Back to School Battle Plan!

The kiddos head back to school this week and it’s a good idea to be prepared for the ups and downs the beginning of the school year may bring for our little ones - physically, energetically, and/or emotionally. There are some GREAT herbs - in pediatric formulations - that can assist your child by stabilizing their immune systems, nourishing their energy to stay focused, and easing emotional transitions. These are 3 of my favorite herbal formulas for children to help get them through the back-to-school phase and beyond:

Children’s Jade Defense Formula (by Golden Flower - shown above): This formula can be used for several different applications. Foremost is for recovery following an illness. Fever and cough deplete the body, and it is important to replenish qi after a cold, cough, or other acute sickness. Secondly, I use it when a parent asks me what can I do to boost their child’s immune system, especially when sickness is running rampant at day-care or school.  It’s great for this & can safely be taken for a long time, or off and on during the school year. The third application is before and during allergy season. Overall, Jade Defense is a wonderful immune formula for your child! 

Peaceful Focus Formula (by Blue Poppy): This formula treats the most commonly seen multi-pattern presentation of ADHD which is a liver-spleen disharmony with heat and restless heart spirit in Chinese medicine. If your child is having trouble focusing, fidgeting, having poor sleep or feeling irritable and restless in the classroom - Peaceful Focus can help them stay grounded and soothe their restless mind-body connection. 

Quiet Calm (by Kan Gentle Warriors): Like the digestive and respiratory systems, the mind and nervous system of a young child are rapidly changing, and many youngsters have not yet learned how to adjust smoothly to the flux that surrounds them. Often, but not always, tantrums, crying spells, nightmares, agitation, irritability, and anxiety are harbingers of natural and expected phenomena of growth: meeting new people & adapting to school, playgroups, or babysitters can conspire to upset the apple cart of daily life for the infant, toddler, and older child. Quiet Calm can help ease these transitions when emotions are high and hard to handle. 

* All of these pediatric formulas listed above are available at herbal medicine stores with a prescription - call me for details or a consultation for your child. *

… And don’t forget nourishing your child should always begin with food! Packing a healthy and inspiring lunch is a good place to start. Check out Weelicious for delightfully yummy pics and recipes for your kids’ lunch boxes and more. 

Summer Corn with Umeboshi

Looking for a new way to jazz up all that corn on the cob your family is eating this summer? We love ours grilled and charred with olive oil and salt, Mexican-style with chili powder, cilantro, and lime, and also this way - with a smear of umeboshi paste and gomasio on top. It’s just as easy as anything to make, and chances are you have NO idea the benefits of eating this intensely pickled, funny sounding Japanese plum - it’s great to have an easy way of incorporating them into such an American staple. 

Food Facts: Umeboshi Plums (or plum paste)

Umeboshi salt plums are extremely sour and salty. They are commonly called “Japanese alka seltzer” because of their common use in treating digestive upset. They are highly alkalizing and can help with indigestion, diarrhea, liver issues, fatigue, the elimination of toxins and even worms! Because of their action on the liver, they have also gotten a popular reputation as a hangover cure. You can buy them whole or commonly as vinegars or pastes. One umeboshi plum a day = the apple of the East! 

Summer corn with Umeboshi

Fresh corn, kept on the cob

2 Tbsp umeboshi paste

1 splash Mirin rice wine

Gomasio (a sesame seed and sea salt mixture) or toasted sesame seeds

Cayenne pepper (optional)

Grill or steam corn to desired doneness. While your corn is cooking, mix umeboshi paste with a splash of mirin and stir/whisk together to thin the paste - you may need a splash of water as well to taste. Umeboshi paste is VERY strong, so thinning it out makes the flavor less punchy and adding the wine will balance a little sweetness into the paste. Spread a thin layer over each cob, top with gomasio sprinkles or sesame seeds and cayenne for kick. 

Summer: Season of the Heart

When I think of June I always think of the beginning of long, hot summer days balanced out by a LOT of swimming in Deep Eddy or our neighborhood pools. Summer means we are moving out of Wood (Spring) and into the Fire phase of Chinese Medicine. In fact, the Summer Solstice was upon us this week on June 21st - the longest day of sunlight in the year! 

Summertime means warmth, light, activity, elation, and socializing. In Chinese medicine, summer is also the season of the heart organ, and during this season we should strive to balance the heart organ system with our food, actions, and intention.

The heart is seen as the emperor of the body, governing the blood and blood vessels, and storing our Spirit. It acts as a leader for the body and maintains order of thought and intention. If there is no order, chaos will occur and you may have anxiety, insomnia, inappropriate behavior, discomfort around people, heart palpitations, panic attacks, or stuttering. Just as blood pumped from the heart communicates with our cells, bringing them oxygen and nutrients, our heart is also responsible for social communication and thrives on love and warmth from people.

To keep the heart in balance during the hot summer months use the following foods: salads, fruits, beets, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, melons, brown rice, tofu, celery, sesame, slightly bitter greens, or longan fruit. Eat less red meat, fats, and extremely spicy foods. Stay connected with family and friends. Balance the fire and activity of summer with enough rest and time in the water! Water balances Fire. Meditation is also a valuable tool for quieting the busy Fire-type mind.

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!

Breakfast Nut Muffins

I’ve been eating eggs for breakfast for like… ever. Especially while pregnant, I’m always looking for more ways to add protein and healthy fat into my daily meals so I can stay energized while eating for two. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of having some morning eggs, toast, and fruit in our household. This meal has been ingrained in me since childhood! Not to say there is anything inherently wrong with bread and fruit… but they are not protein-rich and tend to lead to energy crashes if it’s the only thing you eat in the morning. To better balance your hormones and energy - we need protein and healthy fat to start the day. I tried out these nut flour muffins this week and have to say, although they don’t feel like a classic muffin, they are tasty and much healthier for you (gluten free as well!) than toast with jam. Try ‘em out with your eggs and a side of wild boar sausage for a mega-fueled breakfast of champions! 

Nut Flour Muffins:

1 ½ cups raw, organic nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and/or pecans)

¼ cup maple syrup

3 eggs from pastured chickens

1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a blender (VitaMix is best), grind nuts until flour-like consistency; use a spatula to scrape sides if it becomes sticky. Add maple syrup, eggs, vanilla and salt and blend together until there is a smooth consistency.

Pour into sprayed or buttered muffin pan. Bake ~12 minutes, until golden brown and your toothpick comes out clean. Slather generously with grass-fed butter and enjoy hot! Makes 6 standard-sized muffins. 

Are there herbal alternatives to Ibuprofen? Yes!

I think I could be pretty confident in saying that just about EVERYONE throws back a couple of Advil on occasion. For pain, injury, surgical recovery, headaches, arthritis… people take it for so many reasons and almost without thinking whether there might be a better solution to their pain. “Just take some Advil!” I know that phrase was commonplace in my home growing up and many others, I bet. Advil certainly has its place in your medicine cabinet - but I wanted to let you know about a few other herbal approaches that deserve similar status. Here are my favorite herbal pain relievers that really work when taken properly:

1. Turmeric Root + Ginger Root: Turmeric and Ginger are relatives of each other and both have big anti-inflammatory properties. They can increase circulation and relieve pain due to inflammation. Turmeric needs to be heated to release its healing benefits  - so use them both in cooking and warm teas for best results, or take as a supplement.

2. Corydalis: Corydalis (or Yan Hu Suo, in Chinese pinyin) is an herb tuber with amazing pain-reducing potential. It invigorates blood, and has been researched to eliminate pain due to inflammatory or injury related causes. Researchers from UC Irvine identified the active compound dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB) in Corydalis which holds special promise for those with persistent, chronic pain. Because of its strong circulatory properties, don’t take it during pregnancy.

3. Fish Oil: Fish oil can also ease the inflammation and pain caused by many chronic conditions. The Department of Neurological Surgery at the Univ. of Pittsburg did research demonstrating equivalent effects in reducing arthritic pain of ibuprofen vs. omega 3 fatty acids in their trials! Their subjects took between 1200-2400 mg of fish oil per day.

4. Boswellia: Boswellia is known as Indian Frankincense. It contains active components which help reduce inflammation and pain, & can be taken as a supplement as well as used topically.

5. Magnesium + Epsom Salts: Magnesium helps to relax stiff or spasmodic muscles and improve circulation. In addition to taking magnesium orally, there are topical forms as well as the traditional Epsom salts added to a bath; both absorb easily through the skin and can be quite effective for reducing muscle pain.

There you have it! Next time you are reaching for that Advil out of habit, ask yourself if it’s time to invest in some of these natural products for your home medicine cabinet instead. :)

What did you cook this weekend?

A few delicious images of our home-cooked food choices this weekend… Do you cook with your family on weekends? Do you go to a farmer’s market? It’s a great way for me to unwind with everyone at home - cooking a wonderful meal that makes the whole house smell good, getting everyone at the table together, taking time to enjoy our family and appreciate what we have. If that’s not good medicine, I don’t know what is. 

Above: Garlic Shrimp with chile de arból and parsley…

Above: Grilled Vegetable Tacos with all the trimmings… 

Above: First Heirloom caprese salad of the season! I could eat these daily for the rest of the spring AND summer… 

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! 

Health after Baby

As many of you are aware, I had my first baby almost 2 years ago, a boy named Woods. He has truly changed our lives. He is 23 months old now & I still don’t feel like I did before baby - I am still tired many days, my body is different, I’m not exercising quite like I did before, and my mind is constantly with him to some degree. I feel some of what we term “blood and yang deficiency” in TCM. Basically an imbalance of depletion. It makes sense! Little sleep, higher stress, hormonal fluctuation, less exercise, and eating sub-optimally many days while on mom-duty all adds up over time! I think some people may view their health practitioner as someone who never gets sick & has all the answers etc… but we are just like you. I have had to constantly recommit myself to my health over the past (almost) 2 years after becoming a mom. I recall my midwife telling me something when we were talking about how we were feeling in our new state of parenthood after the birth - we were drained & struggling with sleep, and all the great change seemed daunting- and she said, “Parenthood, at its essence, is the act of recommitting yourself over and over and over again to a cause.” Boy, those words ring loudly in my ears many days - but not just in relation to parenthood, but to myself and my work and my health and my relationship as well. I think it is some of the best wisdom I’ve ever been given. So that’s what I’m doing again now, recommitting myself to my own cause of healing and cooking and creating and just simply doing the best I can. And hoping that hearing those words may help some of you out there, too! 

Pure Samoa "Girl Scout Cookies"

Who doesn’t love girl scout cookies? Come on, most of you are craving them every time you pass by their little stands outside of Walgreens or the grocery store - I know I do. Problem is, they are really bad for you! I will praise the day when the girl scouts stop using hydrogenated oils and so many processed ingredients in their treats. I mean, it’s about time, right! 

My all time favorite girl scout cookie is the Samoa:

Dark chocolate, coconut, caramel, shortbread cookie. I crave these things normally during girl scout season, BUT this year my sister sent me a “fake samoa” recipe that was full of healthy stuff, and I thought - I’m gonna break the cycle and try these instead! I think it worked. They have been in the freezer for a few days now, and I haven’t missed a real samoa at all. They are different, mind you - the texture is different and they need to be frozen, but the flavor is very close to the “real thing”, even though the “real thing” is more full of “fake” ingredients than these are. Get me? See what you think. 

Almost Raw Samoa Cookie Bars:

(modified from Cooking a la Mel)

For the “shortbread base”:

• 2 cups walnuts, or walnut and pecan mix
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup raw honey
• 1 t vanilla extract
• ¼ t sea salt

For the coconut “caramel” layer:

• 1 ½ cups dates, soaked for about 10 minutes in hot water
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/8 t salt
• 1C unsweetened, shredded coconut

For the chocolate topping:

• 1 C dark chocolate chips

For the shortbread base:

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and coconut together until in fine crumbs. Add in the honey, vanilla, and sea salt, and process until a moist dough forms.

Press the dough into a parchment lined 9×9 inch baking pan.

For the coconut “caramel” layer:

Toast the shredded coconut at 350ºF for about 5-8 minutes, until golden (be careful not to burn it). Allow it to cool while you make the “caramel.”

After soaking the dates, drain the water, and pulse in a food processor until a paste forms. Add the coconut milk, vanilla, and salt, and process until smooth. Add the shredded coconut, and pulse until just combined.

Scoop the coconut “caramel” mixture out, and spread it evenly across the top of the “shortbread” base.

Transfer to the freezer for about 15 minutes, until set.

For the chocolate topping:

Place the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl, and microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted.

Remove the bars from the freezer. Transfer the melted chocolate to a ziplock bag using a rubber spatula. Snip off the corner of the bag, and drizzle the chocolate over the bars.

Place back in the freezer for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate has hardened, then take out the whole sheet of cookie with parchment paper (it will be hardened and set firmly), cut it into squares large or small. Place them in an airtight container & store in the freezer. 

They get melty the longer they are outside of the freezer, so enjoy cold and eat often.