Hello Positive Eaters,
This week my first article for ChiLiving appeared in their monthly newsletter. ChiLiving Inc., are responsible for bringing you the practices of ChiRunning and ChiWalking, an energy efficient and injury free way to run and walk. The article they asked me to write was to center around heart health. This is quite a popular topic considering the high rates of heart disease and related maladies. These are best avoided by cardiovascular exercise and healthy nourishment.
ChiRunning and ChiWalking made exercise more enjoyable for people by teaching them to focus on their center and begin all of our movements from that place. I hope to make eating healthy enjoyable for you by showing you how fun and stimulating it can be. This alone cannot protect our heart.
The heart truly is the beat to which we keep the dance of life to. Every single stroke of its valves sends life throughout our body. Whether we move or stand still this internal band plays on. This is why heartbreak is so difficult for so many of us. Our hearts join in harmony with anothers and now we suddenly have a partner in the dance of life. When we disengage from this person the band plays on. How confusing?
Maybe the seeds of heart "dis ease" begin here. We know longer become comfortable with our own heart beat. We try and stuff it away like Poe's character in the Tell Tale Heart. We drown it in foods that put up blockages in our arteries in an attempt to choke it off. We become sedentary out of fear of feeling our heart beat within our chest. We run from our heart rather than run with it until it finally stops flowing life through our veins.
I spend at least an hour a day with my heart. Running through the streets, on the treadmill or in the woods. I need to listen to it so I know if I am pushing my body too hard. Often this spills over into my day. There is sometimes pain in my heart and sometimes joy. I notice that my heart only feels pain if I am blocking myself from an experience. I am by no means an expert on matters of the heart. I do know that the heart beats on its own accord, therefore we can never be its master. Our hearts will always keep us safe if we let them experience life. Give your heart a healthy body and a full and wonderful life and you will be dancing for many years that I can be sure of.
Stay Positive,
Matthew
view my heart health article by following the link below
http://www.chirunning.com/newsletters/latest.htm
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Say I love you with Wheat Berries!
Hello Positive Eaters,
Valentine's Day is this coming Sunday. I find that people's emotional standpoint on this holiday ranges from apathetic to cynical to overly attached. I just think it is a great day to get in touch with our own hearts and the hearts of other people. I wanted to make a dish that was really healthy for you and would be a great precursor to some really good chocolate.
I picked up this recipe at Whole Foods in Andover the other day and was sitting on it. I decided to put it together today. I soaked the wheatberries all day Monday and cooked them on Tuesday night. If you never tried wheatberries they are definitely a hearty grain and you will enjoy them in this dish. I put together the dressing and started peeling a large beet. When I finished peeling, I place the beet on the cutting board and stood back for a minute, it looked just like a real human heart!
I grated both a beet and a carrot into the bowl with the wheatberries and added some chopped scallions. I began to view my creation as a culinary Valentine that was coming together right before my eyes.
I started mixing this together with the dressing and was happy to see that the entire dish was taking on a reddish hue...perfect for the holiday. To add some sweetness I added some organic Golden Raisins to my creation and stood back once again...it's easier to take the picture that way :)
I tosed this together lightly and added it to a small glass dish to sample. The dish was suprisingly sweet and satisfying. The succulent raisins give nice contrast to the crisp carrots and beets. This will be a perfect precursor to a full on chocolate experience. Enjoy this recipe and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Wheat Berry Salad (courtesy Whole Foods Market with a couple tweaks)
2 cups uncooked Wheat Berries
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Orange
1 1/2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Flaxseed, Grapeseed or Canola Oil
1 large Red Beet peeled and grated
1 Carrot grated
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1 small bunch Scallion thinly sliced
Place Wheat Berries in large bowl and cover with filtered water overnight. Drain and rinse and cook like any other grain (place in rice cooker or sauce pan with four cups of water bring to a boil and back off to simmer). Let these cool on the counter for several hours. They will become more tender when they cool.
Cut in Orange in half and add the juice of it to medium sized bowl (add zest of orange if desired). Stir in Lemon Juice, oil and Salt and Pepper, this will be the dressing. Pour dressing in with cooled Wheat Berries and mix together well. Add grated Beets and Carrots as well as chopped Scallions. Add juice from the other half of the Orange and a tiny bit more Salt and Pepper and mix together well. Finally, add in the Golden Raisins and toss lighlty. This dish is ready to serve!
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Valentine's Day is this coming Sunday. I find that people's emotional standpoint on this holiday ranges from apathetic to cynical to overly attached. I just think it is a great day to get in touch with our own hearts and the hearts of other people. I wanted to make a dish that was really healthy for you and would be a great precursor to some really good chocolate.
I picked up this recipe at Whole Foods in Andover the other day and was sitting on it. I decided to put it together today. I soaked the wheatberries all day Monday and cooked them on Tuesday night. If you never tried wheatberries they are definitely a hearty grain and you will enjoy them in this dish. I put together the dressing and started peeling a large beet. When I finished peeling, I place the beet on the cutting board and stood back for a minute, it looked just like a real human heart!
I grated both a beet and a carrot into the bowl with the wheatberries and added some chopped scallions. I began to view my creation as a culinary Valentine that was coming together right before my eyes.
I started mixing this together with the dressing and was happy to see that the entire dish was taking on a reddish hue...perfect for the holiday. To add some sweetness I added some organic Golden Raisins to my creation and stood back once again...it's easier to take the picture that way :)
I tosed this together lightly and added it to a small glass dish to sample. The dish was suprisingly sweet and satisfying. The succulent raisins give nice contrast to the crisp carrots and beets. This will be a perfect precursor to a full on chocolate experience. Enjoy this recipe and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Wheat Berry Salad (courtesy Whole Foods Market with a couple tweaks)
2 cups uncooked Wheat Berries
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Orange
1 1/2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Flaxseed, Grapeseed or Canola Oil
1 large Red Beet peeled and grated
1 Carrot grated
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1 small bunch Scallion thinly sliced
Place Wheat Berries in large bowl and cover with filtered water overnight. Drain and rinse and cook like any other grain (place in rice cooker or sauce pan with four cups of water bring to a boil and back off to simmer). Let these cool on the counter for several hours. They will become more tender when they cool.
Cut in Orange in half and add the juice of it to medium sized bowl (add zest of orange if desired). Stir in Lemon Juice, oil and Salt and Pepper, this will be the dressing. Pour dressing in with cooled Wheat Berries and mix together well. Add grated Beets and Carrots as well as chopped Scallions. Add juice from the other half of the Orange and a tiny bit more Salt and Pepper and mix together well. Finally, add in the Golden Raisins and toss lighlty. This dish is ready to serve!
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
Hi Positive Eaters,
Okay...you are looking at the subject line and saying "Brussel Sprouts...really". These weird little cabbage looking things get a bad wrap. When fresh they are actually quite sweet and pack a ton of amazing nutrients. None of that really matters though because this recipe tastes like a dessert. That is right a salad that tastes like a dessert. Give it a try and if you don't like it...well I will certainly eat it for you!
Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs Brussel Sprouts
1 cup Slivered Almonds
1/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Handful or Raisins and/or Dried Cranberries
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Shred or chop brussel sprout and place in a salad bowl (a food processor can also be used). Add slivered almonds, dried cranberries and/or raisins. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Neat Fact: brussel sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable and are very good for your lungs and heart. Try out out other cruciferous vegetables such as kale, spinach or collard greens!
Stay Positive,
Matthew
Okay...you are looking at the subject line and saying "Brussel Sprouts...really". These weird little cabbage looking things get a bad wrap. When fresh they are actually quite sweet and pack a ton of amazing nutrients. None of that really matters though because this recipe tastes like a dessert. That is right a salad that tastes like a dessert. Give it a try and if you don't like it...well I will certainly eat it for you!
Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad
Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs Brussel Sprouts
1 cup Slivered Almonds
1/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
Handful or Raisins and/or Dried Cranberries
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Shred or chop brussel sprout and place in a salad bowl (a food processor can also be used). Add slivered almonds, dried cranberries and/or raisins. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Neat Fact: brussel sprouts are a cruciferous vegetable and are very good for your lungs and heart. Try out out other cruciferous vegetables such as kale, spinach or collard greens!
Stay Positive,
Matthew
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