à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Food
Off the Mat: A Feldenkrais Picnic
Perfection is, in itself, an idiotic way of living – Moshe Feldenkrais, Amherst 1980 On Saturday I packed a picnic lunch to take to the Hapgood Wright Town Forest near Walden Pond. My gluten-free goodies included a ripe avocado, a few small tomatoes, a chunk of goat milk cheddar cheese, a plastic container of leftover quinoa salad, an energy … Continue reading
Feldenkrais and Food: When Old Habits Die Hard
San Francisco, a foodie paradise, is the location of my Feldenkrais program. The training venue is sandwiched between two streets, Geary Boulevard and Clement Street, both chock full of food, mostly Russian grocery stores and bakeries, mom and pop fruit and vegetable markets, and a plethora of ethnic eateries (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Burmese and more), many of … Continue reading
My Spiritual Nemesis? Glatt Kosher Restaurants
Nothing can dismantle my sense – or illusion? – of spiritual progress faster than eating at glatt kosher restaurants. In recent weeks I’ve been to three. Two in Montreal, where I visited an elderly Hassidic relative, and one in San Francisco, where I had dinner with my oldest, modern Orthodox nephew. Because strictly observant Jews cannot eat in non-kosher restaurants, … Continue reading
Of Feldenkrais, Potatoes and Sex
Can potatoes be sexy? Can sex be potato-ey? And what does either have to do with moving slowly in a Feldenkrais lesson? First, can you recall a potato dish that made you swoon, salivate or succumb? Maybe potatoes mashed with butter until creamy, drizzled with truffle oil and dotted with beluga caviar. Or perfectly prepared french fries, thinly cut, … Continue reading
For Passover, I’m Refraining from Facebook
This year marks my first, “post-gluten” Passover. The holiday, commemorating the Jews’ hasty exodus from Egypt, is in part observed by eating matzah, unleavened bread, while also refraining from eating hametz, anything made of fermented grain (bread, pasta, beer, etc.). The complete dietary rules are more complex and vary depending on ancestry. Ashkenazi Jews, hailing from Eastern Europe, also avoid rice and legumes on … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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