N.O.W: Herbs, Your Garden & Your Health

It is time to plant your garden in Vermont! If you're still in the process of deciding what to plant, think about creating an herb garden with a medicinal focus. All of the lovely, fragrant herbs you use to cook with, also have potent medicinal qualities that can be used in teas, tinctures and other ways. Here are some ideas to get you inspired:


Echinacea -- This flower is well known for its healing properties, with both the lay person and the seasoned (pun intended!) herbalist. Although it takes a few growing seasons to get a mature plant ready to harvest and use, it's well worth it. Once ready, you can use the roots for its immune boosting qualities.

Rosemary -- Not only is Rosemary wonderful with garlic and potatoes, but it is packed with many vitamins and minerals as well as antibacterial and antiviral properties. Dry your Rosemary and store it for later use in the winter. Use it to make a healing tea combined with ginger to open up the nasal passages and warm yourself when it is cold outside.

Parsley – This herb is easy to grow and a wonderful source of beta carotene (which your body converts to vitamin A), vitamin C, iron, potassium and calcium. You can also use it for its antiseptic properties. Eat it fresh off the vine to get all its nutrition or grind it up and use it to help heal insect bites this summer. (Warning: pregnant women should not eat excessive amounts of parsley as it is an emmenagogue and will stimulate uterine contractions).

So these are just a few of the many herbs you can use to spice up your garden and your medicinal arsenal. Get creative, go out and discover what appeals to your taste buds and do some research on the myriad uses your plants have to offer.

N.O.W. - Update

Hello all.
For all of you that have been waiting for the N.O.W. postings to resume, I want to let you know that they will begin again soon. Thanks for all of your e-mails. Check back for new N.O.W. postings within the month!

Best,
Ania

N.O.W - Calcium in Non-Dairy Foods

What other foods have calcium besides dairy products?

Here are a few choices:

- 1/2 cup tofu processed with calcium = 435 mg
- 3/4 cup calcium fortified orange juice = 260 mg
- 1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses = 170 mg
- 1/2 cup boiled turnip greens = 100 mg
- 1/2 cup tempeh = 90 mg
- 1/2 cup okra = 90 mg
- 1/2 cup tofu processed without calcium = 60mg
- 1/2 boiled kale = 45 mg

Also, some herbs that are high in calcium are nettle and oatstraw.

Keep in mind there are many more. For a complete listing, go to the USDA's listing here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18w301.pdf


Some vegetables and grains have other components in them (oxalates and phytates respectively) that may block the absorption of calcium. But, if you don't or can't eat dairy, other calcium rich foods are the way to go.

N.O.W - Localvore Vermont

What is localvore?

Localvore is a movement that challenges its participants to eat all local foods (local meaning grown or produced within a 100 mile radius.) Writer and professor Bill Mckibben ate local for 7 months while living in Vermont and really brought the message of this national movement home.

Now the question is, why localvore? Well, in a world with quickly diminishing resources it is becoming vital that we try to conserve by eating food that is grown or produced close to home, therefore decreasing cost, time and energy in the transit process from the grower/producer to the stores. Also, buying local keeps dollars spent local and enhances profits for our neighbors who are producing the food. And in this the era of mass production of food by large corporations and factory farms from faraway places, there are many who just feel better knowing where there food has come from.

Take a look at the resources below for more detailed information and how you can get involved. Also, City Market has created a pamphlet with all the local foods in its store that are available for purchase. They even have a convenient display set-up next to the front door with many local foods in one spot ready to be purchased.Take the challenge and enjoy!!

1. Champlain Valley Localvores - Burlington Area: http://www.eatlocalvt.org/

2. Vermont Localvore Social Network: http://vtlocalvore.ning.com/

3. Mad River Valley Localvore Project: http://www.vermontlocalvore.org/

4. Vermont & New Hampshire Localvores Project: http://www.vtearthinstitute.org/UV%20localvores%20project.html

5. Burlington Free Press Article: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070903/NEWS02/709030314

STK Art Opeing & Free Coupons

Hello!

This Friday night, 8/31, from 6-9pm I will be handing out 10% coupons during STK art opening for Abby Manock.

Come check out the art and pick-up some coupons for yourself, friends and family!

STK website: http://www.studiostk.com/

See you there!

N.O.W. - Late night eating & weight gain

Is it true that if I eat food late at night I am more likely to gain weight from those calories than if I ate them earlier in the day?

You gain weight when you overeat too much food or calories - period. It does NOT matter when you eat those calories. What matters is how much you eat. Calories are units of energy that come from food. When you consume too many of them, they are then stored as fat. People tend to lose weight when they follow the rule of not eating late at night simply because they are restricting calories. Many times people will eat mindlessly in front of the television to relax or as a way to unwind.

Most of the time people get enough food to sustain their body's requirements through-out the day and the late night snacking ends-up being extra food that is serving more of an emotional than a physical need. The key is to start to listen to your body's needs. Are you truly physically hungry when you start to eat at night, or is there some anxiety, fear or other emotions that are calling to be "fed". Start a food journal and begin to see the patterns of your late night over eating.

In the end, be kind to yourself and create change slowly. If indeed you need a late night treat, eat 1/2 a cup instead of 1/2 a box of ice cream. Make room in your eating plan if you know you just need a treat that night by eating a smaller portion during one of your meals through-out the day. And if you can't eat your dinner until later in the evening from some reason, that is OK. As long as you don't eat more than you need, you won't get fat just because you ate past 6pm.

Introducing N.O.W.

Each week check out WWHP's blog for the N.O.W (News Of the week) posting, which will feature useful information regarding nutrition, bodywork, pregnancy and postpartum issues. Many are posts that will come from questions and concerns of clients, as well as advice that is just good to have.

Feel free to e-mail or blog additional questions or comments for future N.O.W postings.

Vermont Soy

Go to City Market and check-out Vermont Soy soy milk in the refrigerator section. They are a local (Hardwick, VT) company that is creating certified organic soy milk while using ingredients from local farmers. There are a plethora of benefits to consuming soy, especially whole soy foods such as Vermont Soy's product. And the benefits of eating local food are far-reaching through-out our community.

For more on:

Vermont Soy: http://www.vermontsoy.com/

Why eat local: http://www.billmckibben.com/local-economies.html