Bone Broth Anyone?

On bitter bitter cold nights one sure way of warming up is a delicious bowl of bone broth. as the temperatures dropped so did my tolerance for the cold. So I bought a pound of beef bones from my neighborhood hunting based organic butcher.

With a friends help I set out to make bone broth. It is one of the best and easiest things to make. Besides being good for your health it becomes a great base for many soups, rice, and other dishes.

Let’s get started: a pound of bones, 2 carrots, 1 large onion, a bunch of parsley, 2 bay leaves, 5 whole all spice pieces, 2 stalks of celery, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, water to cover.

You will need a pressure cooker!!
Yes, without it you might be boiling this for days.

Roast the bones in the Owen for 30-40 minutes, then put them in the pressure cooker, coarsely chop and add the veggies and cider vinegar. Then add the spice and bay leaves. By the way you can improvise and add other spices if you like – but remember if you want to use this in cooking other meals having it plain is best. And yes… there is no salt added for the same reason.

Once you have everything in the pressure cooker add water to cover the bones. You are now ready to cook!!! it will take roughly 4-5 hours and the aroma will fill your kitchen. This will make 2 large tubs of broth and I recommend you freeze them so you can keep on using the broth without spoiling it.

You are probably wondering why vinegar?? It helps bleach the nutrients and the marrow out of the bones more easily. Helps make the broth richer. You can adjust the quantity of how much you use as long as you use some.  We watched a romantic comedy, laughed, and had couple of glasses of Champaigne while the pressure cooker did all the job! Result was just yummy and its a gift that keeps on giving on these cold cold nights. Hope you give it a try! Cheers!!

  Umm yes.. this is how we chilled the Champaigne 😉

Vida Spa – Seattle, WA

Another trip, another state, another experience of a lifetime…

I happened to be in Seattle this past weekend discovered Vida Spa downtown by the Pan Pacific Hotel. It was a discovery that paid off. I would rate this spa a close behind Kohler and Red Door spas. Why behind?? It is smaller, changing rooms are not well furnished, and there is no hair services provided. After a long day at the spa, feeling great and relaxed who wants to leave the spa looking like a hot mess!!!

Anyhow… let’s get to the best parts about this spa: personnel, quality of services, and the Ayurvedic Journey package!

This is part of the lounge; where they have fruits, nuts, tea, and cucumber water all day.

After getting a great massage and mani service, I decided to give the Ayurvedic Journey package a try. In the past I have done bits and pieces like shirodhara but never had a full program. This was the opportunity and I seized the moment!!

After filling out a very short and sweet survey, the practitioner was able to identify my dosha. Then based off of that she organized my Ayurvedic journey package. Melanie is an incredible practitioner — if you ever go, ask for her by name! you won’t regret it.

So we started with Ayurvedic Massage – A unique massage that applies generous amounts of warm sesame oil over the body with extra attention to the head, neck and scalp. This technique optimises the body’s systems, mobilises joints and enhances tissue suppleness. The oils she used were specific for my dosha and I loved them. Generally this massage is soft but if you are like me you can and will request more pressure.

Swedana – A deeply aromatic sensation enhanced by herbs, cleanses and detoxifies your system. A dry flour brushing of your entire body stimulates and exfoliates your skin to prevent the re-entry of toxins.

Here is the cacoon – wide open. The box at the bottom makes steam and the tray of special herbs and florals is put there to steam. Can you smell how the room filled with amazingly relaxing scent??

Yes this is me inside the cacoon – steaming seriously. That’s a cold towel on my forehead. Usually this is to last 15 minutes, I lasted 10 minutes and apparently that is congruent with my dosha.

So, I loved the cacoon so much, later I wanted to go in again. Amazing! and would do this again.

Shirodara – A steady stream of warm oil is poured over your third eye (forehead) to awaken the senses and increase mental clarity. I fell asleep briefly during this part of the treatment, it was incredible – felt like I was on a pillow of clouds. I would like to think this really helped make my afternoon high profile meeting go so well.

The spa works with Pan Pacific hotel so they can order food if you are staying for a long spa day. This treatment started at 9:30am and finished at 2:00pm – so I squeezed in a lunch.

Melanie really went beyond expectations; she wrote me a sweet card and enclosed sleep and food recommendations for my dosha. Now that is what I call intentional, thoughtful service… leaves you thankful and blessed 🙏.

Highly recommend Vida Spa if you find yourself in Seattle with a free day to care for your body and soul. I hope that next time I visit they will have hair services — a girl can hope 👸.

Oil Pulling – an Ayurvedic Ritual

It has been 3 days since I started doing ‘oil pulling’ and since I decided to continue at least for 30 days want to share this experience with you. After hearing about this ancient Ayurvedic health technique and my recent flue I decided it is time to use it. Natural ways of healing are the best and been used for centuries.

How to do oil pulling?
Every morning right after I wake up, prior to eating or drinking anything – I take a spoonful of coconut oil and swish it around in my mouth for 20 minutes. As I do my morning routines, stretching/yoga 20 minutes fly by. You must do 20 minutes or 10 minutes in morning and 10 minutes in evening. Doing less is not effective.

Here is what my spoonful of coconut oil looks like:

How does it work? What are the health benefits?

Prevents  bad breath

Strength gums, teeth, jaw prevents disease

Increases overall oral health

Relieves headaches

Supports kidney function

Whitens the teeth

Even at day 3 it is working for me; my sinuses feel better and my breath is very neutral – beats any mouthwash. Love using ancient methods to better my health. I will report back at the end of 30 days – stay tuned!!

UPDATE 3/18:
Yes I am still at it! every morning for 20 minutes. No my teeth are not whiter, at least that’s what I think, but my mouth has gotten healthier, and my skin is softer. The pulling has also consistently helped me clear my sinuses – at the end of 20 minutes, my sinuses release whatever is in there. Also the ritual has helped me do my morning yoga/stretches more consistently — nice to them at the same time. Will continue the practice, at least for 30 days and report back again. Let me know if you have any questions.

Super Hero Red Beet

I really get crazy exiting for it’s color it’s really fun and delicious want to share with you my super hero beet I love red beets and I think you will like them more after you know more about them.

Okay let’s count the SURPRISE benefits of this super hero food!

It’s cancer fighter and antioxidant

It’s rich from A,B,C and P vitamins and beta carotene

It’s nutritious

It helps improve immune system

It’s increase the blood especially the juice of the red beet and if ti mixed half by half with carrot juice it increase erythrocytes.

Especially during winter when the cold and infections are at high levels it’s best to eat this super hero food to increase the body resistance.

1 cup of super hero red beet juice is effective for hypertension and when you mix the juice with yogurt it fulls the energy stocks of body.

It’s good for those suffering from low levels of iron and it’s rich from potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese, copper etc…it’s like a vitamin tablet it’s amazing!

It’s a good habit to keep it by adding thin slices or shreds of red beet to your salads or enjoy it as plain beet juice or as mixed with apple, carrot or other delicious fruits as cocktail now I love this super hero more ways :))