Even if your budget is tight, it’s still a good idea to have “entertainment” as a line item and regular expense. Entertainment gives you a chance to let go of stress and enjoy the present moment. It helps put burnout on pause. Chronic stress can lead to disease, and can also negatively impact your emotional or mental health.
Adding entertainment to your budget doesn’t mean big spending – you have have a great time on little or no money. Try these ideas >>>
Get to the library for books, movies, and music
Bake cookies with the kids or with a group of friends
Visit an art gallery or museum and marvel at the paintings and sculptures
Cook a special dinner together as a couple
Host a potluck dinner with your friends
Play cards or board games
See a play at a small, local theater
Start or join a book club (ask about clubs at local bookstores or the library)
Go to the beach, forest preserve, park or any other green space nearby
Attend free film screenings, art shows, and festivals
Start an engaging hobby like knitting or gardening
Go to a minor league or non-MLB baseball game
Spend time at a community festival or fair
Check out sports and the arts at local colleges and high schools
You don’t need to spend money to enjoy life, and there’s nothing better for your health than enjoying your life.
We’re passing on new information on HR 875 from Phiya Kushi –
“The legislation proposed will help us, not harm us.”
“The sponsor of HR 875 is as much of (if not more) an advocate for organic food, small farming and natural health as anyone you know. She has been at the forefront of these issues for decades, protecting small farmers, land encroachment and agribusiness from taking over. One of her cosponsors, Chris Murphy who happens to be my congressman, is similarly inclined. I have supported both of them for many years. These are the good people in CT, not the bad ones.
“In fact, everyone in this field agrees (except some Libertarians) that Food Safety is a primary concern now and is unreasonably mishandled by current, outdated government agencies — if handled at all. What is in dispute is how a Food Safety bill should be worded, what controls it should allow and exactly when and how such legislation will emerge. This process is going to take a year — not two weeks. There are currently 5 different versions of these bills in various committees — all being rewritten, adjusted, edited, etc. toward discussions over the coming months.
“…In reality, more careful regulation of imported foods will improve local and organic farming practices and enhance small farmers — not the opposite, as suggested in some of the links.”
~ Phiya Kushi, email to Marilu
Note – we did not include all the links that were in the original email to Marilu. The links we provided regarding the actual bills are all valid, and we continue to recommend those links.
Keep educating yourself on these bills. Make sure your representative and senators know that you support organic farming and family farms. Be part of the process.
Miso is a fermented soy or soy-based “paste” that is salty and rich and filled with energizing live enzymes. It is used as a condiment in Japanese cooking. The Japanese begin their day with a fortifying bowl of miso soup and use miso to flavor a variety of foods in other meals throughout the day. Making miso is a household art in Asian countries, comparable to the American practice of canning foods.
To make miso, soybeans and sometimes a grain such as rice, are combined with salt and a mold culture, and then aged in cedar vats for one to three years. This is the fermenting process. Most miso that is made in western countries is produced in a similar manner, although “quick” miso also is available. This quick miso is generally inferior in taste.
Miso is actually a group of condiments. The addition of different ingredients and variations in length of aging produce different types of miso that vary greatly in flavor, texture, color and aroma. In Japan, different types of miso are prepared and evaluated much the way Westerners judge fine wines and cheeses. Darker miso is traditionally used in colder months, and lighter or mellow miso is traditionally used in warmer months.
Buying & Storing Miso:
Miso is available in natural food groceries and in Asian markets. Store miso in the refrigerator, where it will keep indefinitely. The white mold that sometimes forms on miso is harmless. It can be scraped off or mixed into the miso. You may want to transfer miso to a glass jar to store in the fridge (especially if it’s the kind sold in a pouch).
Using Miso:
Use miso to flavor soups, sauces, dressings and marinades, and to make delicious patés. Use it in place of anchovy paste in recipes or as a substitute for salt or soy sauce in recipes. Because miso is high in sodium, use it sparingly. One-quarter cup in a quart of water makes a savory soup stock. A tablespoon of miso mixed into a cup of hot water produces a low-calorie broth to sip for an afternoon snack.
Never boil miso – heating it that much destroys the live enzymes and reduces the health benefits. Instead, add miso after removing your food from the heat. It’s best to take a little liquid from the pot, stir the miso in, and then return that mixture to the (off-the-heat) pot. You’ll have all of the flavor and all of the enzymes.
Those enzymes help the body repair itself. Therefore, miso soup or broth is a really good menu addition in the two weeks before and after any surgery, or any time you’re sick or fighting off sickness.
Miso Soup Blue ~ serves 2
3 cups water
2 scallions, washed, and sliced thin on the diagonal, white and green parts
1 carrot, sliced thin
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ginger, minced
2 baby bella mushrooms, wiped dry and sliced thin
1 tsp mirin
1-1/2 Tablespoons miso
Heat water in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add scallions, garlic, ginger, carrot, and mushrooms. When vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes), remove about 1/3 cup of the soup with a glass measuring cup. Add the miso and mirin to the measuring cup. Use a spoon to mash the miso into the soup. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Return the miso mixture to the saucepan and stir gently to combine. Serve.
Sometimes the best way to ensure our own health is to get involved in the political process. You know I’ve testified before Congress – now I’m asking you to get involved. Take a few minutes to get educated here – and check out the links we’ve included after the “read more”, too.
This information was sent to me from Michio Kushi’s son Phiya. It appears that a couple of bills regarding “food safety” may be coming up for vote in the next week or so.
Because of the vague language in these bills, it’s possible that they can do a lot of damage to food we consider healthy – organic farming, heirloom seeds, non-GMO foods, non-cloned animals, non-irradiated foods, hormone-free and pesticide-free foods, etc. In the name of food safety, the government would be able to mandate the seed varieties, pesticides and herbicides, and feed (hormones and antibiotics) used.
One of the results would be more big business in farming – that means a reduction in family farms, and a vastly increased carbon footprint. (Isn’t farming supposed to be “green?”)
Finally, the creation of a new bureaucracy (yes, a whole new agency) and an administrator with the authority to make the agency as large as he wants means more government spending. One of the bills includes surveillance of growers/farmers, computer tagging, monitoring, and “mandatory” usage of whatever means the government deems necessary to kill anything living in our food they feel is bad, including all the vitamins which are quite fragile. The cost of all this is staggering.
What can you do? Keep reading (click the “read more”). Find out more about the bills in the House and Senate. Then make a call or write an email. Help make a difference.
You started your day with dry skin brushing again, right? Give your freshly skin-brushed body a drink.
After you stimulate your lymph system, you’ll want to keep all those toxins flowing freely, right out of your body. Water will flush them out. Drink up!
Recommended amount – half your body weight in ounces of water each day, up to 100 oz.
Today I resolve NOT to sabotage myself. No matter how I’m feeling, no matter what tempting treat presents itself, no matter how loudly my raging hormones are screaming, I will not give in. I will not give up.
This is a day where I will NOT put my feelings into actions. If someone says something that gets me upset, I will examine what they say, use what I can from it, toss the rest to the curb, and move on.
This is a day where I will NOT give less than my best to myself. I will honor my body, mind, and spirit. I will stay true to my long-term goals, no matter what short-term distraction is in front of me.
This is a day when I WILL do my best to be my best in every moment.
Dry skin brushing is an excellent detoxifier and exfoliator. Brush your dry skin in an elongated motion toward your heart for 1-2 minutes every morning – before you shower or exercise. Use a natural bristle brush designed for dry skin brushing – Marilu’s favorite is the Yerba Prima Tampico Skin Brush (it has a removable handle and perfect bristles).
Start with your feet and ankles, and work your way up the body to your calves and thighs. Really concentrate on brushing the lymphatic areas of your body (the backs of your knees, your inner thighs, under your arms, and inside your elbows) to stimulate those glands and get them started on flushing toxins.
Gently brush up your stomach and tush, shoulders and back. Last, do your hands and move up your arms. Make sure you cover the entire surface of your body, excluding your breasts and face.
The brushing should not irritate you, but it will feel rough (so be gentle to start!). It may take a couple of days to get used to it, but if you hang in there, you will feel the difference in your skin in less than a week.
