Beyond Beans: Mind, Body, Soul Nourished

I call this Newsletter “Start with Beans” as it's a play on words. You can think of it two ways. The first, starting with beans is like starting from nothing and I like this view. You’re a blank slate and you go up from there. Second, one can think of starting with beans, literally beans, meaning you start eating beans and once you do and begin to feel a little better you can look around and think, what's next? Your sleep routine? Ok. You work on going to bed a half hour earlier with a skin cleansing cycle. Maybe you already have a great sleep routine. If you do, please share it in the comments so this community can learn from one another. Or you are thinking about journaling but just can’t seem to get pen to paper yet. Meditating maybe? No, you cannot sit still or do it “right”. Or you have read enough about hormones and the adrenals and realize if you are in a healing mode, high energy aerobic exercise is not what your body needs. Maybe instead, it needs slow stretching or yoga or rolling out your myofascial tissue with a ball. How do you possibly fit it all in? You don’t. And you shouldn’t become stressed worrying about it. 

You can change your diet, your skin care routine, your exercise regiment, but until you address what's inside your heart and quiet your mind you may not get the results for which you are searching. In fact, you will most likely sabotage the work you are doing right now. How do I know? Because I was that person.

Looking into Your Heart and Quieting Your Mind

If you pick only one thing you may want to address quieting your mind. When I first left my job last year I was finally able to see that the amount of hours I worked was too much. I knew it when I was working but I could not and did not acknowledge it and address it. There was too much to be done to give my needs any thought. Sound familiar? Careful if it does because we are getting very close to your career being your identity. 

Then, as I wrote my resignation letter and the weeks that followed it, I had the clarity to see all of the things I had “lost” over the past years to present because I had not stopped: My mother, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my career, my identity, my physical body. It was a period of sadness, loneliness for my strong feminine role models, for my educational mentor, for my career-who was I if I was no longer my career title, and oh how my body was in physical pain, and finally there was stillness…sitting in the experience. When one sits and stays with the experience whether we like it or not it allows for us to exhale, unclench our fists, feel and heal. Some may call it “loss”, I now prefer “release". In taking the time to see what I released, I was able to make space and integrate.  

Owning It

More often than not I keep my opinions close. But here in this Newsletter I cheerlead because I believe we all can and should feel our best. When I don’t, I know it is because I have chosen not to do something that I know is in my best interest. For example, let's look at sleep again. If I was out having fun with my friends and went to bed later than I normally do, I wouldn’t wonder why I feel tired the next day, I know why. It's on me. Or if I decide to eat like I do not normally eat and my stomach becomes upset, it is not a mystery. It was my decision because I chose to put food in my mouth and enjoy every last delicious bite knowing I am veering off my typical diet. My choice, my consequences the next day or the next hour! When you have the goods and you have been acting upon it, the day you choose not to, there is no hiding from the choice, there is only the realization that you are making a conscious decision in which you will live by the consequences. Hopefully, you go back to your good habits tout de suite. For those who don’t, this is where quieting your mind and feeling in your heart is important to get to the root cause.

You Can Be Your Own Accountability Partner

Whether it’s a new routine or new way of eating I am behind your new habits. If you can find 5 minutes, maybe up to 15, to quiet your mind you will be a great accountability partner to yourself. It doesn’t have to be meditating like you see in a movie, it can be a walk with your dog, a walk in nature, a guided meditation from an app, listening to music while you reflect, you get to decide. Whether you have a little pocket notebook or use a “notes” app on your phone, after the quieting of the mind, jot down the date, and a few thoughts or feelings on how your “eating beans” journey is going, how your journaling is going, how your new job is flushing out, whatever is on your mind. Stop for a few moments, feel for those moments, notice and observe yourself, it may be uncomfortable at first, journal your observations and off you go to start your day, or to bed. You pick the time. After a month or so take a peek back and I think you will like the progress or maybe you will see a pattern to address, it is all about you and your growth. The wiggling and loosening up of your thoughts and feelings allows space for new ideas and creativity to form. Pick today as your day.

You are worth noticing,

you are worth observing,

and you are worth jotting it down to remember.

If anyone has a great idea how to carve out or steal some time from the day please add it to the comments below. I have not forgotten how hard it is to find time nor will I make any assumptions that it will be easy. I remember quite clearly when I was working crazy hours how the first thing I let down was myself and my personal goals. I am more committed now but there are still days when I waiver and have to remember to stand in my worth and put myself and my goals first on my calendar.

Recommended Recipe

Homemade veggie stock

Each day that I prep and cook I have scraps of veggies and herbs at every meal or snack. I do not throw any of the scraps out. Instead I save any baggies or plastic bags that produce is packaged in and use those to house the scraps in the freezer until it becomes so overloaded I have to make stock. You will not believe how much your weekly garbage is diminished if you have not been doing this and decide to try it out.

Here is what was in my freezer and I have a small freezer!

Grab a large stock pot. Put it on the burner and turn on the heat to medium high to get the pan evenly heated. Add the frozen vegetables. A pinch of salt and pepper. You do not need to add any olive oil to the pan as the frozen veggies will release water as they thaw. You should have a nice variety with plenty of onion and garlic scraps. If you do not I recommend cutting an onion in half and adding it to the pot along with a few garlic cloves.

I leave the frozen veggies in the pot to thaw for about 10 minutes stirring every now and then. I fill my 10 cup Brita pitcher and pour that over the veggies. I always have a large pot. If you do not have that many veggies then only put 4-6 cups of water.

Let the water come to a roaring boil and turn it to medium for about 45 minutes. It should be continuously bubbling but not spitting out of the pot. I put the lid on to keep the liquid from evaporating.

After an hour I turn off the stove and let the veggie stock sit on the stove for a few hours to blend. I put it in the fridge over night and I strain and bottle for use over the sink the next morning. It is best to not add too much salt when you are boiling just in case you make something for someone with a low sodium diet.

I keep a few cups of stock in the fridge to pour over a bowl of beans. You can make a fast soup if you have beans and veggies in the fridge with homemade stock. Delish! Most of the stock is in the freezer so it doesn’t go bad (lighter liquid pictured below). It keeps in the freezer for months but it never lasts that long. Enjoy.

Cheers!

Contact

If you have any additional questions on the bean protocol or need assistance with making yourself a priority please email me at Denisemancieri1@gmail.com. Feel free to comment below if there are topics you would like to see.

Please like this newsletter by clicking the heart emoji if you find it may assist you or others. Thank you! 

Note: I am not a doctor. I am a teacher and an educator with an earned doctorate in educational leadership. I enjoy research and I can take large amounts of information and parse it out into easily understood and digestible steps so people understand what is happening to their body and possible steps to reverse it with food as medicine. I have healed my own gastritis through choices with food. I followed Karen Hurd’s bean protocol diet, I meditated and still do and I healed. I feel compelled to be in service and educate others as the more people eating beans, alongside a healthy diet and sharing their stories the more people will live a healthier existence. Joy, peace and freedom abound. Please see your doctor and discuss nutritional options before you change any course of action with your health.