January. The starting month of A Year of Healing and Health. This month’s focus is on whole foods and simple body movement. I like to think of whole foods as those that remember where they came from. If you can look at something and “see” what it started as, you’re doing pretty well. I don’t mean those things that have been chopped, pressed, and reformed to look like the source, but those that actually are; whole fruits, grains, legumes, vegetables, and meats. There are countless lists of all these items out there. Here is a listing of the ones that we use in my house on a regular basis.
Grains: Brown Rice, Quinoa, Whole Wheat Flour, Pop Corn, Rye Berries, Millet, Wheat Berries
Fruits: Apples, Bananas, Citrus, Berries, Plums, Pears, and Mangos
Legumes: Pinto beans, Black beans, Green lentils, Red Lentils, Garbanzo beans, and Peas
Vegetables: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Cabbage, Zucchini, Broccoli, Green beans, Garlic, and Potatoes of various types.
Meats: Chicken(whole or parts, and Eggs), Beef(Ground, or steak or roasts with or without bones), Fish(usually boneless skinless filets), Occasional Pork(usually , Sometimes Bacon
Extras: Real Butter(unsalted), Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Coconut milk, Real Cream, Half and Half, Whole milk Yogurt, Evaporated Cane Juice, Sea Salt, Black Peppercorns, herbs, and spices(real spices not sugar or salt added blends).
In our exploration of whole foods this week, we found chicken soft tacos, with pinto beans and rice with lettuce, salsa, and cheese. The chicken was poached (slowly boiled) with onions, celery, carrot, dried Ancho chili peppers, salt and pepper. The pinto beans were ones that we grew in our community garden plot earlier this year and then dehydrated on trays on our kitchen table for a week or so. We soaked these overnight, then pressure cooked them with onion, carrot, pepper, and bay leaf. The beans turned out fresh and creamy and full of flavor, and it was fun to know we grew these. The meal itself was spectacular. The depth of flavor was astounding, and the simplicity of the meal was refreshing. We used the leftovers to make chicken enchiladas one night, and chicken tortilla soup the next.
Our exploration of movement was simply walking. We drove out to the beach on Saturday and walked along the shore. We were fortunate it didn’t rain while we were there. My kids made a sand castle, had some imaginary swordplay with imaginary monsters, and ended up playing “chicken” with the waves, which added in a few short stints of sprinting, but it was mostly walking. We could see and hear the waves, smell and taste the salt in the air, and listen to and watch the seagulls and other marine life while we meandered along the shoreline. It was simple, easy, and enjoyable. I realize it’s not possible for everyone to have that same experience, but one of the easiest forms of movement free and available to almost everyone is walking. Walking carries great benefits for your overall health, your cardiovascular health, as well as your sense of well being. You don’t have to be able to walk long distances either due to time constraints or fitness level, because it all adds up, and every little bit counts. Start with five minutes, and go from there. If you can safely walk outside all the better, otherwise walking safely indoors is a fine option, too. You can walk on a treadmill, or even in the store. Many malls open up early for walkers to make their rounds in a safe and weather protected environment. Another option is to find a group of walkers in your area. Community centers and online searches can help you find others interested in walking. Just get out there and move.

Pinto Beans
2 cups pinto beans, rinsed, picked through
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 small onion sliced into rounds
1 bay leaf
Fresh ground pepper (I do several turns about ½ tsp)
Salt(added AFTER cooking is complete)
Soak beans overnight. Place all ingredients into pressure cooker, except salt, and add water until it just covers the beans by just under an inch.(I usually do enough water to cover by about the depth of my middle finger first knuckle.) Bring this up to pressure on medium high heat as per your manufacturers directions. (My pot is a Fagor and I bring it up to pressure level 2.) Bring the heat down to medium, maintaining pressure, and cook these at pressure for 8 minutes, remove from heat, and let them come down naturally and slowly, about 30 minutes, until the pressure is released and the safety mechanisms release the lid locks. Adjust water level by pouring off excess fluid, and add salt to taste. You can either mash these up, or serve them whole. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cover with liquid as before and cook on medium/medium low heat for a couple hours until tender to your liking, adding water as necessary to keep the beans from drying out. It is important not to add the salt too soon, or the skins of the bean will be tough. Enjoy!

A Year of Healing and Health

Last Winter I was sitting in my mom's living room, looking out the windows at the forest that surrounds her house watching the birds nibble at the suet seed balls we had formed and hung on our live Christmas tree. I was trying to think of ways in which to actively involve my family in their health and awareness; having a decent palate, they like salad, stir fry, and vegetable soups of the general variety, but their favorite foods still hinge on starches laden with cheese. I wanted to broaden their horizons and connect them to their surroundings. We live in the Pacific Northwest which is home to a plethora of both local and international flavors and delights. I have taken my family to Chinese New Year festivals, Japanese festivals, and local art festivals, as well as the local farmer's market on numerous occassions. They have enjoyed all of these, and I wanted them to have more. I wanted them to know for themselves how to find those things around them that give a spark, a zest for life, as well as inspiration and awe of the beauty and bounty that surrounds us. I came up with a 12 month journey through the seasons and the surroundings to help them, as well as myself, create a deeper more intimate connection to our world, here and abroad. Each month has a food theme, an activity theme, and a nature theme.
The food themes center around those foods that are appropriate for the month, with seasonal produce whenever possible, as well as how another culture may use those same dishes or ingredients. Every week we will sit down and design a menu plan for the week, and brainstorm which dishes we might be interested in trying that fit the theme of the month, with locally foraged foods, locally grown foods, and our global theme in mind. At the end of the week, when we sit down again to plan our next menu, we will discuss which of those dishes or ingredients we liked, which were not our favorites, and whether we learned anything interesting that week while trying new foods. Not only does this create a unified effort to our meal plans, we also have a novel way to try new foods, which is sometimes difficult to do.
The activity theme also centers around what is available in our area throughtout the year. For instance, walking or hiking in the winter months is available to a limited extent, and swimming and water sports are more appropriate for the summer months. As much as possible, I have tried to combine the activity theme with the nature theme, so as not to overwhelm us all with too many tasks. The nature theme is focused on helping us to experience the seasons that surround us in order to acheive our most vibrant health.
Each month I will post here what the themes are with weekly updates as to what I am doing and how the month is panning out. I will share the triumphs as well as setbacks and any challenges I and my family may face. I have soaring hopes for this to be a tremendously rewarding experience, and am so very excited to share in these discoveries. These are my passions. My family. My food. My experiences in this life. Come and share them with me. The journey will be magnificent.

Welcome

Welcome to Harmonia Health, your online resource for health and healing. The mission of Harmonia Health is to maintain or restore vibrant health and healing in harmony with nature. Dr. Anna has had rigorous training through an accredited Naturopathic medical school to address the primary care needs of her patients. She has many tools, both natural and conventional, to help her patients reach their short and long term health goals. It is her intention that everyone possess vibrant health, and she is committed to treating each of her patients as the individuals they are. Please check back often for the latest in natural health options and information.

Gray Days Crystal Nights

The nights turn cool, chilly, with a sharpness that penetrates. The days grow short. Night envelopes more than its fair share. The once vibrantly colored leaves now brown, trodden, mudlike. Fat little bushtits fluff up and shiver, chirping out their protest to those passersby that will listen. Squirrels race, as if frantically searching, and nibble on strips of bark. They chatter, too, at passersby, but more like the grumpy old men in those too familiar stories. There are a few straggling wooly bears scrambling to find warmth, and the occassional hop of a frog after a deceptively warm rain. Otherwise it is quiet. It is winter.
Winter brings solace, necessary insulation, and sometimes a sense of loss; color gone from the landscape, warmth gone from the air, sounds gone from the winds. Misunderstanding. Winter is a time of rest and rejuvenation. This is the time to delve inward and heal. Storage for winter, hibernation, and slowed pace all participate in the healing of self. Solace allows for self reflection, so much harder to do when the world around you is a sensual feast. Insulation helps to retain the solace, to ensure the space necessary for the process. The loss; simply helps to make those things we miss in their absence that much more wonderful on their return. Cycles and Seasons.
Embrace this winter. Take the time to heal. When spring comes back again your work will be rewarded. All things grow better in clean cultivated soils. Weeds are easier to pull in winter. Get in there and weed. Peace and health be with you.