Celebrating Mom and Learning about Vitamin "L"

Today is my Mom's 70th birthday. I want to wish her a happy birthday and for her to understand that as each year goes by for both of us I love and understand her more. I understand her more because I understand myself more.

I am once again 2000 miles away as one of my parents crosses a milestone birthday. I moved away from my hometown at age 18 1/2. Back then I really thought I knew what I was doing; somehow moving that far away didn't seem significant. I would not trade that move for anything because I would not have met my husband who is truly my best friend and soul mate. However I feel sometimes split in two, and a longing to be there for my parents when they really need me. Work requirements and finances only allow me to see them about every 18 months. 

My mom, well she is beautiful, complex, talented and I know that she does not know how much she is loved and appreciated.  At this time in her life when she was expecting some sort of retirement she and my dad are working harder than ever. Like many people their age the economy has made it so they can't retire. 

My memories of mom when I was younger, she sang and hummed while working at home and at their business. She always had home cooked meals for us and always made every occasion special with homemade gifts and decorations. She made blankets and quilts, for friends and family and for new babies. She sewed a whole wardrobe for my many Barbie Dolls; which included everything from casual clothing to glamorous evening gowns. She was our Girl Scout Troop Leader. She even did preserves in the summer for our pantry and freezer. Various veggies, fruits, and breads filled the shelves so that their budget could stretch to feed us year round. 

One of my best memories is a castle she helped me make for a 6th grade project. I am sure she did most of the work on it and I am sure the ideas were mostly her's as well. The castle had four turrets, and was complete with a drawbridge, soldiers, and flags. I would have to ask my mom but I think it even had a moat! Such a cool mom!!!

I love to cook and she taught me that as well! I wish I had paid more attention to the food preserving, and the sewing. 

I am making my mom sound perfect; she is human and like everyone has her flaws. Like most moms you knew the rules and the things that she would not put up with; she could get you with just one look. It is her discipline that made me a better person today! Teaching right from wrong and following through with consequences when rules are broken is something that is not really done in a lot of homes today. She did amazing things like fantastic homemade costumes for Halloween or just for playing dress-up. She is kind and has so much empathy and compassion. My mom has the ability to look at the bigger picture and fill needs and make people feel better. My parents have taken in people, or found a way to get a gift to someone less fortunate even when they really didn't have the money for things themselves. 

My parents hosted many family dinners at their giant dining room table. My mom would spend weeks planning a menu for special occasions like Thanksgiving. She would bake and cook for days leading up the meal. We would have anywhere from 25 to 50 people over for these gigantic meals. There would be Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends, neighbors, people who had nowhere else to go. My parents used to host picnics too, July 4th, Labor Day, they were more potluck but the same setting of family and friends gathered outside enjoying each other and delicious food including pot luck from everyone that came, and my Mom's pies!

One thing I think my mom is well known for is not just for being a talented florist, but for making pies! Even though she does not have the time or energy anymore to throw the giant family meals, she makes pies. Cream pies, fruit pies, pumpkin pies, rhubarb pies, and she is always inventing new recipes. It is a relaxing pastime for her to make pies and it feeds her soul to feed people pies and see their happiness when they eat a piece of pie! 

I appreciate so much how hard my parents worked to make a life for all of us. I love you mom! Happy Birthday! I am working toward being able to spend much more time with both of you very soon! 

Vitamin L (love) is something that I definitely got from both parents. You need Vitamin L in your life from your relationships to have spiritual and emotional well being, it is just as important as good nutrition and exercise. We have been fortunate to find Vitamin L with both sets of parents, and with our friends both inside and outside of Argentine Tango. Love, relationships, nutritious food, and physical activity all have to be in balance. My healing has been taking place in small steps with all of these things being part of it. When you foster a positive outlook and gratitude it all pulls together and gives you a new appreciation for life and the energy you need to keep healing and help others. 

Delicious Nutritious "Cooking" for Cold Weather

We started eating raw last spring with a Vitamix and huge salads, by summer we were at about 70% raw. For those that may be unfamiliar with the Raw Food Movement, it is simply eating all or mostly raw fruit and veggies, nuts and seeds. Some eat this as their only diet and they are Raw Vegan. It is a very nutritious wholesome way of eating and living and has been a major source of help and healing for many people. Don't take my word for it, Google it, YouTube it, see for yourself the lives that have been transformed it is very inspirational! 

Our Winters although mild are still too cold here to keep up with the raw diet; but I have been eating a lot of fruit and some room temp to slightly warmed green smoothies. I am a big believer in listening to your body when it asks for certain foods (not a license to eat chips and ice cream though! :). Instinctive eating is for best nutrition, your body knows what it needs and mine was craving hot meals this winter! 

Here are a few things I've done this Winter that are new to me too to keep my food as close to raw as possible.

I use Miso and boil the water but I add raw veggies to the hot broth. Miso is a Japanese bean paste (please make sure that you get the Non-GMO organic kind). 

I make a lot of soups, beans, lentils, and veggies. I make my broth base with caramelized onions and deglaze them slowly with water. I still do a simmer for several hours but it is with just the broth and onions so that I can achieve the umami before adding the veggies. I started using the pink Himalayan salt and for iodine replacement I use a finely ground seaweed. I process all the veggies extremely thin so they are easy to chew and add them to the broth at the last minute so they don't cook very much. This is a big change for my soups because I am used to doing an all day slow simmer.

One more thing I started recently was lightly wilting mixed greens. I use enough greens to be base for a dinner dish then serve the entree on the base of greens (instead of pasta) I use coconut oil, onions, garlic, and cayenne (very warming). We've also been trying new lightly saute'd veggies a lot of squash. 

I also make blender soup in my Vitamix so far I have a four recipe's that I like and use over and over, tomato soup, non-split pea soup, butternut squash soup, and green soup. 

I will be glad for spring and summer again. I am finally starting to crave cold salads and smoothies again. I do eat meat but in moderation; and I buy sustainable free range, organic, etc. 

What I Remember About Valentines Day and What I Know Now About True Love

I grew up the daughter of a florist & greenhouse owner, in a typical small American town. Valentine’s Day was a huge holiday that put food on the table for a large portion of the year. So although there are all sorts of Anti-Valentine’s Day protests out there, I know that my family would not have been able to survive without this piece of “American Capitalism”.

My first memories of Valentine’s Day are of my Dad bringing a beautiful card with yummy boxes of chocolates and of course flowers to my Mom, me and my sister. Also on that day was Mom and Dad telling us we were their sweethearts and showering us with hugs and kisses.

My second set of memories was the celebration that took place each year in grade school. My mom and I would spend time making the annual Valentine’s box that would be attached to the front of my desk in school with a large rectangular whole cut out to receive the cards and gifts from all of my classmates. I think my favorite part was the arts and crafts time with my mom. I had the advantage of having an extraordinarily talented mom with access to all the pretty foil and glitter that her flower shop could provide to make the box what I viewed as the best one in class. I wish I had one of those boxes or at least a picture, but I have the cherished memories in my heart forever! That’s love too, a memory that one can hold and ponder on!

Each year we would have a big box of generic paper Valentine cards that would be addressed and stuffed including candy for each classmate; holding out the special ones for best friends and giving them a little extra candy. I absolutely loved fishing through the chalky candy hearts for just the right message to hand out to each person based on what they meant to me. I can still feel and smell those chalky candies with fond nostalgia! Little packages of candy heart Red Hots were usually in the mix somewhere too; with their lovely smell and taste of cinnamon! There was at some point starting in the third grade a hope of more than just all the standard fare; that maybe there would be a card or gift from a special boy that I liked. I don’t remember specific names, but that was “love” from the perspective of 3^rd to 6^th grader; including giggling girls whispering and sharing what we had received. I think there was a class party complete with mom’s who brought baked goods. Last but not least we had a special Valentine for the teacher; so many memories!

Later on in Jr. High and High School there were “romantic” celebrations and gift exchanges with steady boyfriends and sometimes gifts from others who showed interest as well. I remember my first fresh chocolate covered strawberries; delicious! Thank goodness chocolate is available year round!! I got away from celebrating the specific day. My remaining tradition is to always wear pink or red and or hearts for some fun. I cherish my memories made in childhood.

I also cherish the fact that we three ladies of my family were always told that we were all dad’s sweethearts, not just on Valentine’s Day but everyday. It was good to know from both parents that no matter how chaotic and crazy things got in our family, there was always genuine love; that was the foundation we operated from. It’s a safety and security that you can’t always see in moments of high emotion, but when the dust settles and your logical side kicks in you know that you were loved; that everything they worked for was to provide safety and security for my sister and me.

Over the last 20 years I have had my truest love and my best friendship with my husband. We don’t have any special occasions because everyday that we can wake up and spend time together is special. All of these memories put together are soul food or as my school “The Institute for Integrative Nutrition” calls them Primary Food. We all need Primary Food to survive, also coined by the founder of my school Joshua Rosenthal we all need to give and receive “Vitamin “L” (Love)”. I am so glad to be alive and awake, to have found the Primary Foods that feed me so that I can use Vitamin “L” to nurture and feed everyone that I love!

My Inspiration for Healthy Living and Entrepreneurial Spirit

Today I would like to wish Happy Birthday to my Dad, he is 75 years young! I wish that 2000 miles did not separate us and that my circumstances would allow me to fly out there and throw and gigantic celebration for him! I love my parents; they are my inspiration for so many things. They have been business owners in one way or another since the 1960s. It is because of them that I became interested in a very young age in healthy living. In the 1980s they were Shaklee Reps showing people the difference between chemical laden multi-vitamins and whole foods vitamins, as well as eco friendly cosmetics and products for the home. They owned a honey business, they still own and operate their own greenhouse and flower shop. I did not become interested in gardening until we bought our first home. Now we cherish each thing that blooms, and we grow our own organic food year round. Owning several businesses in a small American town makes you wealthy in experience; as you give to your town and county they give back to you more than money can buy. Over the last 40 years they have seen at the flower shop and green house each special occasion of birth and birthdays; marriage and anniversaries; death and memorials; the honoring of mothers, fathers, business owners, and soldiers, civic and church celebrations, college, and high school graduations, celebrations of love and engagements, each "just because" and "get well soon", and holidays, such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am in awe of the memories that their flowers and plants have been a part of. Not to mention the fruit and vegetable gardens that were started in the cold of January from seed by my dad, that by the Summer become food on someone’s table, and the beautiful flower gardens! My parents are so extraordinary and I am honored to be their daughter. Thank you Mom and Dad for all that you've done and continue to do for both family and community! Your spirit is an example of the heart and soul of what makes this country great.

I am inspired by my parents to continue their tradition of serving people! I am so happy to be starting my own business and for it to be something that will be helping people to live happier and healthier lives!