Living and Dying with Grace

I have mentioned my brother-in-law Doug to you in a previous post. He has been battling brain cancer for 11 months and lost his battle this past Tuesday surrounded by his wife, my sister Margaret, of 30 years and his daughter Susan,(who was married to Kenny Muller on March 24th with her Dad watching at her side, thankfully,) and his dog Red, who was his companion on his many hikes including the entire Appalachian Trail. He had his "oldies" playing in the back ground, a lavender candle glowing and his two girls by his side. He never once lost his good humor and was always an inspiration to us all. We will miss you Doug.
Be well and enjoy every day.
Patty

Enzymes in your food

Hello everyone,
In my studies for my Master's Degree in Holistic Nutrition, I have the pleasure of studying so much interesting information from so many different sources. My last course was on Enzyme Nutrition. What is an enzyme? An enzyme is an organic compound which accelerates or produces a catalytic action. A simpler definition is that an enzyme speeds up biochemical reactions. They are involved in metabolism, growth and devlopment and are are essential for life. They are present in every stage of digestion. Well, how do we consume more enzymes if they are so good for us? Raw foods. Enzymes are killed when foods are cooked, so it is important to eat more raw foods. Carrot and celery sticks, fruit, salads are all raw foods. To make this simple here is a list of foods with highest enzymatic activity. Try adding more of them to your diet and be sure to eat them raw! Enjoy.
Avocados, Bananas, Mangos, Sprouted Beans and Grains(1/4" sprouts if possible, which are the most nutritious,) Raw Milk and Raw Butter, Raw Honey (remember that when you add it to your tea, you've killed the enzymes,)and Raw Nuts.
You should be able to add more of these nutritious and delicious foods to your diet this week.
Be well,
Patty

Using Winter Squash

I still have many, many winter squash of various varieties stored in my garage from our last summer's garden. For all the sugar pumpkins I like to throw (or place) one in the oven (on a cookie sheeet) and bake it for about 45 minutes, depending on size, and then take it out and let it cool a bit. Cut it in half, and take the seeds out; the skin should come off easily. I then puree it to use it in muffins or other baked goods. I also like it cubed and mixed with a little cheese, a can of black beans, drained (better yet, soak them and cook them yourself,) some cilantro and some salsa of your choice and rolled in a sprouted grain tortilla. Yummy!
My preference for butternut squash is just to bake it and slice it and that's it! For spaghetti squash (I still have 30 or so left!) this is what I did for last night's dinner. I baked it until done, about 45 minutes and then I cut it in half, scooped the seeds out and used a fork to place the pasta-looking squash in a bowl. I added 2 eggs, some parsley and a bit of paremsan cheese. At this point you can form them into patties and saute them in a bit of olive oil or do what I did and place the mixture in a 9X9" pan that has been rubbed with a bit of olive oil. I then sauted a bunch of vegetables (spinach, onions, garlic, etc.) and placed them on top of the spaghetti squash. Then I poured a bit of marinara sauce on top of the veggies and sprinkled with paremsean (or other cheese, if desired.) You can also mix a bit of leftover rice or pasta into the spaghetti squash if you like.
Give it a go and let me know what you think.
Have fun and be creative!
Patty

My goodness...

Hello everyone,
I never expected the response from my last blog posting and group email update announcing teleseminars coming in April. It is apparent that I have discovered a way to help even more people through teleseminars. I have heard from Girl Scout Troupes, Health Organizations, Individuals, Businesses, on and on. Folks in the England and Canada...This is so exciting.
My favorite way to teach is to have you in my school so I can physically help you and we all experience the comraderie of cooking together, but I do realize that sometimes people simply can not pull away to take a class. Now you can without leaving your home or office. Evidently you will soon be joining me on my first teleseminar! Thanks so much for all of your kind words and suggestions.
Healthy regards,
Patty
P.S. More details soon....