we looked in the mirror with hatred at the reflection staring back at us? How many times have we looked down at our stomach or our thighs and shuddered with disgust? How many times have we made derogatory comments about our bodies to our girlfriends?

So often we tend to beat ourselves up. We are never thin enough, pretty enough, or perfect enough. It is only when we begin to accept ourselves for who we are on the outside and well on the inside that we can begin to see a shift in our attitude and amazingly we see a shift in our weight as well.

I've worked with women who were so hard on themselves and when I would bring up this topic it seemed so foreign to them. They couldn't imagine loving themselves just as they are...they are fat, they are lumpy, they are ugly...don't you see?!

It is only when I get them to look deeper, to see who they are beneath the exterior that they can see that yes, they are perfect just the way they are. It may only last a brief moment, but that moment is the beginning of the shift. It takes time but soon enough they catch their reflection in the mirror and instead of being repulsed, they think, hmmm, not so bad. And soon after that, they start smiling at themselves in the mirror and before long they are truly happy with what they see. And all the while, the pounds seem to melt away.

My words are from experience. I've been living this truth for a while now and I can honestly say that the majority of the time I look into the mirror and like what I see. I am not perfect. I could definitely lose some more weight and firm up but I don't focus on that anymore and let me tell you, it is freeing. I am happier and I am content. Because I am appreciating my body and loving it, I want to feed it good foods. It's no longer a struggle or a battle or a exercise in deprivation. It's just what I do.

So, if you are stuck in a negative relationship with your body, begin to find the things you love about yourself and focus on them. Make it a daily exercise and be gentle with yourself. Treat yourself like you would a small child and see if it makes a difference.

Thankful Thursday!

Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.

-- Eileen Caddy

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In an effort to share a bit of the joy and laughter Eileen speaks of above, this blog will be dedicated to moments of gratitude each Thursday.

I invite you to share the things you find yourself most thankful for throughout the week. Just send note, a photograph or both to me by noon on Wednesdays to be featured on Thankful Thursday.

If you didn't get a chance to submit your thankful moment this week, don't let that stop you. Just leave a comment down below. I am so excited to be able to share these special moments with all of you!

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I was watching a movie this Memorial Day when all of a sudden I heard a loud

C-R-A-C-KKKKKK! My mom yelled from her bedroom where she'd seen it fall, "Pam, there's a tree in the back yard!" Sure enough. When I opened the back door this is what I saw. There's no telling why it fell because the storms had passed, and the tree looks healthy.

After a gathering of neighbors and the arrival of my sister and her husband, my neighbor Marie, the owner of the tree said, "I am sorry." Marie," I said, "this is not your fault. This just happened."

Fortunately no one was hurt, and no property was damaged. In fact, the giant limb landed just short of my new Japanese Maple. And nestled in amongst the branches was my newly planted Flowering Crab, which had narrowly escaped being smashed. It's a bit bent over but it's still standing. I am thankful for not being in my yard at the time and that no one else was out there, especially Marie's little boy, Juhan.

Pam Pulice