New York Times Best-Selling Cookbook Author Diane Sanfilippo Signs on to Host our Cooking Demo at the Mayacamas Ranch Retreat!

I couldn't be more thrilled to announce that Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites and author of New York Times best-selling cookbook "Practical Paleo" will be hosting a cooking demo and talk at the Mayacamas Ranch Paleo Reset and Yoga retreat! 

Since The Healing Farm is all about practical wellness, Diane will be a perfect fit for our retreat. Diane's website Balanced Bites is a great resource for practical paleo ideas. Learn about her weekly podcasts, download her free PDF guides, find great recipes, join her next 21 day detox (starting March 7th) and find out how to oder her book (plus many other great resources!). 

I for one won't be missing her talk and demo. I can't wait to find out what we'll learn in the lovely outdoor kitchen at Mayacamas Ranch and will be a groupie and have her sign my book!

See Diane's bio on the details page for the Mayacamas Ranch Reset Retreat!

Taking the Plunge - Natural Deodorant? Stay Tuned!

OK. Hubby may not be pleased when he hears this, but I'm going to finally try a natural deodorant. Since cleaning out and detoxifying the INSIDE of my body has done me wonders, I figured I should probably start thinking more about what I'm putting ON my body.

Believe me, this whole transition to all-natural and organic is taking me years. It's really hard to change old habits and the ease of buying everything (for body and home) at Target but really, given I've almost completely eliminated a whole slew of chronic conditions by changing my eating habits (albeit slowly), it's time to start trying to change other parts of my life as well. So, today I was scrolling through e-mail newsletters I've received from Chris Kresser in the past couple of years and decided I will first try to switch my deodorant. Looking at the container of "Secret" deodorant in my medicine cabinet after reading what Chris says about aluminum in deodorant (and discovering "aluminum" is mentioned on the very front of the container) and the fact the Alzheimer's most definitely runs in my family, I was inspired to make deodorant my first switch. Because I'm not the expert, I encourage you to read Chris' article by clicking here. 

Chris recommends two brands and I chose "Primal Life Organics" mostly because I just couldn't get myself to buy something called "Primal Pit Paste". I'm sure both are good choices because I trust what Chris recommends, but am glad they mention on the site that in the beginning while your body adjusts you need to apply several times a day. I guess I should have bought two! I really do hesitate to try using all-natural deodorant because I don't want to be that person next to you in the gym or on the plane smelling like - well, like they might be using natural "deodorant", but I also have a real fear of Alzheimer's and breast cancer. Perhaps I would rather smell a little than face the alternative? 

Anyway, I'll try to remember to put it on several times a day and will try to remember to update on Facebook with a review! Wish me luck and let's hope Brennan doesn't start holding his nose when he walks past me!

California Local, Fresh and Organic - A Day with Chef Romney of The Cook and Her Farmer in Oakland

I'm balancing a lot of things right now including photo shoots and was inspired to share a bit of this one with THF readers. 

I was fortunate enough to meet Chef Romney at one of my favorite places in the world (Rancho La Puerta). I was down there photographing for their marketing materials and Romney was down there as the visiting chef for the week. I was struck by how gorgeous she was and asked to photograph her and her daughter during the guest sangria party and we discovered we lived just a few blocks from each other! Given we were at a spa in Mexico, that was quite a revelation. Thankfully neither one of us is shy and when we ran into each other at a local coffee house, we said hi. Romney told me she was opening a restaurant in downtown Oakland's Swan's Market and I was so excited for her. Eventually The Cook and Her Farmer indeed opened up and I went over to take some photos for their website. Here we are now, a little over a year later and Romney's po' boy sandwich was just written up in the New York Times travel section! She is on her way!

I was happy to be back this week photographing items from her breakfast and dinner menus along with a few of her new cocktail offerings and went back this morning to follow and photograph Romney and her staff shopping at the Old Oakland Friday morning farmer's market literally right outside the restaurant door! Needless to say, I have eaten well this week due to this shoot!

As I uploaded this shoot today, I got a call from a possible attendee for the Mayacamas Ranch Paleo reset and yoga retreat. She was calling from Massachusetts and had a few questions for me and one of them was asking if indeed the food at the retreat center was going to all be organic and local. I looked at my shoot and the fact that I was at a farmer's market JUST this morning AND those danged lemons just came from Romney's neighbor's garden just a couple of days ago and could assure my potential retreat attendee that, yes. In the Bay Area we are soooo spoiled. If it's not fresh and local and organic, many of us just aren't interested in eating it. How lucky are we! 

Just thought I would share this story, some photos from the shoot and Romney's wonderful restaurant. I'm gluten free so I didn't try the po'boy sandwich and alas, stay away from most tomato based foods and drinks so didn't try the bloody mary with an oyster on top, but boy oh boy. Give me that steak, those veggies and that tray of oysters and a leftover glass of white wine from the shoot and I'm a happy camper! Thank you Chef Romney! XXOO

A Day (or Three) in the Life of the Paleo Reset/Yoga Retreat at Mayacamas Ranch!

I thought it might be fun to post a day or two in the life of the Mayacamas Ranch Paleo Reset/Yoga Retreat which will feature the first week of Chris Kresser's recommended Paleo Reset featured in his book The Paleo Cure. 

I was fortunate enough to work with Chris directly to work through some pretty major long-term chronic conditions like migraine-like  sinus headaches, chronic back pain, chronic indigestion, fluctuating weight (still haven't quite resolved that one), restless legs, chronic fatigue, low libido, etc. What I attribute to my long-term success is not just my direct work with Chris, but a big part was the paleo-reset. I learned that I have slight allergies to gluten and dairy and have to be careful with my alcohol intake. If I go overboard on any of these things, my conditions start creeping back. 

Let me tell you the reset is not easy, but you CAN get through it (it's a month of your life for lifelong changes in your health and well-being), but  as I went through it I started dreaming of being in a lovely place, exercising every day with people who were also going through the reset AND having someone else do all the cooking! That's when I hatched the plan of the first week of the paleo reset as a retreat and am incredibly happy that Chris agreed to do a keynote at the beginning of the week along with Q&A and booking signing. Then we will have one of Chris' nutritionists, Kelsey Marksteiner with us all week to cheer us on along with two lectures and private consultations by appointment AND a special appearance by Diane Sanfilippo, popular paleo blogger of "Balanced Bites" and author of The New York Times best-selling book "Practical Paleo". What a line-up!

Adding in some wonderful gentle exercise every day (or more rigorous if you choose) and some really great relaxation and pool time, it will be an ideal setting to kick off your reset and life-long changes. Just be sure to get your wine tasting in the Friday and Saturday before the retreat begins and stay tuned for a bit of direction on how to prepare your body for the reset!

Here is a sample of what our days will look like:

Sunday, April 17

4:00 - 6:00        Check in

6:00 - 7:00         Dinner

7:00 - 8:30         Keynote and Q&A with Chris Kresser

8:30 - 9:00         Book signing

Monday, April 18

6:30  -  7:00      Coffee and light snack available

7:00-  7:45        Morning mini-hike

7:30   - 9:00      Breakfast buffet

9:00   - 9:50      Beginner’s progressive yoga

10:00 - 11:30      Intermediate/advanced yoga

12:00 - 12:30      Swim clinic

12:00 - 1:30        Lunch buffet

1:00   - 2:30        Nutrition lecture and Q&A

2:30   -   6:00     Pool time or optional hiking field trip to local state park

6:00   -   8:30     Dinner

8:00   -   9:00     Evening campfire

Treatment appointments and nutrition consultation available by appointment

Tuesday April 18th

6:30  -  7:00      Coffee and light snack available

7:00-  7:45        Morning mini-hike

7:30   - 9:00      Breakfast buffet

9:00   - 9:50      Beginner’s progressive yoga

10:00 - 11:30      Intermediate/advanced yoga

12:00 - 1:30       Lunch buffet

1:00   - 2:30      Cooking Demo and talk with Diane Sanfilippo author of "Practical Paleo"           

2:30   -   6:00    Pool time or optional field trip to local organic garden and farm

6:00   -   8:30    Dinner

8:00   -   9:00    Campfire

Treatment appointments and nutrition consultation available by appointment

Alicia Thomsen Joins the THF Menopause Retreat as our All-Level Yoga Teacher

Happy to announce that Alicia Thomsen, certified yoga instructor and chiropractor has joined The Healing Farm's Women's Health retreat! Alicia is a Marin resident and yoga instructor at Yogaworks and will be a terrific addition to our retreat.

From her bio:

"Dr. Alicia Thomsen combines over 17 years of experience as both a Chiropractor and Yoga teacher bringing a unique combination of skill, sensitivity and creativity to her work. Her practice specializes in natural solutions to reduce pain and inflammation by combining the principles of Chiropractic, Advanced Muscle Reconditioning (AMR) and Nutrition."

Alicia was excited to accept the challenge of coming up with a class that focusses on women in the 45-60 year-old range faced with the challenges of keeping up with healthy exercise during a major body transition. I can't wait to take her class and hope you will be there too!

MOO Blog Post - TEDx Talk About Finding the Work You Love

I was so pleased to see that the affordable printing site MOO posted this article on their blog. Not only was I inspired by this article and Scott Dinsmore's TEDx talk, I'm also always impressed with businesses that have a mission of offering a good service at an affordable price. It goes way back to Martha Stewart heralding the idea of bringing good design to the masses. Whether you love her or not, she purposely catered to a non-luxury market. She knew there was a middle market that had good taste and didn't want to go broke pursuing lovely things! 

I want The Healing Farm to be the Martha Stewart or MOO of the spa and retreat industry. I have my Week-long Paleo Reset Retreat at Mayacamas Ranch advertised as "A spa-like vacation without the spa prices". That is the business model I'm striving for with The Healing Farm and I was inspired by Scott's TEDx talk because I have been working so hard toward "Living my Legend". I am absolutely taking a huge risk switching careers at the age of almost 50, but not only can I not physically do what I do currently anymore, but I've had this nagging feeling I'm supposed to do more! I want to provide people with practical and affordable solutions for their long-term wellness and I've worked hard the last few years, doing all the things Scott talks about in his talk to get to the place I'm at now. Will I fail? Will I succeed? I don't know, but I was inspired to hear Scott say "Learn your own impossible." Sometimes I think what I'm trying to do is impossible for me. But to Scott's point in his talk, as I say to myself "How can I do this?" I'm also finding myself saying "How can I not?".

I read online when I was researching for this post that Scott was tragically killed this past fall while hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro with his wife. You know, you always hear the saying: If you died tomorrow are you happy with your life today?  I'm sure Scott never imagined he would die at the age of 33. But dang. It looks like he would have emphatically said YES to that question right before he died. It's such a strong message to us all to strive to do what you believe in. Imagine the impossible and maybe you too can change a life or two - or millions. 

I love this quote Scott ends his talk with:

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.” ― Mahatma Gandhi.

I might be in the "ignore" phase right now, but I hope to build The Healing Farm one day to bring practical, affordable wellness to the masses in beautiful places around the country and perhaps the world. Impossible? Only if that's what I believe.

Butcher Box! Grass-Finished Meats Right to Your Door!

Butcher Box Home Page

In the e-mail letter from Chris Kresser this morning I was thrilled to read about this new service called Butcher Box. The goal of Butcher Box is to make 100% grass-fed meats accessible and affordable to everyone nationwide. Despite living in the San Francisco Bay area with amazing resources right at my local farmer's markets, I wanted to place an order since the mission of Butcher Block fits right in with the mission of The Healing Farm which focusses on practical and affordable ways to improve your health. Using the link Chris provided in his e-mail, I was able to order a two-month supply of beef, chicken and pork for $129.00 with free delivery. This is enough (according to the site) for 15-20 meals! I hope there's enough room in my freezer!

My sister and brother-in-law recently gave me a Stemple Creek steak for my birthday and I just shared it with my husband the other night and we commented on the increase in flavor of grass-fed/finished meats. I also buy regularly from Prather Ranch since they are the local grass-fed meat supplier at my local Temescal Farmer's Market. I will continue to try to support my local ranchers, but hope Butcher Block catches on in places in which it's harder to find these incredibly good (and good for you!) meats!

I also wanted to share another link to Chris Kresser's site regarding the de-bunking of all the bad press about red meat. I continue to eat red meat, but watch how often and try to stick to grass fed and finished most of the time. I do believe red meat is good for you in moderation and as I've had deficiency in the past of iron and B12 it's a great way to boost these important vitamins and minerals. B12 in particular has played a HUGE role in my recovery from chronic pain and other conditions.

One of the things that has stuck with me the most from reading Michael Pollen's In Defense of Food is that yes, grass fed and finished meats are much more expensive, but keep in mind what should be a normal portion size of meat which is about the size of your palm (4-6 oz). We do tend to over-serve ourselves so if we keep what should be a normal portion size in mind, not only will we stay slimmer, but the grass-fed meat becomes more affordable per portion size. 

I always say, if I had to choose a last meal I would choose either a juicy steak or a hamburger (these days without the bun!). I'm happy to read that in moderation, and by eating mostly grass-fed, my red meat intake will be ok for my health in the long run. Despite heart disease in my family, I've always had low cholesterol and low blood pressure. Yes, there's plenty of fat on my body, but that would be from all of the after dinner snacking habits that I need to work on changing once and for all! I will not blame it on my once or twice-a-week red meat intake!

Now go order that lovely box of meats and take advantage of those prices!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness!

Jessica Prentice of Three Stone Hearth - Cooking Demo at the Women's Health Retreat!

I couldn't be more thrilled to have signed on Jessica Prentice, author of "Full Moon Feast" and co-founder of Three Stone Hearth in Berkeley to do a cooking demo and talk at our Women's Health retreat! Jessica will join Marnie Reasor, CCH of Resplendent Healing and The Healing Farm | Retreats at our one-day "A Natural Approach to Menopause" retreat which will be held February 27th at the gorgeous and unique Headlands Center for the Arts.

Given the amazing business that Jessica co-founded focussing on providing ready-made bone broths and nourishing meals to the dedicated far and wide and her devotion to whole foods cooking evident in her passionate book, I for one, will be more than interested in hearing Jessica talk about bone broth as an important addition to our daily diet! Also how, if at all, drinking bone broth and making nourishing soups with it can help our body's transition through menopause. She will then go on to demonstrate making a nourishing soup with Three Stone Hearth chicken broth. Plus there will be a bonus surprise in your goodie bag at the end of the day!

Don't miss this unique day of talks, cooking demo, meals, yoga and a bit of fresh air in the Marin Headlands (weather permitting). Sign up today for what will be a really special retreat!

The Healing Farm - Cultivating Practical Wellness

New Year's Day Labyrinth Meditation

I posted this picture to Instagram and Facebook today but was inspired to write a little (or a lot!) more about it.  

Per my previous blog post, I took three weeks off over the holidays and was contemplating whether it was irresponsible or a much-needed healing break. About a week before Christmas when I was already in Chicago I found myself saying to someone that I was already wishing 2016 was over. They mentioned this was not a very good way to go into a new year. Right they are! My feeling actually hasn't changed about 2016 because it's going to be a challenging year full of very big changes for me. I will be leaving my current business of fifteen years behind and will continue to try to establish The Healing Farm through phase one which is The Healing Farm | Retreats. I will start (and hope to finish) writing my business plan this year and will host several retreats in the process while I learn the business. All of this while contemplating turning 50 in November, going through peri-menopause (hence the menopause retreat in February) and continuing down the road of letting go of childhood because my parents are aging. On top of it, I never had children so although I went through that mid-life crisis a couple of years ago, it's still hard to accept never becoming the nurturing mother I always wanted to be.

Whew! Heavy stuff, right? Well, New Year's Day I decided to take advantage of the good weather, left my husband at home and went for a hike in solitude. When I got to the normally deserted east bay park, Sibley (I usually hike during the week and it's just me and the dog walkers) I found it was FULL of New Year's Day hikers. Instead of being bummed out about all the people, I embraced the fact that there were so many people out hiking on what could be a day of lounging with a hangover and watching football on TV. I enjoyed all the family groups lingering together knowing that grandparents, kids and grandkids would soon be separating to get on with their normal lives. By the time I got mid-hike to an area a little off the beaten path I didn't even consider the thought of being alone. I figured there would be people everywhere. This is when I came to the series of labyrinths. I knew they were there and I've done them a few times in the past. As I walked past, I noticed nobody was around. I hesitated because I figured soon someone would come walking through or a dog would run circles around me, but my spirits were lifted and I was feeling more hopeful about getting through the year to come.

I made a little plan and went in. As I mentioned in my social media posts, many people think a labyrinth is a maze. It's not actually. It's meant to be a meditative path and they are all constructed so there's no decision-making while you walk through. You simply follow the path and it leads you in and then out again. I decided on the way in that I would meditate on my mantra which is "peace" on the inhale and "love" on the exhale. When I got to the center, I said a prayer for myself and the year to come. On the way out, I said in my head all the names of people and groups of people that I care for and will be a big part of my life in 2016. As I released myself back out of the labyrinth I said "The Healing Farm" out loud feeling like I was leaping myself and The Healing Farm strongly into 2016. Magically not one person or dog walked by during my time in the labyrinth. In fact when I decided to stick around and take a few photos, nobody appeared either. Only when I put the phone in my pocket and was about to walk off did a handful of chattering teens appear around the bend. Serendipity or Divine providence? I don't know, but it made me immensely happy.

One of the things I say about The Healing Farm is that I don't want it to be too new age-y or hippie dippy or focus on any kind of spiritual practice. I know this sounds all about that and in a lot of ways California has rubbed off on me, but meditation, prayer, opening your mind and letting your mind be free has so many benefits and I don't think walking a labyrinth can do any harm to anyone who will try and embrace it!

I sincerely hope myself and The Healing Farm will thrive this year releasing into the world a message of practical and affordable health and well-being. Will I crumble in the process? I don't know, but opening my mind and relaxing a bit has given me hope and courage and I will take that with me to whatever outcome is at the end of 2016.

Happy New Year!

I Took Three Weeks Off- Irresponsible or Much Needed Break?

An oak tree on a hike in the east bay hills. 

From The Healing Farm blog.....

I had a really tough fall in 2015 and against everything I want The Healing Farm to teach, I ended up working 6-7 days a week for about three-four months. As I try to transition my life and career and move closer to my 50th year and all the challenges one faces (especially women) during middle age, I got pretty overwhelmed. I'm very fortunate to have a huge support network of family and friends and managed for the most part to eat well and keep up with moderate exercise through it all. But I needed a huge break.

I went to Chicago to visit my family for the holidays and stayed almost two weeks. Was it the last time I would spend Christmas in my childhood home? It was definitely the last time for a cherished Christmas Eve extended family tradition which has been going on for well over 70 years. I wanted to be there for a good chunk of time not only to immerse myself in what may be the very tail end of being a daughter, but I wanted to spend long quality hours with my parents, siblings and extended family. I barely checked e-mail the entire time I was there, I didn't do one blog or instagram post and it was heaven. I read three books!

Then I came home and I couldn't get myself back to work, no matter how limited it was going to be the week of New Year's. I just couldn't. I'm fortunate enough to own my own business(es) and can take this kind of time off at this time of the year (it's the wedding slow season in CA!), but as I flew home and watched the woman next to me type away at her laptop the entire flight (as I drank wine and finished my fourth book), I wondered if I was being irresponsible. After all, I'm starting a new business. I should be posting all the time, completely on top of social media, etc, etc. But is that really what I want?

As I explore this new business and career path in 2016, I need to consider seriously what I want my next twenty + years of work to look like. Sometimes I think, to heck with it! I want to do something easy! I don't want to think about work all the time! Often, I half joke about wanting to be the bartender on the Amtrak train - only I'm not really joking! But sometimes I believe I can build The Healing Farm concept in which I build a culture at which employees can have a decent work-load with decent pay. At which people can job-share and take time off for long, much-needed breaks. I want to give that gift to future THF staff and I want to build a business at which my executive support team can truly support each other so that we can have that too. I don't think it's un-achievable. The Healing Farm should practice what it preaches. And when one comes back from a long true break, one should feel inspired, creative and ready for more!  So here's to 2016! It will be a telling year for me AND The Healing Farm concept. Who knows where I will be at the end of the year, but I will do my best to cultivate The Healing Farm concept, nurture it, and hope to watch it grow and thrive!

THF - Cultivating Practical Wellness.