#nourishyourresilience

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What ever happened to mental hygiene?” he asked rhetorically. “It doesn’t exist—and never did. When you went through high school, you were never taught how to deal with stress, how to deal with trauma, how to deal with tension and anxiety—with the whole list of mood impairments. There’s no preventive maintenance. We know how to prevent cavities. But we don’t teach children how to be resilient, how to cope with stress on a daily basis.

William J. Broad, The Science of Yoga: The Myths and the Rewards

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Nothing is Separate, By Louisa Borecki, 2019

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Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going inside ourselves.

Bessel Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score

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Turmeric and Ginger Squash Soup

(Vegan and Gluten Free, Self-Awarded Potluck Winner)

Note to Reader: Do not be dismayed by the length of this recipe, it’s really quite simple and not time intensive- I’m just a verbose recipe writer)

2 large squashes of your choice (Butternut and acorn come highly recommended)

1 carton vegetable broth (or any other broth of your choice)

Avocado oil (and/or ghee, butter, or olive oil)

2 cans coconut milk (full fat)

Large knob of ginger

1 head of garlic

1 onion

2 large fresh turmeric knobs (if you can’t find fresh turmeric, 1 spoonful of powder will suffice)

Salt and pepper

Optional:

Garam Masala 

Red pepper flakes 

1-2 spoonfuls tahini

Green onion or coriander for garnish

First- The Squash

1) Preheat oven to 375

2) Halve or quarter squashes. Douse them liberally with oil of your choosing (consider a high smoke point oil like Avocado oil since we will be roasting this at a high temperature). Put them flesh side down in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes until thoroughly soft and squashable (meanwhile make the aromatics) 

Second- The Spices

1) Dice up the triumvirate of spice: garlic, ginger, and onion.

2) Heat pan (preferably cast iron) on your stove over medium heat. Add a generous 3-5 tablespoons of your oil of choice. Add onions, ginger, garlic. Add the turmeric (diced or grated)

3) Sauté for 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent (Add Garam Masala and red pepper flakes if using) Sauté another couple minutes. If spices stick to pan or are beginning to burn, add a sip of broth to them. 

Third: The Blending

1) Using either an immersion blender or food processor- blend together the squash (sans skin), spices, and 1-2 cups broth. It should be quite thick at this stage.

2) Taste for salt, pepper, any additional flavors (you want the soup to be extremely thick and flavorful at this point.)

3) Add 1-2 cans coconut milk until your desired consistency is reached. (If you’re adding a couple spoonfuls of tahini for added rich nuttiness- now’s the time)

4) Warm soup over stove or put in crock pot until you’re ready to serve

The Footnotes: How is this recipe nourishing my body?

Now that your hands and every hand towel you own are permanently stained cucurmin-yellow, here are the highlights of why this soup optimizes your body’s natural detoxification pathways (chicken soup for the soul- one might say).

1) Squash is packed with Vitamin C. Your adrenal glands need high amounts of Vitamin C to function properly. Adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, and your body’s internal response to stress. Having these bad boys regulating at their top capacity empowers your body’s resilience.

2) The Triumvirate: Garlic, Onion, and Ginger. Compounds in garlic support the immune responders in your body, protect your heart, and scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS)*. Onions contain antioxidant compounds that fight inflammation. Ginger inhibits ROSs  *(ROSs- much like ROUS’s in The Princess Bride, ROSs are stressful on the body and are ideally minimized in your general vicinity)

3) Curcurmin (the active ingredient in turmeric) is an antioxidant powerhouse that has been linked to happy brain functions and further killers of the dreaded ROSs (in your body, not in the Fire Swamp)

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The Brain is a Fine and Splendid Place, By Louisa Borecki 2019

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Nourish Your Resilience

The following posts are suggestions of practical wisdom. They have been gathered and curated by Louisa A. Borecki (life long artist, current student of naturopathic nutrition, and proprietor of this blog)

First- a brief orientation.

Who is this for? Any human navigating stress on their body. Narrowing that down a bit more from  “everyone in the world ever in the history of human existence…” 

Here are a few encounterable instances that trigger stress in your body (thereby all its wonderful organs, systems, and pathways):

Disordered eating

Chronic or yo-yo dieting

Physical injury

Emotional stress due to relationships, work, or tuning into politics

Trauma (acute or developmental)

Environmental pollutants and toxins

Fear and anxiety around climate change and ever mounting world unrest 

Some of these might hit closer to home than others. 

Stress is inevitable.

Our bodies are hard wired to handle stress. 

Our bodies are resilient. 

We can nourish our bodies with food, movement, art, and rest to support our internal systems that meet and mitigate our stress.

What is it?: Recipes, Artwork, Words and Wisdom, Yoga postures 

Why I am publishing this? As a celebration of the work and wisdom of my mentors who have shared their inspiration on nourishing their own resilience. And also for the food. 

Where: These invitations and inspirations are to be peppered in throughout your daily life. During your meal times, your free moments, your social media life, your quiet moments.

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I try to remember that “resilient” is not synonymous with “always strong” or “always calm.” I try to honor feeling weak and tired, just as I appreciate feeling energetic and graceful. As one of my dear friends reminded me, “Sensation is the only way your body has to communicate with you,” so don’t get angry at it; listen.

Abby Kraai, Yoga Educator, Portland OR

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Forward Fold, By Louisa Borecki 2018

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The Recipes: An Introduction

What do all these recipes have in common and why did you pick them?

1. These recipes use many of the same ingredients (turmeric, ginger, garlic, tahini, green onions, squash, maple syrup, avocado oil, and Bragg’s amino acids). This is so you can make a variety of dishes from staple ingredients you always have in your fridge and pantry. This is my core tenet of home cooking- it is almost always more cost effective, time effective, and creates opportunities for creativity and variety in your cooking) 

To me, nourishing your body with food is as much about how you cook, how you eat, and who you eat with as it is about what is going into your body.

2. I chose these recipes because they are easy to make vegan or gluten free (if they aren’t already) which gives them the PNW Potluck Stamp Of Approval (™ pending). Potlucks create opportunities to eat with others. Eating with your community is a core part of participating in it. 

3. These recipes are warm. Literally and figuratively. Sensation is the only way our body has to communicate with us. These are meals you can feel. They are heavy with spices and flavor.

They are meant to surprise and delight your body with their warmth.

My Final Word On These Recipes: Trust your body knows what it’s doing. There are no serving sizes attached because it is up to your body to decide. These are not diet foods, nor “health” foods or recipes to “fix” your health. My bottom line for nourishing your resilience with food? Eat. Whatever you are hungry for. Whenever you are hungry. Honor your appetite.

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@mynameisjessamyn, By Louisa Borecki 2019

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“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

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Resources: Books

“You Are What You Read” 

              -Me, just now.

The Body Keeps the Score, By Bessel van der Koch

In The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk, MD, explores the ways in which trauma rewires the brain and changes the way people experience the world. Trauma affects the mind and body immensely and prevents those affected from living in the present.

The F*ck It Diet, By Caroline Dooner

Irreverent and empowering, The F*ck It Diet is a call to arms for anyone who feels guilt or pain over food, weight, or their body. It's time to give up the shame and start thriving.

The Heart of Yoga, By D.K.V Desikachar

A pragmatic, down-to-earth, and open-minded approach to the tradition of yoga.

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress Disease Connection, By Gabor Maté, M.D

Can a person literally die of loneliness? Is there such a thing as a ""cancer personality""? Drawing on scientific research and the author's decades of experience as a practicing physician, this book provides answers to these and other important questions about the effect of the mind-body link on illness and health and the role that stress and one's individual emotional makeup play in an array of common diseases.

We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, By Samantha Irby

Sometimes stress doesn’t have to be mitigated with organic squash and meditation. 

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Inspiration is everywhere, always. What a marvelous responsibility to be on the lookout for it!

Kris Olson, Yoga Educator, On nourishing your resilience

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The Sauces

“Cooking comes down to two things: your sauce and your base- or structural component, if you will. Some can live without structure, but you can’t truly love in life without sauce” 

                  - Nikki Maksomovíç, while cooking me pasta sauce one night

Abby Kraai’s Ginger Dressing 

(Over Roasted Root Vegetables or Literally Anything Ever)

½ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 Tbl toasted sesame oil (optional)

¼ C rice vinegar 

2 Tbl Bragg’s (or soy sauce)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch chunk of ginger (or more if you’re feeling spicy), peeled and minced

2 Tbl honey or maple syrup

¼ C Water

Mix ingredients. Really shake ‘em up. Pour on everything. 

The Footnotes: 

(Please see my ode to the Triumvirate in squash soup recipe)   

Lucille’s Lemon Tahini Dip

1 C tahini

1 C avocado oil (or vegetable oil)

1 C water

⅓ C lemon juice (preferably fresh squeezed)

¼ C tamari (or braggs’s liquid amino acids if you’re avoiding soy)

2 garlic cloves (more or less to taste)

Optional for boosted vitamin and flavor enhancement:

½ small red onion, diced

½ small bell pepper, diced

1 stalk celery diced

1 tsp turmeric (because we love it)

Blend all ingredients well in blender. Serve as a hearty salad dressing; a dip for veggies, a sauce over potatoes, grains, steamed or roasted veggies, or a sauce for chicken/falafel. Note: If you’re adding vegetables, I have found that it doesn’t keep as long in the fridge

The Footnotes: 

Tahini: A Love Song

Have I mentioned that 2 tablespoons of tahini contains 27% DV of copper at 10% DV selenium? Copper is a key player in your body’s ability to absorb iron and synthesize hemoglobin. Granted, brazil nuts are truly the most potent source of selenium, but considering the role of selenium in thyroid function and its affinity for heavy metals which aids in the body’s detoxification- we’ll rejoice in any selenium we can find. 

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Sesame Noodles

(I typically make this with whole rice pasta or thick linguini- but any noodles that suits your preference will work great)

1 box pasta or your choice- cooked al dente as per instructions on box

Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 T. Rice vinegar (red wine would work if necessary) 

1 T. Brown sugar (or maple syrup)

3 T. Tahini

3 T. peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

¼ C Tamari (or Bragg’s Amino Acids)

½ - 1 T. hot oil or garlic chili paste

6 T Sesame oil

¼ - ½ C Water (to desired consistency)

Garnishes: Sesame seeds, cilantro, green onion

Mix sauce ingredients in blender or food processor. Liberally coat noodles with sauce. Add garnish.

POSSIBLE ADDITIONS: Mix additions of your choice into the warm cooked pasta before adding sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

TOFU: add cubed tofu that’s been baked at 350 on an oiled sheet pan for 20 minutes

CHICKEN: cut up or shredded chicken

BROCCOLI: lightly steamed or blanched. 

The Footnotes: 

Sesame oil (and avocado oil, for that matter, which has also been applied liberally in all of these recipes) is a wonderful source of unsaturated fatty acids (in the case of sesame oil- 82% of it is unsaturated). The presence of lignans along with tocopherols and phytosterols (all the fancy names for substances that are currently being thoroughly researched for their suspected role in preventing hormonal imbalances and preventing cardiovascular disease) provide a defense mechanism against reactive oxygen species 

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Our society throws crazy shade at anyone whose body differs from the models featured in Western media. The only thing that you can control is your reaction to that. Ultimately, words only have negative power if you give them negative power. I choose not to.

Jessamyn Stanley, Yoga Instructor and Body Positive Advocate