The best way to get vitamin D

When your skin is exposed to sunlight (without sunscreen), your body produces vitamin D. Just 10-15 minutes of exposure to sunlight on your face and arms each day should be adequate to ensure that you are not deficient in this essential vitamin. Keep in mind that sunscreen blocks UV rays and thus this process of vitamin D creation. So wait 10-15 minutes to apply your sunscreen if you are planning to spend more time outside. This short amount of non-blocked and non-burning time in the sun is not damaging to the skin- it is actually very healthy!

Why do we need vitamin D?

Vitamin D plays many different roles in our health, including:

• Greatly improving absorption of calcium for strong bones
• Boosting the immune system
• Protecting against some forms of cancer (colon, prostate, and breast)

Vitamin D-rich foods

If you live in a northern area or the weather is not currently conducive to catching a few rays, you can get vitamin D from dietary sources. The best food sources of vitamin D include fortified foods such as non-dairy milk products and cereals (non-vegan: dairy products, salmon, mackerel, egg yolks, and fish liver oils).

Try these combos for a vitamin D-rich breakfast or snack:

• Yogurt (dairy or fortified non-dairy) sprinkled with a fortified cereal, walnuts, and fresh fruit
• Fortified cereal with milk (dairy or fortified non-dairy) topped with fruit and slivered almonds

Makes 1 serving

1/2 cup water
4-5 ice cubes
1 large handful of raw spinach
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 orange, peeled
2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 heaping teaspoons of Vega Tropical Shake and Go Smoothie mix
1 inch piece of vanilla bean (optional)

2 Tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Combine the ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, cereal, raisins (and/or cranberries), nuts, cinnamon, hemp seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. To the flax mixture add nut butter, vanilla, brown sugar, applesauce, molasses, oil, and milk and mix well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Don't over-mix.
5. Scoop the dough about 2-3 Tbsp at a time and, using your hands, roll it into balls. As you place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, flatten them out into cookie shapes.
6. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

I have been stewing for a couple of months over my goals for the year and I now realize that I'm on a bit of a different path for 2011. I ordinarily go through quite a process to arrive at my intentions, but this year that isn't working for me. I have a tendency to make choices based heavily on the complexity or difficulty of completing the tasks. Something that is hard to do is worth the glory of the accomplishment, right? Hmm.

By choosing to pursue only really difficult things, I tend to create unnecessary stress for myself. I hold those goals over my own head and try to force things that just aren't ready to happen. It is easy to feel suffocated by this unneeded stress. Some degree of challenge is essential for growth but too much struggling, in areas that I am not truly connected with, is truly pointless.

Rather than choosing to walk the path that is the most difficult to traverse, this year I have chosen this phrase as my mantra: sink in. Instead of creating my regularly difficult To Do list for the year, I want to sink in to honoring what I need in the moment. To assemble a life of "I-would-love-to..."s and "too-good-to-be-true"s. I don't want to spend my time unnecessarily. I want to play and be creative. To explore and make messes. I love this:


I did create a list of ideas such as getting to the beach more often, soaking in hot mineral springs, climbing things with great views from the top, simmering pots of heirloom beans, making homemade yogurt and breads, doing more yoga, and writing creatively. My list does fill a page. The difference, though, is that I will navigate the pace and direction of things with my intuition instead of a timeline or spreadsheet. I won't crunch numbers. I'll just sink in.

What are you going to do in 2011?

1. Holding the chiles one at a time with metal tongs, quickly toast them by turning them an inch or two above an open flame for a few seconds until the aroma fills the kitchen. (Alternatively, toast chiles in a dry pan over medium heat, pressing them flat for a few seconds then flipping them over and pressing again.) When cool enough to handle, stem and seed the chiles, break them into pieces and put them in a blender along with tomatoes and their juice. (A food processor will work, though it won’t completely puree the chiles.)
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the onion and garlic to the blender with the tomato mixture. Process until smooth.
3. Return the pot to medium heat. Add the puree and stir continuously until thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 6 minutes. Add broth, water and epazote. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the beans and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the greens and season with salt to taste. Cook until the greens are wilted, about 2 minutes, depending on the type of greens.
5. Serve garnished with cilantro, avocado, and a squeeze of lime.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ pan with parchment paper. Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts (except chia seeds).
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, melted Earth Balance, chia (or flax) seeds, almond butter, applesauce (or pumpkin), molasses, maple syrup, and water. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until well combined.
3. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle brown sugar lightly over the top (optional). Bake for about 35 minutes, until brown around the edges. Cool in the pan for a few minutes then use the edges of parchment to lift them from the pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, cut the bars into squares. If they seem crumbly, you can refrigerate them for 30 minutes or so before cutting them.

• Roasted red pepper dip (recipe)
• Chickpea salad (recipe) - try adding a little cayenne for an extra kick
• Spicy edamame dip (recipe)

Speaking of veggies, we received this romanesco in our last CSA box. I LOVE the way that it looks!

This time of year can be a mixed bag of emotions for many people. The holidays apply pressure to be jolly. To bake and shop. To wrap and invite. To consume. The cloudy skies and early setting of the sun can keep us inside and away from the things that feed our souls (like friends and exercise) and drive us to the things that feed our bodies (although not well), like snack foods and eggnog lattes.

I have experienced bouts of this too.

The dance of maintaining balance seems to have an increasingly complex choreography. Over the years, I’ve become pretty adept at self-renewal. I find inspiration in many places and I’ve developed a list of things that I have come to depend on for shaking loose the clingy fingers of the blahs. I call my list my "bag of tricks to stay buoyant". When I notice the cloud cover settling over me, I go through this list in my mind to figure out where I'm out of balance.

With the help of excerpts from a blog that I wrote from 2005-2009 allibrew), here is my list:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, garam masala, amchoor powder, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes longer.
2. Stir in lentils, broth, and bulgar and bring to a boil. If you are using additional vegetables other than greens (e.g. carrots, bell peppers, etc.), add them now too. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for about 45 minutes. Add water, if necessary, if lentils get too thick- you can serve this thinner as a soup or thicker like chili.
3. Discard bay leaves. Stir in cilantro, lemon juice, and spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

• 3/4 cup pureed persimmon (peel and chop ~2 fuyu persimmons and puree in a blender or food processor)
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds (for protein and omega 3s)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon, cardamom, fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Topping: 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 1 tbsp melted margarine (Earth Balance), 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Combine the persimmon puree, non-dairy milk, vanilla, and oil in a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (all remaining ingredients except the apples and topping). Add the wet ingredients and the apples to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour the batter evenly into a cake pan lined with parchment paper.
3. Melt the margarine in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add the rest of the topping ingredients and combine well. Sprinkle the topping over the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes or until browned on top and edges look done. Cool before slicing.

I looked around online for a Turkey Trot in the area for Thanksgiving morning but I wasn't able to find a race close enough. I am, however, thankful for that in retrospect! Thanksgiving morning was COLD!!


Instead of braving the sub-zero morning, I decided to wait until the sun warmed things up to a balmy 24 degrees to head outside to play with my kids.

We bundled up. A lot.


Then we hit the "slopes" for some driveway sledding!

Since there were eight of us in a tiny cabin, you can imagine how crowded things were. I didn't take photos of our dinner but I did capture one of the appetizer dip that I invented for the occasion: Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta.


Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta
1 prepared recipe of cashew cheese (use 2 cups of cashews and as little water as possible)
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts

1. Divide cashew cheese into 3 equal parts. Line your container/mold with plastic wrap, letting it hang over the sides of the bowl. Place one part cashew cheese in the container and smooth over.
2. Place second part of cashew cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in a food processor and process until smooth and well-blended. Add this mixture to the bowl on top of the plain cashew cheese and smooth over the top.
3. Place third part of cashew cheese, basil leaves, and pine nuts in the food processor (washed after SD tomato layer), and process until smooth and well-blended. Add this pesto layer to the top of the bowl/mold and smooth over. Gently fold the excess plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. To serve, uncover the torta and place a serving plate on top of the bowl. Flip the bowl over and carefully remove the plastic. Garnish with pine nuts and a basil sprig (if you're fancy!) and serve with sliced baguette.

Did you know?... Cashews provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, protein, copper, magnesium, iron, manganese, and immune-boosting zinc. The nutritional yeast in the cashew cheese adds B vitamins (including B12) and more protein to this healthy appetizer!

Heading home was a little sketchy. We left a day early, hoping to beat the crowds. The roads were frozen and it was snowing sideways!


Thanks to 4-wheel drive and window defrosters we made it home safely!