One of the schools where we teach does not have a working oven, and we promised the kids we’d make cookies, so no-bake cookies it is! We’ll think they’ll be pleased with the two selections. Here is a photo of the Chocolate-Peanut Butter. They’re also making Pumpkin-Oatmeal.

Up until now and welcome 2013!

“Rock bottom became a solid foundation upon which I built my life.”

J.K. Rowling’s

Someone recently accused me of being impractical. The comment was fairly spat at me, so naturally I was puzzled and hurt, but the more I thought about it, the more I was able to put this comment into perspective.

After my marriage ended and I was left with very little to rebuild my life, I did what anyone else would have done in that circumstance; I founded a non-profit and traveled the country interviewing kids. I suppose this wasn’t the most practical thing I have ever done. I spent what little I had on this journey, so when I returned home and all the data I collected was being analyzed by Sonoma State, I cobbled together what I could in the way of funds to survive while the non-profit, DirectionFive Health (D5), was progressing. I lived in my little RV in some friend’s field, but when I couldn’t make the RV payments anymore, other dear friends John and Nancy in southern Oregon offered me their guesthouse so I could write the health programs for DirectionFive. They housed me and fed me (and my doggie pal Wilma) and D5 progressed. My sister Margaret-also in Oregon- offered me some work that helped during this time, so I could keep my phone on and some other basic bills paid.

After I moved home to California at the beginning of last year, my friend Nancy offered me her guest bedroom, while I continued to focus on D5. Was this practical to continue to focus on D5, as I wasn’t being paid for my efforts? Not by a long shot. Strike two. If people didn’t think I was crazy yet, they did now. Still, I had family and many friends who cheered me on. They didn’t understand, but they knew this was something I had to do. Therein lies the issue.

I was being driven by something else that I still can’t explain. Being practical didn’t enter the equation. Unless you have been pulled towards something, you might not understand this. Yes, I was officially homeless or would have been without family and friends. Although I didn’t like this, naturally, I kept the path I was traveling. If there is something in your gut that you feel like you have to do,  you do it, and continue to do it until it becomes real and succeeds. As someone said, don’t die with your music still inside you. Remember that some might not be able to watch; perhaps they care so much for you and your journey might be too difficult for them to witness. Perhaps they are simple jealous of your passion and somehow belittling you might make them feel better about their own life choices. Be understanding in both cases. You never know what people are faced with in their lives.

Fast-forward a year and a half: I have a sweet little place to live in a wonderful old neighborhood. The nutrition and culinary education that I love to teach, is what pays my bills, yet D5 has my full attention and I am proud to say that everything I dreamed would happen is happening. This is thanks to my own perseverance and the support of family and friends-including all of the wonderful people who saw the worth of D5 and worked tirelessly with me to get this little start-up non-profit off the ground.

This brings us to the end of 2012. For many of us, life changed dramatically these past few years, but if you have shelter of some kind, and can get a drink of water whenever you like, you are one of the lucky ones. I have always remembered this and being able to put everything in perspective has kept me going. I’m sure you will agree.

I will tell you something that I feel deep in my gut and when I get these feelings, I listen. 2013 is going to be an incredible year, I am sure- absolutely sure. Families, and the local and global communities have suffered these past years, but everything is shifting. Everything will be better….

Follow your path and look forward to an awesome 2013! I am!

“Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein

Look at all these kids!

We had a great time! Mackenzie was taking a personal growth class (at D5 we encourage our teachers to always keep learning and sharpening their skills) so I taught culinary and Irema taught nutrition. Cyrelle, who is a teacher in training, helped in any way she could, as she watched and listened to how we take the information in our rather lengthy training manual and teach it in a way that makes sense to the kids.

We were also joined by a friend of Irema who wanted to learn more about D5. She is interested in becoming one of our teachers after hearing Irema rave about it for a year and a half now. Our teacher vetting process is quite the process. I meet with the potential teacher, then Irema and Mackenzie meet with them, then we all do. If they pass that step, they join us in class so we see how they interact with kids, and if they pass all those steps (including a background check, of course) then they begin the 3 month training and internship program.

Very soon, we will formally introduce you to our next teachers!

Right now we are working hard to expand our reach to as many kids as possible. Do you know of a school or organization that would like to offer our incredible program? Let us know!

This holiday season why not give your child/grandchild (the list goes on) the gift of health? If we teach in their school, the gift certificate could be used for our program there. If we don’t teach in your child’s school or other organization, let us know and we’ll speak with them. Also, with enough kids-and gift certificates- we’ll teach at your home or business.

One other thought; when you can’t think of a gift to give someone who has everything, give them a gift certificate in someone elses’ name. We’ll use it to scholarship a child who might not have been able to attend without the gift of a gift certificate.

Minestrone Soup

Serves 8

2 cups cooked cannellini beans. (You may use 1-15 ounce can)

3 cups carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cups celery, chopped

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 whole onion, chopped

3 cups tomatoes, chopped or 1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 quarts vegetable stock, or chicken stock. Add a cup of red wine if you like.

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

3 cups cooked farro. Follow the directions on the package

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

In a stockpot, sauté onion, garlic, celery & carrots for 5 minutes. Add kale & cook for an additional 5 minutes. Next, add tomatoes and herbs and cook 10 minutes longer. Add cannellini beans & stock.  Let simmer 30 minutes.

Optional: Puree 1/3 of soup with immersion blender or use food processor.

Add farro & serve with drizzling of olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Farro is an ancient form of wheat and is generally soaked before using. A hearty grain, also wonderful in grain salads. Just add vinaigrette, seasonal raw veggies and you’re set!

Variations for eating seasonally

Spring: Dandelion greens, green garlic, green peas, spinach

Summer: Fresh basil, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, leafy greens, celery, carrots

Autumn: Bell peppers, pumpkin, broccoli,

Winter: Bok Choy, broccoli, cabbage, kale, carrots, winter squash

Chococlate Beet Cupcakes

We added a little beet juice to the frosting…

Chocolate Beet Cake

Serves 10

2 cups beets, cooked and pureed

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plain yogurt

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups whole -wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13″ pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beets, applesauce, sugar, butter and yogurt. Using an electric mixer (or a whisk if you want the exercise!) mix well for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, and mix well again for 1 minute.

Mix together the dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Stir until combined. Stir in the walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost if you like, though we don’t think it really needs it.

How to…

To make beet puree, roast beets or boil until soft but not mushy. Remove skin and puree in food processor.

Serving suggestion…portions.

You can easily cut this cake into smaller pieces. As Mary Poppins said, “Enough is as good as a feast.”

Much thanks to Jim Carniglia at North Bay Networking for creating such a fantastic new web site for D5! We love our colors finally on our web site and we especially love the new registration component.
We are making such great progress and we thank you all for your continued support!

Success! What a great group of kids! 4-6 Graders. They learned knife skills and made baba ganousch, which was a huge hit!

These kids are from 6-9 years old, so we limit the questions to 5. After a series is over, we have a debriefing to discuss the class, and if we need to ‘tweak’ anything. You will notice on the surveys that the question about food miles did not show a marked increase. The word, ‘distance’ was not understood by all the kids. We sure missed that one! For this age group we will change the way that question reads next time we use it.

Survey Questions Riebli School

1-3 grade Monday class

(post%-pre%-percentage increase)

Q: How many body systems do you have?

A: 11 10% 100% 90%

Q: What is a food mile?

A: The distance food travels from the farm to the your table 20% 60% 40%

Q: How many hours of sleep do kids need each night?

A: 9 hours 60% 90% 30%

Q: Which of the following is a whole-grain?

A: Brown rice 40% 100% 60%

Q: Which of the following is a muscle?

A: Heart 60% 80% 20%

Such a great group of kids! We had a wonderful time with these kids and look forward to seeing them again!