12 minute read
Nourishment and nutrition for the soul
Until recently, I have never put much thought into what I eat as it relates to how it truly makes me feel. Specifically, how my external body and my internal thoughts are tied to what I have consumed on a daily basis. I would frequently see a billboard advertising a spaghetti special on Mondays or I hear a commercial on the radio announcing a coffee happy hour, which would inevitably lead me to making convenient, yet unhealthy food choices.
Usually, whatever I am craving, or unfortunately, what fad diet I was following that month, determined what I chose to eat or drink that day. The convenience of rich unhealthy foods parade around me like flavor soldiers taking down my balanced diet goals in a war I nonetheless have surrendered to, although very willingly. Health issues over the past five years have exhausted my efforts to eat healthier and have pushed me to the brink of giving up, until I mindfully and carefully transitioned to a plant-based diet.
I now savor vegetables and fruits in their natural essence. For the first time since my childhood, I am transported by the smell and taste of the earthy just-picked tomato with its fresh, sweet and juicy goodness. After several days of eating whole foods, my authentic self is undeniably evolving into a different person, including clarity of thoughts and an easy-going nature.
Going back to a simple way of eating provides me with such deep gratitude that I now feel it in my soul. This purposeful change has taken on a cognitive connection to my food intake—one that I could never have imagined. I can see how incredibly balanced my emotions and physical body have become—unlike my past impulsive diet choices, which would actually cause my concentration, memory and anxiety to overflow beyond repair.
Rituals with food consumption, such as family meals, traditional cultural dishes and comfort foods, reign like a king. The traditional decadent meals that are the focal point of any holiday all have a place in our society and, of course, in my daily life. These food choices often are unhealthy and rich in fat, sugar and salt. While they may satiate our immediate craving, they do not serve our praiseworthy soul.
During the pinnacle year I gave up eating animal meat, I learned a valuable lesson. The trigger was my experience with comfort foods when, for example, I immediately felt like I was missing out on Thanksgiving if I did not have a side of ham and turkey. After eating a small amount of each, I quickly became sick and had emotions of devastating sadness. The adverse
Frances Graham, vegan private chef, owner and operator of Nourish’d Culinary and Catering
experience with eating the animal meat forced me to reflect on why I had this type of negative reaction.
The reason was not only had my diet changed, but my values concerning how animals are treated when they are prepared for human consumption was inhumane, causing me to feel their suffering, too. This was the first time I realized my nutritional choices did not just effect my health, but greatly affected my psyche—viscerally stimulating the core of who I was on a much deeper level.
Another issue I encountered with my food intake was my participation in overeating. I have never been an emotional eater, but realizing I was overeating at least once per day really changed my outlook, not just what I was eating, but how much. I noticed
that my attitude on finishing my daily tasks and joining in on social events was greatly affected by the misery I felt after eating just a bit too much in only one meal.
A food diary efficiently gave me a documented outlook on my daily consumption. Overeating was interfering with many of my emotions and physical energy by overdoing my caloric intake. The extra cup of food or more was wrecking my digestive system. This moment of acknowledgement reminded me I was one of many people eating for stimulation and taste, not for healing myself or promoting optimal health.
Understanding how making food choices that are in the moment without any thought or purpose can change who we are as a person. Globally, there is a widely known phenomenon consisting of diets, dining-out, cookbooks, preventative
healthcare through diet choices and super-charged online meal prep programs that rule our everyday life. Mindful eating and how our food choices affect us directly is really not discussed as one of the most integral aspects of living a balanced fulfilling life.
I look forward to teaching others about how certain foods make us feel connected to each of our unique bodies, minds and spirits. Eating and cooking whole food consciously can be a lifestyle change that is overwhelmingly rewarding. It also can ethically support many of our goals and personal outcomes.
At the end of a recent yoga class, I sat down with my group and participated in a tea ritual. We all turned our right hand palm-facing up and our left hand hovering over our hot tea (made with dates and cinnamon). The ritual began with our left hand feeling the light, warm steam trailing up our arm. We carefully sipped the hot, sweet tea. Next, we were instructed to visualize and physically experience the tea moving down our throat into our stomach and down into our root chakra with deep grounding gratitude. Something this simple has made me feel accomplished and ready to start my day.
Take some time to savor real nourishment for your soul. The realization that our food choices are connected on a more emotional level will soon add up to a priceless benefit, which will yield in a conscious investment in great health and a rich feeling of purely being in the present.
Frances Graham, vegan private chef, is owner and operator of Nourish’d Culinary and Catering. An educator and speaker, she specializes in plant-based education and transitioning to a lifestyle that reduces pain and inflammation in the body. With more than 20 years in the culinary industry, Chef Frances has been in remission from four autoimmune diseases simply by changing her diet and energy. She started a program to “veganize” restaurant menus. You can reached her via email at frances@nourishdculinary.com or by calling 480-709- 5141. For more information, visit www.nourishdculinary.com.
A Pivotal Space Do good. Be better. Lead best.
My daughter lives in Auckland, New Zealand, and I live in St. Louis. For those of you who are curious, that is a nearly 8,000-mile flight. I am not sharing this as a mother who is sad her daughter misses family events and Sunday dinner get-togethers. My husband, youngest son and I recently traveled to New Zealand to experience her world and see her in action. It was amazing.
The culture. The scenery. The food. The ambiance. It was a totally different space than what I am used to.
Auckland is 19 hours ahead of St. Louis, so we celebrated New Year’s Eve before almost everyone else in the world. Keep in mind that we visited during our winter, which is their summer. The sun’s warmth felt fabulous compared to our typically rough Midwestern winter.
During our visit, the extensive fires in Australia had just begun. On one of our last days in New Zealand, the entire sky turned a hazy yellowish-orange color, making me feel the intense fear so many were experiencing only 1,300 miles away. The smoke infiltrated its way into our lives and filled me with such compassion for these beautiful countries. How would they ever recover from the devastation?
By Rochelle Brandvein
Journey of a lifetime My overall takeaway of our trip is pretty simple to define: Our countries are very similar (wildfires are prevalent in the western US) and yet extremely different. New Zealand stands in stark comparison to our supersized American world. Smaller coffee cups. Smaller food portions. Less waste.
As a visitor to this beautiful country, I noticed a common theme that every single action had an appropriate reaction. These Kiwis were more
considerate to their surroundings and truly appreciated their limited resources. While I was there, I became more respectful of our world and I felt really good about my actions.
My daughter works at a huge retail company that is totally committed to reducing its carbon footprint, as well as promoting reusable bags at its more than 250 stores. Her organization encourages less waste and more recycling. It is the definition of sustainability and community.
It started me thinking about my daily life in St. Louis. My world consists of plastic cups, plastic soda bottles, plastic utensils, plastic tablecloths—you get the picture. How wasteful. I feel terrible even sharing this with you. It made me want to learn ways to become more eco-friendly and kinder to our earth. day should be Earth Day and, with everyone’s support, it can be.
More R’s = healthier world Even the original Three R’s of Sustainability (reduce, reuse and recycle) have grown to encompass more options (refuse, rethink and repair), and even more choices (respect, remove and rejuvenate) we need to consider in our quest to better control our lifestyles and our resources. We are trying, but is it enough?
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bases sustainability on a simple principle: Everything we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. In order to achieve sustainability, humans and nature must co-exist to support current and future generations.
A global reaction This April marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a unified response to environmental crises that includes oil spills, smog and waterway pollution. The first Earth Day in 1970 marked the passage of US landmark environmental laws—The Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts—that many countries emulated. Since then, the US has rolled back these historic laws and many others pertaining to environmental rules. These recent changes make me sad because it seems we are moving backward instead of going forward to protect our planet.
Earth Day’s theme for 2020 is “Climate Action.” In my mind, every
Plastic pollution The problem: According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition (www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org), “plastic is a substance the earth cannot digest.” This global alliance works toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, waterways, oceans, and the environment. Its findings are staggering.
The numbers: Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year with only 8% getting recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or becomes “litter”, and a small portion is incinerated.
Entanglement, ingestion and habitat disruption all result from plastic ending up in the spaces where animals live. In our oceans alone, plastic debris outweighs zooplankton by a ratio of 36-to-1.
The solution: Mimic places like New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order to end “unnecessary single-use plastic bottles,” which prohibits city agencies—food vendors on city sidewalks, parks and sports facilities, etc.—from purchasing water, soda or other beverages in single-use plastic bottles and restricts the sale of plastic bottles on city property. NYC government previously cut plastic straws and cutlery from every city location, including schools and hospitals. This is a small step forward that can have a huge impact on other cities and communities.
Greenhouse gas emissions The problem: Households’ carbon footprints continue to grow. While we produce greenhouse gas emissions in everything we do— from burning gas when we drive to using electricity in our homes—we still can do better with our type of car and more efficient home furnaces.
The numbers: Based on 2010 EPA data, the top four economic activities that lead to greenhouse gas emissions are electricity and heat production (25%); industry (21%) primarily involved with fossil fuels burned on site at facilities for energy; agriculture, forestry and other land use (24%) for the cultivation of crops and livestock, as well as deforestation; and transportation (14%) for fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air and marine transportation. Keep in mind almost all (95%) of the world’s transportation energy comes from petroleum-based fuels, which are largely gasoline and diesel.
The solution: Estimate (and then reduce) your carbon footprint with EPA’s calculator at www.3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator. Visit www.fueleconomy.gov to use its fuel savings calculator, as well as learn more
about more eco-friendly alternatives to your type of automobile. It is easy to calculate, and the results speak volumes.
Simple takeaways By adopting a more sustainable lifestyle, we as individuals can do—and be—better than ever before.
Do more of this: Walk. Plant. Recycle. Unplug devices. Compost. Donate. Advocate for the environment. Eat local. Borrow or fix. Lower your thermostat. Buy products with less packaging.
Do less of this: Pollute. Litter. Straws. Takeout containers. Plastic bags. Single-use items. Water usage. Chemicals. Electronic (e-waste). Paper. Drive.
Changing my world Since returning from our trip to New Zealand, I am doing my best to remember the finiteness of our world. I purchased cloth napkins to use both on a daily basis and at our Sunday dinners. I now bring a refillable water bottle to the gym every morning. And I am absolutely more conscientious about my actions, both large and small, and how I impact the world.
What are you doing to make our world a better place? I would love to hear. Rochelle Brandvein is the owner of Brandvein-Aaranson Public Relations, a 30-year-old PR agency that recently pivoted to solely handling nonprofits and companies with a philanthropic arm or foundation. Her company specializes in publicity, copywriting and creative services.
Join us in leading Up through giving back
Donate: www.localhope.org/donation Volunteer: www.localhope.org/volunteer Sponsor a Child for School: www.localhope.org/sponsor/ students-seeking-sponsors Did you know your gift of $30 can provide a night of safe housing for mother in need? Make your lifechanging donation to Maggie’s Place www.maggiesplace.org. SheLift is a 501(c)3 organization that empowers young women with physical differences to discover confidence and self esteem through outdoor recreation and mentorship. Donations accepted: https://shelift.org Founded by Sarah Herron (previous Bachelorette contestant)
“The WBDC (Women’s Business Development Council) has helped more than 18,000 women across 169 Connecticut towns become better business people. WBDC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing the tools and resources to help women thrive in business. With a belief that if desire, education, and preparation come together, opportunities are created, and economies are expanded. The WBDC provides training and education necessary for women to launch and grow their businesses.”
NOT YOUR AVERAGE BRACELET BRAND. We didn’t just want to be another cute bracelet brand. Screw that. The facts are clear - all of these causes are in desperate need of additional financial support and awareness and we knew we needed to do our part.
Every bracelet donates $5 to the cause it supports. We worked tirelessly to find nonprofit organizations that are actively making positive strides towards change and really need our help to continue to do so.
