Book Review: The Maker's Diet

The wide array of diets that have sneaked themselves into books available to consumers everywhere amazes me at times. And one diet recommends the exact opposite of the next. It’s no wonder clients come to me confused all of the time.

Regardless of the merit of these diets, I try to keep myself abreast on the popular diets so that I know where my clients are coming from when they make the decision to work with me.

One diet book that I have had on my shelf for over a year is The Maker’s Diet. The author Jordan Rubin promotes this diet as one that is holistic and assures that this diet will help people to boost their immune system, attain and maintain an ideal weight, have abundant energy, improve their physical appearance, reduce stress and improve digestion. Upon reading these promises on the book jacket, I thought to myself “Interesting, these sound like results that my clients achieve through my approach to health and nutrition.”

As a Christian myself, the title of course captivated me. I was so curious as to how Rubin was able to delineate a way that God designed us to eat and to perhaps mimic the way Christ ate. I often times thought about the food that is mentioned in the bible; it is so wholesome: millet, fish, wine, apples, figs, olives, spelt, barley. I also marveled at the fasts that took place in the bible. It has always occurred to me that people prioritized health in biblical times.

I spent the past month reading The Maker’s Diet. I don’t feel as though I learned a whole lot from this book. However, I am impressed with the memoir-type element of this book. Years ago, Rubin had a SEVERE case of IBS and was able to heal himself by following what he now calls the Maker’s Diet. The guy was deathly ill, weighing in at 110 pounds at one point in time. Rubin’s transformative diet consisted of natural meats and grains (not manufactured in big factory farms), fermented dairy forms (not ultra-pasteurized and pumped with antibiotics and hormones), a lot of vegetables, and fruits and a soil supplement called HSOs. Rubin also mentions the way in which prayer, aromatherapy, and therapeutic music helped in the recovery process.

I do believe that Rubin’s approach to dieting s quite holistic and holds merit. He talks about the importance of “clean” food, which I agree with. I think we are certainly meant to eat foods as naturally as possible. How much healthier we would all be if we ate wholesome foods derived from the earth as opposed to foods that have been sitting on a shelf in the grocery store for longer than my book has been sitting on my bookshelf or foods that have come from animals but have been processed to the maximum degree.Rubin also talks about avoiding toxic health, beauty, and household products, which I also agree with.

I applause Rubin for dissecting several popular diets and declaring what factors are good about each diet and what factors make the diets ineffective. He shares helpful resources in the book and also has quite appealing recipes! I’ll let you know when I try some out.

Now, on to what I do not like about the book. The book did not delve deeply into the connection between God and the diet. I think the book could have just as well been called The Natural Diet. Also, Rubin’s suggestions on how to avoid getting sick are somewhat implausible suggestions: never flying on an airplane, don’t swim in chlorinated pools (Hello! I’m a triathlete…if I were to swim in lakes, etc., all of the time then I’d have bacteria to worry about!!! And without indoor pools I’d never be able to swim from October-May! And might I add, swimming is amazing for relaxation. ), don’t get tattoos or pierce the skin ( I haven’t seen much research that shows serious consequences of those – I say moderation!), don’t wear contacts, no aerobic exercise (instead something he calls functional fitness).

I’ll be fair and say that I already do follow some of his suggestions like not using fluoride in my toothpaste, and I do breathe with long, deep breaths. Basically, I take his advice with a grain of salt. My approach to nutrition and health is that it has to be NATURAL and also SCIENTIFALLY BASED. I have not seen any literature on contact lenses and the destruction of your immune system.

I do believe God wants us to eat naturally and healthfully…these foods give us the vitality to work for peace, and to follow our callings to make the world a better and more just place! He wants us to respect our bodies as our temples. I also believe though that God would never want us to become extremely compulsive and restrictive about how we live our lives.We have to enjoy life!

If your diet consists of many processed foods, then I think following Rubin’s 40 day diet may benefit you – it’s almost like a cleanse (I’ll be writing about cleansing in my next blog entry, so stay tuned). He also recommends supplemental exercises, cleansing drinks, and vitamins, and aromatherapy throughout the day. Though I think these are great ideas (especially the aromatherapy), I think it would be unrealistic for the average person to be able to follow his plan to a T.

If you have read this book, I’d love to see your comments in the comment section!

With cheer,

Shannon

Book Review: The Newman's Own Organics: Guide to a Good Life

Paul Newman may no longer be here with us, but he has left his activist mark on earth and I am ever so grateful for that. His presence is very apparent in my home. Brent and I use Fig Newmans, yes Newmans not Newtons for our cycling fuel! Sadie induldges in her Paul Newman peanut butter dog treats daily. I can thank Paul Newman for Sadie's latest skill - learning how to shake, with BOTH paws!

The recent passing of Paul Newman inspired me to grab a book off my shelf that I have skimmed through yet hadn't read fully. It's a book written by Paul Newman's daughter, Nell Newman. I ended up staying up that night to read the book in its entirety. The book is The Newman's Own Organics: Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures that benefit you and the Place you Live. In the book, Nell shares with us how she convinced Paul of the importance of eating organically by surreptitiously preparing him an organic Thanksgiving meal. She brought an organic turkey and the "works" on a plane packed in ice from her California home to New England! Paul marveled the meal and Nell revealed to him that it was ORGANIC! And so began the Newman's product chain, an amazing company that donates all of its royalties to charities. And those Fig Newmans that I love so much were the first fig bars to ever use organic figs!

Okay on to the book review: This book is an essential guide, especially for the newbie environmentalist or the newbie holistic health enthusiast. Newman shares with you easy ways that you can lead a healthy lifestyle and simultaneously reduce your carbon and water footprints (buzzwords not of hers, but of the media these days). The chapters are organized by such topics as: food, transportation, shopping, pet care, and cleaning.

While I have wholeheartedly practiced many of her suggestions for years, I still found the book useful in reminding me of the importance of some practices that I have neglected to some degree. For instance, no longer am I a vegetarian and I am fine with that (my body and mind function way more optimally with some animal protein), but I was reminded of WHY a a primarily vegetarian based diet is better for the environment. Here's what Nell has to say "Producing meat and other animal products taxes our planet unduly. Seven calories of vegetarian food must be consumed to create a single calorie of animal protein. It takes the equivalent of seventy-eight calories of fuel to create a single calorie of feedlot beef. When you consciously choose to eat less meat and more grains, vegetables, fruit, and legumes, you are helping to reduce the burden of food production on the earth." Plus, you FEEL better when you eat more vegetables!

I have committed to some more environmentally-friendly practices since reading this book. For instance, when I put leftovers in the fridge, I now REFUSE to use plastic wrap. Instead, I put them in a container with a lid. If I am out of containers, I put the leftovers in a bowl with a plate over it.

Oh, and I was ever so pleased to find out that zucchini is a great snack for dogs. I've been giving it to Sadie for a while - and she loves it. I also give her the carrot pulp leftover from carrot juice making. Nell says that carrot juice itself is an excellent supplement for our doggie pals.

So if you are new to the environmental movement or a total know-it-all, I guarantee you will enjoy this book! Pick it up today! Try to find it in a USED bookstore or check it out of your library!

Kitchen Appliance Blog # 1: The Food Processor

Many times my clients claim that they are unable to prepare meals quickly. We live in a high-tech society. The beauty of this is not to turn to microwave meals, but to instead use technology to prepare fresh food more quickly. So, I've decided to dedicate a blog or two a month to great kitchen appliances. My most favorite kitchen appliance is probably my Cuisinart Food Processor.

And these days I'm obsessed with it! I had to survive nearly a year without it! You see, in December when my husband and I moved into our new home, somewhere along the way, we lost the main blade to the food processor. I mean really, how many people can LOSE a blade to a FOOD PROCESSOR? After months of not finding it, I finally decided to order it from smallappliance.com. And have I ever been food processing away since then.

Food processors are great for making dips and spreads, an easy way to flavor and season any meal. My latest favorite is pesto. I made pesto - encrusted chicken. We then use leftover pesto for spreads on our sandwiches or a spread on a homemade pizza.

Getting Creative in the Kitchen

If you and your significant other need more intimacy, there's no better place than in the kitchen! Oops, sorry - that's not really where this blog post is going. This blog post is a response to my post last week, where I informed you that I'm dedicating myself to more cooking these days!

I thought it would be nice for me to share with you all the sort of dinners I usually create for my husband and I. Here's a look at last week. He actually made the dinners on Thursday and Friday, so he gets credit too! This way you can see how two BALANCED health freaks eat!

MONDAY: VEGETARIAN MEAL # 1: Indian dahl with prepackaged naan and steamed kale with sauteed garlic, 3 juicy fresh tomatoes chopped and olive oil. Dahl is so easy to make, saute a chopped onion in a generous amount of olive oil. Add 1 part lentils and two and a half parts water. Bring to a boil. Simmer and mix many times. Then season. I add cumin, Herbamare salt, ground pepper, a bit of cayenne pepper, and a sah of balsalmic vinegar (gives it a nice little bite).

TUESDAY: Thank you Eating Well. CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SCALLIONS, COLLARD GREENS, AND PEARS OVER BROWN RICE. If you've already clicked on the link to the recipe, you can see that I changed it up a bit. I like to do that. I didn't have currant jam, so I used lemon and it made quite a wonderful combination. I added the collard greens because this recipe defintely needed some more green. I used two pears instead of one and I used kuzu instead of cornstarch as it's a healthier alternative. And I simply enjoy scallions more than leeks! Might I add that this was my first time ever cooking chicken thighs, it took me about 40 minutes just to cut the fat off. I wasn't too grossed out though and the flavor of this dish was amazing. I couldn't imagine it with chicken breast instead of thighs.

WEDNESDAY: VEGETARIAN MEAL # 2 Thank you again Eating Well for the idea anyway. In their latest issue, there was a recipe for Sweet Potatoe and Red Pepper Pasta. It sounded tasty minus the pasta, so I put a healthy Moroccan spin on it and served it with millet instead (kind of like couscous), and I also added raisins, which added a VERY nice sweetness. Also, I used WAY WAY more parsely than they suggested in order to get in some more greens!!!

THURSDAY: This was an "easy night" for Brent and I. Both of us had crazy schedules, so we just threw together a "healthy" taco kit. We used ground turkey and added shredded lettuce from the farmer's market, chopped cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market, and sliced avocado. And we only used half of the spice packet - it still tastes fantastic and then we don't have all the added salt. We had a nice hearty mixed green salad on the side too. YUM!

FRIDAY: VEGETARIAN MEAL # 3" Brent's absolutely delicious homemade pizza. I can't say enough about his talent in pizza making. This time he used sauteed spinach, lots of garlic, basil, sauce (obviously), ricotta cheese, pecans and peaches!!! It was so tasty!

So, as you can see, we aren't PERFECT eaters, but we try very hard to get in healthy nutrients daily. Lately, we've been trying to do vegetarian meals every other night and it's working out quite well.

European eating vs American eating

As an epicurean, when finances allow so, I enjoy dining at fine European-style restaurants. The top-notch quality of the food is SO evident in the taste. Lately, tons of research has been published on the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. In fact, a recent study conducted by Harvard researchers found that a Mediterranean diet is MORE effective for weight loss and cholesterol and triyglyceride reduction than a standard low-fat diet. WOW!

I recently read a poem about a Mediterranean meal, written by the USA's 15th Poet Laureate, Charles Simic and I was moved. Years ago, I wrote a poem about the American diet. I dug it up today and reworked it a little bit. See for yourselves the difference between the two diets. Which would you rather feed your body, mind, and soul?

The Mediterranen Diet as told in
The Invitation
By Charles Simic

We are going to serve a late lunch
For a few close friends in the garden.
We'll start with a cold squid salad,
A pot of black and green olives,
And a loaf of homemade bread to wipe
The garlic and the oil off our plates.
Between the sips of the yellow wine.

And if some bird graciously assents
To sing for us after the grilled lamb,
The cheeses and the wild blueberries,
We'll raise our glasses and toast
The golden light between the leaves,
The shadows on the lawn lengthening.
And keep them raised till the song is over.

The American diet as told in
Gas Station Goodies
By Shannon Martin Morehouse

Snacks, Soda, Beer, Candy, Coffee!

Premium American Happiness!

Chew on a Slim Jim

Slurp-Up a 32-ounce Pepsi

Indulge in a Hostess Cherry Pie

Don’t forget those Skittles

or Smarties.

Yum-

Solidified Corn Syrup!

Grab some Dorritos

or Ruffles Cheddar Cheese

potato chips.

Don’t forget the

sour cream and chives

canned dip.

What good are chips

without dip?

And mmmm all these things

contain monosodium-glutamate

the headache-creating tasty additive.

Can’t live without that!

How ‘bout a Snapple,

the best stuff on earth!

Peach-flavored tea,

again, gotta love

that main ingredient,

High Fructose Corn Syrup!

Yum!

Make room for Cheetos,

3 Musketeers,

Hawaiian Fruit Punch

and remember a chili

dog for your lunch.

Oh!

Grab some Michelob

for only $3.99!

What a deal!

Can’t go wrong!

You’re getting tired

are you?

Oh, then you gotta get

the French Vanilla Cappuccino,

gas station style,

so sweet,

but hey, why not add

four sugars

and some flavored creamers

with the partially hydrogenated oils and all,

it’s free!

You’re good to go!

But don’t forget to pay for your

oh-so-cheap

gas

along with you

snackssodabeercandycoffee.

Now, don't get me wrong The Invitation meal would not be healthy if consumed daily, but it sure the heck beats the processed junk we thrive on here in the USA. What I admire about Simic is how he marries the concepts of nature and fine, natural homemade cooking together. We're meant to collaborate with nature in our lives, not destroy it or defeat it, or out-do it, which is exactly what processed food attempts to do. So, please, find time this week to make a homemade meal and nourish yourself!!!

As for me, it's my goal to do this DAILY!

All for now folks! And I'm sure you'll see more of Charles SImic in my blog. I will get to hear him speak at the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival, which I've been attending now for six years!

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!

BACK TO THE ASHRAM

Are you curious about my blog title? What I'm referring to is not an actual ashram, but my home environment. I was away visiting my family in central New York for the past few days and now I'm back home and back to the grind (I hate that phrase, but it's true in a sense, I have A LOT of clients to catch up with, calls to return from organizations who would like to book me to speak at various functions, and many writing/editing deadlines to complete).

But the most important factor is that I feel RELAXED and FOCUSED. Some may say that it was my time away that rejuvenated me, but no, that's not it. My home soothes me. I'm burning Nag Champa incense. Brent made me a tasty omlette with fresh farmer's market tomatoes, asparagus, potatoes, basil, and olives. I'm eating the omlette over greens that I picked up when I was visiting my family. Finger Lakes lettuces are incomparable--I swear they're tastier than lettuces I've had in France, Italy, and Switzerland!

I'm drinking a big glass of water with sliced lemon. I'm playing ultra cheesy lifestyle music (thanks to satellite radio, which I'll thank even more when I change the channel---ahhh, even nicer, Celtic harp music). My shutters are open and a nice breeze is soothing me yet not blowing my papers all over the place. The flourishing house plants make me smile, and I'll feel even happier when we welcome a new doggie into our home.

How is your home environment? My clients sometimes look at me funny when I ask them such questions. "Aren't you supposed to be my nutritionist?" they may think. But I address nutrition holistically, which goes way beyond the food you eat. Healthy food is critical and is a BIG PART of achieving balance. Trust me, I wouldn't feel so relaxed and simultaneously focused right now if I were slurping down a diet coke and chomping on a cheeseburger!!! But beyond food, you want to feed yourself things that uplift you! A healthy home environment is KEY! How do you feel in your home? People are a part of your home too - make sure you nurture those relationships. If you are in a shaky roommate situation - get out! If you are living with a "former" significant other b/c you can't afford rent on your own, trust me, you'll feel a million times better if you get out and prioritze your health and sanity. Make your home your ashram; it feels amazing!