Monday, December 7, 2009

Easy Peasy Veggie-neasy Part One: Stress and Your Body

Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it."
- Jane Wagner


So, I’ve been hearing some rumblings from the peanut gallery. Basically, most of them have been going like this: “Sarah, your recipes look SO GOOD (you guys are too kind!), but tempeh? What IS that? Do they all have to have 234,743,903 ingredients? The cook time on this recipe looks to be about 2 hours…come on!”

Duly noted and completely understood! This holiday season is stressful as it is and going home to make a 4-hour long recipe is not what most people need. So, today’s subject will be a three-part-er: stress and your body, tips for fast and healthy cooking, and an easy peasy recipe!

Stress and the Body

So, most people have heard about stress affecting your health. From personal experience, it can be hard to reduce stress in your life when there are plenty of things that HAVE to be accomplished. Part of our culture is to ignore what your body is telling you in order to get through whatever is stressing you. Unfortunately, not addressing the stress and tension in your life can lead to all kinds of physiological responses and adverse affects that are not fun at all. The one that most of us are familiar with is cardiac disease. Serious stuff, right?

Well, instead of telling you to RELAX ALREADY, I would like to suggest something that you can do from the (dis)comfort of your own desk. Everyone needs a little time for himself or herself, and you can affect your health in a good way by taking it when you can! Try this little breathing exercise on for size…

Breathe deeply into the bottom of your stomach (diaphragm), watching as your belly expands like a balloon. Your shoulders might even crack as new air replaces the old. Then breathe out slowly. Repeat this process for at least one minute. Close your eyes if you can, and try to take deeper, slower and longer breaths every time. Don't hold your breath, but keep it moving as you relax your body and let the tension slip away.

For more information about stress and your body, look at this search from the American Holistic Health Association



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