And the Award Goes to....!!!!

An awkward year to discuss, with some of the most glamorous and often best dressed actors abstaining from the highly homogenized awards. So before I begin I'll share, my personal favorite part of last night:

well and this ;)
But now to give my two cents on clothing and makeup!
We'll start with my fav couples: Chrissy Teigen & John Legend- not only are these two the most squee ever, but they always look gorgeous. Chrissy's so beautiful, her dress choice was more flattering than Emily Blunt's, who's also rocking the bump right now ;)
Olivia Munn & Aaron Rodgers- She's actually in my top 5 for all the dresses last night too. Not everyone can rock that color AND it's a Stella McCartney!!
Sarah Silverman & Michael Sheen- I know, beating out Naomi Watts & Liev Schriber, but I think Sarah's understated dress and sleek styling are more cohesive than Watts. I LOVE Naomi's makeup and hair, but they are battling for attention with her dress and large jewelry. Too much visually.
Best Dressed: Again I really love Olivia Munn's dress. It's sleek but unique, and elegant. It's a shame about her hair and makeup styling. While I actually dig her bright palette, she wasn't on top of her shine control and it only made her too flat and stringy hairstyle look greasy as well.
Charlize Theron- This woman has made a pact with something unholy I think ;) She always hits it, always stunning, styled perfectly, never ages.... I'm not a huge fan of the necklace, but ya know, she rocks it. Always rocks it.
Brie Larson- I'm not digging the little girl hair, but the COLOR of that dress. Can I roll around in it? the belt is loud but it works. Apparently Gucci started work on it before Christmas. The cut, the detail, I would try and steal this one.
Rachel McAdams- Gorgeous dress, beautiful jewel tone. Easy to be lost in a strong color but she chose a hue flattering to her skin, and styles it simply, letting the dress be the focus. Sadly the quality of the fabric was inclined to creasing and her limo ride over did not do it favors, but stunning overall. Best Hair & Makeup: I'll let Watts back on this list, that shade of lip color is HOT and her soft waves are sheer old Hollywood. A+
Jennifer Garner- I didn't dig her dress detailing too much, but her softly styled updo, stunning gems, and oh so natural makeup reminds us all why Neutrogena keeps this one on the dole! Take that Affleck! (no, you won't do better.)
Rooney Mara- ugh this kills me because I don't really like her, and I thought her dress looked like a crocheted doily missing from the Little House on the Prairie set- but I really like how she's styled. The merlot lips, strong brow, and tight chignon. She skipped gems altogether. She went for fashion forward rather than a glamour standard and she did it well. Damn you MARA!!!!!
Ok Drumroll....BEST OVERALL...Prianka Chopra. This woman is looking to take over the world. She is a MEGA star in Bollywood, semi-successful recording artist, and she's making serious moves on Hollywood. Her dress is breathtaking, like an homage to classical 19th century linens. Her makeup is flawless with a bold lip but not focus pulling, her hair pulled back into what appears to be an updo with the surprise that it's actually an elegant pony tail! She's got the drive and I've no doubt her star is only going to get bigger.

Happiness Is...

A query I've recently been pondering heavily. Ok folks I'm pretty open, this year I turned the dirty 30. I've lived the majority of my twenties in NYC.  It's been a learning experience. At times frustrating, at times amazing, always instructive.
When I was growing up, the successful individuals of my community all left to move to bigger cities. To go to top schools, to get high paying jobs. This was the expectation assigned to myself and my peers. The private school set. I failed to fit this stereotype the minute I chose a local school for University. Best decision I ever made. I met some of the greatest people I have the privilege of calling my friends. Then I graduated and suddenly the pressure was back on. I had no idea what to do. The recession had just hit, I had a degree in the arts, and a long list of unpaid theatre internships to recommend me.
So I did what I needed to do at the time, moved to a larger city that had the means to provide me with a career, an apartment, the opportunity to be an adult, and the hope of being successful. A choice I stand by. It was a necessity for me then, and I'm fascinated to have been here during such a massive changeover for this city, but it's time for me to ask the happiness question.
With a recovering economy, a stabilized thyroid, and a plethora of new knowledge and experiences; is this the existence I still want for myself?
While this may seem like a total catharsis of an entry- ok it is a little- it has a base in a bigger and more general question we all face at different times in our lives. Are we living our lives to be happy? Are we living our lives for ourselves?-- for others? Or (worst yet) for others expectations? At what point do we re-think how we wish to achieve the goals we want for ourselves?
 Will it mean some slight adjustments? Will it mean a massive sea change? I think for me it might be the latter and I feel that my time, though well spent in the big apple, is coming to a close. It won't be overnight, but it will end, and I think it's a happiness choice. It might be where my happiness is... more to come as this progresses. Think on your happiness on this leap day. A special day once every four years, for special thoughts- be well.

The Phyto Fight

image courtesy http://baublesbubblesbags.com/

To phytoestrogen or not to phytoestrogen, that does seem to be the question these days doesn't it. A quick internet search into the subject will lead you down a rabbit hole of every "natural" women's menopausal supplement on the market, but very little unbiased information.

What is a phytoestrogen?
Well I'm sure most of you know it's a plant based estrogen found in the majority of fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds we consume.

Why is it a hot button dietary topic?
Two general schools of thought exist as to the merits or dangers of consuming these little compounds; the first: that it is good for the body, eases menopause, and acts as a synthetic hormone blocker. The second: that it can cause cancer, throw the body out of it's natural hormonal balance, particularly in developing infants to adolescents.

How?
There are receptors in our body specifically set up to accept different types of hormones. What a phytoestrogen does is fills in a receptor somewhat mimicking the body's own estrogen.

When it goes awry....
The body is a self regulating machine, it wants to remain in stasis. Habitually consuming high levels of phytoestrogens will eventually lead your body to produce fewer of your own, creating androgen dominance. *This is where it's particularly dangerous for adolescents who's bodies are just figuring out how much they're supposed to be secreting.*

When it's good...
The crazy polluted, over pesticided, over growth hormone fed world we live in is CHOCK-A-BLOCK full of synthetic hormones that can really confuse and hurt the system. By giving those receptors a phytoestrogen, a substance the body more easily and readily accepts, we can prevent the absorption of the more toxic chemicals that now have no where to adhere.

BUT!!! - a big but ;)
Too much of a good thing- is always a bad thing. We're talking about creating a balance right? If the receptors are full and you just keep filling the system it all floats around in your blood stream tipping the scales. This is where you get a lot of phobias about men with increased breast size, women with disrupted or increased menses, lab cultures developing cancer cells...

So what to do?
This depends on the sensitivity of your system. Some can successfully consume healthy organic phytos with little to no consequence. Others develop cystic acne flare ups just looking at an oat!

For me soy is a big trigger as are most legumes (inc. peanuts) except for peas and green beans. Lesser triggers include hops, licorice, turmeric, fresh thyme, cashews, onions, and garlic. Other foods with lower, phytoestrogens, or slightly different forms are really really beneficial (for my body) and make me feel great, like fresh pomegranate, sweet potato, green tea, red wine, fennel, walnuts, oats, quinoa, and cinnamon.

Stefani Ruper has an excellent list. She herself is VERY sensitive, but check out the foods mentioned. Some of them might contribute to occasional skin flare ups, or maybe you notice you get more menstrual cramping when consuming certain ones during the month. Try eliminating possible triggers and see how it makes you feel. Side effects of over phyto-ing the system aren't all necessarily long term like cancer, or PCOS, some of them you may notice alleviated within a few weeks or maybe even days.

The cancer question. Yes the cancer developing in a petri dish was fed richly by phytoestrogens, but this experiment can't seem to be replicated on living subjects. Rats and mice haven't been effected by the introduction of phytoestrogens. Also the countries historically cited to have the highest soy consumption also have the lowest incidences of cancer. I personally don't believe that means phytoestrogens are a cure for cancer, but it does suggest that it's probably not the cause.

It should also be specially noted that post-menopausal women may have a completely different set of experiences as well. Once the body entirely stops making it's own estrogens, these foods may actually provide a greater stability and balance to the system, it's all about figuring what feels right, gives you energy, calm, feels clean. You won't inhibit your body's own estrogen balance if you've naturally come to the part of your life when you no longer produce it.

Make sure you're always buying organic or from a local trusted farmer while you're on your own phyto discovery quest.  Eliminate pesticides, GMOs, and pesticide residue from the equation. They'll always create an endocrine disruption.
Be well my friends!

Advocacy of Your Body

This week alone, I've discovered that five of my fellow gym gal pals are also hypothyroidic. A fact that's gone unknown for a number of years. I'm not totally surprised, it's not something that's spoken of until a fellow sufferer owns his or her condition. The crux of each conversation I had with these ladies is that none of them knew anything about helpful or hindering foods and/or supplements. Perhaps even more telling is that they all asked if I am hyperthroidic because I'm able to keep my body fit and high functioning. **One even went so far as to question what level of medication I'm on and was highly surprised when I said 88mcg, expecting a cute 25mcg I'm sure ;)** I am always happy to pass along everything that's worked for me- I mean, hence this blog. Comparing the two photos above, same medications from my doc but a different level of research on my part into what I could be doing differently. But I urge everyone, regardless of condition to be your own best advocate. Each of these women sees an endocrinologist and are taking the proper RX for their bodies, but none of them had any other info on the subject, and there's SO much out there!!! Again, I in no way am calling out these women, if anything, their doctors should feel more responsible for the general health of their patients. But what I do want to encourage you to do is go online, look up your diagnosis, do your own research on the subject. Don't expect your doctor to bring any of it up, ask them, do all the sleuthing for both of you. Make sure to consult them about it before making drastic changes. There may be things they are VERY against, but there are things that they may encourage you to do. It's well documented that cruciferous vegetables are goitrogens and not the best for hypothyroidism, but your doctor probably won't mention it without prompt. They're thinking about making sure you have your correct RX, reading your blood work... getting all to all their patients in the time allotted ;) Mine didn't talk to me about it until I brought it up with her, and none of my gym friends had even heard about the issue. Let your desire to feel like the best possible version of yourself drive your fingers and your curiosity to find information that could make a great deal of difference to how you function every day. Make sure you read all the info on your medication bottle!!!! (My pals all knew to wait an hour before eating, but surprisingly 3 of the 5 did NOT know to wait 4 hours before consuming anything with large amounts of iron.) Your body is a machine with no owners manual. Write your own as you live your life. The care and keeping of me. It's a pretty great read. <3

Let's Talk Soy...

I had really thought this subject was more open and shut, but since both of my current roommates seem to happily live on various processed soy products, but also think of themselves as following a very healthy lifestyle, it seems that some misconceptions need to be cleared up:

Soy, in the USA, in general, is not safe for consumption. It has either been imported from countries with very low food grade standards, or it is a product of genetic modification by Monsanto and thus, is chock FULL of pesticides and pesticide residue. (AKA poison, in case you're still part of the population who shrugs and says, "So?" when told that.) 

It's very hard in this country to safely consume soy, I know, I was a vegetarian for 18 years. Except that I wasn't really. I was a carbitarian, and a soyitarian, because in this country, without proper education on the subject, that's what you become. 

With all that rather harsh and cynically said, there is a means by which soy can be consumed as an optional protein, but you have to remember one word.

POFF

Great non-word word, right. (Ok no it's terrible, but it IS important.)

Preparation: How was your soy prepared? Was it processed? Did you cook it? If you don't even know, that's kinda a bad sign kids. Know how your soy was prepared, know how processed it is, the more processed and the less cooked = the worse it is for your body. (I'm looking at YOU soy milk...)

Organic: A bit self-explanitory. If it's not organic, it IS GMO in this country, and it IS riddled with pesticides that will only further the confusion it's already causing in your endocrine system, with it's not quite bio-identical phyto-estrogens and goiter inducing compounds. Only buy organic on this one, no tip-toeing around it.

Frequency: How often are you consuming soy? Once a week? Once a day? Multiple times a day? Is it filling in for your milk and lunch meat and dinner protein???? "NO!" -you say, "That would be ridiculous!!!" So check it this week. Check that breakfast cereal you pour into your bowl before the soy milk, check that protein smoothie you bought with lunch, check that protein pasta you're boiling up for dinner, the sauce of your frozen veggie mix. Where is the protein coming from? Chances are good it's a combo of soy and whey (from dairy- don't even get me started there.) Soy should really only be consumed once or twice a month guys. Yeah- I said it. 1 or 2 times in 30 days ONLY. 

Fermentation: Safely eating soy also means it should preferably be fermented. Fermented soy is more frequently found in items like soy sauce, or tempe. Check that it's organic and not highly processed and then these are the types of soy safe to have 2x a month. Even better if it's cooked as well. It lessens it's harmful effects on the thyroid. 

Final word here. Less is more. Check what you're eating, research into the companies who produce your food, look at the country of origin. Just because a commercial on TV says it's equal to an egg, just because Whole Foods has it on sale, doesn't mean you, or your family should necessarily be consuming it daily. "But BKBTY"- you say, "It's in EVERYTHING!!" I know, it's super hard. Avoid it as much as you can, but don't beat yourself up when you realize it was in that chocolate you ate, or those sweet potato chips. Learn from it, research other brands, cook your own dishes with whole ingredients when you can, and you'll eat a lot less than you started out doing.

Let's Talk About Valentines....

I Did Promise a Crafty Blog!

Well, I did say that some of these posts would also be about crafting, and today I make good on that promise and want to talk about making Valentines. Making a Valentine is a lot like baking someone a birthday cake or sending hand written correspondence. It's a great way to take a little extra time to show a lot of extra care. I think one of the largest and longest running misconceptions about Valentine's Day is that it is strictly a romantic holiday for some "normative" couple; conjuring thoughts of commercialism, societal stereotypes about relationships, and conversely, exclusion there from.

 I was raised in a home where Valentine's Day was a very special day to tell the important people in your life that you love them. To ensure that even if it's something you might say to them every day, you take a little extra time to really let them know on Valentine's Day. Your mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, pets, friends, or significant other--makes no difference.

Anyone who makes you feel loved, special, and appreciated in your daily life. It is this mentality that I try to perpetuate and express to my loved ones every year and I encourage you to do the same. Take back this day from corporations or Hollywood and spend it spreading love and happiness. My favorite way to do this is to hand make Valentines. It can be a bit time consuming so out of the many people in my life that I absolutely love and reach out to, I generally only make and send four or five valentines for my core support system!  

The making of them is only as complicated as you like it. Which is my way of saying, there's really no wrong way to make a valentine, so just start playing around with materials until you see something that you like! 

My kit usually includes paper doilies, ribbon, stickers, some fake flowers, origami paper, and some colorful markers or pens. Also as important are items like a good craft glue, and some double sided tape.

You can find a lot of these things at Target, or a Michaels, or Jo-Ann Fabrics. You can find some pretty great deals searching the "sale" and "clearance" areas as breaking the bank is 100% unnecessary to tell someone you care. 

One of the best parts about this process is, if it's something you decide to do every year, you really start to build a cache of supplies as you're unlikely to use an entire pack of doilies or spool of ribbon in one go. So buy a couple things every year and you'll start building up a kit, as it were, that you can return to every year to create with. 

Specialty items: I like to include just a couple special pieces every year and it's entirely up to you to choose whether or not you wish to do the same, but I think it helps me to create a theme or color palette. And, well, it's just kinda fun. If you live somewhere near a store that makes items, cards, papers, ribbons, that you love and want to incorporate, that's awesome. Personally, my favorite store is Southern California based 32° North. They're a small business that imports a lot of beautiful handmade items for lots of different holidays (with a specialization in Victoriana.) They are a really prompt and personal company and I have ordered from them probably half a dozen times now without a single complaint. They're pretty sweet. 

The Process: Doesn't have to get done in one sitting. I think you'll hate it if you just try to sit down and bang 'em all out. Luckily, for many of us, this year the weather is very cold, so, PERFECT for indoor crafting! Spend a little time in the evenings, put on some music/TV/movies and spread your craft items out and let them inspire you. 

OR have a get together! If you feel like you really want to do this, and you have a really crafty/artisitc friend that could help get you started, host a little valentine making shin-dig! Reclaim this holiday for friendship and celebrate as a group!

The Inspiration: Repeat this to yourself when you're stuck, "My lack of current creativity is not a reflection of my love." Frankly I think it's when we care the most that we get stuck because we want everything to be perfect for the people we care deeply about. So here is a list of my personal favorite music and DVD choices for feeling valenspired! 

Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney & Wings, Al Green, ABBA, The Association, George Harrison, John Lennon, Gloria Estefan--  to name a few

As far as TV or DVD, skip anything super romantic or absorbing, we're crafting here! I like things like old 80's TV shows ala Full House, Moonlighting, or Murder She Wrote. Something that feels like putting on a fluffy pair of slippers for your soul. And you haven't lived until you've watched the animated Alvin & The Chipmunks Valentine's Day specials from the 1980's. It's to be experienced!!!!!!!!

So feel the love! To quote the great Stevie Wonder:

"Did you know that true love asks for nothing? 

Her acceptance is the way we pay. 

Did you know that life has given love a guarantee, 

To last through forever, and another day? 

Just as time knew to move on since the beginning, 

And the seasons know exactly when to change, 

Just as kindness knows no shame, 

Know through all your joy and pain, 

That I'll be loving you always "

So put some love out into the universe this Valentine's Day! Pay it forward, and feel the amazingness of when it comes back to you! 

BKBTY

A Tale of Two Pies......Part 2! The Exciting Conclusion

Mincemeat Pie- without the meat....

Harkening back to my personal failing of not liking figgy pudding, and also sort of wanting to learn how to make just about every kind of pie I can, I decided it was high time I followed through and figured something out for minced meat. I don't know why for so many years I felt I needed to know how to make this one, but I have. I bought a wonderful Mennonite cook book years ago based mostly upon the fact that it contained a recipe for minced meat from scratch and I had only been able to find canned, and/or recipes that call for canned. :(

Since then however, with the advent of the artesianal, handmade, small batch, organic, local, heirloom, food movement, I have found it much easier to find many different recipes to compare! 

The down side to this is that 

1. A lot of those recipes go all the way back and contain suet and venison, so great for them, but not for me personally. 

2. Making minced meat and making minced meat pie are two different things. Making minced meat is like canning and recipes tend to have measurements in lbs. 1 lb of apples, 1lb of sugar. Again, totally awesome, but more than I could possibly ever need unless I went into a minced meat pie business. (Do it! squeals my mother...) 

3. The third problem is similar to my figgy pudding failing, in that I don't really like the flavor of molasses and rum. So what to do? Well, I got creative. And even if this recipe is NOT strictly minced meat, it's pretty awesomely awesome. My family loved it so much I made a very small one for Solstice and was asked to make a full size for the New Years. 

The last thing I have to say before letting you get to the recipe is that once again I will NOT be providing a pastry recipe. Please use your favorite, or find one that looks good. The one I use is not mine to share, and I would have to kill you if I told you :( Sorry.

But for the rest of it! :

(in parenthesis) indicates for small pie size
makes 9 -10” for full or 6-7” for small

Ingredients:

2 (1.5) apples chopped into small cubes

2 (1) pears chopped to small pieces

5 (3) chopped pitted prunes

1 (1/2) cup dried fruit. I used a Trader Joe’s mix of dried berries with raisons. Use what you like!

1/4 (1/8) cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 (1/8) cup maple syrup

1/4 (1/8) cup brandy

1/4 (1/8) cup fresh lemon juice

 1/4 (1/8) cup Irish whiskey

1 (1/2) teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 (large pinch) teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 (large pinch) teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 (large pinch) teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch (half pinch) of salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients into a bowl and allow to sit overnight in a glass container, stirring every few hours or so.

2. Roll out your dough. This pie is for two crusts, top and bottom. Place bottom dough in pie plate, pressing gently for a thorough fit.

3. Fill crust with pie filling using a slotted spoon. There may be a little extra depending on the size of the apples and pears. There will definitely be left over liquid, save it and spoon onto ice cream, or use a little dough and make tiny fold overs. But it's really too good to waste.

4. Roll out your top crust and join with bottom crust at edges, pinching to seal. Take a small knife and make a few ventilation holes.

My Dad's dog Huckle, incognito, desperately begging for pie!

5. Heat oven to 425F. Cover the outer edge of the pie with foil to prevent over browning. Bake for 40-45 (30-40) min.  Remove foil for last 15min of baking. You may also want a catch pan on the rack below in case of sticky boiling over juice.
Enjoy warm.


**For Dutch pie option, mix half (quarter) a package neufchatel cheese with 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) fine sugar and line the bottom of the pie crust before adding fruit mixture.

Enjoy!!!

BKBTY