Blog
Inspirations & wisdom for midlife & beyond
Defining Menopause with Powerful Metaphors
Metaphors are powerful. They often define our experience and the world around us. When it comes to midlife, we often compare it to the autumn season. Just like autumn, midlife is a transitional time. As much as I love the summer, autumn has a special place in my heart — not only for the glorious and harmonious colors in Nature, but also for the slowing down in the pace of life as growth and...
How I Turned My Premature Midlife Health Crisis Around
When I was 37, a health crisis hit me like a lightning bolt. I remember sitting in the gynecologist's office. The look of concern on the doctor's face unnerved me. She was going on and on about a gigantic fibroid sitting in my uterus. My mind drew a blank. "What?" I thought. "How could that be? I had an annual check-up just a year ago and received a clean bill. What has happened to my body?" I...
The Eat Right Chef’s Top 10 Food Principles
In the age of the Internet and smartphones (I know, I dated myself when I said that, but I bet you would use a phrase like that too), you can find all sorts of information on food and healthy living. But the abundance of information doesn’t make it easier for us to live a healthier lifestyle. On the contrary, the information out there can be conflicting and confusing, causing much frustration...
The Evolution of My Relationship with Food
What is Food to Me? To me, food means several things: nourishment for the body, fuel that gives me energy, medicine that heals and prevents diseases, elixir that keeps the physique youthful, art for the eyes and soul, and aphrodisiac to arouse the desire and lust for life! My passion for food started when I was a child. My mother has a natural talent for cooking. After moving from China to Hong...
What Does My Chinese Upbringing Teach Me about Food and Health? (Part 2)
This is a continuation of my blog post on how I experience my native Chinese food culture and adapted it to my current health needs. See Part 1 here. In Chinese society, food and health are never separated. Even as a kid, I often heard about the medicinal effects of this food and that food. Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts are deeply ingrained even in everyday conversations. When you...
What Does My Chinese Upbringing Teach Me about Food and Health? (Part 1)
I grew up in Hong Kong, a predominantly Chinese society. At home, my mother followed the food tradition of a typical Chinese household, providing the family with three meals a day, made with mostly fresh ingredients shopped in the outdoor markets on the same day. Dinner was a full-on family affair. We always ate at exactly the same time every day—7pm, and the whole family would sit down to eat a...