The Holly and Ivy

When this time of year comes round, I usually go through a period of being overwhelmed by all the holiday (Hollyday:) parties, shopping for Christmas gifts, trying to make plans for the holidays that fit everyone's schedule and more. At the same time, I *LOVE* the evergreen boughs, the holly with it's red berries in my backyard, the two beautiful rosemary bushes that seem to be flourishing in my kitchen, and all the beautiful Solstice celebrations. It has taken me a few years to learn how to juggle everything, this year has been a bit too much, but also balanced out by the slow ways in my life.

My question for you this year is: Do you really need to eat all those cookies and all that candy? Do you really need to go to all those parties? Do you really need to drink so much alcohol? What are your excesses? Pulling back into yourself even a little can have marvelous benefits this time of year and help balance out the seasonal insanity. The longest night of the year invites not only celebrations of light and rebirth but also a time to be more introspective, to practice your slower and more yin yoga, to drink herbal teas and get a little bit more sleep. It is time for reflection and has the potential of being one of the most peaceful times of the year.

During the winter, I love root teas. Right now my favourite is burdock. Simmer 3 tsps. in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes and sip throughout the day. Burdock has so many healing qualities. I have also been drinking Ojibwa tea, which is more commonly known as Essiac. Burdock is one the the four herbs in this tea. Floressence is based on the traditional Ojibwa tea but has been formulated with 8 herbs, it is widely available and a great daily detoxification tea.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Magnesium

two things that have helped me a lot. the first is apple cider vinegar, raw, with mother, available at most health food stores ~ a few weeks ago i started drinking the vinegar in a glass of water with a bit of honey three times a day (warm or cool water works); i also started bathing in the vinegar (you can add some lavender essential oil to the vinegar before adding it to the bath to improve the vinegary scent); the reason, you ask?

my main complaint was being overly acidic, which produces a variety of symptoms. within a week, my body was back in balance. i first heard of apple cider vinegar as a cure years ago from reading the book Folk Medicine by Dr. Jarvis, here is an article about his life. he also recommends adding lots of seaweed (saying that many of the minerals from our fields have run off into the ocean) to the diet, the apple cider vinegar correcting the ph balance of the body and the seaweed adding essential minerals: he likens the human body to soil, and writes that just like soil needs to have an ideal ph balance and nutrients in order to be healthy, so does our body, you can read more about ACV here.

the other thing i wanted to mention is magnesium, i have recently started supplementing with magnesium citrate to help with my leg cramps at night. the first night after starting my leg cramps were about 80% better! magnesium is excellent for cramping and spasming muscles. i tried both a generic magnesium citrate and also a powder called Calm that you can mix into a drink. be careful, magnesium acts like a laxative if you take too much. start with less and see how your body reacts. epsom salts are magnesium, that is why epsom salt baths are recommended after working out or strenuous activity.

Ginger Tea

it's warm in Toronto for the next few days, but the cold weather is coming; here is a tea i love to make

ginger lemon rose hip tea

piece of ginger (about the size of your thumb)
2 cups water
agave or honey
a couple of teaspoons of rose hips or rose hip tea in tea bags
1 lemon

slice the ginger and put the water and ginger in a pot; bring to a boil then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes; if you have rose hips add them too, or you can add rose hip tea bags near the end to give the tea a pretty colour; strain the ginger and rose hips and add the juice of the lemon, 2 large teaspoons of agave or honey; in the summer i let stalks of fresh mint infuse in the hot tea in a large mason jar and then cool the tea for a nice pink ginger lemonade (pink from the rose hips:); adjust the lemon and agave/ honey to taste; you can also use a hibiscus tea or berry tea for colour

ginger is perfect for cold weather as it helps with circulation and warms the body, it is also good after the heavier meals of winter as it aids in digestion; rose hips are high in vitamin C ~ if you are sick and feeling brave add crushed shredded raw garlic to your tea, or try adding some crushed flax seeds when the tea is simmering for a soothing drink (more info here)

Natural Vitality and Juice Feast Blogs

hey there; i wanted to share this great blog and hub; this woman is the vital force behind the dvd 'crazy sexy cancer', her website tells you more about her journey

since we are on the topic of juicing, check out steve pavlina's blog - he is about to go on a juice feast, for the next three months drinking only juice; this may be a bit extreme for most of us, but it will be interesting to see how he makes out

there are great links leading away from both their blogs - i love the web!

Local Eating

Two posts in one day! I have lots of things I want to share, I will have to pace myself. I am in the middle of listening to the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (it comes in an unabridged cd format, check your library!). Have you been to their website yet? There is a great list of resources on many aspects of food, local food, and health. The resources are mainly for the States, but look for counterparts in Canada. Also, The 100-Mile Diet website has lots of resources. This book was awesome too. I read it earlier this year. So inspiring, I am planning my garden for next year NOW.

Peasant-y Soup

I'm slowly working on such things as a business plan and vision for The Green Hearth. Till I am ready to launch, I thought I would fill this blog with recipes, links and information that I find yummy or interesting.

I LOVE this soup. I don't make it the same way twice, but every time I make it it comes out even better than the time before.

Peasant Soup

Cut up & saute some onions, carrots, celery, a medium butternut squash, 2 sweet potatoes with some olive oil and add spices such as mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, turmeric, anything you have around that you like. The mustard seeds and coriander seeds can be toasted first in the olive oil to bring out their taste. I recently tried not peeling the squash and once cooked and blended it is just fine.

Add 1-2 cups red lentils and enough soup stock to cover everything, bring to a boil, add some kombu (a hard seaweed that adds a saltiness and helps with gas).

Cook until all soft, remove kombu if you like, blend with a hand blender and then add thinly sliced collard greens (I like lots), kale or chard and simmer until still green but cooked. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger and add a splash of apple cider vinegar to round out the taste. Fresh chopped parsley and cilantro are great. A variation would be cooking everything with a can of organic tomatoes or tomato paste (add a teaspoon of honey or sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes).

Perfect autumn/ winter food served either on it's own, with rice or grain, yogurt on top or with a rye or pumpernickel bread. Yummy.