If you’d like to try something sweet to calm your mind and nourish yourself from the inside out, both at the same time, you may want to make this two-ingredient fudge. It won’t take more than five minutes, and it will fill your belly with yummy goodness. This fudge is super rich and nourishing, so I really do recommend cutting it into 18 squares. You can still eat as many squares as you like. And you may eat this for breakfast if you’d like, with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. Continue reading
Category Archives: simplicity
Being Kind to Yourself: A Basic Approach
A while ago, I was having a conversation with my friend Henry. He’s a doc, too, and we enjoy spending time together and talking about practicing medicine, taking care of patients, what it’s like, what we learn from it, and how we can do better. I am very grateful for Henry, and for the fact that we have been having this conversation for almost 25 years. It just so happens that Henry is in quarantine right now, so he’s on my mind. He’s fine in case you’re wondering, just being cautious. Continue reading
Momentary Mindfulness
I think that it would be nice this week to share some examples of mindfulness. Goodness knows we can always use more of it.
Some of the examples from the list below are mine, some are from friends, especially this one, some come from my co-workers, and some are from members of my own family. One contribution is a gift from our beloved 12-year-old chocolate labrador retriever (may her memory be a blessing), though truthfully it was more of a demonstration. Continue reading
Reversing Winter Insulation in the Springtime
A while back, I received a timely message from a reader: “With the weather warming I am digging out summer clothes and finding that some things are a bit “snug.” My diet is healthy and I run several times a week, but I would love to shed a few pounds around my waist. If my diet is already good, what would you suggest to take a few pounds off?”
Let’s look at this request from a seasonal standpoint. Continue reading
Try Nourishing Yourself with Joy
Today we’re talking about diets. To diet is to restrict oneself, to deny oneself pleasure. Well that sounds kind of miserable. No wonder diets don’t work. Who would want to do something that makes you feel bad?
Dieting is a logical consequence of the assumption that overweight is due to overindulgence. But there is a fault — a big, fat one — within this assumption: If it were true that overindulgence were the cause of overweight, then denial would be an effective and viable option for losing weight. But it is not, of course, which is why you have probably noticed that diets virtually never work. Continue reading
Sage Advice for a Healthy New Year
Some of the most valuable gifts we receive are the words of wisdom that are passed along from one generation to the next, and the holidays are a meaningful time to think about them. A few years, ago, around these holidays, a few of my friends at work got talking about our grandmothers’ old-fashioned expressions, beliefs, and bits of sage advice. You may think these expressions as quaint and old-fashioned, but they are so much more than that. These sayings are the collective wisdom of our ancestors, the ones who survived to pass along their words of wisdom to the younger generation. Here are a few for which I am most grateful. Continue reading
One Step At a Time
Some time ago, Gene [not his real name] the computer guy showed up at my office for the first time in a while. Right away, I knew something had changed. I said, “You’re looking very well! How are you doing, Gene?” He responded with an uncharacteristic grin, and answered with an observation that all of us know, but few believe (despite numerous confirmatory personal experiences!). I sat up fast when he said, “Diets don’t work.” Continue reading
Practice Makes Progress
Let’s lose the never-enough mindset.
It’s okay if you don’t walk as far as you wish you had.
It’s okay if you don’t stretch for as long as you wish you had.
It’s okay if you ate a bag of chips all by yourself last night.
It’s okay if you didn’t keep a promise you made to yourself.
You tried. And that is always good enough for me. Continue reading
The Zen of One Fried Egg
A few mornings a week, I fry myself an egg for breakfast. Just one perfect egg, or, at least, my attempt at it. I have been practicing for a long while, and it’s definitely coming along. It doesn’t stick to the pan anymore. I almost never break the yolk. Continue reading
Thanksgiving Gratitude
Many years ago, when I was eleven years old, my parents bought a Corning Cooktop stove, a fancy new appliance whose coils remained white when they were hot. You just had to take it on faith — or not. No matter how long I stared at that new stovetop, I could not convince myself that the white coils were hot. And that is why I still remember clearly, so many years later, the perfectly oval burn on the tip of my right index finger. I only touched it once, but that was all it took. I couldn’t take anyone else’s word for it. I needed to see for myself. Continue reading