Don't just go Raw, go super Raw - go Sauerkraut

First, why raw?

I am as of now in a place in my wellness journey where my focus is not to adopt a diet that is extreme and completely different from what I grew up with but to strive for a balance and try to eat food as close to its truest form and without too much processing…as far as possible.

There are many benefits of eating raw food:

• It is nutrient dense since all the nutrients that would have otherwise been destroyed by the heat are now intact
• It lowers inflammation
• It reverses or stops the advance of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer (cooking creates free radicals and which are the major cause of cancer)
• Can protect from acute diseases like cold, flu, measles etc. as raw foods maintain a healthy body with better defenses.

However, plant based foods also have lectins/anti-nutrients that not only inhibit the absorption of nutrients by your body, but in fact cause harm to the body. For details you can refer to this article by the Weston A. Price Foundation. Additionally, some vegetables when cooked are more nutrient dense; for example carrots, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus and pumpkin. Cooking reduces certain antioxidants but enhances others. So if you are now as thoroughly confused as I am, here's what I am going with - Balance and Moderation. Not all cooked and not all raw. I try to go with a combination of cooked and super raw vegetables. By super raw I mean fermented vegetables.

How my journey of fermenting vegetables began..

During my usual Wednesday milk, eggs and grocery pickup from Carlton Farms I would see a number of products from Lupa’s kitchen and Sauerkraut caught my attention. Sauerkraut has its origins in Germany and literally means "sour cabbage". I was tempted to try it and I am so glad I did because it was so delicious. Now, I just had to meet with Lupa Irie of Lupa’s kitchen to know more.

Lupa Irie is a naturopath, author, teacher, natural food chef, entrepreneur, artist and the creator of 'Lupa's Kitchen'.  She is a powerhouse of information having journeyed through various diets of raw foodism, juicing, paleo, veganism… you name it. I was so happy to have the opportunity to meet with her and learn from her.

So here’s why you should not only go raw, you should go super raw, go Sauerkraut.

Cultured raw food is basically raw food with a superhero cape. Through the fermentation process, microorganisms like bacteria or yeast convert carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids under anaerobic conditions Through the process the bacteria create vitamin C and certain B vitamins as by-products of their metabolism. The vitamin C levels of sauerkraut for instance is 7 times that of raw cabbage. If this was too technical, just remember "huge vitamin c booster".

Thus fermented foods contain natural probiotics that enhance the flora and fauna of your gut that helps better digest food and increase the bio-availability of nutrients in your food. In fact probiotics not only help balance the good bacteria in your gut but also "tune up" the immune system as 70% of the cell receptors of your immune system actually lie in your gut. Fermented foods are also known to have anti-cancer effects and to reduce symptoms of arthritis.

The practice of fermentation has been around since ancient times where people ate fermented foods with every meal. The most popular fermented foods are yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, Kombucha, but really the list is endless and interesting including salsa and ketchup.

There's a story about Captain Cook who carried 60 barrels of sauerkraut with him on his voyage and none of his men died of scurvy, the disease caused by a lack of vitamin c in the diet that was very prevalent at that time; that’s how powerful Sauerkraut can be.

Making Sauerkraut is easy!

I am comfortable with making fermented Indian foods like dosas and idlis out of different grains, millets and legumes but have never until now delved into fermenting or culturing vegetables. Lupa explained and demonstrated the much touted super food – Sauerkraut which is ironically super simple to make.

Making sauerkraut at home is not only beneficial as you can control the ingredients, but also the sauerkraut sometimes available in the market have been fermented for only a week vs. the preferred 4-6 weeks of fermentation.

Here’s how to make make traditional sauerkraut in 6 easy steps

• Wash the cabbage thoroughly and cut into halves
• Grate the cabbage in a mandolin or on any grater you might have. We need to make it medium thickness, not too thick not too think

• Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 2 pounds of cabbage (preferred himalayan salt or sea salt which has all the minerals), juniper berries(optional) and caraway seeds (optional)

• Let it stand for a couple of hours or so, so that the cabbage breaks down a little. You can also pound the cabbage to help with breaking it down.

• Transfer layer by layer to a mason jar or kraut pot, pounding it down each time to remove the air (remember fermentation takes place in an anaerobic environment)
• Once you have filled the jar, cover it with cabbage leaves to further reduce the air from interacting with the the cabbage, put a little water over it to block off the air
• Close the lid and DO NOT OPEN for 4-6 weeks else you will begin to see mold

My favorite - Sauerkraut made from red cabbage

Tips

• If you master making sauerkraut and are sure you will continue, invest in a kraut pot else a mason jar works  just fine
• The ideal temperature to ferment is around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. At temperatures over this it might ferment faster but not produce the most beneficial bacteria.
• In terms of fermenting cabbage you can also use red cabbage, which gives all the benefits and in addition flavenoids and K2 (which is produced only when fermented up to 6 weeks). K2 keeps the calcium in your bones and there are very few vegetarian sources of K2.

Sauerkraut is versatile

Sauerkraut can be used with appetizers, as an accompaniment to your meal, in salads and pretty much any way. The Kraut juice is great too and can help relieve cramps, so don't throw it away.

¼ cup Sauerkraut a day keeps your gut happy and keeps inflammation at bay

Consume at least 1/4 cup per day of sauerkraut and experience the benefits! My family loves sauerkraut and all the other products of my culturing experiments like salsa, cultured beets, cultured carrots etc.

Stay Healthy!
This blogpost was created by Ayesha@Choose WellThee and Lupa Irie.




Choose WellThee is about making choices that enhance your Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual wellness.

Namaste -/\- Decoded

I have to confess that until recently I never thought of Namaste being anything beyond a Sanskrit version of "Hello". Last week however, as an acquaintance and I exchanged emails over the topic of Yoga, it made me intrigued and uncomfortable all at the same time as she greeted me with "Namaste". Growing up, being Indian, I always thought that's something you said when you greeted someone older than you, as a sign of respect.  Long story short - I've since, spent a lot of time researching the essence of Namaste and I am amazed and how profound and multi-dimensional it is. And here it is, decoded and condensed for you.

The literal meaning
In Sanskrit Namaḥ means 'bow', 'obeisance', 'reverential salutation' or 'adoration' and te means 'to you'. Therefore, Namaste literally means "bowing to you".

The act of Namaste
It is often accompanied with an Anjali mudra (Anjali is an offering, Mudra is a seal) where the hands are pressed against each other. 
You bow your head and take your pressed hands up to your forehead, touch the tips of your thumbs between your eyebrows (the position of the third eye) -
You then bring your hands down and touch your thumbs to your heart - an acknowledgement to lead your life with an open heart.

Why bring together both hands?
As you bring your hands together at your center, you are literally connecting the right and left hemispheres of your brain. By bringing together the two hands, namaste recognizes the duality that exists in this world and signifies an effort to bring these two forces together, masculine and feminine, logic and intuition, strength and tenderness, ultimately leading to a higher unity and non-dual state of Oneness.

Why the fingers of the left hand blend with those of the right ?
The five fingers of the left hand represent the five senses of perception - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch , and those of the right hand the five organs of action(arms, legs, speech, genital organs and excretory organs). Hence it signifies that our karma or action must be in harmony, and governed by rightful knowledge, prompting us to think and act correctly

Why do we place our hands near the chest?
We bring our hands together at the heart chakra (energy center, there are 7 chakras in the body), to increase the flow of self love.

And finally, the essence - acknowledging the divinity that lies within you and within me 
The whole act of namaste through the touching of the palms, bowing the head, closing the eyes and uttering the word, embodies the spirit of total submission, total surrender of oneself. This is parallel to the devotion one expresses before a chosen deity, also known as bhakti. The devotee who thus venerates with complete self-surrender is believed to partake the merits or qualities of the person or deity before whom he performs this submission. Hence by performing namaste before an individual we recognise the divine spark in him/her. Further by facilitating our partaking of these divine qualities, namaste makes us aware of these very characteristics that dwell within our own selves.
And so, Simply put, namaste translates as
'The God in me greets the God in you. The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'. It recognizes the equality of all, and pays honor to the sacredness of all.

I quote what a very dear friend of mine Vandana Ramani, (a traveler, a thinker and a yoga instructor) here as she says, "Namaste is the beginning of your commitment to knowing and accepting your self and accepting others as they are. In Eastern Philosophy and languages, there is a conscious recognition of the heart-mind that sits between the ever changing outside world and an inner light of awareness. The inner light of awareness is present in all of us. However, our day to day activities, emotions, perceptions, egos more often than not, cloud the heart-mind lens, with which we see the world. 

Through a constant disciplined practice (such as meditation, pranayama, yoga), a person can create more clarity in the heart-mind and this allows their inner light of awareness to shine through. It also enables them to accept and appreciate the inner light of awareness in others - as they are. That is Namaste - the recognition. At what seems a very subliminal level, I recognize and accept that you and I are both the same and I accept ,respect and bow to that divinity/inner light of awareness within you."

Finally, I thought this gentleman summed it up perfectly when he said that Namaste is "a simple but profound gesture of reverence.” “It is true that in India and Nepal it is an informal gesture, but by our intention the mundane becomes the sacred,”

Honestly, this post has taken me a lot of time to write. Every time I revisited it to edit, it left me thinking, wanting to switch off and really soak in the greatness of you, of me of each one of us. I hope something here reaches out to you and touches you the way it has touched me.

Namaste_/\_

Ayesha@Choose WellThee
Choose WellThee is about making choices that enhance your Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual wellness.

Laughter Yoga - Cheers to a hilarious 2018!

Happy 2018! Hope you had a chance to spend time with your loved ones to cherish the best of 2017 and dream big for 2018.

We've all heard the adage "Laughter is the best medicine". When I looked up this phrase, some claim it has roots in the bible where Proverbs 17:22 says ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.’ The actual origin has been lost in the mist of time. However, it is as real and relevant today as it has always been.

On this journey of wellness, I decided to explore, explore and explore some more. And this led me to want to try out laughter yoga. Being Indian, I had heard about laughter yoga since it originated in India around 1995. However, I didn't think I could stand in a circle and laugh on demand…it looked corny and contrived. They say everything has its time and here I am in a different continent, decades later, trying out laughter yoga at Laughter Yoga Atlanta.

The same thoughts came rushing back. "This looks so contrived" to force oneself to laugh without something being funny. Also, should we be taught to laugh? Isn't that natural? I did a mental override on those thoughts. If I was re-learning the basics of how to maintain a correct posture, how to drink enough water, how to sleep well, then why not practice the art of laughing and laughter yoga?

No you don't need yoga mats for laughter yoga. It is called yoga because of the diaphragmatic involvement when you engage in laughter, as well as the intentional deep breathing exercises interspersed throughout the session.  The concept of laughter yoga is to make joy intentional, the key word being intentional. It is based on scientific knowledge that the body cannot differentiate between genuine laughter and just going through the motions of a fake laugh. When we get together in a group and go through the motions of laughing we make eye contact and this helps the laughter transition into genuine and contagious laughter. 

So what did I do in the meetup session? The class started with some warm up exercises like pretending to throw a make-believe ball to each other and laughing every time when doing it. I have to say I surprised myself by diving right in. There’s something to be said about anonymity that makes you not care about looking silly and hence helps you shed your inhibitions.

The one exercise that really stuck with me though, was the "credit card laughter". We had to pretend that we were looking at our credit card statements with disbelief and then laughing as we showed it to each other.  I could totally relate to that and I think I might actually laugh off my next credit card bill (and hope that my husband finds it contagious and does the same). These exercises are not just for fun though, they are called value based exercises and are purposefully crafted to condition our minds to react from a place of calm and laughter rather than stress, when these situations arise in real life.

Think about it, every time you have a great laugh with your friends or family, it makes you feel light and happy and almost always helps you see your problems in a different perspective. I always feel that if I lived next door to my girlfriends, with the riot of laughter and giggle based conversations we indulge in, I would possibly never have a "we need to talk" conversation with my husband. Sometimes it's just easier to step around life's problems rather than stress about finding solutions.In fact, research by one of my favorite nutritionists Luke Coutinho proves that one of the 4 things people with cancer have in common is chronic stress. So stress is real and there are real and practical ways to address it. And laughter therapy including laughter yoga may be a good way to combat stress. Laughter Yoga for instance,

• Provides a cardiovascular workout, and shares a number of health benefits in common with aerobic exercise
• Increases blood circulation and relaxes the muscles
• Helps combat depression, blood pressure, reduces symptoms of allergies, asthma, arthritis and helps in chronic illnesses like cancer
• Reduces physical, mental and emotional stress 
• Can change your mood within minutes by releasing certain chemicals from your brain called endorphins

So what's your take on laughter therapy? Laughter Yoga Atlanta has free monthly meetups, if you want to try out. Honestly, with tens of thousands of laughter clubs in 65 countries, you most likely will find one close to you. It could be a great team building activity, a fun thing to do with your friends and a great option if you are trying to help someone feel better physically, mentally or emotionally. So give it a shot!



Cheers to a hilarious 2018!
Ayesha@Choose WellThee

Choose WellThee is about making choices that enhance your Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual wellness.