Simplifying the Simple Life

Your mother is so ugly: kombucha

-By Lisa

I’ve been hearing about kombucha for a while and it didn't sound very enticing to me. But I have several friends who swear by it and I'm always keen to learn something new, so it was time to investigate.

Here we go - Kombucha 101.

Kombucha has been enjoyed in Russia and China since at least the 1800’s. It’s fermented and contains a living culture of microorganisms. Yum, right? Not so much, but when you get to the benefit claims, it starts to sound more palpable.

Kombucha contains probiotics, active enzymes and antioxidants - all things that are great for the body. The health claims range from improving the immune system to preventing cancer. In fact, the label on the bottle that I tried states that the founder of GT's Kombucha started the company after watching his mother use it successfully in her battle against breast cancer. 

It's a bit tart (think vinegar, but less strong) but GT's Kombucha does a Mystic Mango and Cosmic Cranberry flavored kombucha that are actually pretty tasty. In Charlottesville, G.T's is available at Integral Yoga, Rebecca's and Whole Foods. For the rest of the world, you can find a store here. It does have some caffeine in it, so it’s great in the morning for a little kick-start. It’s also lightly carbonated, so it feels like a nice afternoon treat.

If you’re the home-brew type (and are not excited about shelling out 3-ish dollars per bottle in the store) you can make it yourself. It’s apparently the latest thing for hipster foodies-- and you get to keep your mother in a jar. No really, the fermented tea starter looks kind of like a mushroom and is referred to as a “mother.” The mother will eventually expand and split into “babies” which can be passed on to others so they can home-brew - you can find them sold on Craigslist.

Doesn’t that all sounds appetizing? O.K. Maybe I’m not selling this well.

Let’s talk numbers. While the sales on bottled water and soda have been decreasing (good news, in my opinion) US sales of kombucha were $295 million last year, up 25% over a two-year period. So clearly not everyone is grossed out. Still, it's probably better not to think too much about the fermenting mother or her gelatinous babies.

Of course there are the people who are skeptical about the claims and debate whether kombucha is good for you at all. There are warnings about contamination from home brewing in non-sterile conditions and a general uneasiness about the lack of long-term US studies on the effects of the drink. So use your own judgement.

But even the critical articles have to admit that kombucha has its groupies. Local C'ville singer/songwriter Devon Sproule was quoted recently in a Newsweek article saying that she and her husband, musician Paul Curreri enjoyed the "Immortal Health Elixir" for maintenance and prevention purposes.

Just in case one of the side benefits of kombucha is that it makes you as adorable as Sproule, I'll give it a try.   

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

What we're reading: Food Rules

-By Lisa

Thanks to Swap.com I received this lovely slim volume in the mail recently.

Of course, I have read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and Second Nature: A Gardener's Education and love the in-depth, well-researched and important information. In this book, Pollan boils down his knowledge to the essentials. It's like a finely reduced sauce; a condensed, rich, yummy read that I inhaled in less than an hour. But the information I gleaned has endured.

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual is broken down into three sections:

1. What should I eat? 
2. What kind of food should I eat? 
3. How should I eat?

The answers are pretty straightforward:

1. Eat food
2. Mostly plants
3. Not too much

The remainder of the book details ways to stick to those rules in the form of quick, catchy one-liners. A few memorable ones for me:

"The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead."

“Eat all the junk you want as long as you cook it yourself.”

“If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.”

“Avoid foods you see advertised on television.”

This book doesn’t contain anything that is revolutionary territory for Pollan fans. Sure, it’s interesting to know about William Prout and his discovery of macronutrients in the early nineteenth century, and you sound smart spouting the properties of the principal constituents of protein, fat and carbohydrates -- but sometimes you just want to get down to the brass tacks. When I'm standing around, wondering what I should be eating, I find it more helpful to remember the little sayings from Food Rules. All due respect to Mr. Prout. 

Some have critized Pollan, saying he is dumbing down nutrition in order to spoon-feed the masses. I figure if we are spoon feeding this kind of information - instead of a Double Fudge Cookie Dough Blizzard – it’s a step in the right direction.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

Happy frigging holidays: frugal ways to deal with stress

-By Lisa 

It’s a stressful time of year. Sure, it’s joyous and whatever too, but many people feel a money crunch, time stress and family pressures. It’s easy to claim that massages and spa days will fix what ails you, but we don't have to throw money at our problems, do we? 

Leave

Go for a walk. It’s getting chilly, but just bundle up and get out there. Even a few minutes of fresh air can help your circulation, clear your head and get you re-connected to nature.

Talk

Sometimes venting is necessary and talking to a good friend can be incredibly therapeutic. I’ve been known to start conversations with “I don’t need you to fix anything, but can I just vent about this?” That lets people off the hook for thinking they are somehow responsible for making it better.

Move

I am a yoga fanatic; I think the benefits are endless for mind, body and spirit. The best thing is that you can do it at home without fancy equipment. Don’t worry if you are clumsy and not flexible, just check out some yoga websites and try a few gentle postures. I start my day with a Sun Salutation which is a great one for beginners. 

Drink

I mean tea. There is just something really soothing in a good cup of tea. With so many decadent flavors, taking time to just sit and stare into a teacup has given me great perspective on any number of annoyances. Add to that the medicinal purposes of many types of tea, and you might just fix that sore throat or upset stomach, too. 

Give

I always feel better about my own situation when I am able to get out of my own head and help someone else. Volunteering or just doing something thoughtful (like baking cookies for a neighbor) brings an abrupt end to my pity party.

Write

Writing is my outlet. I can’t tell you how many angry letters I have written to people, compete with outlandish accusations and inventive usage of swear words. It’s wonderful to find that once I wrote it out, it was unnecessary to send it. It's saved a few relationships, too. 

Laugh

This is a bit of the “fake it til you make it” philosophy. Laughing reduces endorphins, lowers blood pressure and stress hormones while increasing immune function. Plus, it’s definitely infectious. Try to keep a straight face while watching this.

Eat

I know you want to eat ice cream. Buckets and buckets of ice cream. But choosing foods that are good for you – like fruits, veggies and whole grains, will make you feel better about yourself and will help your body process the stress it is feeling.

Purge

I get really stressed when my environment is cluttered. When it takes me fifteen minutes to find my purse - I am far from peaceful. Carving out some time to organize my home and get rid of anything I don't need, pays off big time.

Om

Meditation has been the most effective way of dealing with my stress. Everyone thinks their mind is too busy to meditate, but something really changes when you take a few moments to breathe and become aware of the present moment. It’s not easy, but it's so worth it. Having a support system is really helpful with this, so check out mediation groups in your town. In Charlottesville, we are lucky to have several meditation organizations that offer groups, such as the the UVA Mindfulness Center and Insight Meditation Community. 

So, let's just take a deep breath and we'll all make it through this joyous season in one piece.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STSL is closing up shop for the holidays, as Katherine and I will be traveling and spending time with our families. We wish you a very peaceful and happy holiday season!  

We'll be back soon, but until then - simplify, simplify, simplify. 

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com

 

 

I hab a cold: why I lub my neti pot

-By Lisa

Ain't it always the way? 

Husband has a glorious five days off, we have family in town and a beautiful, local Thanksgiving dinner to get on the table -- and I get one of those colds that leaves me curled up on the couch, shivering and whimpering.  

Damnit.

I tried getting really pissed off about the whole situation, but that didn't seem to improve conditions. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful that my family thinks the ideal holiday involves watching Eat, Pray, Love while I nap.

I am also grateful for the neti pot because it offered me a respite from the whole not-breathing-through-my-nose thing.

I thought I might embed a Youtube video of the neti pot in action…but I just couldn’t do that to you nice folks. Admittedly, it looks really freaking weird.

Though Oprah and Dr. Oz introduced the neti pot to pop culture, it's been widely practiced for centuries in India. Using a saline mixture (just a little sea salt in some warm water) I can safely flush out my nasal cavities and get rid of anything that shouldn't be in there, like bacteria or allergens.

The key to this process is getting the temperature of the water right. It needs to be pretty warm - clearly, not so hot you burn the inside of your sinuses, but pretty darn warm. You will know if it is not warm enough; you will find yourself thinking something along the lines of “gee, I bet this is what water boarding feels like.” Using the neti pot should not feel like torture. Oops, sorry. I mean it should not feel like an “interrogation method.”

While there are still times I need to resort to traditional medicine, I find the neti pot greatly extends my med-free time, so that's a big win. I can always breathe better after I use it and I've gotten used to the sensation and downright oddness of the experience.

Alright, I am now coughing all over the keyboard and I don't want to get you sick, so this is the end of this post.

ETA UPDATE

I called my today doctor to ask a question - something along the lines of "why am I not better, yet?"

The answer was because it's a bad cold, but I should "check out something called a neti pot, because that often helps the symptoms."

So take that for what it's worth!

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com