Can you imagine not having maple syrup to drizzle over your morning pancakes, waffles or french toast? That scenario is a real possibility. Each of us however can play a role in stopping the potential of such a reality. It can be as simple as not moving firewood. In spring and summer, many of us gather wood to build campfires and sit under the night sky. Before you move firewood or other wood products even a few miles, please watch this video and consider your actions.

To learn more, please visit The Nature Conservancy and www.dontmovefirewood.org.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone today who mothers others. There are many kinds of mothers–those who have given birth or adopted children, those who have lost children, step-moms, aunts, grandmothers, cousins, sisters, aunts, friends and colleagues. Many of us are called upon to mother others–no matter if those we mother are our children or not. Others of us reach out to people in our lives even when we haven’t been asked to help. For most of us, being a nurturer and helping others comes naturally and automatically. So today, I send gratitude to everyone who shares their love and nurturing with others.

Today I also wish to honor the Great Mother of us all! Without Her, none of us could or would be here. Consider today how Mother Earth supports, sustains and nurtures you. And thank Her for all She does. Her life-giving waters gave us life. Her beautiful trees, some of which are thousands of years old, provide us with the oxygen we breathe. The ground beneath our feet, Her body, is the foundation for our homes and communities and the soil in which we grow our food and upon which we raise animals. Today I thank Her for the ways She has given us life, along with those who came before me and those who I have brought into the world.

I invite you to express your gratitude today too. If you can today, take some time to go outside and stand upon the earth. Allow yourself to feel Mother Earth’s love, support and life-giving energy. Then, send Her love and appreciation for all She does to sustain you. Send healing for all the harm She has sustained. Fill your heart with joy and send it to Mother Earth along with your gratitude. Above all else, make a promise and commitment to Her today. Pledge that you will look for ways to honor her, heal her and protect her each and every day going forward.

Have a beautiful day and remember how blessed we all are to live upon the Earth–She is the Mother of all mothers.

“I will sing of the well-founded Earth,
Mother of all, eldest of all beings.
She feeds all creatures that are in the world,
all that go upon the goodly land,
all that are in the paths of the seas,
and all that fly;
all these are fed of her store.

Hail Earth, mother of the gods,
freely bestow upon me for this my song
that cheers the heart!

HOMERIS HYMNS XXX, ADAPTED BY ELIZABETH ROBERTS
EARTH PRAYERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

The following is from the Pachamama.org website:

“Imagine a Symposium with an audience of thousands of people all over the world simultaneously experiencing the power and impact of the Awakening the Dreamer message.

Thanks to the support of our friends at Gaiam, Inc. and the Shift Network, that’s precisely what will be happening on May 12th, when Gaiam TV will offer free online streaming of the Awakening the Dreamer DVD for 48 hours as part of the Shift Network and Sustainable World Coalition’s “Spring of Sustainability”.

We think it’s absolutely possible to have 100,000 people participate, making this the largest Awakening the Dreamer event to date. Invite your friends, family, and community to join the fun as part of the Pachamama May Month of Action and help us turn that possibility into a reality!

ADDITIONAL EVENT DETAILS:

Length: The experience will last approximately 2.5 hours.
Streaming Window: Participate for free anytime during 48 hours, starting on May 12th.

Visit Gaiam to register today!

My family loves truffles. Up to now, we’ve always bought them. We’ve tried various brands and do have our favorites (which I won’t disclose here).

After seeing this recipe, however, I’ve decided that this weekend for Mother’s Day, we’ll make our own. It can’t be that difficult, can it? And how wonderful it will be to make them with love and care and anticipation! I can’t wait.

This recipe came from Whole Latte Love. Click here for their Facebook link and here for their website. Buon apetito!

CIOCCOLATE CAFFÉ TRUFFLES
From: Paula Parker

Ingredients:
1 C. chocolate chips OR 1 – 7 ounce chocolate baking bar cut into very small pieces
3/4 C. unsalted butter
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon espresso powder OR 2 teaspoon. instant coffee
1/2 C. baking cocoa powder (Double Dutch, Special Dark or Unsweetened)
1 t. vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Heat butter & chocolate in a heavy saucepan over lowest heat until melted, stirring constantly. 2) Add cocoa, sweetened condensed milk and espresso powder (or instant coffee) 3) Stir well until dissolved. 4) Raise temperature to medium heat & stir constantly until thickened (approximately 3-4 minutes) 5) Add vanilla, stir well 6) Remove from heat. Pour into storage container & let cool. 7) When completely cooled, close container tightly & refrigerate 6+ hours. Scoop out with rounded teaspoon, roll into balls & roll in coatings. 9) Place in candy papers & into a decorative box. Makes 3 dozen candies Keeps 2 weeks unrefrigerated, 4-6 weeks in refrigerator.

Do not double the batch. Use different brands of chocolate, espresso powder, coffee or baking cocoa to vary the taste. Be creative! Coatings that work well are baking cocoa, powdered sugar, macaroon coconut, sprinkles, finely ground nuts (all varieties) chocolate cookie crumbs or drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

I just registered for the Food Revolution Summit. It features bestselling author John Robbins personally interviewing 21 amazing leaders in movements for healthy, sustainable, humane and delicious food. And you can join us — for FREE!

From April 28-May 6, there will be three interviews broadcast daily. You’ll get cutting edge disease-beating, health-activating, age-reversing information. These tools can help you and your family to thrive and to make a difference in the world.

Get more info and register today: http://foodrevolution.org/cmd.php?af=1454260.

Why take the time to listen? You might already have a gut feeling that a lot of what is available in our grocery stores is not good for you and your family. You might even have a sense that the ways in which many foods are produced is harmful to us and the planet. If you have some of those thoughts and feelings, this summit will be well worth your time.

Additionally, there are some very special and significant people taking part in this summit. Names you might recognize include NY Times best-selling authors Joel Fuhrman, MD (Eat To Live) and Marianne Williamson (Spiritual Principles for Weight Loss); expert doctors such as Dean Ornish, MD (Preventive Medicine Research Institute) and T. Colin Cambell, Ph.D (The China Study); culture-changers and icons such as Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) and Rory Freedman (Skinny Bitch); natural health pioneers such as Joseph Mercola (Mercola.com) and David Wolfe (Radiant Health Now); and food system innovators such as Vandana Shiva (Stolen Harvest) and Ronnie Cummins (Organic Consumers Association), and many more inspiring visionaries.

Over seven days, you’ll get training, inspiration and practical know-how from modern day heroes of health and sustainability. You’ll get answers to burning questions, tools for dealing with family and peers, and practically useful insights, ideas, motivation and tips, all from the comfort and convenience of your phone or computer.

Get all this and more for free by clicking here: http://foodrevolution.org/cmd.php?af=1454260.

I hope you’ll join me on the calls–this is a powerful and empowering event I hope you won’t miss!

The following is the Earth Day email I received from Megan Westgate, Executive Director of the Non-GMO Project. Even though we have only one week left for Earth Month 2012, if you are not already doing so, one way you can honor Mother Earth for April and beyond is to become aware of the Non-GMO foods available to you and make changes to incorporate more of them into your diet. Please enjoy Megan’s message and take up the Non-GMO Challenge for the rest of April. Contained in her email are also links to Megan’s video and the Non-GMO Challenge activation to inspire and become more aware.

While I certainly agree that “every day is Earth Day,” I also never turn down a chance to celebrate something good. Earth Day is a perfect time to pause and reflect on everything we’re already doing to support a sustainable Earth, and to deepen our commitments to protecting our one and only beautiful planet.

Julia Butterfly Hill is one of the most inspirational women alive today. Since her teens, she has been living and doing from a very conscious place. On her website www.juliabutterfly.com it states, “For 738 days Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests. Her courageous act of civil disobedience gained international attention for the redwoods as well as other environmental and social justice issues and is chronicled in her book The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods.”

Here are some quotes from Julia Butterfly Hill to inspire you:

“All life is created in love, and thus in the depths of every human being lies a good heart. Some have lost their path from this love, so it up to us to show them the way.”

“I wake up in the morning asking myself what can I do today, how can I help the world today.”

“The question is not ‘Can you make a difference?’ You already do make a difference. It’s just a matter of what kind of a difference you want to make, during your life on this planet. (Taken from Black and Buddhist, thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades by Mary Cowhey)”

“By standing together in unity, solidarity and love we will heal the wounds in the earth and in each other. We can make a positive difference through our actions.”

“If you’re the only person left, as long as your hope is committed in action, then hope is alive in the world.”

~Julia Butterfly Hill, author of The Legacy of Luna and Becoming

What might you choose to do today, tomorrow, and on into the future to make a difference? What might you share with your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren? How might we all be a part of the healing of our planet? Every action we take is a movement toward or away from the earth’s healing. What actions will you take and encourage in others?

May this Earth Day be the start of inspired and conscious living for all of us!

From Jane Goodall’s book, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating, here in an excerpt to contemplate. I’ve also included two recipes to inspire you to conscious, mindful eating. Buon apetito!

“Michael Pollan likens consumer choices to pulling single threads out of a garment. We pull a thread from the garment when we refuse to purchase eggs or meat from birds who were raised in confinement, whose beaks were clipped so they could never once taste their natural diet of worms and insects. We pull out a thread when we refuse to bring home a hormone-fattened turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We pull a thread when we refuse to buy meat or dairy products from cows who were never allowed to chew grass, or breathe fresh air, or feel the warm sun on their backs.

“The more threads we pull, the more difficult it is for the industry to stay intact. You demand eggs and meat without hormones, and the industry will have to figure out how it can raise farm animals without them. Let the animals graze outside and it slows production. Eventually the whole thing will have to unravel.

“If the factory farm does indeed unravel–and it must–then there is hope that we can, gradually, reverse the environmental damage it has caused. Once the animal feed operations have gone and livestock are once again able to graze, there will be a massive reduction in the agricultural chemicals currently used to grow grain for animals. And eventually, the horrendous contamination caused by animal waste can be cleaned up. None of this will be easy.

“The hardest part of returning to a truly healthy environment may be changing the current totally unsustainable heavy-meat-eating culture of increasing numbers of people around the world. But we must try. We must make a start, one by one.”

~Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating

TWO RECIPES FOR EARTH DAY from Whole Foods Market:

Veggie Chili Enchiladas
Makes 2 servings

Homemade vegetarian chili turns into spicy enchiladas with the addition of brown rice and a simple chipotle tomato sauce.

Ingredients:
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup vegetarian chili, such as Quick and Easy Veggie Chili (see recipe below)
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
4 365 Everyday Value Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder

Method:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat a medium saucepot over medium-high heat until hot. Add pepper and onion and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until beginning to brown and stick to the pan. Stir in 1/3 cup water and cook 3 minutes longer or until vegetables are very tender. Stir in chili, cooked rice and nutritional yeast. Place about 3/4 cup of the chili mixture on each tortilla and gently roll up. Place filled tortillas on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce and chipotle powder and spoon over enchiladas. Bake 10 minutes or until heated through.

Quick and Easy Veggie Chili
Serves 4

Make this simple yet tasty recipe and enjoy for dinner or for lunches throughout the week. Substitute black beans or pinto beans or use a combination of your favorite. Note that this recipe makes a small batch, so double it if you want leftovers.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
2 teaspoons no-salt-added chili powder
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt added kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Sliced fresh jalapeño peppers (optional)

Method:
Heat a large saucepot over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until beginning to brown and stick to the pan. Stir in 1/2 cup broth and cook 3 to 4 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender and most liquid has evaporated. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, beans and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes or until vegetables and beans are tender and sauce is thickened. Stir in black pepper. Serve with cilantro and jalapeños, if using.

Another of my favorite authors, who continues to contribute so much to our knowledge base around the food we grow and eat, is Michael Pollan. Here are some thought-provoking quotes from Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto:

“While it is true that many people simply can’t afford to pay more for food, either in money or time or both, many more of us can. After all, just in the last decade or two we’ve somehow found the time in the day to spend several hours on the internet and the money in the budget not only to pay for broadband service, but to cover a second phone bill and a new monthly bill for television, formerly free. For the majority of Americans, spending more for better food is less a matter of ability than priority. p.187”

“The sheer novelty and glamor of the Western diet, with its seventeen thousand new food products every year and the marketing power – thirty-two billion dollars a year – used to sell us those products, has overwhelmed the force of tradition and left us where we now find ourselves: relying on science and journalism and government and marketing to help us decide what to eat.”

“You may not think you eat a lot of corn and soybeans, but you do: 75 percent of the vegetable oils in your diet come from soy (representing 20 percent of your daily calories) and more than half of the sweeteners you consume come from corn (representing around 10 percent of daily calories).”

“The first thing to understand about nutritionism is that it is not the same thing as nutrition. As the “-ism” suggests, it is not a scientific subject but an ideology. Ideologies are ways of organizing large swaths of life and experience under a set of shared but unexamined assumptions. This quality makes an ideology particularly hard to see, at least while it’s still exerting its hold on your culture. A reigning ideology is a little like the weather–all pervasive and so virtually impossible to escape. Still, we can try.”

“When you’re cooking with food as alive as this–these gorgeous and semi-gorgeous fruits and leaves and flesh–you’re in no danger of mistaking it for a commodity, or a fuel, or a collection of chemical nutrients. No, in the eye of the cook or the gardener…this food reveals itself for what it is: no mere thing but a web of relationships among a great many living beings, some of them human, some not, but each of them dependent on each other, and all of them ultimately rooted in soil and nourished by sunlight.”

“That anyone should need to write a book advising people to “eat food” could be taken as a measure of our alienation and confusion. Or we can choose to see it in a more positive light and count ourselves fortunate indeed that there is once again real food for us to eat.”

~Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

Food for thought! If you have not read this book, I recommend that you pick up a copy. Another book to pick up is The Omnivore’s Dilemma. There is even a Young Reader’s Version.