I’m training to be a health care provider and a health educator.  However, that surely doesn’t mean I am perfect on the “healthy living” front.  I tend to eat healthfully for the most part, but today I realized I’ve fallen into some bad eating habits.  Today I ate veggies, sea veggies, whole grains and lean meats…but I ate them while talking on the phone to my mother (breakfast), studying (lunch) and driving home (dinner).  Yikes!  The process of digestion in our body is governed by responses and signaling from the parasympathetic nervous system.  For our parasympathetic nervous system to work correctly we need to be relaxed, and if not our sympathetic (also known as fight or flight) response kicks in and digestion is impaired.  Not to mention if we are doing 10 million things while we are eating we probably aren’t actually chewing our food.  With our everyday lives being so hectic, it is hard to find time to relax and enjoy a meal…but it might be one of the most important things we can do for our health…so I am going to vow to improve.

Here’s a tasty recipe to eat with no distractions.

Asian Zucchini Chicken Salad

2 zucchini, with peel, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
8 ounces roasted chicken breast, diced
Instant wakame flakes, rehydrated in hot or warm water
1-1 1/2 cup cooked rice noodles

Dressing
Umeboshi Plum vinegar
Touch of sweetener of choice (choose erythritol, xylitol, stevia, honey or brown rice syrup)
Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or gluten-free tamari
Toasted sesame oil
Juice of fresh ginger (finely grate ginger then squeeze out the juice)

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions
This is very simple to make.   Simply combine all ingredients and season to taste.  The only special thing I did with the zucchini was soak the shreds in some salt water for a couple of minutes to remove some of the moisture.  I squeezed the zucchini shreds dry and added them to all the other ingredients.  For toasting the sesame seeds, simply put raw sesame seeds in a stainless steel pan over medium heat.  Stir until seeds give off a nice aroma (should only take 5-6 minutes).  Sprinkle on top when serving!