July 08 Newsletter

July
Summer is here! (...and so are the Summer Holidays)

It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I've gone and come back, I'll find it at home.
Rumi

This past year of my life just "flew" by. For the last time this academic year, I flew to NYC. I got on the plane and did my little ritual of tuning my meridians to the time in NY. Before takeoff I was fast asleep, I guess due to the fact that in NY it was almost 4:00 a.m. Or maybe I was just tired. Forty minutes after takeoff I felt someone touching my arm. I opened my eyes and the stewardess was holding a tray that said VEG on it: "Would you like to eat?" she asked. Instead I asked myself: "Did she have to wake me?". There was an empty seat between me and the other passenger, an elderly man in his late 70's, and I opened the table to that seat and said, half asleep: "Please put it here". They always bring the Vegetarian (which I ordered) and the Kosher meals before serving everyone else, so my VEG meal sat between me and the elderly man, who later told me his whole life story and that his name was Alex. In the meantime I fell fast asleep again. The next time I opened my eyes Alex had "MY" vegetarian meal on his table and was in the midst of opening the warm Tofu dish. Instinctively I said, "That is mine!", but immediately, remembering that I actually brought my own food, said: "It's OK! I have my own". All I needed from the airplane meal tray was the cutlery.

For those of you who have newly joined, a short review: These last 9 months I have been studying holistic nutrition in the Big Apple. I have come to master food for flight. I will give a few tips on how we can eat healthy on the go, since summer is here and many of us will be moving around our beautiful planet.

Food Focus: Raw and Cooling Salads - my favorite!
Why is it that in the summer we naturally crave more fresh and raw foods? These foods have a cooling effect on the body. The lightness and high water, fiber and vitamin content work together to act as our internal air conditioning during these warm months. At this time of year we also need less dense, high-energy food because we get so much energy from being outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

There is no better season than summer to have fun creating your own fresh, tasty, creative salad combinations. By simply tossing together several of your favorite raw veggies (and olive oil) with any whole grains and/or legumes - you have a perfect meal for a hot summer's day. Try your favorite leafy lettuce with various sliced, diced or grated veggies. The possible combinations are endless. Fresh herbs are a wonderful option to mix in, as they are packed full of nutritious flavor. Experiment with adding diverse forms of protein to your salads, such as nuts, seeds, beans, tofu, or fish (all organic if possible).

I make an easy dressing, pouring from each bottle right onto the salad: olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil. I sprinkle generously with spices (cumin, cinnamon and turmeric), a couple tablespoons of freshly ground flax seeds (for maximum nutrition - Omega 3 Fatty Acids) and toss it all together.
It is sooo Yummy!

Salads are a great opportunity to try a new vegetable. What are some creative flavors you've never tried before? Beets and mint? Radish and arugula? Squash with mango?
Whatever you choose, have fun with your food, be creative, colorful and stay cool.

Recipes on the go:
So Alex was eating my Vegetarian meal, and from my own bag I took out my healthy flight meal:

1. A big plastic box (not that great ecologically, but can be reused) filled with a colorful salad, made with a variety of many green leaves and herbs (for oxygen) and spices. On top of the salad I had placed a little tied up plastic bag, containing olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil. I made a little hole in the bag and squirted the dressing onto the salad, closed the box and shook it around, so the dressing coated all of it.

2. A little plastic box with cooked whole grain rice (or quinoa, kasha, millet or any other whole grain) with homemade tahini sauce poured on top.

3. A little plastic box with beans (any kind, or peas).

4. A bag with a few sheets of nari seaweed - I tore the sheets into 4 smaller squares and placed a bit of rice+beans+salad in the middle of each piece, folded and ate it. Sushi to go!

Other good treats that I take with me when I'm moving around:
1. Dried fruit and nuts
2. Apples or any other sturdy fruit
3. Carrots, cucumbers or celery
4. Peas in the pod (harder to find in Israel)
5. Organic dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao - one of the best and tastiest antioxidants on the planet).

Many times when we are traveling it is hard to eat healthy however it really is very easy to put together a meal for the road that will nourish us, both physically and mentally.

I honestly believe that had I been eating the airplane food: industrial, canned, processed, full of chemicals, preservatives, herbicides, salt, sugar, white flour ... and the list can go on and on - I wouldn't have made it to the end of the school year.

We are what we eat and what we eat changes everything!

Have a great and cool summer.

Coming up!

Nutrition and Yoga Retreat - Ananda Ashram, Upstate NY
On September 19-21, 2008
For all New Yorkers, Israelis or whoever brings themselves to the NY area
3 days of YOGA, MEDITATION, and NUTRITION practiced in the spirit of yoga: yummy yoga, yoga with our food, healthy and easy meals, eating for grounding energy, what's wrong with sugar?, make your own healthy chocolate, and more
Held in the magical & special Ananda Ashram www.anandaashram.org
With Elias Lopez (Subrahmanya) and Talya Lewin
Space is limited
For more information and to make a reservation please contact:
In NY: Elias at amoryoga@yahoo.com
In Isreal: Talya 054-4670239, talya_l@netvision.net.il

Bulletin Board

New Horizon
A great place to buy all the products related to a healthy lifestyle is - New Horizon
http://www.newhorizon.co.il/ phone no: 1-700-702-009
Tel Aviv store - located at 109 Nachalat Binyamin St.
Buying through this newsletter will provide a 5%-10% discount on all the stores products
Just mention this newsletter by Talya or when buying through the net use the code: SPRINGSPROUTS
Should you have any trouble using this coupon online, the store's staff will be happy to help.

New in Raanana - Neshima
An acquaintance of mine recently opened a salt clinic in Raanana called "Neshima".
The purpose of the salt room is to treat different problems in the respiratory tract such as asthma, bronchitis and chronic head colds www.saltclinic.co.il
49 Hachayil St. Raanana 09-772-2122
Whoever comes through this newsletter will receive a 10% discount.

Talya Lewin
Holistic health counselor