Thursday, October 31, 2013

Chlorella shots with Chia seed chasers...

Today I want to talk about my daily superfood ritual- most days, I try to take a big ole' shot of Chlorella (a beautiful blue green algae, similar to Spirulina) followed by a big ole' glass of soaked Chia seeds. Most of you know what Chia seeds are (and if you grew up in the 80's and were super lucky, you had a Chia pet!!!). They are all over health food stores, touted as Aztec super energy food (which is true- Aztec and Mayan warriors would eat them on long journeys to keep their energy up and stay full longer). Since I am not eating grains right now (or gluten- ever), I have to make sure I am getting enough fiber to keep things running smoothly (wink). Chia seeds have a huge amount of fiber, besides being high in Omega 3's, and also contain a large amount of calcium, which is great for me too since I tent to avoid dairy most of the time. Chlorella is a blue green algae that has some amazing capabilities- it can bind to toxic chemicals (particularly heavy metals and Dioxin, chemicals that can be present in your stomach from the food you ingest, and accumulate in your fatty tissue). It is important to note that Chlorella only binds to metals and toxins that you have recently ingested (that are in your digestive tract at the time), not to metals and toxins that are already absorbed in your fatty tissue- so it seems that they will not "pull" accumulated toxins out of your body, but rather help to mitigate the ingestion of toxins as you eat them in food.  In terms of Dioxins in particular, the WHO reports that:
  • Dioxins are a group of chemically-related compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants.
  • Dioxins are found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals.
  • More than 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat and dairy products, fish and shellfish. Many national authorities have programmes in place to monitor the food supply.
  • Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer  
(Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/)

Clearly, we don't want Dioxins (or heavy metals or other chemicals) in our bodies, and they need to be avoided especially in small children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. I am eating a fairly strict Paleo diet right now, and I try to eat about 4 tablespoons of grass fed Ghee (homemade) everyday (which is making my skin glow!). There have been some findings that even exclusively grass fed or organic butter has been found to have Dioxin in it- it is so prevalent in our world that even the most pristine environments may have Dioxin in the soil, and therefore it transfers to the cows grazing on the grass, and then transfers to the fatty tissue of the cows, and then goes right into that beautiful grass fed butter. But grass fed butter is a Paleo super food! What to do now?! I am not going to stop eating my Ghee made with gorgeous grass fed butter, because I have noticed an improvement in my health since I introduced it to my diet. But, it is possible that by making Ghee from the grass fed butter (which is essentially made by cooking out the milk fats and casein), I am removing the part of the butter that contains most of the contaminants. Just as insurance, I take a shooter of Chlorella a day, to trap up any toxins that I might have ingested, and then follow it with a big glass of Chia to move that bad stuff right out of my body. There have been some recent studies done in Japan on the effects of Chlorella and removal of Dioxins in breast milk in mothers who are breast feeding. Breast milk has been found to have high concentrations of Dioxin, and they found that taking Chlorella significantly reduces the amount of Dioxin that is present in the breast milk.  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17472477) I think that is just amazing! What an easy way to protect your baby from a chemical that is ever present in our system, and may be very hard to avoid ingesting. My thought is, if Chlorella removes Dioxin from breast milk, it probably removes it from your body as a whole- so why not take it?! It is important for pregnant women to remember- the toxins that are bound up by Chlorella are the ones present in your digestive system at the time, and not the toxins that have already moved to your blood and fatty tissues, so it is seemingly safe for pregnant women and won't "transfer chemicals to the baby" as some people have thought (but always exercise caution when taking anything as a pregnant or breastfeeding woman!!!)

I like to think of my Chlorella shots and Chia chasers as super food insurance- preventative care that I can easily do now to avoid getting sick later in life, and to help keep my future children safe from ever present chemicals in our food supply. It's all about preventative wellness- I want to do everything I can to live a long and healthy life, and Chia seed and Chlorella shots are a step in that direction. Let me know if you pick up some Chlorella or Chia (or both!) and what you think. Oh, and Happy Halloween!!!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

new obsession... yes, I'm obsessed with soap...

I really love the Clean Well company- they use Thyme oil in their products (yes, like thyme from the garden), which is a potent natural antibacterial agent. I have used their "hand sanitizer" for a long time now- I like knowing that I am using something that won't chemically mess with my system but is good at killing bad bacteria! This soap is to die for, it gets the job done and it smells like an orange creamsicle! What more could you want?! I bet it would go over well with kids, since it smells like a sweet treat (although, on second thought, they may want to eat it... so maybe not...) I highly recommend this to anyone who loved creamsicles as a kid (I was obsessed- all that sugar!!!!) and wants to fight germs naturally. I actually use their surface cleaner sometimes as well, I alternate between homemade vinegar cleaners and their lemon thyme surface cleaner- I really like the straight up thyme smell, and it seems to fight germs really well. If you see this in your neighborhood natural foods store, give it a try!

Stay healthy and warm, and enjoy this lovely fall weather!

Monday, October 28, 2013

wellness tip! (or, a post about my neurosis)

Dr Bronner's soap is my jam! This stuff is amazing, and you can use it for a million different things (the peppermint works really well as toothpaste on camping trips). I use it for my body and in my cleaning products- we even wash our dog with it. But this post is not actually about the soap, so much as it is about my neurosis. I am totally freaked out by chemicals. The nasty, screw with your hormones and gut flora, give you cancer kind of chemicals. Many many soaps (and a host of other self care products) contain questionable ingredients that can make you sick, add to your toxin load, disrupt your helpful microbe population in your gut, mess with your hormones... I could go on and on. We all know it is super important to wash your hands frequently, especially in the colder months when colds and flu's proliferate. One of the most preventative things you can do to keep yourself healthy is to wash your hands frequently and well. But what if you are like me, and are trying to avoid these substances and the flu as well, and you walk into a restroom at a restaurant or somewhere, and you see that they have the scary bulk bright pink soap!  Or some other version of "antibacterial" soap... which probably contains triclosan (among other ickies), which as of this fall, the FDA deems "safe" (don't get me started!), but recent studies have shown that it alters hormone regulation in animals and contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics- both things we do not want!!! I don't know about you, but I don't want petroleum derivatives, phthalates, parabens, or triclosan on my body (what goes on goes in!). So that's why, in my quest to be clean of disease and clean of chemicals, I carry my own soap in my purse. Yep, I am the crazy lady who whips out her own soap to wash her hands wherever she goes. I have a mini bottle of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap in my bag as we speak, and it is already half empty due to my avoidance of icky pink soap. I encourage you to take your own soap (find a little glass jar of your own and put some chemical free liquid soap in it if you can't find the mini bottles of Dr. B's) with you, so you can avoid cancer causing chemicals and the flu at the same time! No more choosing between the two, as long as you don't mind the funny looks you may get from people when you whip out your own soap in the bathroom.

And that is your wellness tip/ look into my craziness! Hope you are all well as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter! Ps. We are now on Facebook, so if you haven't already LIKED us, please do and get updates and FB only tips from the blog! (pumpkins-parsnips-and-parsimony on Facebook)

Friday, October 25, 2013

homemade yummy body butter and body scrub

Hello everyone! Sorry things have been a little quiet on the blog lately, we have been very busy and I keep meaning to sit down and write, and then in my downtime end up with my nose buried in my new book (the history of the Stuart family of Scotland- it's fascinating, and I can't put it down)... Today, by request (love to my BFF Ashleigh!) is a recipe for homemade body scrub and body butter. I have been making these two simple but so yummy products for awhile, and my husband and a few of my friends have tried and loved them, and I am thinking of giving them out as gifts for Christmas this year- we all need a little self pampering around the holidays, right?! I am seeing a dear friend tonight, who is pregnant with her first child (so exciting!), and I haven't seen her in ages and wanted to get her a little gift... I was going to go to the store and pick up some bubble bath for her, but then I realized a homemade gift would be so much better! I like to have different body oils and butters on hand, for just this purpose (I get all of my supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs online, they are awesome, have everything you could think of, and have a huge organic selection of stuff), and I love whipping up seasonal treats for the body! The beauty of having a few base ingredients on hand, plus spices and essential oils, means you can make a personalized/seasonal product with the same base ingredients whenever you want! So without further ado, the recipes: (Note: all ingredients listed are organic- your skin is a permeable membrane!)

Easy homemade body scrub:
-variable amount of oil (depends on the glass jar you want to use, but I used about a cup of oil for the little jars in the picture)- coconut oil/jojoba oil/grapeseed oil/olive oil, or other oil of your choice (using coconut oil will impart a slight coconut smell)

-enough brown sugar to fill up half your jar. The larger the grain of the sugar, the more "scratchy" the sugar will be on your skin, so you can grind it down in a mortar and pestle if you want finer sugar (or buy finer sugar).

-essential oils/spices of your liking- for this particular batch, I used 30 drops of vanilla essential oil and a few teaspoons of each powdered spice: clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. It smells like pumpkin pie! I made a batch one time with just clove and grapefruit essential oil, and put some grapefruit zest in it, and it was amazing too. Play around with it, the possibilities are endless!

mix it all up in a bowl until it is evenly combined, and put it in your jar!  simple as that.

Easy homemade body butter:
-1 cup shea butter (or mango butter or cocoa butter... etc)
-3 tablespoons oil of your choice (remember, coconut will make it smell a little tropical on it's own, and if you want to have a nice essential oil smell you may want to use a different oil)
-essential oils of your choice (lavender, vanilla, grapefruit...)

Melt the butter in a bowl placed in another bowl or pot that has hot water in it (or if you have a double boiler, use that!) You don't want to put the butter in a pot directly on the stove, because you want to melt it at a low temperature to keep the butter from changing too much- you want all those good skin nutrients to stay intact. When the butter is semi melted (some clumps still), use a mixer and blend in the oil and the essential oils if you want them, and beat the hell out of it. I usually beat it like crazy with my hand mixer for 10 minutes, put it in the fridge to solidify for another 5-10 minutes, and then beat it again with the hand mixer for 10 minutes. The mixing time will be variable depending on the butters and oils you use, but the consistency should be soft and marshmallow like (best way I could think of to describe it!) It really does take a long time to get it nice and fluffy, you may have to beat it for 30 minutes but I swear, it's worth it! 

It comes out fluffy and thick, and you only need a little bit to keep your skin super moisturized- it is great for winter, and on chapped skin and cracked hands. My hubby uses it all the time at work, after he has been washing his hands over and over and working on equipment all day long. Both of these things, because they are organic and fresh, will have a expiration date, so use them up in a couple of  months or put them in the fridge to last longer. 

I hope you give making them a try, there is nothing like a pure homemade spa day to make yourself feel the self love! Let me know if you try it, and what you think!




Friday, October 4, 2013

A warming Moroccan stew recipe for this beautiful Fall weather!

Happy Friday! It has been amazingly beautiful here in Santa Cruz this week, lovely 75 degree days with 45 degree nights/early mornings... Fall is definitely upon us. The sky is bright periwinkle blue, and the sun is shining a warm orange color through the leaves. Slippers and sweaters have come out at our house, and we have even started turning on our pellet stove in the evenings. This is by far my favorite time of year, I love all things cozy- blankets, tea, smart wool socks... The other night I was craving a warm, spice-laden stew, and middle eastern food is my all time favorite, so I made this Moroccan inspired stew that was the perfect dinner for a lovely Fall evening. The beauty of this recipe is that it is very easy to tweak to your dietary needs- Paleo, Vegan, etc, just a few changes and you can make it work for you. It works well in a crock pot, and I promise you when you get home from a long day of work and smell this simmering in your kitchen you will swoon! My husband was outside planing a tree that fell down on our property to make it into a mantle for our pellet stove area (he is a rockstar, seriously), and he walked in the house and just about melted as he smelled the stew bubbling away. It is super easy to make and tastes even better the next day, as the spices really get the chance to meld together. Without further ado:

Fall Spiced Moroccan Stew:
(makes a big pot- I usually just make a lot and freeze the left overs)

Ingredients: (paleo/vegan swaps included)
Big dollop coconut oil or Ghee
Few (3ish) cups of bone broth or veggie broth
Grass fed ground lamb/bison or soaked beans of your choice (I always recommend purchasing dried beans and properly soaking them overnight instead of canned beans, because the soaking decreases the phytic acid in the beans- phytic acid = unhappy tummy- and can liners contain BPA)
1-2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1-2 large bell peppers, chopped
Few carrots, chopped
1 cup stewed tomatoes (I cook down and freeze my own tomatoes, but you could use fresh if you are trying to avoid store bought canned tomatoes- which I suggest you avoid- or if tomatoes are not in season, just leave them out)
2-3 dates, pitted and chopped up
garlic and onions (I go heavy on both, a whole head of garlic and 2-3 onions, but it's up to you)
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground coriander
Salt and pepper
chopped up greens of your choice (we did a cup of chopped kale)
chopped fresh cilantro and lemon zest for the topping

Saute the onions and garlic in the coconut oil/Ghee, until the onions are translucent. Add the meat if you are using it, and saute until cooked- (add more oil/Ghee if you need to). Add the spices and let cook for a few minutes, being careful not to burn it. Then transfer this mixture to a large stock pot or the slow cooker, and add the broth. Add in all the chopped veggies (except the greens, cilantro and lemon), the beans (if you are using them), the dates, and the salt and pepper. If you are using beans, be sure to let them cook in the stew for 3-4 hours so they are nice and digestible. If you aren't using beans, just cook until it smells amazing, letting everything simmer together for and hour or two to really seal in the flavor. Add the greens about 20 minutes before you are ready to eat it, so that they are still nice and fresh when you gobble it up. Serve with fresh cilantro and a sprinkle of lemon zest on top, with a salad or for those of you who eat bread, a great loaf of something yummy.

This meal was super satisfying on a cool Autumn evening, and it freezes well for leftovers. It can be tweaked however you want, and other veggies can be used as well- say, winter squash instead of bell peppers.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and let me know if you try it, and what you think! Happy cooking!