Ode to Celery

Oh celery, why can’t we just get along?

What has happened to us in the past that I treat you with such disdain?  I’ve even been heard saying “I’d rather eat the dirt” that you came from!

For years I have brought you home at the peak of your magnificence, with your proud branches standing strong.  Only to lock you in the crisper to watch you die a slow and painful death.   First your limbs grow weak and limp, then you turn an off shade of brown and then sometimes I let you rot until you just become a bag of putrid liquid and then I get angry with your weakness for making such a mess and making the fridge smell off!

Why celery, why does this have to happen?

I enjoyed you as a child, when my Grandmother would fill your stocks with that bright orange “Cracker Barrel” cheese that came in the red tub.

Not like other things that I loathed as a child but have since grown to appreciate.  Things like beets, olives and blue cheese which I now adore.

No, with you it went the other way.  Your crunchy texture and distinct flavour offend me.  I alway know when you have been hidden in the tuna sandwich or are ruining a perfectly good potato salad!

People tell me I should love you.  You come baring so many healthful gifts.  You are high in Vitamin C which we know is so helpful for many body processes.  You are filled with calcium, magnesium and potassium which among other things, helps with blood pressure control.  You contain pthalides which increase bile production which can lower cholesterol and you fight cancer, arthritis and inflammation!

I want to love you celery, I really do.

 

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Does going to the dentist make you live longer?

It occurred to me while I was lying with my mouth open at the dentist today…….

Maybe we live longer now because we can go to the dentist?

Because if we didn’t go to the dentist and our teeth hurt or fell out we probably wouldn’t eat the same.

And so now, with the enjoyment of our teeth, we can eat better, getting better nutrition and therefore,

LIVING LONGER!

Just a thought.

Friday Wisdom – November 16th

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And last but not least of the Scary 7 to avoid.

But the moral of this story is to READ every package, can or box of anything you are thinking you might eat!

If you don’t know what it is, or worse, can’t pronounce it, then DON’T eat it!!

REAL FOOD ROCKS!!

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Friday Wisdom – October 12th

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Friday Wisdom – October 5th

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Friday Wisdom – Sept 7th

Friday Wisdom – August 24th

A Little Friday Wisdom

Immune booster

I was feeling poorly this weekend.   That doesn’t usually happen too often anymore but I guess this time of year we can all get it.

It was time to bring out the arsenal of “remedies” I have in my bag of tricks.

First I took a few drops of oil of oregano in a small glass of water and tossed that down.  If you’ve never had it, well, it’s an acquired taste, but a very strong anti-microbial that will kill nasty germs!

Then I gargled with warm salt water.  Always an old stand by for any problems involving the mouth and throat.

And of course took a bunch of Vitamin C.   Remember when taking Vitamin C supplements to take what’s called “Ester C” which means that it is buffered for easy absorption, other wise you will just end up with expensive pee!

My throat hurt so bad that I had to resort to the old childhood practice of slathering my neck and chest with Vicks Vapo Rub and donning a turtle neck to bed.  Oddly during my holistic schooling I never once questioned or looked up just WHY Vicks is of benefit.  Probably something to do with the Eucalyptus?  But I think it is the idea of it that makes you feel better, brings you back to a time when someone took care of you when you were sick!

Then I remembered something that I DID learn about in holistic school.  It is a product called CHYAWANPRASH.   It is an old Ayurvedic preparation that does wonders for the immune system.

Chyawanprash

It is a thick paste like stuff, kind of like jam only thicker.  It has  pretty intense flavour and is quite spicy but not unpleasant.   There are different ways to enjoy it, like just taking a spoonful of it and slowly licking and sucking on it like you might do with a spoonful of cake icing!

The lady at the East Indian store where I get this said that when she was a kid, her mother would dissolve it in some warm milk and give it to them like that.

I’ve heard tell that a spoonful of this in the morning all winter will keep the boogie germs away!

Chyawanprash paste

Tips – seaweed

Seaweed

Photo courtesy of  ( click here )

Did you know?

When making beans from scratch, as in from dried hard things not opening the can by your self, if you add some seaweed to the cooking water it will help make the beans less ” gas-producing” when you eat them! And adds a bunch of nutrients to boot!

Tumeric is also helpful with this problem and is good for lowered bad cholesterol so it is doing double duty!

Just thought you should know.

Fiber Friday

Fiber isn’t just something your Grandpa is on about, it’s actually very important for everyone!

What do you know about fiber?

Did you know that there are two kinds of fiber?  There is soluble and insoluble.  What’s the difference?

Think of soluble fiber as one of those crazy “grow your own animal” toys.  The things where you get some little hunk of stuff  that you put in a jug with some water and it grows to four times the size!

Soluble fiber is kind of the same.  It is food that when you eat it, sucks up water making them “bulky” which is great in your intestines because it is picking up all the waste products and toxins and gives your “pipes” something to grab on to which makes it easier to eliminate.

Think of foods that if you left them in water would get bigger or dissolves from its original shape.  Things like oatmeal.

Oatmeal

Other good sources of soluble fiber would be:

• Beans and peas
• Root vegetables
• Barley
• Flax seeds

And so why does this matter?

Well, you really want to keep yourself regular.  So many of our modern health issues could be avoided, alleviated or eliminated by good bowel health!

But it helps with all kinds of things like:

• Lowering LDL ( bad cholesterol) which reduces the risk of heart diseases
• Regulates blood sugar to avoid diabetes
• Makes you feel fuller so you will eat less which helps with weight loss
• prevents constipation

Give it a try and you’ll see how different you’ll feel!

Note:  For the all the 411 on bowel health check out ” Dr. Jensen’s Guide to Better Bowel Care”  it could change you life!