Greetings! The weekend is a wonderful thing, eh?

Like most of you, I took the opportunity on Friday night to be festive, i.e. to overindulge with food. First go around, I had a small plate of veggie lasagna (yes, it had cheese; but I was at my daughter’s shabbaton, a special one-a-year celebration at the synagogue; and this was the healthiest choice). A couple of tater tots, some rice pilaf and a cup of water were all fine. If only it had stopped there.

For whatever reason (I’d like to think it was because I had the stress of “behaving” and being polite to some of the least enlightened people I can think of), it was enough, and when they said we could go back for seconds, I got a fish stick, more tater tots, a small piece of (farmraised) salmon, and some apple juice (I wanted cola, but even in my weak state, I’m not going to put high fructose corn syrup into my body) and enjoyed every bite. Dayenu.

If only I had known the education program (on Israel’s “seven species”) also included tasting such foods as: barley beer, almonds, olives, chocolate covered pomegranite seeds, and fig newtons, I might not have overdone myself at dinner. Suffice it to say I was was overstuffed Jew by 8:30.

But by the grace of the universe, the sun also rises. I slept until 7:40, did ten minutes of do-in, stretches, breathing and affirmations, and I was motivated to take care of my body. Here’s what I went on to do:

1. Feed the cat and turn on the turtle light
2. Make miso soup: fill a small pot with water, add wakame flakes, turn on to boil. Chop some
scallions and collard greens, and mix a teaspoon each of white miso and chick pea miso (remember, I’m
trying to stay light, not be hardcore healing like I would with barley miso; it’s even called “mellow white miso”) 3. Take out yesterday’s rice, add a few drops of water and put on low heat.
4. Go outside and get the newspaper, doing a few more stretches and loosening up my liver with a few taps.
5. Back to the soup. Grab some warm water from the pot to create a miso slurry, add in the veggies to boil gently for one minute, add in the slurry and turn off after one minute. 6. Set the table.
7. Ring the bell.
8. Enjoy a wonderful breakfast with my darling wife and my amazing teenage son, while my ten-year-old daughter wakes up among good friends.

One mellow morning, resulting in a great day.

(message here–give yourself regular healthy habits, and they can make a big difference)