Author Archives: Kathleen

Opportunities to Learn for FREE!

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An imporant healthy habit, as discussed in the Longevity Project, is lifelong learning.  Today there are several opportunities to pick up new skills and learn new subjects online.  Over the past year, Jeremy and I have found several resources to learn and actually receive a completion certificate from top universities for free.  Subjects include (but are not limited to) business, finance, nutrition, the sciences, engineering, programming, history, math and philosophy.

Check out the links below and see if there may be something worth your time. :-)

Coursera:  https://www.coursera.org/courses

MIT Open Courseware:  http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

Paleo Friendly Thai Beef Soup Recipe

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Tonight, we had an awesome Paleo friendly Thai beef soup. The recipe was inspired by our original Thai Chicken Soup Recipe and also the ingredients we have had on hand.  One of the key ingredients is our homemade beef broth which was made from the bones of the cows at Mourning Dove Ranch.  For weeks this summer, Jeremy has been making many batches of this fresh broth.  The aroma from this process has made both of us salivate as we think of grass-fed steaks!  Another inspiration has been the ingredients from our garden.  We are growing Thai basil, lemongrass and habanero in our grow camp.  Finally, the Paleo friendly part comes from our Swiss chard that we grew in the spring and the we preserved by blanching and freezing in early summer.  We tried Swiss chard in chicken soup and were struck by how the texture and taste of the chard seemed surprisingly similar to traditional noodles used in beef and chicken soups.  I knew we had an unbeatable combination to work with.

Ingredients include:

  • 2 lbs. stewing beef
  • 6 cups of homemade beef broth
  • 4 cups filtered water
  • 1 cup of frozen Swiss chard
  • 1 cup of chopped carrots
  • 1 cup of chopped celery
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 1 cup Thai basil
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • 1/4 cup of minced lemongrass
  • 2 habanero minced
  • sea salt

Add the broth and water to a soup pot. Bring it to a simmer on the stove. Add the stewing beef. Let them cook for 20 minutes or so. Add celery and carrots.

In a pan, brown onion and garlic with coconut oil. Add the mixture to the soup.

Let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes more. Stir occasionally. Add habenero, and lemongrass.  Add frozen chard.  Add sea salt to taste.

Serve this in large bowls. Add basil and cilantro.

We enjoyed the spices and heat of this modified Thai dish.  Try it tonight.

Book Review of The Luck Factor

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Several weeks ago I found the book “The Luck Factor” on Jeremy’s bookshelf.  He mentioned that it was insightful so I decided to read it, curious about what it might say.

The author, Dr. Richard Wiseman, has formal training in psychology and magic.  His unconventional nature led him to study the subject of luck in a way nobody had before.

As with The Longevity Project, Wiseman conducts a series of interviews with thousands of people who consider themselves as lucky, unlucky or neutral.  From each set of interviews, he finds trends in participant stories and then hones in key trends among the habits, thinking, and behaviors of each of these groups.  In addition to in-person, phone and written interviews, he conducts experiments to check on the consistency of trends.  From this, he finds the key factors of luck.  They are:

  • Maximize your possible opportunities.  This can be done by extending your network and spontaneously starting discussions with new people anywhere you are.  Have a relaxed attitude about life.  Lucky people are open to new experiences.
  • Listen to your luck instinct.  Wiseman warns against attachments.  Lucky people see what is actually in front of them.  They live in the present and not the past.
  • Expect good fortune.  Lucky people continue to attempt to achieve their life goals even when the odds are stacked against them.  Failure doesn’t stop them.  Positive expectations motivate them to take control of their lives.  Lucky people expect their interactions with others to be positive.
  • Turn bad luck into good luck.  Lucky people see the silver lining and expect that things will work out.  They also tend to learn from their mistakes.

Also similar to the Longevity Project, readers can take quizzes to assess if they have the traits of a lucky or unlucky person.  Wiseman provides tips on which behaviors and thoughts the reader should change to potentially change their fortune.

This book was a quick read and provided helpful reminders on key behaviors that are lucky (and healthy).  Before reading this book, I thought of myself as neutral.  While reading the book, I realized I have many of the traits and behaviors of the lucky population (even if I haven’t won the lottery).  Upon reflection, I have been lucky.

Dr. Oz Discusses Functional Medicine

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Recently, I saw an episode on Dr. Oz that surprised me.  It discussed doctors who work in the area of functional medicine.

This episode surprised me since the show usually discusses unusual foods and treatments to alleviate specific aliments.  Instead of providing a clear picture of how to obtain and maintain good health (in general), it makes good health appear complicated and confusing.  In addition, it doesn’t help that the show’s sponsors sell sugar-laden cereals and other very unhealthy processed foods!  OK- enough of my griping about Dr. Oz.

Functional medicine has many similarities to holism philosophy and it is very different from conventional medicine.  Rather than treating the symptoms of disease, it seeks to find and treat the root causes.  The experts of functional medicine featured on the show cite malnutrition and toxicity as the two main culprits causing disease. In addition, the doctors iterated that “food is medicine”.  This is similar to Hippocrates famous quote: “Let thy food be thy medicine”.  They work with patients to optimize their diets to eliminate processed foods, sugar and carbohydrates and to integrate healthy fats and proteins.  The doctors work with patients to solve digestive problems that can inhibit the absorption of nutrients and expelling of toxins (also known as leaky gut).

Another significant distinction between these two types of medicine is that conventional medicine identifies patients as either sick or healthy.  Functional medicine treat health as a wider spectrum extending from optimal health to various levels of degraded health and then to sickness.

Finally, functional medicine views the body as one integrated system.  Conventional medicine treats organs seperately and are divided by medical specialties.

The following links from the Dr. Oz website provide additional information about this field:

 

Healthy Pickle Recipe

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This summer, we are growing heirloom cucumbers known as lemon cucumbers.  As you might expect, they look like lemons but taste similar to traditional cucumbers.  We planted just one plant this year but now have dozens of these ready for picking.

As with other summer vegetables, they come in waves and do not last long in the fridge to eat with salads so I looked for ways to preserve them.  I found a wonderful and healthy pickle recipe in Nourishing Traditions that converts this summer vegetable into a healthy probiotic.  This recipe is also quick and easy to make.

Ingredients include:

  • 3 lemon cucumbers sliced with a 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill
  • 4 tablespoons of whey
  • 1 tablespoon of mustard seed
  • 1 cup of filtered water
  • 1 tablespoon of sea salt

A note on making whey:  Leave raw milk at room temperature for 1 to 4 days until milk solids separate from the semi-clear liquid (aka. whey).  Separate the whey from the milk solid by pouring the mixture through a cheese cloth.

In a bowl, add all ingredients.  Fold the mixture.  Then place in a clean wide mouth quart-sized jar.  Make sure that the vegetables are covered with fluid.  The fluid level should be one half of an inch from the top of the jar.  Close the jar lid tightly and let this sit at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.  Then move to the refrigerator for long term storage.

We have had the pickles by themselves and on top of grass-fed burgers.  We like the taste.  They have the taste of a dill pickle but are soft (not crisp like store-bought pickles).  You can use the same recipe to make pickles from other types of cucumbers (sliced or whole).

Enjoy!

Lembert Dome and Dog Lake

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A few days ago, I decided to head back to Tioga Pass and hike Lembert Dome and Dog Lake.  I first did this hike when I was twelve years old and remembered hiking the last few hundred feet on a hot day in the middle of the summer.  I remembered the crisp blue sky and the whiteness of the dome but I forgot about the dramatic 360 degree panoramic view.

I first headed up to Lembert Dome from the Stables parking lot.  As with other hikes in the Tioga Pass area, there are wonderful mountain views as you climb.  The hike starts at about 8600 feet and climbs 900 feet.  As I hiked upwards, I saw several families with small kids.  This reminded me that this was a moderate hike.

The last part of the Dome hike is over the domes of granite.  It is steep but the granite is rough so it is easy to maintain traction.  The force and the whistling of the afternoon mountain winds are more noticeable at the top of the Dome.  Also, the winds and cloud cover helped keep temperatures comfortable.

The view from the top is one of the best in Yosemite National Park.  You can see an unobstructed 360 degree panoramic view.

That day, the weather was fair with both dissipating and building cumulus clouds.  Sometimes, Jeremy and I have been on top when there was thunderstorm activity off in the distance.  This was very beautiful, too.

On the way back to the Stables, I stopped by Dog Lake.  The water was calm and reflected the mountains in the background.

Spectacular View of Mono Lake

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This past Sunday, we drove to Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park and hiked to Mono Pass and to Bloody Canyon.

This is a beautiful 7.5 mile to 8 mile hike that starts at about 9,500 feet.  The trail head is located just off of Tioga Pass road.  Even though Jeremy and I hike and bike regularly, we still needed to break a few times since this is a fairly large elevation change from where we live (at 3000 feet) in Groveland, CA.

The hike starts with a gradual upward slope.  Meadows give spectacular view points for the surrounding mountains.  Some of which still have snow in August!

At the end of the Mono Pass hike, we see the boundary for Yosemite National Park and Inyo National Forest.  It is worth hiking further on the trail to Mono Lake to see the view of the lake peeking out of the Bloody Canyon.  The hike reaches a top elevation of approximately 10,600 feet.

I looked up hoping to see gliders overhead since the cloud height and quality looked promising for glider pilots.  I was one of them overhead in this area just a few weeks before.  Unfortunately, I must have missed them:-)

Fermented Salsa Recipe

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Recently, we have been picking several pounds of heirloom tomatoes from our garden.  Many have accumulated in the kitchen.  In an effort to use them before they spoil, we decided to make fermented salsa.  Inspired from a Nourishing Traditions recipe and The Art of Fermentation, I made several jars worth or about 6 cups.

To start with, have several clean jars and lids on hand (they should all be washed with hot water prior to using them).  Next gather all you ingredients.

Ingredients include:

  • 6 ripe large tomatoes that have been skinned, seeded and diced
  • 1 medium diced onion
  • 5 to 6 diced jalapeno peppers
  • the juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 bunch of cilantro diced (stems removed)
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon of minced oregano
  • 6 tablespoons of whey
  • 6 to 8 minced garlic cloves

A note on making whey:  Leave a cup of raw milk at room temperature for 1 to 4 days until milk solids separate from the semi-clear liquid (aka. whey).  Separate the whey from the milk solid by pouring the mixture through a cheese cloth.

I started by preparing the tomatoes.  To skin them, place one at a time in filtered boiling water for 5 seconds or so.  You’ll see that the skin is bunching up.  Then remove and peel the skin off the rest of the way.  After skinning the tomatoes, I cut each perpendicular to the core and scoop out the seeds with my finger.  After removing seeds, I then diced them.  I used a combination of Yellow Boy and Purple Cherokee tomatoes.  I suggest using your favorite ones. I added the tomatoes  to a large bowl.

Next, I cut the lemons in half and squeezed their juice into the bowl.  Be careful not to get lemon seeds into your mix.

I then added the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and folded the mixture with my hands.  You may want gloves for this process since the jalapeno can sting.  Also, you may not want to use all the jalapeno seeds if you want a milder salsa.  We like it hot, so we added the seeds of 4 of the 6 jalapenos.

We put the mixture into the jars and closed the lids tight.  We put them on our window sill for five days so that the fermentation process could start.  This morning, I open the jars to see how they looked.  Mold was on the surface of the salsa for 3 of the 4 jars.  This is normal since the oxygen present at the top of the mix and the warmth of the room promotes mold to grow.  I scooped this off with a spoon and put them in the refrigerator.

I did taste the salsa from one of the jars.  It may be the best salsa I have ever had!  It is spicy hot and has a great tomato flavor.  The other ingredients are more subtle but blend well to give the classic fresh salsa taste.

Give this recipe a try and let us know what you think.

Our Visit to Mourning Dove Ranch

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In the Fall of last year, we bought some wonderful grass-fed beef from Mourning Dove Ranch.  We have had several wonderful meals with steaks, roasts and ground beef for the past 9 months.  We stopped by again yesterday to pick up some beef bone from which we will make bone broth.  Since Scelestia Cook and her husband, Gary, were in town, Jeremy and I sat down ask them more about their operation.

Both Scelestia and Gary are animal lovers.  They enjoy horses, cows and dogs.  At times, they have also rehabilitated animals and enjoy the nurturing process..  The cows are raised in a natural herd environment on picturesque pastures.  A pond, natural springs and giant oaks cover the area.

When the cows reach approximately, two years of age, they are humanely put down.  The cows are never stressed by transport on a truck.   They are not treated with antibiotics.  They are not fattened.  Gary has some previous experience with feed lots and feels that the stress on the cow is both inhumane and  affects the quality of the product that eventually gets to the consumer.  They are both committed to raise and treat the cows humanely from the beginning of their lives to the end.

Scelestia and Gary have an interesting and complimentary combination of experiences.  Scelestia was originally trained as a culinary chef in San Francisco.  Her and her mother purchased pasture lands in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and then leased it out.  Gary grew up on a ranch in Mendocino where he learned how to raise cattle.  When Scelestia and Gary met, they decided to combine their resources and started Mourning Dove Ranch.  Today, they work together on the Ranch and provide wonderful beef.

They are planning to expand their efforts using similar principals to raise pigs, turkey and chicken.  If you are interested in learning more about Mourning Dove Ranch and their products, contact Scelestia or Gary Cook at 209-962-7331.

Most Claimed Research Findings Are False

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In a recent article in STANFORD magazine, I came across the work of J.A. Ioannidis who caused a metaphoric earthquake in the medical field.  J.A. Ioannidis is a specialist in meta-research or the study of studies.  He along with a team of researchers re-analyzed data from previous published medical studies and found that “it can be proven that most claimed research findings are false”.  His pivotal work was published in 2005 in the Public Library of Science.  You can download the paper from this link:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0020124

This is a significant problem since research findings are used to:

  • market treatments for the chronically and critically ill
  • dictate the diets we should feed our families to ensure good health
  • provide guidance to medical experts on how they should treat patients.

Ioannidis’ team analysis found that published studies often lacked reproducible results.  They also found that the studies themselves used ill-founded strategies for claiming positive research findings.

Bias is one of the key culprits for this problem.  Biased findings occur in industry- sponsored studies.  However, they also occur with funding from most other sources.  The reasoning is that medical professionals feel pressure to publish in high impact journals to promote their career and secure future funding.  To do this, they need to report high impact findings in their research.  Negative or null research findings do not receive the same attention.  The team estimates that 99% of the studies they reviewed yielded null results.

Due to the existing health and health care crisis in the U.S., Ioannidis’ work is recieving attention in the medical community.  We hope this will lead to greater scrutiny of ongoing medical research and the claims that researchers make.