Got leftover meatloaf or ground beef and don’t know what to do with it?
This is the perfect recipe when you want to eat leftovers, but you don’t want it to taste anything like last night’s dinner.
I am right there with you, I don’t really enjoy leftovers. In order to attract me, leftovers have to be totally transformed!
This recipe is so good that it took a meal I couldn’t even stomach, and transformed it into a delicious meal (I tried to make meatloaf again and FAILED-grrr). Being an ex-vegetarian of almost 15 years, I still have trouble enjoying many meat recipes, but every once in a while, something will be cooked to perfection and I will be pleasantly surprised.
And by the way, this recipe is kid-tested and approved!
You will need:
1 large yellow onion
3 Tbsp ghee, butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp marjoram
3 cups leftover meatloaf or ground beef
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup red wine (or stock if you don’t have)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 tsp
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 cup creme fraiche
How to make it:
Step 1: Saute chopped onions in butter and marjoram until soft, sweet and fragrant in a large stock pot on med-high heat.
Step 2: Add leftover meat, corn and red wine, stir together and saute at medium heat.
Step 3: Add remaining ingredients (except creme fraiche and chives) and simmer for 40 min.
Step 4: Take off the stove and stir in creme fraiche.
Step 5: Pour into serving dish and sprinkle fresh chives on for garnish.
If you have been following the natural flow of this month’s energy (informed by the moon’s cycles), then you are now ready to participate fully in the unfolding of the intentions that you set during the new moon.
You will now be able to ride the tide of the full moon because of the seeds you planted for your dreams and intentions to be nurtured during the waxing moon. If you did, in fact, put the wheels in motion to make the intangible, tangible, then you might have noticed that the timing and the energies were fertile ground for the seeds you carefully sowed.
While during the waxing moon you tended to and nurtured your dreams by tending to your little seedlings we are now moving into the full moon and it is time for your vision to flower!
Your power is at its peak, so roll with it! The energies are ripe for a time of celebration, so start wrapping up those big projects so you can have fun. Finish up the tasks that require high levels of your energy now. Let your creative energies and juices flow now.
But don’t forget to play as hard as you work!
This is the perfect time of the month to have pre-scheduld your social time and events- you’ll be in the mood AND have the energy for it! Don’t worry that you won’t have enough time to finish your work- the careful attention, planning and caretaking that you completed during the prior moon cycles makes for smooth sailing straight to completion!
Now get on out there and shine your light!
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What you will need:
6 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan
1 tsp dried dill (or other spice of your choice)
1/2 tsp unrefined salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut flour
How to do it: Step 1: Melt butter gently on the stovetop. Step 2: Whip eggs with a fork. Step 3: Stir in all remaining ingredients one at a time in the order listed.
It will become a texture that you will think is too thick, but it is just right. Preheat oven to 400F.
Step 4: Generously butter the muffin cups. Step 5: Place 2 Tbsp in each muffin cup spreading it evenly with a fork (it will look like not nearly enough, but don’t worry, it will rise!)
Bake for 15 mins. Let stand for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and generously “buttering”.
We are about to enter the time of the waxing moon. This is the time of the month when our energies begin to grow.
It is a special window of “seeding” where we don’t necessarily give birth to our intentions, but we nourish and nurture the gestation of our projects.
What structures or containers do you need to put into place in order to create a foundation that supports the unfolding of your intentions, goals and dreams?
The energy of the waxing moon’s cycle is now calling you to take action. This is the time to begin “putting the wheels into motion” so to speak.
Begin acting on the revelations that you received during the the new moon.
If you have been managing your energy in tune with the moon cycles, you will have already invested time during the past waning moon cycle to clear clutter and remove any obstacles that are standing in your way.
During the new moon, you would have spent precious time with yourself, making an inquiry into what kind of month (or next moon cycle that you want to live into). You peered into your own soul and embraced your sacred moon time by reclaiming the power to say YES to those elements of your life that serve, and NO to that which no longer does. You got clear, set intentions and spent time visioning into the future.
Are you ready now to make the life of your dreams manifest?
What actions do you need to take on the physical plane to make manifest that which you have inner-vision-ed and intended? What nourishment will it require to firmly root your dreams into the garden that is your life, so that they can bloom and flower later?
Don’t just make a to-do list! Look at your upcoming month- keeping the different energies of each of the moon’s cycles in mind. Which tasks would best fit, at what times of the month?
Literally, put each task on your calendar, synchronizing the kind of energy they require with the most fitting of the moon’s cycles. For example, put the highest energy tasks near the full moon and keep your schedule free and open during the new moon, so that you do not fall into the trap of regretting saying yes to high energy tasks at a time when your energy is naturally more internally focused.
It is often easy to get inspired, dream and vision, but we often “drop the ball” when we fail to take the necessary successive steps along the way.
Both the outer and inner work that you did during the waning and new moons are in and of themselves a crucial part of the structure or foundation needed to support the unfolding of that which you desire. But we must be mindful not to overlook the details, skipping ahead to the dream- which will be manifest in the perfect timing, but that crumbles without a firm foundation.
Take it one step at a time and put the foundation in place. Nurture and tend to the gestation time of your dreams, so that they can be fully realized and birthed in a natural and easy flow.
Want to be reminded as we transition in and out of each of the moon’s cycles?
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We are now heading into the rebirth and renewal aspect of our feminine cycle. Each month as we bleed, not only does our physiology create the conditions that shed the lining of our uterus, but we also enter a slightly altered state of consciousness, very much like we do when we give birth to a child.
During the new moon we have the power to give birth to a renewed sense of ourselves. This is the time of the month where we hit “transition“, that time when we think we just can`t take it anymore and something has to give. Just as the pain and discomfort of birth alerts us to the need for a shift in our environment (internal and external), premenstrual tension also serves us, because it alerts us that it is time to stand up, claim our power and give birth to the vision of the life that we truly “see” for ourselves.
You might notice that you are weepy or impatient or clumsy during this time of the month (if your body is in tune with nature`s cycles, you will now begin your “moontime“ (menstruation) but know that as you harmonize yourself more and more to living in harmony with the moon, these monthly breakdowns will start to feel more like breakthroughs as you plan ahead to create your month in such a way as to facilitate this sacred time of the month. Make it your downtime, rest time and time of enhanced self-care.
Do not let this special window of expanded inner power and intuitive vision, go unclaimed. When we allow life to go on as usual, we often experience pain and suffering both in body and mind because we are acting against our natural rhythm. This internally generated and intrinsic power has positive and negative sides. In the positive, it gives us the courage we need to speak our truth or say “no“ to the things that we generally put up with, but shouldn’t. On the negative side this same power can be repressed into depression or if not channeled consciously into something that transforms our life, it becomes more of a destructive energy- released through anger, impatience and frustration.
Again to use birth as a metaphor, the tension we carry of not becoming , transforming or beholding that which we long to birth (our creations or passions), while continuing to carry the weight of those things that we no longer want to be burdened with in our lives, is translated both into emotional (eg: PMS) and physical pain (eg: cramping).
So what can we do?
Just as we “nest“ to prepare a sacred space for the birth of our new baby, we must also create a nurturing space to be rebirthed each month on the soul level (which is what we are called to do with the clearing and releasing that is asked of us during the waning moon).
Allow your renewal and rebirth this month to be unhindered.
Ask for your desire for privacy to be respected, so that you can concern yourself with nothing more than the rebirth of your soul or nurturing your creativity. If you are a mother, engage your partner in a conversation about how you can plan for and get the amount of solitude that you need on a personal level.
This time of the month is the perfect time to plan for a date with yourself or socialize mainly with other menstruating women (again the fact that our physiology actually attunes our bleeding to be in sync with our close women friends making it so that we bleed together is yet another hint that we are made to spend our time together with other women during this aspect of the moons phases). Take a meditation retreat, book a massage or other body work. Spend time alone if that serves.
The new moon is a time for deep introspection, reflection, stillness and meditation. Take time to be still and listen to your inner voice. This is the perfect time to vision ideas for new projects. Visualize how you want your life to be in this next moon cycle. Meditate, vision and then set your intentions. Make sure to write them down in a special journal that you can keep coming back to and reflect upon. Write down your goals for the upcoming month. Take time to schedule them into your calendar, so that you make time for them. This is not time to act, it is time to plan and to vision.
Want to be reminded as we transition in and out of each of the moon’s cycles?
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Have you ever noticed that sometimes it’s like “pulling teeth” to get certain things accomplished and other times it seems like your life flows in tune like a symphony orchestra?
Or do you mostly feel like you are “pushing the river” with your life?
What if there was a way to tune into the flow, so that you could ride the tide? Women of ancient understood that our cycles are deeply connected to the moon.
These women are celebrating the erection of the sacred moon lodge. The moon lodge was a place where women on their moon time retreated to pray and connect with their feminine gifts of sisterhood.
In fact, our physiology (bleeding) literally informs us that we need to step away from the daily flow of responsibililties and enter “the red tent” as it were, taking much needed rest from relentless “tending and mending”.
In ancient times, women would bleed apart from the community. While this occured on account of a patriarchal society’s fear that menstruating women were dirty- it did indeed serve a hidden purpose that offers much needed healing and restoration to women.
In this sacred place, women and mothers would relax together while sharing women’s wisdom and stories. In “the RED Tent”, the menstruating women were served food and tended to- by pregnant women and young ladies who were yet to commence their own “moontime” journey. Think you could handle a few days like that each month? Rejuvenated and refreshed- your cup full and ready to continue to be inservice to your family and community?
While few of us have the luxury to spend time alone visioning and “mooning” with our women friends, we can still take time to tune in each week.
On my journey, I have discovered that much of that which I find challenging in this world, is on account of the fast pace and seclusion of modern living. It just doesn’t provide the elements that I need to thrive. Over the years I have been watching what I do, where the moon is and whether or not what I am doing is working well -or not. I find that this conscious attention to the cycles of the moon brings me back when I feel harried, overwhelmed, undersupported and like I am losing myself in it all. Just noticing, is itself like a deep breath of understanding into where I need to stop and step back into the river.
I believe that as more and more of us are called to do this conscious noticing, we will collectively come up with ways to revive the much needed custom of the red tent, in our communities and for our daughters.
And to help you do just that……
We are super excited to be able to bring you gentle reminders each week about where we are all in the flow with the moon’s cycle- so that we can help you tune in and get more done by doing less!
As I write this, we are entering the waning moon cyle. Your energies will naturally begin to recede during this time as your consciousness begins to move inward. Release and let go of that which is no longer needed (ie: clear clutter in your home). Journal or enter deep conversation with loved ones to assimilate and absorb that which you encountered and learned in the previous weeks. Take care of unfinished business, so that you can create a clear slate for yourself moving forward. Finish up your unfinished projects so that you can move forward in creativity and make space for the visioning time of the new moon that is on its way.
Take a deep breath, tune in and let go!!
If this moves you, resonates or inspires you, we’d love to hear about it!
Sign up for our newsletter (top right hand corner, towards the top of the page) so that we can send you a weekly notification by e-mail, as we enter each of the next moon’s cycle, in service to helping you get in tune with your natural rhythms.
..Or does modern life and current birthing practices create the very problem that Vit.K supplementation is supposed to solve?
Vit.K…yes? no? why?
Before giving my two cents, when I want to share a quote by Lisa Barrett (who has a fantastic blog by the way and I recommend that you read her whole article and thread on this topic!)
Lisa writes,
“This brings us to the action of the third stage in all of this. If the placenta isn’t detached from the baby until after it has birthed then there is an equalization of the blood passing to and from the placenta: this creates just the right amount of transfer of all the cells required. There is a higher haematocrit which essentially makes the blood thicker and stickier. Isn’t this the natural way to prevent bleeding in the newborn until vit K can be made by the gut flora and what is in breast milk can be absorbed by the baby. This is a good reason not to interfere with the third stage. Even cutting the cord when it doesn’t seem to be pulsing isn’t a guarantee that the natural process has taken place, and I believe that the potential for complications due to that can cause bleeding issues for the mother if cut before placenta is out.”
While I don’t profess to know the ultimate truth here or have the final answer on this subject, I sure do have a lot of questions.
First of all, I think that Lisa`s point is a poignant one and probably the most important consideration here.
As well, would it not be possible that while we are also “creating” this “deficiency” of adequate Vit.K (by cutting the cord too soon and not enabling baby to have “thicker and stickier blood”), but we might also want to ask, “how much Vit. K is stored in that 1/3 or more missing blood supply“ when the cord is cut before it stops pulsating (as is done in hospitals and even with some homebirth midwives….gasp!)?
Could synthetic Vit.K -whether injected or given orally- be essentially like a “drug” only treating the symptom of mismanaged birth? If that is the case, then the root cause of vitamin K deficiency at birth, is not being addressed-that of interrupting normal third stage physiology.
It is now culturally acceptable in most places to use synthetic vitamins, but are we really just taking part in a huge experiment with our bodies and with our babies? Just today an article was published that showed that women supplementing with Calcium were at greater risk of heart attacks and that they are’t effectively increasing their bone density either!
Have we forgotten that vitamins and minerals work synergistically, and are (provided in nature with many co-nutrients), many of which haven’t even been discovered?
How arrogant can we be to assume that we have this whole vitamin thing figured out?….I mean, really, we didn’t even know that vitamins existed until 1911 and now we are injecting them into our babies’ bloodstream?
Is it not the way of vitamins and minerals to enter the body via food and first through the digestive tract before they hit the portal vein to enter the blood stream? Eating Vit.K in it’s natural form is one thing – synthesizing it (from who knows what kind of raw materials) and then injecting it via the skin is another.
And then there is the question of the modern diet and its deficiencies.
How does the mother’s Vit.K status affect the newborn’s status at birth? Is baby’s Vit. K status limited, because mother has less than optimal levels herself?
Does the average pregnant woman really eat a lot of greens, just because she is told they are good for her?
As well, many of us have imbalanced and inadequate beneficial intestinal micro flora… we can make our own Vit.K, but are we doing this optimally when we have more “bad” bacteria in our guts, than good bacteria?
And we pass on either our balanced or imbalanced microflora to baby….does this impact the speed at which baby starts producing adequate Vit.K?
So my long drawn out point is, why not attend to our digestive health and microflora, learn how to add greens to our diet in way that tastes good and drink infusions of Alfalfa or other vitamin K rich nutritive herbs (at the very least during the last month of our pregnancies) along with choosing a place of birth and care provider who we can trust to leave our baby’s cord intact at least for the first hour after birth.
In my mind at least, this is a logical, preventative and proactive approach.
As well, according to the research that I have been doing in regards to delayed cord cutting, it seems possible that immediate cord cutting itself may contribute the to heamorrhage that Vit.k is supposed to protect our baby’s from. So instead of worrying about using Vit.K or not, we should be looking at other contributing factors as to why a baby might bleed, such as trauma at birth, as well practices such as immediate cord cutting, should we not?
Here is another useful reference:
Judith Mercer writes: “Infants in the delayed cord clamping group were found to have fewer incidences of any level of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) defined by the reports of cranial ultrasounds routinely ordered during the first 28 days in the NICU. The incidence of IVH was equally divided between the stratified groups (ICC 7/7, DCC 2/2) although the majority occurred in infants less than 30 weeks gestation. One infant in the DCC group was a protocol violation, meaning that the cord was clamped prior to 30 seconds in violation of the study protocol. In addition, infants in the DCC group were less likely to have blood culture-proven (confirmed) sepsis during the NICU stay. Source:Science and Sensibility
Expanding our thinking to have a systems view of the question itself, allows us to have a much broader perspective. When we look at all the possible factors involved, we just might find that the whole problem does not really even exist in the natural course of things, except that we make it so.
Have you ever wondered why the elderly live in community, while families with young children typically live in a sort of modern day isolation?
Kinda strange, isn’t it?
Sure we moms are free to come and go, but where is a mother and her children REALLY welcome in public, where kids are free to just be kids? It isn’t really that enjoyable to bring our children places where we have to control them, to care take the emotional discomforts of the "prim and proper" adults in the room.
Have you ever wondered why so many babies and children these days seem to suffer from a variety of types of digestive distress such as colic, rashes, diarrhea or constipation?
In order to shed some light on this phenomenon, we have to understand the importance of good digestion and “intestinal integrity” in the mother, father and baby.
Few people understand that it is crucial that mother`s and father`s attend to their inner ecosystem (the microbial balance in their bodies) as important preparation for conception and childbirth.
Most of us are aware that probiotics like those found in yogurt are “good for us“, but unfortunately many of us are not aware of their specific impact in terms of building a strong basis of heath, good digestion and optimal immunity for ourselves and our babies and children. Since we haven’t understood what the consequences are, or what is at stake, we often overlook the health of our gut when we are preparing our bodies to conceive or to give birth to a child.
Did you know that babies are born sterile and establish their inner ecosystem, only once they enter the world?
So then how does a baby acquire his /her unique microflora you might wonder? Many people are shocked to discover that babies are “cultured” by their mama’s vaginal microflora as they make their descent into this world!
So what this means is, if mama’s microflora is imbalanced (mother’s vaginal microflora is established by her gut microflora), then baby will begin life with compromised digestive and immune capacity. What is even less understood is that the state of the father’s inner ecosystem also contributes to baby’s health, since during the act of making love, the father is passing on his unique flora ratios and shaping the nature of the mother’s microflora as well!
If one or both parents have a history of digestive problems, allergies, PMS, mental health issues such as depression or anxiety or learning disorders such as dyslexia or ADD/ADHD, then baby starts life out with compromised microflora- making him or her more susceptible than others to digestive, immune and mental/emotional discomforts as they continue to grow and develop.
As a result, baby is at risk for developing colic and other digestive distresses that could have been prevented by the parents taking care to restore their inner ecosystem during the pre-conception and pregnancy period.
So what can parents and parents-to-be do? How do we restore our gut flora?
First we have to eliminate those things that kill our good microflora or feed pathogenic bacteria:
1) We must eliminate all refined and even natural sources of concentrated sugar and flour from our diets as these types of refined forms of sugar feed the pathogenic flora that create toxicity and inflammation in our gut.
2) We must upgrade the quality of the animal products that we consume to being antibiotic free, from compassionately raised and free range or grass fed animals.
3) We can drink, bathe and shower in water that has been filtered of chlorine (which is an antibiotic).
Next we have to make the following additions to our diet:
1) Cultured foods (add 24 hour brewed homemade yogurt, kefir milk, cultured vegetables, kefir water etc.)
2) Alkalize our blood with mineral rich foods such as cooked greens, seaweeds and bone broth.
3) Take at least 6 months of supplementation with a broad spectrum probiotic supplement containing 14 or more different strains of beneficial bacteria.
The aforementioned practises must be adopted by couples planning to conceive, and by pregnant and breastfeeding women for anyone seeking to prevent common childhood disorders such as asthma, eczema, colic and tummy aches while promoting optimal immune health in the developing baby and child.
For people who don’t have severe digestive problems or a long history of antibiotic use, the aforementioned recommendations will be adequate to restore the gut flora in most cases.
However, in more severe situations such as autism, IBS and other chronic or persistent cases of digestive distress and mental illness, the family must in addition adhere to a grain free diet for 6 months to 2 ½ years to restore the gut back to its optimal state of health.
For more information about how to get started on that path check out these resources..
6 apples
(or whatever fruit you have on hand to fill bottom of dish)
1 lemon
Chop fruit and place in 8 x 8 Baking Dish that has been oiled with Coconut Oil, press the juice of a lemon on top of the fruit so that it doesn’t brown overnight and so that it imparts a lovely lemon flavour!
In a bowl combine:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 cup crispy almonds, chopped to oat like texture
1/2 cup honey or date sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
Drizzle mixture on top of fruit with fingers. Cover and store in the fridge overnight. Bake for breakfast at 375 for 20-30 min (whatever works!)
Got leftover meatloaf or ground beef and don’t know what to do with it?
