How to save the world.

I've often been misunderstood. It can feel very alienating, even from the people I'm closest to. Misunderstood ... That's an understatement. But I bet, if I asked 100 people, 100 people would say the same thing. Can we really all be misunderstood? Maybe it's us that misunderstands everything else. Maybe we don't have to. Let's dig in. Let's connect.

I took a long hard break from blogging. And I can't promise I'll get into it full-swing again. But, today I had a challenge, and I felt the need to write on the internet. Not in my journal, where it would stay nice and safe and protected. But out into the world of cyberspace and eventually into the hands that were meant to read the words. There are no coincidences. You and I are meeting on this page for a reason, and I embrace it and honor it.

A year and a half ago, I had a health crisis that I wasn't sure I'd make it out of. I don't talk much of it, and I am the only person who knows the depths of it. Because, it's not important now. What's important, is that it caused me to really search outside the box. I felt death gripping parts of my body, one by one. Nobody else took it seriously because they didn't understand, even doctors (dozens of them), so I kept it mostly inside. I became a hermit, and I quit my job. I couldn't do much of anything. I was too tired and in too much pain. When you feel your body dying, you know it. Out of desperation, I turned to fruit (and an angel on earth, Dr. Robert Morse) to save me. And that's where I began to find myself.

I went from this ... 

To this, in a matter of months. My face, neck and lymph nodes were swollen and oozing. I had no energy or life in me. 

Fruit vibrations heal!

Fruit is a vibration. Fact. It's full of life force and energy that can (and does) change your own vibration to begin to resonate at a level closer to nature. When we start vibrating closer to nature, we naturally heal. It's really that simple. Eating bowls of fruit was essentially performing surgery on my cells, organs and (eventually) my very soul. Fruit began a journey within myself that no other diet (raw vegan, paleo, ketogenic, SAD) was ever able to do. After 30 days of a fruit only diet, I regained all (plus some) of my strength, energy and vitality and most of my health. I found myself wanting nothing to do with television, Facebook, the news, or much else that the rest of the world was distracted in. There was no explanation for it. It just felt natural to listen to what I needed in this way. I went to bed with the sun and woke up with the sun. I turned off screens and turned inward. I wondered if I'd ever be able or willing to re-establish myself in society. Guided meditations became my go-to in every free moment. Eventually, I craved the silence. And silent meditation became my best friend. In a matter of months, I was able to close my eyes and instantly go inward to a place of peace, where I found I could connect with Source, the life-force for everything.


Raising my vibration became my obsession. It felt so good. But, like any obsession, it can overtake your life. Finding balance was my next goal. That's when I found the Isha Foundation and took their course in Inner Engineering. After 4 days of learning asanas and kriyas that opened blocked energies in me and allowed me to connect to the parts of me, I never knew existed, I felt alive and ready to integrate for the first time in so so long. It gave me the tools I needed to face others and to be okay with being misunderstood. I didn't feel the need to show a facade to the world. I stopped wearing make-up, bras and an attitude.

Issa Foundations Inner Engineering Program by Sadhguru. Life changing!

In mediation for 2 hours a day ... I kept going. The layers peeled off, as I slowly allowed myself to become who I truly am, a part of the divine energy that is all. No longer did I look at a tree and say "That's a tree." I began to look at a tree and feel it as an extension of myself, and myself as an extension of the tree. The grass under my feet felt as though it was part of my feet. That it was there to serve me and I was there to serve it. That we were an integral part of each other's existence. There was no me without it, there was no it without me. And that line didn't stop at grass. I became the clouds and birds and air and water and ... even the people I disagreed with. We were all one, just operating at different frequencies on the same plane.

The separation that keeps us all at war and battling others opinions on social media began to show itself to me. Rather, the "separation" began to drop away. And I realized that there is no separation that is there, other than what our ego places between us. Opinions that upset me became an experiential dive into myself. What inside myself is being triggered by the object upsetting my ego? And instead of fighting back (fight or flight was my absolute go-to for 40 years), I found I was repairing the very bits of myself that resisted others. To repair, you have to apologize, forgive, give love and be grateful. My approach to others who triggered me became this practice in my mind, "I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you." How people reacted to me changed. All my relationships improved. Not one single thing in my life changed, other than my reaction and understanding of and to all that surrounded me. My job hasn't changed, yet it's not a source of crippling stress anymore. My marriage is the same, yet my home is much happier. And I realize, all that exists is within myself. All that I touch, feel, hear and see is a manifestation of my own creation.

Just in giving myself love and allowing to finally dive into this connectivity, I have changed myself, my home, my work, my relationships. This self love has grown outside myself and onto others. And I now truly understand that the only way to improve this world, to heal it, to master it, to be one with it, to find peace in it, is to work on yourself in a loving, gentle and natural manner. When we allow the natural vibration of ourselves to break through the sociological conditioning of our ego, we become the essence of peace and love. Of course, high vibrational foods (lots of raw fruits, veggies, seeds, greens), sunshine, distilled water (decalcify that pineal) can and does move this along quite rapidly. Going vegan was the greatest gift I've ever given myself and the planet. Perhaps it wasn't even the fruit, and it was just going vegan that allowed me to connect so magically to this source energy and truthful existence. Regardless of what brought me to this place, I'm grateful. And gratitude manifests great change. And from here, we can alter the very existence of the entire planet, together.

Youponing: DIY coconut milk

I gave up dairy years ago, in an effort to reduce inflammation in my sweet, one-time-use vessel. I never liked cow milk. I always thought the smell was off-putting. But, I did used to use soy milk for cereals and such. Fast-forward 10+ years later, and I'm off the soy too (I'll explain later). So, what's a girl to do? I love almond milk, but I do fear the dreaded PUFA over-consumption. And I am NOT about to give up my obsession with sunflower seed butter just so I can squeeze in the PUFAs in almond milk and keep my omegas balanced.

But I NEED something white and creamy for my smoothies and recipes!!!

Oh, hello coconut milk. I didn't see you there. You're so chill and easy going. I bet it was that island life you lived, wasn't it? You just slid right into my life when I needed you most and said "Ya mon, I heah for ya."

Have you ever tried coconut milk? It's darn good. But the price tag can get a bit sticky for us frugal folk. But, never fear, I'm here to show you the ways of my alter ego "Thrifty Cent". Here's my super easy peasy version for the busy mama or the just plain lazy.

First, go to Trader Joes. Almost all of their cans are BPA free, and you will pay at least 1/3rd of what you would anywhere else. There you will find these most magnificent cans of light coconut milk for 99 cents. Yep, that's less than a buck, guys!

Under a buck at Traders, y'all!  

Second, open up that bad boy and dump into a quart jar and add one can full of water to it. (Or go crazy and do twice the milk in a half gallon mason jar, like I do).

I prefer a wide mouth jar. 

Third, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and then whatever else you would like to flavor it with. I like vanilla and coconut sugar (coconut, meet coconut) or stevia. I've even made peppermint at Christmas time!

Vanilla & sea salt is always a good choice!!!

Fourth, shake, chill & enjoy.

Last, say thank you for just saving you a few bucks on coconut milk.

Someday I'll show you how to make it from scratch using the dried stuff!

Love & coconuts!
S

Scape to paradise

Today I'm talkin' rawsta. Why? Because summer squash is here, and it's my duty to share the tastiness. Above: Finished garlic scape pesto rawsta. See below for the details! 

So, do you remember that recipe I gave for garlic scape pesto? Well, this week we received a yellow summer squash in our CSA. And, I found this to be the perfect opportunity to make a raw pasta, or as I like to call it, rawsta!

Who doesn't love pesto in the summer? I ended up using this recipe instead (only, I don't do roasted nuts and used soaked and dehydrated pine nuts instead). I found it to be just a little bit easier. And if you've been following my blog, you know that I like easy. I mean, why be hard? Hard is too, well… hard. I want to make your life easy. It's too short to be hard.

Pesto is finished. Now it's time to spiralize this squash! (Sorry about the bad pic. Sun going down = high contrast shots = pesto not looking as good as it tastes!)

One gadget that I cannot live without is a spiralizer. If you do not have a spiralizer, get one today. I mean stop reading this blog right now and run to target or Williams-Sonoma or Amazon.com and get yourself one. I have a Ben Riner  but any will do, really. They have much cheaper ones now. It's the healthiest and cheapest kitchen gadget you can possibly get yourself this summer. You will never know how you lived without it. And it will help keep that yellow polka dot bikini looking oh so hot on your booty.

My Ben Riner spiralizer. Simply put squash in and turn. It magically becomes rawsta!

Spiralized squash. Yummy & nutritious noodles to top with anything under the sun! This is a big dinner plate. One squash made that many noodles. 

Save the ends of your squash that the spiralizer couldn't spiralize. Put them in your "spare parts" bucket (I use a pyrex and fill it through the week, then juice with fruit and lemon) in the fridge for juice, or cut them into a salad this week. 

Once the squash is spiralized, top with just a dollup of the pesto (a little goes a LONG way with pesto, folks). And now it's time to dig in.

Summer squash noodles. Delicate & delicious and almost no calories. 

So there's not much easier than this dish. You just spiralize your squash, blend up some pesto in the vitamix or blender, combine them, and eat. Pretty easy. You don't even have to turn the stove on and heat up your house up this July. Winner winner chicken-less dinner!

Oooh, and it's so pretty. And so are you. No really. You're beautiful. Now feed those beautiful cells some really healthy food.

Mangia mangia,
Steph

Water kefir workshop

Lots of success in my previous workshops. So, I added another due to the many requests. Thank you all for sharing this workshop with others and spreading the good word. If you are interested in taking the workshop, please go here to the event page. <-----CLICK THERE!

This workshop will cover how to create the original "soda" at home, how to store extra grains, troubleshooting issues & the lowdown on what water kefir is. After the class there will be a tasting of the brews I have going. I have ginger, mint, peach, blueberry, lemon and plain. And you'll go home with a jar of brewing kefir, as well as a kit to make it at home. Score!!!

Brewing as I type...

If you are not familiar with water kefir, it is a probiotic and enzyme filled beverage that is similar to soda but without all the questionable ingredients and sugar. Make it in minutes right in your home. Attendees of the workshop will go home with a kit. I saw a similar kit for kombucha for $49 at a local store. My workshop and kit is only $20! Get in before the prices go up. ;)