Vegetarian Confusion

I went to the Midwest Grill on Route 1 recently. My partner loves these Brazilian grills and I usually tag along for rice and plantains. Imagine my surprise when the menu says they offer a vegetarian plate from the kitchen, awesome! So our server comes over, explains the process and starts to take our drink orders - two large glasses of fresh mango juice. I begin to order the vegetarian option and she repeats "seafood and vegetarian plate," ummm, no, just the vegetarian plate. She argues with me that seafood *is* vegetarian, at least according to their menu. After going in circles a few times I finally explain that I get violently ill if I consume ANY animal products. Okay, okay, she understands, but they don't have a vegetarian plate without meat. Ugh! I browse the buffet - they do have rice, and plantains, I go for the buffet instead.

In the last week I've had four instances of vegetarian confusion. It goes like this:
Me: I'm a vegetarian
Them: Oh, but fish is okay, right?
Me: Nope, can't eat fish
Them: Hmmm, what about tuna?
Me: No meat, at all
Them: Do you eat chicken?
Me: No

What is a vegetarian you might ask? Well, a vegetarian, is someone who does not consume any fish, meat, poultry or animal byproducts. So, if I am a vegetarian why do people assume I eat fish or poultry? I may be more confused about it than they are.

Goodbye holidays, hello foot pain

As it turns out I seem to have developed that painful condition called plantar fasciitis. This occurs in the heel of the foot and can be related to injury, inappropriate footwear or occupations that require a lot of standing. With my luck the first time I wear house slippers in my life I develop heel pain within 14 days.

My self-prescribed plan is to receive weekly Reflexology sessions and bi-weekly therapeutic massages. Between the two and a rigorous self-care routine I should have my foot happy in no time! Or at least hoping that it won't take the typical six months to two years to heal.

What is Reflexology, Exactly?

I receive this question rather frequently but I also see a lot of disinformation, misinformation and plain myth being published as fact on the topic. It is very sad to see some folks publishing articles that refer to Reflexology as a massage modality, or recommend that it is something one could learn over a weekend, or sadder yet...that one of my largest populations of clients cannot receive Reflexology. If only I had a large stage and could set the story straight. I'll do my best with the internet though!

First myth busted: Reflexology is not a massage style or even related to massage. It *is* a form of bodywork but is more closely related to Acupuncture than massage.

Second myth busted: Reflexology is easy to learn for self-help techniques - I frequently send clients home with points to rub between sessions. But to practice Reflexology as a profession, that's at least six months at a vocational school, not something taught over the weekend.

Third myth busted: Reflexology is so effective during pregnancy that studies show women have shorter labors, less need for pain medications and better outcomes. So try telling my clients that have had such great outcomes because of Reflexology during their pregnancy that it is contraindicated!

Want more? Read What is Reflexology?

Turkey-in-a-bag

What's a vegetarian to do when a turkey is required for Thanksgiving dinner?

Cook a turkey in a bag.

Thanks to the kind folks that now package turkeys that can be cooked right inside a plastic bag! In 90 glorious minutes my omnivore spouse had a juicy turkey and I didn't have to dig around the poor bird's innards for giblets (what IS that anyway???) or other random turkey parts. The best part of all is that throughout the entire process I never had to touch the bird at all.

This is a huge upgrade from a few Thanksgivings ago when I had to cook my first turkey, ever. After spending hours in front of the food network jotting down timings for basting, thawing, stuffing, good lands! Apparently that bird was well liked by the carnivores but I may be emotionally scarred for life digging around the carcass looking for stray appendages. Thank heavens for turkey-in-a-bag.

A "Green" Christmas

My mother always collects the gift bags and boxes after everything has been opened on Christmas day. She stores them away in her trunk to repurpose for the next holiday season.

One year we had a huge crafting project and cut up paper grocery bags for gift wrap. We tied pine cones and sprigs of sage and pine to the parcels.

Amy's tips for "Green" gifts:
- make something homemade - cookies, a knit scarf, some soothing massage oil, something fun!
- give a long-lasting gift - something perennial that will outlast the week
- don't under-estimate the power of a second hand gift - one year I gave an antique cigarette tray in the shape of an ear complete with the ear reflexology points spelled out to a colleague. She loved it!
- give the gift of health with a massage gift card, a gift certificate for a yoga class or a class on healthy cooking
- wrap up a handful of smaller gifts to make a cool gift basket

A Green Christmas is perfectly doable and may even save you some dough this year!

"Green" Coffee?

While at the Natural Products Expo East 2008 last month I ran into quite a few booths featuring "green" coffee: organic, free trade, shade grown, you name it. One company had compostable bags that the beans are sold in, another sourced their coffee beans from an all woman-owned cooperative in Peru. Cool!

With America's obsession with coffee and some 150 million drinking coffee every day doesn't it make sense to support better coffee growing practices? Well, I'm certainly thinking a change to organic or at least fairly-traded coffee is a good idea. This week I'm drinking Screaming Monkey blend by BuyWell Fair Trade coffee.

Chocolate Lovin' Bear

Earlier this month my mom left the pantry window open a few inches - like she often does in nice weather. But on this occasion she was not anticipating an intruder. Along comes Mrs. Brown Bear, who is obviously premenstrual and craving chocolate. The bear slides open the window, pops off the screen and climbs into the pantry. My parents are sleeping like hibernating bears themselves - they didn't hear a thing!


The bear proceeds to ingest an entire five pound bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips and two boxes of brownie mix. Yumm. That certainly hits the spot! When her picnic is over she climbs back out of the pantry.

The only evidence the bear was there are the discarded packaging from the mix and chips and one very large, muddy, paw print on the wall where she gave herself a "leg up" out the window.

And I thought my neighbors were annoying!