Author: Chef Kim

Let the Sunshine In

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Doesn’t your body yearn for the warmth of sunshine in the dead cold of winter? Mine sure does. If I were a cat, I could lounge in a sunny window and stay warm during those few sunny days that bless a Wisconsin winter.  My two cats flaunt that fact, while I get ready for work and bundle up in five layers to walk from the car into work.  For five weeks I am so blessed to be able to enjoy the warmth of the sunny days in NC that far outnumber the grey cold snowy days in Wisconsin.  It feels like Spring here, evidenced by daffodils and pansies in full bloom, making my spirit light. It seems impossible, because it’s only February and there are at least 2 months of winter left, at least that is what I have experienced the last twenty years.  But even in the funk of grey cold days, the sunshine can penetrate and lift our spirits, by experiencing a blessing from another.  That kind of sunshine is really Sonshine, the way God created us to interact with each other, blessing one another, just as he blesses us with his expansive and beautiful creation, and all those special people he puts in or midst.  Look around you and enjoy all the blessings and experience the warmth of the Sonshine!

You may know that the color green in our leafy greens: kale, chard, lettuce, collard greens, spinach, arugula, parsley, cilantro, bok choy, etc. is called chlorophyll and is the primary receptor of sunshine that allows the plant to make its own food.   But chlorophyll  also brings that light energy into our bodies when we enjoy our leafy greens in smoothies, salads and as snacks. So let the sunshine in by eating your greens! See posted recipes Recipes.

Asian Collard Salad

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I had a great salad yesterday, that was so easy to make. I wanted to share it with you because collard greens are probably one of the least used raw greens. I love them especially as wraps for slaws, quinoa salad and avocados (that was my lunch today).

For a single serving:

4 collard leaves or more, cut off stem and into bite size pieces

1 apple, chopped

1 tangerine or orange, sectioned

Place all of these in a single salad bowel. Toss with Carrot-Ginger Dressing.

No Oil Dressing:

1 carrot cleaned and chopped

1 inch slice of ginger, peeled, and minced

2 Tbs rice or cider vinegar

4 Tbs pure water

1 Tbs Braggs aminos

Place all dressing ingredients into a blender and blend well. The carrot will not get completely smooth. Toss with salad and enjoy the wonderful flavors of sweet and spicy!

Beautiful!

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Here a some pictures of a beautiful place I visited recently…South Africa!

Beauty is a gift for us to enjoy each day, I need to remember THAT even when it is negative 5 degrees F outside!  The sky in Wisconsin is always something I see beauty in. But we should also take the time to not only enjoy the beauty of our surroundings, but enjoy or feast with our eyes, what we put on our plates.

I will never forget working on Quantico Marine Base during high school, serving mess to the officers in training…it was a mess, and I don’t know how they ate it. But they always tried to smile. We served it up with a smile, because they were enduring rough treatment, but it never looked very appetizing. Poor guys!

I believe we decide whether we will like something before we even taste it! If it is beautiful, we want to like it!  Our digestion starts when we salivate, and we can get the juices flowing by looking at beautiful food. So take a little time to ‘dress up’ your plate, so you can sit down and look forward to eating and enjoying the beautiful food provided. 

Something to think about when you’re composing your meals, is trying to incorporate different colors into your dishes or onto your plates. For example: a colorful root slaw, with shredded orange yams and/or carrots, red beets, white turnips, purple radish, green cabbage, and yellow peppers!  Each color brings with it a specific phytonutrient important for health. There are so many that science is just scratching the surface of the benefits and health promoting / disease preventive actions that they have.

So eat food with as many colors of the rainbow as you can DAILY!

Supporting Others

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This post is meant to be encouraging for you in your pursuit of better health.

Often times, almost everyday, our plans do not always unravel as we might hope, right. We are always encountering what we may call an interruption in our day, a fork in the road, an ant in the lemon aid, a pit in the cherry, etc. But what matters in our life, and in the lives of those who may be watching and learning from us or who may be the cause of the pit, is how we react to each situation.

We always have a choice of how to react in any situation. Our reaction can be rage, complacency, disgust, stress, exhilaration, laughter, joy, love, you get it. Some of those reactions will cause more health problems, while others will actually raise our immune response and lessen blood pressure and inflammation in the body. Your response will also affect the health of others receiving your response in similar ways.

So my encouragement to you is to slow down and think carefully about how you will respond to any situation, before responding, so your health is benefited and your actions support the health of others at the same time.

I have chosen to support a friend during her fight for health, and for me to do that I have had to reschedule my classes. The classes have not yet reached their minimum number of participants, so I hope you will understand my choice at this time.

I look forward to being able to support her as a friend and also provide the best healing diet possible for her during this time.

By the way, LOVE is the best response you can give!

 

New Year, New _____!

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Happy New Year to you!
Are you one of the many who makes a resolution to change something in your life for the better because it’s a new year? I want to encourage you to make conscious decisions this year that will bring you greater health and allow you to enjoy the life God has granted you. But why make a resolution one time a year because it’s a new year? Everyday is a new day, and you have a choice everyday to choose what you eat…your body tells you, if you listen to it, what it needs and will thrive if you give it healthy life-giving foods. It will become ill and show signs of dis-ease if you choose foods devoid of nutrition and lacking in life. This year can be a year for renewed health, a new you, a new plan, a new life – you fill in the blank and choose, everyday.

Let me know if I can help!

What do I know?

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What I understand about food is this:

  • You will enjoy food first with your eyes, so make your food beautiful.
  • The more nutrient dense your food is, the less volume you will consume.
  • Relax and enjoy the flavors of your food for best assimilation
  • More nutrition is found in raw unprocessed food.
  • 100% raw diet is not necessary to get the benefits raw foods offer.
  • Food feeds the whole individual, not just filling the stomach.
  • Food and your amazing body can work together to heal the dis-ease you may be experiencing.
  • There is not one diet that is right for everyone – you are an individual and your food choices should be the best for YOU.
  • There are healthy food guidelines that everyone should consider.

I’ll touch on these topics as different posts. But take a bit of time to consider the ideas and think about each bite you take.  Remembering that what matters most is what you do “all the time” or by habit, not what you do every once in a while. If you splurge every once in a while, be thankful, enjoy it and then go back to regularly eating whole unprocessed foods.

If you need to change your habit of regularly eating refined, boxed and processed foods, then begin by incorporating one whole food (fruit or vegetable) at each meal.  Smoothies for breakfast are a great way to start. See RECIPE.