Tag: vegetables

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From a funny, songwriting friend

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned Greg Tamblyn (comedic singer and songwriter) before. He’s one of those people who was part of my life only for a brief spell (more years ago than I care to remember!), but whose music impacted me deeply during that time. It’s surely been over thirty years since the last time we connected but I’ll always think of him as a friend.

Anyway, I still get his newsletter and there’s almost always something in it that either makes me chuckle or causes me to pause and reflect. Sometimes both.

The primary topic of this newsletter was Gratitude; Vegetables; Awe and Wonder. There was a lot in it to ponder and reflect on, but I felt to share a few random tidbits.

“There’s always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it.
   For example, I’m sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don’t hurt.”
   – Unknown Author

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
      It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this
      emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and
      stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
     – Albert Einstein

“If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch,
       you must first invent the universe.”        
       – Carl Sagan

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Ending the year both healthy and happy

This afternoon I replenished my stock of microbiome mash. In the seven weeks since I made my first batch I had forgotten just how labor intensive the process is!

This time I used ​Brussels sprouts, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, carrots, radishes, a golden beet, radicchio, little Japanese turnips, bok choy, kale, dandelion greens, and green onion.

Then we balanced out that healthy endeavor with a fondue dinner (followed by panettone and sparkling pumpkin cider) with dear friend Prashad as our special guest.

Ah, duality!

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Mission accomplished

I’ve never been much of an appliance person, but this little Ninja Food Chopper has made a believer out of me. There is no way I could have made my microbiome mash without it.

It was still a lot of work. I chopped up radishes, carrots (white, yellow, purple, and orange), green onion, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel, leek, red kale, turnip, beets, red cabbage, and shitake mushrooms.

I would have included Brussel sprouts and broccoli, but there was no more room in my largest mixing bowl!

My freezer now contains twelve containers of microbiome mash, ready for Monday — the first day of my nourishing cleanse.

Mission accomplished, indeed!

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Gearing up for the next phase

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the past couple of days preparing for the “nutritional cleanse” which was recommended by my naturopathic integrative oncologist.

It involves a number of self-nurturing activities in addition to clean and healthy eating, and I’m starting to really look forward to it.

I’ve been particularly intrigued to learn about the “Microbiome Mash” (a.k.a. “Veggie Mash Up”), which was developed by Dr. Datis Kharrazian. It’s recommended as a great way to get a variety of veggies into the diet every single day to nourish the diversity of the microbiome in the gut.

This is actually pretty exciting to me, because while I absolutely love cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale), and I’m okay with a few other veggies (mushrooms, spinach, and other greens), there are many vegetables that I can’t stomach at all (green beans, squash, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus, and peas — to name just a few).

The idea of the microbiome mash is to gather a wide variety of vegetables (12-15 different kinds, including ones that you don’t eat often). Then you cut them up, mince them in a food processor, store the mixture in the freezer, and use a couple of tablespoons of the “mash” in smoothies, soup, or other recipes every day.

So, I had an entirely new experience while shopping this afternoon, filling my cart with leeks, beets, a turnip, cabbage, fennel, parsley, asparagus, collard greens, onion, radishes, mushrooms, and multicolored carrots.

Creating the veggie mash promises to be quite an adventure.