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April 2007
“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.”
— Jan Glidewell
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Spring Cleaning
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Julie G. Cohen, CHHC, AADP
Holistic Health Counselor
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People like “stuff.” We tend to hold onto it year after year. We save and stock up on things that we don’t know what to do with anymore. Maybe we keep things because they hold precious memories of days gone by, or they remind us of our parents, grandparents, past loves or childhood. To part with these precious possessions seems out of the question. There is a saying that goes, “You have to get rid of the old to make way for the new.” If you are feeling stuck or stagnant in your life, try spring-cleaning. Throw out some of that stuff, say goodbye to your past, and welcome the new energy of your happy, healthy future.
For good mental and physical health, we actually have two “houses” that need to be spring-cleaned: our physical homes and our physical bodies. Just as we accumulate “stuff” in the form of outgrown clothes, magazines, rusty bicycles, tools and random keepsakes, so do our bodies accumulate old food residues and toxins that need to be cleaned out.
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To spring clean your body, give it a break from rich and complicated foods by either cleansing or fasting for a short period of time. Cleansing means paring down your food to just simple fruits and vegetables, lots of water and perhaps whole grains. Fasting means limiting most foods and drinking lots of water, fresh vegetable and fruit juices, teas and soups. Without much energy going towards digestion, more energy is available to the rest of your body and mind. Cleansing and fasting can sharpen your concentration, help you gain insight and promote spiritual awareness. It can also bring improved immune function and better digestion.
While you’re cleaning out your body and home, don’t forget to spring-clean your heart. Throw away negative thoughts and habits you’ve been harboring that no longer serve you. A clean, open heart will allow you to receive all the good that awaits you each and every day. If your heart and mind are cluttered, there is no room for life’s gifts and surprises to enter.
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Food Focus: Greens
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Leafy greens are some of the easiest and most beneficial vegetables to incorporate into your daily routine. Densely packed with energy and nutrients, they grow upwards to the sky, absorbing the sun’s light while producing oxygen. Members of this royal green family include kale, collard greens, swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe, watercress, beet greens, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, spinach and broccoli.
How do greens benefit our bodies? They are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous and zinc, and are a powerhouse for vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed full of fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Their color is associated with spring, which is a time of renewal and refreshing, vital energy.
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In traditional Asian medicine, the color green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity. Greens aid in purifying the blood, strengthening the immune system, improving liver, gall bladder and kidney function, fighting depression, clearing congestion, improving circulation and keeping your skin clear and blemish free.
Leafy greens are the vegetables most missing from the American diet, and many of us never learned how to prepare them. Start with the very simple recipe below. Then each time you go to the market, pick up a new green to try. Soon you’ll find your favorite greens and wonder how you ever lived without them.
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 Shiitake and Kale
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 bunch of kale, chopped
pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Warm oil in pan on medium heat with minced garlic until aromas of garlic are released, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add chopped shiitake mushrooms, stir-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped kale, stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add a splash of water and pinch of salt to pan, cover and let steam for 4 minutes.
 Lunch Idea...Sunflower Rice Salad
Ingredients:
3 cups leftover rice
3 cups boiling water
10 green beans (1" pieces)
1 1/2 cups cabbage (1" pieces)
1/2 cup carrot, diced small
1 small onion, diced
3 T. minced parsley
3 T. roasted sunflower seeds
Directions:
Briefly boil the beans, carrot, and onion together (2 -3 minutes), until just crisp. Lift out with a strainer, drain and cool. Plunge cabbage in boiling water 1 minute, to barely cook it. Drain and cool. (Save the cooking broth for soups). Toss all together with Lemon Vinagrette Dressing (see below).
 Lemon-Vinagrette Dressing
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. brown rice vinegar
2-3 tsp. tamari soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil (optional)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp thyme or marjoram
2 tsp. fresh minced parsley
1/2 tsp. natural mustard (optional)
Directions:
Just mix and serve
Acknowledgments:
Sunflower Rice Salad and Lemon-Vinagrette Dressing are from "The Self-Healing Cookbook" by Kristina Turner, which is available from Earthtones Press.
Call (800) 788-1770 to order.
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It’s such a pleasure to help those closest to us become happier and healthier. Please direct your friends, family members or colleagues to this newsletter who might be interested and inspired by it.
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