Alzheimer's - A Personal Cry.

From the Alzheimer's Association Website.

Someone very dear to me was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease a couple of weeks ago. My first thought beyond the grief and shock was that I wished The Healing Farm Midwest outpost was already up and running. I wanted to take him to The Healing Farm for a month, have him get tested by a Functional Medicine Practitioner and start him on an elimination diet to try to take away some of the inflammation that might be causing some symptoms. The Healing Farm property and The Healing Farm outposts don't exist yet which breaks my heart, but I hope that someday they will and that we can help all kinds of people from every demographic to ease pain from something as simple as chronic indigestion to trying to work through reducing symptoms of  something major like a recently diagnosed auto-immune disease. 

Certainly I know that Alzheimer's is an incurable disease and I'm not fooling myself thinking that by simply reducing inflammation would have much of an impact, but if it could reduce some symptoms, why not try and as a preventative for those of us who know that Alzheimer's runs in the family? Get started keeping yourself healthy and inflammation free! Read up on the kinds of things you can do for yourself to help stave off the onset of Alzheimer's (most of which I already do) on the Alzheimer's Association website:

• Most important is keeping your brain active by challenging it. Think Sudoku, crossword puzzles, book clubs and taking classes - I'm starting a new business at almost 50 years old - talk about challenging the brain!
• Keep up with those antioxidants! I eat blueberries everyday in my smoothie (see my THF blog post about my morning smoothie). See this list for more antioxidant rich foods.
• Eat a healthy diet! Think lots of greens! Come to The Healing Farm/MALT Retreat to hear our speaker Jennifer Cooper talk about "greening your plate!". The Alzheimer's Assoc. Website suggests a Mediterranean diet . You may laugh because in a recent post I talked about a "Paleo Reset" but keep in mind I'm really not 100% Paleo and don't eat a ton of bacon and red meat! I do eat a lot of protein but still eat small amounts of red meat and bacon!
• Be social! Being social will keep the mind engaged and can help stave off depression. Keep the mind happy and engaged!
• Donate to worthwhile organizations like The Alzheimer's Association and The Alzheimer's Foundation to support research to help millions in future generations stave off or avoid the disease.
• Read recent research about the effects of reducing inflammation:
  • Mayo Clinic  
  • From the Alzheimer's Association site

I hope The Healing Farm that I dream of will someday exist to help support thousands of people around our country to learn simple and affordable preventative measures they can take to ensure a healthy and more physically and mentally comfortable future for themselves and those they love.

The Healing Farm. Cultivating Practical Wellness.

THF | Top Ten Tips For Help Alleviating Chronic Back Pain

I'm inspired to write this post as a succinct way to respond to people who ask me all the time how I got rid of almost %100 of my chronic back pain. I was in pain for almost seven years and I would say I felt pain at various levels 80-100% of the time. It was exhausting, frustrating, depressing and expensive. I spent a lot of time and money seeing various practitioners, doing research, getting an MRI, getting a cortisone shot (something that didn't work for me and I considered a bandaid anyway). I stopped short of back surgery because I was self-employed and my insurance was not very good and a lot of what I read about back surgery for chronic pain was not very inspiring. It's very invasive surgery and often doesn't work. I do know back surgery has worked for others and certainly what worked for me may not work for you, but I want to help get information out there that might help without too much trouble and expense!

I also had a whole slew of other chronic conditions in addition to the back pain: indigestion, fatigue, sinus headaches that were near migraine, restless leg syndrome (RLS), low libido and fluctuating weight (most of these other conditions I suffered with for over twenty years). When I was deciding about the back surgery, I figured I should give a natural approach one more shot. It didn't even occur to me that what I would do would also alleviate most of my other chronic conditions, but here I am to tell the tale!

#1 - Read Chris Kresser's Book: "The Paleo Cure" (no I'm not 100% paleo) 

I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Chris Kresser by a friend of mine and he took me on as a patient. I'd heard of a Naturopathic alternative to Western medicine and figured I would give it a shot. Functional Medicine is now the terminology used to describe Chris' approach and I respect that it's not a bandaid. The approach tries to get at the root of the problem (often a whole slew of problems) and then to work at curing these problems in natural ways. There seems to be some controversy about the validity of Functional Medicine on Wikipedia, but it worked for me, so that's what counts in my book. I won't get into all of what we did to work through my conditions but the short list is:

• Getting rid of a parasite in my gut
• Rebuilding my gut flora
• Replenishing vitamins d and b12 (I personally attribute the lack of b12 in my system for the RLS - a month into the protocol I completely stopped getting restless legs - and if you've ever had it you know how miserable it can be. I've only felt it a handful of times in the three years since my treatment and I just pump up my b12 and voila! It's gone!)
• A Paleo Reset************

******** The Paleo Reset. I think this was the key to reducing my back pain to almost zero. If you have a whole slew of conditions like I did, you may want to visit a Functional Medicine practitioner like Chris, but if you can't afford it, or you're just trying to test out getting rid of your chronic pain before considering something more serious and invasive, read Chris' book. Really it's about doing an elimination diet to reduce chronic inflammation in your body. Inflammation is often the root of many conditions. The idea, is that if you eliminate common inflammation causing foods or foods to which your body is sensitive, you will likely reduce the inflammation in your body that might be causing your chronic conditions. After your month-long journey (not easy!) you start adding back into your diet certain foods and listen to your body about what then produces the pain again. In my case it's a sensitivity to gluten and dairy. I also keep mostly clear of nightshades (like tomatoes and eggplant), eggs, peppers, etc.

So no, I'm not 100% paleo (I could never give up corn and gluten free bread!), but I am almost 100% organic and grass-fed and mostly steer clear of what I now know causes inflammation. And Seriously, I have a direct reaction almost every Christmas and every time I go to the midwest for my annual family vacation in Wisconsin and go overboard on gluten, dairy, alcohol, etc. - it starts with crackly ears, then I get the sinus headaches, then a full-on cold, indigestion and last Christmas, I went so overboard, I actually "threw out" my back. I was laying almost flat for a week and that didn't even happen the first time I hurt my back! Thankfully, I quickly recovered and I am still almost 100% pain free.

#2 - Superfeet!

If you can't afford to go to a podiatrist or chiropractor, try Superfeet! I now have custom orthotics, but it was the suggestion of a friend who had similar foot issues to mine that suggested I try Superfeet - easy to pick up at REI or online and inexpensive compared to custom orthotics. If you want to see if better foot support helps your back, this is a good way to start. Put them in your workout shoes first and if it helps, go on to put them in your work shoes, slippers, etc. If it really does help, you may want to get checked out for custom orthotics for the long-term just to make sure you've got the best fit. Not cheap, but it was worth it for me.

#3 - The Gokhale Method - Eight Steps to a Pain-Free Back

This book really helped me when I was in acute pain. For the most part, I sleep and sit differently after reading this. Every once in a while I find myself rolling over onto my stomach when sleeping and have to correct myself (I was always a stomach sleeper). If I don't correct myself I'll really pay for it. Same with getting lazy on the couch. It's WAY better if I sit according to the direction of this book (and no, it doesn't mean you can't lounge when watching TV - there's just a better way to do it!). Bending over and picking things up correctly is also helpful and I'm forever correcting myself with my posture when sitting and standing, but for the most part my posture is auto-corrected by habit. The Gokhale Method does have extensive paid workshops, but they also offer free workshops all over the place if you just want a taste of it.

#4 - Strengthen Your Core!!!

I know you've heard this a million times, but REALLY - STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE. It's one of the best things you can do for yourself. This should almost be number one, but every one of these tips will lay your foundation for a pain-free back, so there really is no order of importance. If you are in acute pain, check with a physical therapist for some very basic core strengthening exercises so you don't injure yourself. but here are some (at home) core strengthening tips:

• Beginner Power Vinyasa Yoga - I have been doing yoga on and off for 25 years so picking up a beginner yoga video seemed odd for me, but I was considering going to a Core Power yoga studio regularly and since it's REALLY hard, I figured I would try it at home first for a while so I wouldn't embarrass myself again at the studio (I almost passed out). What I found was that although the video is really basic, it's really a very good overall yoga workout with a focus on the core. After doing this video many times and memorizing the sequences, I ended up shortening the routine to fit with my schedule since I didn't need the extra coaching on getting the positions right. I never did go back to the studio and don't go regularly to another yoga studio either because it's expensive and time consuming and I do fine on my own, but once in a while it's a real treat to go to a yoga class - it's just not Core Power when I do. Too hard! Ha! So I just looked and it looks like you can't get this video anymore! I think we should all write to Lisa Richards and ask her to re-make it for a download!!! 
• Once you feel strong enough, you can add in more intense core workout videos and alternate them in with your yoga practice. I continue to workout at home because I (and THF) am all about building practical and affordable wellness solutions into my everyday life. I find Jay a little annoying, but the J-Core videos are really good core workouts. Jillian Michaels also has some good ones. Just be careful and don't overdo. Do your core power yoga on alternate days so you don't hurt yourself!
• Now that I'm almost 100% pain free (and running two businesses) and have a super strong core, I now stick with the New York Times Seven Minute Workout followed by a short stretch routine that I've developed based on all of the work I've done and been exposed to over the years. Stay tuned for a video of this workout which I hope to produce within the next month or so! This routine along with the seven-minute workout fits in with my crazy life, maintains my core strength and is short enough that I don't dread doing it four to five times a week. It's really good for maintenance - but not for weight loss!

#5 - Lose weight

Ugh. This is something I continue to struggle with, BUT in my quest for a pain-free back, I lost 25 pounds through diet and exercise. I have since gained about 15 back, but because I was successful in doing all of the other steps to alleviate my back pain, I have not gone back to the chronic pain despite the weight gain. I'm willing to bet if I were really good about being 100% gluten free and could shed that 15 pounds again I would likely be 100% pain-free all the time. Some habits are just REALLY hard to change permanently. Really, there just is no magic formula for losing weight. It's reducing calories and increasing exercise. Bottom line. Here's what helped me:

• Controlled portions through boxed diet meals - there are a lot more organic and healthy options these days. This is an easy and inexpensive way to start to learn to control portions. 
• When you plateau you might step it up to Weight Watchers for a while.
• The Jillian Michael's 20 minute workout is really hard, but it really helped me shed the pounds. Plus she's really cool and it's only 20 minutes! Remember, the Seven Minute Workout is good for maintenance but to lose weight you're going to need to step it up for a while.

#6 - A standing desk

I don't stand all the time, but I would say I stand the majority of time at this point. I already had an old Ikea Fredrik desk (sadly it doesn't look like they make them anymore) that Brennan adjusted for me to make a standing desk, but there seem to be lots of options online. I also wear supportive shoes (think orthotics, danskos, superfeet insoles, etc) and I bought a thick standing pad like the ones they use for grocery store checkout clerks. Someday I may convert to a treadmill desk, but I'm not quite there yet. I still do a lot of retouching for my photography business and there's too much finessing to be walking at the same time. Plus it would be a bit more complicated to switch out for the chair when I want to sit. The chair I got is a drafting chair with supportive back. The office supply stores have not wised up yet on the standing desks so they don't really offer any of this stuff so online if your best bet.

#7 - Walk and ride your bike as much as you can for errands!

Seriously, unless you are in acute pain, build as much movement as you can into your everyday routine. I know you've heard this one before too, but it really helps to keep moving.

#8 - Pay attention to your vitamin and mineral intake

Build up your immunity and find out what will help reduce inflammation. Omega-3 high quality fish oil supplement is important if you don't get enough omega-3 through your regular diet. I try but don't succeed so through a recommendation by Chris Kresser I use a supplement. I've used the Green Pasture formula for a few years, but noticed when writing this that there has been some recent controversy. Please read Chris' recent article on what he now recommends.

#9 - Stay Hydrated

Seriously. Drink a lot of water. I have a friend who says when she gets a "crick" in her shoulder, she drinks a ton of water and it goes away. I don't have such direct and immediate results as she does. but I do notice a difference in a lot of things when I'm dehydrated. 

#10 - Change Careers

So, not only did I have all this inflammation in my body and even though I thought I was healthy - obviously I was not before I did all this, I also am in a career that is VERY hard on the body - both mentally and physically. This is why I'm so passionate about starting The Healing Farm and yelling from the mountaintops about not needing to live with chronic pain! I've been a photographer on and off for twenty years and a wedding photographer for almost fifteen years. It's a killer on the body and although everything I've done to strengthen my core and all the other things have helped, my body is still trashed the day after I shoot a wedding. It's time to change careers and do something that's better for my body and mind. It's what I will be passionately working on in the present and near future. I hope through The Healing Farm and The Healing Farm | Retreats that I will be able to share practical wellness solutions for so many people who need to know these simple solutions! Good luck to you and let me know if you have any questions and come to our Paleo Reset Retreat , listen to Chris Kresser talk about his approach in person and kick-start your reset with this week-long retreat!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness.

October 25th Retreat Newsletter Announcement is Out Today!

I was excited to send out the latest THF newsletter officially announcing the partnership retreat between The Healing Farm | Retreats and Marin Agricultural Land Trust! You can click here to view the newsletter and if you're not on our mailing list, please subscribe here:

To learn more about this very special partnership retreat at Stemple Creek Ranch, please check out the retreat details page on The Healing Farm website.

Stemple Creek Grass-Fed Meats

Stemple Creek Grass Fed Skirt Steak Tacos With Chimichurri Sauce

Me at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust Table - Marin Civic Center Farmer's Market

As I look forward to The Healing Farm's partnership with Marin Agricultural Land Trust and the one-day "Wellness and Yoga on the Ranch Retreat" we will host at Stemple Creek Ranch, I've been wanting to try Stemple Creek grass-fed beef and lamb. I was so excited when I learned they had a table at the Marin Civic Center Farmer's Market this past Sunday where I was volunteering at Marin Agricultural Land Trust's table.

Not only did I have a great time informing people of the great work that MALT does to protect agricultural land in Marin from development, but I also had fun talking about how MALT-protected properties have been supplying the bay area with incredible food sources for so many years. Represented right there at the Farmer's market were various vendors that source their supplies from MALT protected farmers and ranchers including Cowgirl Creamery - already a local food source that I love.

I knew I needed to take a break from the MALT table to run over to the Stemple Creek folks and buy some meat! What a great opportunity! I found in their bins a few options that fit my budget and decided on skirt steak and a couple of lamb shoulder chops.

When my husband and I fire up the grill (charcoal) we try to cook a bunch of things at once since it's just the two of us and a LOT of hot coals. We went to work and I made a few organic hot dogs for a quickie lunches served with farmer's market sauerkraut, relish and no bun,  Indian style marinated lamb chops for the next day's meal and Chimichurri skirt steak tacos for a fun Mexican themed meal. Served with fresh summer corn and an incredibly simple arugula salad (all organic and most ingredients purchased at the farmer's market) gosh, the tacos were good, fresh and easy! Seasoned with just a little salt and pepper on the skirt steak for grilling, I couldn't help but snitch a couple of strips just off the grill before putting them on the tacos. Delicious!

A Tribute to the Business Model of Harbin Hot Springs (and a personal tribute as well)

What was tent cabin number five at Harbin Hot Springs

What remains of Harbin Hot Springs Resort after the devastating Valley Fire swept through September 13th, 2015 (Photos by Kurtis Alexander Sourced from SFGate):

What Was The Pool Area at Harbin

The "Hot Pool"

A lot of people loved to joke about Harbin Hot Springs. Including me! Although my husband and I discovered Harbin just three years ago, we quickly agreed we would spend our anniversary there every year if we could. We loved the privacy and affordability of the tent cabins, the hot spring pools were truly therapeutic and it was part of my inspiration for The Healing Farm (and hopefully still will be).

That said, As news started coming in about the destruction of Middletown and the surrounding area due to the absolute firestorm that became known (and is still not contained as I type) as the "Valley Fire" we held our breath and checked the Harbin Facebook page and waited for news holding out hope that this very special retreat would be spared. As you can see from the pictures above it was not only not spared, but it was leveled. The springs are still springing and Harbin has an amazingly dedicated community of both "residents" and true-blue Harbin clients so I don't doubt it will be re-built, but it will take years for the flora and fauna to come back and we can never bring back the darling original victorian cottages that made up the lodging in the central part of the resort.

The reason I'm so inspired to write about Harbin is because it really has been a huge inspiration for why I want to start The Healing Farm. We visited Harbin the first time as part of my research for The Healing Farm concept. I admired the Harbin business model in that they had varying levels of affordability so EVERYONE - truly EVERYONE could enjoy these lovely springs. If you could afford it, you could rent one of the Victorian cottages and have your own bathroom, be centrally located and purchase and enjoy the incredibly good locally sourced organic meal selections. On the other end of the spectrum, you could pitch your own tent or even sleep in your car in the parking lot! You could stay in one of the dorm type buildings and cook your own meals. You could even become a Harbin resident, live communally and work on the property. 

What I didn't so much like about Harbin is that it really is easy for people to make fun of. It had a reputation as being a pickup place at the clothing-optional pool area (in the public areas of the rest of the resort clothing is not optional - it must be worn). We never experienced this because we really didn't socialize and we always went to the pools as a couple, but I could see it being annoying for single women for sure. We also thought it was a little overboard when people started naked yoga circles by the pool. There's nothing you would rather NOT see than a naked man from behind doing downward facing dog. Believe me. So although we could handle it and giggle and talk about it when we returned to our private tent cabin I recognized that most Americans would NOT be comfortable with this situation and such open nudity.  

What I finally realized in all of my business research is that there are wellness spas, resort and retreat centers at the more affordable end of the spectrum but often they are a little too new age, hippie dippy or sometimes even too run down for most people to feel comfortable. At the other end, you have a gazillion wellness resorts, spas and retreats that are catering to the luxury market, but as far as I know there is a missing link. There is a whole swath of an American demographic that would LOVE to have a tasteful spa-like experience at a retreat center or property that has varying levels of accommodation and affordability. The Healing Farm would be that place.

Harbin Hot Springs will survive. I have no doubt that, maybe not as soon as next June, but two years from now, Brennan and I will go for our 9th anniversary. We likely won't yet have that lovely fig tree hanging over us as we meditate in the corner of the warm pool together or may not even enjoy tent cabin number five with it's treehouse-like feel perched on the hillside and partially covered by a California Oak, but I'm sure Harbin will be back inspiring me to propel forward with The Healing Farm concept. Maybe The Healing Farm will even already exist servicing a whole lot of people who want that tasteful and affordable spa/retreat experience! The Healing Farm. Cultivating practical wellness!

I'm rooting for Harbin and hope for a quick recovery for them. 

The Sunday Cook-A-Thon!

Most of the time it's Sunday, but sometimes it's Monday (currently the second day of my weekend as I wind down my photo business). I LOVE my Cook-A-Thon! I know for some of my friends cooking is far from stress-relieving, but it's an incredible stress-reliever for me and my every-other-week cook-a-thon produces such a wide variety of healthy foods to keep on hand all week (or freeze) that I don't have to think much about cooking for the rest of the week!

I read recently that in order to reduce stress, taking the most mundane decision-making out of your routine helps. That's why Steve Jobs always wore a black turtleneck. I just thought it was because he looked really good in a black turtleneck. Who knew?! I feel the same about my cook-a-thon. I've developed a no-brainer routine so that I can actually de-stress and relax while I produce an incredibly healthy bunch of food for the week. I often even make the same recipes from the stock and chicken over and over too. Easy!

I open a nice bottle of red wine, ask Brennan to put on a good music mix and off I go!

Having some fresh flowers and a clean kitchen is a really good start! Some may notice there's already a lot missing from that bottle of red! I started the bottle the night before!

The star of the show (and most time consuming recipe) is roasted chicken and stock. I use Chris Kresser's recipe which I love because it calls for roasting the chicken so that you can actually EAT the chicken! I used to boil a whole chicken in water. I got good results for the broth, but I really like the roasted chicken stock more AND I get to eat the yummy roasted chicken! I will link to a more detailed description of making the stock, but definitely start the cook-a-thon by stuffing the chicken and getting it into the oven!

Once the chicken is in the oven, I start on a couple of other things. The night I photographed this I also made meat cakes and roasted brussel sprouts. Roast the brussel sprouts first and then you can munch on them while preparing the meat cakes! I have the world's smallest oven with only one rack so I have to get tricky with cooking two things at once!

Yes. That's the roasting brussel sprouts resting on the corner of the roasting chicken pan. You've got to do what you've got to do when you have limited resources!

Don't forget to also drink plenty of water while you're cooking! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Soda Stream! Good friends gave this to me as a gift and Brennan and I drink so much more water now that we have it! Put in a little lemon and it's soooo good!

Soda Stream is a kitchen essential!

While the brussel sprouts are in the oven get started on your meat cakes! Also, while you had those carrots and celery out before for the chicken, don't forget to cut a bunch more up for the week for snacking and salads. While you're at it get a cucumber and some green onions out too and cut those up! All these cut up veggies are also yummy to snack on and might help you keep your hands off the cheese and crackers you've served to your partner as a snack! Of course if you're making the meat cakes, treat yourself to a few kalamata olives with your red wine. Oh and if you have some gluten free crackers, snack on some of these too with that hard cheddar cheese (low lactose in aged cheeses!)! Remember this is your lovely time to relax and de-stress!

When the chicken is out of the oven and cooling, throw the meat cakes in. Put the chicken on a carving board and deglaze the pan with the water, cut a couple of pieces of chicken off the bone, add some au jus, throw a salad together with those lovely mixed greens you got from the farmer's market and all those wonderful veggies you just cut up, throw some of those brussel sprouts on the plate, pour a little more wine and voila! While your chicken is cooling for de-boning, eat a little dinner!

OK, admittedly, after we're done eating, I'm a little pooped, but while Brennan (he calls himself FEMA and me "hurricane Julie") cleans up the kitchen, I "pick the chicken" and always think of Jeanette Walls, author of "The Glass Castle" and marvel at how a half starving child could "pick a chicken" for her friend's mother without snitching some bits! Seriously, I've just eaten an entire meal of roasted chicken and can't help snitching!

Time to start the stock (still using Chris Kresser's recipe). In a large stock pot, I throw the de-glazed pan juices, all the bones (cracked if I can), all the stuffing that was in the chicken and if I was lucky enough to have the giblets included in the chicken, I would have roasted those too and throw them in as well. Put the stock on flame, and friends and family you can stop reading here - then put on nothing but your apron and while the stock cooks, "relax" a bit with your "FEMA"! Remember this is some SERIOUS relaxing! We have a kid-free house so it makes it a little easier to be spontaneous! 

Since then I'm REALLY pooped, all I do when the stock is done is discard the solids, transfer to a smaller pan and put covered in the fridge so I can skim the congealed fat in the morning. 

Seriously. I am NOT a cook. I always follow recipes (although I've been making Chris' chicken and stock for so long now that I don't need to follow a recipe anymore), I have a TERRIBLE, small and quirky kitchen and well, Brennan calls me "hurricane Julie". I'm out of control. But really, if you get used to it, enjoy all the added perks like the wine, music and your partner, you can do it (no pun intended!) and enjoy it too!

The rest of the week, I've got roasted chicken, stock, meat cakes, roasted brussel sprouts and salad fixin's all ready to go! Here are a few things I make with the stock and leftover chicken:

• All kinds of soups with the stock (chicken and gluten free noodle, veggie soups (think curry cauliflower, broccoli and borscht (I use Chris' recipe)
• I keep some stock in mason jars in the fridge for a nice warming snack or breakfast to go (yes, just drink it out of the jar) 
• As for the chicken! So many options and here are just a few:
  • Of course you've got lovely roasted chicken for your lunch salads
  • make curry chicken or regular chicken salad and have as snacks, with salad for lunch or toast some gluten free bread (or regular if you're not allergic) and have a yummy chicken salad sandwich
  • I treat Brennan and I to chicken enchiladas once every couple of weeks. I buy all organic, whole grain ingredients and yes, even organic tortilla chips and use a sprinkling of cheese and it's SUCH a treat! I'm mostly gluten free, but not Paleo so I do enjoy corn foods once every couple of weeks! 
  • There are all sorts of other recipes that call for cooked chicken so just find your faves and go for it!

and that my friends is The Healing Farm recommended Cook-A-Thon! Whew! Now get started and have fun!

I Call Them "Meat Cakes"

Finished product!

My husband Brennan calls them "meat cupcakes". I found this recipe recently in Shape Magazine. Christmas Abbott is the author of "The Badass Body Diet" and although I wasn't familiar with her (she's a Crossfit celebrity and although I think Crossfit is a great workout, it wasn't for me!) I may look into her cookbook given how much I LOVE this recipe!

These things are great. They are:

• a great snack
• a quickie breakfast on-the-run (eat them cold!)
• a good addition to a lunch salad (seen above although I usually cut them up into bite-sized pieces and toss them into the salad)
• nice addition to a morning egg scramble
• if you need a quickie dinner, heat them up and serve them with salad, veggie and mashed potato and it's like a meatloaf dinner!

What I love is that they are low-fat (ground turkey!), you can do any kind of variation with added seasoning, you can add any kind of veggie, they are super easy to make and REALLY they are so convenient!

Here's the recipe (remember that I usually stick to grass/veggie-fed and organic ingredients):

• 1 pound ground turkey
• couple of handfuls of chopped broccoli
• 1/4-1/2 diced yellow onion (I bet green onion would be good too!)
• chopped pitted kalamata olives (this is so key - they add a yummy salty taste)
• any combo of seasoning - I added fleur de sel - I bet herbs de provence would be a good addition

Mix everything together and divide into a cupcake tin - the first time I greased the tin, but realized I didn't have to do that. Bake in a 350 degree oven and viola! Yummy!

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE VARIATION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!

The Prep

Store or freeze in an airtight glass container

MALT and The Healing Farm Team Up for a "Wellness and Yoga on the Ranch" Retreat!

I'm thrilled to announce the first of what I hope will be a series of "Wellness and Yoga on the Ranch" joint retreats between The Marin Agricultural Land Trust and The Healing Farm | Retreats!

Stemple Creek Ranch will be the perfect setting to unplug for the day and listen to our speakers discuss practical wellness solutions to build into your everyday life, eat two locally sourced organic meals (including the sought after Stemple Creek grass-fed beef of course!) and enjoy two movement sessions all on this spectacular "MALTED" ranch property located between Petaluma and Tomales. 

Listen to rancher, Loren Poncia discuss the importance of eating grass-fed meats and then join him for a stroll to his carbon farming testing area to hear the latest in responsible ranching techniques to reduce carbon emissions. Enjoy a therapeutic movement session with physical therapist, certified orthopedic specialist, registered yoga instructor and private practitioner, Jennifer Cooper of Flow Physical Therapy and after our picnic  lunch on the creek, hear her barn-side chat about the importance of "greening" your plate and practical eating solutions you can build into your everyday eating habits. We'll finish the day with a wonderfully relaxing all-level yoga session with MALT supporter and my dear friend, Patti Cocciolo of The Goodness blog.

If you're not familiar with the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, I urge you to visit their site to learn more about the important work they are doing protecting family-run ranches and farms in West Marin ensuring long-term beauty, responsible ranching and farming techniques, fresh local food sources  and rolling ranch land for years to come. Check out their other fabby event offerings and support their worthwhile non-profit! 

Learn more about this event and sign up before it sells out by clicking here:

Local Fresh Seafood!

I tend to order fatty fish and shellfish when I go out to eat to get my Omega 3s and B12 more easily since I don’t often make these things at home. This picture was from a lunch ordered on a coastal bike ride recently. Yum! I guiltily ate a little local sourdough with it. Who could resist with that butter sauce!!

Getting your Omega 3s and vital B12 through fatty fish and shellfish on a regular basis is not easy. Adding in wanting it to be local, quality and sustainably caught makes it even harder and my local Farmer's Market source often sells fish from Alaska or Washington State. Often when I'm out to eat I try to order some kind of fatty fish or shellfish knowing I don't often have it at home for these reasons.

I read this article on the KQED blog and was excited about the CSA (community supported agriculture) concept spilling into the market for seafood. Though this article is bay area specific, I would bet the concept is catching (no pun intended) on in other parts of the country as well! 

I'm going to try The Sea Forager and next time my fisherman brother is in town plan on taking him on one of the Forager Tours!

Testing my own routine - The New York Times Scientific 7-Minute Workout!

The New York Time Scientific 7-Minute Workout 

It's been a tough few weeks for my regular routine and I'm trying my hardest to practice what I most want to preach which is practical wellness solutions we can make into every day habits - "CULTIVATING PRACTICAL WELLNESS!"

Running a full time wedding photography business while at the same time testing the waters for a new business with phase one of The Healing Farm is proving to be more challenging than I anticipated. I'm pretty good at juggling but this is a lot to juggle. Plus the whole point of a career change and building practical health habits into my everyday life is so I DON'T have to spend the rest of my life juggling things, being stressed and losing site of my daily health habits! 

Two things I've been pretty successful at keeping in my daily routine are my morning smoothie and The New York Time Scientific 7-Minute Workout. Seriously. This is the best. Check out Gretchen Reynold's original post on The New York Time's well blog for details.

If you're trying to lose weight, unless you also significantly cut your portions, the 7-minute workout might not be enough, but for maintenance and stress relief, this is the best. Even if I weren't REALLY short on time like I am these days, this workout is easy enough (it's only seven minutes!), short enough (it's only seven minutes!), no excuse enough (there's almost no way you can say you don't have time when IT'S ONLY SEVEN MINUTES!) and you really see results, so why not let it be your go to workout? No expensive gym membership, almost no time commitment, no equipment needed except a chair, some all-purpose workout shoes, maybe a yoga mat and you feel great afterwards! It's kind of a no-brainer! I pretty much do it every weekday morning and sometimes on Saturday morning before a shoot.

Because of my chronic back pain (which is still significantly reduced through my work with Chris Kresser), I add a daily ten minute routine of stretches after my 7-minute workout. This is crucial to keeping my back and hips healthy. But even with adding this, I'm still done and in the shower and ready to start my day within half an hour! I have a friend who said she and some of her co-workers do this workout during the 2:00 - 3:00PM lull time in the office to wake them up and get them motivated to finish the day.

If you are one who really needs to get out and de-stress with a run or if you just really enjoy the camaraderie at a gym, this might not be for you, but I for one am a total convert. Now, that all said when things settle down a little I'm going to have to tie in that extra workout or two and cut my portions because I need to once and for all lose that final ten!