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What Do Toys Have to Do With It?

In this article in the NYTimes on the toy company Melissa and Doug, it was not the number of toy sales or the square footage of their home that caught my attention. It was the description from co-founder Melissa Bernstein, of how creativity helped her deal with anxiety in her own life, that caught my eye. In her words, "When I create it makes me so happy. I'm able to soothe myself."  

The toy company makes traditional toys (wood blocks, puzzles), toys that involve active play. This is the question popping into my head: is there a connection between the rise in anxiety in children, and the reduction in time children spend playing creatively? There is more anxiety out there, it isn't just my imagination. Anxiety in children has increased in the past 50 years.

Is our stimulating world too engaging for the ever active mind? I know this to be true for me. I cannot watch television or a movie without carrying images and words around in my head for a couple of days. I cannot watch the news and then go to bed without dreaming about those who have been injured, killed, disadvantaged.

Must this also be true for children? As a parent I am very suspicious of screens. I want my children to live life actively, not passively. As the number of screens in the home increase so does the work that I do to monitor.

Ultimately, I am willing to do the work because I am in the camp of Melissa, who said, "Her own childhood taught her that creativity can be a salve." My own body and mind calm when I get into the creative zone. As for the kids and the reduction in screen time at our home, ultimately life has a way of working these things out!       

Peace to all, quietude to all.

Shanthi

Vegetable Stir Fry with Tahini Sauce

With an abundance of local produce coming soon, enjoy the bounty that is in your neighborhood, and maybe even in your backyard! All of the vegetables listed in this recipe can be replaced with something that is available to you, and the Tahini Sauce gives anything a finishing touch! We served the stir fry with French lentils, which cook in about 35 minutes. The finished meal is a mixture of flavors as the spice of the jalapeno is ever present along with the subtle flavors of the arame, parsley and Tahini sauce. Vegetable Stir Fry 2 T ghee butter or sesame oil ½ cup diced onion ½ jalapeno pepper, remove seeds and chop finely 1 zucchini or summer squash, cut lengthwise and slice into half moons 4 large Swiss chard stalks, separate stems from leaves, slice stems, chop leaves ½ bunch beet greens, stems removed and leaves chop lightly ½ cup chopped parley 1/3 cup arame, soaked 30 minutes, rinse and drain ¼ cup sesame seeds, lightly roast    Heat 1 T ghee in a wok or frying pan over medium high heat. When melted, add the onion. Toss for a minute or two, then add the jalapeno and zucchini. Stir to cook for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan, add the remaining 1 T of ghee, and cook the sliced Swiss Chard stems, about 3 minutes. Add the lightly chopped greens, cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the parsley, drained arame, and the cooked onion/zucchini mixture. Serve the vegetables with the cooked French lentils (or another legume or protein based grain such as quinoa), drizzled with the Tahini Sauce (below) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.   Tahini Sauce 2 T tahini (ground sesame) 2 T warm water 1 T fresh lemon juice Salt, pepper Whisk together the above ingredients. Pour over lentils and vegetables. Enjoy! Start Earth Munching with the help of http://motheringmothernature.blogspot.com

It Doesn't Take Much

All I had to do was clean the screen on my computer, and the world looks different! Okay, the world as it comes through the computer... which for most of us is a good chunk of the world! Truly, everything on the screen feels lighter, cleaner, free of clutter and haziness.

This morning, when I started my yoga practice, I could feel several conversations running through my mind. These are conversations were ones that I had not yet had!!! The internal dialogue involved situations with two of our children, and I was letting the whole dialogue unfold, based on past experience.

Recognizing what was going on between my ears was the first major step. I did not want to give up my yoga time to a visualization of the day ahead of me. What have I been taught to do in these moments - to go to the breath first. Yes, the breath. Inhale, feel how this calms, exhale, let planning and strategizing go. Inhale, feel the beautiful freedom of being in my body, exhale, fall into my own Inner Peace.

By the end of the first Sun Salutation I had released the conversations. Staying focused on the immediate world around me, I moved through the yoga practice with presence and lightness.

And what followed? That is what everyone wants to know? Right. Well, not the conversations that I had been imagining and wasting my life concocting. One of the situations did not readily resolve itself, and the other situation never occurred! The behavior that I had anticipated did not surface!!!

With all of these boys there is rarely a dull emotional moment for the ever functioning mother!

May the lightness of our Inner Beauty be the voice that dominates throughout our day.

Shanthi

Kids & Kidneys Beans! Meatless Monday

As I am writing the blog for Meatless Monday, I am surrounded by the smell of bacon!!! How can this be happening in our Meatless Monday home?! Very easily - have you ever had a child come home from college for the summer? With his/her own ideas?

We have never been a vegan home, or a vegetarian home, so it is no surprise that there is meat in the home. Bacon is a new one, something I gave in on during his first week of adjustment.

Although I have wanted to be the perfect example of a 'plant based whole foods home', I am the only one in our home who does not consume flesh foods (read: meat, poultry, fish, eggs). We eat lots of vegan and some vegetarian meals, but the meat rears itself.

It is a huge shift and sacrifice to give up all meats. And it is a shift that often does not happen overnight! I have been on this journey for a long time, and at different stages and focuses along the way.  That is the gift of Meatless Monday, the gentle weekly reminder of awareness - whether your awareness and focus is your own health, the health of the planet, the welfare of the factory raised animals - whatever, find something that is meaningful for you today, and go with it.

One day out of the week, bring yourself and those around you some 'awareness' to munch upon. At the very least it will make for some interesting dinner conversation!

This recipe is super easy,.. And, there is a video to go with it.
Eat well, be well.

Kidney Bean Dip

Ingredients
2 cups cooked kidney beans (see video 'How To' Prepare, Cook & Store Beans)

1-2 T jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional, but gives a great kick!)

1 clove garlic, minced (see video 'How To' Mince Garlic)

1/4 t cinnamon

3/4 t ground coriander

3/4 t ground cumin

1 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 t salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Puree in blender or food processor. The dip is best served a few hours later, when the flavors have further developed. Eat with vegetable pieces or crackers. Enjoy!

Shanthi

Cost (Approximate Numbers)
Kidney Beans - $.75
Jalapeno, Garlic, Tomato & Lemon - $4.00
Spices, Seasonings - $.50

Meatless Monday Reflection

Reflecting for a moment on the reasons to make the effort and participate in Meatless Monday is what I feel called to discuss. We are moving more and more to a world of awareness of our consumption, both on ourselves and on our world. As the economic cloud holds over the US and Europe, it is a good time to reflect on what we are consuming and why. A shortage of resources will bring up questions of value, priority and purpose. It was during our leanest financial years in this home that I felt a complete union with the actions that I did and the spiral effect that they created.

We were a young family, short on cash, focusing our spending on a home and early education for our children. We made choices on a daily basis, around money, that would allow me to continue to stay in the home and raise our children. At the same time, I was passionate about reducing our "Earth expense" (ie carbon footprint) in our daily lives. Cooking food at home, meals that came from whole ingredients as opposed to packages, nourished our bodies and souls, while keeping the Earth smiling. This contentment wasn't limited to cooking. I also sewed clothing for special occasions - the joy of watching a child run around in an outfit that I had created with my hands is beyond description! The contextual meaning of things, or food, or events, is so much greater when we pour our time and love into it.

When I first came to the environmental movement I found it overwhelming, both in information and in emotion. So much to learn, so many habits to change, and so few of us doing it. Oh, despair could set in easily! But then it all seemed to come back to the kitchen, it would come back to the fact that everyone gets hungry, and what are you going to eat? Connecting through food made so many other choices more manageable. My body started to vibrate with this "earthiness" that eased the strain of other behaviors that required changes. Reducing our family footprint started to become a creative game for us - how could we go on an outing and come home without waste, including diaper waste? Now this Earth Living became "want to" actions as opposed to a "should do" actions.

True change does not happen quickly. This Meatless Monday nudge will work its magic on you if you allow it to enter into your life as a weekly habit. And when it is most inconvenient, that is when you will develop the greatest strength and growth around it. 

So, happy Meatless Monday! May the reverberation of your intentional Earth and Health action bring greater ease to your green living choices, where we all benefit. "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something." (weaddup.com)

Black Bean Burgers

When I made these burgers I had some leftover quinoa salad that I could not face eating again. This was the perfect solution! With the dressing already on the quinoa I skipped the olive oil. As well, I had no time to dry breadcrumbs, and did not want to use the oven energy for just that activity, so I used fresh breadcrumbs and the result was great!

Playing with the seasonings of the burgers is easy to do! Serve the burgers either on a hamburger bun or on a Portobello mushroom or on its own!

Black Bean Burgers (6)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (room temperature or colder)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans*, well drained
1/4 cup chopped onion (red or yellow)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
2 T olive oil
1 T jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground chili
1/2 t ground cumin
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

First make the breadcrumbs by putting some ends of bread into a food processor. Process to make breadcrumbs and set aside on a plate.

Combine the quinoa, black beans, onion, garlic (optional), oil, pepper, and seasonings in the bowl of the same food processor. Mix only to blend, leaving some visible chunks.

Spoon out 6 patties onto a plate. With your hands, pick up a burger, and place it onto the breadcrumbs. Then turn it over to cover the other side.

Cook the burgers by heating in a frying pan. No fat is needed, just brown one side, then carefully flip, and brown the other side.

Serve with a beautiful green salad and top with your favorite toppings!

Enjoy!

*Why not beans from a can? Canned beans carry a larger environmental footprint and a smaller nutritional footprint. They are stored in a can that is usually lined with BPA (Bisphenol A) which seeps into your food. As well, these beans often contain salt. Save your money and your health and choose to cook your own beans.