Health and Wellness – Five Little Duckies

Quantum Leap

Does anyone remember this TV show from the early 90’s? I remember watching this and thinking it was sci-fi and thinking how crazy the concept was. Jump to 2017 (pun intended). I’ve been on a journey of faith, personal development, and love for the past 5 years and of late I’m burrowing into the concept of quantum physics. If you have no idea what that is or what I’m talking about, hang onto your hat! Because your mind is about to be totally blown.

Let’s start with basics. Do you know that every single thing has a vibrational frequency? Everything. For, every. single. thing. in this universe is purely made of energy. Quantum physics is the study of this energy–the study of vibrational frequencies and energy and matter. And quantum physics explores the possibility of particles being in two states at the same time. I love how this site presents it: In 1905, Albert Einstein proved through quantum physics that energy and matter are interchangeable and interconnected. In other words, the universe and all things within it are interchangeable. Your energy, vibrational frequency, and physical self are interchangeable. We are one universal energy body manifesting itself in various forms throughout the cosmos. Boom! Mind blown.

Hard to wrap your brain around that, right? It’s ok, I’ll give you a minute. I’ll be right here when you get back (and maybe somewhere else at the same time! 😉 )

I’ve become so fascinated by this topic of quantum physics that I really TRULY feel I could write an entire book on this (and many folks have!). Without even knowing it, I’ve been dabbling in quantum physics for years. My oils. My Oola obsession. Personal development. I’ve ditched bad habits and toxic relationships. I’ve done an ENTIRE overhaul of the food we eat and the chemicals in our home environment. I’m releasing negative emotional patterns with the use of mantras and essential oils. I believe there’s something innate in all of us that KNOWS this stuff already and WANTS to be at the highest frequency we can be. There’s a MOUNTAIN of fascinating information on this topic. For instance, the scientific/medical community is now studying the use of frequencies to literally blast out cancer cells and remedy other medical conditions. I mean…seriously, how much more sci-fi can it get?! I am just seriously nerding out all over with this stuff. I look forward to the day when we all are empowered to live life to our highest frequencies and anyone who is sick can get better with light therapy, sound therapy, water therapy, essential oil therapy (which I am obligated legally to tell you–duh–does not yet exist!), or nutritional therapy. BRING. IT. ON.

So these vibrational frequencies are measured in megahertz units. A megahertz is a unit of alternating current or electromagnetic wave frequency. Yes…get out your spectacles because we are in severe NERD territory. And you know you’re loving it as much as I am!

The human body typically vibrates between 62 and 78MHz. Disease begins at 57MHz, cancer at 42MHz, and death at 25MHz. These are proven numbers, recorded over and over and over again by the scientific community to the point where they are well known standards. We now can know the vibrational frequency of ANYTHING. It’s not difficult to Google this stuff and find tons of sites that list the frequencies of the food you eat, the thoughts you have, the things you watch on TV, your emotions, your activities, your sleep, your outlook on life…the list goes on and on, my friends. Every thing you say, eat, do or think truly–TRULY–has a direct and PROFOUND impact on your health and your quality of life. Let me repeat that. Every single thing you say, eat, do, and think TRULY has a DIRECT impact on your HEALTH and your QUALITY OF LIFE. That is profound and astonishing. Sure, it’s something we hear all the time. You are what you eat. What you think about comes about. Watch what you wish for! Mind over matter. How many sayings do we have that drive this point home? And yet most of us walk around like zombies, letting life throw us around like your laundry on spin cycle. We develop negative thought patterns, negative emotional patterns, poor eating and sleeping habits, destructive relationships, self sabotaging habits…you catch my drift.

Here’s the good news: As we’ve said, everything you think, do, eat, experience, say, and feel affects your vibrational frequency…this means you have influence over your number. YOU HAVE INFLUENCE OVER YOUR NUMBER!!!! This is perhaps the best news you’ve ever heard. Trust me.

In order to raise your frequency, you need to have a grasp on what some common numbers are. I really like this chart of the vibrational frequency of emotions. This is a well known and highly used chart:

Negative thoughts lower frequency by approximately 12 MHz, but positive thoughts raise frequency by approx 10MHz. Look at love…love vibrates at around 500MHz. But guilt? Guilt vibrates at 30Mhz. You know the old notion that someone is giving you a “guilt trip” to make you feel bad about something? TRUTH! And the old saying “you are what you eat”?? YEP! You are. I really like this fellow bloggers’ article about frequencies and food. The highlight for me is this list right here: Fresh Foods 20-27 Hz, Fresh Herbs 20-27 Hz, Dried Foods 15-22 Hz, Dried Herbs 15-22 Hz, Processed/Canned Food 0 HZ. Again, processed foods…ZERO. If you want to impact your frequency greatly, start by shopping the perimeter of your grocery store and skipping all the inside isles which are loaded with processed foods!

Something else you can do…get some essential oils. Essential oils can actually assist you in supporting most of your body systems. They can make your water tastier, enabling you to drink more. They help with cravings, support normal sleep patterns, encourage you to love and be grateful, and they are amazing tools for emotional support! The frequency of therapeutic grade essential oils range between 52 and 580MHz…wow! Did you remember that love vibrates at 500MHz? Blue Spruce oil vibrates at 580MHz–a higher frequency than the emotion of love, scientifically speaking!!! Imagine how crazy good you will feel if you diffuse or apply this oil every day as part of a morning routine. Essential oils actually have the highest recorded vibrational frequency of any measured natural substance. That’s pretty boss! Next time you are feeling down or the negative thoughts are starting to overtake you, grab an oil. Smell it and apply it topically. Diffuse it all around you. Keep oils in your purse, on your kitchen counter, in your bathroom, at your bedside.

There are lots of things you can do to raise your frequency. Drink more water. Ditch sugar, alcohol, and coffee (yes, painful to hear!). Get more sleep and higher quality sleep. Exercise. Turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Love yourself. Be grateful! (Does all this sound very…Oola? If you don’t know what Oola is, do yourself a favor and check it out…you can click to above link or read my previous blog entitled Ola-la.) Take a look at the food you’re eating. What’s the last book you’ve read? What are you doing to elevate your mind? Are you meditating? Practicing prayer, worship and fellowship? Are your friendships loving and open and accepting? Do your other relationships challenge you in a healthy way?

In my mind, quantum physics isn’t just a topic of discussion or a scientific theory. To me, it’s an approach to life. Living the life that God designed for you and the life that YOU were meant to live will bring you wellness, purpose, and abundance. The key to a life of high vibrational frequency is in your hands. You can bring yourself down with poor choices, negative thoughts, and destructive habits and relationships. Or you can lift yourself up at every chance possible. For some, it will take a lot of work to dig out of certain holes. But oh, it will be so worth it. For others, it will come a lot easier. However you get there, it is YOUR journey and your journey alone…and that is the whole point! You are what you eat. What you think about comes about. Watch what you wish for! Mind over matter. So…get your habits, thoughts, actions, relationships, and words aligned with the kind of life you truly want to live…and LEAP into it (you see what I did there?). 😉

How Sweet It Is…

So…the white stuff. Oh how we all love it. I could write a novel on sugar, so I’m planning to break it into a few smaller posts. Who doesn’t love that feeling when you’ve been craving some chocolate and you finally get your hands on the dark, velvety stuff, and you pop it in your mouth and the world just feels nice for a second? (Then the kids pull at your jeans, the cupboard door hits you in the head, the doorbell rings, and the baby pees on the floor…but you had a nice second there when the sweet stuff hit your system!) Does this sound a bit like an addict talking??? That’s because it is. We can absolutely 100% be addicted to sugar–and most Americans are. Check out this article by Dr. Mark Hyman explaining why sugar addiction is a fact, not a myth. You can even take his little self evaluation to see if you may be heading to the next SEA (Sugar Eaters Anonymous) meeting (pretty sure this isn’t an actual group but if you Google that term, you can find some actual resources for support groups). You are probably sitting here reading this thinking, “Wow, that’s sad. Those poor saps are addicted to something like SUGAR?! So lame…” I have news for you, friend…you are probably one of “us”!

It is surprisingly easy to become addicted to sugar. And the food industry is not trying to stop it. In fact, the opposite is happening. They are fueling the fire as much as possible. They want each one of you to be a sugar addict..and they are your supplier. If you’ve never seen one of the many documentaries out there on this topic, may I suggest my absolute favorite, Fed Up, which features the lovely Katie Couric. Their website is a wonderful resource, so check it out. This is a truly eye-opening film. If you walk away from this film and your eating habits don’t change and you especially don’t change what you’re feeding your kids, you either have the sugar thing figured out already or you should have your pulse checked. 😉 The moment this film was over, I was raiding my cupboards, tossing all kinds of what I thought were “healthy” snacks into the trash. It totally changed how I shop, how I bake, and how I view my childrens’ bodies. And previous to viewing the film, we were definitely already a healthier household than most. We eat only organic, we don’t do many processed foods, and we are admitted food snobs when out and about. Before viewing this film, I knew sugar was bad for us and I definitely limited it with sweets and treats, but the biggest takeaway for me is how grams and grams of sugar are literally hiding in just about every food you eat. Three of the most shocking items for me were yogurt, marinara sauce, and whole milk. And that brings me back to the food industry and their agenda…

The food industry has a vested interest in you becoming a sugar addict. Because they are your supplier. Pick up something from your pantry and come back to this page…go ahead. I’ll wait.

Welcome back…now look at the sugar content. It tells you how much sugar is in the product in grams, correct? Now, do you see the percentage of daily recommended value next to the sugar content like you do for all the other nutritional values? Right. It’s ok…I’ll give you a second to pick your jaw up off the floor…it is not required for the daily percentage of sugar intake to be listed…on anything. Let me repeat that. The FDA does not require the “percentage of daily value” for sugar to be listed on nutritional labels in the US.

I felt like such a jerk when this fact was exposed in the film Fed Up. I felt stupid for never having noticed. I felt taken advantage of for this not being an FDA requirement. And I felt angry for never having been educated on this. Here’s why the sugar industry has finagled the FDA into allowing them to refrain from listing the recommended daily value percentage on food labels: because the actual recommended daily values are so low that almost every single item in the store would be far above 30 or 40 or 50 percent of the recommended daily value, and that would look bad for the sugar industry. If you try to find an answer about why the daily percentage values aren’t listed, you will find some rigamarole about how it’s too difficult to measure the sugar content of many products because there is no way to separate naturally occurring sugars from added sugars, blah, blah, blah. In my mind, it is clear to me that this argument is complete drivel. They have the means to measure the sugar content. Clearly. Because it’s already been measured and added to the label. Whether or not it’s added sugar or naturally occurring sugar or a combination of both, it still comprises the percentage present in the product. No? Seems like common sense to me. Here are some facts that will knock your socks off:

Recommended daily sugar allowance according to the American Heart Association and WHO:

Adult Male: 37.5 grams (approx. 9 teaspoons)
Adult Female: 25 grams (approx. 6 teaspoons)
Children 8 and under: 3-4 teaspoons (approx. 12-17 grams), depending on body weight
Children ages 9-18: 5-8 teaspoons (approx, 21-35 grams), depending on body weight

Seems reasonable, right? If you’re a label reader and you already have a sense of the number of grams of sugars in your food products, you may already be breathing into a paper bag. But if you’re not really a label reader: #1, these numbers may mean nothing to you and #2, I hope you will be a label reader after you’re through with this blog!

The grams seem high, but they’re not. Take a look at the teaspoons. Do you drink coffee? Do you add sugar to it? If so, how many teaspoons? Two, you say? Boom! You just used up one third of your daily allotted sugar on your FIRST cup of coffee. Does that put it into perspective? Do you ever pick up one of those yummy Starbuck’s concoctions as your first cup of coffee of the day? If so, I’d be taking a serious look at the sugar content next time you’re in line for your sugar fix. Let’s say you don’t add sugar to your coffee and you’re not a fan of “dessert coffees” as I now like to call them. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Cereal? Yogurt? Instant oatmeal? If you’re heating up Quaker Old fashioned Oats and putting nothing on them, more power to you! But chances are that’s not the case. Just as an example, Nature’s Path Blueberry Cinnamon Flax instant oatmeal has 8 grams of sugar per serving. Kashi Heart-to-Heart Apple Cinnamon has 11 grams per serving. You want to talk about yogurt for a minute? Most plain (unflavored), greek yogurts have 5 grams or less. So if you’re eating that plain and not mixing it with a sugar-coma inducing granola or cereal, it’s not so bad alongside other low or no-sugar options. If, however, you’re reaching for Danon Activia, you’re looking at anywhere between 11 and 25 grams in that tiny little cup. You read that correctly. Most flavored yogurts–greek or not–are in the 20-32 gram range for ONE TINY CUP. It is outrageous! That exceeds your entire daily recommended intake if you’re an adult female!!!! Dry cereals and granolas are maddening, too. Raisin Bran: 18 grams in one serving. Golden Grahams: 13 “golden grams” of sugar! Lucky Charms: 13 grams. Kellogg’s low fat granola with raisins: 25.5 grams. What!? And you know I have to go through pasta sauces because this one was a shocker to me. Ragu tomato, garlic and onion: 12 grams. Barilla marinara sauce: 9 grams. Prego Heart Smart (laughable!): 10 grams. Bertolli tomato and basil: 12 grams. Check your milk, too.

Now would be a good time to go take a thorough look in your fridge and cupboards…how much sugar are you consuming BY LUNCHTIME? How much sugar are you putting into your babies before they even leave the house in the morning??? How much sugar are they getting in their school lunches? How about at their friends house? Or out of your own cupboards when you’re not there to monitor them after school? I was appalled to see that in my “healthy” household, we were reaching our sugar limit by lunchtime on most days and definitely by dinner time on all the other days. I guarantee you that most Americans hit their sugar limit before breakfast is over.

I’m not one to take the drastic approach and totally 100% ban sugar from my house–that will just make the kids want it more and develop a very bad relationship with sugar. Plus, let’s be honest…I want some sugar sometimes, too! What I can and will do is make sure my kiddos are eating as many whole foods as possible instead of processed foods. I can monitor the added sugar they are getting for meals and snacks that I provide. I can keep extremely unhealthy options out of my house. And, perhaps most importantly, I can educate them on this matter and teach them that a cookie or a cupcake once in a while or a mildly sweet snack once a day is not the problem. When it’s time for a sweet, have a sweet. I mean, I want to know when I’m eating a sweet! But when it’s time for a balanced meal or a healthy snack, I shouldn’t be getting duped into thinking I’m having something healthy when in reality it’s full of added sugars, which are throwing my body into a tailspin…more on that next time 😉 For now, I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on lurking sugars and what a healthy amount of sugar looks like for you and your family. In closing, have fun raiding your pantry!!!

Aroma…puncture?

Ok, so the name needs work. But the technique is clearly workING. Since we don’t yet have a name for this technique, let’s first describe what it is. A few brilliant–and might I add, probably “crunchy”–acupuncturists decided to add therapeutic grade essential oils to their practice. The result? Amazingly elevated results and highly enjoyable treatments for their clients. I am lucky enough to see one of these acupuncturists who has been open-minded enough to let me bring oils into my treatments (you all know by now about my love affair with essential oils!)…and WOW. The body knows what the body knows.

So let’s talk about this concept for a minute. As most of us in the holistic realm realize, not many studies with cold hard facts and statistics are being paid for so that we can see just how awesome all of our crunchy ideas are working. Enter Dr. East Haradin. This woman holds a doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and while she was obtaining that degree, she put her time and efforts into conducting one of the first documented clinical trials using essential oils in conjunction with acupuncture. But I won’t re-write her story here. I’ll let you read it in her own words here and I’ll see you back in a few minutes 😉

Now. This is exciting stuff, for sure. But naysayers will comment that one trial isn’t enough. Or that there are too many variables…ie, we don’t know which oils she used…we don’t know if these people had mental illness or any other underlying issues besides what’s presented in the study…we don’t know if purple monkeys live on the moon of distant planets…just checking to see if you’re still paying attention! 🙂 You may be shocked when I say this, but those naysayers aren’t wrong (well, hopefully about the monkeys). More trials do need to be done in this arena. And I hope more professionals will take this on (nudge, nudge to all those capable and willing out there!) so that the clients–the ones who really need these ideas to work–can reap the benefits of enhanced techniques. One note: Dr. Haradin cites three trials where oils were used with acuPRESSURE. So that’s another avenue to explore. When you go out trying to find information on marrying oils with acupuncture, be sure you are reading search results that address acupuncture and not acupressure.

This person is one of the few looking into our “aromapuncture” (surely this will not be the final name!). And I’m sure there are many other practitioners like her across the country. For instance, here’s a quick video of someone incorporating oils into her practice.You may be able to find lots of other videos like this is you spend some time using the right search words. For some words from a more credible source, this article in Acupuncture Today, written by Peter Holmes is weighty and speaks directly to professionals on the idea of adding essential oils to their practice. I love what Peter says in the last paragraph of this article when he speaks about quality of essential oils.

This part can get tricky because essential oils are not regulated by the FDA (not yet anyway) and as Mr. Holmes mentions, they certainly are NOT created equal. It is far cheaper for a producer–or a purchaser–to dilute pure oils with synthetics in order to keep costs down. This is why a bottle of rose oil is $25 in a big box store but a true, unadulterated bottle of pure rose essential oil will run you over $200 for 5ml. Sometimes the producer dilutes, the distributor dilutes, and then the final brand dilutes….how much therapeutic benefit are you getting from that oil? NONE point none. In fact, if an oil is severely diluted, it can cause adverse effects. Imagine putting alcohol or petrochemicals on your chi points and letting them seep in right before a treatment that will open up your energy sources and allow said chemicals to freely flow through your body…yikes! You have to find an essential oil company you TRUST. And you have to ask your practitioner about the oils she uses and WHY she chooses this brand. This is ok to do. A fantastic practitioner will be thrilled that you are so interested in taking charge of your health and learning more about what he/she is doing for your body, mind, and spirit!

I personally do not trust any company other than Young Living when it comes to essential oils. Young Living owns their own farms around the globe. They grow their plants at the source…has anyone ever seen a frankincense tree in Utah? Didn’t think so! That’s why we have our frankincense farm in Oman. This company has an open door policy–you can literally go visit any of their farms whenever you’d like (I’ve done it! See below pictures of me visiting the Young Living Lavender Farm last year in Mona, Utah. I was lucky enough to plant a yarrow seed by hand! This very seed will literally be bottled as an oil once the plant matures and is ready for harvest). The product does not change hands from seed to sealed bottle. It is tested by third parties for quality control. Learn more about Young Living’s Seed to Seal Guarantee and the quality of their farming practices.

Me planting a Golden Yarrow seed!

Breathing in the lavender at the Mona Lavender Farm in Utah.

Me standing in a field of Clary Sage!

For general information on essential oils or for information on ordering Young Living oils specifically, comment below. I am available and excited to answer any essential oil questions, as learning about these oils has been a passion of mine for the past two years. For acupuncture questions, you’ll have to reach out to your practitioner–or you can reach out to mine: Andrea Cohen (that forward-thinking practitioner who let me bring oils into my sessions whom I shouted out to earlier in the blog 😉 )

Now that you have the skinny on oils and how to find good quality, let’s talk about which oils may benefit you the most in your acupuncture sessions. Really, the possibilities are endless. Ideally you would be working closely with an essential oil distributor (this can be me if you need one!) and an acupuncturist (I know a great one!) and together they can come up with the best oils to compliment your treatments. Here are some oils that would work well for general and common issues:

Lavender. This oil is amazing for supporting normal sleep patterns. If your acupuncture sessions focus on sleep or any kind of issues related to stress, this oil may be the one for you. Lavender can also help support normal levels of relaxation. Remember that lavender essential oil is literally the lifeblood of the lavender plant, so if you have any allergies to lavender plants, you’ll want to find a different oil that can do the same things (there are many!).

Thieves. This is a blend unique to Young Living and it is amazing for supporting your body’s immune system. If you are having an acupuncture session because you feel a little off, this oil would be a wonderful addition to your session.

Lemon. This oil is high in limonene. The terpene limonene is amazing at breaking down petrochemicals. Petrochemicals are absorbed through all the toxins you put on or in your body and they are stored in the body because we are not designed to break them down. But limonene does just that! This is a great one to add to your treatments if you’re looking for some cleansing.

These three oils are just the tip of the iceberg. I can recommend oils that can help support your adrenal system, respiratory system, muscular system, oils that will help support normal energy and focus, oils that can support the nervous system, lymphatic system, digestive system…the list is endless! Young Living has over 200 essential oils so there is definitely one out there to compliment your treatments, whatever the focus! When starting out with essential oils, it’s important not to get overwhelmed. There is a mountain of knowledge. The best way to get started is to reach out to someone who can help you sort through the massive amounts of information associated with these amazing oils–that’s what I did. Make use of the resources offered to you! And if you really start to feel overwhelmed…grab a bottle of Young Living lavender oil and put a drop behind your ears. Ahhhh…. 😉

Happy oiling!

Back to School Immunity Support

Ahhh…it’s time for back to school. We all love the long, hot summers with the kids, but let’s face it, a little piece of you is doing the happy dance when those crisp fall mornings roll around and it’s time to get little ones up and out in the morning for the school bus. What is NOT causing the happy dance is the plethora of yucky stuff lurking behind those school doors. The first two weeks of school are always like immunity bootcamp as kids come back together after a blissful few months of being healthy. Well get out your notebook because I’m about to hit you with an arsenal of ways to boost your and your family’s immunity for the fall and winter months!

As you all know, I love, LOVE essential oils. My first line of defense for yucky stuff is my beloved Thieves oil by Young Living. My favorite thing to do with the Thieves oil is diffuse it in the house. Using the Thieves vitality oil is a wonderful, easy way to support your immune system daily, but the added bonus here is that your home will be filled with a delicious cinnamon/clove scent that just screams autumn. We also apply Thieves oil to the soles of the feet every morning before school to ward off anything unwelcomed and if Mama starts feeling under the weather, the first thing I do is reach for my Thieves Vitality and make a nice, cozy hot tea with it. Young Living’s vitality line of oils is formulated specifically to support body systems, as they are labeled as dietary supplements. How cool is that?! Other essential oils that I absolutely NEVER go into the fall season without are RC (which stands for respiratory comfort), Eucalyptus Globulus (great for sinuses), Lemon (great for your throat), and Cinnamon oil (which according to this source and many others–but not according to me and not according to any essential oil companies out there–is said to combat viruses when diffused or ingested). Essential oils can be overwhelming. And it’s true–there’s A LOT of education out there. But that’s why I’m here 🙂 I’m happy to help anyone who has questions about these amazing oils–the lifeblood of pure plant matter–and their therapeutic benefits.

Even though I’m crazy about the oils, they aren’t the only thing I keep on hand for when school starts (though I must admit–they are by far and away the most effective and my favorite, for the record!). I also love having colloidal silver on hand. Follow the directions on the bottle and this will also help support and strengthen the immune system. One of my other go-to’s when we start to come down with something is elderberry syrup. You can pick this up at Mrs. Green’s or any other health food store but honestly, homemade is the best. Search your area for someone who makes this out of her kitchen or–better yet–make it out of your own! Here is a recipe 🙂

Ever wake up to the dreaded and panicked cry of “mom–I can’t open my eye!??!” That would be conjunctivitis! After trying lots of stuff and even using the antibacterial eye drops, I have found an extremely effective and simple protocol for pink eye. What you need to have on hand is plain (nothing added), organic green tea bags. Make a cup of hot tea, steep the tea bag for a few minutes, take it out and let it cool a bit, and then apply the warm tea bag to the eye. Bonus–you get to have a cup of green tea (add some honey for extra health benefits)! This is a win-win 😉

Immunity support is important, but there are a few other things would be remiss of me to skip over. One of my favorite back-to-school tips is to have Stress Away essential oil on hand. There is an entire list of oils I recommend for students–from supporting focus (Brain Power or Rosemary), to supporting normal sleep (Lavender), to supporting normal levels of stress (Frankincense), and even oils to help calm emotions associated with social situations (Acceptance, Peace and Calming, Gathering, Release, and so many more). But Stress Away is a favorite. My boys love it, as do I. I also recommend having Lemon Oil on hand for sticky situations–literally. One of its main constituents–limonene, which is a terpene–annihilates petrochemicals so it’s wonderful for removing glue, adhesives, honey or syrup, it even gets marker and paint off of most surfaces (from my own experience!)…and lemon oil smells lovely and uplifting when diffused. Need some of these oils? Have questions? Email me directly at fivelittleduckiesblog@gmail.com.

Well, now you have a plan for at least one aspect of back to school. If only this blog could purchase school supplies for you, get your kids new clothes, pack your lunches, sign all your consent forms, attend your teacher conferences, and play taxi for activities, you’d be all set! 😉 Happy back-to-school!

Summer Salads…yum!

Oh boy do I LOVE salads! There is truly endless possibility here but I want to talk about “summer salads” which, in my mind, tend to be a little lighter and include some more exotic items and toppings. My mouth is watering just thinking about this post!! 🙂

One of my favorite things to add to summer salads is fruit! Certain fruits pair better with certain greens and dressings. You also really can’t go wrong pairing nuts and seeds with summer salads, either. I’m going to list for you some of my favorite ingredients by categories so you can reference this post to mix and match as your taste buds guide you! I’m also going to share with you some of my favorite combinations 🙂

Greens

Arugula is my personal go-to green. I LOVE arugula. It happens to be one of my favorite foods of all time…I know, I’m weird. 😉 Other bases can include spinach, baby mixed greens, iceburg lettuce, romaine, kale, mesclun, butter lettuce (also love this one!), red leaf, and redicchio.

Fruits

For summer salads, you can’t go wrong adding fruit! In fact, don’t forget the almighty but often overlooked fruit salad. Every now and then, you just need a cool, refreshing plate of fruit! Pears, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, and grapes are some of my favorites to add to salads with greens. As far as dried fruit, I also love adding raisins, dried cherries, coconut, cranberries, or dried cherries.

Seeds and Nuts

Sunflower seeds, pepitas, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans are my favorites but obviously there is a host of other options in this category. Others I can think of off the top of my head are flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, peanuts, and pistachios.

Cheeses

Ahhh….cheese. One of my main food groups 😉 If you are vegan, leave this one out. My favorites are cheddar, feta, provolone, smoked gouda, goat cheese, parmesan, romano, robusto, and fresh mozzarella. Of course the list of cheeses is endless so I’ll let you be adventurous and Google the heck out of this category for some new ideas!

Veggies

Avocado is great for summer salads. Same for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and pretty much anything else that is growing in your garden right now! I do love going out to the garden and just freshly picking whatever is there but if you aren’t growing a garden (you should try it!), then just pick up whatever veggies look yummy at the store. Carrots, radishes, mushrooms, and sweet peas are a few more favorites of mine!

Herbs

I L-O-V-E putting fresh herbs in my salads. I’m not sure if other people do this regularly, but everyone should! 😉 My favorites are chives, dill, parsley and basil but I also add cilantro, oregano, or mint when it’s called for!

Other toppings

Well you all know I’m into sprouts right now. Did you know there are LOTS of different sprouts? Broccoli and alfalfa are my favorite but there’s also sunflower, radish, chickpea, mung bean (and various other beans), lentil, buckwheat, and the list goes on and on. And of course nothing beats a little fresh ground black pepper on top of the salad 🙂 Yum!

Dressings

I can’t even get into all the dressings out there. But I’m into low-sugar dressings for sure. And my favorite thing to do is make my own dressing. Usually with olive oil and balsamic but I’ve also looked up recipes for whatever mood I’m in when I’m ready for my salad 😉

Delicious! And here are a few of my favorite combinations (so far!).

Mix #1: Arugula, blueberries, gouda cheese, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, dill, chives, parsley, and black pepper.

Mix #2: Mixed greens, pepitas, avocado, tomato, fresh mozzarella, onions, yellow bell peppers, fresh basil, black pepper.

Mix #3: Spinach, strawberries, cashews, feta cheese, fresh mint, black pepper.

I have so many others! But these will be a good starting point for you if you don’t have time to mix and match right off the bat because these are three very different “styles” of salads

. Just be creative and experiment. If it sounds like it’s going to be delicious…it probably will be 🙂

Memorial Day Treat

Happy Memorial Day to all! We did a short road trip (and by short I mean it’s supposed to be relatively short but with two toddlers and a 7-month-old it was very long and miserable being in the car that long) to Pennsylvania for Memorial Day weekend. But we kicked off the weekend at home, Friday, and I made a beautiful, yummy treat for the kids.

It has been SUPER hot here the last few days so it felt like the perfect time to bust out my popsicle molds and make some low-sugar, refreshing, healthy, yummy ice pops for the kids (ok…for me and the hubs, too! 😉 ). I really love making these because the kids think they are pulling one over on us by getting their way with an ice pop and I think I’m pulling one over on them by feeding them basically a frozen healthy smoothie 🙂

There are SO many ways you can make ice pops. Some people just pour juice into the molds but for me, that is far too much sugar. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you all know by now that we have been trying to reduce our sugar intake and that even one glass of juice will put your kids over their daily recommended sugar allowance (according to the WHO). So, instead of using juice, I use fresh fruit, a little bit of water, and my special ingredient–creme fraiche! SO EASY. And beautiful. And hits the spot on a 90 degree day!

Here’s my recipe and some photos to go along with it…

The first batch I made was orange/strawberry. Obviously, wash the strawberries and cut off the green tops. Then I quartered mine. I like to have chunks–albeit, small chunks–of fruit in the finished popsicle. Peel and separate your orange in slices. I recommend peeling all the membranes off the individual orange slices so you don’t have to “chew” your popsicle when it comes out. 😉 Below you’ll see my ingredients ready to go into the blender.

If you’ve been reading my blogs you’ll also know that I don’t measure but I eyeball things. So…this is how much fruit I thought I needed for about 10 ounces of liquid. I added probably about 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche and then a little water (maybe 2 ounces? You can play with it–you won’t do it wrong and you will have lots of fruit flavor unless you put waaaaay too much water in!).

After blending, this is what I had…and I poured it into the popsicle molds 🙂

I actually left mine in the freezer overnight because the kids didn’t know about them (I made them thursday and we ate them Friday) but these should freeze in a couple of hours or so. My second batch was strawberry/blueberry/banana. The first photo is the orange/strawberry and the second photo is the strawberry/blueberry/banana.

I cannot even tell you how much of a hit both of these were. Especially the second batch–my kids LOVE bananas. You can use any type of fruit that you think will go great with the creme fraiche. Another way to do it is to use plain yogurt instead of the creme fraiche–don’t use yogurt with added sugar, though!!!! Be creative…my next batch will be peaches and cream 😉 Whatever you choose, enjoy! And a massive thank you to all the service men and women out there who have dedicated and given their lives for our freedoms ❤

Frankincense

Can we just talk about frankincense for a minute? This ancient, sacred tree has been healing for centuries and we are just now beginning to see its potential in our modern times. Frankincense is specifically mentioned in the Bible 17 times and incense (which likely refers to Frankincense) is mentioned 113 times. And most of us know that one of the gifts brought to the baby Jesus was frankincense. In biblical times, frankincense was more precious and valuable than gold, believe it or not. I’d just like to add that many other oils are mentioned in the Bible as well…so when you add up every reference to essential oils, the Bible mentions essential oils and healing plants over 600 times! Obviously the use of plants and their oils was a common, every day practice.

Today we turn to man-made synthetic pharmaceuticals when we are ill. Why do we do that? Well, opinions vary but mine has to do with the giant cash cow that the pharmaceutical industry has become. But, once again, that is for another post! 😉 Did you know that essential oils were the main medicine before man-made drugs? And many man-made drugs are intended to imitate things in nature. Aspirin and other painkillers? They imitate wintergreen, for instance. And morphine was first derived from poppies. Once it was synthetically produced, it was chemically concocted in many forms.

As a person who has been seeking out holistic remedies for years and who, over the last year and a half, has discovered the amazing power of essential oils, I’m relieved to see the scientific community finally turning to some of these oils for answers. Frankincense, or Boswellia as its known in the scientific community (that’s the botanical name), is being tested for its mind-blowing affects on cancer cells and other ailments. I highly encourage you to visit www.pubmed.gov and search for Boswellia so you can read about the clinical trials that are going on with this oil and its eradication of cancer cells (heavily being tested on breast cancer cells at the moment…for anyone interested).

This is the tip of the iceberg as far as I am concerned. My hope is that soon the scientific and medical communities will turn to ALL of the essential oils for answers to unsolved problems.

So, frankincense. Here are some awesome facts…there are four species of Boswellia that produce what we know as frankincense resin and/or oil. The resin from the trees is available in different grades and the quality depends highly on time of harvest, soil, climate, and age of the tree. There is only one company I trust for its purity when it comes to essential oils. For legal purposes, I cannot list that company here, but if you want more information about how to get the purest essential oils, please email me. Much like maple syrup, the Boswellia tree is tapped by cutting the bark and the resin bleeds out and hardens. Resin is collected and literally hand-sorted for quality.

The frankincense tree is famous for being able to grow in extremely unforgiving circumstances–like out of solid rock! Don’t believe me? Check this out:

Pretty amazing, right? Most frankincense is harvested in Somalia. There are many, many uses for this oil. I encourage you to check out wikipedia and some other online resources to really delve into the health benefits associated with frankincense essential oil. I like to wear and diffuse the oil for a calming effect and my favorite thing to do is burn the resin when I’m praying, meditating, or doing yoga or anytime I just need to heighten my spiritual senses and reconnect.

You can also find frankincense burners–these are abundantly available–and high quality resin is available from the company where I like to purchase oils.

Here is my burner. You simply put the resin in the top…

…add the lid and turn on the burner. Within minutes you are transported to the ancient lands of Arabia. Perfect for praying, meditating, reading, yoga…whatever works for you.

If you have any questions for me about essential oils in general, click the contact tab on the blog homepage and send me an email. I love to talk about oils!

Frankincense–and other plants–just may hold the answers to many unresolved medical issues. I intend to keep my finger on the pulse of these clinical trials and will be blogging about results and applications so stay tuned for much more on this as the posts unfold! As for now…however it is that you reconnect, it is my hope that this post brings you inspiration to go meditate, pray, read, exercise, or whatever it is that you do to find a spiritual connection. Peace be unto you, and have a blessed day! 🙂

Don’t worry, be hempy :)

Ok…so I can’t take credit for the title. It’s actually the name of the hemp butter I used to make the above sandwich.

That’s right, hemp butter. Who knew!? The Peanut Principle is an awesome peanut butter company that has REALLY revolutionized the concept of nut and seed butters. We are lucky enough to have these guys at our local farmer’s market and we stop at their stand often. It seems like they are always coming up with new ideas and they have so many products! Last weekend at the market, I stumbled upon their hemp butter, Don’t Worry, Be Hempy.

Eyebrows were raised. Labels were read. It was a very timely stumbling (have I mentioned yet that I don’t believe in coincidence?) because I had just been reading about the history and the amazing health benefits of hemp. Of course I picked up a jar 😉

So let’s talk about hemp. You probably conjure up all kinds of images when you hear that word. Hippie jewelry, perhaps? Hippie shampoo? Hippie clothes? Maybe even “weed”? Um…hippies in general?? First things first…is hemp cannabis? Yes. Is hemp marijuana? No. They are both varieties of cannabis but are chemically and structurally different. Hemp is used for its fiber and the other variety for its narcotic effects. THC–the chemical in marijuana that makes people high–is found in trace amounts in hemp. Obviously, it’s found in higher amounts in weed (10%-27%, typically).

I was watching a documentary (I’m a documentary junkie!) about cannabis and learned a lot about the history of hemp and weed. Unfortunately, I can’t think of the name of it and when I did a search to try to find it, so many came up that I have no idea which one it was. But here is what I was surprised to learn: Did you know growing hemp (not marijuana–hemp) is illegal in the US? Like right now? And has been for decades? When the early settlers arrived in the US, hemp was used to make everything from wagon covers, canvases, clothes, rope, jewelry, baskets…you name it. In fact, early on in the Jamestown settlement, land owners were required to grow hemp for export to England. According to this site, hemp was even considered currency…like people paid their taxes with it. What?! In today’s world, hemp is still an amazingly profitable crop…but not for US farmers 😦 Anyone in the US using hemp to make products is importing it from other countries. Ridiculous? Yes, very much so. You can find some great facts about the history of hemp and the movement to legalize it for farmers here in the US on this site.

Ok. Back to the point of this particular post…hemp is also a super food! Well, the seeds are a super food 🙂 And the rest of the plant is pretty amazing as well, as we’ve learned. Even the “recreational” variety of cannabis is pretty darn amazing. Curing cancer? Treating asthma? Stopping epilepsy? Yes. All of the above. But that is for another blog post! Back to our super food of the hour…

Hemp seeds have a perfect balance of omega 3 to omega 6 fats. They also contain protein, iron, vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, and all but one of the essential amino acids. In our house, we eat hemp butter and hemp powder. You can also get hemp oil, hemp seeds, hemp cakes, hemp protein…I’m sure the list is growing as we speak! I enjoyed referencing this article for a lot of the nutritional information listed in my post. At any rate, the sandwich was yummy–and pretty! 🙂

So what are you waiting for?? Go get your hemp on!

PBHB Sandwich (Peanut Butter, Hemp and Banana)

Peanut Butter

Hemp Butter

Bananas

Healthy bread of choice

It’s not rocket science…slap those babies together and make a sandwich! 😉

You can find some additional interesting facts about hemp here.

On Pins and Needles (Exploring Chinese Medicine)

Of late we’ve had lots of reasons to turn to alternative healing. I’ve always been a huge fan of acupuncture–it helped significantly reduce my chronic migraines more than 10 years ago–so it felt almost like a homecoming to be turning to it now for my latest ailment. And by latest I mean something I’ve been dealing with for about a year and a half now.

What I didn’t remember about those acupuncture visits a decade ago was the fact that the practitioner also had me on Chinese herbs. They were capsules, so pretty easy to take. This time around, I’m on an herbal tea concoction. Now…I use the term “tea” VERY loosely here. Because it’s more like an herbal MUD. Which, consequently, is roughly what it tastes like. This mama is having trouble getting these babies down! One pouch a day. Here’s what my delicious cocktail looks like:

Aren’t you salivating just looking at this?! I know you want to try some…

But the whole idea of turning to Chinese herbs is very comforting to me. There is something about the deep-rooted tradition of this approach that is appealing. Around the same time I started the acupuncture, I also started taking my son (the 30-weeker preemie) to a craniosacral therapist who also suggested Chinese herbs for the littles. Coincidence? I think not. So now we turn to these when the kiddos come down with a fever or a sniffle.

Now a few things should be said here…do not EVER buy herbs from anyone who is not board certified. That is first and foremost. Also, there is an “art” to taking these things. So listen to your practitioner and follow her/his instructions very closely.

I will say this…my four-year-old is the worst patient EVER in the history of sick people (well…maybe besides my husband 😉 ). He just whines and is clingy and can’t get comfortable and has a poor attitude if even a sniffle comes along. The first time we turned to the herbs for a virus he had (fever and cold-like symptoms), he was like a different child! He was totally happy and calm and low-key (like his normal behavior) even when the fever hovered around 103. I was a believer from that point on! His virus was short-lived, thanks to the herbs and our essential oils, and we avoided a trip to the pediatrician.

Don’t get me wrong…we do lots of other things in this house to build immunity, ward off germs, and shorten the lives of illnesses (i.e. our essential oils, incessant hand washing, and changing our clothes when we get home from school just to name a few of the biggies). I’ve enjoyed bringing these Chinese herbs into my home as an extra line of defense. I will always choose plants over chemicals whenever possible. But there will be many more posts on that!

Now for some fun facts about Chinese Medicine 🙂

I’m currently reading “The Web that Has No Weaver” (Kaptchuk) and it is a phenomenal read so far. It was recommended to me by my practitioner, as it was actually a text they used in her master’s program. Some of the below information comes from this text.

Perhaps two of the preliminary concepts for you to consider before trying to understand Chinese medicine are Yin and Yang and Qi (“chee”). We’ve all heard of Yin and Yang (and if you are a child of the early 90’s, you wore those extremely trendy Yin/Yang necklaces that hung low over your bodysuit and you layered that with your flannel shirt), but there’s much more spirituality to the concept than good vs. evil. The basic concept in TCM is that instead of viewing these things as opposing forces, they are viewed as complimentary and interdependent forces where the whole is greater than the parts. So TCM strives to balance the Yin and Yang of the body. Qi translates as “gas” or “air” and is known as the “life force” of the body. TCM believes that Qi runs along meridians in the body. It is the same concept as “prana” in the Hindu culture or “mana” in the Hawaiian culture.

In Chinese medicine, a “diagnosis” is reached through examining what’s happening in the body as a whole and what is causing the issue–not by looking at what a bunch of symptoms tells you. For instance, 6 people diagnosed with fibromyalgia by Western means may have 6 different diagnoses in Chinese medicine. Kaptchuk says that a practitioner will look for “disharmony in the body”. Two ways your TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner will evaluate your whole body health at each visit is by feeling your pulse with three fingers and checking your tongue with a quick visual. Why is this done?

TCM uses the tongue as a “map” of what’s happening in the rest of the body. I found a fairly detailed online resource that matches much of what Kaptchuk says so you can peruse while you wait for your copy of his book to arrive 😉 As for the pulse, I turn to Unschuld because I feel his description is concise and easy to understand:

“One method was based on the notion that at the high point of the styloid process below (medial to) the wrist there was an imaginary line, called the “pass,” as a narrow passage through mountains. When a finger feels the pulse with light pressure above the “pass,” i.e., toward the wrist, the pulse offers evidence about the state of the lung and heart. The connection lies in the fact that the imaginary line, the “pass,” corresponds to the diaphragm in the human body. The lung and heart are located above this separation, in the yang area of the body. The lung and heart therefore manifest in pulse above the “pass” in the yang region. Below the pass, in the yin region, the pulse reflects the condition of the liver and kidney, organs which lie below the diaphragm in the yin region of the body. Right on the pass, the middle of the three fingers feels the state of the spleen, the organ that lies closest to the diaphragm.”

Pretty interesting stuff! Before this turns into a full-fledged research paper, I will close 🙂 If you’ve been suffering with an ailment long-term and Western medicine has failed you, I highly recommend opening your heart and your mind to TCM. And soon I will post about my beloved essential oils and good ‘ol nutrition, which I also highly recommend as alternatives to Western medicine. You have many, many choices to take control of your own health!

For anyone local to Westchester County, NY looking for an acupuncturist, I highly, highly recommend Andrea at Scarsdale Acupuncture. If you call to book with her, please mention that I sent you over 🙂 (I don’t get any perks for this, I just want her to feel the love.) ❤