The Answer to my Prayers: Primal, Savory, Hearty Nut Loaf

Damn good. Nut Loaf.
Been dreaming about it for a few weeks....and as it goes, need is the mother of invention- or a hungry belly.  My fridge is down to hummus, eggs and nuts...and preserved lemons.  But I'd purchased the makings for this loaf a few weeks ago.  

So- to work I got- and out came a hearty, savory, sweet, firm, chewy loaf- takes to hummus quite well...or your own toppings of choice- butter, nut butter, cheese and apples, sausage and brie- or what have you.
Its grain free- gluten free- dairy free- primal friendly- and very adaptable to your tastes.

Recipe for Darcey Blue's Savory Nut Loaf


2 c almond meal
2 c toasted walnuts
1.5 c toasted pecans
1/2 c dried fruit (cranberry, sultanas, raisins, apricots, even sun dried tomatoes should you choose)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c olive oil (or butter, or coconut oil)
lemon zest (or try orange zest)
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp water


toast your nuts, and cool.  pulse coarsely in your food processor or blender- not to powder, just to small chunks.
Mix almond meal, nuts, fruit, salt, baking powder, and zest together in a large bowl.  Beat eggs, oil and water together, and fold into the nut mixture.  


Pour into your greased loaf pan, and bake at 375 degrees F for ~ 35 min.  Let rest and cool for an hour or so before slicing into the loaf.

Store in the fridge, unsliced. Slice off a thick slab as needed to go with soup, hummus, fruit and cheese or what have you. Its great plain too.

other options- add pepitas and pine nuts, or acorns, or dried apricots, or sundried tomatoes, or olives, or cinnamon and clove, or rosemary and lemon peel and black pepper ..or ...or... the possibilities are endless....

perfect to serve with  little tea.


Interested in finding out more about delicious, nourishing foods, herbal medicines, nature connection, opportunities for herbal/nourishment mentorship or creating a personalized natural wellness program with Darcey Blue- be sure to sign up for my newsletter- where you get all the details first, and specials just for newsletter subscribers!

Ashwaganda -Tasty Every Day Restorative Formulas

Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera) is by far one of the top herbs I have come to rely on in my work as a community clinical herbalist.  I generally look very closely at an individuals health history, constitution and long term health goals before suggesting any herb or practice, but time and time again, I have found so many  people, men and women of all ages, who immensely benefit from the rejuvenative and restorative properties of this root medicine.  Ashwaganda comes to us from the Ayurvedic tradition in India where it is known as a "rasayana" or that which restores, transforms, conserves and revitalizes energy of the body.  

In today's busy world how many of go walking around exhausted, half asleep, mentally foggy, in a constant state of adrenal stress, with sleep debt and often times not even on enough food/fuel.  I've seen numerous clients and friends in this state, and even myself more often than not- so busy they can't find time to eat, stay up late to finish work, drive long distances under stress, have too many responsibilities and tasks to accomplish and too little help, feel exhausted, drained, experience a loss of libido, sleep poorly, and have stressful and extreme mood swings.  Something is wrong with this picture.  This isn't living.  

First off, lifestyle changes and practices for managing stress, getting more sleep, eating properly all must be implemented to see positive and healthy changes in life.  For me lately, that is looking like taking a real hard, long look at exactly what I am capable of myself as one person, setting myself very specific time limits on work hours, making regular dates with friends to get outside, hike, or camp, taking regular walks and yoga breaks,  and asking for more help.  Each of us as individuals have to go through the processes of shifting our life-long habits that do not serve us or promote health and vitality, sometimes its often just a matter of learning a different way of doing things.

But on top of these sorts of changes, which are absolutely essential, during the process of making changes, and moving through transitions and challenging times- I have found this Ashwaganda to be an indespensible ally to many many people, myself included.  It supports people in evening out mood swings, restoring libido and sexual vitality, improves sleep quality, provides balanced energy throughout the day, without being overstimulating, provides nourishment to the blood (ashwaganda is extremely rich in iron) and the HPA axis  (hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis- i.e. the endocrine system).  People begin to notice effects when they start taking ashwaganda almost immediately, within a week or two.  But the best results continue to show up as they continue taking ashwaganda for 3 - 6 months, or even longer.  Consistenly people come back to me to tell me how much ashwaganda helps them.

Most commonly people are using the tincture of the root, or occasionally buying standarized capsules in a health food store, but I'd like to share the ways I like to use Ashwaganda myself and with my clients that don't involve taking a tincture!     These are very nourishing and delicious ways to take ashwaganda, which isn't really the yummiest of herbs on its own.

Ashwaganda & Cinnamon Infused Milk
This is the most common way I reccommend Ashwaganda to people, and is truly a delight to enjoy!  Ashwaganda was traditionally given in milk and so I like to use this method- using what has worked for hundreds if not thousands of years.

1 tsp ashwaganda powder
dash of cinnamon to taste
1 cardamom pod, cracked
8-10 oz milk (dairy, goat, almond, coconut)
1 tbsp honey
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tsp ghee or coconut oil
1 tbsp rose gulkand, or dried roses ( alternatively 1 tsp rose water)  (OPTIONAL)

Warm the milk to just bubbling at the edges and add powders, herbs, oil and salt and mix thouroughly.  Reduce heat and warm 3-5 min longer.  Remove from heat, add honey, and whisk the whole pot vigourously until oil and honey are incorporated.

Serve hot and drink the roses, ashwaganda and cinnamon powder down with the milk.  This is an excellent preparation for your morning wake up drink, after making love/sex, for an afternoon pick me up, or any time you need extra nourishment and sweetness. I suggest once or twice a day.  If only, once you might wish to up the ashwaganda to 2 tsp.

Ashwaganda Electuary
1 pt Ashwaganda powder
1/8 pt cardamom seed powder
1/3 pt citrus peel powder (orange is my favorite)
2 pt Honey
(1/2 - 1 pt cacao powder) - optional

Mix powders together in a bowl and mix with enough honey to make a thick jam like paste.  It will thicken with time, so err on the side of runny.  Place this into a jar with a lid and store.  You can take this electuary by the spoonful, mix into tea, mix into smoothies, spread on toast, breakfast cereal, rice or in stewed fruit. Take 1 - 3 tsp daily.

Ashwaganda Syrup
1 cup ashwaganda root, dried pieces
1.5 qts water
1 pinch sea salt
2 cups honey or sugar
2- 4 oz brandy or ashwaganda tincture (optional)

Simmer and cook ashwaganda root in water for about an hour.  You want to simmer, not boil to death, but also evaporate some of the liquid as you are simmering, until you have about 16 oz of ashwaganda decoction.  Simmering to reduce helps to concentrate the decoction.  Strain the ashwaganda roots out of the decoction and reduce further if needed to 16 oz.  to the strained decoction add the same volume of honey or sugar and mix thouroughly by stirring, or shaking a covered jar.  Add 2-4 oz of brandy or ashwaganda tincture to preserve your syrup longer.  If you do not add alcohol, store your syrup in the fridge and use within 2 months.

Take up to 2 tbsp 2-3 times a day.
This recipe is not appropriate for those with blood sugar issues, diabetes or insulin resistance!  You may also find you want to add a pinch of cardamom, clove, or a vanilla bean to your syrup as it is cooling as well.


Restorative Nutritive Tea Blend
1 pt Ashwaganda root
2 pt nettles
1 pt cinnamon
1 pt tulsi basil
1/2 pt ginger
1/2 pt licorice root

Blend herbs well in a jar and store away from the light.  Use 1 tbsp per pint, or 2-3 tbsp per quart of hot water.  Steep tea for 1 hr or more, or alternatively, simmer gently, gently for 15 min, covered.  This blend taken daily will replenish the body with nutrients and minerals, reduce stress, improve digestion and taste good too.  This is lovely with a bit of honey taken in your thermos to work, school or on your daily errands. Up to 1 qt daily.  It's been described to me as gingerbread love in a cup.  Hey, that sounds pretty great huh?

If you don't have time to make your own ashwaganda preparation, I have a few special syrups left at PoppySwap which have Ashwaganda as a part of the formula.  Parvati's Devotion- Herbal Syrup for the heart, romance and self-love.    They have been a huge hit and I only have a couple left!

10 Nourishing and Herbal Self Indulgences for Valentine's Day

1) **Nourishing and Nervine Herbal Infusions**- Deeply restore, rejuvenate, replenish and nourish your body and especially your nervous system with herbal infusions daily/weekly.
 Nettles is always a good choice for nourishment, but consider any of the following herbal infusions.
 Oats- to rebuild and replenish the nervous system
 Linden- to soothe the heart, calm and relax, and sweeten the spirit
 Red Clover- to nourish and replenish the female endocrine system
 Tulsi Basil- to brighten your mood, bring back a sparkle to your eyes, and a smile to your lips
 Roasted Dandelion Root with Cinnamon- tone up, stimulate and improve digestion, liver function, circulation and more


**2)Drink cacao**- It might seem obvious, to include chocolate on V-Day- but rather than sugar laden bon bons, brew yourself a deeply intoxicating cacao drink- to open and nourish your heart, induce a state of bliss and pleasure, and give yourself a love infusion of minerals and vitamins (magnesium & B vitamins) I like to use 1 oz raw cacao paste from Heartblood Cacao,mixed with 8 oz hot water, sweetened with a touch of honey and laced with cinnamon, nutmeg, rose water, orange peel, or hawthorn berry extract.

 **3) Take an Herbal Infused Bath**- Taking a warm bath is a natural way to indulge yourself, but you can double the pleasure and magnify the benefits with the addition of herbal infusions in your bath water! And don't forget the pleasure of scenting your bath with sensual essential oils like rose, patchouli, ylang ylang, jasmine, vanilla, or vetiver. For a deeply healing herbal bath, brew up 1 gallon of strong tea (3-4 handufls of herb) of any of the following herbs, strain and add to your hot bath water.
 Roses- to open and soothe the heart
Chamomile- to calm and soothe stress, anxiety, and tension
 Lavender- to calm tension, relax emotional fragility, or soothe a bruised ego
Marigolds (Tagetes)- to induce euphoria, relaxation and happiness
Rosemary- to clear the mind, stimulate the body, soothe soreness/achiness, and increase creativity


**4) Give yourself a scented herbal massage**- Either schedule with your regular massage therapist, or give yourself a healing, nurturing massage with a lusciously scented and herbal infused oil. Oils that have been infused with the healing properties of herbs are deeply restorative, powerfully healing, and super pleasurable. My favorite oils to use are sesame, coconut or olive- and I like to infuse them with flowers and herbs that are both sweet smelling, skin healing and deep tissue replenishing. Sesame oil is highly absorbable and good for all types of skin, Coconut is best for folks with hot constitutions, warm skin with redness, or oily skin, and olive is good for those with dry skin or cooler constitutions. Good choices to infuse in your oils are: Roses, Lavender, Calendula, St Johns Wort, Comfrey, Ashwaganda, Gotu Kola, Chamomile, Rosemary, Marshmallow, Violet Leaf, Ginger, Birch, Patchouli, Plantain


**5) Take restorative and rejuvenating adaptogens daily** - There are a lot of reasons to take adaptogens- to help manage stress, to replenish and restore adrenal health, to balance hormones/endocrine system, to improve libido, to improve sleep, to support good immune function, for more mental clarity and daily emotional balance. Your choice of adaptogens may vary based on your needs but my favorites are below!
 Ashwaganda- Try 1 tsp of powdered Ashwaganda in warm milk (almond or coconut works well), sweetened with honey, laced with cinnamon, and topped with ghee or coconut oil.
 Schisandra- mix the ground up berries with honey for a delicious sweet-sour treat- spreadable on toast like jam, or mix into tea
 Medicinal Mushrooms (Reishi, shitake, cordyceps, maitake etc)- Cook healing mushrooms into soups and broths, or make a syrup sweetened with honey or molasses.

  **6) Make and Drink Herbal Infused Bone Broth** - Make yourself a big pot, and freeze the extra to have around and nourish yourself every day! Bone broth (or seaweed broth for vegetarians) is a really easy, and deeply nourishing tonic for everyone- it is full of minerals to build and restore bone health and nervous system health, gelatin and collagen for strong skin, hair and nails- and digestive system tissues. You can add your favorite immune herbs, adaptogens, fruits with bioflavanoids or medicinal roots to the stock as it is cooking to increase the nourishment factor. Organic, free range bones (chicken, beef, lamb, eggshells etc) Enough water to cover completely 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar Simmer bones in water with lemon on low for 24 -36 hours in a crock pot, or on the stove on low. Add any of the following herbs to boost its health supporting properties: Burdock root, shitake mushrooms, lovage root, garlic, onion, calendula, hawthorn berries, kelp, sage, nettles, dandelion greens, schisandra, ginger, turmeric etc

  **7) Sit with a plant or a tree**- No matter what season or weather is happening around you, find a plant- inside or out, or a tree nearby, and spend 10-30 min sitting with the plant. Close your eyes, ground yourself by sending your roots down into the earth, focus on your heart- so full of life, so full of love, and open your heart to the plant you are with. Ask to share with the plant you are with, offer the plant a gift ( a song, a stone, a shiny object, a piece of fruit or chocolate, water, tobacco), and ask if the plant might have a gift- a lesson- a teaching for you. Sitting with plants always has been a remarkably powerful way for me to connect with nature, and the deep connection we all share as living beings on this earth. We can learn, feel ourselves, and feel the deep LOVE within the Earth for all her creations.

  **8) Buy yourself an herbal pampering gift** - This could be decadent perfumes made with love and only pure essential oils, an indulgent face cream with luscious skin healing herbs, an intoxicating tea blend with flowers and spices, a rich, lathering cold processed soap infused with herbs, or a sweet smelling essential oil blend for diffusing in your living space. And USE it- daily, give yourself 60 seconds to 5 mins just for you and pamper yourself with your gift to yourself.

  **9)Make herbal incense to sweeten your space**- Not as complicated as you might imagine- all you need is some charcoals for burning your incense on, a heat proof dish and some sweet smelling herbs. You can chop your herbs coarsely and use as a loose incense sprinkled on your hot coal, or you can finely powder your herbs in a grinder and mix with honey, dried fruits, and/or wine or mead into a thick dough which can be rolled into rounds or cones. I find a mixture of mugwort or salvia (to hold the burn), fragrant herbs and spices (roses, cinnamon, lavender, chamomile, mint, cloves, tulsi, rosemary etc), and resins (frankincense, pine sap, copal, myrrh) work best as a whole, but let your imagination guide you! You can add an element of magic and intention to your insence as well, by focusing your energy on your intention as you select and mix your herbs. Make a blend that speaks to you of self love, self honoring, your unique personality, or elements you want to welcome in. Burn your mixture daily during self care rituals, bath time, or bed time.

  **10) Build an altar to your plant allies and yourself** - Clear a space for yourself to build/create an altar to yourself- the qualities you love about yourself, and the elements you would like to call into your life and your self expression- and/or to celebrate your plant allies and all the ways they serve you, gift to you, teach you, heal you and your deepening relationship with them. You can pick one plant or several. Put up pictures of yourself, pictures representing yourself, words you wish to reflect on, affirmations of self love and honor, pictures of your plant allies, potted plants, dried plant parts or flower arrangments, flower essences, tinctures, essential oils, candles, or little cups of tea! Spend some time daily or weekly at your altar in meditation, gratitude, or prayer. Honor yourself- beautiful, abundant, loving, wise, luscious, nourished- and honor your plants- friends, teachers, wisdom keepers, allies and healers.

Super Breakfast Soup with Poached eggs, Nettles and Seaweed

I would have taken a picture for you, but ate it all up before I could.

This is a incredibly nourishing shot of minerals, energy and probiotic foods for a morning meal. Or anytime really. I like poached egg soup for breakfast a lot though.

2 cups bone broth or water
1 pinch sea salt
1 tsp tamari (wheat free)
2 tbsp miso ( I use south river miso chickpea miso)
2 eggs
1 tbsp nettle leaves (dried, fresh is better if you have them)
1 tbsp seaweed flakes (kelp, wakame or otherwise)
1 tbsp medicinal mushroom powder (from Mushroom Harvest)
a few heaping spoons of sauerkraut or lacto fermented ginger carrots
1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

Mix broth,  salt and tamari in a sauce pan, and heat until just simmering.  Reduce heat to medium and crack two whole eggs into the hot water. Cover for 2-3 min to poach.  Add herbs to the pot, and cook until just tender.

Mix miso with 2 tbsp warm water in a bowl, top with kraut or carrots.  Pour hot soup and eggs over the mess in the bowl, top with a spoonful of ghee or coconut oil. 
Eat.

YUM!

Hey, and this even contains all the good foods Sean reccommends for keeping the thryoid healthy in the face of possible radioactive iodine from degrading nuclear plants.

Bacon mayonnaise with preserved lemon, rosemary and black pepper

Bacon Mayonnaise with Preserved Lemon, Rosemary and Black Pepper

• 1/2 c bacon grease, warmed to just liquid
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
• 3 slices preserved lemon
• 2 tbsp fresh or dried rosemary
• 1 tsp crack black peppercorns
• pinch of salt to taste

Blend in a blender on high, eggs, lemon and spices.  When fully blended, still on high, drizzle in liquid oils slowly.  Stop the blender when the mayonnaise has fully emulsified and turned creamy.  

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Nourishing the Wild You- Food, Energetics and Nourishment Online Intensive

Back by popular demand in 2011!  I will only offer this course once this year, so get in while the getting is good!
Class size is strictly limited to 20 students!  Last year 45 students enrolled!  Don't miss out!

Join Herbalist, Nutritionist, and food lover, Darcey Blue French of Brighid's Well Herbs (www.brighidswellherbs.com), for an  8 week online intensive course on the energetics of food, true nourishment, nutrition, relationship with place and food, nutritional healing and more.

*Learn about the ways traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine see food energetics, and use food as healing tools on a day to day basis.

* Explore your relationship with food, your body, what you eat and why.

* Discover your natural physical constitution, and how you can use food to help you stay balanced.

* Be prepared for a deep exploration of food and our relationship to it, this can be uncomfortable and emotional, as well as enlightening and sensual. Food is a deeply influential factor in our psyche, social interactions, and cultures. All students are expected to be sensitive to others and compassionate and respectful.

*Appropriate for food enthusiasts & practitioners alike.

*Very HANDS ON, expect to be preparing foods, meals and weekly assignments for the duration of the course. This is an EXPERIENTIAL class, not just book work. I will provide resources and readings, but the bulk of the work will require the actual preparation and consumption of food.

* This is not a cooking how to class. You should feel comfortable cooking and working in your kitchen. There will be recipes and ideas shared during class discussion, and pointers and questions are always acceptable.

*Requires access to e mail and the internet on a weekly basis. Class discussion is a part of the learning process.

*Weekly telephone conference session with Darcey and other students for discussion, questions and sharing.  

*some additional texts/books suggested in addition to course fee

Arrangements may be available for those with limited access. Please inquire.

 Payment in installments is available by request.

Please register by emailing Darcey at shamana.flora@gmail.com or calling 520 429 2654.

About the Instructor:

Darcey Blue French is an herbalist and food lover, who has over the years explored various ways of eating, interacting with food and preparing food. Educated as a Clinical Nutritionist at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in 2008, she has been in private practice since that time. She has experience in Ayurvedic Cooking, Vegetarian, Allergen Free, Primal/Paleo diets and the philosophies of Dr. Weston Price. Food is far more than fuel, and Darcey is passionate about food that not only nourishes the body, but also the spirit, and tastes wonderful too. She works closely with plants, both wild and cultivated that provide both food and medicine. She is an avid forager of wild foods, gardener of organic vegetables, and is passionate about local and sustainable food systems, and how our relationship with the land, nature and wilderness impacts our physical and spiritual health and wellbeing. She truly believes that one cannot separate the health of the people from the health of the ecosystem in which they live.

Intense, vibrantly wild and alive!

REPOST FREELY!! PLEASE & THANK YOU!

Chicken Pot Pie- Gluten Free

I have fond memories of those individual sized frozen pot pies on cold winter nights as a child.  They way the smell baking in the oven, the fun of a pie all my own, the savory taste of chicken, buttery crust, and sweet carrots.  I started having a bit of a craving for this childhood favorite while visiting family over Thanksgiving. 

Here's the grown up version I came up with tonight- gluten free!  You can make it dairy free as well using coconut oil or lard in place of butter.  I used homemade chicken bone broth that I had cooked with healing herbs like astragalus and burdock, for extra deliciousness and health. 

Crust
2 cups Bobs Red Mill GF Biscuit and Baking Mix 
1 stick of butter or 1/2 c coconut oil or lard
8 tbsp cold water

Cut the butter into the mix until grainy, add water and just bring the dough together.  Roll out on a wax sheet dusted with tapioca flour.


Filling:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 large carrot
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup cubed butternut squash
1/2 c chopped mushrooms

10 oz chicken stock (prefer homemade bone broth infused with herbs)
3 tbsp tapioca starch (dissolved in 1/4 c cold stock)
1 tbsp butter or lard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp lovage leaf
1 tsp sage leaf

Mix tapioca starch with 1/4 c cold stock.  Warm remainder of stock in a sauce pan with herbs and fat.  Not to boiling, but just to hot.  Add the tapioca starch mixture to the stock to make a thick gravy.

Add chopped chicken and veggies to a large pie pan.  Drizzle the gravy over the veggies. Lay the crust over the chicken and veggies and pinch shut around the edges.  Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork.

Bake at 350 for 1 hr.
Let cool for 30 min before serving. 
Serves a family of 4 generously. 
YUM!

Nourishing the Wild Self: Part 4 -Wild Foods and Community

Eat Wild

"Once we have tasted wildness, we begin to hunger for a food long denied us, and the more we eat the more we will awaken." -- Stephen Harrod Buhner

An even deeper way of connecting with and nourishing your wild self is to consume wild food!  For millions of years humans have foraged and hunted everything they ate directly from the wild.  Eating from the wild requires even more consciousness and effort, and deepens our connections with the wild land, and our wild body and heart in a way that nothing else can.  Once you tap into the sources of wild food available to you, you become more aware of the fact that we are OF this EARTH, and she provides everything for us- air, water, food.    Eating from the wild season after season allows you to begin to see the larger patterns in ecosystem well-being, and fluctuations that are normal, or those which are the result of human interaction.  When you have this kind of relationship with the land you live on, weather it be an urban park, the edges of the community garden or the wild lands in the hills, you can become a caretaker and spokesperson for the well-being of that land, and the communities, human and non-human alike, that depend on it.  By seeing the wild plants, animals and places as a resource to be cared for, respected and used for food, you can prevent them from becoming parking lots, or shopping malls, or dog parks.  If you and your loved ones depend on those places and resources, you will want to defend and protect them.

 Eating wild makes you more self reliant and confident, as you become aware of what is available to you beyond what others provide.  Wild foods can include wild plants growing in abandoned lots, on the edges of farmers fields, wild berries, wild nuts and seeds, animals that are hunted for food, or fresh roadkill.  The benefits of tapping into wild food sources are many.  Plants grown on wild soils that haven’t been depleted by extended periods of agriculture are richer in nutrients, and wild animals eating the diet they evolved with, and moving about the landscape on a daily basis are healthier, happier and more nutrient rich.     

The very act of harvesting wild foods reconnects YOU with your wild self and wild body.  What does it feel like to lay stretched in a sandy river bottom picking up acorns for hours?  Do you notice how your senses sharpen, you notice every breath of wind, water tastes that much sweeter, you take in deep nourishment from the land and creatures around you, weather you see it that way or not.  Many studies have shown that time in nature improves peoples physical health, and emotional/spiritual health as well.  The wild self needs to be nourished in this way.  This goes for those who gather wild plants, and those who hunt animals for food.  Putting yourself face to face with the reality of what it means to live on this earth, and what “food” really is.  Food is far more than a plastic wrapped hamburger patty or salad in a plastic box.  Food is our relationship with the land, and a source of nourishment on multiple levels.   And how does it feel to your wild self to be able to provide sustenance and nourishment to your loved ones and community?  How does nourishing others nourish you? 

How can wild foods nourish our communities as well?  It is easy to imagine a community of women going out to gather the wild weeds, fruits, and nuts together, and returning to the community to process, store and prepare these foods.  This isn’t just an actitivy for tribes of old.  We modern humans need to nourish and strengthen our bonds to our communities, and community harvesting is a beautiful way to do that.  The same thing goes for hunting parties of men and women, and even children.  Entire families join in the hunting trip, getting out into wilder places, and can take part in the butchering and processing of any animal taken.  This kind of community work increases our sense of connection with our neighbors and friends, and our sense of interdependence.  We come to know who and how we can rely on in times of need.  People can come together to protect resources that serve the community. 

 

Food as Sacred

It is also wise for us to remember that our wild selves need to be connected with “the sacred.”  For some that means joining a religious community, others find it in private meditation.  But the sacrament of food is something many people have forgotten and should be brought back into our daily lives.

  Food brings people together- both to prepare it, and to eat it. Many family traditions revolve around special holiday meals, or traditional dishes.  The kinds of foods we eat are deeply connected with our social heritage and culture, and food is deeply rooted in our emotional sphere and limbic systems.  Eating food, no matter with whom, how we eat it or what we eat should be a sacred act.  The act of taking life- no matter how large or small, plant or animal, into our body to sustain us, requires deep responsibility, gratitude and presence.   Food is a sensual experience, and we should make an effort to fully take in all the nourishment that food provides- on that sacred level.  This means not watching TV while eating, paying attention to every bite, eating peacefully and joyously with others we share our meals with, giving gratitude to the creatures that gave themselves for our nourishment, and anyone else involved in the procurement of our food: farmers, workers, market vendors, hunters, gatherers etc.

No matter where your food comes from it should be eaten in the spirit of gratitude and peace.  If you feel guilty over what you are eating, or where it came from, and can’t eat without those feelings of remorse, it is time to rethink.  What is most nourishing to you?  What nourishes your community and your land base?  Are there ways you can obtain food that will fill you joy and gratitude?  Many people have chosen to refrain from eating certain foods for the guilt or environmental destruction it causes, but no longer nourish themselves completely.  It is a two way street, you both nourish your wild self deeply, and make choices which nourish the communities and land around you.  Choose to get your meat from a local rancher who treats his/her animals with love, respect and a good living.  Grow your tomatoes in a pot on your patio if you can’t get tomatoes that haven’t been raised with pesticides and slave labor.  Find or develop a community garden to allow your community to grow their own produce.  Harvest fruit from trees planted in your city that fall to the ground and rot otherwise.  Find a hunter who is willing to share his/her meat with you, or take you along and teach you to hunt your own.  Join a CSA or get to a farmer’s market.   Realize that every step you take, no matter how small it seems, to free yourself from the industrial food system that damages not only our environment, but our communities and our own personal health, serves to nourish the wild on many levels.  Find just one thing you can start doing today, or when you get home.  What will it take? Find ways to juggle your finances, or work together with others to make it easier to acquire good food.  Ride share to the farmers market each week, buy a grass fed cow and split it with your neighbors, grow a garden.  Realize that things can NOT go on the way they are in our culture- and we are responsible for making the changes happen we want to see in the world.

If you've enjoyed this series, please be aware that I gave this as a class at the 2010 Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference, and recordings will be available in the near future!  Check out this years conference! You won't want to miss it!  Traditions in Western Herbalism Sept 15- 18, 2011

Nourishing the Wild Self: Part 1- What is the Wild Self?

Today, I’m not here to tell you what to eat, what is or isn’t right or healthy, but to encourage you to connect with your most wild, vital self- and discover what nourishes and feeds THAT self on the deepest most vital level.  Granted there are some basic nutritional parameters for a generally healthy functioning human body, which we’ll go over briefly, but lets explore deeper than macro and micronutrients, and find what truly NOURISHES the wild in you, and around you.

Ask:  What does the term Wild bring to mind? 

            What does it mean to “be wild?”

What is the Wild Self?

Wild: 1 a : living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated

b (1) : growing or produced without human aid or care 

c : of or relating to wild organisms

2 a : not inhabited or cultivated

3 a (1) : not subject to restraint or regulation :

(2) : emotionally overcome ; also : passionately eager or enthusiastic

c : going beyond normal or conventional bounds

d : indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion

4 : uncivilized, barbaric

5 : characteristic of, appropriate to, or expressive of wilderness, wildlife, or a simple or uncivilized society

6 a : deviating from the intended or expected course

From Merriam-Webster dictionary online (www.merriam-webster.com)

For our purpose the WILD SELF is :  The self that is uninhibited, untamed, free from restraint and regulation, passionate and emotional, that goes beyond what conventional culture expects of us.

The wild self does not submit to “rules” about which diet or kind of food is “right” without question or thought.  The wild self knows instinctively what feels most nourishing, but has often been locked away, cajoled, coerced and silenced by a culture that imposes its rules of what is right for our bodies and our lifestyles.

How many of us find ourselves deviating from the “normal” diet, the normal “work”- feeling that something is amiss with the expectations set before us?  Do you fight internally or externally against what is expected of you?  Against rules that were ingrained since childhood? 

Activity:  

For a moment, I want you to recall a moment in your life when you felt most alive, awake, and in touch with your hearts wildest callings and emotions.  This could be a moment of passion, fear, righteous anger, or peace/bliss.  Perhaps it comes strongest while sitting alone in the woods, while defending someone you love, when following your passion for making music or gathering plants, or while swimming naked in wild water.  Find the place in your body where you feel this wildness emerges.  Somewhere between your sex and your heart?  Feel that place in yourself.  Feel your wild self and its urgings.

Ask:  Where do you feel that?  What feelings do you experience?

  Remember and feel this place when you begin to explore what your wild self needs to be nourished.

The Wild is also our wild, living planet that endlessly and graciously provides for us- air to breathe, sunlight to warm us, cool waters to drink, plants that grow for food, medicine and materials for creation, animals for food and inspiration, the list goes on.  We are not separate from this wildness of the earth. 

Our culture insists that we are; and goes to great lengths to make us believe that we are separate from Earth- that our food only comes from markets and factories, that our work must be done inside buildings in front of computers for a paycheck each week, that our families must fit into a traditional man, woman and child structure.  But the earth has provided for human kind, animal kind, and all of living creations long before our culture came to impose its rules.  We too knew where to find food from the wild earth, our lifestyles used to provide days of leisure time each week (after hunting or gathering enough food to eat), which we used to create, share, relate with our communities and families.  A community which includes the land on which we live. 

 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more  value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you,   Matthew 6:26-30

It is so that what nourishes our wild self: body, mind and heart also nourishes the wild earth, as we are not separate from it.  And what nourishes the wild earth, nourishes us.  A land ravaged by chemical fertilizers, pesticides, monocrops and factory farms with unhealthy animals crammed together suffering and creating waste is certainly not nourishing the Earth.  How can this model nourish us then?  It can provide calories, and fill an empty belly certainly.  But is that true nourishment?  Does it feed your body with vitality from the lifeforce of what you have eaten, both plant and animal?  Does it fulfill your bodies nutritional needs completely? Does it create health? Does it make your heart sing with joy and gratitude? Does it provide for your community economically? Does it respect and protect the wildness of the Earth that provides for all her creatures, not just human kind?  The answer to these questions is inevitably NO.