Maggie’s Green Mung Bean Seaweed Coconut Delight

Ingredients (makes 2-3 servings)

• 1 cup dry mung beans (mine were split)
• 3 cups of water
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
• a few handfuls of dried seaweed (wakame is good)

Directions
Dump everything in a pan. Bring the water to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Cook, covered, until beans are done. Depending on the beans this could be 40 minutes or it could be an hour and a half. Just keep testing them.

It is AWESOME. I promise. Chockfull of (good) protein, vitamins, and minerals. It even has some healthy fats (coconut oil).

The trick about the oil is that it keeps the water from boiling over. You must use the (healthy) oil.

I’m back to work. What’s your favorite weekday breakfast? I think mine is oatmeal (which I had this morning).

I have had a really amazing 6 day streak of happiness. Ever since Wednesday night I’ve been over the moon. Since I’m in such a good mood I wanted to give an update about the thing that makes me the happiest girl in the world: getting married to Bobby, the most amazing man I have ever met! (The engagement post is here.) I am also excited about a product review that I’m going to do for a company that sells bar stools – stay tuned Maybe I will get some bar stools for my wedding, hehe.

We have picked a place for the ceremony – the meetinghouse I grew up going to in Yardley, PA. Here is a nice picture (this is in the winter):

They are so sweet – when my dad told them I was getting married they blocked off every weekend in July for us (we still haven’t picked the exact date).

Now for the reception! We have a few options. We may be able to have it at the meetinghouse, if we can get them to let us have wine and beer (Quakers typically do not drink, myself included). If that doesn’t work out, we will likely have it at my parents’ house in New Jersey. My really sweet Auntie Jo and Uncle Morris (remember our gingerbread houses?) offered their house (in Flushing) for the reception as well – they have a great backyard. I think we will have a party there this summer anyway even if we don’t hold the reception there.

Speaking of Auntie Jo, we took a really awesome cooking class last week… I must update about that. Soon, I promise. It was called “Eat Local, Drink Global” and the focus was fish. The very talented Peter Berley was the teacher. I think Bobby is jealous of my celebrity crush on him.

Onto the food! Here are some yummy things I have eaten recently: frozen yogurt from Berrywild – The Art of Yogurt.

Berrywild has two kinds of yogurt – “berry smooth” and “kinda icy”. Bobby and I both got “kinda icy”. So good! I will definitely go back. Bobby always gets toppings but I am too cheap for them.

I like to switch up my morning breakfast grains (when I go for grains). This is grits with lots of cinnamon (that’s why it’s kind of brown and looks like oat bran). I topped it with agave nectar and coconut oil.

I don’t understand what the difference is between coconut oil and coconut butter. The oil is solid at room temperature, so it’s kind of buttery. The butter melts really easily just like the oil. Are they the same?

I went through a phase once where I did not eat much oil or any fats in general, and I was miserable. I couldn’t get full not matter how much I ate, I was cold, my skin was dry, and I was cranky as hell. Healthy fats can be revitalizing for your skin, hair, hormones, etc… Fats are so necessary in a healthy diet! I would even go so far as to say that eating more fat will help you lose weight, provided that you don’t overdo it. When I eat more carbs and less fats, I gain weight; when I do the opposite, I lose (or maintain, if I want to).

What’s your favorite healthy fat? I think mine is coconut oil or butter. Love them both.

This is an overview of the treatment for hormonal imbalance and treatment for stress. Acupuncture treatment can be very helpful for both. It’s an effective natural treatment for stress.

I’ve had a few people emailing me asking for recommendations that my acupuncturist told me. So I will just put them out here for you all to see. A lot of the mindfulness exercises can be good for anyone.

Acupuncture is great for: stress, digestion, hormonal problems, and more. I mainly went because of my digestion and a hormone thing!

Eating recommendations:

• Eat: lamb and bison, lightly spiced. (Cinnamon and chili are good.) (This is for the hormone thing.) (I made lamb here and here. Used spices here.)
• Eat: Eggs and bacon. Alternate between turkey and regular bacon so I don’t get bored. (Reasoning: animal fats are good for hormone regulation as long as they are from free-range/organic animals.) (Also for hormones.) (I made bacon here. Eggs and bacon breakfast here.)
• Eat: black beans with some coconut oil. (For hormones.) (Ate them here.) (Coconut oil here.)
• Eat: lemon rind/zest in cooking; oranges. Something about the rid of these citrus fruits is good for digestion.
• Eat: ginger and garlic. Good for digestion. Also very warming.
• Snack idea: rice cakes with coconut oil.

It is good to keep a balance – meat and carbs are acidic in nature, so to balance them out, we need alkaline green leafy veggies. Lots of them!

Other recommendations:

• Soak feet in hot water with lavender and epsom salts. Don’t let the water get cold! Do this for 20-30 minutes.
• Take a hot bath after dinner with lavender and epsom salts.

Meditations to try:

• Lie on your back (savasana). Breath in and out with your chest. Imagine your heart is expanding and making your chest rise. Keep focusing on the strength and power of your heart. (5-15 minutes.)
• Sitting or savasana. Focus on an area of your body that may feel neglected or needing love. Imagine a tiny light the size of a dime radiating from the center of that place. Now imagine it growing and radiating out from that body part until it is big enough to envelop your whole body. Now take all that energy and begin to compress it back into a smaller and smaller light. Eventually the light goes back to the size of a dime (still in the same location). Repeat if necessary. (5-10 minutes.) I got this one from an intenSati class with Lindsay.

Books:

• Feeling Good by David D. Burns. Cognitive therapy isn’t just for depression!

Have you tried acupuncture? What about other Traditional Chinese Medicine? (Coco has a good series on this stuff too.)