tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85346248281834705402024-03-13T22:50:46.387-05:00to be mindful of beautylisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-17798766905035306542014-04-09T19:34:00.001-05:002014-04-09T19:37:48.084-05:00in pursuit of holistic medicine: a farewell<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It goes by many names – complementary, alternative,
integrative; some simply call it quackery. But whatever you want to call this
realm of non-conventional medicine, know that it is filled with much more
variety and depth than you likely suspect. I became interested in integrative
medicine (IM) in college, when I started practicing yoga and became more
concerned about nutrition for myself. It was a gradual process from there. I
attended a local IM conference as a first-year, which lead to re-instating
Loyola’s Interest Group for Integrative Medicine, and hosting the same
conference as a second-year. Then came research projects, and new mentors who
encouraged me to do things like getting trained in clinical hypnosis and
presenting at an international IM conference in London. The world of IM grew
from yoga and nutrition to a variety of mind-body practices, to whole systems
of medicine like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s exciting, and
tends to align with my passion for preventive medicine, and desire to help
others on a path towards wellness. (Note: that is different from treating
disease, which conventional medicine does exceptionally well.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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This blog has been a big part of facilitating learning around these interests, and sharing them with others. Especially regarding <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2013/05/thought-for-food-part-1.html">nutrition</a> and <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2010/02/art-everywhere.html">mindfulness</a>. It's also been a major creative outlet for me. A place to express myself without much pressure, and to begin developing a personal writing style and explore where that might lead me. Over the years I've posted less and less, and recently I have really trickled off. Part of that was because of a month-long trip to Changzhou, China
for Loyola’s newest global health elective. At the Number 1 People’s Hospital I
got to learn about acupuncture and the traditional Chinese methods of
diagnosis. The hospital is predominantly Western, and it was fascinating to see
how Eastern and Western medicine are truly integrated. For example, there is a
drawer full of herbal patches in the pediatric nurses station that are placed
on children’s chests when they have a cough.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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One important thing I learned there, which I had already begun to suspect,
is that even alternative medicine can be practiced in a non-holistic way.
Problem, diagnosis, prescription, return in four to six weeks. So then, what is
it that I’ve been searching for? Certainly not a whole new pharmacopoeia of
herbs and supplements, nor a list of problems not yet defined by the modern
medical literature. I’m not looking for a fancy new field of medicine, I’m
simply looking for good medicine. I believe that happens when we approach the
patient as a person with whom we enter a relationship, as a whole person who
can also teach, and even heal, us. I also still believe that looking at IM is a
good place to start, because it emphasizes the fact that what we eat and do
with our bodies daily, and the way we experience stress and emotions all have a
profound impact on our health. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I feel very fortunate to have some time to reflect on these things even more before heading into residency. It's such an exciting time. I absolutely want <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-recently-visited-chicago-in-search-of.html">community outreach</a>, <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2010/10/soda-and-cigarettes.html">teaching</a>, and <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2013/11/stealing-joy.html">writing</a> to play major roles in my career as a family physician. But I think this blog is no longer the place for me to do that. Instead, I'm going to push myself to write when I feel like writing, even if I won't have the instant gratification of hitting the "publish" button. To store up my thoughts, to refine them, and then to be so bold as to ask somebody else to publish them.</div>
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With any luck, you will be reading something else from me soon. Just not here.</div>
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With gratitude and love,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lisa</div>
<!--EndFragment-->lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-27667259175247300222014-01-15T20:17:00.002-06:002014-01-15T21:06:52.485-06:00medical students write!I'm becoming more and more interested in the idea of narrative medicine, storytelling in medicine, and what the humanities can teach us in general. Little things pop up in the hospital everyday that deserve to be written about. Even in our boring electronic medical records little gems pop up, like "the patient lives alone with her dachshund named Piper*."<br />
<br />
There are a lot of physicians, other practitioners, and students who feel the same way, from journalists like Atul Gawande, to novelists like Abraham Verghese. I've been exploring a few outlets for medical professionals, one of which is <a href="http://in-training.org/">in-Training</a>, a sort of online magazine by and for medical students. They published a poem of mine a few months ago, and more recently an essay about I wrote about coping in the ICU. You can read it, and get a peak into the lives and brains of many other medical students, <a href="http://in-training.org/emotions-energy-icu-3756">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*this dog's name has been change in accordance with the HIPAA pet privacy act ;)</span></i>lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-35553816523371108962014-01-03T08:09:00.000-06:002014-01-03T08:09:04.184-06:00loveliness in presenceHappy New Year! I hope you are enjoying a bit of time to reflect on 2013 and dream about 2014. And staying warm. I think resolutions are a beautiful thing, especially when they go beyond the typical list of do's and don'ts. 2014 is going to be a <i>very</i> exciting year for me. But first, a bit of reflecting.<br />
<br />
I happily have been able to read a lot more than usual over the past 6 weeks, especially during the 2 weeks around Christmas & New Year's. Growing up, I almost always had 2 novels going at once, but it's been quite a while since I've had enough leisure to do that. It was a great joy to read through Marilynne Robinson's <u>Gilead</u> in just 3 days. This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. The entire book is a letter written by an elderly pastor in the small town of Gilead, Iowa to his young son. He tells of abolitionists and pacifists, devout friends, deviant sons, and the old man's attempt to find peace and reconciliation in his final days. The language is simple and cuts clean to the reader's heart. Pristine.<br />
<br />
Here is a passage that immediately had me writing in the margin:<br />
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By “life” I mean something like “energy” (as the scientists
use the word) or “vitality”, and also something very different. When people
come to speak to me, whatever they say, I am struck by a kind of incandescence
in them, the “I” whose predicate can be “love” or “fear” or “want,” and whose
object can be “someone” or “nothing” and it won’t really matter, because the
loveliness is just in that presence, shaped around “I’ like a flame on a wick,
emanating itself in grief and guilt and joy and whatever else. But quick, and
avid, and resourceful. To see this aspect of life is a privilege of the
ministry which is seldom mentioned.</blockquote>
I think this describes the way I feel about having difficult discussions with patients in the medical setting. Conversations about death and dying, scary diagnoses, psychological turmoil. During my month-long rotation in the ICU this happened pretty regularly, and I found myself feeling better on those days compared to others. I hate to use the word "better" here. Perhaps what I mean is something like more fulfilled, more alive. It's something I tried to explain to my husband, cringing as I used such positive words to describe such a negative situation, failing to explain it even to myself and wondering fearfully if it were just some sort of morbid fascination. But reading these words cleared it up for me. Like a confession these conversations highlighted the <i>presence</i>, the <i>I</i>, of those patients and their families. And what I felt was privileged to be part of such a lovely thing.<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-49774125877457193642013-11-14T20:43:00.000-06:002013-11-14T21:05:04.966-06:00stealing joyWow, it's been a while since I've posted anything here. The longest yet. I've been thinking a lot about writing lately - writing or reading poetry and short stories, writing as a means of understanding medicine and human interactions. I want to delve into the newly-discovered world of narrative medicine. I should have some time to do so in the coming months, so we will see how far that goes.<br />
<br />
In the meantime summer ended. The farmer's market made it's transition from strawberries and asparagus, to every green thing imaginable and berries, to squash and apples, and now it's gone. A chilly August was followed by a warm September and October (relatively speaking), but November was ushered in with a freeze and I harvested all our potted herbs. The rosebush remains, two buds debating whether or not to bloom. My cooking followed the market trend. Transitioning from salads and things like <a href="http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/07/flavour-bomb-greens-n-noodles/">these noodles</a> to <a href="http://coffeeinthewoodshed.com/2013/10/08/id-like-to-sip-my-cider/">roasted squash</a>, <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/simple-farro-bean-stew-recipe.html">bean stews</a> and all kinds of things with <a href="http://www.thedinnerfiles.com/2009/10/15/delicata-squash-with-spicy-miso-butter-sauce/">miso</a>. The leaves turned and have almost all fallen, sweaters have migrated to the front of the closet, and I've initiated a daily ten minutes of sitting beside my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Verilux-VT01WW1-HappyLight-Compact-Energy/dp/B00761HREI/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1384477331&sr=1-2&keywords=sad+lamp">SAD lamp</a>. Autumn is verging on winter and I am determined to enjoy it by relishing in coziness as much as possible. I'm talking double socks, fun hats and scarves, casseroles and cookies, bubble baths, steam room at the gym, hot tea, poems like "November Night" by Adelaide Crapsey:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Listen. . <br />
With faint dry sound,<br />
Like steps of passing ghosts,<br />
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees<br />
And fall.</blockquote>
<br />
We already had our first snowfall, just a few days ago, it collected and stayed on the ground the whole next day, despite the brightly shining sun, deceptively <i>not</i> warming things up.<br />
<br />
Actually, the first snowfall I saw was in October, but most people were asleep and it barely touched the ground before melting. I saw this beautiful snow - barely a fall at all, really a light drifting down, like a feather or crepe paper confetti - because I was up in the middle of the night on the labor and delivery floor of a community hospital, helping/learning how to deliver babies. Delivering a baby is <strike>one of </strike>the most magical experience I've ever had, and I struggle to describe it adequately. One doctor said it was like "stealing joy". There is something accurate about this, as it indicates that the doctor is still somewhat removed from this new family being formed. An integral part of the experience but ready to transform into bystander as soon as the whole visceral process is over. If you think of joy as something that is not diminished by being shared, but rather increases, then it sounds even more fitting.<br />
<br />
But it's more than just the joy of new life (what a presumptive thing to say, <i>just</i>). It's the entirety of this most ancient ritual, born of complete necessity, drenched in blood and vernix (lit. 'fragrant resin'). The hours of the mother contracting, dilating, effacing, breathing. Teaching your gloved fingers to feel blindly for cervix and station, like digging through a bag of cotton balls trying to find the one that is slightly softer. The absolute miracle of a newborn maneuvering through the cardinal movements of birth, filling his water-clogged lungs with air, remodeling his entire vascular system. A fish becoming a bird. When things go perfectly smoothly, it's seems the baby would have slithered out whether your hands were there guiding him or not (which does occasionally happen even in a hospital!).<br />
<br />
That night, minutes after the baby was born, the nurse looked out the window and remarked, we had a little snow angel on our hands. I've delivered four babies so far. And yes, I am most definitely keeping count.<br />
<br />
<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-55168082869496948242013-08-16T10:29:00.001-05:002013-08-16T10:30:34.782-05:00veggie nachosI took 4 weeks off from clinical rotations last month to study for Step 2 of the medical licensing exam. You might remember me talking about <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%20of%20step%201">Step 1 last summer,</a> which was much more traumatic. Step 1 seemed like a huge hurdle to overcome on this path to becoming a doctor. By the time Step 2 rolled around, I realized the whole track is filled with hurdles. To keep that metaphor going, it really does remind me of when I did the hurdles on my high school track team. The first hurdle was terrifying, coming out of the blocks and the brief seconds leading up to the first leap. But once I made that first one, I found this rhythm - step, step, hurdle, step, step, hurdle - and the hurdles became less of an obstacle and more just a part of the way I ran. In some ways, medical education is like that. I know that I will continue to face small daily challenges, occasional monumental ones, and everything in between, which allows a sort of rhythm and acceptance.<br />
<br />
During that month of studying, alone, day after day, alone, I wrote this on the edge of a to-do list:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I can already feel <br />
how when it's all over<br />
I'll look back<br />
and say,<br />
"It wasn't so bad, really."</blockquote>
In hindsight that sounds like a reassuring realization, but at the time it wasn't. At the time it seemed devastating. Because it meant that I would be brushing off one of those challenges as if I had accomplished nothing, telling my friends "you'll be fine, it's not so bad", and leaving them to feel alone when the the hurdle looked a little bit too high off there in the distance. We do this to ourselves over and over, and it's one of the unexpected ways that medical school has struck me as an emotional challenge.<br />
<br />
The more I think of this though, the more I think it's actually a sign of something really good. When we stand at the finish line and look back at the hurdles we crossed, they don't look nearly as threatening because we know we just made it over all of them. And it's natural to say that it was worth it all - the fear, the planning, the training, the sacrifices - because we are doing exactly what we were meant to be doing, what we signed up for, what we are called to. So now when I look back at my weeks of studying, I see that those days took on a beautiful cycle. Each morning I woke up, made a smoothie, studied, went to a yoga class, made a tomato sandwich or salad for lunch, studied, practiced mindfulness meditation, studied, made mushrooms and greens for dinner, studied, read something non-medical, went to sleep. There was very little variance to that schedule and that type of life works really nicely for me. I haven't made it to a yoga class since, and my mindfulness practice has nearly disappeared.<br />
<br />
But I am not here to complain. I am here to remind myself that that was good, but impractical for today. I am here to say that I will find a way to keep some of those things in my life no matter what else is going on. <br />
<br />
The one thing that is easiest for me to keep around, and to keep myself connected to a sense of wellness is food. Going to the farmers' market, keeping a fridge full of produce, and eating fresh wholesome meals at least twice a day are things that I have managed to maintain. One of my favorite meals this summer is vegetarian nachos. They are quick and easy, there is no need to follow a recipe once you get the idea, and it's an easy way to use up whatever happens to be on hand. The combination I had yesterday was particularly stellar, so I decided it was time to share it with you. And I'd love to hear, what is the thing that keeps you connected to yourself when life starts to get in the way?<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Vegetarian Nachos for 2: </u></span></b><br />
Blue corn tortilla chips<br />
4 oz. ground seitan (My favorite is <a href="http://www.uptonsnaturals.com/products/">Upton's</a> chorizo)<br />
1/4 cup red onion, diced<br />
1 handful chopped kale<br />
1/2 a zucchini, sliced into thin half-moons<br />
1 avocado, peeled & sliced<br />
1/4 cup crumbled feta<br />
Tomatillo salsa, to taste (I used <a href="http://www.salsaexpress.com/p-2454-frontera-limited-edition-key-lime-avocado-salsa-medium.aspx">this one)</a> <br />
<br />
Heat a bit of oil in a small pain over low heat and add the seitan, stir occasionally, cook until warm.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, spread some chips out onto a plate. Layer on the already chopped veggies, the seitan, the avocado, and the feta. Finally top with salsa to taste.<br />
<br />
Enjoy with a Corona and lime on the patio and savor the remaining days of this fleeting summer.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-28313851926916443152013-07-08T19:52:00.000-05:002013-07-08T19:52:00.931-05:00to remind myself of mindfulnessIn the midst of studying for yet another major exam, it seems like a good time to return to why I started this blog. It's easy to be dragged down by monotonous days, but even in the simplest day there are many beautiful simple things, things that make life wonderful if we would just notice them. I've been learning more about the idea of mindfulness in terms of mindfulness based stress reduction and Zen Buddhism. There's a lot more to share about this, but right now the part that I'm working on in my own life is trying to keep my mind connected to my body, rather than letting it wander into the future, even as I think about the future.<br />
<br />
Here are a few things that have helped me to do that in the last couple weeks, shared with the hope that they will help you notice more in your own day-to-day life:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Looking up at the moon always fills me with a peaceful energy, admiring the recent "super moon" was an incredible moment.</li>
<li>The way the light streams in my kitchen window in the morning.</li>
<li>Biking to the farmer's market.</li>
<li>Fireflies, which always remind me of summers at my grandparents' house.</li>
<li>Making oatmeal pancakes before Ian left for Italy, and listening to Chelsea Morning. That song always helps me start the day.</li>
<li>"I release all disappointment from my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual body, because I know that spirit guides me and love lives inside me." -India Arie</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-35657249048032955462013-06-24T20:31:00.000-05:002013-06-24T20:31:45.767-05:00artichokes for 2I've been wanting to follow up those last 2 posts with a recipe but it's been a hectic few weeks. But now summer is here, and I kicked it off with my family, gazing at the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130622-supermoon-solstice-biggest-science-space-2013-june/">super moon</a>, and admiring some <a href="http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/abelardo-morell-universe-next-door">photography</a>. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to a month of studying and a break from the hospital. A cup of coffee and sunshine streaming onto my textbook instead of three-hour morning rounds, a load of online practice questions instead of the daily public questioning that one can never be adequately prepared for, and the freedom to step away from it all in search of inspiration, a wholesome meal, or a few sun salutations.<br />
<br />
In that spirit, here is a nice simple recipe, perfect for sharing with a friend.<br />
<br />
My mom always served steamed artichokes with Hollandaise sauce, which is delicious but full of fat and its need for precise, careful preparation intimidates me. This is a healtheir, easier alternative but just as full of flavor. Eating it is messy and completely occupying, so there's no room for multi-tasking or any distraction greater than a pleasant conversation. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Artichokes for 2</u></span>:<br />
2 artichokes<br />
6 cloves garlic peeled<br />
olive oil<br />
balsamic vinegar<br />
a few springs of rosemary or thyme<br />
<br />
Cut the stems off of the artichokes so that you have just about 1 inch remaining and a nice flat bottom. Pull the leaves open a bit so that you can shove the garlic cloves in, scattering them through 3 different layers and 3 different areas of the artichoke.<br />
<br />
Fill a pot with about an inch of water, add a good pinch of salt and the fresh herbs, and set the artichokes in it. Ideally, the water won't quite reach the lowest leaves, the artichokes will balance well on their own, and a lid will fit over them without touching. But if any of those don't quite work out, it will probably still all be just fine.<br />
<br />
Bring the water to a simmer, cover, and let steam for 30 minutes - 1 hour, depending on how small and tender the artichokes are. I usually try to pull out a middle leaf at around 30 minutes to see how well-cooked it is, just be careful not to burn your hands! Just put it half-way in your mouth and bite down softly with your front teeth; it should be soft enough that the meaty part near the base easily scrapes off.<br />
<br />
When they're done, place each artichoke in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, as well as salt and pepper if desired. Serve with an extra bowl or plate for discarding the leaves.<br />
<br />
In case you haven't eaten an artichoke before, you should know that the center is the best part! When you get to the point where the leaves become translucent and prickly, stop eating, scrape those leaves and the soft fuzzy stuff underneath them out with a spoon, and eat the heart just as it is, sopping up any of the olive oil and vinegar that remains.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-1472085244417521602013-06-02T11:03:00.000-05:002013-06-02T11:03:54.925-05:00thought for food. part 2Clearly, many people are struggling to navigate the world of healthy eating trends, trying to figure out how to feed their bodies and souls, confused by all the options. Here is my favorite thing I've read about it: <a href="http://www.nwedible.com/2012/08/tragedy-healthy-eater.html">"the terrible tragedy of the healthy eater"</a> - it's hilarious! And talk of the microbiome is going mainstream, thanks to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">New York Times and Michael Pollan</a>. But eating well is about more than just <i>what</i> we eat, it's also about <i>how</i> we eat, so that's what I want to talk about in part 2.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, this is much more straight forward, and it basically boils down to taking the time to appreciate your food. Ideally, we would do this through every step of the process - from purchasing whole ingredients or actually growing them, to preparing a meal from scratch, to eating it mindfully. Usually when I hear people talk about these ideas, it conjures up this image of some do-it-all woman making her own homemade sunscreen, with a chicken coop in her backyard, friend of all the farmers at the weekend morning market, cooking 3 meals a day for her family and baking her own bread each weekend. She probably has an awesome blog with 100s of followers, too. It's beautiful, terribly impractical, and probably nonexistent.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, you don't have to treck out to a farm or become a gardener
or a gourmet chef. Food appreciation can fit into your everyday life. Even <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2012/04/simple-standard-lunch.html">simple weekday meals</a> can be eaten mindfully. When we know a bit about where our food comes from or have taken the time to pick out the nicest bunch of radishes at the supermarket, it's easier to relish it a bit more. When we take the time to cut and wash those radishes, we begin to think about how nice it will be to eat them. When we eat more slowly, without music or television as a distraction, we enjoy it more and we<a href="http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02048/eating-mindfully.html"> eat less</a>.<br />
<br />
To me, sharing food and recipes is a big part of this as well. I think the most wonderful thing about this bubble of food blogs is that it encourages just that. Similar to church women's leagues creating cookbooks, I often feel like I have a community of like-minded people writing about their love for food. It's a community that has introduced me to all kinds of new ingredients, like spelt flour, chia seeds, and ramps. I also think cooking for others is a very powerful thing. It fulfills a desire to nurture and to give in the most fundamental way. It also exposes people to things they might not try otherwise, like quinoa (really, some people don't know about quinoa yet!) or simply a vegetarian meal. In fact, it's one of my <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/cooking-for-two.html">favorite</a> things to do, and I wish I did it far more often. <br />
<br />
I recently read a summary of the characteristics of a group of Greeks who tend to live much longer than most people. A few of the "<a href="http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9735/10-ways-to-live-to-be-100.html">10 ways to live to be 100</a>" are: take naps, stop worrying about being late, grow a garden and eat from it, 'get it on', walk daily, be part of a spiritual community, and surround yourself with people who do the same. Even if you won't live to be 100, don't those sound like ways to have a happier life in general? Taking the time to enjoy your food is the same. It's good for you, and you will<i> enjoy </i>it. Win-win.<br />
<br />
Of course, this is all easier said than done. But it's definitely worth striving for.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-42625584684499712092013-05-16T07:04:00.001-05:002013-05-16T07:08:34.561-05:00thought for food. part 1<style>
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I've
been mulling over the idea of writing a more substantial post about my thoughts
on food for a while now. Finally the combination reading tweets from the <a href="http://nutritionandhealthconf.org/">Nutrition and Health Conference</a>
at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, hearing about <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/04/24/michael-pollan-cooked/">Michael
Pollan's latest book</a>, and a few <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NSCIM2013">integrative
medicine conferences</a> I've been involved in recently has pushed me to do it.
My plan is to break this into two posts: one about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> we should eat, and a second about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i> we should eat.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
There's
almost no need to even say that we are constantly bombarded with different
theories regarding what we should eat. The diet industry has been around for
decades, and now the internet gives us access to a near-infinite number of
theories about which foods will increase our risk for heart disease, which to
avoid to 'lose belly fat', and which to eat if we want to stay young. I think
there's actually a lot more to this than people trying to make money. The rates
of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have grown to atrocious
levels, affecting people of all ages and socioeconomic statuses. There's a lot
at stake here, and I’d like to think we all know that on some level. The
problem is that we want a quick fix - turmeric and garlic to fight cancer,
veganism to lower cholesterol, raw milk to erase allergies. Even those who are
willing to make some sacrifices want a clear-cut answer to health. Ian often
asks me which nut is healthiest, or if I could make him some sort of smoothie
with all of the healthiest ingredients possible. It doesn't quite work that
way, though. Pollan does an excellent job of explaining the downfalls to this
route of "nutritionism" in his book An Eater's Manifesto. When we
reduce food to it's parts, or try to reduce our needs to a formula, something
goes missing. That being said, I completely understand and share in this
desire. Navigating the world of food health blogs can be as confusing as the
supermarket.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
Here
is the huge divide in the foodie movement as I see it. [Sorry, I'm going to
over-generalize a bit.] On one extreme we have Vegans. The <a href="http://www.ornishspectrum.com/proven-program/nutrition/">Ornish Spectrum</a>
diet is a prime example of this school of thought. It keeps fat down to 10% of
your total caloric intake and eliminates animal products (with a few
exceptions). Instead, there's an emphasis on vegetables, whole grains, and
legumes. In concert with exercise and stress reduction techniques, Dr. Ornish's
research indicates that this program may actually reverse CVD. Closely related
are Dr. Weil's <a href="http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet">Anti-Inflammatory
Diet</a> and the often touted, though less defined, Mediterranean diet.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
On
the other hand is the Traditional Foods revival, which is where I’d place the
popular <a href="http://thepaleodiet.com/">Paleo Diet</a>. Here, the emphasis
is on grass-fed meats, whole fat (often raw) dairy, sprouted grains or no
grains at all, and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha. It seems like
gluten-free diets can overlap with either of these branches, whereas the <a href="http://gapsdiet.com/">Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet</a> seems
to fit better with the latter. To be fair, I don't know nearly as much about
this line of thought. But there is <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/10/2626">research</a> out there
indicating that full fat dairy may also help to reduce CVD. The <a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/">Weston A. Price Foundation</a> is a big
name in researching and promoting this type of diet, and they have some really
interesting studies to show for it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
But
how can this be? Two diets that seem so different at first glance: one focuses
on eliminating animal products, the other focuses on eating more, but better,
animal products. Let's start by looking at what they have in common. The most
obvious thing is the elimination of junk. Nobody is talking about dunking Oreos
in their raw or soy milk. Prepared and processed foods account for a lot of the
bad stuff in our diets: preservatives, coloring, extra salt, extra sugar, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refined_grains">refined grains</a>. It's
amazing how much of this<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Ian%20Moore" datetime="2013-05-14T20:50"></ins></span> we eat without realizing it -
even plain old butter often contains "natural flavor." (Shouldn't it
just taste like butter all by itself?) Aside from getting rid of all the
non-food in our food, eliminating processed items also cuts down on the simple
carbohydrates in our diet. This is a really big first step to eating better.
Carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes, crackers) are essentially converted to pure sugar
in our diet, so in some ways you can lump them right in there with soda, cake,
and ice cream. Without fiber and protein to balance them out, they send our
blood sugar level through the roof, forcing our body to secrete loads of
insulin and stress hormones to combat all that sugar, and setting us up for
developing diabetes. It also augments the immune response, causing some normal
protective processes to progress to the point of unnecessary inflammation. Most
people have heard of some of inflammation's deleterious health affects by now,
like arthritis, irritable bowel disease, and various autoimmune disorders, but
it's also being linked to a lot more. In fact, inflammation seems to be turning
up as a key player in major chronic illnesses like <a href="http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/97/20/2000.full?ijkey=a1e2c7053bb20fb50ba270c01b458ee98d43ab9e&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha">stroke,
heart disease</a>, and even <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322309012293">depression</a>.
A lot of this research is still in the works, and I don't know of any good
studies linking diet with inflammatory markers and a particular chronic
disease, but I won't be surprised if we discover that inflammation plays a much
larger role than we now know. It's exciting to think about, in a nerdish kind
of way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
The
second big thing these two ways of approaching food have in common is a lot of
fruits and vegetables. I’m still shocked every time a patient tells me he
doesn’t like vegetables. There are so many of them! and so many ways to prepare
them! How can you possible not like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i>
of them? Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you already know that fruits and
vegetables are delicious packages of vitamins and phytonutrients. If you’re not
convinced about any one particular produce item, just look it up on <a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38">this site</a>.
They also have lots of fiber, and veggies are low in calories, so there’s no
need to limit your intake like you do with other food groups. If you’re not
convinced that you should be eating at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">least</i>
5 servings of fruits & veggies daily, e-mail me and we’ll have a chat.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
Finally,
what I’m really excited to talk about, is why I think the Vegans and the
Traditional Foods folks might both be correct, why both might offer really good
advice on what we should eat. Perhaps the link is how we digest and process
foods, and it’s all largely dependent on our normal gut flora. There’s been a
lot of talk about the importance of probiotics for a variety of reasons, and
this is where the fermented foods come into the spotlight in the Traditional
Foods diets, so it’s something I’ve thought about casually for a while. I’ve
also been fascinated by what I’ve learned about our normal intestinal flora (the
bacteria that always live in our gut). But when I read the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1109400">article by Tang et
al.</a> in the New England Journal of Medicine about intestinal microbial
metabolism and cardiovascular risk, a few light bulbs lit up. There are two
parts of the study, and I’m going to go ahead and explain it in a bit more
detail than some might care to read. You see, this is the kind of research that
fields like nutrition and integrative medicine <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">need,</i> because it’s so important to say that these lifestyle
recommendations are evidence based. The “n” or number of participants is small,
but I think the design is fantastic. So, here we go:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
For
the first part of the study, 40 healthy adults were given a dietary phosphatidylcholine
challenge, i.e. they ate two hard-boiled eggs. Phosphatidylcholine is found in egg
yolk, and it’s a major constituent of all our cell membranes. The
closely-related choline is found in meat. Bacteria that live in our intestines
metabolize phosphatidylcholine to <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">trimethylamine-N-oxide
(TMAO). After eating these eggs, researchers measured the amount of TMAO in the
subjects’ urine and blood. Then, six of the subjects were given a one-week
course of antibiotics (500mg each ciprofloxacin & metronidazole), to wipe
out the intestinal bacteria. (This is the same process by which taking
antibiotics can give you diarrhea.) They repeated the phosphatidylcholine
challenge after finishing the antibiotics, and then a third time one month
later after the intestinal flora had presumably restored itself. They found
that the course of antibiotics significantly lowered, indeed, nearly erased,
the amount of TMAO measured. After one month, these levels came back up. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">This study demonstrates that our intestinal
flora is responsible for producing TMAO.</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The second part of the study enrolled
4007 adults who were undergoing elective cardiac catheterization without
evidence of ongoing heart attack, and measured the TMAO level in their blood.
These subjects were followed for three years, to see who had adverse
cardiovascular events. Those who did were more likely to have many of the
expected risk factors, as well as a higher baseline TMAO level. <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Even after adjustment for traditional risk
factors, a higher TMAO baseline level was still a significant predictor of
major adverse cardiovascular events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></b>Further, it proved to predict risk on a graded scale, rather just a
simple high or low cut-off, even for subjects in the lowest quartile of other
risk factors.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">To summarize without so much jargon,
though this may also make it sound more definitive than most scientists like:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Phosphatidylcholine
is a substance found in eggs. Choline, found in meat, is very similar.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">It’s
not all bad; our body needs it to some degree.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Some of the bacteria in our gut convert it to
TMAO.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>It doesn’t get converted to TMAO without those
bacteria.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>More TMAO = higher risk of heart attack or
stroke.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
Therefore,
one would think that more meat and eggs also equals higher risk of heart attack
and stroke. The authors give a really nice conclusion in their discussion of
what this might mean for dietary recommendations.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">“Our data suggest that excessive
consumption of dietary phosphatidylcholine and choline should be avoided; a
vegetarian or high-fiber diet can reduce total choline intake.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It should also be noted that
choline is a semiessential nutrient and should not be completely eliminated
from the diet, since this can result in a deficiency state. However, standard dietary
recommendations, if adopted, will limit the intake of phosphatidylcholine- and
choline rich foods, since these foods are also typically high in fat and
cholesterol content.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">An alternative potential therapeutic intervention is targeting the composition
of the microbiota or biochemical pathways, with either a functional food such
as a probiotic</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">or
a pharmacologic intervention.”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The speculation that I would like
to make, and this is of course reaching quite a bit, is that the “functional
food” component of the Traditional Foods movement – raw milk & yogurt,
fermenting – does in fact change the microbiota or biochemical pathways. It
would be fascinating to do a similar study as the first part of this article –
phosphatidylcholine challenge with 3 arms: a control, a group treated with antibiotics,
and a group eating a reasonable amount of these foods on a daily basis for some
period of time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">But we’re not there yet, so where
does that leave us? I think Aristotle got it right millennia ago with the
Golden Mean. Life is about flux and trying to find balance, and this applies to
diet too. There are a few things about which we can walk away <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Ian%20Moore" datetime="2013-05-14T20:58"></ins></span>from
all of this with certainty, though. The first is that we should keep prepared,
processed foods to a minimum. Anything that comes in a box or a bag with a long
list of ingredients, especially if you don’t know what some of those
ingredients are, should not make up a large percentage of your diet. The same
thing goes for inflammation-provoking carbohydrates and added sugars. The
second thing is that we should eat more fruits and vegetables. Everyday.
Period. The beauty of this is that once you start eating this way, your body
won’t ever want you to go back.</span></div>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-76510710311312768792013-04-20T11:35:00.001-05:002013-04-20T11:35:31.387-05:00final winter recipesI don't have any new recipes of my own to share. These days I'm either following recipes from others or just throwing things together without enough attention to write it down. Some of my standards are cooked greens and eggs (either scrambled or over easy), or a hearty grain like quinoa or farro with lots of veggies thrown in, and my most recent favorite is vegetarian nachos that have nothing to do with fake cheese pumped out of a metal box at a refreshment stand. But I've found some really good recipes lately and thought it would be worth sharing the links with you. Sadly, they seem to show that I haven't fully transitioned into spring. I blame it on mother nature of course, all this cold and rain and sleet we are still having has demanded a slow transition away from the warm comforting foods of winter. But the signs of spring are ever more common these days, and soon I'm sure I'll be eating nothing but salads and fresh veggie sandwiches.<br />
<br />
Also, if you live in Chicago or happen to be visiting, you should definitely try the<a href="http://www.littlegoatchicago.com/"> Little Goat</a> Diner. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, bake their own bread, have awesome coffee, as well as cocktails. It's a great way to get a taste for the chef's style without the wait or expense of Girl & the Goat. I think you will love it.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>r<a href="http://familystylefood.com/2013/01/roasted-cauliflower-chickpeas-and-harissa/">oasted cauliflower, chickpeas & harissa</a></li>
<li><a href="http://casayellow.com/2013/01/16/a-galette-of-winter-greens/">winter green galette</a></li>
<li><a href="http://casayellow.com/2013/01/06/roasted-cabbage-wedge-salad/">roasted cabbage</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/holidays-occasions/easter-recipes-menus-00400000043150/page10.html">flageolet beans with fresh fennel </a></li>
<li><a href="http://casayellow.com/2012/12/10/eggs-in-purgatory-uova-al-purgatorio/">"eggs in purgatory"</a></li>
</ul>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-57365431724670570012013-04-09T16:13:00.001-05:002013-04-09T16:13:30.449-05:00the land of enchantmentOur recent trip to New Mexico was truly enchanting. I find myself returning to certain moments in my mind; like I've made little souvenirs out of the smell of sage pulled off a desert bush mingled with burning wood, and the image of pink rock layered with orange buildings and blue sky. It does feel like there is a muse lurking in that landscape - but maybe I just want to identify with Georgia O'Keefe, who never tired of painting a little door in Abiquiu and rafted the Colorado River at the age of 74. The week was also laced with juniper berries, poems by Anne Carson, and friendship. You can read about a few more details I shared on the travel website <a href="http://www.afar.com/travelers/lisa-moore/wanderlists/new-mexico?view=grid">Afar</a>.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-60616560601691790262013-03-16T18:49:00.000-05:002013-04-09T15:15:50.636-05:00still winter...Remember <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-to-do-when-its-80-in-chicago-in.html">last March</a>?<br />
<br />
With it's unseasonably warm days, bright blue skies, and sunshine. Well, it's not like that this year. It's still cold - freezing, even. When it rains, it's a mixture of rain and snow and sleet. And I have to keep telling myself that spring will come eventually. It must, right?<br />
<br />
Any survival tips?lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-29293951770859968272013-03-13T06:38:00.000-05:002013-03-13T06:38:27.945-05:00chia seedsYou probably aren't going to be very interested in a recipe without a photo, right? I usually want a photograph before I consider a recipe. It's just so much easier; a quick glimpse and I know if I'll be interested, before I take the time to read the list of ingredients and imagine how they will taste once melded together in my mouth. And eating ought to be a visual experience as well as oral and olfactory. The more senses you use, the more you can enjoy. Unfortunately, I have reached the limit of my free blogger photo space.<br />
<br />
I didn't know a limit existed, but it does, and it has me questioning what this is all about. Really though, that questioning is nothing new. I go through phases that range from feeling like I'll keep blogging indefinitely and have this fantastic archive and many followers, to satisfaction that I just enjoy writing it for it's own sake, to the whole thing being utterly pointless...like writing into some void. I recently read a comment elsewhere which read: "when my blog grows up I want it to be like <a href="http://casayellow.com/">_________</a>." Certainly, many people feel this way. Because there are a lot of beautiful blogs out there (I have a theory about blogs and Victorian letter-writing; perhaps I'll share it another day), and we can be <a href="http://www.remedialeating.com/">inspired</a> by them, or <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/">transported</a>, or <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/">educated</a>. And there are a lot of women out there with<a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/"> great recipes</a>, <a href="http://www.teaandcookiesblog.com/">beautiful homes</a>, <a href="http://www.roostblog.com/">flourishing prose</a>, and <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/">lovely photographs</a>. Do I really have something to add to the near-infinity of what is already on the internet?... I'll think of giving it up, but then another idea will come to mind that I'd like to share, and I find myself writing again. Which is all quite fine. At the very least, I know of a couple friends who read it. And my dad, and maybe even one of his friends (hi Mr. McFarland!).<br />
<br />
Anyway, I plan to keep it up for now - even without photographs - because I want to tell you about chia seeds. Chia seeds are about the size of a strawberry seed, get stuck in your teeth just the same, and are packed full of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. In 1 ounce, they have 11 grams of fiber (reference: recommended daily amount for women is 25g, for men it's 38g), and almost 5 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (that's 8x more than salmon). They also have calcium, antioxidants, and a bit of protein. They have very little flavor, so you can do all sorts of things with them. Throw them in a smoothie, sprinkle them on top of yogurt or a casserole. I bet you could go so far as to sneak them into an omelet and nobody would notice. Apparently you can even use them as a pectin substitute to <a href="http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=7373">make jam</a>, and, like ground flaxseeds, you can use them as a substitute binding ingredient in baking. This is because they absorb water and become like a gel. Aside from easing digestion, soaking them in water (1:6 seed:water ratio) is also a great way to soften them up and prevent them from sticking in your teeth, which can be rather annoying. My big chia seed kick has been based on this soaking method. I keep a mason jar in the fridge, and in the morning I stir a spoonful into my oatmeal or yogurt. Here's a recipe for my current favorite breakfast:<br />
<br />
<u>Yogurt with Chia Seeds Recipe:</u><br />
1 bowlful of Greek yogurt - whatever you consider an appropriate serving size. My favorite is Fage 2% fat.<br />
1 spoonful of chia seed gel<br />
1 spoonful of jelly or honey<br />
<br />
optional: 1 spoonful of peanut butter. I don't care for this, but Ian <i>loves</i> it!<br />
other extras: nuts, granola, fresh fruit, dried fruit, etc. <br />
<br />
Just mix it all together and enjoy!<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">p.s.: if I did have a photograph, I would want it to look something like <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/pomegranate-yogurt-bowl-recipe.html">this one</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-55846197902910488972013-02-17T09:56:00.000-06:002013-04-09T15:14:41.120-05:00a poemIt's not something that comes up in everyday conversation, but I really love poetry. I love how reading so few words can have such power, thanks to careful choices and strategic arrangement. I also write poems from time to time, but rarely share them with anybody other than Ian. However, I submitted a few to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams">William Carlos Williams </a>(an amazing physician poet) <a href="http://www.neomed.edu/academics/medicine/departments/family-medicine/education-and-faculty-development/william-carlos-williams-poetry-competition/previous-years-winners">poetry competition</a>, and received honorable mention for one. I'm thrilled! And it gave me the extra bit of confidence I needed to share it online. I hope you like it.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Fluid Crystals</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Why do we have membranes?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">asks my professor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">who is a bit too cool for us</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">with his unnamable accent –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Because life is compartmentalized.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I don’t want my life to be compartmentalized.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I want it to be fluid,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">like the bilayer lipid membrane itself,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">so that every component can translocate</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">and interact with the others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So that holding the hand of my cadaver</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">triggers poetry,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">rather than disgust</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">or detachment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because art and anatomy collide on the street,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">each four-chambered heart pumping,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">each brain full of memories</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">and twelve cranial nerves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The winter trees are skeletons,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">but they will reflesh themselves.</span></div>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-87375280666097511732013-01-29T11:14:00.000-06:002013-01-29T11:14:41.764-06:00things are falling into place<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">“Eventually
all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live
for the moments, and know everything happens for a reason."― Albert
Schweitzer .</span></span></span></span></span><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><br /> </span></span></h5>
</blockquote>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-69245699807790127672013-01-02T15:24:00.003-06:002013-01-02T15:24:37.899-06:002013<br /><h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: purple;">Happy New Year!</span></span></h2>
When I've had a rough day, I'm extremely grateful for the fact that I get to go to sleep and start over again in the morning. New Year's is sort of like that, only bigger. It's so wonderful to have this celebration every 365 days, to feel like we accomplished something and can now begin anew. A freshness. lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-11588501678259889632012-12-29T17:14:00.002-06:002012-12-29T17:14:59.014-06:00looking at art<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago I went to the Chicago Art Institute. I
always feel rejuvenated after visiting an art museum. It pulls me out of my
head and distracts me from all the mundane things I worry about unnecessarily
on a daily basis. This trip seemed long over-do, and somehow reflecting on it
now makes me realize how much this past month was recovering from the prior
five. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I began by studying some photographs, comparing the
differences between printing and developing methods, reading the name of each
artist, title, and materials. Then I set out through the contemporary building
and decided that I was not going to read anything. Instead I would just focus
on the painting itself – I could only take in so many words and changing my
focus constantly was becoming somewhat dizzying. Often though, I couldn’t help
myself and I needed the curator’s enlightening descriptions. I made my way
through a few connected rooms and, quite pleased with what I had seen, stepped
back into the hallway. Suddenly overwhelmed by how much was housed in a single
wing of this building, I considered calling it a day - until I thought of all
the beautiful paintings that would be in the next room over, so many artists I
love. I decided that I had to walk through a few more rooms, just to be in the
presence of such beauty and wonder. I stood to look at a painting, but rather
than study it I let the whole room flood over me, with such richness that it
far surpassed any one masterpiece. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Somehow my few hours immersed in artwork mirrored my recent
experiences as a third year medical student, at least in sentiment. I have many
stories to tell, each of them great on their own, but all together they make up
something greater. Something I don’t yet have the words for and maybe never
will. But it is wonderful, this mixture of excitement and anxiety, sadness and
relief, complete engagement and detachment. And there has been an overarching
sense of being overwhelmed. Not in the way I felt overwhelmed by the massive
amount I had to learn in anatomy, not a sense of something being unconquerable
or time being too short, but such a flood of experience that I will need some
time to pull myself up out of the water before I can reflect on it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In contrast to all that, my few days of Christmas vacation
have been so beautifully simple. I’m back in Texas, and I think that adds to
the feeling, both for its reminder of my youth as well as the basic kindness of
strangers that goes hand in hand with southern hospitality. I’ve been relishing
in walks through the neighborhood, blue skies, green leaves still hanging to
trees, and lazy mornings with my family. I think it’s the perfect transition
into the new semester, with a new confidence that I know what I want to do with
my future, and a renewed connection with the idea of becoming not just a doctor
but a healer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw some art again today. This time it was the<a href="http://www.menil.org/"> Menil Collection</a>, a much more manageable, focused collection of art. I walked through
the naturally lit rooms, surrounded by beauty, and felt like I was able to take
it all in and process it to some degree. My last stop was the <a href="http://www.rothkochapel.org/">Rothko Chapel</a>,
and left with a profound feeling of peace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and are filled
with love and joy as we begin to look towards the new year.</span></div>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-9866907447546815052012-11-26T06:07:00.000-06:002012-11-26T06:07:13.110-06:00metamorphosesYesterday we saw Mary Zimmerman's "<a href="http://lookingglasstheatre.org/content/box_office/metamorphoses">Metamorphoses", performed by the Looking Glass </a>theatre. It was the best play I have ever seen, wrought with heartache and love and longing. I cried a good bit during a particularly heart-wrenching scene, and was so pleased with it at the end of the play that I almost began crying again as we applauded. I wanted to personally thank everybody who made those stories come to life. If you are in Chicago, or ever hear of this work playing in your city, you should absolutely go see it. I'll leave you with a beautiful passage:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“A: The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.<br />Q: It always happens?<br />A: If we're lucky. And if we let ourselves be blind. <br />Q: Instead of watching out?<br />A: Instead of always watching out.”
</blockquote>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-77059958019462806132012-11-24T21:48:00.002-06:002012-11-24T21:48:47.372-06:00t2: how to have a feastMy mother-in-law is visiting this weekend for Thanksgiving, except that she didn't come until Friday, which means we had to have a second celebration. Necessarily. It was fun to play hostess and roast my first turkey. Okay, so she took care of the turkey, but I watched. I mean, I don't really eat meat usually, so I had no clue. I've never spent a whole day preparing for a meal like this before, so it was definitely a learning experience. I'm so glad we had some great friends to share it all with!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCqNi5eikdJu2-6xLrnL_2Mb7TqIqdbz5h7ThBodh9SmGpSkYxr_3A0hyphenhyphenz2ddu6cDtGPXczGpNbmWaFR854d8KCeV8VnM50pC-rH97iOnolBA92yVyH8dmItTKleZUmJ_IfoMYYG4U9w/s1600/IMG_4334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCqNi5eikdJu2-6xLrnL_2Mb7TqIqdbz5h7ThBodh9SmGpSkYxr_3A0hyphenhyphenz2ddu6cDtGPXczGpNbmWaFR854d8KCeV8VnM50pC-rH97iOnolBA92yVyH8dmItTKleZUmJ_IfoMYYG4U9w/s1600/IMG_4334.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">you will have to start with a full refrigerator</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIL1GJVV6PoNCbVRo04pcTGwtA2OJ6MR2yZ7W6Nvk-Dx2qz__nzn1cFkvsm9Soa9uELFAi2kCiSeqSXcl9In3Xn_hqXmr-XZRjKl3Z1x57Hr33X00-F0m2VDfUBBF1l6Ux5t_x0h9kAHY/s1600/IMG_4338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIL1GJVV6PoNCbVRo04pcTGwtA2OJ6MR2yZ7W6Nvk-Dx2qz__nzn1cFkvsm9Soa9uELFAi2kCiSeqSXcl9In3Xn_hqXmr-XZRjKl3Z1x57Hr33X00-F0m2VDfUBBF1l6Ux5t_x0h9kAHY/s1600/IMG_4338.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">and wash multiple sinks-full of dishes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P_AgvFrvz9v-9hBvTaAXKnD52t12MPy7hHqHQBE0AW0x7CDK9aG4bI8tLro77xw4vA-v52mf65AOVfFfFhqcDA0hVtpl4ieYp2r7D7dUZlSjYP4L5NJ4gyJaxhrZE7qcLvh3984mbg4/s1600/IMG_4339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2P_AgvFrvz9v-9hBvTaAXKnD52t12MPy7hHqHQBE0AW0x7CDK9aG4bI8tLro77xw4vA-v52mf65AOVfFfFhqcDA0hVtpl4ieYp2r7D7dUZlSjYP4L5NJ4gyJaxhrZE7qcLvh3984mbg4/s1600/IMG_4339.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgsh06TqnfDC0SAa7gpeuAtGvmSGy5K1aAs-mH9j4MNxPYF65KK2wPS9J6sWOk29pRS-xukkBo9_jQqMG-xcNI3nApOlRvE_0NTV-mkXMVbs_mcQDFLUE-zQlrbYfjZjxU9AkkJ7XH1g/s1600/IMG_4340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgsh06TqnfDC0SAa7gpeuAtGvmSGy5K1aAs-mH9j4MNxPYF65KK2wPS9J6sWOk29pRS-xukkBo9_jQqMG-xcNI3nApOlRvE_0NTV-mkXMVbs_mcQDFLUE-zQlrbYfjZjxU9AkkJ7XH1g/s1600/IMG_4340.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">on a chilly day like today, you can always chill some things outside since the fridge is as stuffed as your belly is going to be</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivZ5VTn6wpHvJK0aE-_1WFcGYy1Op-c7c1cQYiG6WzxAncbRj0Dxn2z1YgSSk9DjOvrGbW8zJyHqTG3mWmqaVM4txNQOaHrwXJS9e1z1AoVt-H-LQgvVlyeZV8tu1XtmD-32rsPkB2Yo/s1600/IMG_4344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivZ5VTn6wpHvJK0aE-_1WFcGYy1Op-c7c1cQYiG6WzxAncbRj0Dxn2z1YgSSk9DjOvrGbW8zJyHqTG3mWmqaVM4txNQOaHrwXJS9e1z1AoVt-H-LQgvVlyeZV8tu1XtmD-32rsPkB2Yo/s1600/IMG_4344.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">you might have to sneak away for a book break every now and then</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb2X5X4N9vwndK6i3sCo0e4nTepWYTJQQ-3bG9ciATUCPZaXmJkbtsGLLCVDmfPKh6Nu-rgQcvWIkJs7nOkyu1fnwKVGHJMBHkQnxlP3WKBZekfxGo-Fp588ngtVczxSbDp42lR22cRQ/s1600/IMG_4346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb2X5X4N9vwndK6i3sCo0e4nTepWYTJQQ-3bG9ciATUCPZaXmJkbtsGLLCVDmfPKh6Nu-rgQcvWIkJs7nOkyu1fnwKVGHJMBHkQnxlP3WKBZekfxGo-Fp588ngtVczxSbDp42lR22cRQ/s1600/IMG_4346.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">the cats will be ready long before the turkey is served</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iyIUa5qjj3vMvjJx6nnyJWO99vHua9QjQ2NMiXXJhblHJm83xU6qwmR0gag2WaKDYrPMJ1wEsXAFHjaYajW7Edqmx9Q5_Nfo9-DrZl1q90GeAjN4wT80xvBVDAeqEFCkp6rvc8t-CXs/s1600/IMG_4349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iyIUa5qjj3vMvjJx6nnyJWO99vHua9QjQ2NMiXXJhblHJm83xU6qwmR0gag2WaKDYrPMJ1wEsXAFHjaYajW7Edqmx9Q5_Nfo9-DrZl1q90GeAjN4wT80xvBVDAeqEFCkp6rvc8t-CXs/s1600/IMG_4349.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">but finally the spread will be out, friends will arrive, and you'll be having such a nice time you'll completely forget that you wanted to take more photographs of the evening.</span></td></tr>
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<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-37314514042293557002012-11-23T11:09:00.000-06:002012-11-23T11:14:18.124-06:00thanksgivingThanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. It's so much simpler than Christmas. Sure, there's a big dinner to prepare, but I think sharing good food with friends and family is one of the nicest things you can do. Now that we live in Chicago, we have spent Thanksgiving with some more distant relatives for the past 3 years. It's comforting to be with family, and to know that they are nearby should we ever need them, even if we are separated by a few branches on the family tree. I always bring a different side dish, and this year I was proudly named the vegetable queen. <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vibrant-tasty-green-beans-recipe.html">Fresh green beans</a> the first year that definitely outshined your standard mushy casserole, kale salad last year that gave some people their first taste of that amazing vegetable, and <a href="http://www.wholeliving.com/150865/roasted-brussels-sprouts-and-grapes-walnuts?center=0&gallery=136380&slide=150864">Brussels sprouts</a> this year.<br />
<br />
It's good to have a simple holiday, allowing plenty of time to just sit and relax with family, and to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. It feels a bit cliché to write about this, but we really don't take enough time for this in our normal hectic lives. I'm sure we would all be much happier and healthier if we did so. Just having 4 days away from the hospital is a major blessing! Already I've listened to good music with friends, gone to a yoga class, taken a few walks, cleaned the apartment, lounged around after the big meal, watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, slept for 11 hours last night (!), and it's only Friday.<br />
<br />
While I was preparing the Brussels sprouts and Ian was washing dishes, we listened to the radio a bit and were intrigued by a question the reporter posed (rhetorically?) to the audience: What books are you thankful for? As we thought about it we realized that this is very different than asking what your favorite books are. Right now, I'm thankful for the Brothers Karamazov because I'm really enjoying it right now. Interestingly, one of the first books I thought of is called <a href="http://www.anticancerbook.com/">Anticancer</a>, which talks about how diet, exercise, and stress affect our health in a very significant way. I think reading this book played a big role in sparking my interest in integrative & preventative medicine, which has influenced my life in a major way. I'm not sure what else, but I really like this question and plan to think on it a bit more.<br />
<br />
How about you, what books are you thankful for?lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-68780914790826135962012-10-30T19:57:00.000-05:002012-11-23T11:14:04.512-06:002 more salads<a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/speaking-of-salads.html">Way back when</a>, or maybe just a few months ago, I had the grand idea of sharing a series of salad recipes. Of course life gets in the way, so I should be more careful about making statements like that. It's like every time I have a week off from school or work - I begin making a list of things I'd like to do about a month in advance, and inevitably fill it with much more than anyone could fit into that time span. Oh well.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, summer has faded and blustery winds are blowing in. But I do have a couple salad suggestions, photos and all, that have been set aside ready to go, just waiting for a bit of time to type them up. And when I say suggestions, I mean I don't really think it's worth taking the time to make up exact measurements because I generally just wing it, and I imagine that will work nicely for you as well. Cooking is the most fun when it's variations on a theme.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>1. Sauteed Corn Salad</u></span><br />
This is delicious with corn freshly cut from the cob. You could try it with frozen or canned, but I'm doubtful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FVKIhO5S0KuhXrcvcRfUStBs2Pb7x4jB5C7SYBQVtLEXqN3jWcoZG0eI5g-MY8DC8v9bun7S_QrSxX668qsmH8Bcf2FrwSO1pfFl76yDY-AQ6HX6I0XQ2DMYz2YMvUxKr2S-SzLcEA8/s1600/IMG_4325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FVKIhO5S0KuhXrcvcRfUStBs2Pb7x4jB5C7SYBQVtLEXqN3jWcoZG0eI5g-MY8DC8v9bun7S_QrSxX668qsmH8Bcf2FrwSO1pfFl76yDY-AQ6HX6I0XQ2DMYz2YMvUxKr2S-SzLcEA8/s640/IMG_4325.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ingredients: <br />
Corn on the cob, at least 1 per person<br />
red onion, diced<br />
fresh thyme<br />
fresh rosemary, chopped<br />
feta cheese<br />
almond slivers or pumpkin seeds, toasted (or any other nut or seed)<br />
<br />
Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Add a handful of diced onion and let it cook for about 5 minutes before cutting the corn straight into the pan. Mix to coat everything evenly with the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and a few springs of fresh thyme and rosemary.<br />
<br />
Let this cook until everything begins to caramelize. The key is keeping the heat up enough to let the corn and onions brown around the edges and stick to the bottom of the pan a bit - when you scrape that off, it adds an amazing sweetness to the dish.<br />
<br />
Top with crumbled feta and toasted almond slivers and pumpkin seeds.<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">2. Tuna Salad</span></u><br />
I am not a fan of the traditional tuna salad, or any mayonnaise-based salad for that matter. But I do like tuna. I consider this a fresher take on the traditional dish, and it still gets some creaminess from the oil and feta.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4fCwr1GLKuOisVGMOOW8OZCXhTnWjkewKSTWpM1kQW3ScXuzyBb35Ql2ZlShFqwR1e18uX1TGbA_w5WiLg4Bv6_q5wf0ABTaEw65d1n4zvpsl0siUHAdcPH0v0iOYjY4_AbhfEYydP0/s1600/IMG_4327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4fCwr1GLKuOisVGMOOW8OZCXhTnWjkewKSTWpM1kQW3ScXuzyBb35Ql2ZlShFqwR1e18uX1TGbA_w5WiLg4Bv6_q5wf0ABTaEw65d1n4zvpsl0siUHAdcPH0v0iOYjY4_AbhfEYydP0/s640/IMG_4327.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ingredients:<br />
1 can of <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&ved=0CEQQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblueocean.org%2Ffiles%2FSeafood_Guide.pdf&ei=0hiPUN2mM_OLyAG_hYGwDw&usg=AFQjCNEAuk2eKjGGW1FEdQ1BkFDfadgyjg&sig2=G4o98dl7MFv-ccYArFwqLw">tuna fish</a><br />
olive oil<br />
feta cheese<br />
capers<br />
lemon juice<br />
fresh parsley, finely chopped<br />
red onion, diced<br />
<br />
Combine all ingredients well, balancing out the olive oil, feta, caper liquid and lemon juice to get the blend of richness and acidity that best suits you.<br />
<br />
Enjoy on a bed of greens, a slice of bread, or however you usually eat tuna salad.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-24892503684397022452012-09-25T16:40:00.000-05:002012-09-25T16:41:22.686-05:00being present while cycling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the beautiful things about riding a bicycle is that you can't multitask. When I'm in the car, I feel the need to be talking on the phone or looking at something at every stop light. That's not really an option on a bicycle. So instead, I notice things like how the pink morning sky is so bright that for about 47 seconds everything glows neon, and the interesting combination of autumn's mums with the few choice rose bushes that have chosen to continue blooming, and a woman sitting on a balcony, playing with her granddaughter. People say hello when they pass by on foot or bicycle. And when I get to wherever I'm going, I feel like I'm ready to be there because I was really present throughout the journey.<br />
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<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-11303167527985888202012-09-22T19:12:00.002-05:002012-09-22T19:12:16.465-05:00first day of fall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is the autumn equinox. I enjoyed it with doughnuts and coffee at the farmer's market. A cool breeze announced the new season's arrival, but the sunshine helped to balance out my premature Christmas song reflex (in Houston, 46 F is a perfectly acceptable late December temperature). Apples, butternut squash, and fava beans made their way into my bag and I can't wait to cook up some savory dishes. Along with autumnal flavors and cozy sweaters, I always find myself craving some good jazz music this time of year, especially Vince Guaraldi. I'm not sure why, it just always happens.lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-71005734695325569102012-09-20T14:59:00.001-05:002012-10-29T18:37:48.001-05:00book report: THE ROADCormac McCarthy, author of <u>No Country for Old Men </u>and a few other books-turned-movie, has an impressively simple style that conveys so much more emotion than I could have imagined possible. His writing is intensely beautiful and impacting. I have only read one of his novels, <u>The Road</u>. I became so engrossed in it that I won't let myself read another until I have more time to spare. It's funny how I can fall asleep on the second sentence of a textbook, yet an hour can pass of reading a novel like this in which the existence of time seems irrelevant. Actually, I haven't been consumed by a book like that for years; I had forgotten what a delicious experience it can be.<br />
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<u>The Road</u> is about a young boy and his father attempting to survive in some sort of post-apocalyptic world. We hardly get any background or explanation for the way things are, but it's clear that that doesn't really matter. What matters is the present state of the world, the relationship between these two people, and each of their relationships with the desolate earth. McCarthy has said that he was inspired by his own son. Here is an excerpt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He was a long time going to sleep. After a while he turned and looked at the man. His face in the small light streaked with black from the rain like some old world thespian. Can I ask you something? he said.<br />
Yes. Of course.<br />
Are we going to die?<br />
Sometime. Not now...<br />
What would you do if I died?<br />
If you died I would want to die too.<br />
So you could be with me?<br />
Yes. So I could be with you.<br />
Okay. </blockquote>
lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8534624828183470540.post-76386458161959000102012-09-03T20:06:00.003-05:002012-09-03T20:07:44.001-05:00the fifth seasonSince moving up here from Texas, I have delighted in the changing seasons, and written about them quite a bit here. They change the way one experiences the world - looking forward to summer means something new entirely. It's not just time off from school, it's sunshine and greenness and fresh berries. Certainly this made my mother's childhood somewhat different from my own. Here, I savor the heat; back home it was something I tried to avoid. Well, I just want to add onto my other seasonal revelations that I have discovered that perhaps there are more than just four. I'm pretty sure there should be a 5th season: end-of-summer. It's still hot and the sun still hangs in bright blue skies, but when it sets things are a bit more golden, and you might notice a few leaves showing their spines or fading, ever-so-slightly, into yellow. It's a lovely time of year.<br />
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Here are a few photos from my end-of-summer. I've had a whopping 10 days off between surgery and medicine clerkships, and they have been glorious. There was yoga on the beach, camping, lazy <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2010/01/very-definition.html">pancake</a> mornings, plenty of time for our new kitty, and a belated birthday party.<br />
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The party menu: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://casayellow.com/beer-blini/">blini bar</a> with crème fraiche, roasted onions, bean spread</li>
<li><a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/heirloom-tomato-salad-recipe.html">heirloom tomato salad</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.teaandcookiesblog.com/2009/08/zucchini-noodles-with-pesto.html">zucchini salad</a></li>
<li>roasted carrots (recipe below)</li>
<li><a href="http://casayellow.com/herb-infused-clara-con-limon/">summertime shandy</a>/radler/clara [tasty by any name]</li>
<li>corn salad and amazing baked goods from friends!</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
It was a lovely evening, and I was so happy to be surrounded by so many great friends in my own home. Like <a href="http://mindfulofbeauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/cooking-for-two.html">I said</a>, I need to cook for people more often.<br />
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Finally, a recipe! These roasted carrots are incredibly straight forward, but absolutely delicious. They are one of my favorites to bring to parties because they actually get people to want to put more vegetable on their plate. Even people who don't like carrots. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Roasted Cumin Carrots:</u></span><br />
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Preheat oven to 400 F<br />
Wash and peel several large carrots. Cut them into french-fry size sticks.<br />
Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer.<br />
Drizzle with olive oil and rub it around with your hands so that they all are well-coated. Sprinkle with cumin seeds and cinnamon.<br />
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and caramelize. It's okay if they start to burn a teeny bit.<br />
<br />lisamariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08184249651193047445noreply@blogger.com1