Spring Health: Aligning with Nature

I’m talking about spring health this week in collaboration with Neu Skin Austin - check out her post about how to nourish your skin this spring as well! Spring means Growth, Flexibility, Green, Upward and Outward motion, Movement, Expansion, Newness, Emergence, Cleansing, Renewal. We can tune in to connect with ourselves & the world by any of these actions. The LIver and Gall Bladder are associated with springtime in TCM. Doing a food or energetic cleanse is always optimal at this time. Using therapeutic foods that promote gentle detoxification like burdock root, dandelion, wheat grass, beet and beet greens; or chlorophyll rich foods like any fresh green herbs/ micro greens/ spirulina that promote cleansing but also renewal is wonderful. Sour flavors are also key - lemon, lime, apple cider vinegar, fermented and pickled vegetables. Moving your body with yoga, walking, time outdoors, rock climbing… anything you enjoy! Spend time considering your goals for spiritual and professional growth or change. Spring is a great time to start something new while we are surrounded by the expansive energy and growth happening around us. Spring is also an ideal time to consider changing or leaving anything that is no longer serving you - whether it be an exhausting job, relationship, old habit, or addiction. The Liver embodies a refined assertiveness that is timely, skillful, strategic and forceful, yet remains flexible. When this organ is out of balance we tend to see anger and frustration arise. You may also ask yourself, how could I be more flexible with myself and with others?

Most people have seen spirulina used in smoothies to add a superfood boost to their day, but I wanted to share 2 other ways (besides taking a capsule) you can use spirulina in your kitchen. This is an ideal superfood for spring. Besides mother’s milk, spirulina is the highest source of GLA-rich oils we can consume. These oils are very light for the body and increase metabolism and fat burn-off, similar to flaxseed oil. Spirulina reduces heat signs in the body and can be a key factor in building good blood quality (as in anemia), it is also very easily digestible - suitable for all body types as it is nurturing yet also offers cleansing action due to the high chlorophyll content. A super-green food for a super-green season, & a must-have in your pantry!

Spirulina Gomasio

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

½ Tbsp white sesame seeds

1 tsp course sea salt

1 tsp dulse flakes

1 tsp spirulina powder 

Mix all components in to a small container and store in the fridge for several weeks. Use as a spice topping liberally on anything from rice bowls, veggies, salads, porridge, soups or popcorn :) 

Spirulina Salad Dressing

3 Tbsp sesame tahini

Juice 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp spirulina powder (or start at ½ if you’re not used to the taste)

2 pitted dates

½ cup water

¼ tsp salt

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth, using more or less water depending on the consistency you like. Great on salad greens, grilled veggies, grain bowls, or as a dip. 

Summer Bummers? Best natural tips to prepare for the season.

Summertime… and the livin’ is easy… and a little bit brutal, especially in Texas! Try to stock your home with some of my favorite herbal products and tips to have a stress-free season.

1. Best Sunscreen: Badger Sunscreen (Adult or Baby): Badger consistently gets the best ratings for sunscreens from the EWG and is completely natural & organic certified. Badger products are NEVER made with nanoparticles or parabens, ever. I love the lavender scented sunscreen, but they also have fragrance free adult and baby versions. Since Badger is made with Zinc oxide it will tend to be more white in color than mainstream chemical sunscreens - this is a good thing and just takes a little longer to rub in, but is well worth it for your skin.

2. Best Sunburn Remedy: Ching Wan Hung & Egg White Mask: Ching Wan Hung is an all-time favorite medicine cabinet product at my house. It is a Chinese herbal balm for burns of all sorts - rug burns, sun burns, steam burns, even severe burns in hospitals! - it is amazing. Keep this at home all summer and see how handy it can be. If you are really in a pickle - whisk some egg whites and brush on a mask to your burned skin and let sit until it dries. You can repeat this remedy for several days until your skin looks healed and the redness has gone down. It’s truly remarkable!

3. Best Bug Bite Remedy: White Flower Oil & Cedarwood Oil: The mosquitoes. Thorns in our sides. I like to have these oils on hand for when the bites get too itchy or painful to handle. Dap 1-2 drops of oil into a cotton ball and apply it to irritated skin. With little ones, you might want to keep a vial of diluted cedarwood oil on hand for applications, as using the pure essential oil can be too strong for them, although the white flower oil is ready to go!

4. Best Ear Ache Remedy: Onion steam & Grapefruit Seed Extract: Long ago, I posted my favorite home remedy for ear aches - the onion steam. You can read all the details of that right here. If feels so good, and releases so much pressure on the inner ear. In addition to the steam, for swimmer’s ear or bacterial ear infections you can easily use hydrogen peroxide drops in each ear, or Grapefruit Seed Extract ear drops. These have always worked so well for me - tea tree oil & grapefruit seed oil are both anti-bacterial, anti-biotic, and anti-microbial, and the combination of the two really cuts out any pain-causing junk. Put a couple drops in each ear and wait for the liquid to penetrate deeply inside the ear canal before shaking it out.

5. Best Acne/Skin Products: Wake up and smell the Rose! Rose is sort of a cure-all for redness problems. In homeopathy, like treats like, so rose (being red) can treat a multitude of red skin issues while promoting a healthier, softer, smoother looking complexion. My favorite rose-infused products are Weleda Wild Rose Facial lotion, Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater, and Thayer’s Rose Petal Witch Hazel (alcohol-free). I use these simple products daily on my face - especially during the hot and harsh months - and have never had less skin issues in my life.

Do you have any favorite remedies to combat summer bummers? I’d love to hear them. Now, let’s go swimming!

Reasons to beautify your home workout

I’m gonna be honest and tell y'all that I don’t really like exercising. I mean, i do it, but it’s not something I’m excited to do & I generally am forcing myself to stay on a semi-regular schedule with “workouts”. I prefer to just be active and move throughout the day, take walks, and do some stretching. But there are times when you need more than that for your health. Years ago, I found Ballet Beautiful through my friend Alyson. 

There are many reasons why I came to love these workouts. One, you can do them from home in short increments of 15 minutes. Two, you can stream 2 or more videos together to form longer workouts if you want. Three, they are really pretty! That has big appeal for me. Beauty is inspiring. The instructor is a hard-core ballerina (and new mom), and she is simply gorgeous and proper and graceful and you feel like you are right inside a performing arts studio. Don’t be wrong in assuming this woman is dainty and the workouts might not be hard enough. She is CRAZY FIT. I mean, i often can’t keep up with even a 15 minute session. She just keeps going!! But it’s really fun when you make it through a class and get to feel good about yourself… in the privacy of your own home, of course. ;) You can buy a single streaming video for $8-20 dollars (depending on length of class) and have it forever - very affordable! And now, she has an entire section for you expecting moms called Ballet Baby that is geared towards pre-natal fitness. Thumbs up! 

Immune Boosting Turmeric Ginger Tea

From Amrita Sondhi’s book The Tastes of Ayurveda is a recipe for a hot tea that will bust a cold before it begins. Ginger warms the body and acts as an anti-inflammatory; turmeric is a natural anti-biotic food; lemon clears toxins, stimulates digestive function and purifies the body; while honey will naturally suppress a cough. Try this effective and yummy tea at the onset of very first symptoms of a cold or cough and you may be surprised at the results.

Immune-Boosting Tea:

8-10 slices fresh ginger, cut into rounds

8 C water

1 tsp ground turmeric

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp raw honey, or raw manuka honey

Boil ginger and water in a pot on high, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add turmeric and lemon juice and let cool slightly before pouring into pitcher through a fine mesh sieve. Add honey. Stir well and drink up to 3 C/day for healing benefits. 

Variation: Add a scant 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper to this tea for improved blood circulation - this tea can be drunk as a general anti-inflammatory tea for fertility patients who need improved circulation to reproductive organs - the antioxidants in cayenne & turmeric may help cardiovascular function and improve qualities of sperm and egg cells. Also great for any chronic inflammatory condition. 

Food Facts: 

Raw Honey (or Manuka honey): The benefits of raw honey, or especially raw manuka honey (from bees who feed off the manuka tree native to New Zealand) are plentiful. It has major anti-bacterial effects, anti-biotic effects, and tonic effects. Manuka honey has been proven to kill dangerous gut bacteria and will also soothe skin burns when applied topically. This is a honey to keep in your medicine cabinet - use it for burns, in hot teas for sore throats and colds/coughs, or use 1 tbsp in warm milk for a natural sleep aid. It’s pricey for honey, but super affordable for medicine. :) It will be the best tasting remedy in the house! 

Nourishing the Body & Mind

A few weeks ago, in December just before the holidays, things caught up with me and my immune system crashed and burned a bit. I caught a cold and cough, then I overdid it physically during Christmas and had horrible back pain, then I didn’t sleep for a week, became exhausted, lost my appetite, and had some major digestive issues flare up. It was like a domino effect that I couldn’t stop! Things kept happening one after the other, despite what I thought were some pretty good efforts on my part - taking herbs, canceling one day of work, taking OTC stuff, steam inhalations, flu prevention, chiropractic etc. I started to worry pretty badly about the turn my health had taken, especially in regards to being pregnant and only 9 weeks away from this birth! Mentally I was draining myself. 

I realized that I have been over-doing it, physically AND mentally. I needed to rest. Luckily, I had 3 days between Christmas and New Years to do just that, and boy how it did wonders for my health. I stayed in bed almost a whole day. I delegated household chores to my husband. I walked barefoot in the grass outside. I sat in the sun and meditated with my animals wandering around me. I took time each of those days to nourish my mind, heart, and body. I encourage you not to lose track of the importance of nourishing yourself, especially if you are one who takes care of people for a living. Moms, nurses, teachers, mediators, Dads, nannies, doctors, caregivers – don’t forget yourself and the space you need to recharge your batteries. I love the image above to remind us all how to “take a break” before we take someone’s head off… or just can’t keep up anymore. ♥

*2012 Favorites: Looking Back*

This year is officially over! How are you celebrating? Below are some of my favorite Medicine Kitchen moments from 2012 - my first year writing this little blog and first year of my new home practice. Thanks to all the clients who have made my life thrive and grow this year! 

• Still love to make variations of these bowls for a healthy dinner or lunch to go. 
• A good reminder for me to take a breath and recognize the natural beauty around me. 
• For some reason, I often forget about these amazing nori wrap snacks! 
• Love the simplicity of this effective home remedy. 
• Still find this inspiring and necessary for all to read. 
• Kinda craving this noodle dish right now, actually. 
• Utilizing this healing broth not only for fertility but for chronic illness, gut problems, and weak immunity. 

Things have gotten a little hectic the past couple months, but it is my goal to keep writing and experimenting with what can only be a year full of new learning adventures in our home. Here’s to a great launch of 2013. ♥