Unedited

Meet the Experience Life team, and get a behind-the-scenes look at how the magazine comes together each month.

Monthly Archives: September 2011

Soul Food, Part II

By Courtney Helgoe / September 27, 2011

At the threat of the first frost last week, I felt especially noble as I dragged our tomato plants into the garage, under the impression that it might be just warm enough in there to keep them from perishing at the peak of their yield. My nobility turned to humility the next day, though, when I received the letter that comes with our CSA share.

Our friendly farmer, David Van Eeckhout, is a former neighbor of mine. He used to live across the hall in an apartment building at a busy intersection near downtown Minneapolis. Back then he grew a wicked chili pepper in his window boxes, but his profession was graphic designer. In the 14 or so intervening years, he has apprenticed with several organic farms, bought land with his wife Melinda about an hour and a half east of the Twin Cities, and started a successful community shared agriculture farm that grows a huge range of mouthwateringly perfect vegetables– ones that get delivered to us in a box each week all summer long, like it’s nothing.

Meanwhile, the letter that comes with each box serves to remind us that if anything is not nothing, it’s the labor and dedication that it takes to bring a single squash to the table. Consider the following:

I checked the squash at 3 am and they were still a snug 34°, but by 5 am they were down to 32.5° so I turned on some sprinklers we had set up just in case. It may seem odd to use sprinklers to keep things from freezing, but water actually releases a significant amount of heat when it changes phase from water to ice. The real trick to it, however, is to not shut off the sprinklers too early. The water needs the same amount of energy to turn back to a liquid, and if the sun isn’t up enough to provide the BTUs you can accidentally freeze your crop as it takes that energy from whatever the ice is resting on, which in this case is the squash plants.

(The fate of the vines was still undetermined by the time the letter went out. There may or may not be squash next week. Stay tuned.)

Stories like these have really changed the way we eat. I like to think of us as fairly enlightened people regarding food. We buy organics, we make our own stock, hey, we compost. But the truth of the matter is I’m still thoroughly addicted to control and convenience. I decide what I want to make for dinner, and then I go to the co-op and get ingredients. If they don’t have lemongrass, or fresh figs, or a particular kind of greens, I feel a) put out or (again) b) noble, if I’m able to change my plan in midstream.

Last night, thanks to all the workers at Hog’s Back Farm and to David, who has effectively renounced a life of control and convenience in favor of getting up at 3 am to take his squash’s temperature, I had the opportunity to cook a different way. In September, the shares are huge, much more than two people can eat, so the choice is between wasting food (while knowing what it took to get it here) and learning to cook what we get. We opted for the latter, and here was the reward for cooking what the farm gave us: cabbage slaw with red onions and jalapeno peppers, roasted squash and beets, and potato soup with leeks and kale. Not exactly intuitive, maybe, but totally satisfying. It turns out the vegetables themselves make excellent menu planners. Working cooperatively with the farm and the food this way feels both noble and humble. It feeds the ego a little, and it feeds the spirit a lot.

Some Things to Know About Antibacterial/Antimicrobial Soaps

By Laine Bergeson (@LaineBergeson) / September 22, 2011

Many antibacterial/antimicrobial soaps contain a chemical called triclosan, which was created as a surgical scrub for hospitals several decades ago.
The safety of triclosan is currently under review by the FDA and the EPA because:

Several studies have shown that it may alter or disrupt hormone regulation in the body.
Additional studies have found that triclosan may disrupt thyroid function.
Several more studies have shown that antibacterial agents, like triclosan, contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Even more studies have shown that triclosan may accumulate in the food chain, and in the body. One study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found measurable levels of triclosan in 75 percent of Americans over the age of 5.

Substantial evidence points to the fact that triclosan is no more effective than plain old soap and water for fighting bacteria.
Several of the studies that show triclosan-laden soap is more effective were sponsored by soap manufacturers.
Bonus thing to know: Triclosan is also added to some toothpaste! If you want to avoid triclosan, read labels carefully!

A Revolutionary App

By Heidi Wachter (@wachtergrrl) / September 20, 2011

In our increasingly techno-crazy age, wouldn’t it be handy to have portable healthy inspiration?

Soon you’ll able to with the Experience Life and RevolutionaryAct mobile iPhone and iPad app, “101 Ways.”

The app enhances the flash and funk of the 101 Revolutionary Ways to Be Healthy with hundreds of the best in-depth healthy living articles from the Experience Life magazine archives.

We’ve dusted off some of our favorite oldies and added some brand new articles.

Here are some of my favorites:

Revisit, or get inspired for the first time by, our editor in chief, Pilar Gerasimo’s guerilla guide to convention-busting healthy living, A Manifesto for Thriving in a Mixed-Up World under Revolutionary Way to Be Healthy #1, Defy Convention.
Find out why it’s important to practice Revolutionary Way to Be Healthy, #50, Question Authority by reading “A Big Fat Mistake.”
Find out why it’s important to remember Revolutionary Way to Be Healthy, #24, Eat More Plants and get an inside look at the super powers of fruits and vegetables in “Phyto Power.”

There are literally hundreds of articles, podcasts and workouts that you’ll be able to easily watch, view or listen to while you’re at the gym, on the bus or out for a jog.

Stay tuned for how and when you can your virtual hands (or at least your iPhones and iPads) on this revolutionary app by following our social media pages. We share lots of other great information there, too.

Facebook: ExperienceLife and RevolutionaryAct

and

Twitter: @ExperienceLife and @RevAct

We know “Being Healthy Is a Revolutionary Act!” and that we can all use a little extra motivation. And, we know you’re busy, so we’ve done the work of gathering all these great ideas for you. Consider it a big thanks for being part of the healthy revolution!

The Slosh Pipe’s Sister

By Jen Sinkler (@jensinkler) / September 16, 2011

“I need to make a slosh pipe,” I said to my friend Dave.

“No, you don’t. I’ll make you a temporary one,” he answered.

The traditional slosh pipe, invented by Greg Henger and made popular by Dan John, is a length of PVC pipe partially filled with water then capped at each end. Filling it only partially makes waves, and as the water tumbles from end to end, you have to work like a mother to stabilize your body and stay upright — even a light weight feels like a load of lead. (Here’s a great post from Mark’s Daily Apple with some videos of slosh pipes in action and directions for how to make your own.)

As you get stronger and more stable, you graduate from simply standing still to squatting, walking, lunging, overhead squatting and so on.

A common problem, however, is that if you don’t seal your slosh pipe properly, or you thunk one of the ends down too hard, they tend to leak. Not super appealing, regardless of your location.

A second option is the Bouncy Barbell Kettlebell Kontraption (BBKK), which you create by rigging a kettlebell to each end of a barbell (very securely!) with a loop of superband.

Not sure where the BBKK originated (if you know, leave the info in the comments), but I got to mess around with it a couple months back and dug it. It’s got a similar destabilizing effect as the slosh pipe (though perhaps not quite as dramatic as when all of the water rushes to one end at once), so you get a great core workout. And on the plus side, it’s less messy.

Disclaimer: You need a lot of space for this, as it can present a danger to those anywhere in the vicinity (no one wants to see someone careening toward them with this thing in hand). Think of this exercise as something you do up and down the driveway to your garage gym rather than something you attempt inside the four walls of a health club. (Unless you have explicitly gotten the go-ahead.) OK?

Once you’re good to go, begin with light kettlebells, and hold the bar in a rack position (as you would if you were front squatting). From there, you can play around with the same sorts of exercises you would if you were using a slosh pipe. As with any lift, if it goes bad, bail.

We worked up to the overhead position.

My friend Jenn demonstrates walking with it.

And Dave was brave enough to do lunges.

If you give this a try, let me know how you like it!

Confessions of a Sugar Addict

By Jocelyn Stone (@jocelynstone) / September 13, 2011

Sugar bowl.jpg
(Image courtesy of Flickr)
Hi. My name is Jocelyn and I’m an addict. I’m not saying I have a sweet tooth — this goes way beyond that. I have made more than one self-proclaimed “sweet tooth” cringe at the amount of sugar I put in my coffee, I have put sugar on my Raisin Bran (yes, I realize that the raisins are what are supposed to make the cereal sweet), and on occasion I have been known to shower my eggs in maple syrup (my mother almost disowned me for that one). And that doesn’t even count all the bread, bagels and pastries that I used to eat. I had never even entertained the thought of a world without sugar — primarily white, refined sugar. Until I came to work for Experience Life.

For quite some time, nutritionists, medical experts and publications (including this one) have been talking about the dangers of sugar consumption, everything from inflammation to diabetes to heart disease and more. I would like to say that I quit the sweet stuff the day I started at the magazine, but I didn’t. The closest I got was no type of sugar or sweetener during the first four weeks of my UltraMetabolism diet last winter. But during the second month, the first things I reintroduced were natural sweeteners: honey, maple syrup and agave nectar. The second thing I reintroduced was bread.

There’s been more talk over the last year or so about how sugar addiction is biologically similar to drug or alcohol addiction. To name a couple of articles, Mark Hyman, MD, talks on his Web site how some people need more stimulation to activate pleasure receptors, and Dr. Frank Lipman cites a 2007 study where rats chose sugar water over water laced with cocaine. While I find that interesting, and it’s somewhat comforting to know that my cravings might be more than just a severe lack of willpower, knowing that doesn’t really solve anything. I mean, I’m not allowed to drive drunk just because I’m an alcoholic, right?

However, I still can’t imagine living in an unsweetened world. So, since the elimination diet last January, I’ve tried to make some changes that, while not all of them are the healthiest choices, they’re a lot better than I was doing a year ago:

I rarely keep binge-worthy foods in the house. (Recently, I bought a package of four apple fritters and they were gone in a day and a half. That won’t be happening again anytime soon.) Luckily, I’m pretty lazy: I’d rather sit at home craving something than get up and go to the store to satisfy that craving.
I’ve mostly much stopped using refined sugar. At home, I use natural sweeteners for my coffee, and occasionally when I’m out I’ll use a little raw sugar.
I’ve cut about 80 percent of the processed foods I used to eat out of my diet.
When a sugar craving hits, I always start with something natural. I try to keep at least one type of fresh fruit (grapes and apples are a couple of my faves) around and I usually have raisins on hand in case I’m out of everything else.
When I do slip (see #1), as soon as I can (usually once the sick feeling goes away) I forgive myself, learn what I can from the experience, and move on.

If you’re trying to combat your own sugar-consumption issues, we ran “Sugar Shock” in our May 2011 issue. It has tips on how to kick the habit as well as how to know how much sugar may be hidden in the foods you eat.

As for me? I’ve cut as much sugar from my diet as I can (for now) and still keep life bearable. And I just keep telling myself: One day at a time, Jocelyn; one day at a time.

November and December Sneak Peeks

By Jamie Martin (@jamielmartin) / September 9, 2011

The October issue of Experience Life is just about to hit newsstands and arrive in your mailbox, but our art director, Lydia Anderson, is already well into designing the November, December and even January/February issues. In fact, our November and December covers have already been shot — here are a few pics that give you a sneak peek at who you can expect to see on the final two Experience Life covers of 2011:

Latham Thomas, green chef, yoga teacher and founder of Tender Shoots Wellness in New York City (@tendershoots), will be gracing our November 2011 cover.

Latham found some time to bounce during the Experience Life photo shoot in LA.

For the December 2011 cover, photographer Kwaku Alston (@kwakualston) shot MovNat founder Erwan Le Corre (@Erwan_Le_Corre) leaping from rock to rock — Lydia thought it’d be funny to sneak into this one!

The Tale of the Cluttered Closet

By Jamie Martin (@jamielmartin) / September 6, 2011

In the January/February 2011 issue, Experience Life published the first article in the popular “Order Out of Chaos” series. It started with circulation coordinator Christy Rice’s entryway. We then moved to senior editor Courtney Helgoe’s home office, before ending with senior editor Anjula Razdan’s pantry/refrigerator. Under the tutelage of feng shui and decluttering expert Andrea Gerasimo, each of my fellow team members — and our readers — learned helpful strategies for bringing order to commonly cluttered spaces in our homes. Invaluable lessons, as clutter’s impacts can reach far beyond the physical space (see “Clutter Busters” for more on that).

I’m happy to report that the series is coming back with the January/February 2012 issue — and that it kicks off with my master closet, a space that has been the bane of my home existence since we moved in nearly three years ago.

Thumbnail image for Declutter.beforeWeb.jpg

The problem started on day one, when l didn’t take the time to really think through how I wanted my closet to function. As we moved into our newly remodeled home (bought from my husband’s grandparents), I was more excited to organize and decorate our great room, kitchen and bedroom than the 6-by-6-foot space off my bathroom. That would come later. Ha!

Clothes were haphazardly hung on on the three rods, shoe boxes were stacked on the top shelf, my husband’s many sweaters on another. Since all of my clothes would be in the closet (my husband works the graveyard shift), I moved in a dresser for my everyday clothes, and stacked four crates next to the door for sweatshirts, workout pants and other miscellaneous items. I was so proud when I bought the over-the-door hook where I could hang my robes … and purses … and belts. Then the door wouldn’t open all the way. Or shut when I needed to hide the area from guests.

To my credit, I did at one point (in three years!) organize the hanging clothes according to season and purpose. Otherwise, it continued on as the clothes-strewn disaster seen above until Andrea arrived and personally introduced me to her decluttering philosophy. As Andrea first surveyed my closet, I explained that I felt anxious and overwhelmed whenever I was in there; she helped me realize that since this space is one of the first I enter each morning, it’s important that it be welcoming and calm so I can start my days off in a more peaceful state of mind. And so our day began …

You can read lots more about Andrea’s philosophy and system in the forthcoming Jan/Feb 2012 issue. I, for one, can’t say enough good things. She helped me sort through that entire closet in just a few hours: I donated two full bags of clothes/shoes; I gifted several clothing items to co-workers, friends and family; I added more to my garage-sale boxes; and I created a consignment pile, which I’ve been meaning to do for months.

With the help of one art director, one senior editor, one TV producer, and two photographers, all of my clothes were rehung and folded (even my underwear, thank you Lydia Anderson!). We added shelving, a set of hooks, several totes and some repurposed items I had around our home.

My closet now looks and feels like a completely different space, one that’s both functional and inviting. I no longer dread getting ready in the mornings. In fact, I find myself wanting to spend time in there, drinking my coffee, folding clothes, and just enjoying the new-found space I didn’t realize was there just a few weeks back.

One final note: This one-day decluttering project would have taken several had it not been for all of the help we had on hand for the photo shoot. A HUGE thank you to the folks mentioned above for making this happen in a few hours versus few days! And for those of you wondering about after photos: I don’t want to ruin the surprise that you’ll see in the print magazine — so you’ll just have to wait until the Jan/Feb issue arrives

Five Facts About This Photo

By Anjula Razdan / September 1, 2011

AnjulaBlogPhoto[1].jpg

See those veggies? They’re from Hog’s Back Farm, a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) farm in Arkansaw, Wisconsin, where members like me buy a share of vegetables — or in my case, split a share with one of my fellow EL editors — and in return receive beautifully vibrant, organic produce each week directly from the farm. An added bonus? Selling shares early in the growing season helps small-scale farmers maintain a steady cash flow for the year.

I did not invite my son to come over to the table, nor did I bribe him with Tootsie Roll Pops to eat that tomato.

Over the course of the week, I grilled the corn; ate the carrots and onions raw; threw the scallions and cucumbers into a quinoa salad; used the basil and garlic to make pesto; chopped up the dill into Greek yogurt (as a dip for potato chips, my weakness); sautéed the rainbow chard with garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice; and made an Indian-inspired zucchini dish.

Lest you think me too virtuous, please note that the beets, green beans and yellow pattypan squash were neglected (out of sheer intimidation) and eventually became a swampy mess in my vegetable crisper.

Those chairs are from the Salvation Army.

Unedited

Monthly Archives: September 2011

Soul Food, Part II

Trackbacks

Some Things to Know About Antibacterial/Antimicrobial Soaps

Trackbacks

The Slosh Pipe’s Sister

Trackbacks

Confessions of a Sugar Addict

Trackbacks

November and December Sneak Peeks

Trackbacks

The Tale of the Cluttered Closet

Trackbacks

Five Facts About This Photo

Trackbacks

A BLOG FROM

Subscribe by Email

Search

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories