A Recipe for Liver Health and Spring Smiles: Bitter Greens with Sweet Mustard Dressing

I haven’t posted many recipes lately as I’ve focused my work more on helping clients build resilience to heal from trauma and stress, but of course everything is connected, including the foods we eat. So here is a salad that will put a smile on your face this spring and also support your liver, which is a key to your overall health and resilience.

4 - 6 Servings

SALAD

½ cup walnuts

1 medium head of frisée, leaves separated and torn

1 small head of radicchio, leaves separated and torn

1medium Granny Smith apple, cored, cut into matchsticks

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on a diagonal

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

½ large lemon

Preparation:

Toast walnuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until slightly darkened, 5–8 minutes. Let cool.

Toss frisée, radicchio, apple, and celery in a large bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper; squeeze lemon juice over. Toss with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Transfer to a platter and top with walnuts.

VINAIGRETTE

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. light agave nectar

1½ tsp. whole grain mustard

5 Tbsp. walnut oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, agave, and mustard in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in oil; whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

I found this recipe from Bon Appétit, where it was preprinted with permission from Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photography copyright: Ed Anderson © 2020.

Tips to Love Your Liver and Help Its Natural Detoxing

Spring is a natural time of refreshing and rejuvenating. In both Chinese and Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) medicine systems, there is a focus on detoxification this time of year. I think it’s important to note that detoxing is something that our body does on its own ALL THE TIME (thank you, body), and I don’t think that fad detox diets are helpful. They can actually be quite hard on the body. However, it can be helpful to offer support to our bodies and the organs that do so much to help our natural detoxing during this time of year.

The liver is an amazing organ that does so much to support our health. The liver regulates most chemical levels in the body, excretes bile to carry waste away and helps with fat digestion. All of the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The liver processes this blood, creates nutrients, metabolizes drugs into forms that are easier for the body to use and clears the blood of toxins. The liver does more than 500 vital functions including production of certain proteins, production of cholesterol, conversion of excess glucose to glycogen, regulating blood clotting and much more.

In our current lifestyle and society, we are all exposed to numerous toxins through chemicals on our food, in our water, in the air, and in lotions and other things we absorb through our skin. While it’s not practical (or encouraged) to live in a bubble, I think it can be helpful to try to avoid toxins as much as you can. Reducing alcohol, trying to select organic (and preferably local) fruits and vegetables, and using more natural beauty and household products is a good place to start and will ease the burden placed on your liver.

Some body signs that might indicate your liver could use a little extra support are: acute sense of smell where perfumes and other smells bother you, you have a hard time digesting fats, low energy or a headache after meals or dark circles under the eyes or waking up between 1-4 a.m. or hot/cold sweating.

The liver can also be supported by gentle somatic touch work. If you’re interested in a session, please reach out.

Try this bitter greens salad recipe for a liver-supportive meal.

Sources: Organs and The Vagus System class with Janet Evergreen and Johns Hopkins

How to Tap Nature as a Resource to Serve Your Nervous System

In Somatic Experiencing, a “resource” is something that is grounding and connects us to a familiar and pleasant nervous system state. It is something or someone you spend time around and enjoy. It supports you in settling more into yourself and feeling more at home in your body. I find for myself and many of my clients that nature is often a resource.

I think of waves crashing on a shore, the quiet of a wooded path under my feet, the bark of a large tree, the bright yellow of early spring daffodil blossoms and the thick canopy of summer leaves, and the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina where I grew up. Even my studio, which looks out onto the woods and Rivanna River and is full of plants, offers me support.

As I think of these things, some of my favorite things in nature, I feel a deeper breath move into my body, I feel a softening in my belly and a feeling of relaxation move into my body. I feel more awareness down into my legs and feet. I notice how my body supports my nervous system in downregulating to a more parasympathetic nervous system state, which is more restful and supports healing.

We are so lucky that spring is so stunning here in Virginia. I invite you to savor the fresh newness of this season and take the time to notice in your body what the experience of noticing nature is like for you.

Nature won’t be a resource for everyone and that is just fine! You can try this exercise with anything that you enjoy being around and find pleasant! If you try this, I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

Exercise is Good for Your Mental Health!

Did you know that exercise is also good for your mental health? Intuitively, this makes sense, as we truly can’t separate the physical and mental, but it’s nice to know that there is research to support this as well.

Studies show that exercise increases our sense of overall well-being, is helpful for stress reduction, depression, anxiety, ADHD and trauma/PTSD.

How do you sense your overall well-being? It can be interesting to notice not only how your body feels after exercise, but how your mind, thoughts, worries, anxieties and mood feel as well. I love that when you exercise, you are supporting your health and wellness in numerous ways.

How much exercise is needed to get the benefits for your mental health? Studies show that 30 minutes of exercise three to five times a week can improve anxiety and depression symptoms. But even five to ten minutes a day may make a difference. I’m a big fan on adding in small amounts of movement and exercise into your days, especially when you don’t feel like you have time for a “workout.” A quick walk, rolling out on the foam roller, or doing 10 minutes of Pilates is still helpful!

Are Somatic Experiencing Sessions for You?

I talk about the nervous system a lot. It has been getting more attention recently, but it’s not something that we are taught much about. Yet, it is working automatically for us all the time. Every single day. If you want a refresher, you can read a blog I wrote about the nervous system here.

A regulated nervous system supports physical as well as emotional health. I think we should all understand what a healthy nervous system feels like, and ways that our nervous system works as well as ways it can get stuck and create patterns that — while at one point in time might have been helpful — are not currently helpful. 

Somatic Experiencing (SE) helps us develop and maintain a healthy nervous system. I’ve just finished Somatic Experiencing Practitioner training, and an SE session could be for you if you have chronic fatigue, chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, trouble sleeping, migraines, a history of trauma, anxiety, find it hard to relax, or want to feel more present and embodied in your life. 

SE is a body-based model of working with trauma and nervous system dysregulation in a way that allows any stuck energy to move out of the body. This stuck energy can show up in what we would call symptoms: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, anxiety, migraines, etc. can all be related to nervous system dysregulation, or dysregulation can make these symptoms worse. SE involves tracking sensations in the body and noticing yourself in a different way.

I’ve just learned touch work, which is done seated or on a massage table. This gentle touch work is not like a massage, but instead involves gently touching joints, diaphragms and other areas of the body while fully clothed. Offering the body this type of support helps to regulate the nervous system, supports moving stuck energy out of the body and can feel very relaxing. 

I can’t say enough good things about SE, so if you are interested, please reach out to schedule  a session. SE can be a great complement to Pilates and can support you physically and mentally.