Passing along a great Spring cleanse

Happy Spring :) :)
I found this page, Farmacology Organics,  on Facebook a week or so ago.  It's a great page with lots of easy, healthy recipes for things like homemade vitamin waters and yummy whole-food snacks.  When I found them they had about 1000 likes on their page - up from only 84 a week before.  Before the week was out, they had over 50,000 likes and I think they are approaching 75,000 at this point!!  They just started their blog and this is a recent post (maybe even today!).   Now is a great time to give your body a chance to detox - nature is working with you.  This cleanse is based on choosing real, whole, foods, drinking lots of water, moving your body and other simple, nourishing steps to give your body the break it deserves :)

Farmacology Organics ~: SPRING RENEWAL

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

SPRING RENEWAL

SPRING RENEWAL ~ A simple approach to detoxing your body

Did you know the body is designed to heal itself? In order for your body to achieve and maintain optimum health you have to remove the barriers within, which are keeping the body from functioning properly. Detoxifying the body is like removing corrosion from battery cables or cleaning your car engine.  Detoxifying can help protect you from disease and give your body the ability to maintain optimum health. Detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out.  A good detox program will eliminate and remove toxins while providing your body with healthy nutrients  

Detoxification removes impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. Many believe detoxification works because it addresses the needs of individual cells in the body. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin. A detox program can help the body’s own “cleaning process”  by stimulating the liver to remove toxins, assisting elimination of toxins through the intestines, kidneys and skin, improving circulation of the blood, resting the organs from needing to eliminate processed foods, and by providing the body with healthy nutrients.

Today we deal with more toxins in our environment than ever before. If you are having unexplained symptoms of fatigue, allergies, low-grade infections, mental confusion, irritated skin conditions or a distended stomach then a detox may well be for you.  Most people should try to detox at least once a year

There are many detox programs out there, depending on individual needs. A good detox should last about 10 days. It took awhile for your body to get in the condition it is in. It will take time for the body to cleanse and begin the healing process. Based upon your needs, you may choose to stay on this program for up to 21 days. Some people choose a version of this as their way of eating on a daily basis.

A great way to start you detox is with a 2 to 3 day juice fast.

1. During the detox process, eliminate all animal protein and dairy products. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars and saturated fats. . Fried and sugary foods, and the 3 Ps: processed, prepared and packaged food since they tend to be full of Trans fats, sugar and food additives. If you find ingredients that you can’t read or pronounce don’t buy it and definitely don’t eat. These act as toxins in the body and are road blocks to your healing process. Choose fresh foods that come in Nature’s packaging: fruit and veggies.

2. Eat 75% fruits and veggies ~ raw if possible. This may sound hard but it really is not. Have a green smoothie or fresh juice or fruit for breakfast. If you feel you need protein add a small hand full of nuts to your morning meal. Lunch can be a huge salad, nori rolls with avocadoes, lettuce boats filled with veggies, whole grain tortilla rolls with tons of veggies and beans.

3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins.

4. Smaller Meals~ Small, simple meals eaten more frequently throughout the day not only help ease the burden on your digestive system, they also balance blood sugar levels.

5. Use herbs to give your body a boost.~Milk thistle is a proven liver-regenerator and detoxifier, dandelion and uva ursi are well-established kidney-restoring herbs sea buckthorn extract powder helps heal the lungs and flaxseeds help eliminate toxic material from the intestines. I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herb (see link on the right of this post) for quality and freshness. 

6. Take a Warm Bath ~ Add a cup of Dead sea salts and baking soda to your bath (1/2 cup of each). Both alkalize the water to help neutralize acidic toxins. Epsom salts help your body to absorb magnesium–a mineral some experts estimate is deficient in 80 percent of people. Magnesium neutralizes acidic toxins, relaxes muscles and is required by hundreds of functions. Relax for 20 minutes or more. I have herbal bath therapies that contain herbs that help with a detox but if you do not have these you use a simple Epsom & baking soda bath will do.

7. Drink your water ~ Water flushes out the toxins from the body. For a really great detoxifying drink, add the fresh juice of one lemon to a large glass of water first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach and drink it either warm or room temperature. Lemons help alkalize your body chemistry, contain more than 20 anti-cancer compounds and help cleanse your liver, kidneys and colon. Drink at least 2 quarts a day of water during your cleanse.

8. Eat your beans ~ Add 1/2 cup of cooked legumes (beans) to your diet daily to boost your fiber and nutrient intake and balance your blood sugar levels-one of the keys to balanced energy and weight.

 9. Snack ~ Snacking throughout the day helps with weight loss, energy and balancing moods. Just make healthy choices. Here are some quick and simple ideas: a handful of raw, unsalted almonds, almond butter on celery sticks, nori rolls with avocado (vegetarian sushi), a veggie and sprout wrap, or maybe a berry smoothie with rice or almond milk.

10. Move ~ Exercise improves circulation, which brings fresh, oxygenated blood to your organs and tissues, thereby revitalizing them. Try to get in 30 minutes to an hour every day." Walking and yoga are great. Also try Qigong, a martial-arts based exercise system that includes exercises specifically for detoxifying or cleansing, as well as many other exercises with specific health benefits.

11. Do a dry body brush daily ~A dry skin brush is inexpensive, and to brush your whole body can take as little as 10 minutes. You will be stimulating your lymphatic system as you brush, which is a very important detox system.

These simple detox steps can help you heal, nurture and care for your body.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchilada Skillet

I made this last night and the whole family loved it!!  I added some left over chicken and left a section of the skillet big enough for my serving free of cheese and chicken.  It was delish!   See the recipe here.

This recipe is in Wildtree's Meals In Minutes Menu Planner this month - 10 recipes along with a shopping list for everything you'll need to make 10 quick and healthy meals.  The Meals in Minutes bundle includes all of the spices and sauces you'll need for these recipes (with plenty to spare for more great meals) and is one of three bundles offered at 50% off for this month's customer special.  For every $50 you spend you can select a bundle at 50%.  Check out what's in the bundles here.

Here's another great article from Leanne Ely of www.SavingDinner.com. Our modern day convenience inspired menus tend to keep us from consuming a nice variety of the foods that give us the vitamins and especially the minerals our bodies love and need!! Who knew.....

Squeeze in some selenium

by Leanne Ely

Minerals are broken down into two different categories: macro minerals and micro minerals (also known as trace minerals). While macro minerals are required in large quantities to keep your cells healthy, micro minerals are needed in very small amounts-usually less than 100 milligrams per day.

Magnesium, calcium and phosphorous are all considered macro minerals.

Micro minerals include boron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, nickel, zinc, iron, arsenic, fluorine, silicon, molybdenum, vanadium and selenium. Because we need only a very scant amount of these trace minerals each day, it's possible that taking in too much can lead to toxicity, so you must be very cautious when taking supplements of trace minerals. In fact, I wouldn't do so without talking to a health professional.

Today I want to focus on selenium. You might remember me mentioning this mineral in an post I published a couple of weeks ago about brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are the single best source of selenium, which we need to:

*    Protect cells from free radical damage (linked with premature aging and chronic disease)
*    Achieve optimal thyroid health
*    Reduce the risk of joint inflammation
*    Increase cancer prevention

You know you could do with some extra selenium in your diet if you find yourself experiencing any of these symptoms:

*    Discolored skin or hair
*    Weak muscles or muscle pain
*    White fingernail beds

Like most trace minerals, we get our selenium primarily from foods grown in nutrient-rich soil. One of the reasons why many Americans are deficient in selenium these days could be that we're eating foods from poor soil conditions, or even worse, from packages.

Some research I've read actually suggests that the rise of cancer and heart disease rates over the past several years may be related to selenium deficiency.

So, how do we get more of this micro mineral?

Besides Brazil nuts, try eating more:

*    Shrimp
*    Garlic
*    Mackerel
*    Tuna
*    Eggs
*    Alfalfa
*    Cashews
*    Button mushrooms
*    Salmon
*    Peanuts

Now, as I mentioned earlier, because we only need a little bit of selenium in a day, it's possible to find yourself in a bit ole mess of toxicity if you take in too much. Warning! Don't eat more than one or two Brazil nuts per day! Really.

The following are symptoms of selenium toxicity:

*    Hair loss
*    Abnormal fingernail beds
*    Skin lesions
*    Vomiting
*    Nausea

There are few foods as rich in selenium as Brazil nuts (70-90 micrograms per nut), so you are not likely to give yourself selenium toxicity through food, but watch your supplements! We should only take in about 400 micrograms of selenium per day, max, but one or two Brazil nuts will do the trick.

Copyright (C) 2013 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

An interview with Dr. Mark Hyman - Functional Medicine, EFT (Tapping)

Dr. Mark Hyman is a medical doctor who has combined Eastern and Western philosophies to establish his practice in what he calls Functional Medicine.  He has written 5 NYTimes best sellers about health and nutrition.  In this great interview, he discusses a different view of wellness, managing stress and your overall health.

Enjoy :)

Click here to see the interview:  Dr. Mark Hyman

Simple tips to up the veggies....

Creative ways to get more veggies into your kids

by Leanne Ely

It's easy to get kids to eat fruit. Fruit is sweet and it comes in pretty colors. Getting kids to eat vegetables, though? Well that's a whole other story.

If your children are good little veggie eaters, there's a good chance you've exposed them to veggies from a young age so that they recognize them as part of the regular routine. If they balk at veggies the first, second and even the third time, do not give up! Research tells us that it can take six or seven times of trying to get your child to eat a vegetable before they finally will.

You will eventually wear them down so do not give in!

Don't be a tyrant, but keep the upper hand. You are the parent and YOU control what goes on your child's plate. Not your child.

I don't believe in hiding veggies in order to get them into our kids but it is a good secondary strategy. We should be teaching our children about the importance of vegetables from the time they're old enough to listen to us, but while you're training their palate to eat more of them, you do still have to keep them coming.

Puree vegetables into spaghetti sauce and soups. Put pumpkin puree in your beef stew. Grate beets into black bean and beef burritos. Keep veggies "omnipresent" with every meal whether they're seen or not and that's going to be a great strategy to get the kids to a place where they will finally eat them on their own without begging, coercion or bribery.

It also helps if they see you eat and enjoy your vegetables. You can't very well sit and choke down a plate of broccoli and expect your kids to then wolf theirs down!

If you're a little late trying to get your kids on the veggie bandwagon, you may have a tough road ahead, but don't give up! Food is medicine, I firmly believe that.

Let's look at a few more creative ways you can get more vegetables into your kids.

Make it fun. Serve snacks like ants on a log. Spread peanut butter or sunflower butter on a piece of washed, organic celery, and place raisins (ants) walking down the log. Place an assortment of sliced veggies in different shapes on a plate and encourage your children to make art out of their food. Who can make a funny face out of their veggies? Extra points for eating your own creation!

Offer veggies when kids are hungry. Sounds obvious, but kids will eat what they're offered when they're hungry. If you put out a bowl of chips, of course the kids will eat them. But if you put out a plate of veggies and celery sticks to snack on, they'll eat them too, if that's their only option!

Involve them. When you make a salad, instead of bringing it to the table in a big bowl, present your children with veggies in separate bowls and let the kids choose which they want.

Introduce new vegetables in foods they already love. If your kids love soup, make a big pot and add a new vegetable in there. If your kids go ape for pasta, add some broccoli to your next batch. If meatloaf is something everyone in your house loves, grate some veggies into it. Put pumpkin in your pancake batter. Yes, this sounds like hiding veggies, but there's nothing wrong with adding nutrients to dishes your kids already love. Just be sure and tell them while they're gobbling it up what's in there. That will make it more likely they'll try those veggies in other forms as well!

Let them drink it. You know how I feel about juicing! Toss some kale, carrots and any other veggies you have on hand into the juicer. For sweetness, add an apple. Toss in some fresh ginger for an added nutritional boost. Serve with a straw in a pretty glass and voila!

All of these strategies worked for my two kids (now young adults in their 20s) and they'll eat any veggie that's put in front of them!

Copyright (C) 2012 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

A winner - Phyllo-Wrapped Asparagus

I made these last night to bring to a holiday open house - huge hit!  They take a little time to assemble, but they're fun to do and so good!!! 

Phyllo-Wrapped Asparagus with Prosciutto

Cooking Light DECEMBER 2011

• Yield: Serves 10 (serving size: 3 pieces)
• Hands-on:25 Minutes
• Total:45 Minutes
• Ingredients:
• 3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 30 long, thin strips

30 asparagus spears, trimmed

10 (14x9 inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Cooking Spray

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Wrap 1 prosciutto strip around each asparagus spear, barber pole–style. Place 1 phyllo sheet on a work surface (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying); coat phyllo with cooking spray. Cut crosswise into thirds to form 3 (4 1/2 x 9–inch) rectangles. Arrange 1 asparagus spear across 1 short end of each rectangle; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet; coat rolls with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo, asparagus, and cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until phyllo is golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note:

Make-ahead tip: Arrange assembled rolls on a baking sheet, coat with cooking spray, and cover; store in the fridge for up to four hours. Bake an hour or two before the party.

Amount per serving

• Calories: 59
• Fat: 1g
• Saturated fat: 0.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.4g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.1g
• Protein: 4.1g
• Carbohydrate: 8.6g
• Fiber: 1.4g
• Cholesterol: 5mg
• Iron: 0.7mg
• Sodium: 164mg
• Calcium: 21mg

12 Days of December - Savory Spinach Dip

Add a little green to your dishes this month:  delicious in scrambled eggs or as a baked appetizer, as you will see on this video..........

You can purchase this item by itself ($7.00) on my website at www.lisah.mywildtree.com!  It's so versatile and the price is right. So order a few to have on hand! Speaking of adding a little green, have you looked at the Wildtree business opportunity lately?  Check it out while you're on my website!  We are growing and I'd love to talk to you about getting involved.  It's risk-free if you eat!

January is a great, relaxing time to get family and friends together!  From December 15 - January 31, Wildtree is offering DOUBLE HOST REWARDS (that's 30-40% of whatever is ordered at your tasting)!  Call me today to book your date!