Scenic spot along the Canadian Rockies

2013 marks the year of the Serpent beginning on the new Moon on February 9th. Serpent is a universal symbol of healing and rebirth. Serpents crawl around the ground with grace and fluidity but contain the venom to kill. Among the mysteries of the Serpent, the year of the Serpent is a time for introspection, planning, and seeking answers. The Serpent’s wisdom can influence new discoveries and inventions. In ancient China, the Serpent is one of the twelve animals of the Zodiac and was present in folk tales assisting births and blessing children with exceptional talents. Those born in Serpent years are driven to success and accomplish goals through careful plans and calculations- much like a coiled Serpent waiting for the right moment to strike.

2013 is a great reminder that it is never too late to be what we might have been. As January proceeds, the Sun moves into the change-maker of Uranus and asks to make this year tangibly different than the last. As January comes to a close, it is time to sort through threads from the past to see which serve us. Perhaps it is time to face painful memories or move out of our comfort zone into growth, finding new talents and resources we didn’t know we had. We’re safe because we know our ability and our willingness to love comes from within us. It is the ultimate form of learning to embrace our power.

The daybook/calendar that I use to keep track of my business and life is the We’Moon Astrological Datebook. Each year the theme changes, and this year is fittingly titled “The Other Side.” We survived the end of the world in 2012, and we have reached the other side- not in a negative or positive way, but in looking at the other side of the story. Associated with magic, witchcraft, and Goddess worship, the number 13 has become one of fearsome connotations in Western culture. “The Other Side” as We’Moon puts it is a shift of focus:

“The broad canvas of Change that we have chosen for 2013 asks us to toss out our accustomed points of view…It invites the wisdom of deepened perspective, unlikely angles, and the unusual vision that sees The Other Side.”

With the hustle and bustle gone from the holidays, the cold blanket of winter still remains. This is a time when all is contained within us– all the future possibilities, growth, and knowing. Fear is cold. Sometimes, we become so afraid of life, people, and ourselves that we become cold. Put warmth back in our lives. This is a time of illumination. It is dark and quiet before the blossoming of spring. As the light continues to increase, ask yourself what desire needs a bit more light to be seen clearly?

A 2013 habit I have started is reading a daily passage from the meditation guide Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie. Originally a gift from a friend, Beattie’s work has turned into a wonderful nightly ritual. I am usually so exhausted by bedtime I can not read an entire chapter, making reading an entire book seem impossible. Journey to the Heart is broken up by daily passages, so I read the night’s previous message (to remember), the day of (to stay present), and the following day (something to dream about). So far my favorite passage from January has been the excerpt from January 13th titled Honor Winter’s Lesson:

See the pine trees and learn their lesson. Pine trees are nature’s reminder that growth continues even in winter. Winter is more than a time of coldness and snow. It’s a time of going within…Despite the time of lifelessness and inactivity, this is still a season of growth. Cherish the hope that lies beneath the snow.

What Problem?

The other side of any problem, no matter how big or small, is the opportunity to ally with it as a vehicle for your own evolution.

Robin Rose Bennett

Let your soul lead you through meadows and take you down deep into the valleys, for all your experiences are just that– experiences– on this mysterious journey of the soul.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Not only are we the food we eat and the air we breathe, but also our thoughts that reside in our brain and the feelings inside our hearts. We are what we think. Life is about the attitude you choose to have and the perception and belief that as individuals, we choose to think and feel the way that creates our actual reality. Each of our perceived realities are moments that compile into seconds, minutes, days, years, and lifetimes.

Resolutions don’t make sense to me so I don’t do them. I did choose two things I am trying to manifest in my life. I wrote them down on paper and put them in my lavender pillow my friend made me. There they will reside for me to dream upon, think about, believe, and act upon.

No relationship, amount of career success, money, marital status, dream home, or motherhood will bring me to my destination. Not because I am greedy or because I always want more, but because there is no destination. In my life, I have truly realized that I will never get “there.” There is no there. The only end is when I will die, and then folks… it is really over. The goals and dreams that stand between living and dying are just the milestones that mark the journey.

Until we get there, then, it is truly about finding the little and big things that make us fulfilled, happy, and bring meaning to life. So we can all go around trying to lose weight, quit smoking, get married, or save more money, but perhaps equally as important is feeding the Good Wolf within each of us by doing the simple things. Tell the people you love that you love them. Do the right thing. Open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds each of us, not just on Christmas or the first snow, but the dreary cloudy days too. Nourish yourself with good food, best friends, and joy. Forgive yourself.

If you are interested in a more traditional type of resolution, answering the following questions might be helpful: Wondering if a new year means a new you? Interesting in creating a vision board for 2013?  Considering what eating choices you can make to have a better relationship with food?

True beauty surrounds us all

Keep the Earth below your feet and fill your heart with love and peace.

Courtesy of H-P staff, Don Campbell

When I tell people the story of how and when I decided  to start a food truck, people seem amazed when I tell them that “it just came to me.” The setting was a weekend on Lake Tahoe with my natural chef girlfriends and red wine. I have been wanting to go to a particular yoga and music festival, called Wanderlust  in California for years. I checked ticket prices and they were extremely expensive, and I thought to myself “there has got to be another way.”

Why 7 Reasons to be a Hippie, you might ask? See #1 …

1) See what it’s like to look and think out of the box. Hippies tend to accept people who are considered “weird” or “different,” people who have different cultures/religious backgrounds/political views, etc. At the end of the day, other people’s business is still their business. Why waste mental/physical/emotional energy working to change/convince/explain someone else?  They tend to not care as much about what other people think or do other people’s judgements about their own lives. Seven reasons- why not seven? It doesn’t need to be an even 5 or 10. It can be liberating to ask yourself “why not” more often.

2) Feel Connected. Someone with hippie tendencies is more likely to feel “connected” to nature, humanity, cycle of life, food, work, etc. Perhaps this connectedness is from a viewpoint that we are all in this together. In this case, connected can almost be used interchangeably with community. Hippie ways to get involved with others, meet new people, and share in experiences can be through a community garden, co-op, farmer’s market, cow share, harvest celebration, or an impromptu dance around the fire with music.

Appreciating a blade of grass for the miracle it is, is one way to feel connected to nature all around you. The magnificence of Half Dome in the background is also noteworthy.

3) Sleep Better at Night. Exercise promotes sound sleep. Hippies tend to walk/bike places, garden, hike, hula hoop, chop wood, practice yoga, etc. and tend to have pretty active lifestyles. Not driving to the gym to run in place, but moving around throughout the day, often using their skill to start their own business/have a craft/etc. There is something to be said about collapsing into bed from an honest day’s work. Also worth considering is that a hippie tendency would be to drink tea and stay pretty mellow, vs. those addicted to caffeine whom drink numerous energy drinks/coffee. Because hippies tend to not care as much about judgements or “should be’s” they tend to all around worry less and that translates into less difficulty sleeping at night.

4) Save Money. The following are a few ways a hippie save money: riding a bike vs paying for fossil fuels, growing/preserving your own foods, eat what you harvest, reusing material for other uses, limiting consumption of goods and products, buying in bulk, cooking with the seasons, and being mindful of energy consumption.

Flyfishing in MN amongst the beavers and bull frogs means trout for dinner.

5) Have Genuine Relationships. Do you ever wonder why you are friends with some people? There becomes a point where it doesn’t matter that you grew up together or you used to be good friends 2, 5, or 10 years ago. Rather than holding onto the past and resisting change, hippies are more willing to live in the present. There is also no point in continuing relationships that are toxic or don’t serve both individuals in a way that brings out the best in both people. Be here now. That is the key- enjoy the moment for that is all that we have.

6) Decrease Your Risk of Getting Cancer. One way to look at decreasing your chances of getting cancer is by looking at the level of toxicity in your environment. Exchanging that scratched T-Fal pan for a cast iron pan, switching your conventional aluminum-filled anti-perspirant for a non-harmful stick that probably smells like trees will decrease your exposure to cancer-causing toxins. The European Union has banned 1,136 ingredients in body care products deemed toxic- the U.S., a staggering 8. Also, ball jars are not just a hippie accessory. The leeching of harmful chemicals, especially when putting hot food in plastic is deemed a no-no for hippies, along with using a microwave. Glass jars and glass tupperware are the way to go. In addition, don’t overestimate the bulk bins at your local health food store containing grains, legumes, and seeds. A whole foods mostly plant based diet is much less inflammatory and toxic than processed, conventional food on shelves and in freezers that are filled with harmful additives. In addition, herbal remedies provide treatment to many diseases, illnesses, and injuries that are just as effective as conventional chemical based medications.

Homemade marshmallows are the way to go- they caramelize and actually have taste- without the preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.

7) See and Feel the Big Picture. Driving smart cars, biking, recycling, eating local, and using soap without harmful chemicals are all small things that hippies can do to lower their foot print on the Earth and its scarce resources. These acts and many others certainly have a purpose and feel rewarding, but the bigger picture is that over time, those small actions and changes really do make a difference. The bigger picture of using plastic bags each time you are at the grocery store is billions of plastic bags that will sit buried in our soil in the dump forever.  On the flip side, the bigger picture isn’t about the plastic bags or switching brands of soap– it is that we are all in this together; not just Americans but people all around the world. Smile at the cashier, appreciate blades of grass, and get to know your neighbors because our time is too short to live it any other way than with grace and mindfulness.

Time spent in nature can help slow things down and notice the little things in life.

I’ve settled into country life, exchanging my cute city boots and strolls along my favorite neighborhoods for my ExtraTuff work boots and an old ball cap. I felt nothing short of a hillbilly a few Saturday nights ago when I went out bow fishing with my brother and cousin on the “Carpenator” to shine lights on the water looking to shoot carp with a bow and arrow. I had to laugh standing there until 2am with camo overalls and a Miller Lite in my hand. The pace of life in the country is much different than the city, and it has reminded me of the importance of taking time. Taking time to appreciate the fuzz on the baby turkeys, the sound of Lake Michigan’s waves, picking lettuce from the neighbor’s garden, and the feel of a tired body from farm work.

I’ve found the happy equilibrium for me is the balance between holding close to the goals and dreams of tomorrow while simultaneously living in the present moment. My little mantra that I remind myself of when I can feel my mind getting caught in the slush of details-things to do-results-the next thing is “Be Here Now.” In reality, all we have is the present moment. I feel like we hear that a lot, but what does that really mean? Hopefully it doesn’t take losing someone you love, changing jobs, or an earthquake to remember that.

So much of “happiness” is decided upon by the a person’s attitude. I think in a world of on-the-go, deadlines, and working to accumulate things, it can be difficult to take the time to slow down and find the space to look around and realize there is nothing more important than to be grateful, happy, and enjoy the moment at hand. Before you know it, life passes you by/love is lost/and it is too late to go back.

I think the lifestyle of the average American makes it increasingly difficult to find happiness in life. The combination of the nutrient-poor Standard American Diet, economic downturn, constant exposure to toxins, and work-life balance makes it harder for people in our country to find happiness. Life and its characteristics become an intolerable strain. Depression is the body’s way of shutting down in the presence of such  strain.

Many factors such as stress and weather can bring on a low mood, headache, or eating binge, but the ultimate cause is rooted much deeper. In the case of depression, the cause is internal and chemical. There are four neurotransmitters that are naturally produced in our brains that control how cells communicate with each other and underlie all mood and cognition.

One of those neurotransmitters, serotonin, is the “feel good” chemical. Serotonin’s job is to restore a positive mood after minor and major stresses erode it. Serotonin plays an important role in adjusting and regulating mood, appetite, sleep, and pain awareness. Serotonin also has a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system. Low serotonin levels can bring on depression, anxiety, binge eating, insomnia, headaches, and many other problems. Many lifestyle changes can help those who suffer from depression including exercise, listening to music, getting out in nature and feeling sunshine, good quality sleep, and journaling.

Pets help to keep their owners active and can be a great companion.

Seeing the world through the eyes of children is a great way to experience life.

Nutrition for Happiness

Foods to avoid are sugar, caffeine, refined foods, and wheat products. Research has been found that certain foods (see below) are particularly beneficial to those suffering from depression.

Tryptophan – an essential amino acid that turns into serotonin

Dairy, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, avocados, bananas, oats, nuts, seeds, and legumes

Complex Carbohydrates – releases insulin, which promotes serotonin production

Whole grains (except wheat), legumes, starchy vegetables

High-quality Omega-3 Oils – powerful and sustainable boosts to healthy moods

Fish, fish oil supplements, chia seeds, & flax seeds

Vitamin B6 & B12 -the most common deficiency in people with depression

Co-factors to create serotonin

Bananas, spinach, turnip greens, garlic, cauliflower, mustard greens, celery, sweet potatoes, fish, lean meats

Antioxidants – combat the effects of free radicals (damaging molecules that contribute to aging and depression)

The brain is particularly at risk for free radical damage

Colorful fruits and vegetables

Special thanks to my dear friend Elizabeth for sharing her story and insight with her own struggles with depression.

Who knew it snowed in the Grand Canyon?

Capturing the perfect shot in Utah

After a couple of weeks of traveling and sitting in a car I have landed home safely. I could go on for hours telling travel stories, the best of which includes shooting a gun with cowboys in Arizona. My copilot Diane and I were in a small town outside of the Grand Canyon on Route 66 when a snow storm hit. We somehow stumbled upon the “club house” hangout for the cowboys that do street performances and fake robberies on the trains going to the Grand Canyon. The place was half antique store and half  shooting range. For $5 you got 5 shots at the target about 15 feet away. After I hit the target in 1.5 seconds the head cowboy in charge of the gang, Buck, said under his breath “I pity the guy” and we all got a good laugh.

Outside of a pizza I made in Minnesota made from my foraged fiddlehead ferns, burdock leaves, and wild asparagus there was a lot of mediocre restaurant food (homemade pies were a major bonus and so was Colorado’s display of culinary arts).  Since I got home, my cousin’s beef and chicken have filled the platters come dinnertime, and I am pretty proud to say even my older brother Gary liked this baked oatmeal– no weird hippie stuff in this recipe!

Local bakeries are always my favorite travel destination!

I had to wear every long sleeve I owned on the trip, only packed tank tops and capris for "hot" Arizona!

Baked Oatmeal - Raspberries and Blueberries

Baked Oatmeal

This oatmeal is a bit chewy, nutty, and fruity with a slight crunch from the nuts. It has much more nutritional integrity than a bowl of cereal for breakfast, lending fiber from the oats, vitamin E, omega 3 fats, and manganese from walnuts, and rich antioxidants from blueberries. This recipe was inspired by Heidi Swanson’s recipe found in Super Natural Every Day. Options to make it vegan include a flax-seed replacer instead of an egg (1 TBSP ground up flax-seeds with 2-3 TBSP water) and coconut oil for butter. You can also add 2 Tbsp of ground flax-seed, or raw wheat germ to the dry mixture if desired. If you don’t have sweet cherries, you could use raisins (that pair well with almonds instead of walnuts) or even bananas cut into 1/2″ pieces. 

Ingredients

My favorite mythological story is the story of the Phoenix. The phoenix was pictured as a sacred firebird with beautiful gold, blue, purple, and red feathers. The origin of the phoenix goes back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Arabian, Phoenician, Indian, and Greek traditions. Depending on the origin of the legend, the story goes that the phoenix lives for 500-1000 years then builds itself a nest of cinnamon sticks and myrrh twigs, burning itself on a funeral pyre. The intense fire burns until the phoenix and nest turn into ash, serving as a purification process and renewing its life cycle. From this ash rises a new young phoenix. According to the legend, the process of rising from the ash makes the phoenix virtually immortal and invincible. Being the firebird, it also represents a person’s inner fire.  Perhaps the most noteworthy trait is its ability to regenerate itself when wounded. After reading Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser, I found hope, inspiration, and power in the story of the Phoenix Process. Lesser is the co-founder of the NY Omega Institute and author of the Seeker’s Guide. I read the book years ago and still think about what she describes as the “Phoenix Process” of change and growth after dealing with life’s difficult times. In the book, she cites stories of divorce, losing children, and terminal illness and quotes philosophers, Tibetan Buddhists, and the “enlightened” to illustrate how belief in the spirit and meditation can break through fear and hopelessness. She speaks of  true growth and change when we are “broken open” at the burning state of the purification process. From the depths of sorrow and pain, if we truly believe, pray, and meditate we can break open to a new redefined person. Through reading this book I have found personal solace during times of grief  and highly recommend it to others. Below are a few excerpts from the book:

I describe the process of transformation as a journey of brokenness leading to openness, descent to rebirth, fire to Phoenix…The practices I use most often to stay on track during a Phoenix Process are meditation, psychotherapy, and prayer.

At a critical time in my life, it pushed me to take responsibility for my own happiness—to stop waiting for that elusive someone or something to mend and define my life.

[Meditation] helps us sit in the flames long enough for transformation to occur. It encourages us not to bail out before the lessons have been learned. It helps us ride out the common experiences of fear, anxiety, and depression…we get to see how we are not our depression—or our fear or anger or sadness—but that these are merely states of mind, conditions of the heart. To learn more about Lesser’s Phoenix Process, read Broken Open. You might notice some phoenix sightings. San Francisco’s city flag has the crest of a phoenix bird to symbolize the rebirth of the city after the earthquake demolished the city. The motto “Oro en Pag, Fierro en Guerra” (Gold in Peace, Iron in War) accompanies the bird on the flag. At city hall, there is a phoenix bird on either side of the clock in the dome. One of my favorite songs by Ani DiFranco, 32 Flavors, mentions the phoenix:

and god help you if you are a phoenix
and you dare to rise up from the ash
a thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy
while you are just flying past

My dad and I decided to work together to build our own, rather than buy an expensive pre-made one. This means my days have been totally consumed learning about steel, generators, water pumps, and all sorts of things I could have never imagined. The challenge has been at times totally overwhelming. It has also reminded me that sometimes things don’t work out like planned. I’ve known I’ve wanted to own my own business for over 8 years, the last 4 of which I thought my business would probably be a fitness/yoga studio. For some reason, I thought my life would happen according to plan- I’d get married, have a partner for support, and then I would start my business from that strong foundation. My friend Barbara has asked me why I choose to work for someone else if what I ultimately want to be doing is own my own business. My answer was always experience.

I’ve felt like I’ve been waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the phone to ring, to get the right funding connection, or for my relationship to lead the way to the right time and place. None of those things are happening, folks! Plan B. Start a business that I can take literally anywhere I want (because it is conveniently on wheels), so I can still lead the life I want and be a successful business woman, but also be flexible enough to go where my heart ultimately lands…literally driving my truck where ever that is.

Recently enjoying the city on a date with my nephew, Hayden.

This view of the GGB just never gets old

I originally planned to stay in San Francisco. I love San Francisco. I am regularly overcome with feelings of gratitude for this beautiful place and most definitely don’t feel ready to go. But I also feel like I am stuck in a bit of an emotional rut here. Memories are embedded like sediment. I thought I would leave here and feel ready, with all my ducks in a row, with feelings of closure. The way the building-a-food-truck-from-scratch cookie is crumbling time is not allowing for that to happen. I have made some tough choices and it is officially time to put my big girl pants on and go home to build my truck.

There is also licensing to consider: with the price tag of $20k in San Francisco and $150 in Michigan, it seems like there is only one place for me to start. I know more than a few people who are convinced I will be back and there is only one home for an organic, local food truck and that is in San Francisco. For now those people will just have to meet me for a farewell beer or Tartine croissant or come visit me in the Midwest because all I can say is I don’t know about that.

I’ll keep you posted on my festival schedule, menu offerings, and other Gypsy news. I am looking for feedback from people on food and beverages that they would like to try at a healthy food truck. Feel free to share ideas or recipes. Check back to the website often as I am about to launch a new logo and plans for my truck design! A song that has kept me sane this week is Ho Hey from the Lumineers (below)- a touching song about how a guy sings to a woman he loves that he has been patiently waiting for, insisting that she is right for him (not her current man that she is with) … “I belong with you, you belong with me in my sweet heart.”

Egg dying makes for a great party!

I have dyed eggs since I was a kid, every single year (not joking) minus the year I lived in Spain and was busy eating croquettes on Semana Santa. This was the first time I’ve ever attempted homemade natural dyes, and let me tell you it was a hit. I personally think the eggs are more beautiful. The colors are more simplistic and authentic than the Paas kind. I don’t fuss with the candle wax decorating. Just the old fashioned single dip, maybe split colors 50/50. The color layering does not work with natural dyes, just a FYI.

Naturally Pink

I went to the farmer’s market and got my ingredients while also looking for some sarsparilla and sassafras roots. People looked at me crazy when I asked for the roots, even when I told them it was for homemade root beer. Only the hippiest co-op in SF had the roots in their dried bulk section. My root beer was a huge success with my guests.

As far as convenience, the make-your-own-naturally method obviously takes longer than dropping the color tab in water. I just made it my Saturday night plan and opened a bottle of red.  Nice thing is with these, once you get them going they just work on their own so you can multitask and move onto another project (perhaps hard-boiling eggs). I chose to have a couple glasses of wine and make almond butter carob chip cookies for my brunch (later I actually broke my hearty spatula). Win some lose some.

Almond Butter Carob Cookies

I found my inspiration from the queen herself, Martha Stewart. For perfect eggs, follow her tips. From what I’ve read, the dyes best work while warm. I didn’t have the option, so I hard boiled all of my eggs the night before and made all of the dyes the night before. I left the dyes out overnight at room temperature and didn’t bother reheating them because I was hosting a brunch. If you wanted to, you could A) make them the day of and keep them warm or B) reheat them. I didn’t want the hassle so I blew it off and my eggs still turned out beautifully.

Egg dying is FUN!

Left to right starting in the back: red onion, cabbage, beet, turmeric

Method: I took the following ingredients with 2 TBSP white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and  1 qt of water and brought to a boil, then simmered uncovered at least 30 min, up to 45 min. If there wasn’t enough water to cover the mass I used more vinegar to cover. After simmering, strain and your dyes and then they are ready for use. Note: The turmeric needs more of a fine strain, some tumeric grounds were still stuck in the dye so the color wasn’t as smooth.  

Red Onion – sienna/olive green, skins of about 8-10 red onions

Beets – pink, 2-4 beets peeled and cut into pieces

Red Cabbage – blue , 1/3 to 1/2 of a head cut into pieces

Turmeric – yellow, 3 tbsp powder

Don't judge a book by its cover purple turns eggs blue!