Improvisation in the Kitchen . . . and the result a Mediterranean Frittata!

My New Years Resolution this year is a simple one: really walk my talk. I am passionate about healthy eating and healthy living. I have committed so much time, attention and effort over the years to helping others prioritize their health and wellness. And I proudly assert that I usually prioritize my health and wellness too. But this year, I am going to do so with passion. 2009 is the year that I can say I transitioned my life into a most amazing balance. So what have I been doing so far: more yoga and meditation, retaining sermons from church, plenty of exercise, quality time with my family, friends, and dog, and lots more home cooking.

Home cooking all the time isn’t easy, trust me I know. It can be a challenge, but it’s one I take with joy! So, last night, after a long day of work, I was ready to make a quiche. In fact, for the past six months or so, I have made a weekly quiche. My pantry makes it easy; I always have healthy frozen pie crusts on hand, fresh farm eggs, low-fat organic plain yogurt, mustard, an organic cheese and vegetables. But last night, there was one dilemma: the yogurt I had was bad! Ack – what to do??!! It was already 8:00 PM; there was no way I was going to make a grocery store run! I improvised using what I had on hand…and this is what I came up with. It took a little more time and effort that a quiche, but it was in fact healthier, more wholesome, and oh so delicious!

Mediterranean Frittata
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
- 6 farm fresh eggs
- 4 organic cloves of garlic minced
- 4 organic red potatoes, cubed
- 2 teaspoons dried mint
- 1 can artichokes, quartered
- 1 red pepper, diced
- Handful of Kalamata olives, chopped
- 3 packed cups of fresh organic spinach
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces of French sheep feta…YUM!

Directions:
First, chop the potatoes and then boil them for 10 minutes in a pot of water, until they are just about tender. Wile they are boiling, chop all other veggies. Drain the potatoes. Heail 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on an iron skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic. Stir for one minute. Add the potatoes and stir frequently for about 12 minutes or until they become almost crispy. Add the chopped red peppers and artichokes, stir for 5 minutes or until the peppers start to become soft. Add the mint, olives, and spinach. Stir well until spinach wilts. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Remove veggies from pan. Beat all six eggs (I did it in my Kitchenaid Mixer). Heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in the same iron skillet. Add eggs. Let cook over medium heat until eggs begin to solidify by top is still slightly liquefied. Pour vegetables over the eggs. Sprinkle with feta. Place skillet under your broiler for 5 minutes.

This was So so so tasty, and because it’s just Brent and me, we had it again for breakfast this morning!

Misconception # 1 about Holistic Nutrition

Tonight I began reflecting on my journey into holistic health and how it really has optimized my quality of life. I feel vibrant most of the time, positive most of the time, and well, balanced. I'm in control of serious illnesses that used to control me and put simply "I feel good."

As I was reflecting, I began praying that more people would give themselves this gift of a holistic lifestyle centered around a healthy diet. And then it occurred to me - I could probably positively influence people by telling people what holistic nutrition isn't as opposed to what it is!

So here is my dissection of Misconception # 1:

If I'm going to take on a holistic health lifestyle, I have to adapt a bland, boring, macrobiotic or vegetarian induced insane diet.

This is absolutely incorrect. Yes, I advice my clients to introduce some macrobiotic and vegetarian type foods into their diet like more fish, whole grains, and vegetables, but BELIEVE me, I'm realistic and an epicurean at that, so I know how crucial it is for food to be enjoyable. And serioulsy, I know so many junk food vegetarians - this goes to show that vegetarianism does not equal healthy!

Understand that your body is like a car and needs the best fuel in order to run properly. A holistic diet is about making small changes to improve your nutritional intake. And these changes can be flavorful and tasty! Incorporate more greens into your diet, and season them with spices, be adventurous and try spices you haven't used before. More and more studies are showing how spices have key nutrients that can keep us healthy and prevent serious illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular disease. Honor your body. Meat is okay, just make sure it's lean and top quality. I do promote organic meats as they are not treated with chemicals that can harm our body. And guess what? They taste better too!

When you start viewing your body as a temple and when you start feeling healthy from consuming healthy foods, your worldview will change. It really will. You'll see that a holistic diet is about balance. And part of this balance is between taste and healthfulness.

And you know what else is involved in this balance - knowing that chocolate mouse is FINE! A pint of Guinness is fantastic. And for me, a good ol' platter of fish-n-chips is A-OK. Once you've adopted a healthy diet, you can eat these "unhealthy" foods once and a while and savor them knowing that they can't harm you because you have the armor of a healthy diet and lifestyle protecting you!

Lost luggage can be a good thing

I went out to Colorado last week and it was AMAZING!!! Brent and I ran a half marathon and were totally awed by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. We heard horror stories about Denver Airport's skill of losing people's luggage, but we retrieved ours without a problem. Funnily enough, Denver Airport displays maps of the United States with points of interest (like Graceland and various odd museums) and wouldn't you know they admit to their claim t fame. On the map, there is an arrow pointing to Denver and it says "You are here but your luggage is in Pittsburgh."

We returned to Philadelphia on Thursday, but guess what? Our luggage somehow missed the plane. Initially I was bummed: "Oh man, all of my running clothes are in there...and my favorite essential oil (green tea)." But then, I thought about it more and I didn't really care. Hey, how nice it is not to have to lug that stuff around.

I was reminded of my move earlier this summer, when I got rid of tons of materials that I did not use regularly. I used freecycle.org to get rid of several appliances, furniture items, and bookshelves. I gave books away to Housing Works and also posted some on paperbackswap.com. Perhaps the biggest relief was FINALLY getting rid of bins of journal articles from graduate school. Years ago, I had a professional organizer tell me to get rid of them. She told me that keeping stuff like that around would prevent me from succeeding in my nutritional counseling business.... the fact that I held onto them meant that I was fearing that I would need them again. Well, this summer I got rid of all of them...and I also got rid of my statistics books. You probably never knew that I am a stats wiz. I am so thankful that Bethlehem has an absolutely phenomenal recycling center.

Getting rid of stuff I rarely use brought me immense relief. I tell my clients that external clutter can no doubt make you feel anxious and cluttered internally. I recommend THE SIMPLE LIVING GUIDE by Janet Luhrs or Karen Kingston's CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER WITH FENG SHUI.

So, as soon as I felt okay with my absent luggage, it arrived on my porch. I admit to feeling pretty excited about having my favorite bathing suit back, and my organic lavender sunscreen, and my running shorts, and sports bras. But the good thing is the reminder that life is so much more than the things you own.