on my mind monday 12.31.12 - the gratitude issue

“To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” -Albert Schweitzer

Rather than the usual On My Mind Monday post where I go through a bunch of articles that have caught my eye I thought I would write about gratitude.  Mostly because that's what's on my mind right now.  We're at that annual cusp from old year to new.  That time when so many people make resolutions, often unrealistic and undefined.  And by doing so set themselves up to feel bad about themselves later.

So rather that focusing on [insert your favorite resolution here] I thought it might be a good idea to think about gratitude.  And I wanted to share some of my favorite resources and share a couple of articles.  I won't lie and tell you that I live in that blissed out place that is continual gratitude.  I don't.  I sometimes struggle to get there, to get anywhere close to being grateful.  And yet I know I have to very much to be grateful for.

Sometimes we get overwhelmed, sometimes we get lost.  But I have come to believe that by remembering that concept of gratitude and by trying to pay attention to it I am happier overall.  And so I've collected some resources and I have in a gratitude file.  When I need a pick me up that's what I turn to.  I've also decided to try a new tradition.  Recently I saw a post with the picture up above.  It's a gratitude jar.  The concept is pretty simple.  Take a jar, put a gratitude label on it.  Then throughout the year add notes of whatever you are grateful for to the jar.  Come New Year's Eve 2014, open the jar and see what's inside.  I'm excited and looking forward to what this new year will bring.

As we transition to 2013 I hope that whatever the New Year holds for you it also brings happiness, health, joy, and peace.

How To Be Grateful To People We Don't Like - Learning to look at negative situations and focus on the good things we have can help us achieve a transformational shift. Admittedly this is not always easy to do, but sometimes having a resource we can turn to the guide us toward this can be helpful.

Gratefulness.org - A wonderful website offering videos, audios, articles, a virtual labyrinth, and virtual candles you can light. This is one of my favorite resources.

How Gratitude Can Change Your Life - A good article about gratitude with some information about how studies showing how it can improve your life.

Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy - A few suggestions for ways to add a gratitude practice to your life.

Stumbling Toward Gratitude - The end of this article sums it up well, " There are no miracles. … There are no long-term quick fixes for happiness, so if you become a more grateful person and you add [these] exercises to your repertoire, you’ll be different six months or a year from now."


And here's a video on gratitude that I found moving.  Thanks to my Aunt for sharing it just when I needed it.

cooking with oregano

Oregano is a flavorful, highly anti-oxidant, perennial herb which is used in a wide variety of cuisines including Italian, Turkish, Lebanese, Greek, and Latin American. Related to the mint familiy, it has a distinctive aroma and taste; the flavor is stronger when it is dried rather than fresh. Oregano gained popularity in the United States after World War II when returning soldiers came back with a taste for it.

If you love to create your own dishes, you will discover that oregano goes well with pizza, lamb, tomato sauces, and cruciform vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini. It blends well with other herb including basil, dried onions, garlic, pepper, parsley, sage, and thyme.

Although oregano is typically dried and sold in jars at grocery stores, it can be purchased fresh or grown in a home garden. Before buying fresh oregano, ensure that it is not showing signs of wilt. Fresh oregano can be kept fresh if it is placed in a plastic bag filled with air and then put in the crisper section of your refrigerator

Mexican oregano, related to vervain, rather than mint, is a distant relative of traditional oregano.  Known also as Mexican marjoram or Mexican wild sage, it has been described by many as having a stronger flavor and somewhat sweeter taste than the common oregano.

How to Use Oregano

• Select dried or fresh oregano; growing your own oregano is easy as the plants are hardy.
  
• There are several varieties of oregano, so decide which one to use. The Italian oregano used in pizza and Italian dishes is most commonly used in American dishes. The Greek variety is often used in seafood and other dishes while the Cuban variety is often used to flavor meats, especially game.
  
• Some recipes require whole leaves or crushed oregano. This however, is dependent on the preference of the chef or the other ingredients in the recipe.
• Do not overcook oregano as this will reduce its flavor; add it to cooking as needed. 
•  Fresh oregano can be used to flavor or season cold dishes. 

Using Fresh Oregano

When you cook with fresh oregano, you need an approach that is somewhat different from the dried herb. In addition to it's high nutrient profile, providing vitamin K, manganese, iron, and calcium, oregano also has anti-inflammatory properties.  Research suggests that oregano has properties that can relieve the symptoms associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.  You will need to understand how to use its fresh form to enhance your dishes and your health.

• Fresh oregano is not as concentrated as its dried form, so measure carefully and double or triple the amount if the recipe requires dried oregano. 
• Dried oregano is usually used when cooking sauces and roasts, but fresh oregano is best suited for seafood or sprinkled on pasta dishes. 
• Fresh oregano can be substituted for marjoram if necessary. 
• It is easy to overdo dried or fresh oregano. Therefore, you need to be careful how you apply this spice when you are creating your own recipes. 

Lucas Barnes writes at Plantdex.

on my mind monday 12.24.12

It's never the same two weeks in a row.  A collection of what I find interesting in the world of food, nutrition, and holistic health.  Here's what's on my mind.

Wangari Gardens - Yet another great example of community gardens growing out of unused space.  I love that it was started by a student who envisioned a way to bring a garden to  an area that was previously considered a food desert.  Overcoming bureaucratic red tape and a variety of setbacks what now exists is a beautiful community space.

Farmer's worried about GMO contamination?  USDA says "get insurance." - This article is eye opening on many levels.  Even more so than the issue of GMO contamination, which is huge, is that GMO's do not work.  As the article mentions, we are now breeding superweeds which are roundup resistant, having somehow, mysteriously (read with snark) picked up the trait from the plants which were bred to be roundup resistant.  This is in spite of the fact that Monsanto in the beginning assured farmers that resistance would not be a problem.  Looks like they were wrong on that count.  And if that issue were not bad enough it turns out that we are ruining, depleting, our earth to an unsustainable point by mining minerals needed to make chemical fertilizers.  Time to wake up and stop the chemical cocktail we are pouring on and in our food.

Are your kids eating too much salt? - If you buy package, processed foods, don't read the labels, and eat out frequently chances are you and your kids are getting far too much salt.  Learning to read the label is the first step to controlling in the home sodium intake.  Thinking about where and what you eat when you eat out is next.  For young kids 1,200 mg is considered the recommended limit but some foods can provide a whopping amount of your daily intake.  One example is a two ounce serving of pretzels which could provide up to 900 mg of sodium.  But don't go no sodium either, your body needs it for metabolic function as well as to manufacture digestive fluids.  Moderation, but not avoidance, is definitely the key when it comes to salt.

The year of the liver - Apparently 2013 will be the year that liver makes it's way back into the American diet.  This could be a good thing it's a good protein source that is also high in iron, riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.  Soaking it in milk is one way to temper the flavor for those who are not used to it.  Made into pate it's delicious, but sauteed in onions it's also tasty.  The best choice is to choose liver from pasture raised animals as there is no exposure to GMOs, pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics, or added hormones.

C. Difficile sniffer dog - Those cute little beagles (and other breeds) are everywhere.  Not just roaming the airports in their working dog jackets sniffing out contraband produce, not just detecting diabetes and various types of cancer, but now also identifying cases of a bacterial infection that can be difficult to treat and which may spread rapidly if not contained.  C. difficile can overtake the intestinal environment causing severe pain, cramping, diarrhea and even ulcerations.  With the help of Cliff (there's apparently only one sniffer dog at the moment) detection is quicker and easier.

And this video shows the Minister for Public Health and Sanitation of Kenya at a public briefing.  Kenya has just banned all GMOs while they evaluate their safety.


Don't forget to "like" The Pantry Principle to stay up to date and 
get news and information about what's really in your food.

photo: mconnors