Perhaps you or a loved one has faced a diagnosis of Crohn’s. Following the diagnosis, you were told there is no cure for Crohn’s, but the inflammatory symptoms can be controlled with a combination of medications. The plan then is for you to follow this prescribed route of treatment and live a life of managed symptoms. Since the majority of those diagnosed with Crohn’s are between the ages of 15-30, that leaves a long life ahead of management.

While the control of symptoms can be a welcome relief, management is not healing. Beyond that, when you become dependent on medication for a lifetime, you give away the power over your health. So is there a middle ground? A way to manage the acute flares of Crohn’s while healing the chronic underlying condition? The answer is a resounding yes. If you’re interested in reclaiming the ownership of your health and reducing your dependence on medication, read on.

Research shows that making specific lifestyle changes will do more than promote a sense of well-being; these changes will restore your immunity. Shifting focus from your Crohn’s symptoms to the restoration of your immunity is a big step emotionally and a great service in the case of autoimmune conditions. What factors are the most likely to restore immunity? Improving the quality of your sleep, engaging in daily exercise, eating a plant-laden diet, and maintaining optimal stool elimination can enhance your immunity and promote longevity.

In the conventional medical arena, the inflammation in the colon quickly becomes the arch enemy. A common treatment of Crohn’s includes the surgical removal of affected sections of the colon. Further efforts are then made to prevent inflammation by suppressing the malfunctioning immune system. In most cases, patients are monitored with an annual colonoscopy and blood test to check inflammation levels. But does any of this address why Crohn’s occurred in the first place?

It’s actually not about Crohn’s

While there has been considerable research on the causes behind the onset of Crohn’s, there is still no definitive answer. The attention, however, continues to be placed on the role of the colon and the overactive immune system that attacks the intestines, while little emphasis is placed on possible lifestyle influences. In this video, Dr. Michael Greger explores the role diet has in preventing Crohn’s. It seems pretty clear to me that if there are accessible lifestyle changes available not only can we prevent development in the first place, but we can resolve acute flare-ups among those already diagnosed. It’s just a thought, but instead of doing battle with the dis-ease, you might want to support your body’s ability to heal itself by restoring the immune system.

Your immune system is designed to neutralize and eliminate pathogens, but in the case of Crohn’s and other autoimmune diseases healthy tissue is attacked. The conventional method is to suppress that behavior. Alternatively, Gemmotherapy extracts can be used in a systematic way in tandem with a plant-based diet to support the restoration of healthy immune function.

The holistic path for restoring immunity is one I teach and practice, and it begins with optimizing elimination. For more information on the path, please read my blog posts on Influencing Immunity and Rethinking Elimination.

What you can do if you are taking medication for Crohn’s

Gemmotherapy protocols can be used in an adjunct fashion with Crohn’s medication to begin the restoration of your immune systems. My colleagues and I have found that individualized protocols aligned with your specific symptoms can be quite useful. These protocols have the ability to resolve symptoms not covered by the medication and reduce any side effects or toxic load on your liver and kidneys. I have a wonderful blog series co-authored with my niece Molly that documents her journey with Crohn’s which you may find inspiring. By using Gemmotherapy protocols and implementing a plant-based diet, Molly was able to reduce symptoms and the amount of medication she needs to prevent flares dramatically.

If you would like further information on Gemmotherapy extracts, you’ll want to read my Beginner’s Guide on Gemmotherapy. For individualized support, I recommend you consult with a practitioner trained in Gemmotherapy to restore immunity or consider working directly with me. Looking for a deeper understanding? Consider taking my next Foundations of Gemmotherapy series.

The above following is advisory only and should never replace advice from your healthcare provider.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for updates.

I’m feeling pretty proud. Just three weeks into the new house and kitchen and I am rockin’ my favorite vegan enchiladas to feed the whole family for Sunday lunch. Now that’s 7 hungry family members so we are talking 21+ enchiladas!

You are going to love this filling and if you can’t make it to San Marcos, Texas, to buy Chepo’s handmade corn tortillas, I am just sorry because they are remarkable. You’ll just need to find a substitute. In the meantime, I am addicted because they are just the best.

The thing I love about vegan enchiladas is that you literally can make them with any veggies you have around. I filled mine this weekend with onion, spinach, mushroom, sweet pepper and zucchini. If I wasn’t married to my favorite German who is not wild about spicy foods I would have added a few jalapenos. Just something to think about when you make these for yourself.

Ingredients for Filling

• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large sweet pepper, peeled and diced
• 1.5 lbs of mushrooms sliced thin, drain very well after cooking
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 2 bags of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and very well drained
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon each of powdered cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• About 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, for sauteing vegetables

Preparation

I saute each vegetable one at a time, in a large heavy skillet with olive oil. As each one is finished it is added to a large bowl which holds the spinach. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tsp each of cumin, coriander, oregano, and just a pinch of cayenne pepper.

• 24 Lard Free, Gluten Free, Organic Corn Tortillas
• Enchilada Sauce I like to make my own, but you can also find canned green or red enchilada sauce at the grocery store
• Toppings: Cashew Cream, Sliced Avocado, Guacamole or Salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Tortillas can be warmed gently in a skillet with or without oil. Fill each warmed tortilla with a spoonful or two of filling, roll, placing seam side down in a well-oiled baking dish. Continue until all tortillas are filled. Cover with enchilada sauce and tinfoil. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes. Be prepared to serve immediately with suggested toppings.

Enjoy!!!

Perhaps you or a loved one has faced a breast cancer diagnosis. Following the diagnosis, you are immediately directed down a well-paved and intricate path of treatment. At a time where there is a great need to feel powerful, this path can evoke just the opposite feeling. Tests and treatments are accumulating, but what about steps that you can take for yourself? What can you or your loved one do to restore a sense of ownership in your health?

There is actually quite a bit that can be done, and research shows that making specific lifestyle changes will do more than promote a sense of well-being. Improving the quality of your sleep, engaging in daily exercise, eating a plant laden diet, and restoring optimal stool elimination can actually enhance your immunity and promote longevity.

In the conventional medical arena cancer quickly becomes the arch enemy. Today’s “war” on breast cancer is carried out with an attack against the diseased cells themselves beginning with surgical removal of affected and surrounding tissue. Further efforts are then made to prevent recurrence through chemotherapy, radiation and medicinally suppressing the malfunctioning immune system. In many cases, patients are monitored after remission for any return of the cells. But does any of this address why breast cancer occurred in the first place?

It’s Actually Not About the Cancer

While there is considerable genetic research about the strains of breast cancer and the genetic causes, breast cancer is still considered to be one of several modern lifestyle diseases. If that is true then perhaps the emphasis should be placed on the lifestyle that led to its development in the first place? Instead of 100% of the effort going toward doing battle, why not put equal emphasis on the prevention of recurrence.

This website run by Dr. Greger is an excellent resource that’s full of evidence-backed steps you can take to prevent recurrence of diseases caused by an unhealthy lifestyle.

Restoring the immune system that allowed cancer cells to multiply is another consideration. Our immune system is designed to neutralize and eliminate pathogens. Gemmotherapy extracts applied systematically in tandem with a plant-based diet can support the restoration of healthy immune function.

The holistic path for restoring immunity is one I teach and practice and it begins with optimizing elimination. For more information on the path, I propose you read my blog posts on Influencing Immunity and Rethinking Elimination.

What you can do during treatment

There happens to be a few specific Gemmotherapy protocols my colleagues and I have found to be supportive during stages of cancer treatment. While I teach and practice from a holistic view on dis-ease and chronic conditions there are times general protocols are useful.
These particular protocols have proven to be extremely helpful during acute stages described below.

As support during chemotherapy for all cancers except for kidney:
AM Juniper and Black Currant – supporting kidney and adrenal function
Before Dinner Hazel – supporting immune function

For acute nausea and symptoms associated with chemotherapy
Common Fig and Silver Lime – supporting a healthy nervous system and digestive function and the emotional processing required during cancer treatment.

Post Surgery (for up to four weeks) supporting the restoration of a healthy elimination function
A combination of Silver Birch Sap, Black Currant and Lingonberry – 3x daily

What you can do the rest of your life

Restoring immunity is key for preventing recurrence. Committing to essential lifestyle changes that support your immunity is the first step. Combining those changes with a systematic approach to optimize elimination and restore your immunity with Gemmotherapy extracts will support your health over time.

In cases of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers, the medication Tamoxifen is often prescribed. While Tamoxifen is an estrogen inhibitor it has also proven to be an immune modulator. The use of Tamoxifen must be taken into consideration when considering adjunct support to restore immunity.

If you would like further information on Gemmotherapy extracts you’ll want to read my Beginner’s Guide on Gemmotherapy. For individualized support, I recommend you consult with a practitioner trained in Gemmotherapy to restore immunity or consider working directly with me. Looking for a deeper understanding? Consider taking my next Foundations of Gemmotherapy series.

The above following is advisory only and should never replace advice from your healthcare provider.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for updates.

Well it was back to work for me last week, with the unpacking of boxes and phone calls to settle into our new community pushed to the end of each day. With my cooking time cut down to whatever minutes I could spare, this warming veggie soup was perfect. It goes together in minutes and tastes divine. The secret to this soup is the spice mix. I will admit to stocking up on a special blend each summer in Germany, but you can easily create your own in advance or add a pinch or two of each of the ingredients while cooking. There is no wrong way to season this soup, so use what you have and enjoy experimenting. Aside from the spices, this soup goes together with ease with a handful of veggies from your fridge and a can of chickpeas from your pantry. If you happen to have a cup of leftover rice, pasta or quinoa it would make a welcome addition.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 teaspoons of Sonnentor’s Sunkiss Blossom Blend, or a blend of any of 1 teaspoon of turmeric, 1 bay leaf, ½ teaspoon of grated fresh ginger along with a pinch of all or any of the following: cardamon, nutmeg, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, mustard seed, thyme, and cayenne pepper.
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 large sweet pepper, diced
• 1 head of cauliflower, broken into bite-sized pieces, dicing the stem as well
• 1 bunch of kale, stripped from the stem and sliced into thin strips
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 veggie bouillon cubes (I prefer Rapunzel)
• Coconut Oil
• Optional: 1 cup of leftover Basmati rice, quinoa, or gluten free pasta

Prepare

Over medium heat, melt coconut oil in a pressure cooker or heavy soup pot. Add onions, as they soften sprinkle in spice mix or individual spices, mixing well. Toss in sweet pepper and cauliflower, stirring quite well to coat in oil and spices. Cover with water and cook until vegetables are fork tender yet still hold their shape. Add bouillon cubes, another two cups or so of water, kale strips and chickpeas. Cover, simmering another 10 minutes until kale is tender. If available add pre-cooked grain to each bowl and ladle soup over the top.

Enjoy!

Last week I shared my humbling experience of being caught off guard by all of the newness I encountered following our long-awaited move. To make it all the more challenging, at the very same time there were three exciting changes underway in my business. While each was planned to be rolled out sequentially over time, somehow the stars aligned with a different plan. Please allow me to introduce you to each of the changes for 2019.

Alicia Philley

After nearly a year of support and easing me into the idea and value of a remote office assistant, Alyssa Johnson will be moving on to dedicate herself to her own growing business. Alyssa came on board just before all of the months of house moves. During this period she offered incredible stability through my professional and personal transitions. Thank you Alyssa!

Training with Alyssa the past weeks is Alicia Philley, pictured above with her family. Alicia will be taking on Alyssa’s duties and more, stepping into the expanded role of my executive assistant. Her time will be spent supporting clients and store customers, and as project manager for my training programs and speaking events. She will be available to you by phone (512-956-2206) or email (office@laurenhubele.com) 8:30 AM – 12 PM CST, Monday – Thursday

While new to the position, Alicia is not new to me or my practice. Her family members have been long-time clients and she has had a front row seat as my practice has evolved. Alicia comes well-prepared for the work ahead with a background of serving as an executive assistant in New York while she pursued her degree in painting. After taking several years off from her art career to focus on her children’s health, Alicia returned to painting and showing her art two years ago. (www.aliciaphilley.com)

She has resided in South Austin now for ten years with her husband and two daughters. When not working for me and taking care of her family, Alicia paints, take greenbelt walks with her dog Auggie and reads.

Gemmotherapy with Lauren Hubele

You may have already paid a visit to our new store platform but if you haven’t please have a look! While in the planning for well over a year, our life circumstances just didn’t allow for all that was involved to test and implement new software for extract sales. Although there is still some work to be done, the all new Gemmotherapy with Lauren Hubele is up and running. Those of you with a tech background will note it is directly embedded in my website and runs on WooCommerce, which offers us considerable more flexibility than the former platform.

Online Scheduling

And just a head’s up. If you are a client and book your appointments online you will soon notice a new look to our scheduling software. This update has been on my to do list for the past year and will be launched by the weekend. You will find the tasks of paying for appointments, managing time zones and rescheduling to be much easier.

So, if it’s alright with you, I am going to take a breather from all of this change and adjusting to new. I think I am good on change for quite some time. While change can be exhilarating, it takes energy – and winter is not typically the season for expending it. Winter is for building our store of energy in preparation for the burst of new growth in spring. Although I won’t have the luxury of hibernating these final weeks of winter I will be treasuring the opportunity, when possible, to turn my energy inward, nesting into my new home, teaming up with Alicia to plan the year ahead and re-establishing some grounding daily routines.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for updates.

Today is a great day. It’s already well past noon and I haven’t melted into tears at all! I claim this as a big victory as we complete week one in our new home. For months now I’ve longed for an end to all the transitions. Yet here I am, completely overwhelmed and feeling so lost. So why is that? How can it be that I have counted the days to this blessed event and now I’m a bit of a mess? That’s certainly been the question I have asked myself each morning.

One of the answers I get back is that I was totally unprepared for all the new I have encountered. I don’t know why, but I never took into account that literally everything that I would do each day would feel new. Not new in a “wow” way but in a awkward way. Like how you feel when you’re learning to ride a bike. The new wasn’t good or bad. It just is, well, new. It turns out that figuring out “new” requires a good store of mental stamina and emotional resilience. Unfortunately, I entered our moving week with both of those tanks running low, making myself a prime target for meltdowns.

And so I’d begin each morning so gosh darn determined to maintain a state of gratitude for this beautiful new forever home, but within hours my mood would take a dive. Actually, I was lucky to make it through breakfast those first 48 hours without tears in the midst of all the move-in chaos. Being frustrated with myself and trying to feel a way I didn’t certainly was not helping the situation.

And then it all began to change. What helped me turn the corner? Did I power through all of the boxes from the kitchen or arrange my new closet in Marie Kondo style? Hardly. It actually came out of not pushing harder. It came from remembering what I know about the healing power of self-compassion.

It didn’t happen all in one day but rather bit by bit. I was able to rally up compassion for the part of myself that felt lost and unrooted, compassion for the me that was exhausted from schlepping boxes, and yes, even compassion for the me that got lost both coming and going to the grocery store!

So what did compassion for all those messy parts of myself look like? Well, it looked like reviving bits of the morning routine that I’ve honed over the years. By starting my day with something familiar I was able to provide some simple stability when literally everything around me was in motion. It looked like setting up my yoga mat and meditation cushion in the midst of a wall of boxes in my new office and lighting a candle. It looked like pulling out a journal and writing just a paragraph each morning to connect with myself. It looked like digging through boxes to find my green tea collection and making myself a cup or two each morning. And then today it looked like a brisk morning walk in the brilliant sunshine.

Now to be clear, I’m still surrounded by chaos and will be opening boxes for another month. But by cultivating self-compassion on a daily basis I’m beginning to take root in my new home.

My personal challenge was moving, but each one of you have surely faced a change of your own. Whether the change was a new baby, a new job, a new boss, or a new partner, self-compassion will be your ally. All change responds well to self-compassion, but it’s easy to forget when you are in the midst of it all, like I did.

While I am now quite capable of making it through the day without collapsing into a puddle of tears I’m still feeling off. My remedy? More self-compassion and more time. Building on my simple morning routine will enable me to restore my mental stamina and emotional resilience until I feel grounded and connected with this new home and the me that resides within. Stay tuned for next week’s post on even more change that is underway.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for updates.

As I take a final climb up Les terrasses du pech de Foix and look out over this magical little city, I am filled with a flurry of mixed emotions. Within me are waves of such immense gratitude for the remarkable experiences, a thread of the desire to cling to what now feels comfortable and familiar and a fearless spark of excitement for what lies ahead. Tomorrow morning I pack out of my sweet urban flat that has been my home and refuge for a month. From here I head deeper into the Pyrenees Natural Preserve to be closer to nature. For the next 12 days, I will reside in the tranquil Hameau of Laborie, with its total of 30 inhabitants that I believe include the donkeys and goats. There is no logic to my inspired decision, there never is. I just know I am meant to explore and see what lies just beyond.

These first weeks were to be all about writing, and that mission has been accomplished. Every morning starting at dawn I have written for as long as I can stand to hear my own words rattle in my head. On some grey drizzling days I fell so deep into my work that it was well into the afternoon before I took notice. And then there were the days of crisp sunlight unique to mountain areas that played through the front windows taunting me to come out for a walk along the glistening Ariege. There were times when my writing flowed like a stream and other times I felt a struggle and strain to articulate what is oh so clear in my head. Nevertheless, the writing got done.

But what is considered done in a writers world? I’ve come to learn a new definition of done since I have written books. There is my first done – the explosive download from my head into some organized fashion. Then there is the next done – done enough to share it with my team of trusted critiques who with compassion patiently proof my mixed metaphors and tangled tenses, politely point out sections of utter nonsense, and kindly ask me to get the heck out of the way of what needs to be said. This is the done where I have arrived. The next part is less writing and more crafting. And when I have integrated all of the suggestions, the entire manuscript of 18 chapters will go back to my trusted friend and editor Tim Owens whom I simultaneously love and hate. And when I am ready to quit, he is able to push me to write in a way I never thought possible. Tim will give it the final eagle eye before it gets passed along to Christine Terrell. Christine is the masterful designer who makes my books come alive with images and diagrams, and she’s also a dear friend. She no doubt will have some say about how the chapters flow and what needs to be called out and highlighted to aid the reader’s experience. And then, only then, does it goes to the publisher.

So many stages of done! Sometimes the process feels like an endless set of flight connections which at any time can go awry, leaving you stranded in an airport terminal from hell for who knows how long? That’s why I am such a fan of direct flights! Unfortunately, I have yet to discover the direct flight to book publishing.

I intentionally chose Foix, a more urban setting, to reside without a car and write my book. I so enjoy the ease of having my daily needs met on foot and the way it connects me with the community. To pop into the organic shop every few days for fresh veggies, walk to de papeterie for a new writing pad or pens, or simply stroll past the charming storefronts each afternoon to clear my head is a simple way to live. When I wanted to leave town, which was rare, I had at my disposal a remarkable bus system and a train that traveled from Toulouse to the Spanish border every 1-2 hours daily. Did I mention one of the stops is a short 5-minute walk to the thermal baths of Aix-les Thermes?

While I was spot on about living without a car, I erroneously thought this urban setting would allow me to live the life of a hermit. Remaining anonymous for my month-long stay in Foix has been far from the truth. This is a curious population, and although I am an introvert, I crave one-to-one connections and learning people’s stories. So while my writing has happened, I also created a small community here for myself that is nothing short of remarkable.

I can hardly wait to see what surprises await me in Laborie. Maybe this is where the hermit lifestyle will take shape, or then again maybe not. Because I will now have a car I plan to explore a wider area with a particular interest in the Saturday market of St. Girons and the village of La Bastide-de-Serou that is nestled halfway from between Laborie and Foix. I will be checking in again next week to let you know how I’m getting along with the goats and donkeys, and anyone else I happen to meet.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for a daily feed of photos from #30daysofwriting in the Pyrenees.

So here is how this came to be. I’m a day away from switching houses and still hanging out in my fridge are two shiny aubergine and a bag full of fresh mushrooms. Funny enough they are sharing the shelf space with half a can of coconut milk. I don’t know if you see a curry in the works but I sure did. Add to that combination of ingredients the fact that it’s the coldest day yet in Foix, with a grey relentless drizzle and snow dusting the mountaintops. Something warm and fragrant sounds heavenly. So let’s do this.

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 medium aubergine (eggplant), cut into 1” cubes, lightly salted and left to drain in a colander
• 1 medium sized onion, peeled and finely diced
• 12 whole champignon (mushrooms) wiped clean with a cloth and cut into quarters
• 1 cup of frozen peas, thawed on the counter
• Coconut oil
• A can of coconut milk
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp of curcumin
• A nub of ginger finely grated
• Pinches of cayenne to taste
• Salt to taste

Prepare

In a deep skillet heat a few teaspoons of oil, toss in the onions and all the spices but the ginger. Saute on medium until onion is tender and spices are fragrant. Add aubergine, mixing well with spices. Consider putting the lid on and lowering the head to let them cook through, they will be tender and begin to lose their shape. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same skillet add a bit more oil and saute mushrooms, lower heat, cover until they have cooked through. Add coconut milk, grated ginger, and spiced aubergine mixture simmering for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt to taste.

Serve with basmati rice steamed with a cinnamon stick.

Enjoy!

Note: Please feel free to ad-lib on these spices. I used what I had acquired during my stay but you could certainly go more traditional with curry leaves and a chopped fresh pepper.

I teach my Foundations of Gemmotherapy series a few times a year, and I’m always delighted by the fascinating mix of students it attracts. The group tends to be a blend of Homeopaths, Acupuncturists, NDs, Nurses, and moms, usually scattered across the US and Canada. Occasionally there will be a student from England, France, Romania or Australia, which are all areas where there is considerable interest in Gemmotherapy. However, in September during the group introductions, I met my first student from Kyiv. Lena, an entrepreneur, and mother of five has had a passion for natural medicine for over fifteen years. Despite the fact that Gemmotherapy is unavailable in Ukraine, Lena felt called to learn about this intriguing therapy.

The path that led Lena to Gemmotherapy is an interesting one. Sixteen years ago she began her search for natural solutions for her children when their symptoms were not resolved by conventional medicine. Through homeopathy, she found solutions for her sons’ croup and panic attacks. Lena was spurred to study natural medicine on her own after her physician homeopath was unable to find the correct remedy for some ailments. To begin, she immersed herself in books while her children were young, and then as time permitted she enrolled in a formal training program in Kyiv.

Looking for a Solution

For sixteen years now homeopathy has been the primary support for her family’s health and has served them very well. That is until there was an outbreak of Staphylococcus aureus at her youngest son’s school three years ago. This form of Staph often leads to the manifestation of painful carbuncles. In the case of her son, this would re-occur every month, and before long it had spread to her entire family of seven!

The conventional medical approach to this in Ukraine, as in the U.S., is a course of strong antibiotics and the surgical removal of the carbuncle if it does not heal on its own.

During this time period Lena reached out to many homeopathic physicians, and while the remedies provided some relief, and the outbreaks occurred further and further apart there was not a complete resolution.

After nearly three years of struggling with the lingering effects of S. aureas Lena asked her Romanian homeopath physician about Gemmotherapy. She could see there was a problem within her family that neither conventional medicine nor homeopathy alone could resolve, and she was determined to find a solution.

Finding Gemmotherapy

The idea of Gemmotherapy made sense to Lena. She knew that our bodies need drainage and what she discovered on the internet led her to believe it could be a second instrument for her to use as it worked on another level. So in her search to discover more a Russian homeopath led her to my books which then led her to my training programs.

After the Foundations of Gemmotherapy course began, two members of Lena’s family experienced outbreaks of S. aureas, and she was quickly in need of Gemmotherapy extracts. Getting extracts from the U.S. to Ukraine would take weeks but the Universe was conspiring on Lena’s behalf. There just happened to be a lovely Romanian student in my class. After a quick email introduction Dumi became Lena’s Gemmotherapy angel, and before long her family was benefiting from the support of Gemmotherapy extracts.

Bringing Gemmotherapy to Ukraine

Intuitively from the start, Lena knew there was more to this than the needs of her own family. With years of experience running her own bookshop in the center of Kyiv, her entrepreneurial spirit saw an opportunity in bringing Gemmotherapy to Ukraine.

Without hesitation, I offered my support to Lena in anyway she needed. We met a few times on Zoom, and Lena’s game plan began to take shape. When I decided to make this trip to France, bringing us just a bit closer geographically, Lena’s husband encouraged her to come and spend some days with me. And that is exactly what happened.

It was a remarkable four days together. Lena came prepared with her questions about the uses of Gemmotherapy, the organizational structure needed to support the sale of extracts and how to spread the message. But you can be sure we also talked about our families, food and even a bit of politics. We have had lovely walks through the cobblestone streets of Foix, and along the banks of the rushing Ariege. We’ve spent time in the kitchen preparing plant-based meals and sharing recipes, too. After the first twenty-four hours, we both felt as if we’d known each other for years.

I can’t even begin to express how mentoring her in this endeavor fills my heart with joy. I have been blessed over and again along my path with remarkable and generous mentors. To be able to pass along my lessons is a gift beyond compare. By Lena’s final day, it was down to all business. The day began with a joint call with our parent company, Plant Extrakt, in Romania to discuss logistics. Our conversations then turned to translations for labels, shipping practicalities, and next steps. But to be clear we definitely reserved some time for another walk along the Ariege, some shopping and for preparation of one more soup together. In fact, I wouldn’t rule out a joint effort on a vegan soup cookbook in our future!

To promote the sale of Gemmotherapy in a country where it’s unknown is a challenge I am quite familiar with. I’ve learned so many lessons along the way and am delighted to share them. Lena will need to create a buzz and she will do that first with my books that she has currently begun translating into Russian. She has begun a social media campaign on Instagram and Facebook promoting the extracts themselves and plant-based meals so that when the extracts arrive there will already be some interest. Lena also aspires to host a Foundations of Gemmotherapy seminar this summer in Kyiv, and if it comes together I may find myself on a new adventure to a part of the world I’ve never been. No complaints here.

And so I ask you to join me in sending Lena well wishes. Another brave pioneering woman, forging a path for others to follow to live fuller, healthier lives.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for a daily feed of photos from #30daysofwriting in the Pyrenees.

And while you are on Instagram you may also want to follow Lena @gemmo_in_ukraine and brush up on your Russian !

So to be completely honest testing Borsch recipes was never quite on my radar, that is until I had a visitor from Kyiv. Who knew?  Now I am an official Borsch fan and no doubt you will be too once you give Lena’s vegan version a try.

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 1 medium-sized carrot
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 medium-sized beet
• 1 small sweet pepper
• 60 g cabbage
• 4 fresh tomatoes (or 3 TBL of tomato paste or 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes)
• 1 package of dried mushrooms or 3 large fresh mushrooms, diced
• 80 g cooked white beans (optional)
• 2 pitted and diced prunes
• 25 g sunflower or olive oil
• 10 g coconut oil or Earth Balance Spread (this adds a rich flavor to replace butter)   paprika, black
• pepper, vinegar, some honey, salt to taste
• 60 g sour cream
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Prepare

The first step is to reconstitute the dried mushrooms (if you’re using them) and parboil the beet. Place a soup pot with 1.5 ltrs of water over high heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add dried mushrooms. Allow to simmer 15 minutes, then add the whole peeled beet and simmer 15 minutes more. Turn off the heat and remove the vegetables from the pot of water with a slotted spoon. Set them on a plate and allow them to cool. If you’re using fresh mushrooms, just parboil the beet and move on to the next step. Leave the water in the soup pot, as you’ll return the vegetable mixture to it at the end to finish cooking.

Peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion, sweet pepper and mushrooms. Grate the raw carrot and the parboiled beet. Cut cabbage into fine shreds.

Melt the coconut oil or Earth Balance Spread in a large skillet on low heat, add sunflower or olive oil to it. Add the onion, sweet pepper, cabbage and mushrooms and saute gently for a couple of minutes. Add the shredded beet, carrots  and diced tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more.

Season the vegetable mixture with paprika, black pepper, a few drops of vinegar, honey, and salt, to taste. Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes over gentle heat, add the beans if desired, and diced prunes for sweetness. Turn off the heat and transfer the contents of the skillet to the water used for parboiling the beet. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a further 30 minutes.

Serve the borsch with dollops of a vegan sour cream or with a sprinkling of parsley.

Smachnogo!

I think I was ten when I first dreamed of being a writer. Of course, my dream was enhanced by my pre-adolescent imagination and had little to nothing to do with the realities of life. I never paid heed to how as a writer I might put a roof over my head and feed myself, let alone feed a family. I imagined sitting in a scented walled English garden pouring out my heart into notebooks while dangling my toes in a rushing stream. It was an image I carried with me for years. By the time my grown-up self actually lived in England, I had long lost touch with the dream of my ten-year-old self. Yet to be honest, during my months in England, as I bobbed in and out of the depths of depression, it was writing that saved me. Because through my writing I could connect with a part of myself that had disappeared from all other realms of my life.

I never actually became a writer. I’ve just always written. When thoughts swirl in my mind, I’m compelled to put pen to paper and release what is there. Sometimes it may be just a string of lists or a few disjointed phrases, but this action can feel as important as my next breath. There are times I do worry that should I pass from this world unexpectedly, someone will try to make sense of my collection of scattered notebooks, making me out to be crazier than I deserve.

To remedy that, my truly crazy thoughts are saved for large sheets of white paper decorated with sticky notes and ideas in colored ink – and I’m sure I’ve hidden these quite well.

The Watergate hearings began with a rumble during my middle school years and I became enamored with the form of investigative journalism born in that era. I put all of my heart and soul into the editorial role I had for my school newspaper and looked for opportunities to expose injustice in the halls of my small town middle school.

In high school, I continued my passionate pursuit of journalism. I was encouraged by the radically liberal Mrs. Adams who fueled my editorials each written with the intention to correct the latest injustice on my radar. Full of ambition, with Woodward and Bernstein as my patron saints, I wrote my way into an internship for the local newspaper. There at my spindly desk parallel to the editor smoking away on his pipe, I clinked away on a manual typewriter that surely had been rescued from someone’s attic. Visually it looked like my dreams had manifested. That is, until you happened to glance at the copy in my machine. Naturally, I’d been assigned the obituaries. Well ok then, everyone must start somewhere! I vowed to myself to be the best obituary writer that exists. That was all fine and well until I reported with great flourish the death of the wrong person – a long-widowed, octogenarian sister who happened to have a twin.  Seems I inadvertently switched the names of the sisters in my enthusiasm announced the wrong one had passed. I’m not sure her family or mine has forgotten. The lesson learned, however, is that when you no longer want to be assigned obituaries, make a mistake. How was I to know that my next assignment of reporting on Little League games would also prove to be a minefield!

On to college, I went, majoring in Communications, an up-and-coming field once called journalism. I immediately found my place on the staff of the school paper and could see a path from there to that scented English garden, or at least a smoky newsroom. That was all good and well until I was blinded by love (or what looked like love). And in its pursuit, I lost touch with that passionate young girl. The girl who put her writing first above all. Where she went is another story altogether, but what is important is that I found her again.

I found that passionate girl who wanted to change the world with her writing. And because of my life experiences, the injustices I chose to pursue pertain to healthcare and a radically different approach. I began to write about taking back power – not politically – but personally and in regard to health because that was the story I’ve been born to share.

I also discovered along the way that I prefer to dangle my feet in a stream in France rather than England. I learned that my writing is best fueled by real work with clients and interactions with those I teach. The everyday stories of individuals in pursuit of better health is incredibly inspiring. I am also constantly reminded just how difficult it is to make a lasting change when you are surrounded by a culture that doesn’t support a natural approach to health. And so here I am tasked with sharing a message that’s foreign to what is commonly accepted yet resonates with the truth that many have come to know for themselves.

Breaking this down and delivering it in an accessible and believable format is a challenge, and it requires more of me than I sometimes feel I have to give. To speak from a place of my own truth and experience is the only way this can be authentically conveyed. So did I really need to come to France to find that deep connection? Maybe not. Maybe so. Have I plugged right in as I’d hoped? The answer is yes and no. It’s different because first I discovered there was some preliminary work to do. Before I could get to the rich, juicy writing I had to make friends with myself. I mean really, I thought I had checked that off several meditation retreats ago. Seriously. Apparently, I needed to be even better friends. Friends with the parts of myself I don’t really appreciate, like the critical, the shameful – and yes – even the fearful part of me. Oh dear.

So how has this gone, you might ask? Well, it’s interesting what living alone can do for you,  especially if you are used to the busy-ness of being around family. While being completely alone as I am may sound unbelievably delightful but let me share that it is just a bit scary as well. For instance, when you are all alone there is actually no one to blame your grumpy mood on but yourself, and at the same time there is no one around to shift that but you. That’s a lot of personal responsibility!

And so here I am, and each morning looks a lot like the picture above. It’s my writer’s retreat for beginners. I wake, meditate, eat my fruit, make my tea and write without fail. Sometimes what I write is pretty damn good and sometimes, as Anne Lamott says, it’s “a really shitty first draft”. But I’ve already discovered this time away is about so much more than writing. It’s about making friends with all of me so they can join in and help me write this next book.

Be sure to follow me @LaurenHubele on Instagram for a daily feed of photos from #30daysofwriting in the Pyrenees.

A bowl of this soup really could not be easier to make or more comforting to eat. What it takes, however, is a handful of good, quality vegetables and the willingness to peel and chop. And yes there is kohlrabi on this list and it totally is not a root vegetable! But it was looking so lovely at the market I couldn’t leave it out. Kohlrabi, by the way, is a brassica just like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. I enjoyed this soup my first weekend in Foix after an invigorating hike up the hillside taking in the view of the city and the fall colors in all of their splendor.

Ingredients

Peel and chop all of the following into similarly-sized cubes:

• 4 wax potatoes (red potatoes or Yukon gold are good options)
• 2 large carrots
• 2 kohlrabi
• 2 – 4 young turnips ( peeling may not be necessary)
• 1 medium to large celeriac root
• 2 young leeks, cut lengthwise and chopped, first removing roots and the very tough leaves at the top
• 2 TBSP of dried or a handful of chopped fresh herbs that include a mix of any of the following: chives, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and savory

Prepare

Heat olive or coconut oil in the bottom of a large heavy soup pot. Saute leeks until soft and fragrant. Add dried herbs and vegetables one at a time taking a few moments with each to coat in the oil and herbs. Cover with water, add vegetable bouillon cubes, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer. When vegetables are tender you can choose to add more water if needed and season to taste.

Enjoy!