Kochany Wellness

04/29/2026

Sometimes I measure the tiniest amounts and use the tiniest scale 😂

04/28/2026

A note from Amber:

After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to step back from the Leesburg Farmers Market. It wasn’t an easy choice, and I will truly miss seeing my customers—especially the kids I’ve had the joy of watching grow over the past seven years.

I’ll still be offering porch pickups (hotplate.com/kochany), and I’ll be participating in events starting in late June, so I hope we can stay connected that way.

To my celiac and gluten-free community—you mean so much to me. I hope to see you at porch pickup. And a gentle reminder: gluten can be silent, and even without symptoms, it can still affect your health.

Kocham ciebie!
With love,
Amber 💛

04/03/2026

02/25/2026

Psyllium husk is a soluble fiber from the seeds of the Plantago ovata plant. I use it as my “gluten” in breads and other baked goods. When you mix it with water, it turns into a stretchy gel that traps gas in gluten-free dough and gives the bread a texture closer to traditional wheat bread. It’s been used for thousands of years and is a really beneficial fiber.

I’m still trying to figure out the difference between light and dark psyllium. I prefer the light because it gives a lighter color and a more open crumb, but I can’t find much info on what actually makes one light and the other dark. Sometimes I wonder if you all notice a difference or if it’s just me being particular?!

It’s also hard to find—and expensive. Not all brands are certified gluten-free, which makes it even trickier. I have a few bags to use up (mostly dark, unfortunately). I’ve tried blending dark and light together, but the crumb still isn’t as open as when I use only the light. Once these are gone, I’m sticking with the light psyllium husk powder!

02/09/2026

Offering box for the monks of Walk for Peace.
They were simply monks—tired, a little overwhelmed, quiet and cold, their faces mostly wrapped in scarves the color of earth. All but one, who smiled and stood a little taller than the rest. Millie was delighted to offer two of them flowers—flowers another child had shared with her in exchange for taking photos of her and her mother. The moments with the monks were fleeting, and just as suddenly as they began, they were gone. I watched them walk on and searched for Aloka, the stray dog they had once befriended in India, but I didn’t see him. I wished I could walk with them. I even turned to my husband and said, “Let’s follow them—stop again and see them once more.” But the thought dissolved as we merged back into traffic.
On the drive home, I kept turning the encounter over in my mind, struck by how quickly it had passed. They had been closer than I expected, moving through flashing police lights beside an RV marked with a Walk for Peace banner. I remembered the rush of excitement when I first spotted them in the motorcade, the swell of admiration and pride that followed, and then—when I met their eyes—a deep empathy for the hunger, cold, and exhaustion they must have been carrying.
Later, as I sat down to lunch—thinking of how the monks eat only once a day—everything felt suddenly clear. I had gone to see them to offer thanks, and I did, quietly, to each one as they passed. But I had also hoped to leave with something more: a deeper connection to humanity, a sense of inner peace, a clearer purpose.

Using almost nothing, the monks had made a loving statement and drawn thousands together in the name of peace. I understood that I had arrived hoping to take something away, but what they were giving was not answers or purpose—only peace, quiet and fleeting, and exactly what I needed.

02/06/2026

❤️❤️❤️peace

🍀 May our walk awaken in you the strength to recognize a profound truth: peace has always been with you, living in the depths of your being, and nothing outside you—no hardship, no change, no chaos—can touch its purity unless you let it. This is our shared journey for peace, and we walk it together. We hope we've inspired you to protect what is most precious within you, to remember it, and to walk with us in the understanding that peace isn't something we achieve—it's something we remember, honor, and refuse to abandon.

May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace. 🙏

01/21/2026

Leesburg Farmers Leesburg Farmers Market !

01/18/2026