.: Article

Celebrating You

Recently I heard some interesting comments about birthdays and with just having celebrated mine, I had some interesting conversations with friends as well.

Are birthdays a memorable day? and if so, What would you do differently?

A birthday party with friends and family?, a birthday party with family and then with friends?, organizing a big meal? (cake included and looking fabulous afterwards of course!), working or taking the day off?, spending the day by yourself or, is that too lonely?..., not making a big deal out of it and ignoring it?...

Coming from a family where nobody remembered each other's birthday and where birthdays were never celebrated, I never knew what it felt to blow out the candles. In fact, I had my first birthday cake in my mid twenties!.

However, I always felt it was a special day and I remember making the conscious decision of doing something special on that day long before starting to celebrate it.

From doing nothing, I went to wake up for sunrise photos when my camera was an extension of my hand, I organized the big dinner, took the day off to spend it by my self or with friends, went for a massage or just on a meditation retreat... What I find in common though is that every time, I did what it felt the most nourishing to me.

This time I am not here to give you the best or healthiest recipe to impress the day of your birthday. However, I hope to inspire you to do something that will nourish you whatever that may be.

Metaphorically I like to think of the female energy as a fountain where others "come to drink". Naturally, we love doing that anyway (and by that I mean "nourishing"). However, it is my believe that it is our responsibility to make sure that fountain is always full. This takes me to the following thought...

What about using your birthday to love and nourish yourself and making sure your ¨fountain¨ is full for the rest of the year?

Here are a few bullet points for consideration:

1) Get the right mindset. Rather than older, you are becoming wiser, more confident and of course more beautiful.

2) Express your needs and without feeling guilty, book time in your diary for yourself. Do whatever feels most appealing and nourishing to you.

Remember, it is your birthday! so, sleep in or wake up for sunrise, take the day off, have a bath with your favorite music, wine and candles, go for a massage, have a picnic or lunch with your best friend, watch your favorite movie or read your favorite book, go for a beauty retreat...

These ones in Sydney are superb!:

Hauschka Classic Treatment

Stone Soul

and why not, buy a ring and get engaged with yourself and the new year ahead.

3) Be grateful for the gift of living.

4) Get a cake but do not eat it all! Share it with your friends, your family, your neighbour... someone beloved to you.

5) Be gentle to yourself, do not try to do it all, let others to spoil you, nurture your soul and rebuild the engine in your car.

Recipe of the chocolate cake: the shop around the corner! ;)

"Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time

carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration.

The hummingbird´s delicate grace reminds us that life

is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection

has meaning and that laughter is life´s sweetest creation"

... thank you Kamila

Teach every child about food

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

Quinoa

Quinoa comes from the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for more than 3,000 years. It is a seed rather than a true cereal, or grain and because it is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy, it can be easily cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000 meters where other crops do not exist.

It has many benefits. Here, you have the most relevant:

- Quinoa stands up for its protein quality and content (of unusually high quality and very high in content (16% - 20%)).

It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal (it contains all the essential amino acids for humans - the ones the human body cannot synthesize and must get from diet). No need to worry about combining quinoa with other foods to have complete proteins!

The germ of each quinoa grain explains this exceptional quality (it is larger than that of any other grain and encircles the outer surface).

- Quinoa is gluten free and an ideal food for those prone to food allergies. Common allergens include grains from the grass family such as corn and wheat. Quinoa, a leafy grain, is not in the grass family, making it beneficial for people who cannot tolerate common grains like wheat, corn, rye, barley or oats.

- It is also a good source of manganese and copper (both antioxidants), magnesium, iron , phosphorus, zinc, calcium and many different vitamins.

When cooked, quinoa is light, fluffy, slightly crunchy and subtly flavored.

... give it a try and add it to your shopping list!

Fermented food

Nowadays, who does not have a freezer at home (if not several) or the pantry packed with tin cans?. These are just some examples of how food is preserved and kept nowadays.

However, these methods are very modern and the need to preserve the fall bounty for the coming whole year has always existed. That is why our ancestors developed different ways to preserve food. Acid Lactic Fermentation is one of such preservation technique. The process goes back 4.500 years and since then, it has been used along the five continents.

Vegetables are soaked in a brine solution (very salty water) and the salt initiates the fermentation process. Enzymes and bacteria convert to lactic acid the starches and sugars in vegetables. As the acid concentration rises, the brine solution PH decreases and this helps to keep food for long periods of time.

Our ancestors knew this very well. However, they did not know about all the benefits this tradional way of food preparation and conservation had. Below I enumerate some of them that I am sure are of interest to you:

- The Lacto-Fermentation process increases the nutritional value of food (vitamins and enzymes) and it enhances their digestibility... how cool is that!

- Fermented food stimulates the digestive system. Eat it specially when having heavy meals, in case of heavy digestions or when having low apetite.

- In spite of the acid taste, fermented food do not damage the stomach acid balance. It is alkaline material for the body and therefore very digestible.

- Fermented food helps to keep a healthy digestive system and aids to eliminate acid materials from the body like toxins... awesome!!!

- The main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine that suffers so much when taking antibiotics. The most ideal scenario is avoiding antibiotics. However, if for some reason one is required to take antibiotics, fermented food should be included in the diet.

In summary, this way of food preparation aids to improve the liver function (tonifies the liver) as well as the digestive system and it promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.

However, despite all these good qualities, care should be taken and we should not over-indulge. One of two spoons per meal would be enough.

Oops!!! Have I already told you how easy they are to make ?... excellent idea to do something with vegetables before they go bad or when you feel you are over them.

Spinach

Many of us have grown seeing Popeye the Sailor Man defeating Brutus, thanks to the superhuman force he got from spinach, and our mothers to use this argument to persuade us to eat this vegetable.

However, is spinach so good and are true all the benefits attributed to them? To answer to this question, it is important to understand what oxalates are.

Oxalates is a "vegetal toxin" that binds with calcium increasing the risk of kidney and gall bladder stones. They also bind with other minerals such as iron or magnesium reducing the absorption of minerals in the gut.

Many foods contain oxalates and our cells routinely convert other substances into oxalates. However, the foods with the highest concentration of oxalates are spinach (600 milligrams per 100 gram) and rhubarb (600 milligrams per 100 gram) followed by cacao.

From a biochemical point of view, and due to its high content in oxalates, spinach demineralize and decalcify the body increasing the risk of kidney and gall bladder stones. They also reduce the absorption of minerals in the gut. From an energetic point of view, spinach have a cooling nature.

If our intestines and kidneys would be healthy and strong, eating spinach would not be a problem. However, my experience and observation tell me that reality is different. We tend to mistreat "our roots" (the intestines) and to burn out our ancestral energy (the kidneys) therefore, we should avoid high intakes of this vegetable (specially those suffering from gout, kidney disease or rheumatoid arthritis).

If you decide to eat them, make sure they are not your only source of vegetable and do not eat them daily; when buying them, make sure they are organic and when in season; when eating them, do it with a food rich in minerals such as seaweed and last but not least, enjoy them!