The Power Of Walking Our Personal Paths On This Planet & A Summer Refresher Drink Recipe!

The Native Americans use the term Medicine Path to describe our personal path on this planet; the gifts we have to offer to all life on this planet. What a strong message this sends: when we do what we are personally meant to be doing on our life walk it is healing to our body, mind, and spirit and healing medicine to those we share our gifts with. Each of us has a purpose, a story to tell, a gift to share with the world to make this place a better place for all. When we listen, truly listen to our heart-spirit, we know our special gift(s) to share. 

Are you connected with your purpose here, the gift you need to be sharing with others?

In my young teenage years I knew I wanted to be a health teacher. Going to RN school, right after high school, seemed to me a great place to start (When I look at my life in retrospect... I was not consciously thinking this out at the time!).  Nursing school taught me that our medical field works to decrease and cover the symptoms of ill health but really does very little, if anything, to get to the root cause of ill health and heal it. Health Education was my answer to get on prevention end and help people understand what causes disease, what promotes healthy bodies, and how to best make that happen in their lives. The road of life led me to my own practice, supporting other's desire to return to health is my medicine walk on this earth.

Finding your path in life means creating space to listen, truly listen to your heart and spirit talking to you:

• take walks in nature, relax and listen to what comes up without creating actual thoughts
• speak positive words about yourself and the world around you, your words create your reality and ripple out to the reality of the whole universe
• practice some form of mind-body-spirit activity, daily, that leads you back to you: yoga, tai chi, qigong, meditation, prayer...
• surround yourself with positive people, positive media, positive energy... positive food for mind-body-spirit
• eat whole foods so your body cells vibrate at their highest nutritional frequency
• discover what makes you happy and color your world happy!

All of these actions help you, your whole being, vibrate at your highest life force energy frequency. This is your medicine path in the making!

In my quest to do the best I can with what I do... I have devised a questionnaire for new clients to determine if I am the right choice for them on their healing path.  This questionnaire also helps me to determine if a client is the right fit for me and what I have to offer. The right fit, on both sides, creates happy clients who desire to be successful in this healing walk with me! We work together to color each other's worlds happy!

Summer Citrus Cooling Drink

• 1 lime
• 2 cups water
• 6 or so ice cubes
• optional: fresh herbs from the garden: mint, basil, tarragon, cilantro are all good choices; use one or two at a time

1. Wash off the lime and quarter it, put in blender (yes, skins & all as the skin contains amazing anti-oxidants... anti-cancer properties!)
2. add water & ice cubes
3. blend into a frenzy
4. pour into tall sipping glasses, add herbs, and enjoy (wide mouth pint canning jars work well)
5. PS add a touch of whole food sweetener if too tart for your taste buds but go very easy as sugar is not a cell enhancing food

I have made this with fresh lemons, oranges, peach & nectarines, berries, etc. Use your imagination and let the seasonal fruit offerings guide your choices.

RACK-ing Up Great Health!

I recently created the above image and idea I am calling R-A-C-K-ing up Health to remind people how easy the return to vibrant health is. When we follow life's plan, the natural laws of the earth and universe, our health flows freely.

I was thinking about this very concept as I was picking black raspberries at my Mom & Dad's home on Saturday morning. I began picking them planning to take them to my home and share the bounty. My kids were gone for the weekend so instead the hand to mouth experience began.

By the time I left my parent's home I bet I had picked and eaten, sharing with my good buddy Basil of course, a quart of these juicy delicacies. That is some powerful and colorful nutrition based upon the stains on my hands, face, tongue, lips, and teeth!  (The picture below is Basil and I on a little north country Hornbeck canoeing excursion.)

The thoughts of vibrant, live food kept passing through my mind and how much nutrition and life force energy our bodies receive when we pick and eat food immediately. Ah yes, the grace of local food, raised by ourselves or a conscious thinking farmer, brought to our tables within a short time frame to fill our body cells with nutrition and our entire being with chi energy.

When we pick plant based food from its life source, its source of life force energy, that plant based food begins to die.  The longer the time span between plucking or pulling the food from its source, the less nutrition and life force energy remain available to nourish your body. Grow, pick, and buy local for the most cell enhancing nutrition and life force energy infusion you can gift your body with.

To find local farmers here in Northern NY State: www.gardenshare.org

To find local farmers wherever you are: www.localharvest.org

Jump down below those gorgeous berries for a bit more life enhancing advice and a yummy, iced coffee recipe.

Eating fresh food is but one way we can enhance our life force energy and cellular health. Try these natural habits for increasing your vibrancy:

• deep breathing in a relaxed and peaceful way
• yoga
• meditation
• walks in the woods and time spent in nature (remember, you are nature)
• laugh
• acupuncture and energy healing methods
• take a swim in an Adirondack lake
• love with your whole heart

Added July 16th...

• Fun Loving Spontaneity increases Life Force Energy. See the words of wisdom, below, from Shelby Connelly, Five Elements Living, Colton, NY

Ingredients for spontaneity:

• The ability to let go:  Take a deep breath and jump. The chores and routine will await your return.
• Knowing life is short:  No one ever lays on their death bed wishing they had worked more.
• A friend to push you off the edge:   Every women needs a "Thelma" to her "Louise". Oh girls just wanna have fuu-un! (Cindy Lauper is my hero.)

Namaste'

Traditional Foods, Traditional Movement

Eating whole foods, real foods, the foods that are traditional to one's area of living and thriving on this planet is one key to healing personal (and global) health. I praise the cell enhancing and body healing benefits of a 100% whole food diet all the time.

I now want to introduce you to traditional movement, the act of simply moving your body in flexing and strengthening ways, the time honored ways people on this planet have always moved their bodies. This is moving the body in the simple acts of daily living tasks that involve using the body not auto door openers and mechanized, labor saving devices. 

The farmers of Birdsfoot Farm, Canton, NY going about their daily tasks: moving, flexing, and strengthening their bodies all while creating something tangible... whole foods! Explore Birdsfoot Farm's website to see what they are up to and what they have to offer towards your healing plan!

We are a culture that simply needs to move more. Movement creates all sorts of healing effects in the body and creates an upward spiraling ripple effect to entice us to make other healing changes in our lives. When we move and then feel better... we naturally want to make even more changes to feel even "More Better!" (My kids used to use this grammatically incorrect more better making the term very endearing to me.)

We are told by the media, scientific sources, and all sorts of exercise specialists that we need to get our butts in gear, dramatically increase our heart rates for at least 20 minutes daily, lift weights to keep our muscles and bones strong, etc., etc., etc. I am not going to tell you to not engage in such activities if you are so inclined to do so. What I am going to tell you (if you are not one inclined towards hard core, butt hauling, sweat inducing, heart pumping, serious shit at the gym exercise...) is that simply getting up and moving your body, several times daily, has huge benefits for your whole body, and yes for your each and every beloved body cell!

As I grow older, I like to think common sense and wisdom is growing with me. I am one who has run miles daily (getting those miles in at 6 1/2 minutes or less was imperative), rode my bike for long and hard miles, lifted my body weight in all sorts of ways (bench presses, squats, lunges, etc.), and swam laps across rivers and lakes... I think you get the picture. In comes the wisdom (I am glad I did those things as I have always had too much energy that I needed to burn but my wisdom also tells me that some of it wore hard on my body parts)... all 4 of my grandparents lived to be just months shy of 89 years old. Not one of them ever did hard core, sweat inducing running, biking, weight lifting, swimming, etc. They simply worked hard in their tasks of daily living, moving their bodies constantly throughout the day to take care of farm animals, gardens, orchards, wood for winter fires, hay for winter feed, etc. Their exercise and weight lifting was part of life and survival from year to year. 

Lifestyle Hints: walk away from the computers (Yup, me too) go for walks, even short ones, several times daily. Walk up the stairs to use your upstairs bathroom every time you need to go (Or do laps about the house, even outside, if you only have a down stairs bathroom). Drop and do some push-ups before peeing, drop and do some crunches or V-seats (boat pose) when you are finished on the pot. Stack wood (I have 4 more cords needing stacking if anyone is interested in assisting with some free movement, no gym membership fee required and I might even make you lunch!) Walk more, do work by hand instead of using machinery, i.e.: push that lawn mower instead of sitting on it (do push-ups and pull-ups before and after mowing), split wood by hand, hoe-rake-shovel-weed, do everything you need to by hand using those glorious muscles and save the drive, and membership fee, to the gym.

I am off now to do some muscle flexing-strengthening-balancing yoga, push-ups, and a walk in the woods with my dog. I will contemplate the wood stacking and lawn mowing!

Create some Movement Magic in your own life!

Sean Corn, Yoga Teacher. Image from Yoga Journal August 2015, page 23, Rainbow Light Nutritional Supplements ad.

This chilly, wet weather on June 28th has me looking for something to do in my oven. With a hankering for yummy granola and my local yogurt, the timing seems perfect to whip up a batch of...

Gratifying Granola

Please feel free to assume that all ingredients are whole (unrefined), organic, non-GMO, pasture raised animal products, and as local as I can get.

• 2 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup spelt or amaranth flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup water or milk of choice
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of unrefined sea salt
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.
2. Blend dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl.
3. Beat eggs in a separate bowl.
4. Add other wet ingredients to beaten eggs and mix well. If batter is seemingly too "wet" add tiny amounts of flour and meal to create a damp batter.
5. Drizzle wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to blend well.
6. Spread granola batter in a thin even layer in baking pan(s).
7. Bake for 2 hours at 250 F. Set a timer for every 20 to 30 minutes and stir granola well and redistribute into a thin layer on the pan(s).
8. When granola seems crunchy and well baked (not burned) remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.
9. Transfer cooled granola to air tight containers. I prefer wide mouth quart canning jars with the 2 piece metal lids.
10. Enjoy in any and every way you enjoy granola!

Natural Skin Care for Prevention and Healing Sun Damage

Last week I wrote some quick tips for caring for your skin within a whole food - whole health lifestyle: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/blog/2015/5/17/holistic-skin-care   (yes, go back and read it if you missed it. Skin care begins on the inside my friends!)

This week: Natural Sun Screen & After Sun Skin Repair Recipe

I avoid commercial sunscreens as they are loaded with chemicals; the chemicals in the base lotion as well as the chemicals used for the sun screen affects. Any chemical put onto the skin that can alter cellular function in a way to stop sun burning... hmm, sounds like a chemical I do not want on my skin changing the way my skin cells function.

Natural sunscreens with zinc and titanium dioxide you ask? Nah, I will pass on them as well. First of all the base lotions, again, are loaded with chemicals I do not want on my skin. The zinc and titanium are sticky and white filmy on the skin. Yes, they make nano particle zinc and titanium sunscreens but I will pass on them as well.  Read on for my sun protective recipe.

My Natural Sunscreen Recipe

To make a natural sunscreen I start with an *organic, unscented lotion (no chemicals in this base lotion) and fill a 4 oz glass cosmetic jar almost to top... leaving room for:

1/2 - 1 tsp. organic instant coffee powder and 1/2 - 1 tsp. organic cocoa powder. Mix both into lotion very well. 
And essential oils, see below.

*Check massage supply websites for organic, unscented base lotions. You can buy them in 8, 16, 32, and 64 oz sizes. Read labels carefully to make certain you are comfortable with the ingredients going on your skin and therefore into your body.

And...

1 tsp. Wild Pansy extract powder and 2 droppers of wild pansy extract tincture. Again, mix in well. 

I use this sun protective lotion on my face, neck, and hands. I am very aware that I can not slather this on, head to toe, and think for a second that I can spend all day in the sun and not burn my skin. Life and sun exposure just does not work that way. This is my preventative for any more sun damage to my face and neck. I figure my teen years, living in the sun all day, have done enough damage. Now I do damage control.

I also try to do these things most of the time:

1. limit my sun exposure during the high, hot time of the sun 11 AM to 2-3 PM

2. Wear a wide brim hat when I am out in the sun

3. slather my face with my aging and sun damaged skin lotions.

Aging & Sun Damaged Skin Lotion

Summer Base: Aubrey Organic Aloe gel

Winter Base: Aloe plus 1-2 tsp. organic, unrefined, extra virgin olive oil (if you can make a comfrey infused olive oil... even better)

Using a 4 oz. glass cosmetic jar, fill it up leaving head space for olive oil in winter and drops of essential oils.

Anti-aging essential oils to add 6-8 drops of each (as per the Male Herbal by James Green)

• Lavender

• Frankincense

• Carrot Seed

• Immortelle (Helichrysum italicum)

I also add a Rosemary essential oil, 6 drops

The Anti-Aging Team of essential oils

Use on your face and neck after washing with water only in AM & PM. Apply a little extra around eye area to crows feet.

The aging skin remedy can also be made by adding the drops of essential oils to 4 oz. of the above mentioned unscented, organic lotion.

I sometimes add essential oils of rosemary or oregano as they all increase circulation to the skin. Increased circulation means more oxygen and nutrients to skin cells and better removal of cellular wastes.
Peppermint, in very small amounts, also aids circulation. Peppermint does cause / exacerbate reflux and it will bother reflux in your face lotion. If reflux is an issue, skip using peppermint.

The finished sunscreen and sun repair remedy.

Wild Leek Soup... Yummy!

Wild Leek, Herb, & Local Veggie Soup

Simple and took me about 20 minutes to make, 
including the cleaning time for the wild leeks.

• Early in the day I put out to thaw about 1 1/2 cups of each of these frozen veggies from my winter veggie CSA :

1. broccoli 
2. red, orange, and yellow pepper pieces
3. orange cherry tomatoes

• I brought 4 1/2 to 5 cups to a boil and poured into my Vita Mix blender.

• Add the white parts, set green leafy tops aside for later, of 15 or so wild leeks and blend into a puree.

• To the Vita Mix liquid add:

1. handful of fresh rosemary sprigs from the window sill herb pot 

2. handfuls of sage & oregano and the leaves off a long sprig (5-6 inches) of thyme - all herbs in the garden that are up and ready for use

• Blend all this green stuff into the wild leek liquid.

• Pour green liquid back into pot on the stove. Do not turn on heat again

• Add in the completely thawed veggies and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt.

• Cover pot and leave until dinner time. I made it about 1 1/2 hours before dinner so the flavors could meld together for a short while.

• Tomorrow night I will add a can of organic chickpeas to the leftovers to change it just a little bit.

Optional add ins:

• fresh chives scattered across the top after you ladle into the soup bowls.
• garlic chives blended into the broth.
• any fresh herbs you have in the garden. I have parsley but I did not want to disturb the small patch this early in the season.
• fresh, tender dandelion greens.
• wild violet leaves from the yard? 
• harvest wild violet flowers just before serving and sprinkle across the top with the chopped chives. Violets add in some awesome, local Vitamin C for spring rejuvenation!
• I would have added frozen sweet corn kernels and cauliflower pieces but I seemed to have used all of those frozen CSA goodies.

Serve with whole grain bread, butter, & cheese. If you are lucky, and we were, serve up a local baby green salad. Spring pleasure food!

Grab what you have on hand and create a simple spring soup to enjoy in this untimely hot weather! Share what you threw together and tell us if it was yummy!

Serve Up More Veggies to Your "Valentine" Kids

Beet Infused LOVE Pancakes!

Photo Courtesy Of Christina Smith, Parishville.

I am asked this question quite often:

"How do I get my kids to eat more vegetables and less junk?"  (This topic pertains to anyone in need of more veggies, not just kids!)

The easy answer is this: "Serve them vegetables and do not bring junk into the home. They can only eat what is available to eat."

So I know you Moms are chuckling and maybe thinking... easy for you to say Paula, you don't live with my kids. 

My kids ate every fruit or vegetable I gave them (Well, maybe not broccoli, but remember that cruciferous veggie taste is a strong one!) until a certain age. It was like veggie eating (not so much the fruits) almost stopped on a dime. It left me wondering what had happened to my happy to eat veggie kids. The funny phenomenon is this: when my oldest boy decided veggies did not tantalize his palate anymore, it was a license for my younger son to bag eating veggies too. "No way Mom, Jake doesn't touch them and I am not either."

What IS a Mom to do?

I say:  Sneak feed your kids more nasty (their word) vegetables!

Photo Courtesy Of Christina & Brycen Smith, Parishville.

1. Puree cooked beets in the blender with the milk, eggs, and butter for the pancake batter. Pour into mixing bowl and finish making your pancake batter.
2. Use cooked squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. in the same manner. I do confess... broccoli in pancakes is not a winning combination with kids! Remember to add spices to these beautifully colored pancakes: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, star anise... perhaps a dash or two of vanilla!
3. I used to add spinach to pancakes and called them "Shrek" pancakes. They loved it and gobbled them up. At the time, they loved the Shrek movies. When they finally figured out my scam... I was not popular in the kitchen for a bit of time. It did work for a couple of years so I was grateful for the added veggies.
4. Chocolate milk for my kids was this: raw goat's milk, cocoa powder, 1/2 ripe banana, vanilla extract, and cooked squash. Use enough squash to add sweetness but not so much that the end product is thick like a milk shake... unless, of course, you want to pass it off as a milk shake. For years my kids had no clue a milk shake actually contained ice cream!
5. Add cooked beet to a berry smoothie, not so much that it overwhelms the berry taste. Beets are very earthy in taste.
6. For more information on beet's blessing to your kid's and your body's health, click here and scroll down to read beet information: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/blog/2013/01/26/the-beet-goes-on
7. Puree a bit of cooked squash into pasta sauce.
8. Chicken or other bone broth? Puree veggies into the broth. Use just enough veggies to add vegetables to the broth and your meal but not enough to turn the broth into stew. Bone broth video added below.

Fun shapes always amused my kids into eating veggie infused pancakes. 

Photo Courtesy Of Christina Smith, Parishville.

For more fun ideas of how to add veggies to your life, click here. 

Cheers and Happy Valentine's Day!