Category: Food and Recipes

How to Keep the Family Healthy This Fall

The days are shorter, the nights cooler and we are all starting to settle into our new Fall rituals and rhythms. Along with that may come some more time indoors, slowing down and eating heavier foods. We might notice more sniffles around us and the kids are coming home with colds/flus are some other viral expression. Here’s a quick list of simple things that we can incorporate into our lives to help our families stay healthy as we head into this slower time.

  1. Bring in more fresh fruit and veggies. We tend to be drawn into warmer and richer foods as the days get cooler. It’s definitely much harder for me to drink smoothies on a cold morning or be excited about a salad after a brisk walk outdoors. We are not striving for perfection here, but awareness. Find what’s seasonal in your area and load up. If you are able to get in raw food, do it. If cooked food feels better for your body, go that route. Listen deeply and do what you can. Apples and pears and squashes are abundant this time of year around the NY area where I live. So I start there. Get as much in as you can every day- every bit helps.
  2. Utilize warming and immune boosting spices in your recipes. Garlic, ginger, cayenne, cinnamon and clove are all beautifully healing. They can boost flavor and warm up a dish on a cool day. They are antiviral, antibacterial and anti parasitic. Consider how you can bring them into more meals to give your immune system some extra loving support.
  3. Stay hydrated with living water and fresh juices. Hydration is important all year long and the colder weather is no exception. Our sinuses and airways dry out from indoor heat making it the perfect home for viruses to linger. Keep that juicer out and juice up some hydrating combos such as apple, cucumber, celery. Plain cucumber juice is a favorite of ours to get some great hydration in fast. No juicer? No problem. Lemon water, aloe water and cucumber water are all excellent ways to boost your daily water into something extraordinarily hydrating. Add a little bit into your glass and enjoy! A favorite drink in our home is maple lemon water. It’s a little sweet, a little sour and gets all the healing properties of glucose in as well.
  4. Pass the salt…. inhaler that is. Salt inhalers are a great way to kill viruses in our sinuses. They are easy to travel with so we can use them often. Use it after spending any amount of time in a public space, public transport or large gathering for optimal health. I really like keeping this salt inhaler in my bag all the time.
  5. Silver spray. Sovereign silver can be ingested or used topically for immune support. Everyone in our household uses both of these as a preventative and also to treat the first signs of illness. Use the nose spray in combination with the throat spray to shorten the length of your cold.
  6. Let’s do shots. Mix up a round of ginger, garlic, and turmeric shots. Freeze them in some Souper cubes and you will have an amazing natural tool at your fingertips for whenever you start to feel run down. Check out the recipe here
  7. Zinc Shock Therapy and Vitamin C Shock Therapy. Medical medium shared these powerful therapies to give our immune system the best chance at knocking out a bug. Both are easy enough to even give to children. Here is the recipe for zinc shock therapy and for vitamin C shock therapy.
  8. Get Outside. Fresh air, sunshine and movement can do wonders. Even if all you do is stand on your porch for 10 minutes, you will be giving your body a tremendous gift. Our homes are meant to shelter our bodies but our bodies are not built to remain indoors all the time.
  9. Move your lymph. Our lymphatic system is responsible for moving waste, such as bacteria, viruses and toxins, out of our bodies. Yoga, dry brushing, lymphatic drainage massage and rebounding are all gentle ways to keep that lymph flowing.

Sustainable Living Swaps for Everyone

Just in time for Earth day! We are continuing our conversation about sustainable living practices, the Zero Waste lifestyle, and living as a spiritual being in a very practical and accessible way. I’m here to say that Zero Waste/Sustainable living is available to each of us to a certain degree and encourage you to feel into what changes you are comfortable exploring.

At this point, I think most people are already doing some of the more mainstream “first tier” swaps (reusable water bottles/straws/coffee cups/shopping bags etc). But I want to encourage you to give some of these others swaps a try. You might just find a new favorite.

After all, in order for there to be real impact, we all need to be doing “something” and that “something” is very individualized. For some, it may be to eliminate air travel or live in a car optional community. For others, it may be to only purchase items from companies that are Fair Trade certified or Certified B corporations. The point is, only YOU can decide- but we all need to start taking some steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle. But don’t stop there, keep moving until you find your edge. You may be more comfortable with more change than you are giving yourself credit for.

So, here we go- my Top Zero Waste/Sustainable Living Swaps with specific brand recommendations that I can personally stand by:

  1. Green up your Toothbrushing Routine! This is one of the first swaps I did because it was so simple and there was barely any adjustment period . We all switched out to bamboo toothbrushes and Bite Bits for our toothpaste and floss. They have a subscription available that comes with zero waste refills and now even have Bite Bits for children ages 3 and up. I love that we are no longer tossing small bits of plastic in the trash, and to be honest, the little glass bottles on the bathroom vanity just make me smile.
  2. Modernize your Period experience! This is a great experiment- take all the trash from your next period and put it aside in a bag. If you are using disposable products, the amount of trash each month is probably more than you imagined. Time to rethink your routine with some great re-usable options.
    • Menstrual Cup– it may take some getting used to, but users absolutely love the freedom that wearing a cup can bring. There are lots of options to choose from and many places to purchase them. Some may even be sold in your local pharmacy.
    • Organic/Zero Waste Products– My absolute fave here is Tampon Tribe. Their products are all organic, zero plastic, women owned, compostable and socially responsible. You can subscribe for a customized package each month that comes with refill packs for their really cute burlap bags.
    • Period Underwear– Again so many options to choose from here. The feeling may take a little bit of getting used to, but so worth it. Period underwear are super easy to use and come in lots of styles and price points. My favorite are the ones from The Period Company. They contain no PFOAS at all, are socially responsible, extremely absorbent and at a very attractive price point.
  3. Skip the Plastic Jugs of Detergent! There are many companies offering excellent sustainable options to those huge jugs of laundry detergent. Drops laundry pods are a popular choice here. Made in the USA, free of all the bad stuff, compostable packaging and carbon neutral shipping make this a great choice. Another popular one is Meliora. They disclose every ingredient used, are MADE SAFE certified, a Certified B Corp, Made in the USA, and package free. I am in LOVE with every Meliora product I’ve used so far. They smell great (only using essential oils) and clean extremely effectively.
  4. Welcome Bar Soap back into your life! Remember those bars, you know, back before everything came in a little plastic bottle? From bar soap for hands, face, dishes to shampoo and conditioner bars, there are bars for everything. My shampoo and conditioner bar of choice is NueBar. They are made of high quality ingredients, no artificial fragrances, contain no soap, SLS, SLES, or SCS, carbon neutral and plastic free packaging. They even have a smart lettering system on the bars so you don’t get them mixed up in the shower. They are also Curly girl method approved. I also love their facial bars, especially the one for mature skin. For dish soap, you can’t go wrong with Meliora here again. Their products are really superior and well crafted.
  5. Try out some DIY Personal Care Products! Plastic free and zero waste versions of your fave products are super easy to find. Here are my go-to recipes for products I use every single day.
    • Flax seed hair gel. This was the first DIY I ever tried and was so floored by how great it worked and how amazing my hair felt afterward, it’s now the only product I use in my hair. Flax seeds are full of Omega-3 fatty acids and are nutrient rich. You can freeze this gel in portions in an ice cube tray so you always have a stash made and it literally costs pennies per ounce. Here’s my go to recipe for flax hair gel.
    • Body Butter. I love this all natural and simple body butter made of only 3 ingredients: shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil. Our whole family uses it- including our toddler. I even use it on my face. It feels great and soaks right in. The best part is that there are no mystery ingredients to worry about and its so easy to make.
    • Moisturizing Skin Serum. This lovely skin serum is made of organic, cold- pressed plant oils and is a relatively new addition to my routine. I put this on and allow it to soak in and follow up with the body butter recipe above. Using it makes me feel like I’m in a spa. Here’s the recipe.
  6. How about some DIY Cleaning products? There are tons of recipes out there. We’ve been using this one for our dishwashing detergent and have not been disappointed- one more plastic bottle down! And as soon as my bottled toilet bowl cleaner is finished, I’ll be replacing it with this.
  7. Let’s Talk Toileting! Speaking of toilets, we swapped our TP for one made of recycled content and all compostable packaging. I’m loving Who Gives A Crap for their commitment to a worthwhile cause and humanitarian effort. They are a Certified B Corp and have carbon neutral shipping. I am super pleased with their products and bonus, they have cheery wrapping that is quite pretty (and can be repurposed!) A next step for us is purchasing a bidet. While we are not quite there yet (our toddler would have a literal blast with it) we do have this one on our radar.
  8. Ditch the plastic and go for glass, glass, and more glass! Start buying things in glass packaging whenever possible. You like mustard? Buy the one in glass. Salad dressing? Find the one in glass. Start a jar stash and literally use them for everything. You can freeze in them, store dry goods in them, use them for leftovers, organize your office supplies, drink out of them, put flowers in them, make DIY gifts in them. The list goes on!

So there it is for now, I hope some of these swaps spark interest and hopefully excitement for starting something new and fresh this Spring. It’s a perfect time for renewing our commitment to this planet and to ourselves.

You’ve all seen the bumper sticker, “There is no Planet B” after all.

Sat Nam

Zero Waste Living as Spiritual Practice

As the climate crisis looms heavily in our awareness, more and more people are becoming curious about living a zero waste lifestyle. This movement has been getting a lot more attention and understandably so. Zero Waste is defined by the Zero Waste International Alliance as, “Conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health”. That’s something I think we can all get behind- but what about the term “zero waste”? The name itself is often misleading and misunderstood as the intention to be truly zero waste is a nearly impossible feat to achieve. Here, I am offering the suggestion to approach a zero waste lifestyle with a side of self compassion and a whole lot of patience. I would like to banish those images of people holding up a mason jar containing a year’s worth of their trash. Instead let’s consider how simple changes in our daily lives can help lower our environmental impact, bring us closer into alignment with our spirit and relationship to nature, and even teach us a few things about humility along the way.

One of the first thing I noticed when researching all things zero waste was the array of aesthetically pleasing items composed of natural materials: wood, cork, organic cotton, and glass. It was beautiful. I was nearly tempted to dump every plastic item in my home and replace it with something sustainable. I didn’t want to use one more plastic item. Then I paused-wouldn’t that be the opposite of what this movement is all about? So I started slowly and wanted to share my exploration here.

If you’re considering a zero waste lifestyle, here’s a great place to begin

  1. Take a fridge inventory. Do you have a lot of takeout containers? Food rotting and forgotten in the back? An excess of packaged and processed items? A foundational part of being zero waste is reducing our food waste. Consider how you could cook at home more often. Research plant based meals which are inherently produced with a smaller carbon footprint than animal products. Go simple and make extra portions for the freezer. Look at creative ways to make meals with leftovers and recipes with “scraps”. All of these efforts will not only bring you closer to your zero waste goals, but also to an overall healthier and thriftier lifestyle.
  2. Consider prepping your own DIY cleaners. Find simple recipes for homemade cleaners and have the ingredients at the ready for when you run out of your conventional cleaner. Start with one item at a time and find a recipe that works best for your lifestyle. You can re-use the plastic spray bottles from your old cleaners or store the new concoctions in jars. Once you find a good DIY replacement, move on to another cleaning product.
  3. Use the personal care products you have completely before buying a “zero waste” replacement. You can still use your toothpaste, shaving cream, shampoo etc. Just have a new replacement at the ready for when they are finished. I’m reminded of the saying, “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” here.
  4. Peek in your recycling bin. Are there items you can take out to be repurposed or reused? Can someone else use it? ( think about your local “Buy Nothing” group). Are you seeing a lot of the same type of packaging? Where can you cut back on plastic? Just start becoming aware…and creative.
  5. Observe your daily habits. What disposables could you replace with reusables? This is very personal and specific. If you never use straws, it wouldn’t make sense to purchase a stainless steel straw. That said, if you buy coffee everyday, buying a reusable coffee mug is a practical and easy swap. Start with what works for you and your comfort level.
  6. Begin building your stash of reusables. Everyday items make easy swaps. A great example of this is repurposing old T shirts, cotton burp cloths, and flannel to replace paper towels for cleaning. It is also much cheaper and less wasteful than purchasing a new item, such as un-paper towels, even if it is zero waste. Re-use containers, jars, plastic packaging rather than buying reusable ziploc bags or a matching set of mason jars.
  7. Re-think new items coming into your home. Is it necessary? Could you find a diy alternative? Is it made sustainably? Is it fair trade? Will it last a long time? Is it in alignment with your philosophy?

Taking time for reflection, focusing on a clear intention and being thoughtful about taking steps is all part of this process. It is a way to deepen our connection to ourselves, build community, engage in a larger world issue and enact real change. Keep striving for self improvement and for a better world-we will get there.

And remember, small steps are still steps.

Sat Nam.

.

The 28 Day Healing Cleanse- Week 1

Healing infertility through nutrition and gentle detox

Vegetables and FruitsI’m so excited to write this blog today.  One week ago I began the Medical Medium 28 day Healing Cleanse and felt called to share my experience. I’ve been following the Medical Medium (Anthony William) for some time now.  I’ve worked closely with gifted teachers and practitioners who are skilled in his work and have guided me through supplements and herb selection and supported me through viral flares and symptoms of detoxing. For those of you unfamiliar with Anthony’s work, his books, The Medical Medium and Life Changing Foods, are game changers in every sense of the word. The overall message is that:  1. We are surrounded by environmental toxins which can build up over our lifetime. 2. We carry viral loads and heavy metals which along with environmental toxins, can make us sick. 3. Thebody can REVERSE disease and heal itself.  That’s a really oversimplified version, but the basic premise.

I am very lucky in that I haven’t been diagnosed with any serious disease.  That said, there is the issue of what hasn’t exactly been diagnosed.  I am one of those women who falls into the category of having “unexplained infertility”.   It’s a horribly befuddling term that left me full of questions and despair. Four years ago my husband and I began trying to have a baby. After an unsuccessful year and a half, we turned to the medical model for help.  Nobody had answers. My husband was healthy, I was healthy.  All the numbers looked really good, tests couldn’t find anything wrong.  They suggested IUI (intrauterine insemination) and medication.  Not knowing what else to do, we went for it. It failed- four times.  I was devastated and vowed to focus on our health and find another path.

In April 2016, I started seeing an acupuncturist and began taking chinese herbs. In addition, we started working with a homeopathic doctor specializing in removing heavy metals from the body in a safe and systematic way. He explained that my husband was loaded with heavy metals and that I had them too, mainly in my ovaries.  We detoxed and followed his protocols for 5 months.  We were both mostly clear and ready to start trying again.  I felt that I needed to go further though, and in October 2016 began working with a new healer who introduced me to Anthony’s work.   This healing path has consisted of nutritional support and a lot of really good self care (ahimsa at its finest!). For months I’ve been clearing out viral debris, improving my immune and nervous system, detoxing my liver, and removing any residual heavy metals.  I feel really, really great and probably the healthiest I’ve ever been.

Back to present day, I am doing the 28 day Healing Cleanse as described in the Medical Medium book 1 to do a final really deep detox before attempting to try to conceive again. This cleanse is really simple (one thing I love about it) and all natural (the other thing I really love).  For 28 days, eat only raw fruit and vegetables.  That’s it.  I was reluctant to give up olive oil, potatoes, and seeds/nuts at first.  Even though I knew I could get incredible amounts of macronutrients and dense amount of nutrition from these foods, it was still a big shift.  After a week, I feel amazing.  My energy is really great, I feel calm, grounded and radiant.  I am practicing listening to my body for any signals that things are moving too fast, but so far, it’s been extremely positive.

Now…on to week 2!!!!

Below are some references for support in this work:

Medical Medium: Secrets behind chronic and mystery illness and how to finally heal

Medical Medium Life Changing Foods: Save yourself and the ones youlove with the hidden healing power of fruits and vegetables

Food Matters  (documentary 2008)

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Spring is here- time to lighten the load!

Part 1- Simple holistic ways to reduce toxin exposure and improve overall health.

Welcome Spring! I’ve found that focusing my energy on strengthening my body and detoxing has been a beautiful spiritual practice and want to share with you what I’ve learned on this path (so far).

The new life energy coming forth from the earth creates an inspiring time of year to purge our bodies of its heavy toxic load.  The toxic load we carry comes from both what we absorb from our environment every day and what has been passed down to us through our parents and those before them.  These toxins can build up in our system and cause chronic health conditions such as anxiety, headaches, dizziness, weight gain etc.

If you are interested in improving your health and state of wellness, this is a great place to begin.  Nothing harsh, just a few simple changes that when combined, can have a tremendous impact. It’s also a good practice in changing routines, nourishing your body and truly listening to what it is telling you.  I found that in the beginning, some of the changes in diet and lifestyle brought up all kinds of emotions and resistance inside me.  It felt challenging to follow this path when society was telling me to eat, drink and be merry because I “deserved” it.  So this is a very different perspective, eat well, avoid things that can increase your toxic load, and be kind and gracious to yourself- because my dear ones, this is what we deserve.

Things to avoid or eliminate from your routines:

  1. Plastics– We have been wrapping ourselves in plastic since the 70’s and it has leached into everything;our food, our water supply, and our bodies.  Plastics are particularly harmful to our reproductive systems, they may contain  the chemicals bisphenol A (BPA) and phythalates.
    1. plastic wrap & baggies- avoid wrapping your food in plastic at all costs, use reusable containers when possible.
    2. plastic containers-  I find that glass containers such as pyrex work great!  Never reheat food in plastic.
    3. shower curtain liner ( these contain phythalates which can damage sperm)
  2. EMF’s– Electromagnetic frequencies are everywhere. They are emitted from anything electronic ( computers, cell phones, cars, airplanes, appliances etc).  The problem with EMFs is that they interfere with our body’s own electrical frequencies which can prevent our body from letting go off toxic heavy metals and can cause adverse health conditions, both neurological and otherwise (i.e. cancer, insomnia, anxiety, headaches). Since EMFs are everywhere, you may want to take precautions. One product I use is made by Memon. I wear a memonizerBody on my wrist and have a memorizerMobile  on my cell phone. I also have organite throughout each room in my home and on my desk at work where I sit with my computer throughout the day. You can also remove electronics from your bedroom, run appliances such as the dishwasher or dryer when you are out of the room, and turn off your wifi at night. For all men out there, never carry your cell phone in your front pants pocket.
  3. Chemicals– This is a fairly broad category.  As a guideline, I only buy products that are cruelty free, plant based, environmentally friendly, and free of dyes, fragrances and preservatives.  The fewer ingredients, the better.
    1. Household- Think of your home environment as a sacred space. We need to take extra care not to pollute this space with toxins. Nothing works better than good old vinegar, lemons, baking soda and peroxide and there are many websites devoted to cleaning with these items. If you can’t part with the convenience of a bottled cleaner,  I like Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers, and my newest fave,  Ecos.
    2. Beauty products & nail polish- This is a tough one for a lot of people, but we really need to be looking at what we are putting on our body. Many products out there are laden with harsh ingredients, parabens, toxic fumes and dyes.  If possible, opt for using food grade products on your body.  Some that I love include Lux shea butter for my face, and coconut oil for my body.  I am also loving this oil based facial cleanser.
  4. Toxic/Heavy Metal Exposure– These metals include lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and  aluminum.  They can be found everywhere, but especially in fish and processed cheese, vaccines, nasal sprays, fertilizers, plastics and antiperspirants. A great first step to reduce toxic metal exposure is to ditch the antiperspirant! It took me quite a while to find a really good deodorant that I love, but you will not be disappointed in  Primal Pit Paste.
  5. Pesticides/ Herbicides– I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but eating organic dramatically reduces your exposure to toxins.  If you can’t afford or find organic produce in your area, try to avid the dirty dozen as much as possible.  When I first started out, I would keep a list on my phone and reference it whenever I went to the grocery store.  The dirty dozen includes the following foods listed from most to least contaminated:
    1. Strawberries
    2. Spinach
    3. Nectarines
    4. Apples
    5. Peaches
    6. Pears
    7. Cherries
    8. Grapes
    9. Celery
    10. Tomatoes
    11. Sweet Bell Peppers
    12. Potatoes
  6. Meat and Dairy Products– This list could not be complete without mentioning meat and dairy products.  From a toxicity standpoint, the fat and protein compounds in these products clog the liver causing it to be sluggish and reducing its ability to do it’s job of filtering the blood and removing toxins from the body.  Simply said, if your liver is sluggish (or fatty), the toxins stay put!  in addition, meat and dairy contain high amounts of  growth hormones (there is no such thing as hormone free, all animals in the industry have been exposed), antibiotics and adrenal compounds (from the slaughtering process).  Increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption will improve overall liver function and go a long way in detoxing your body.
  7. Added Sugar– Yes, it’s really bad for us. It’s corrosive to our system and damaging to our organs (and dairy is liquid sugar meant to grow a baby calf/goat/lamb).  If you feel a sweet craving coming on, grab a piece of fruit or use some maple syrup or dates in your baking- you won’t be disappointed. The glucose from fruit is extremely important for brain health and body functioning, so indulge as often as possible.  For more information on the healing powers of fruit (and vegetables) check out Anthony William’s latest book, Life Changing Foods.