My gratitude for health and happiness have led me to study with farmer and health coach, Tara Tranguch of Serafina Says Farm. Tara contributes her ideas on growing and preparing organic vegetables, in Farm-to-Table Living.

❤️Barbara

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Hello! I’m Tara, an organic farmer and certified health coach in Collinsville, CT. Welcome and nice to meet you! Several years ago I left my corporate-world-traveller life to reconnect with the magic of the earth, plants and well-being. Here I will share my adventures and discoveries with you.

And I’d like to hear from you! Tell me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Tara Tranguch
Health Coach & Farmer
Serafina Says Farm
860-881-2280
www.serafinasaysfarm.com
www.facebook.com/serafinasaysfarm

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 March 10, 2015 – Finding Courage and Joy

I was not always an organic farmer and health coach. At Duke I majored in English and Chinese, and post-graduation I moved to China where I lived for my 20s years working in the telecoms sector. On my 30th birthday I moved to Paris where I continued my fabulous, globe-trotting life as an expat. On my 35th birthday I said a prayer before I went to sleep asking for a different life by my next birthday. I knew it was time for a change. For several years I had been changing my diet to raw vegan, changing my lifestyle to a greater focus on nature, and now I was ready to change my daily activities to more closely align with my own values and the reality I wanted to see in the world. Read more about this mindshift here:   http://www.taratranguch.com/about-me/

One of the hardest aspects of transformation is our own acceptance of our deepest desires. There is always that nagging, bossy voice that so loudly proclaims our fears, catcalls other people’s expectations, or simply argues with us. How to gently silence our inner critic, the great doubter of our own possibility? With me, it started with a shift in my daily food intake.

We all know the saying: you are what you eat. This expression refers to more than just calories, or the macro and micronutrients of food. It refers to the actual energy of the food we consume. Food is one of the sources of our life force! Processed, chemical-laden foods feed our critic and our fear. Nutrient-dense, living foods feed our courage and our joy. What we eat contributes to our mood and to our ability to transform.

Kirlian photography, also known as electrophotography, is a way to photograph the “life force” of an object. This photo shows the different energy fields of cooked versus raw foods.

You can experience this energy shift. This month. A 7-day guided juice cleanse floods your body with energy-rich, nutrient-dense green and fruit juices. During this cleanse you have the opportunity to set new, healthier eating habits. To experience the pure energy of juice. To silence your nagging voice. To transform. This Juice & Glow Cleanse has changed lives. Read what others have experienced while on this cleanse at:  http://www.taratranguch.com/juice-glow-cleanse/

The seasonal transition to spring is the ideal time for our bodies to undergo a cleanse. According to Ayurveda, as the snow melts into a watery slush and heavy mud, the energy of the season transitions from the dry airy ‘Vata’ of winter to the earthy watery ‘Kapha’ of spring.

When in balance, kapha provides lubrication, suppleness, and mucus to protect lung, sinus and stomach tissue. In excess, kapha causes sluggishness, dullness, and even depression. If you have an excess of kapha, you may experience excess phlegm, water retention, and heaviness in your limbs. And indeed, these are common physical side effects we all experience in spring. You may feel the need to stretch more, or to eat lighter foods. Perhaps you are more easily congested or get a head cold.

Are you starting to feel the pull of spring? Detox the body from the excess of winter, shed any extra pounds that may have piled on, and step into spring feeling lighter and more energetic. Join us and see how increased courage and joy can change you!  http://www.taratranguch.com/juice-glow-cleanse/

To your vitality and health,

Tara

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February 15, 2015 – The Joy of Winter

Hello again! My posts are categorized under the popular phrase “Farm to Table”. What does Farm to Table mean to you? At the most simplistic level, it refers to farm fresh food that goes straight from the farm to the table bypassing plastic shrink wrap, chlorine baths, and cross-country transportation. Sounds appealing already, right? Well, it gets even better.

To me, Farm to Table encompasses an entire lifestyle, of which food is one important component. It’s a lifestyle that eats locally grown and made food, that lives in tune with the seasons and surrounding nature, and that contributes to a strong, prosperous local community of people and business.”Farm to Table” is a lifestyle that roots us firmly in mother earth and nourishes us so we can grow strong leafy branches that provide fruit and shade for those around us.

One of the joys of living in Connecticut is that we have four well-defined gloriously different seasons. And right now we are in deep winter. This means heavy snowfalls, blustery winds, and below zero temperatures. This also means bright blue skies and the blinding reflective snow, warm and cozy fires, snuggling indoors under thick blankets with pets and loved ones, and slow-cooked, aromatic meals made in the crock pot or in the oven. Winter gives us a gift: the gift of appreciating all the warmth we have in our life, from our wood stoves and favorite mittens to our friends and family.

Winter also gives us an amazingly beautiful adventure land to play in! With three feet of snow on the ground, we can walk over parts of the forest that will be thick with brambles and bushes come springtime. Lakes and ponds are frozen solid for skating and ice fishing. Rivers have frozen waves of ice on top of them which are just gorgeous to look at. Watching the plump sparrows and cardinals cracking shells at the bird feeder is a glorious reminder that yes, we can be outdoors in the cold! And, in fact, we should!

Spending time outdoors during winter offers several health benefits- physical and mental- including shaking the winter blues, revving up our metabolism and blood circulation, increasing Vitamin D intake, and burning fat. Norwegians have a phrase “Friluftsliv” which translates loosely into English as “free air life”. It means that being outside is good for our mind and spirit. If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder or gain weight in the winter, take some time each day to get outside. Just a 15 minute walk will leave you feeling exhilarated and happy. Plus you’ll realize that you are stronger than you think – you can survive the cold, and, dare I say it, even enjoy it!

I try to get out for a quick walk everyday and one long snowshoe walk a week. I believe that the cold weather keeps me well fortified – I have not been sick once yet this winter, not even a sniffle! So I urge you to embrace the winter season and all it has to offer in terms of peaceful indoor warmth and beautiful outdoor adventures. Spring with its youthful, hectic energy and muddy unrest will be here soon enough.

Tara’s recommendations for walking and snowshoeing:

• Holcomb Farm – they have wonderful trails
• People’s State Forest
• Farmington River Trail
• Your backyard and any nearby park or treeline

Enjoy and let me know below in the comments section where you like to go to enjoy the winter landscape!

 

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February 7, 2015 – Sproutmania

People ask me what, as a farmer, I do in the winter. I continue to grow food! is my response. One of my favorite food items can be grown year-round, indoors, by each of us. They are: Sprouts!

What image do you visually associate with the word sprouts? For many, it is a memory of their mother or grandmother sprouting on the counter when they were a child. The action of sprouting seeds, grains and nuts before we eat them offers various health benefits such as ease of digestion, more accessible nutrients, and greater percentages of vitamins, amino acids and micronutrients, such as the awesome sulforaphane in broccoli sprouts!

For me, I associate sprouts with a picture of a mound of tender clover sprouts with olive oil and sea salt, spoonfuls of sprouted lentils scooped out of a miso-ginger broth. Sweet munchy sprouted adzuki beans warmed with coconut oil and black pepper.

Sprouts are seeds first soaked in water. The water removes the outer protective enzyme on the seed that stops it from sprouting, then the concentrated starch begins to break down into simpler carbohydrates, and the protein begins to break into free amino acids, so our own digestive enzymes don’t have to work so hard. As an excellent source of easily accessible amino acids, this means sprouts are an excellent protein source. In addition, sprouts that are “greened” in light (sprouts where you want leaves such as broccoli, clover, cabbage etc.) are a good source of chlorophyll, which I personally love and find to be anti-inflammatory, immune-building, and a good source of antioxidants.

Sprouts are highly beneficial foods for losing weight too. Because they are nutrient-dense, they keep one full for a long time and can be satisfying to the stomach. Plus they are low in calories. People assume the taste is going to be bland. In fact, all sprouts have their own unique and pleasing flavor and texture. They can be very simply dressed with olive oil and sea salt and are quite delicious. When losing weight, eating sprouts can help to retrain your mouth to enjoying the taste of simpler flavors and whole foods. This is instrumental in changing eating habits related to food cravings!

I sell sprouts, microgreens and wheatgrass at Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market on Sundays 11-2pm at Coventry High School through Feb. 22, 2015.
To learn how to sprout at home, contact me, Tara T., at [email protected]

 

ENJOY YOUR DAY!!

Hugs,
Tara