Lets talk about goji berries in the uk
goji berries in the ukNature's Pharmacy
"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." Hippocrates
Good nutrition is one of the most important factors in determining your health, vitality and longevity. Yet these days we are bombarded with so much information that it's hard to decipher fact from fiction. The truth of the matter is, it doesn't have to be that hard. Nature has already done the work for us and provides us with everything we need to be healthy. We need to learn how to choose the most nutritious foods, eat with the seasons and meet our individual needs.
Of course there are lots of foods in the world and all of them contain some nutrients. But to get the most out of your food you want to focus on the ones that are the most nutrient dense. This means we want to choose foods with a higher number of nutrients versus calories. Think leafy green vegetables, vibrant colors of red, yellow, green and purple fruits and veggies...a colorful assortment of the rainbow will do you just fine.
The nutrients in these foods cannot be manufactured by our bodies, therefore it is best to get them from whole, fresh produce. Fresh food provides us with the nutrients, fiber and enzymes that are essential for energy, proper elimination and the maintenance of our bodies tissues and cells. You know, all the things that make us look and feel better and help prevent disease.
How do you do this you may ask? It's easy. You can find most of these foods at your local market, natural foods store or farmers market. It is best to look for the organically grown varieties. The produce that goes to large markets are often sprayed with pesticides that contain nitrogen, which causes the fruit or vegetable to absorb water, so it looks nice and plump, but lacks flavor. These foods are also often picked before they're ripe and shipped a long way, rather than vine- ripened and freshly picked just before they're sold. So feel and smell them first to assess their freshness or ask someone for assistance. I find the workers at the natural food stores and farmer's markets extremely knowledgeable and helpful.
Secondly, to make the produce that you buy more affordable and better tasting, your best choice is to buy what is in season, particularly at your local farmers market.
Lastly, we are all individuals and our needs vary greatly, especially as it relates to our body type, age, ethnicity and activity level. So what works for one person might not work for another.
Recipe of the month: Visit Your Local Farmer's Market
Check out where the closest farmers market is to you. http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.ht m .
Interior Garden's Prescription
The irony of all this is that you can be a healthy person by eating all the right foods but still be unhealthy if you are not happy. While it is very important to eat well, it is also very important to take inventory of what is working and not working in your personal life. Because everything we participate in and absorb through our senses is food. We metabolize the experience of life through our relationships, careers, exercise, spirituality, finances, creativity, thoughts etc. So a good question to ask yourself is what am I am eating, and what's eating me?
As a recovered anorexic and bulimic, I have first-hand experience of my personal life being completely out of balance and using food to assuage the pain. Besides having to relearn how to have a healthy relationship with food again, I had to clean up my personal life, what was not working, which created this imbalance. I found my greatest source of healing came from working on myself. As I cleaned up my life, I started to understand myself better. The more I understood myself, the more I accepted myself. And from that place of acceptance came a whole new level of self-love, peace and healing that catapulted me forward and from which all good things come!
1) Visit and stock up at your local farmer's market with summer's fresh and local produce
2) Keep hydrated with plenty of water
3) Add to that a healthy dose of exercise in the great outdoors
4) Wear sunscreen
5) Plan and accept times to socialize and connect with others
6) Be honest with yourself about what's not working. Refuse to practice self-delusion or to hope for the best
7) Visualize how you want things to be and take baby steps
8) Don't be afraid to get support or ask for help. No man is an island and we can't always do it ourselves
8) Find time to play and laugh until it hurts
9) Practice good self care: light a candle, get a massage, treat yourself to something nice
10) Open your heart and clear your mind
11) Find someone or something you can give your love to for a day, month, years or a lifetime
Interior Gardens improves both physical and mental health. Call me to experience a complimentary health history.
Amy Coughlin is a Certified Wellness Coach whose practice is designed to educate and empower individuals to take significant and preventative steps in their long-term health and wellness. Ultimately, her education, coupled with her expertise in corporate training and recruitment, has inspired her to coach individuals and corporate groups in wellness education programs.
If you want to improve your food, mood, and life, call me to experience a complimentary health history. You will be glad you did!
http://www.amysinteriorgardens.com
Prepare Paella Like A Pro
Preparing paella is an interesting endeavour for any cook. This dish does not really have a set list of ingredients but is mostly a combination of different meats and vegetables. In fact, the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, refers to paella as a saffron-flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood.
The meal is prepared in a pot - all the ingredients meld together in the pot while cooking to create the dishes great taste. This pot cooking is so closely associated with this dish that it�s name, paella means frying pan or pot in Old French and Catalan languages.
Paella is a great dish to make if you want to clean out the fridge and use up leftover meats and vegetables. Any combination will eventually be great the secret is in the chemistry. Paella is a dish that is generally made to feed several people. Moreover, paella is quite flavorful the next day as the tastes have had time to mix together and become stronger.
The secret to a good paella is being creative, therefore there are many recipes one can follow. But since a recipe is not necessary, nor desirable, the basic steps to creating this dish are outlined below. It�s up to you to provide the creativity in ingredients to make the dish your own!
Making The Rice
You can use whatever kind of rice you like. A wild rice can add interesting flavor and texture to the dish, but if you prefer brown or white feel free to go with. Frying the rice as outlined below will give it a nutty flavor.
Wash the rice and set aside
Chop tomato, onion ad garlic
Heat olive oil in a skillet, and once the oil is hot (but not smoking) toss in the rice
Add the onion, garlic and tomato after a minute or two
Stir until the onion, tomato and garlic are soft. Don�t let the rice mixture overcook - 3 to 5 minutes is plenty of time. At the end of the cooking, you can spice it with whatever spices you like. Some common spices for paella are saffron, salt and pepper but you could add cayenne, cinnamon or any other herbs that you and your guests prefer.
Remove the mixture from the burner and toss in some frozen peas. Not too many as you don�t want to overpower the rice but just enough to add a little accent.
Preparing The Meat
In a frying pan at high heat, brown some pieces of chicken. Upper thighs, drumsticks, breasts...it's all good. Do not cook the meat completely but brown the outside. Once browned, set the meat aside. Lamb can also add great flavor to your paella.
Combining The Two
The combining of the rice and meat mixtures is what makes the paella such an interesting and flavorful dish. Cover the bottom of the paella pan with the uncooked rice mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces on top. Add uncooked Merguez (spicy lamb sausages) and small fish filets rolled up and fastened with a toothpick or string. Use any type of fish but make sure that its flesh will hold well together. Pour some chicken broth on top (if the broth is warm the cooking time will reduce). Note that you can also add wine for more flavor. Cover the paella dish and cook for about 45 minutes at 350F or until the rice is cooked. At this point you can add raw shrimp or muscles and cook uncovered for another five minutes.
And there you have it, an interesting dish with something in it that is sure to please everyone!
Lee Dobbins writes for Online Gourmet Foods where you can find more recipes and dinner menus.
"Herbitual" Awakening - Hidden Clues To Alternative Healing Could Be In Your Kitchen Right Now!
As a vegetarian I am often asked the question "How do you get your protein without eating meat?" I love to answer this question because I know in that moment there is a chance of changing someone's life forever. At first, the reason I switched to being a vegetarian did not have to do with the antibiotics and hormones that animals are treated with or the pesticide infested food they are fed.
My reasons in the beginning were the result of an awakening that I received when viewing photographs taken of living, raw, organic foods in their natural state with a special camera. The Kirlian photography I saw revealed the electric energy that these foods contained before being cooked and before being chemically altered or microwaved and it was at that moment that I realized that the answer to true longevity, anti-aging, health and quite simply feeling awesome everyday was to introduce some of these foods into my diet.
I began to learn everything I could about health and nutrition. Herbs in particular caught my attention because I realized that some of these herbs had super qualities and could in fact alter my entire outlook on life by increasing my energy levels to quantum levels. In addition to helping myself, I find myself having a huge impact on other people who are open to hearing about some of these herbs. I attended a San Diego Chargers game not too long ago and as most people are aware these games are filled with carnivorous loving fans who tailgate for hours, drinking alcohol and eating pounds of meats and breads.
I came across an individual who was a photographer. He was filled with an hunger for life but was low on energy. He had just eaten large quantities of meat and he in fact was obese and looked older than he actually was. I was eating a bag of Goji berries and I overheard him say he only ate meat for the protein and he in fact did not really care for it. He even felt deep down it was probably bad for him. I told him that Goji berries are one of the most nutritionally rich fruits/herbs on the planet and it was a complete protein with all the essential amino acids, that it was rich in fiber and trace minerals, that it was a good source of vitamin C and iron and it was a great snack food. He had not known that the Goji berry even existed and was thrilled to hear that his local health food store carried it. At that moment he told me he would probably never eat meat again and wanted to learn about other high protein plant based foods. This story and many others have been a motivation for me in writing articles and books about superfoods, herbs and wellness.
There is no mistaking that our modern food supply does not contain the rich nutrients that it once did and that we are bombarded with pharmaceutical remedies for most of our illnesses. I have found many herbs that I believe may have superior medicinal qualities that can lead you to extreme health and towards an abundant, successful life by increasing your energy and helping your own body prevent you from getting sick. Health has to be a primary objective for yourself. I often tell people who are as confused and unfocused as I was that you have many paths and roads before you which you can choose to take. Yet if the one you choose does not lead you to extreme health you may have chosen the wrong path.
Herbs like the Goji berry have been around for thousands of years and have been used in medicine by ancient civilizations to help their kings and queens rid themselves of disease. The Goji berry is of particular importance to me because it is this herb that I first saw using the Kirlian photography. The Goji berry is an herb that has been used in Chinese history for more than 5,000 years and is considered one of the top (if not the #1) herb out of 8,000 plus herbs in Chinese herbal medicine. That's a pretty powerful realization!
I have been fascinated with health and wellness since 1982 when I joined the U.S Marines and I knew that if I was going to complete the rigorous mental and physical training during the heat of the summer in Paris Island, I would have to educate myself about nutrition. I read books on vitamins, minerals, and herbs. Then I visited local health food stores and read all the labels. My diet back then was whatever my family could afford to eat or whatever I could steal. It was not an organic, whole foods based diet. It included a lot of meats, sweets, colas and lots of alcohol. All of which were taking a toll on my immune system, my skin, and my digestive system. I did not know about the Goji berry back when I joined the marines but I did learn about others which helped me prepare myself for the training I did back then. It continues to serve me now as I train for an Ironman Triathlon, which consists of a 2.4 mile Swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile marathon. This is a total of 140.6 miles all in one day. These herbs are not the source of my carbohydrates but are some of the keys to my strong immune system which takes a huge beating during vigorous exercise.
The second herb is a very well known herb and it is called Ginseng. Ginseng has been a part of Chinese herbal medicine for over 5,000 years. Ginseng strengthens the heart and nervous system. It builds resistance to disease by strengthening our immune system and has anti-carcinogenic properties. A good quality Ginseng can also provide strength and endurance which is of particular interest to athletes including myself.
An interesting story about my top two herbs is of a man out of China by the name of Li Chung Yun who lived to be 252 years old. Goji Berries and Ginseng were part of his daily consumption. He was born in 1678 and died in 1930. When he gave a speech at the University of Beijing, he was around 200 years old.
The third herb is an herb out of Ayurvedic medicine from India called Tulsi. This herb is also called Holy Basil. I don't know about you but any herb that is considered a top herb in India is an herb I want to learn more about. There are many people in India that live extremely long lives as a result of taking many herbs, practicing deep breathing, and using mediation techniques. These modalities help relieve stress, oxygenate the body, and keep the mind and soul alive. Holy Basil is an adaptogen. I like this in an herb because it helps relieve stress in many parts of the body, depending on where it is needed. It seems to have this intelligence to give me physical strength when I need it, make me think more clearly when I need it, and help me if I'm feeling tired from exercise. There are other adaptogens I take but this one I like in particular because of its historical context.
Another great herb is one I take a lot of in the winter instead of getting the normal flu shot (as I used to get every year.) It is called the Reishi Mushroom. I like this in supplemental form because I can add it to smoothies before an event; it supports the immune and respiratory system. I was one who would get Bronchitis every year. When I started eating these herbs I was able to get through any onsets of bronchitis without antibiotics and that is important to me because antibiotics have been shown to reduce the probiotics (good bacteria) in our intestinal tract.
Another fantastic herb is Cinnamon. Cinnamon is known to kill 80% of all bacteria and it has very powerful alkaline properties. An increased alkalinity in my opinion is one of the keys to the best health ever and the ability to fight off cancers.
There is an herb that comes out of the Amazon called Cat's Claw that I have learned about recently and it has a tremendous amount of mood enhancing properties. Though what I like most is it's anti-viral properties. Anyone who suffers from getting cold sores or viral infections should look for herbs and minerals which are anti-viral.
I have to mention Black Walnut hull as one of my favorites. I first heard of Black Walnut hull while taking Isagenix's cleansing products. I researched all the ingredients in Isagenix and Black Walnut Hull was one that I believe is a key ingredient because of its ability to cleanse out the parasites and toxins in our digestive system. The importance of cleansing is a huge factor in a health and wellness program. You have to unplug all the bad stuff out of you as a first very important step. Ginger is one of my favorites. As an athlete I can experience a tremendous amount of inflammation all over as a result of training. I add ginger root to my smoothies and I also take certain supplements which include ginger. I don't believe in having to take over the counter anti-inflammatories. There are so many natural anti-inflammatories that inflammation is no longer an issue with keeping myself fit and fighting off illness.
The power of my next herb has been known for centuries. Garlic is awesome. It tastes great in foods, serves as a powerful natural antibiotic, helps your arteries, your heart and your lungs. Although garlic has some odors it can still be consumed once or twice a week at night. The garlic will be out of your system by morning. If it isn't, it could be a sign that it is doing its job to remove toxins which are trying to get the heck out of the way. Another alternative is aged garlic. I love taking aged garlic 3 or 4 times a week. It is available in supplemental form. The raw form is more potent but the aged variety can be added if you would like to consume more of it on a consistent basis.
My last honorable mentions are Parsley, Oregano and Vanilla. All three of these have been used in cooking and for flavoring for centuries. They are all extremely powerful herbs which support the immune system.
I have concentrated on the few select herbs in my diet which to me are highly available, somewhat well known, and simple to consume. There are thousands of herbs but there is a lot of redundancy in their benefits. Quite simply if it is from nature, was put on this planet, and has survived for thousands of years...then it probably has a lot of power in its ability to help us as humans. Most of the benefits of herbs are well known and some are not. I strongly believe a diet which includes herbs such as the ones mentioned in this article can serve you in your journey towards a long healthy life!
Will Power Byron is the CEO of http://www.organic-athlete.com and http://www.organicawakening.net and http://www.HelpMeLiveLonger.com and has had a passion for health and wellness for over 25 years. A roller coaster life of addictions and success led him to numerous jobs since age 10 including a US Marine, a MSFT Programmer and a CPA. He has competed in hundreds of races from the collegiate through master's level including marathons, triathlons, cross country, and track and field. A degree in Computer Information systems and a Masters in Business led him to many entrepreneurial activities through the years including multiple franchise owner, real estate, and options trading. He is currently a Certified Sports Nutrition Coach and trains for Ironman Triathlon's as a semi-vegetarian utilizing primarily organic superfoods. His current ventures include building/publishing health and wellness websites, writing articles and writing his 2nd book "Organic Awakening". His mission is to help people live longer through his websites, articles, and books and to help shed One Billion pounds from the waistline of America.
The Raw Food World TV Show :)
Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:35:00 EDT
1 quart water 1 tbsp ‘Pure Synergy’ green powder 2 cups energy soup with sugar snap peas on the side, followed by a goji bar l ... cups energy soup with sugar snap peas on the side, followed by a hand-blended yumpot of lucuma powder, carob powder, cinnamon, goji berries, Maca Force, buckwheaties, w...
The Spoon-Licker Cometh...
Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:43:00 EDT
... lended yum: almond butter/lucuma powder/carob powder/goji berries little cup of spicy tea 2 ... . . . ) When we're in the UK, we have a little twin gear Kempo, Mr. M also has a Norwalk juicer in the US and when we’r...
Sunday Mirror - SUPERBERRY IS FACING EU BAN
Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:00:00 GMT
February 18, 2007 -- A SUPERFRUIT that is said to boost your sex life and fight cellulite could be banned under EU food safety rules. Goji berries - dubbed the...
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