YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Rainbow Peanut Noodles

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes, and I thought you might like to know how to make it. It makes a fantastic dinner, and superb leftovers for lunch the next day, or even breakfast!. A forkful twirl from the fridge for a yummy snack is also a reasonable option. If you want, you can get the cabbage, peppers, and carrots ready the night (or weekend) before to cut down on worknight evening prep time. This recipe is perfect with any kind of noodles, including gluten-free ones. The reason it is so filling is because it is full of all kinds of different phytonutrients, which you can tell by how many colors it contains, as well as all the super-nourishing fats in the form of peanut butter, sesame oil, and fresh soybeans. Continue reading


Making Special Meals Even More So (plus a recipe)

The other day my son-in-law and I were talking about my upcoming plans to pass along some of our dishes (the ones we use for meat meals), and instead start using my mother’s beautiful china. Those dishes, which lived happily and visibly in my parents’ house for sixty-plus years, have not been used at all for the past 10 or 15 years, and it seems a waste for us not to be using them now. So it will be out with the new, and in with the old. And also, since we don’t eat meat very much anymore, chicken and turkey not more than once or twice a month, and beef no more than once or twice a year, I had the idea to move the meat dishes out of the kitchen itself, and into a little pantry off the kitchen. That way, they will be nearby when we need them, but the rest of the time we will be able to fill the kitchen cabinets with items we use a lot more often.  Continue reading


Basics of Kindness & Self Care

It’s been a long time since I went back to the basics, but a letter this week from a reader in Missouri prompted me to think again about the basics. He asked specifically about fat, carbohydrate, and protein. I will get to what he said in a minute, but before I talk about food I would first like to talk about wellness. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Channah’s Whitefish Soup from Jerusalem

I am back! Inboxes, circadian rhythms, unpacking, and laundry are all emptied, adjusted, and done! It was nothing less than thrilling to meet our new grandson, and to feel the joy of seeing our son and daughter-in-law become parents to their beautiful new baby boy. Our daughter-in-law is a great cook, and I brought home a special recipe of hers. She emphasized that this recipe works with any whitefish available, and you should not feel the need to purchase anything too expensive or special. These are her instructions below, and I’ve underlined the ingredients to make it easier to get organized: Continue reading


On Hiatus

Dearest reader:

After a month of waiting, waiting, waiting, the day is finally here! Early tomorrow morning I am leaving for Jerusalem to see my children and meet my new grandson! I am looking forward to giving them absolutely all the love, attention, and TLC I can muster.

I plan to be back the last week of April, and I’m sure that I’ll have some stories for you.

In the meantime, here’s a link to a piece I did recently with the fabulously talented Annie Zaleski!

Please be kind to yourself–

RBS


Meditation is My Happy Place

Last week I said a few words about my own meditation practice, how I started with an approach that I call one-minute meditation, and how I had no idea where it might lead. I just knew that I liked listening to what regulator meditators said about their own experiences. So I thought I would try it out. One-minute meditation is just what it sounds like. It’s great for starters. It’s hardly much of a commitment. I mean, it’s one minute. You won’t be late for the sake of a single minute. Continue reading


Words of Thich Nhat Hanh

I have had a daily meditation practice for just over six years now. I started with one-minute meditation, which I have taught to many people over the years. I like to think of it as a good way to start. One minute is not very much time, and I have generally found that just about everyone is willing to dedicate a single minute to meditating. It’s really just a minute: you breathe in for 5 seconds, and then breathe out for 5 seconds. That’s your warmup; now do it 5 more times. That’s it. One minute. You’re done.

When I first started meditating, I did not really know the reason or the purpose. I just did it to see what would happen. I only knew that I liked listening to what people who meditated regularly said about their experience. So I thought I’d try it for myself. I don’t know what I expected. Next time I’ll talk more about how those first years went. This week I want to talk about the words of a man named Thich Nhat Hanh. Continue reading


In Thanks

The only thing I want to do today is to say thank you. We have been utterly overwhelmed not only by the events of the past month, but as much, if not more, by the outpouring of love and support that has found its way to our entire family.

Less than a week after my husband’s older brother died, our daughter-in-law was diagnosed with lymphoma. Continue reading



Every Little Bit Counts

I have some amazing news to share. A recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care observed a reduced risk of diabetes (type 2) in older women who walked just 1000 steps more every day. You can access those findings here. This week’s post might, at first glance, seem a little dry to you, but if you’ll stay with me for a couple of minutes, I think you’ll find an important observation here that may resonate deeply. It’s not about diabetes, or even walking for that matter. It’s about success. Continue reading