Welcome to the new school year! One of the most popular questions I get from parents is what to pack their kids for lunch when they test for food sensitivities and/or allergies. As I do my best to combine what my kids love to eat with what nourishes them, the fact is that food sensitivities are not a consistent issue in my family. To add to current advice given to patients, I asked Boundless Well-Being’s Patient Ally, Crystal Holmes, to share her tried and true experiences for kids with alternate needs. I have seen firsthand her commitment and creativity to food choices that have created a world of difference for herself and her family.
The one thing I’d add is to buy your kids thermoses for hot food. Once Fall hits, eating stews, soups, and bone broth will greatly aid in your child’s immature digestive system and foster healing of the gut on a daily basis.
Love, Vivianne
In hopes of making the transition back to school flow smoothly, I hope this information will leave you inspired and prepared for the busy back-to-school days ahead.
Leftovers – This is by far my favorite way to prepare lunches. Make a little extra food at dinner time and you have lunch for the next day (or two!) Check out this great resource for make-ahead meals and diet-specific menus: onceamonthmeals.com.
Smoothies – packed with fruits and vegetables, and easy to transport in a thermos, these are another great nutrient-dense choice.
Fresh fruits & veggies – these are a common choice, but try to mix it up and use seasonal options. Serving with a healthy homemade dip makes them more fun to eat! Try mashed avocado with lemon juice and sea salt or check out this Tahini Dressing – use less water to make a thicker consistency. http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/06/18/open-sesame/
Salad – for my family, this is much easier with one child than the other. Some crisp romaine or “cute” (as my daughter would say) micro-greens with a few cut up veggies and a side of homemade dressing is a great side dish. If you don’t have the time for homemade, check your local grocer for Tessemae’s dressings (or tessemaes.com) that are truly natural and use only healthy oils. Our favorite is the French Vinaigrette.
Tuna/Chicken/Salmon salad – These are a favorite in my home and can be customized in so many ways! Skip the mayo and use olive oil, celery seed, salt, and pepper for an egg-free version. Instead of using bread try: romaine lettuce boats, wraps with Bibb lettuce or collard greens, serve with celery sticks or apple slices as a “dip”, rice crackers, make cucumber sandwiches, rice flour tortillas…or just eat it right out of the dish!
Veggie chips – kale chips are all the rage right now, and for good reason. Kale is a super-food and baking it into chips makes it more palatable and fun to eat! Brussel sprout leaves, carrots, or zucchini slices also work well! Here is a great recipe for kale chips: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/2648091289/baked-kale-chips
Dehydrated fruits & veggies – Let your imagination go wild with this one! You can dehydrate any fruit or vegetable (even meats, fish, and herbs) and make a healthy snack that is easy to pack. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use your oven, set on the lowest temperature setting, or simply leave the light on and the door ajar. http://www.weedemandreap.com/dehydrator-recipes/
On March. 7, 2015, our front desk and great friend, Techie Pelayo Brown, went Home. After a long month of pain, she passed peacefully with her husband, Ronnie Brown, by her side.
It has been exactly a month since the funeral, and today, I am able to express words that have been stuck deeply in my chest to commemorate Techie’s life as it meant not only to me but for the patients at Boundless Well-Being.
We saw Techie as steadfast, compassionate, loving and wise. She was a private person who beamed love and goodwill to all who walked through the door. Techie lived her life the way she wanted to live it. No one and nothing could stop what she chose and how she chose to express it. To witness a person who listened and then acted upon her absolute faith at every turn was a gift to behold.
Very early on, I recognized she was not a typical administrative assistant. I later learned she was a missionary. As Boundless Well-Being’s front desk for the last three years, she brought amazing possibilities to the clinic, the patients, and myself. She had an unyielding faith in God and love for humanity which became a lighthouse for many who were sick, imbalanced, and felt “lost at sea”. Upon her passing, many patients shared their stories with me of their time with her. They told me that after their treatments, sometimes they lingered as they thought about their condition. Techie recognized this right away, offered an ear, and if she sensed they were open and willing, would offer to pray with them. These gestures opened a door that allowed patients to speak about their illnesses and loved ones. The common thread I heard from every story, was that she brought a great sense of peace and gave people strength to walk onward. She told me this was the most fulfilling part of her job.
I called her “Tita”, which means aunt in Tagalog. I did this out of respect in that we not only worked together, but we were friends. She selflessly gave shade when there was too much to bear, a wise ear when there were forks in the road, and unconditional love when love was scarce.
She is one of my greatest teachers.
Tita Techie, we miss you. Thank you for sharing your life and wisdom with all of us.
Our ride together has truly been a gift. I am forever grateful.
The intention behind “Boundless Well-Being” is to support families and the individuals that make up those families. Here, the hope is that parents are reminded of their true gifts in life and supported to share them.
Introducing Boundless Well-Being’s “Patient Ally”, Crystal Holmes: a mother, a wife, and a former teacher whose passion lies in helping her family in any way possible using natural and healthy alternatives. At Boundless, she will contribute to the Blog with tried and true family recipes/health tips, while helping to answer your concerns. She will direct your questions to me as efficiently as possible. I have treated Crystal and her family for the last two years and have utmost confidence in her ability to communicate from a place of empathy and compassion. Her great interest in nutrition and natural health coupled with her experience as an educator, will help many patients and friends. Below, find her first post on the “Honest Kitchen”.
Also featured for sale at Boundless Well-Being this month, are natural balms by LIVI! Lovingly homemade by Yolinda Humphries, a mother and new entrepreneur, the balms consist of Philippine Coconut oil, Shea butter, Beeswax, Vit. E and Essential oils. They help soothe dry, cracked skin and make this winter more bearable! My current favorite is “Calming Balm” which relieves dryness and calms the nervous system. Yolinda creates safe & natural products for all ages, including baby. Check out her FB page: https://www.facebook.com/balmsbylivi
Wishing you a wonderful week!
Vivianne
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”.
Quiet fills my chest. I watch my children splash with their cousins and my husband walks toward shore after a swim with sea turtles. It’s April and I’m in St. Kitts for a wedding with family and friends.
The water crashes on coral as the sun illuminates droplets of color in mid-air, freeze framed for posterity sake before joining the ocean again. It’s been a long time since we felt the hot sun warm our bones. As I look towards the water’s edge, I feel an inherent urge to be in the water. Grabbing goggles, I walk, then run towards the ocean’s mouth and dive in. The acceptance is immediate, and the warmth of the Caribbean envelops me completely. With each stroke, I shed a layer. And then a next, with each one exponentially larger than the last: the week’s frantic office push to get there, waking my kids up at 4am so we can get on the 6am flight, rechecking my packing list to make sure I have enough 3 year old “diversion toys” in-flight, conversations with my accountant for the inevitable office income tax returns….
Suddenly, time widens into an everlasting underwater galaxy and I am reminded why people take vacation. Daily, the LIST can run through our minds like the sound of the ticker that is appointed to count people as they walk through the door. The metronome of seemingly necessary errands clicks along until robotic, we are either so frantic we think we can’t keep up, or so exhausted we’re left painfully numb.
Experience has shown that the heart will tell you it’s time for a reprieve if you acknowledge it and listen. And when you don’t, your body will. Through premature greys, restlessness, an extra inch or 2 around the middle,… our bodies go on strike.
I’d like to say, that since I’ve committed to helping others toward better health, that I’ve always listened. But as the common denominator of being human is my reality, I haven’t. Today I give my honest best, but sometimes, like everyone else, I push because I feel that I need to. Kids need parenting, older parents need assistance, significant others and friends need mindful attention, and work is always a spiral of more…if you let it. Inevitably, when this happens, I get tired, feel off, and if I am aware of it and don’t listen…sick. Working for me, is a self-imposed passionate reinforcement of practicing what I preach. And some days I fail. But I do what I know to keep my body sustained, healthy, and in the interim help those who need it. There’s a healthy threshold in each person; that line between pushing yourself, and pushing yourself even though you have nothing left to give. The key is getting to know your threshold way before becoming “empty” and stopping to fill yourself back up. Learning when and how is a commitment to keeping your body and mind well.
We daydream about escaping after that morning rush of packing lunches and dressing kids, when the Xerox machine gets stuck again after a recent tune-up, during the extra long red light when you’re late, and when the toddler has the late evening tantrum after a day focused on everything other than yourself. WHY? Because we forget to breath, and live life holding our breath believing that we can only exhale when we’re blowing bubbles on vacation. The truth, is that we lose our center: who we really are, amidst the checking of lists and obligations. It is being reminded of our true gifts and purposes in life that brings us fully breathing again.
In the ocean, my body is lighter now. I realize that even in “paradise”, I struggle with unraveling the identities I impose on myself; the mother, the wife, the practitioner, the “wanting to do it all” human being who in the end wants to say, “why did I schedule another thing?”. As I look towards shore and see my children’s faces with loved ones, I pause. I acknowledge that what I’m feeling now should not be “because I’m on vacation”, but carried into myself to share once home with family, friends, and patients. And some kept just for me. Giving myself permission, I take a slow inhale, and dive deeper.
Underwater it is gloriously silent and a few kelp strands float aimlessly through my fingers. I realize that here I AM. Holding my breath in daily life I have muted life’s experience, and yet here I am, holding my breath underwater, eyes wide open, feeling more alive than I have in months.
Words 