We've helped people restore their health with a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet for many years. And we saw that a client's return to health didn't always stick. What we learned was that there was more to restoring physical health than just diet and lifestyle. There's a mental / emotional aspect that affects our health too.
Join us to hear more.
It's interesting to consider that the words health, wholeness, and holiness all derive from the same root.
When you think about health, that's the natural state of the body when all the systems, the whole body, are functioning as they are designed to function. Each system is functioning in a whole and efficient way and in coordination with all the other systems. When we're healthy, there's a natural, wholeness of functioning throughout the body.
And, we're more than a physical being. We have a mental and emotional component that strongly influences our health. Many experts have said that stress is a significant contributing factor in probably 80% of illnesses. So, to experience good health we need to address this issue of stress in our lives.
We've been sharing the understanding that our experience of stress is not caused by what's occurring in our lives, but rather, how we're interpreting what's occurring. This is why one person can become very stressed in a situation, while another, in the exact same situation, finds it an impetus to excel. They're both under pressure, but their interpretation of the situation is what turns it into stress or an opportunity to excel.
Seeing this has made a big impact for our clients and their health. When they no longer feel like they are a victim to their circumstances, they realize that they have the ability to shift how they relate to it. And, in that, the stress in their lives is transformed.
As stress is reduced in our lives, not only is it a sign of a healthier (more whole) mental state, but we find it easier and more natural to make healthy food choices because we're no longer looking to food to help us change how we feel.
Taking this one step further, we've been sharing on our Community Call the difference between accepting what happens in our lives and surrendering to life. When we accept what has happened, it relieves the stress and this is great. But there's also a deeper way of relating to what happens that we're calling surrendering. Not as in giving up or being weak, but in letting go of the resistance to what's happening.
In accepting, we're affecting our relationship with what's happened on the outside. When we surrender, we're affecting what's happening on the inside. When we surrender we're saying we want to let go of more than just how we feel about the situation, we are saying we want to let go of any resistance to the way life shows up.
Where accepting helps us deal with daily pressures, learning to surrender shifts the entire way we relate to everything in life, rendering pressure no longer a reason for stress but an opportunity to open more to the capacity we have to align with the natural flow of life as it unfolds before us.
With this, we start to understand what holiness may be. Holiness may not be something we attain, but something we recognize. It is the natural harmony and intelligence already present within life. As we learn to surrender, our minds quiet and we can glimpse the extraordinary unfolding of a universe that has sustained itself for billions of years. And in that recognition, experience a deep sense of awe and wonder.
It seems to us that vibrant health and wholeness is everyone's birthright. We were born to thrive. And what stands in the way of that is the way we've conditioned ourselves to resist the natural flow of life as it comes to us. The good news is that letting go of that resistance is always just a thought away.
The recipe this week is Potato Waffles. It's an intriguing way to make a waffle with a whole food rather than refined flour, and we really like them. We use them more as a savoury waffle, often topping them with things like hummus, avocado and sprouts. So, in this way, using them more like a bread substitute. And we make mini-pizzas with them as the base, which is fun. But they work well for a breakfast with fruit too, which is more of the waffle tradition. Also, they freeze well, so we always have some ready to go for a quick meal.
To your Amazing Health,
Connie and Bill
Potato Waffles
- 2 pounds of potatoes
- oat flour
Cut into large cubes and bake potatoes covered (so they’re moist) for 40 minutes at 360º.
Mash the potatoes with a hand masher or electric hand mixer to a course mash.
Add 1/4 cup oat flour per cup of potato and mix well.
Add seasoning and cook in waffle iron. For the size of my waffle maker, it takes 1/2 cup per waffle.
Cook for 10 minutes, remove and lay out on cooling rack (or they get soft on the bottom)
Continue to make waffles until your batter is used up.
Here are some seasoning combinations we like:
Seasonings per full cup of potato / flour mix
¼ cup salsa + 1/3 cup nutritional yeast + ½ teaspoon onion powder + ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
or
¼ cup onion + heaping tablespoon dry dill
or
2 teaspoons ground cumin + 1 teaspoon paprika + ½ teaspoon garlic powder + ¼ teaspoon black pepper
or
1 teaspoon rosemary + 1 teaspoon oregano + ½ teaspoon basil (this is a nice seasoning if you want to make mini-pizzas)
For a non-savory, more traditional waffle:
¼ teaspoon cinnamon + 2 tablespoons date paste
These freeze well so you can batch cook them and have them on hand for a quick bite.
We use these waffles more as a bread substitute than a traditional waffle. We make:
- Avocado toast
- Hummus and avocado with alfalfa sprouts
- Salsa & refried beans with avocado and cilantro
- Tomato & onion
- Mini pizzas
- Traditional breakfast waffles topped with fruit