Pain, Patience and the Patient/Physician Relationship

On Labor Day, 2014 I began a new documentary-style photo essay in collaboration with Dr. Mark Ibsen who owns Urgent Care Plus in Helena, Montana. We are telling a story with photos of his patients, of Mark and of his staff. We aren’t sure what the story will be yet — that will come when we see what the photos are telling us. For now, I am going to be spending time at the clinic and with permission from the patients themselves, documenting their time with this passionate, compassionate healer.

Noodles the Healthy Way

Thin, clear rice noodles … a bed of mixed greens, lots of fresh raw vegetables, tofu, maybe some sliced meat, peanuts, fresh herbs and a very light oil-free dressing. Ahhh … a meal from Vietnam-heaven made for warm summer nights! It’s an amazing light, healthy meal. Try this dish this week!

Nutritarian Adventure … How are we doing?

Feel free to download this handy healthy grocery list based on the Eat to Live food program of Dr. Joel Furhman.

Early on in our Eat to Live adventure, I made a Nutritarian grocery list using Evernote (with the checklist feature) which syncs to all of my devices. So I always have the list on my cell phone when I am shopping. It really helps to just look at the list, check off the things we need, and stick to it — at least 95% of the time. Here we are a little over a year after starting this health adventure and we’re doing pretty well. Not perfect. But who is perfect? I’m happy with mostly great, much healthier eating and feeling lots better. Here is a gift for you — a well balanced, healthy grocery list to download and use for smarter, healthier shopping. Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday Anadama Bread

Lately I’ve been craving the chewy mouth feel of Anadama bread. It really truly no-kidding is incredible delicious!
I broke down and baked some this week. Sigh. It’s so good. My husband loves it too. When he tasted the first warm slice his comment was, “To hell with Dave’s bread. This is better!” That’s saying alot around here. Dave’s bread is Tim’s bread.
I made a slightly healthier version than the one I learned as a college student. I used whole wheat flour and flax meal, less salt, a teensy bit less butter. Read on, to find out how I made this incredibly delicious bread.

Today’s a Good Day for Hot Ginger Lemon Tea

My favorite way to drink ginger tea is to make it from fresh ginger root, brown rice tea (genmaicha) and lemon zest. The flavors of made-from-scratch ginger tea are incomparable to the store-bought kind. And, what’s really yummy about this recipe is the way the ginger and lemon flavors blend with the toasty-almost-like-popcorn-but-it’s-really-toasted-rice flavor. OMG yummo!

Creamy Pumpkin Chai Soothie

I made these for lunch today, though the Creamy Pumpkin Chai Soothie would be just as happy at your breakfast table, or being sipped around a fire after dinner. It’s a little bit sweet. A lot healthy. Smooth and creamy. And if you aren’t into being as healthy as all that — bake up some French Breakfast Puffs to serve with it. Yummo!

Hot Honey Custard Soothie … Happy Birthday Mickey!

Oct.5th, 1981 — a day I will never forget. It’s the day I locked eyes with my first son, Mickey, before he was breathing on his own, when he was halfway into the world. Happy Birthday, Mickey. To make this day even more special, I made a warm soothing drink that I used to give my boys when they had trouble falling asleep. It’s nutritious. Healthy. Easy. And extremely comforting.

Hot Chocolate Banana Nut Soothie

When the cold weather hits, the hot chocolate comes out. Here’s a non-dairy variation on hot chocolate: made with coconut milk, dark chocolate chunks, pecans and bananas to add body and nutritious goodness. Serve it right away while it’s still foamy and hot.