Ode to My Farmers
Ode to My Farmers
Farmers are my (everybody's) lifeline
worth more than silver or gold
the food they feed me now
will keep me young as I grow old
I write of real farmers
true stewards of the land
farmers who love their animals
sustainability is their stand
Food IS our best medicine
to prevent and heal disease
farmers are the keepers of our health
hug your farmer(s) today, please
Rob & Winny Sachno
PS Compensate your farmers well for the food they grow you.
(It IS hard work!)
Good food IS your preventative medicine,
Your farmer is your best Doc!
Even the wee ones make awesome farmers!
Gramma's Grass Acres, the Lynch's, processing chickens!
PPS This is a mere sampling of the amazing farmers in my life. To find your own farmers use your local farmer finding resources: farm markets, Co-ops, Health & Natural Food Stores, etc.
In St. Lawrence County, NY, we have Gardenshare!
Weeds, To Eat or Not To Eat!
www.HandsOnHealthHH.com
Holistic Hugs & Peaceful Blessings!
Paula M. Youmell, RN, MS, CHC
Holistic Health, Nutrition & Fitness Counselor
(315) 265-0961
"Just lift the corner of the clouds and the sun is
ALWAYS shining!" Eli Schechter
Spring Nettles poking out of my home garden plot, Spring 2014
Weeds to one person are another person's medicine!
I love spring for the wonderful green plants shooting out of the earth around my home, in the woods and fields. These plants remind me of the ever changing and newness of life, the bounty of good food right outside our doors, and the nutritional value and healing properties of what many people consider weeds. I personally await the spring's wild leeks, dandelion greens, first nettle shoots, plantain leaves, rhubarb shoots, and so many more spring edibles.
These spring edibles awaken our taste buds, livers, digestive tracts, and each and every body cell. The incredible amount of nutrients in the plants adds to our nutritional stores and cleans our winter blood, liver, and digestive tracts.
What a relief to move away from my beloved winter root veggies (beets!) and begin incorporating our natural spring foods.
For more thoughts on the whole food-ness of herbs (weeds) click here.
Dandelion greens and flowers; good for liver health!
Fun Food Focus
Spring Greens Soup
I gather several kinds of spring greens: dandelion, plantain, lambs quarters, nettles, mustard greens, sorrel, violets... the list goes on. (Learn to identify them, pick and enjoy!)
I gently wash them, throw them in my blender with some raw goat's milk and wild leek shoots and leaves. Blend into a puree and warm gently.
You can also saute' the wild leek, ever so gently, then toss in the green and saute' for 1-2 minutes before blending.
Easy greens to start with are dandelion, plantain, nettles and violets.
Another idea: mix them in a salad with local, mixed baby greens - they should be available soon! Dress with raw - apple cider vinegar, organic - extra virgin olive oil and a few dried spices. Yummy!
This picture taken today, 5-16-14. The nettles are getting larger!
Bonus information: Check out Martin's Farm Stand website, you can pre-order your fresh, local, seasonal produce, on-line! Cutting edge - local food access!
My Holistic Momma's Dilemma
You might remember my earlier blog post on healthy kid's b-day parties and WHY have healthy kid's b-day parties. So my latest dilemma... my soon to be 12 year old kid wanted an Oreo cookie birthday cake. First of all I asked: "Why Eli? I have never purchased Oreo cookies for you!"
Bottom line is he wanted what he wanted.
Truth of the matter is there is not one ingredient in an Oreo cookie that was ever meant to be:
- in your digestive tract being digested and
- sent out into your blood stream being delivered to
- every cell in your body to do
- all the processes to nourish your cells so you have a
- healthy body!
Nature did not mean for our body cells to be poisoned by packaged food's synthetic ingredients. Ouch, Paula, really? My healing advice comes into question on occasion: "She is so strange, too harsh, very severe, too tough..." But really, the truth is the truth, our bodies were not meant to be poisoned.
I am all about moderation; moderation in foods that were meant to be part of our cellular metabolism. There is no way, in my mind, to be moderate about that which was never meant to be a part of our cellular being.
For just 2 weeks, try feeding your body with 100% whole food, every snack and meal. I guarantee you will feel like a whole new person: alive, vibrant, clear headed, sleep well, etc. Then, after 2 weeks of whole food eating, go back to your regular diet, 100%, for a day or two. You will be aghast at how lousy processed food leaves your body feeling.
Whole food eating is not about what you are removing from your life, junk food, but what you are inviting into your life, vibrant health. Let me know how it goes.
So, back to that Oreo cookie cake. I started off with the basics. I do not measure ingredients, just throw in the bowl, so I am giving my eyeballed estimates. Thank my Mom, that is how she cooks. I learned through observation.
- real butter, from grass fed cows grazing in the Finger Lakes of NY - about 3/4 cup
- 3 pasture eggs from Maria of Deep Root Farm, wicked orange yolks. Lots of good nutrients. Use the whole eggs.
- local milk from some sweet, grazing, local goats - 1 cup
- *oat flour I ground from gluten-free oats - about 1 1/2 cups
- Sucanat unrefined, real brown sugar (Available at the Potsdam Food Coop & Nature's Storehouse, Canton) - 1/2 cup
- organic vanilla - 1 Tbsp.
- baking soda - 1/2 tsp or less
- baking powder - 2 to 3 tsp.
*gluten free flours will make a shorter, denser cake. If gluten is Ok in your diet, use whole spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour. Whole food cakes, made with 100% whole grain flours, will be heavier, denser, and shorter cakes. When you get used to this denser, more flavorful, manner of creating in the kitchen... the "fluffy" refined food versions will be tasteless and boring.
The below Newman cookies are made with wheat flour and therefor contain gluten.
I caved (What else is a Mom to do? He is so damned cute.) and bought Newman's Own Organics Newman-O's Creme Filled Chocolate Cookies.
Original Ingredients:
Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Corn Starch), Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Canola Oil (Expeller Pressed), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Unsweetened Chocolate, Salt, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier)
I took one row of the cookies, scraped the creme filling out, crushed the wafers, and added the crushed mess to the batter.
The "Oreo" cake after baking:
Tomorrow I shall slice it in half to make 2 layers and fill the center with frosting. Then I will slather the whole thing with the rest of the frosting.
Frosting:
- 2 eight oz. packages of Organic Valley Pasture Raised whipping cream
- 1 eight oz. package of Organic Valley Pasture Raised Neufchatel cheese
- 2 Tbsp. local, dark maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. organic vanilla
- the second row of Newman-O's, scraped and crushed, added to the finished frosting
The final, third row, of Newman-O's will be cut into 1/2 rounds and placed on top of the cake.
Happy Birthday Eli! Much LOVE, Mom
Or, as my boys call me...
Teaching whole food eating, cooking, and baking classes: I volunteer teach cooking classes through the Sustainable Living Project, Local Living Venture. Sign up for their emails to be notified of upcoming classes. I also do small groups at my home, just ask. pyoumell@gmail.com
Wild Leeks & Wild Child!
My youngest buddy, eating his morning, local eggs with wild leeks! His body is being infused with the nourishing goodness of wild foods.
- Wild foods have their genetics intact, non- GMO! This is a huge boost in your personal cell nourishment arena.
- Wild foods are grown in soil that generally has not been disturbed by agricultural chemicals: pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, on & on & on... if chemicals are in the soil, they are in every cell of your food (despite the "just wash it off" campaign of Big Ag.) Support local farmers who opt to not use chemicals.
- The soil, in the wild, is naturally composting, year after year. This continual composting cycle keeps the soil's nutrients high. Foods grown in this soil, well, are naturally high in minerals.
There is so much more to be said for food being grown in its natural environment, living and growing the way it would without human intervention. Growing food naturally, even when we cultivate it, raises the nourishment level by leaps and bounds.
Looking for local food, raised naturally? Don't want to grow it yourself OR forage in the woods? Get on this website and find a local farmer. who will love you up with good food and you can support their desire to produce good food. It's a win-win relationship!
Want to help others enjoy well raised, local food? The healthier people we have in our communities, the healthier our communities will be. It takes a community to raise a community!
The gift of good food is the best gift you can give. (in my opinion!)
I have pasted GardenShare's request for CSA Bonus Bucks support below.
Eat well, share good food, love people. Paula
CSA Bonus Bucks Needs Your Help!
Hello Friends,
GardenShare's CSA Bonus Bucks offers low-income families an opportunity to join the CSA of their choice with a $100 discount.
This year we've been overwhelmed with requests, and do not have the funding to cover five families who came in just as we had spent the final funds for the year. Some of these families have enjoyed this program for several years.
CSA Bonus Bucks works double duty by helping low income families enjoy great, healthy, local food, while at the same time, supporting our local farmers with additional business.
Any donation will help. Simply follow this link.
If you prefer, you can still send a check to
GardenShare, PO Box 516, Canton, NY 13617
SOUL Food
About a year ago, I found this book:
I grabbed it up for a couple of reasons. One, I like to read and learn from others and their whole food perspective. Two, I knew it would come in handy with clients.
I have recommended it several times over the past year. Recently, I was again recommending it and I decided to check out the authors. Who are these people that wrote this book? I can't believe it took me this long to be curious!
So I find that Edward Bauman is the founder and director of a holistic nutrition college, a whole food oasis, in California!
I love his acronym for remembering healthy eating habits that balance human health: SOUL. What a perfect way to remember how to feed and heal mind, body, and soul. I have been teaching this same concept for 20+ years, without using the SOUL acronym, and am glad to now have this fun way to remind people.
- S: Seasonal
- O: Organic
- U: Un-processed (Un-refined, Un-packaged... my words!)
- L: Local
By Dr. Ed Bauman
The Eating for Health model (Double click on above picture to enlarge image) provides a palette from which we can select the most health supportive foods. Eating from the inside out will provide a building diet for times when we need to build up our nutrient reserves. Eating from the outside in will set the scene for cleansing the body of impurities and toxins. The goal of the Eating for Health model is to provide a diverse selection of whole foods to sustain health and promote recovery from illness and injury.
Tell me your story in the comments:
What are your favorite foods to heal your mind, body, and S.O.U.L?
Breakfast of Champions
No - No you people of the 70's and 80's (myself included), it is not Wheaties!
So what is this concoction on the plate and in the bowl?
- Local, pasture raised eggs fried to the perfect, "still liquid" yolk state,
- Wild leeks chopped and placed on top, and
- Local, pasture-raised, goat milk cheese, slightly melted, on top... and in the bowl?
- Kraut made from Kent Family Farm's root veggies, cabbage, and burdock with added: fresh wild leeks from around the corner and up the hill; then I added dandelion greens, nettle tops*, and chives from the front yard.
Yummy, cell nourishing way to start the day!
*The nettle tops were raw, chopped very finely. Yes, nettles will leave the characteristic "sting" on the tongue and back of the throat... but it is very mild, barely noticeable!
Stinging nettles have been used for urtication. Urtication means flailing the affected joints with nettles for the relief of arthritis and like conditions. So eating raw is a 'lil self tongue and throat therapy! Who would want arthritis of throat and tongue?
