God's Pharmacy

A friend sent this to me...and you may have even seen this before, but I think it's soooo cool!

 It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish.... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us great clues as to what foods help what part of our body!
God's Pharmacy! Amazing! 
A slicedCarrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flowto and function of the eyes.
A Tomatohas four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research showstomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapeshang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like ablood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnutlooks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like thehuman kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pearstarget the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility. 
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olivesassist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges,Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruitslook just like themammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onionslook like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion,Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Eat Your Vegetables!

I often get asked for easy tips on eating healthy.  One of my main focuses, for a healthy diet, has always been on vegetables.  You've always heard it from mom: "Eat those vegetables!"  An abundant array of colorful veggies should be our main source of vitamins...not synthetic bottled supplements, filling your body with fake junk that is barely absorbed.  If your vitamins are not made from whole foods, then they are synthetic vitamins, which your body isn't capable of fully absorbing (so, check your source of vitamins!).  Not only are you wasting money on those bottles but your are also wasting effort and energy that it takes for your body to try and process them.  (Read here for more info from one of many articles on this topic.)  Though, as a side note, if you feel that you are still lacking in your diet and need to take a multi-vitamin, I highly suggest a good whole food vitamin:  check out 'New Chapter' vitamins - it's the brand of prenatals that carried me through my pregnancy.  They are sold at most health food stores and at great discounts online.

If you are eating your vegetables, like our ancestors always did, then you won't have such a dire need for supplements...but, most importantly, your body will be enriched and healthier than ever before!  Have you ever asked yourself how our ancestors got their nourishment?  They never bought it in a bottle.  They got it straight from the right foods. 

So, when I first started my journey towards a healthier lifestyle, I knew that I needed to start incorporating a much more colorful array of produce than what I was eating before.  The more colors of veggies that you eat, the more nutrients and vitamins your body will be receiving.  I was instructed by my naturopath to try and eat 6-8 different colored veggies with each meal.  Phew!  I was overwhelmed by this idea!  The main thing that intimidated me was having to constantly prepare all of these vegetables.  I hated chopping veggies and rarely made a salad beyond torn lettuce and baby carrots.  But, then I learned the simplest piece of advice for staying on top of this crucial necessity for my body:

Buy 6-8 different types of vegetables, of varying colors.  For example, I typically try to buy what's in season, first of all, but a good basic assortment usually consists of:  carrots, celery, kale, red cabbage, broccoli, red or green peppers (if in season), zucchini, and maybe tomatoes (if in season). Darker greens have more vitamins in them.  Then chop a small portion (like a 1/4) of each vegetable and store them all together in a large container in the fridge.  Voila!  Now, you have this large mix of freshly chop vegetables always on hand to mix in with anything.  With this mix, you may toss a handful in with some lettuce or spinach leaves and have a salad.  You can saute it in with scrambled eggs (add some goat cheese and it makes for a fab-o breakfast!).  You may saute it up with some sausage or chicken for a quick lunch or dinner - get creative with the seasonings or sauces.  Or you can steam a handful of the mixed veggies....eat that with butter and S&P as a side with your main course or toss it with some pasta or rice or soup!  Once I established this easy discipline of making sure that I have a container full of freshly chopped veggies always on hand, it makes it sooo much easier to make sure that I am always eating a wonderfully balanced meal and that I am getting those nutrients that I need.  My biggest set back beforehand was just the prep of always chopping vegetables when I wanted a salad or something.  I'm lazy.  When I'm hungry, I want to eat now.  This wonderful habit helps to give me my food now and give it to me healthy.  I would say that my large container of chopped veggies lasts us about 3-4 days...so, that's only chopping like twice a week!  Not bad.  Anyone could handle that!

I personally believe that above all other ways of eating, this is one of the best and easiest ways to get started on the healthy track.  Don't get yourself overwhelmed by lacto-fermented drinks or eating low-fat or even with books like Nourishing Traditions if you are new to these ideas.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that book, but it is not always for the beginner.  Most people that I come across that say they wish to eat better are usually looking for an easy answer.  This is my easy answer.  And, I believe that once you start incorporating these veggies in with your meals, you will start decreasing the amount of other unhealthy things that you may have previously chosen or eaten with your main courses....ie:  packaged/processed foods, foods w/saturated fats...etc.  And, of course, I always have to recommend going organic...but, I do know that many people who wish to eat healthier or are new to all this are still not willing to pay for organic items.  So, if it comes down to that and you think you just can't afford organic or it's just not the priority for you yet....still buy all the veggies and know that you're doing so much better than before!  I will write my thoughts on sacrificing for the higher prices of organic foods some other time.

So, to go along with your new colorful salads, I thought I would include a new favorite salad dressing of mine.  I don't typically buy dressings - too much crap in them.  We usually just use EVOO and balsamic vinegar, but I came across this recipe and it has made my salads oooohhhh-sooo-yummy!

Honey Mustard Dill Dressing

3 TB EVOO

2 tsp. dried dill or 1 TB of fresh chopped dill

1 TB Sherry wine vinegar

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. honey

S&P to taste

Whisk altogether, and you have it!

Toys! Toys! Toys!

Well, the hype of Christmas is beginning to fade and new toys are beginning to mix in with the old ones, only to be soon forgotten.  Before it was too late, I wanted to share our convictions on toys and perhaps shed some light on the reasonings behind our particular choices.

My husband and I have opted to do our best to steer clear of most plastic, battery-operated toys.  We prefer beautiful wooden or plush cloth toys.  We have chosen this route for several reasons:

-Imagination & Creativity - Wooden toys do not do all the work for you.  A child must employ their creativity and imagination to bring it to life.  Where does a child's imagination go when all their toys do it for them?  A battery-operated rocking horse that whinnies, rocks, turns it's head, and swishes it's tail?  How can the child imagine and create it's own character for that horse when the horse does it all for them?  Wooden and plush toys are simpler.  They require imagination.  And imagination brews a wonderfully creative, witty, brilliant child.

-Safety & Health - The majority of mainstream plastic toys are actually made of PVC which is laden with harmful toxins like phthalates.  With a teething infant, where do most toys go?  Her mouth.  Here is one article from Mothering magazine (one of my faves!) on this very topic.  Or, just Google 'phthalates' to learn it's affects on human health.  We have even chosen to give Vienne all organic pure rubber pacifiers...these are the coolest pacifiers out there!  They are one piece so there are no crevices for bacteria to grow and every part of it is soft and chewable when she is learning to insert into her own mouth.

-Creating a Peaceful Home - This may be more of a selfish reason on our part, but we do not want our main living spaces cluttered w/piles of neon-colored, loud, plastic crap....that most likely rarely gets used.  It is sad to me when I walk into a home and their main living space is over-taken by shelves of toys, plastic pink play houses, a matchbox car race track...every corner inhabited by loud obnoxious toys.  Talk about over-stimulation!  Mark and I do not like clutter...we cannot function around it.  How does a child learn?  Focus?  With sooo many toys, sooo many options, sooo much noise and stuff going on...I just don't understand how they are able to settle down, imagine, create, and learn.

-Environment - Wooden toys last forever!  Plastic toys with batteries often break or eventually stop working.  Obviously, when a wooden toy is recycled it is safer on the environment.  We know plastics and batteries are not.  'nough said.

-Simplicity and minimalism -  We are minimalists...or we are, at least, trying to be so.  I've already learned with having just an infant so far, that babies and children do not need much to entertain themselves.  Vienne already gets bored w/her toys and would much rather prefer the tupperware in the cabinet, a small cardboard box, a scarf, her shoe...you know what I mean.  Don't you?  Haven't you found that your children are much more entertained by the things that are not toys?  So, why fill your house with extra unneeded clutter?

I've also learned that in making these rules for our home, people are more careful and thoughtful in what they buy for Vienne.  It's not just any random cheap toy from the Toys-R-Us aisles that will break in a few short months or never get used.  If a friend or family has opted to buy her a toy, it is usually just one very nice beautiful wooden piece that was thoughtfully chosen and will last forever, to be cherished as that one special toy that Grandma or Auntie bought for her.  You know what I mean?  Wooden or nice plush toys are a bit more pricey...which helps to keep the collection small, keeping the clutter and over-stimulation to a minimum.  And, that has greatly helped in keeping our goal for simplicity.

As the collection of toys inevitably will grow through the coming years, Mark and I have also established a goal for recycling toys to help keep things at a minimum and to help inspire a heart for giving.  So, our current 'goal' is to establish a rule for new toys that come into the house.  At Christmas time or birthdays, for every new toy that is received we will aim to choose a few old toys to give away to either a children's home, our church, or a resale shop. We hope to make it a 'fun' event of sharing and blessing others.  Hope is the key word.  We know that we must be realistic in our goals, but all goals are a challenge and we are determined to try and make this one work. Guess, I'll have to report back as Vienne grows and as I grow my family through the coming years!

Now, I must make one disclaimer before I post this:  All of this does not mean that our home is completely free of plastic toys.  No.  We still will receive gifts and let Vienne play with them for a short while.  We are not completely radically unrealistic!  

Here are a few more sources that I've randomly selected that offer great info on natural toys:

Mothering Magazine - Wonderful articles for natural mothering

Babies Online - One of many found articles on natural toys

Three Sisters Toys

Willow Tree Toys

Kick That Cold To The Curb

So, I woke up yesterday 'wid a code' .... deep racking sneezes and constant dripping sniffles. Miserable. I hate taking over-the-counter medicines that just temporarily cover up the misery and fill your body with junk. I wanted to kick this thing naturally and quick... avoiding, at all cost, spreading it to my family. So, I pulled out some home remedies that were given to me from my naturopath and researched a few other things to try. I woke this morning, breathing clearly through my nose again, ready to go! Weeeeee!

Thought I'd share what I did:

-Garlic Soup. I got this recipe here, from one of my favorite blogs. I'll post it here:

8 cps. chicken broth

25 cloves of garlic (peeled)

1 TB ginger

1 TB paprika

pinch of red pepper or cayenne

1/2 cp. lemon juice

Place all in a pot and cook until the garlic is soft and then eat it all.

**(I only drank half of this and saved the other half for the next day...8 cps was a bit too much for me! Wooheee, stand back: Dragon breath!)

-Ginger Bath: I filled the tub w/hot water and dumped in a few tablespoons of ginger powder...the more the better. (not sure how much I used, but it was a lot cuz I have a huge soaking tub)

**These are the only two things that I did last night that made a huge difference, but I will also post a few other home remedies that have also helped in the past when the cold/flu is truly nasty.

-Hot and Cold Hydrotherapy: After the hot ginger bath...or just a hot bath, immediately wrap your torso with a towel, that is wet with cold water (rung out). Yes....bbbrrrrrrr!! Then bundle bundle bundle with a big warm blanket. Stay wrapped and bundled for at least 30 minutes. The wet towel should be warm by the time you are done...if it isn't, keep it on until you have warmed the wet towel w/your body. The purpose is to get your body to respond to it, warming itself up. This can be done for your children and babies, as well. I tried this on Vienne at 3 months old and she responded much better than I expected. She actually fell right to sleep once she was bundled. She woke much better in the morning.

-Wet Socks: This ones weird too, but does make a huge difference. First, warm your feet in some warm water (I sit on the bathroom counter, with my feet in the sink). Then cover your feet with cotton socks, that are wet and rung out with cold water. Cover the wet cotton socks with dry wool socks and go to bed. When you wake in the morning the socks should both be dry...which is a good sign, what you want! Once you wrap the wet ones with the dry socks and go to sleep, you don't notice the wet socks at all. It sounds worse than it is. This could be done right at the onset of the cold/flu and it should help to boost your immune system and prevent the cold from getting worse. You can also do this one on your children and it really helps.

-Tiger Balm: I keep Tiger Balm in the medicine cabinet for different purposes. Spread this on your chest before bed...for deep chest colds and difficulty breathing. If you are doing this for your child or baby, smear the balm on an old t-shirt or onesie because the Tiger Balm is pretty strong but is totally safe to be used for them, also.

Here are a few other sources for home remedies: (and, please note that I am just sharing information that I have stumbled across, that has been shared with me, or that I've had success with. I am, in no way, a health professional. Please do research for yourself when you are trying at-home remedies!)

www.bulkherbstore.com - They have a page just for sharing home remedies.

www.holisticonline.com - Great information on alternative medicine. You can find info on hydrotherapy here.

www.westonaprice.org - Read more about broths and how good they are for your health.

Learn more and get well soon! Throw out that Nyquil and try some healthy at-home cheap remedies that may just kick that cold to the curb way quicker than you ever thought!