Jan/Feb issue of Eating Well in KC

Jan/Feb 2011 ~ Vol. I, Issue 5

ating

W

ell in Kansas City

Celebrating Whole, Seasonal, Organic and Local Eating

Feature Articles: Balancing Your Body’s pH Fasting During Winter Months Raw Food for Real People Chicken R-Evolution

Recipes: Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Fresh Ricotta Tequila Lime Chicken with Cilantro Pasta Red Pepper & Hemp Soup EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ ~ Jan/Feb 2011

Testimonial

B

y participating in Little Muddy Farms’ yearround CSA, my family and I have greatly enjoyed having local, fresh produce available. We no longer buy produce from the grocery stores. There is a huge difference in the taste and quality of local veggies—there is an actual taste to the locally -grown produce! There are many vegetables that my family tried commercially and disliked. Local, organic produce had much more concentrated flavors and much firmer, crisper textures.

As owners of Windy's Urban Gardens, we appreciate the benefits of supporting our community and local farmers. Not only are we helping their families, but we are helping out our Mother Earth by keeping greenhouse emissions at a minimum.

Purchasing a CSA from a local farmer is a win-win situation for everyone, and I highly recommend that everyone do so.

Terri Belser Windy's Urban Gardens Lee's Summit, MO 64063

PRODUCER OF ORGANIC AND NATURAL PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SOIL AND ANIMALS

E ating Well

in Kansas City

www.eatingwellkc.com Published bi-monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Kansas City area.

Contact Jill Dutton for advertising information: Troque Farms Frank Kuhnert & Rennie Graves 31710 E Oakland School Rd., Buckner, Missouri 64016

913-944-1298 jill@eatingwellkc.com

Phn: 816816-650650-9307 // Alt: 816816-215215-9925 (cell) TroqueFarms@aol.com Pastured Free Range CHICKENS for meat and EGGS. Holiday TURKEYS, TURKEYS, DAIRY PRODUCTS. GrassGrass-fed BEEF, BEEF, PORK and Pastured LAMB. LAMB. We distribute Fertrell Organic Fertilizer EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 2 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

What’s Cooking—Local Food News 4

Community News, Events and Farmers Markets

Food: A Path of Awakening 6

by Natalie George

Healing Foods 7

10

by Jane Van Benthuson

Healing Foods 8

by Tracie Walker

Into the Kitchen 9

Recipes from Local Chefs

Features 11 12

Raw Food for Real People Chicken R-Evolution

Food News 13

9 E ating W ell in Kansas City www.eatingwellkc.com Publisher Jill Dutton 913-944-1298 jill@eatingwellkc.com

Editorial Assistant Judy Kirkpatrick

Contributors Badseed, Natalie George, Teresa Kelly, Pasta Pros, Jane VanBenthusen, Tracie Walker, Susun Weed

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY©2011.

All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Nourishing the Liver the Wise Woman Way

From the Publisher...

I

t has been a rough winter. As I write this, we are experiencing one of the worst snow storms in years. The weather alone isn’t the cause of my distress; rather, the lack of fresh, organic, local produce has caused my dilemma.

Winter is such a time of scarcity, especially when it comes to fresh produce. I dream of the heirloom tomatoes of last summer. The produce I put up in the fall are gone. I still get sweet potatoes, squash, red kale and a few other items from my year-round

and much chill in the air, I crave hearty, rich foods, instead. Soups and homemade bread are my mainstay during the winter months. And these “comfort” foods do bring comfort. So until the frost breaks and new growth begins, I’ll savor the savory flavors of winter—and dream of the coming bounty.

CSA, but other than that, all I have are my sprouts to sustain me.

Through the winter months, with little fresh produce on hand,

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 3 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

Jill Dutton

What’s Cooking—Food News Vegans Know How to Party Over 465 Vegan Recipes, Including Desserts, Appetizers and Main Dishes by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD

T

he Vegetarian Resource Group has published VEGANS KNOW HOW TO PARTY by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD. Included are over 465 Vegan Recipes, including Desserts, Appetizers, and Main Dishes.

In this 384-page 8 ½ X 11 book with color photographs, Chef Berkoff shows you how to put on a party for vegans and those who enjoy great food. Vegan Desserts include pies, tarts, cakes, cupcakes, quick breads, muffins, sauces, frostings, cookies, parfaits, puddings, cobblers, frozen treats, and more.

Nancy gives us lessons on preparing vegan “ricotta,” veloute, demiglaze, and béchamel. Also learn about Using Vegan Ingredients, Basic Party Planning, Egg Substitutes, Napkin Folding, and Hiring Entertainment.

Additional chapters feature Entertaining Children, Cooking for A Crowd, Secrets of Cooking Large Amounts of Foods, and Sample Recipe Conversion from a small recipe to a large recipe and visa versa.

Working with a Caterer includes finding a caterer, catering concerns, helpful hints for vegetarian catering, food safety suggestions, label reading, and upscale menus. Also helpful is Party Planning for People with Diabetes.

Vegans Know How to Party has great recipes, but is certainly a reference book you’ll want to have around to answer all those vegan cooking questions. Your purchase will liven your parties as well as give you ideas for your own personal weekend treats.

Try maple apple pie, peach cheesecake, silky lemon pie, and cherry tarts. Birthday party basics include vanilla, moist chocolate, and devil’s food cakes. For brunches, Nancy starts the day with chocolate raspberry and banana blueberry muffins.

These dessert sauces and icings will spruce up any party: vegan caramel sauce, cream cheese spread with fruit, vegan buttercream frosting, and vegan pastry cream.

Cookie to the Max with: glazed ginger-almond cookies peanut butter and jelly cookies rugelach sugar cookies chocolate chip of course pinwheels vegan lemon squares fudge brownies Plus enjoy parfaits, trifles, mousse, cobblers, crumbles, crisps, custard, bread puddings, noodle puddings,

and chocolate puddings. For frozen desserts, Nancy gives us vegan ice cream cake, coconut-cinnamon and peppermint-chocolate frozen treats, and pineapple sorbet.

THERE’S MORE TO A PARTY THAN DESSERTS. Chef Berkoff also shares the basics in this new book including: stuffed grape leaves baked “chicken” fingers chips of all types BBQ sauce veggie sloppy Joes stuffed manicotti vegan cheeseball raspberry vinaigrette ranch dressing and numerous other common party dishes…

Appetizers and main dishes span from Arepas, Gulai Daun Bayem (spinach in coconut milk), and pierogi, to asparagus with lime and onion dressing, mustard crusted tofu salad, and Octoberfest roulades. And for winter parties, warm up the guests with Komenymagos Leves (Caraway Seed Soup), Potage Crecy, and Roasted Two Pepper Soup.

Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD, has received awards from the American Culinary Federation, California Res-

taurant Association, and the U.S. Department of the Navy for Culinary Training. Ms. Berkoff was named Chef of the Year by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Culinary Federation.

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or fowl. Vegans are vegetarians who also don’t use other animal products such as dairy or eggs. The Vegetarian Resource Group is a non-profit which educates the public about vegetarian and vegan diets. It publishes Vegetarian Journal, offers two $5,000 college scholarships to high school seniors who have promoted vegetarianism, and sponsors an email list for parents of vegetarians (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ vrgparents/). For more information, call (410) 366-8343; write to VRG, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; or visit www.vrg.org.

To order Vegans Know How to Party, send $25 to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; Call 410-3668343 9AM to 5PM Monday to Friday; or visit www.vrg.org/catalog

Harvesters’ Check-Out Hunger Campaign Success

H

arvesters’ 2009 Check-Out Hunger campaign raised a record-breaking $350,000 during the holidays from shoppers’ donations on -line and in the check-out lanes of local grocery stores. The community also donated more than 40 tons of food in Harvesters’ barrels to provide a total of more than 1.8 million meals for the hungry.

“We are grateful that even during

difficult economic times, so many in our community generously donated food and funds to help their neighbors in need,” said Karen Haren, president and CEO of Harvesters. “These donations in the amounts of $1, $5 and $10 are helping Harvesters provide food and hope to many in our community, who are at risk of not having a meal tonight.”

With the support of local grocers and the community, Check-Out Hunger has raised nearly $3 million since its inception in 1992 and provided more than 15 million meals to the hungry.

“The community’s support will continue to be important,” Haren said. “Across our area, one in eight people receive emergency food assistance from Harvesters’ network of

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 4 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

nonprofit agencies each year.”

About Harvesters—The Community Food Network Harvesters is this area’s only food bank. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.

What’s Cooking—Food News Six Tips to Living Longer Balancing Your Body’s pH by Stan Howard

S

cientists armed with a mounting body of evidence and research from across the world are waging war on what they claim is the biggest killer in the West—an overly acidic body. The theory goes that whenever the body burns fuel it creates acidic toxins as a by-product.

Many scientists now believe that high build-ups of these acid wastes can be a primary cause of chronic disease, overweight and aging. Live longer by following these six simple tips to re-balance your body's acid-alkaline levels ("pH").

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALKALINE DRINKING WATER AND DIET Various studies reveal that a balanced body pH has been shown to: Reduce heart disease in a town in Finland by 22 percent; reduce insulin dependence in North American type 1 diabetes patients by 83 percent; reduce arthritis pain, linked to chronic build-up of uric acid; reduce risk of cancer (cancer cells flourish in an acidic environment); and slow the aging process. Aging starts when the body stops getting rid of internallygenerated wastes and toxins. Studies and research suggest that even mild acidwaste build-up can cause: Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen—so important for healthy cells • Weight gain, obesity and diabetes • Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones • Immune deficiency

•

• • • • • • •

Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations Hormone concerns Premature aging Osteoporosis: weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid build-up Low energy and chronic fatigue Slow digestion and elimination Yeast / fungal overgrowth

TIP 1 - DRINK ALKALINE WATER Each cell in your body can only function as well as the fluid it is surrounded by— like a fish in a bowl. So the cleaner and less acidic the liquids in your body are, the healthier you're likely to be. Considering that the body eliminates acidic waste through body liquids in four different ways including respiration, urination, perspiration or defecation, the key to good health means: Drink enough of the right type of water to hydrate the body properly Drink ionized alkaline water—studies show it's twice as effective in flushing out acid toxins as bottled or filtered water.

As you get older, total water to body ratio decreases, making elimination harder. So you need to drink more. The same thing goes for when it's hot outside.

Drink more.

TIP 2—DIET Changing your diet can significantly reduce the level of acidity in your body.

Simply Raw Lifestyle LLC Tracie Walker

Eat more of the foods that neutralize acidity in the body: • Leafy greens and most veggies • Most fruits including citrus • Polyunsaturated fats found in seed oils (flax and hemp), fatty fish (seabass, tuna, mackeral, trout, salmon), coconut milk and avocado Acceptable proteins include chicken breast, tofu and many seeds Eat fewer acid-producing foods such as: • Animal protein (beef, chicken, pork and eggs) • Dairy products • Vinegar • Soy sauce • Mushrooms • Corn • Sugar • Alcohol • Coffee • Peanuts • Pasta TIP 3—EXERCISE Being overweight has nothing to do with fats or calories, according to some authors like Dr. Robert Young, author of the pH Miracle for Weight Loss. He believes putting on weight can be traced to a build-up of acid waste—if it isn't eliminated, it parks on your hips, buttocks and elsewhere, so you get fat. Try the following instead: • Exercise makes you sweat and breathe harder—both processes eliminate toxins.

The Little Muddy Farm Robert Jones

*Certified Raw Food Chef & Teacher *Personalized Counseling & Meal Planning *Weekly Classes *Catering & Meal Delivery Phone: (816) 210-8318 Fax: (913) 766-0224 tracie.walker@hotmail.com www.simplyrawlifestyle.com

www.thelittlemuddyfarm.com Prepay now for your local produce before March 1 and save 10%.

Mail checks to 108 SE Greystone Dr. Lee's Summit, Mo 64063

Year-Round CSA—local, seasonal food!

Produce and Egg Delivery Nov.-March!

Shop Online: http://shop.thelittlemuddyfarm.com

816.225.7344

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 5 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

• •

Saunas also make you sweat. Take one often.

Don't over-exercise. This causes a build-up of lactic acid that the body can't eliminate, so it's deposited as fatty tissue.

TIP 4—DON'T STRESS Relax. Anger and hostility have been shown to increase stomach acidity, which can lead to peptic and stress ulcers or ulcerative colitis.

TIP 5—STOP SMOKING Smoking also increases stomach acidity. If you do smoke, the more acidic your body, the stronger your nicotine craving will be.

TIP 6—DRINK DURING AIR TRAVEL The air inside airplane cabins is superdry (less relative humidity than the Sahara desert), and can result in extreme dehydration, increased acidity and jet-lag.

Drink at least 8 oz (quarter liter) of water for every hour you fly, especially longhaul frequent flyers.

Stan Howard is a researcher with Best Water, which specializes in water ionizers and water purification. Learn the essential keys for healthy drinking water. To receive your free comprehensive report comparing all water purification methods, visit Alkaline Water at www.waterionizer.org

E ating W ell in Kansas City www.eatingwellkc.com

Published bi-monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Kansas City area. Contact Jill Dutton for advertising information: 913-944-1298 jill@eatingwellkc.com

Food: A Path of Awakening — by Natalie George The Hundredth Monkey On a deeper level, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon has me wondering if my eating habits are contributing to the eating habits of all of the United States or the world.

I

Dr. Kat Bowie

Clinical Psychologist Live and Whole Food Nutrition Consultant The Struan Center, LLC 4044 Central, KC, MO 816-960-4525 www.thestruancenter.com

have been thinking lately about the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon. If you aren’t familiar with this idea, it is a story written by Ken Keyes about researchers’ observations of monkeys on a Japanese island. These researchers left sweet potatoes for the monkeys, but most potatoes were covered in sand. One monkey figured out how to use water to wash the sweet potato and it appeared that the monkey liked the cleaner sweet potato even more.

This monkey taught other monkeys how to wash their potatoes and they taught other monkeys and so on. The story says that when the 100th monkey learned how to wash his sweet potato, monkeys on other islands started washing sweet potatoes on their own.

It was as if spontaneous awareness and knowledge of washing sweet potatoes occurred without physical interaction or instruction.

Researchers began to believe that when enough monkeys changed their behaviors, it was powerful enough to create mental communication with other monkeys, thus causing a shift in their behavior as well. The theory then began that if enough people believe or act in a certain way, there could be an automatic shift in the way most people believe or act.

This is a super-cool idea to me—as long as what’s being changed is for the betterment of myself and humanity. How cool would it be if my avoidance of fast food suddenly caused more of my friends and family to skip the fast food joints and make more

meals at home? What if enough of my friends started drinking vegetable juice on a daily basis and it inspired me to get out of bed earlier and make juice every day? On a deeper level, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon has me wondering if my eating habits are contributing to the eating habits of all of the United States or the world. What if enough of us eat a certain way, could we tip the eating habits of the US population?

It’s an interesting theory and after researching the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon, I found that the answer to this could be YES. I can’t say, however, that the change in habits will come automatically or through some sort of mental phenomenon. What I can say is that it does seem that the monkeys learned from each other and they kept passing the info to future generations. As for the monkeys on other islands, it could be that there was a smart monkey who discovered sweet potato washing in the same way the first monkey did on the original island.

So while I’m not sure about the idea of the automatic consciousness that is assumed in the story of the Hundredth Monkey—as cool as it sounds—I’m quite convinced that we can impact the habits and behaviors of our friends and family directly. As one monkey taught another monkey to wash a sweet potato, we can teach those around us by sharing what inspires us. In the world of healthy eating, we can teach others by being the example. Our version of sweet potato washing could be

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 6 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

in the form of teaching others how to make healthy food, educating them on the differences of organic and local food or bringing a healthy lunch to work.

I was present to the impact I have made with my family over the holidays. For the first time in my life, my mother purchased all organic food and served it to the entire family. I am also present to the impact others have on me. My father does not eat sugar or processed foods and my housemates take it one step further by avoiding most fruits. Every time I am about to eat something sugary, I think of them and I find myself eating less sugar.

What did I learn from the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon? I can impact the lives of others by being an example and showing others how to do what I do.

Natalie George is a Fitness and Nutrition Visionary. She is a certified personal trainer, group exercise instructor and holistic nutrition consultant. She is passionate about empowering people to integrate exercise, nutrition and powerful thinking into their lives. She founded GratitudeKC and is in the midst of bringing Cafe Gratitude to Kansas City. She teaches a new kind of exercise class utilizing spoken affirmations called intenSati and is currently being offered at Unity on the Plaza. Visit www.GratitudeKC.com.

Healing Foods — by Jane Van Benthuson HEMP is Not a Local Food, But I Wish it Was! Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain a healthy life.

I

normally write about local, organic, in-season foods but this issue I couldn't help but want to sing praises for one of my favorite foods: Hemp. I love hemp!

Hemp is the common name for a variety of the cannabis sativa plant. It is disease resistant so it doesn't require pesticides and herbicides, making it perfect to be grown organically. It would thrive here in the midwest and I feel would be a great crop for our local farmers to be growing. It's related to marijuana so that's why it's illegal to grow in the United States.

Hemp contains little to no THC which is the psychoactive substance found in marijuana. Many feel that the laws need to be changed so hemp could be grown here. Hemp used to be a common crop in our country. Our founding fathers all farmed hemp. Our original American flag was made of hemp. It wasn't until 1937 when the U.S. passed the Marijuana Tax Act that hemp was made illegal.

This is a shame, as we could be using this plant for medicine, food, cloth, paper, construction materials, plastics, auto parts and fuel.

Most of the hemp products sold at health food stores are grown in Canada.

I love the taste of hemp milk, hemp seeds, hemp protein powder and hemp oil. I eat the seeds right out of the bag or sprinkle them in my salads or use them in soups. I add hemp protein powder to my green smoothie for added protein.

Hemp products are not acid forming like whey and don't cause hor-

monal imbalances like soy. I use hemp oil on my salads frequently and I don't even technically make a dressing. I just drizzle a tablespoon of hemp oil and then a teaspoon of coconut aminos with a squeeze of lemon juice then toss and it tastes great!

I also love the health benefits!

Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain a healthy life. No other single plant source has the essential amino acids in such an easily digestible form. Eating hemp seeds will insure your immune system has the resources needed to make disease destroying antibodies. Yay for hemp!

There is a lot of talk about omega fatty acids or essential fatty acids (EFAs) these days and hemp has the perfect ratio of omega 3/6/and the rarer 9 for our bodies. (no fish oil needed) EFAs are lost in the processing of most of our foods because they are heat sensitive so most Americans are deficient in them. This deficiency has been linked with heart attacks, cancer, insulin resistance, asthma, lupus, schizophrenia, depression, postpartum depression, accelerated aging, stroke, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, ADHD, and Alzheimer's Disease, among others.

So eat up your hemp products and feed your body what it needs to be healthy and happy.

You can order hemp products and find many recipes at www.nutiva.com, www.manitobaharvest.com

www.livingharvest.com and locally at Whole Foods, Nature's Pantry and other local health food stores.

Red Pepper and Hemp Soup Ingredients: 2 extra large (or 3 regular) red peppers, seeded and chopped ½ C hemp seeds ½ tsp sea salt 2 Tbsp lemon juice ½ tsp curry powder ¼ tsp turmeric 1 tsp Bragg liquid aminos, coconut aminos or a pinch more of sea salt Black pepper to taste 2/3 C water (or to taste–this will depend on how thick or thin you like your soup) Directions: Place all ingredients in a blender.

Blend until smooth and creamy. I eat this as a raw soup but you could gently heat it if you wanted

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 7 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

to but not too high so you keep all the precious EFAs.

Jane Van Benthusen is an alternative cancer thriver. She, along with her husband and youngest son, teaches raw food classes, hosts a monthly potluck dinner in Lee's Summit, MO and offers alternative health support. You can learn more

about her and her family at www.janevanbenthusen.com and www.greenstgoods.com.

Healing Foods — by Tracie Walker Fast Forward to January…

Fasting is an ancient method of healing and rejuvenation and dates back to Biblical times.

S

o here it is already January of 2011.

Where has the time gone and how is it possible that it is already 2011?! If you are like me and probably a lot of people, you are focusing this month on renewal; renewal of your body, mind and spirit.

One of the best ways for me to start the year off in a state of renewal is with a fast. For the past 4 years, every January I have done the Master Cleanse. My body responds very well to this particular cleanse and I enjoy doing it. It is both challenging and rewarding for me.

There are many ways to go about fasting. There are water fasts, juice fasts, fasting from a particular food or habit (eating only raw foods), etc. Fasting is an ancient method of healing and rejuvenation and dates back to Biblical times. It has been documented in many cultures throughout the world. If you are contemplating a fast the first step is to do your homework and read up on the specific type you are interested in. It also helps to talk with someone who is experienced and can offer some personal insight.

Fasting is not something you should take lightly and jump into without preparation.

Whether you are doing one for cleansing purposes, spiritual enlightenment or both, fasting is an intense and deep time of renewal for the body.

Fasting gives your digestive system a “break” from its continuous job of digestion and absorption. It also gives you a heightened sense of mental and spiritual clarity. Everyone will have their own unique experience, but the common factor is that you are giving your body a rest. For me, by giving my body a break, I am able to focus on many other things…

Like my goals for the New Year.

The Master Cleanse is my favorite and I have done it several times. This cleanse uses fresh lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. It is commonly referred to as the Lemonade Diet. It is recommended to do it for at least 10 days. It was originally developed by Stanley Burroughs. You can get his book, The Master Cleanser if you are interested in

2011 Goals 1. Lose Weight 2. Eat Healthier 3. Save Money 4. Etc… learning more. There is also another book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days by Peter Glickman who has taken Burroughs original book and adapted it for today’s audience.

You may choose whatever length of time you think you can handle, however I have experienced the best results when I stay on it for at least 14 days. It is amazing to see the transformation and the results it has on the body. The first few days are the hardest and you are constantly thinking about what you can’t have and saying to yourself, “Oh that looks so good!” But by day 3 or 4, you lose all sense of appetite and hunger is easily filled by drinking your juice. The maple syrup helps hold your blood sugar stable, the lemon juice helps bring the toxins out of your body and is alkalizing and the cayenne pepper helps dilate your blood vessels and break up the mucus.

All the ingredients play an important role.

The maple syrup is my favorite; it is what keeps me from falling over!

The recipe is as follows: 8 fl. oz. of spring or purified water 2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice 2 Tbsp. grade B organic maple syrup Pinch cayenne pepper Breaking the fast is just as important as the fast itself. If you are not careful you can do more harm than good. Make sure you ease yourself into raw foods and then into your typical diet. OR…if you are setting a goal to eat more raw foods this

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 8 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

year, the cleanse will be a great way to rid your body of the addictions to “cooked” foods and start clean.

Fasting gives me a great sense of starting the year fresh. It also gives me time to focus on other things besides what my next meal is going to be. It is a deep and personal time of growth and recommitment in many areas of my life.

If you are thinking about attempting a fast for the first time, I really encourage doing one and seeing the benefits it will reap. If you do the Master Cleanse in particular, I would be more than happy to share my experiences with you. Visit my website and send me an e-mail or feel free to give me a call.

Tracie Walker is a certified Raw Food Chef & Teacher and the Healthy Eating Specialist for Whole Foods in Overland Park, KS. She comes from a family of good health and nutritional practices. She is a firm believer that our bodies can heal themselves if we just slow down and listen and really become aware and in tune with what they are telling us. “Let food be thy medicine, let medicine be thy food.” She believes that one can help this process by not only eating a live, raw organic diet but also practicing a healthy lifestyle physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. She has a home and small business in Overland Park where she offers raw food classes, special event catering and live demonstrations. For more information about Tracie and her business please visit www.simplyrawlifestyle.com.

Into the Kitchen — with The Pasta Pros Tequila Lime Chicken with Lime Cilantro Pasta

From Thomas Belisle, Executive Chef The Café at Briarcliff Village 2 five ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 ounces of you favorite tequila (I prefer Patron) 1 clove finely chopped garlic 1 teaspoon lime zest 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice 2 cups heavy cream ¼ cup fine quality parmesan cheese + 2 tablespoons 10 fresh grape tomatoes sliced in halves 12 ounces of Pappardelle’s Lime Cilantro Fettuccini 3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil Rub your chicken breast with salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil, let marinate for 15 minutes.

Start 1 gallon to boil your pasta.

Broil Chicken over a medium low open flame on the grill. Using a meat thermometer cook Chicken to 165 degrees. Sauté grape tomatoes and fresh garlic for 1 minute over a medium flame in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add Tequila (be careful as tequila is very flammable). Cook pasta to slightly al dente remove pasta and drain (I like mine slightly al dente as I am placing back on the stove in my roasted garlic cream sauce). Add heavy cream, and lime zest let cream reduce by 25%, add parmesan cheese. Let sauce cook till parmesan cheese is melted, add salt and pepper to taste and toss in Papardelle’s lime cilantro fettuccini.

Family Owned Local Meats

Slice the two chicken breasts on the bias, divide pasta and sauce on two plates and top with sliced chicken, fresh grated parmesan and chopped cilantro. Add some pesto garlic toast and a nice glass of pinot grigio and enjoy a wonderful dinner. If you don’t want to go through all that work you could always come to The Café at Briarcliff Village where it is featured daily on our menu. Have a great day.

About The Pasta Pros The Pasta Pros are a local Kansas City company selling Pappardelle’s Gourmet Pastas, Bottled Oils & Vinegars at area Farmer’s Markets and to local restauraunts. For more information visit the company website at www.ThePastaPros.com About Pappardelles Fine Pasta Pappardelle’s offers over 100 flavors of dried pasta and freshfrozen ravioli, sauces and pestos.

For more information, visit the company website at www.pappardellespasta.com About The Café The Café is locally owned and use local farmers and producers to source our food ingredients whenever possible. The Café serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner including a complete Catering Menu for special events. The Café is located just minutes north of Downtown Kansas City in Briarcliff Village. For more information about The Café, please visit them at www.thecafeatbriarcliff.com

209 S.E. Main Street Lee’s Summit, MO Open 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Monday through Saturday

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 9 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

816816-600600-5570

Into the Kitchen — with Badseed Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Fresh Ricotta For the local eater, butternut squash is an excellent winter staple. If stored properly, many varieties of winter squash can last until spring. Incredibly dense and full of rich nutrients, butternut squash is just what your body needs to thrive in these cold months. Due to it's delicious and creamy texture, butternut squash lends itself to a variety of heart-warming sweet & savory dishes including pies, custards, soups, curries, ravioli, and (of course) gnocchi—a traditional Italian dumpling.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Fresh Ricotta *These dumplings have a light and fluffy texture due to the addition of fresh ricotta cheese. *Drain the ricotta in a sieve for two hours before starting the recipe.

Yield:

Makes

10

small

servings

Halve squash and remove seeds and guts. Bake at 450 degrees until very tender (about 45 minutes). Let cool. Scrape out flesh and puree in a food processor or with an electric mixer until very smooth; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well.

Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms. *Dough should be very soft and somewhat sticky. Too much flour creates tough gnocchi.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Make Gnocchi: Cook Gnocchi: Ingredients2 to 3 butternut squash (enough to yield 3 cups pureed flesh) 12 ounces fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar 2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 2 3/4 cups (give or take) all purpose flour

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in several batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. (Gnocchi will float to the top when ready.) Transfer with a slotted spoon to a warm skillet with your sauce of choice.

On low heat lovingly coat your gnocchi with your sauce adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan.

Sauce Suggestions

Incredibly dense and full of rich nutrients, butternut squash is just what your body needs to thrive in these cold months.

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Traditionally, butternut squash or sweet potato gnocchi is served with a brown butter sage sauce and loads of parmesan cheese! However, feel free to get creative and use whatever is in season or whatever you happen to have in your kitchen. A basil pesto cream sauce is incredibly easy to make and adds a nice dimension of flavor. Most recently (pictured), I created a delicious cream sauce with sweet, red Tropea onions caramelized in homemade red wine, brown sugar, and herbs. Have fun!

Book Excerpt — by Rod Rotondi Raw Food for Real People Many people who learn about the incredible benefits of raw and living foods try to use willpower to overcome their food addictions. While this will work for a while, usually willpower alone doesn’t work in the long run.

I

know there are a lot of readers who in a perfect world would be doing an hour of yoga every morning, meditating during lunch break, thinking only pure and grateful thoughts throughout the day, and eating a 100 percent raw, vegan, organic diet at all three meals.

There is a tendency to want to make a resolution to “do it all” at once. And that might work for about .001 percent of you, but for the rest of us, it’s more about incremental change.

What works best for most people is a steady, gradual, and gentle movement toward a healthier, happier you.

Setting unreasonably ambitious goals is only setting yourself up for disappointment and disempowerment.

In diplomacy, steps toward resolution are referred to as “confidence-building measures.” Since we’d all like to have more peace, it might be a good idea to think of our own progress this way: small, achievable steps that are doable and help create a momentum in the right direction.

So, how about ten minutes of yoga and stretching every morning? What about a fifteen-minute walk before you start your workday? Perhaps five minutes of meditation before you turn in at night (tuning in before you turn in).

Or how about one totally healthful meal each day? Or maybe set a goal of eating raw only five or six days a week, so you don’t have to face the prospect of life without that Grand Slam breakfast! Start with something achievable. Breakfast, for example, is so doable. Wait till you get to the breakfast section — we have lots of delicious, easy-to-make recipes for you, including smoothies, oatmeal, and granola. Plus, you can make a smoothie any time you get hungry!

Once breakfast is conquered, adding in a salad for lunch is a breeze. You can even learn how to bump up that salad until it’s a delicious and filling nutritional powerhouse — check out chapter 10, Making a Salad a Meal.

And then you are on to soups, desserts, dips, breads, crackers, and more. So have fun, and enjoy your food!

Hummus Dealing with Food Addictions Those of us who have grown up on a contemporary Western diet have food addictions galore. I know I do.

Fortunately, my three-year-old daughter does not. She has never eaten foods like refined flours and sugars, highly processed foods, meats, or dairy, all of which create negative addictions. We are helping our daughter create a very healthy and positive relationship with food.

But most of us were brought up with a less-thanoptimal diet and a relationship to foods that includes an emotional attachment to eating them. We often have deep-seated and mostly unconscious feelings of giving ourselves a treat when we choose to eat many foods that we now know are far from optimal.

We can help the next generation by giving them a healthier start. But for the vast majority of us, we must begin by recognizing that we ourselves are food addicts—and not getting down on ourselves because of it!

It simply is what it is, and now it is up to us to decide what to do about it.

Many people who learn about the incredible benefits

Raw Chocolate Brownie of raw and living foods try to use willpower to overcome their food addictions. While this will work for a while, usually willpower alone doesn’t work in the long run.

Instead, it’s best to take the opportunity to become aware of our beliefs and attitudes about food, educate ourselves, and be loving and gentle with ourselves as we evolve toward a healthier relationship with food.

I will give you an example. There have been times I have really felt like having a piece of traditional baked pizza. This is not terribly surprising considering the fact that I grew up in an Italian American family, that my dad makes an incredible pizza, and that he also taught me how to make one at a young age. Consequently I have had an emotional attachment to pizza. So how do I handle the hankering?

When I first feel the desire for a slice, I usually think back to when I was giving up smoking many years ago.

The trick was not to ask myself “Do I want to smoke a cigarette?” but to ask “Do I want to live life as a smoker?” A single cigarette is not going to significantly harm me. However, living life as a smoker would seriously compromise my health, as well as having many other negative effects on my life. And life as a smoker always begins with the next cigarette.

So, with food addictions I try to do the same thing, changing “Do I want to eat a piece of pizza?” to “Do I

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 11 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

Raw Caesar Wrap want to live life as a pizza eater?” While asking the second question, I envision a very round version of me eating pizza (as I mentioned, my last name, Rotondi, means “the round ones” in Italian). I really don’t want to be round. I like being slim, light, and energized. So this thought often helps me get past the pizza hankering.

However, sometimes the hankering comes back— again and again. What to do? Use willpower to suppress my desire for pizza? If a desire for a specific food comes up repeatedly, I will go out and eat a small portion of that food. However, I will do it consciously. I will tune in to how my body feels before I eat the pizza and then focus on how the pizza smells, looks, and tastes. I will also be conscious of how I feel five minutes after I eat it, and thirty minutes, and an hour later. Usually what happens is that the first bite is okay but mildly unsatisfying.

The second bite is really not a treat at all, and I realize that what I am eating tastes a bit like cardboard (keep in mind that when you eat a raw-food diet for any length of time, your taste buds change and cooked foods don’t taste the same anymore). Then after five minutes I feel a heaviness in my stomach. After half an hour, I feel lethargic and already wish I hadn’t eaten the pizza.

The point is that if we try to suppress all our cravings, in the end we get wound so tight that the spring may break and we might run out and eat three large pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese! It’s better to get out of judgment mode and work on evolving our relationship with food. The more we exercise our body consciousness and really listen to our bodies, the more we will replace old food habits, thought patterns, and addictions.

By the way, if you have any other addictions in your life, moving to a raw-food diet can often help in kicking them as well. Once we can control the food we put in our mouths, everything else becomes easier.

Rod Rotondi is the author of Raw Food for Real People.

He teaches about raw food through DVDs, retreats, and online and in-person classes. The founder of the Leaf Organics retail product line and Leaf Cuisine restaurants, he caters events and lives in Los Angeles. Visit him online at http://www.leaforganics.com.

Excerpted from the book Raw Food for Real People ©2010 by Rod Rotondi. Printed with permission from New World Library.

Feature — by Teresa Kelly Chicken R-Evolution Who would think that a few chickens in someone’s back yard would cause such a fuss?

B

ackyard micro-flocks are popping up all over America. In the United States, 65 percent of U.S. cities have allowed backyard chickens. In my city, opposition argues that besides being dirty, smelly, and loud, this is just a passing fad and chickens bring down property values.

Besides, chickens just do not belong in the city! Well guess what, it is a new lifestyle choice that many sub-urbanites are choosing to adopt.

Before I patiently tick off the list of objections, let’s step back to Belgium, around 2005. North Central Belgium city leaders caused a stir when they drew the line at how much waste was going into their landfills. Hmm--sound familiar? The cities implemented a weigh and pay program. Citizens were issued bins for rubbish. Initial concerns over cost turned to finding ways to cut cost by cutting waste.

They started looking for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. They purchased minimally-packaged goods, started composting and recycling. They took it an innovative step further by incorporating chickens into the daily management of food scraps, gardening and backyard composting. The community adopted a new way of thinking and living. They made a lifestyle choice.

Early last year, in Mouscron, Belgium, the city officials distributed 50 pairs of chickens to citizens continuing the innovative waste management plan. It is an example of leadership taking a look at systems that support the ecosystem as well as the people of the community. And yes, they GAVE the citizens a pair of chickens and also educated them on how to keep them. This is a lifestyle choice started and supported by community leadership.

Now back to that list. Chickens are dirty, smelly, noisy. One medium sized dog makes as much waste as six chickens.

Chicken manure is a great compost component and when composted properly there is no adverse odor. Dog manure should not be composted and is typically bagged up and sent to the landfill. Small backyard flocks will not generate the dust or odor that large conventional producers generate. Most ordinances do not allow chickens at large, so they will be in coops, covered runs or portable chicken tractors.

Chickens scratch in the yard and garden

aerating, fertilizing and eating bugs. Dogs, not so much.

I love it when the solitude of my journal writing is broken by the neighbor’s lawn crew wielding standup riding lawnmowers and an edge trimmer/leaf blower combo. How about the barking dog that has separation anxiety? My chickens will never drive someone indoors or to earplugs. Quite the contrary. In most situations, chickens draw neighbors together.

Curiosity grows and community naturally happens. Who doesn’t want a friend who can give you fresh eggs? Hens have a selfimposed curfew. They will squawk to the world when laying an egg, from inside their coop! And occasionally if agitated. I think dogs, cats and people all do that too!

Chickens have the power to bring down property values. Property values are relative. Any argument against chickens and coops can be applied to dogs or cats.

I have seen no quantitative data indicating chickens drive down property values. The opposite appears to be true. There are many cities with very high property values (New York and Seattle) that allow chickens. Several cities host Coop Tours, a Poultry Parade of Homes.

“It’s just not right to have chickens in the city!” Until the 1950s it was common practice to keep chickens in the yard.

Easy care chickens ate food scraps, aerated soil, fertilized productive vegetable gardens and provided an inexpensive source of protein for the family. Children often cared for these chickens. Cheep entertainment! (Couldn’t resist) The n mid -twe ntie th c e ntu ry “progress” changed the face of sub-urban life. Growing your own food and raising backyard chickens became passé and a sign of poverty. Besides, with the advances in food production technology and distribution systems and other modern feats, it was just more practical and economical to buy food, rather than grow your own. Gardens evolved into landscapes. Lives got busy. The face of suburbia changed. Privacy fences and automatic garage doors created privacy. Unsightly composting was banned and chemicals kept postcard lawns vibrant green. A lifestyle choice.

Today, a movement toward simpler, less wasteful, locally sustainable living is

evolving in the very areas that embraced the modernization of the sub-urban lifestyle. Composting, clotheslines, corn in the front yard? Guess what? Lifestyle choice.

Last year we saw Kansas City, MO adopt ordinances for urban farming. Citizens worked with public officials to help Kansas City join the ranks of other forward thinking cities modeling this new way of living in the city. Seattle, WA just passed ordinances that include hoop houses, greenhouses, row crops and chicken keeping as just a few components of urban farming. A growing lifestyle choice.

Backyard chickens, a fad?

In 1982 Martha Stewart published her book, Entertaining, featuring her flock of rare breed chickens that produced eggs in a rainbow of beautiful pastel colors creating interest in backyard chickens. (That is why I got an Ameraucana for green eggs) In 1999, Backyardchickens.com was founded as an information forum. Currently it has 60,000 members and has exceeded 3 million posts.

Google search data shows the 2010 peak search count increased 240 percent over the peak of 2004.

Remember in the late 90s when the FDA wanted Federal Organic Standards?

It was in response to 20 percent growth in organic industry sales over a decade. A lifestyle that was once relegated to com-

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 12 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

munal hippies and granola-folk has now become an accepted lifestyle choice. This chicken “fad” indicates the same staying power as the last two decades of doubledigit growth in the organic food industry.

The backyard chicken issue really boils down lifestyle choice. The challenge lies in developing the reciprocal respect between individuals with differing lifestyle choices. I choose to know my food source, to garden organically and to leave a light footprint in my wake. Backyard hens are part of that picture. Lifestyle Choice.

Resources for Urban Farms and Backyard Chickens: www.kccua.org www.backyardchickens.com www.chirpks.blogspot.com Teresa Kelly writes about what she loves, gardens with the natural intelligences, cooks with passion, travels as much as she can and photographs it all. Her current pet project is getting chickens legalized in Roeland Park, KS. Through her practice, Good Natured Living, she provides others information and experiences renewing the connection to self, community and the planet. She is married to the man of her dreams and has four beautiful children… and hopefully hens soon!

Food News — by Susun Weed Nourishing the Liver the Wise Woman Way Think of the liver as a recycling center. As the blood moves through the intricate network of cells that make up the liver, it is carefully examined.

T

he liver is one of the most important organs in the body. Commonly referred to as a "filter," the liver is actually more subtle and sophisticated than a passive filter. Every drop of blood in your body moves through your liver every hour of every day you are alive - not to be filtered, but to be restored.

Think of the liver as a recycling center.

As the blood moves through the intricate network of cells that make up the liver, it is carefully examined. Metabolic by-products, hormones, cholesterol, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, bacteria, viral particles, and all the chemical detritus of living that are in the blood are judged: some are allowed to stay, others dismantled for recycling, and some tagged for removal.

The liver stores very little. It produces bile, which is stored in the gall bladder. With the kidneys, it creates vitamins A and D, and stores those fat soluble products. And, of course, the liver caches unused energy from food in the form of sugar.

Chemicals, however, do not build up in the liver, despite what you may have read.

The liver sends unneeded water-soluble chemicals, such as ammonia, to the kidneys to be excreted. (To get a sense of how quickly this happens, eat some asparagus, which contains a harmful natural chemical, and notice the smell of your urine, and how quickly you have to "go.") The liver incarcerates oil-soluble chemicals by locking them up in fat cells, or sending them to be excreted in breast milk, ejaculations, ovulations, and tears. (Chemicals are not excreted by sweating.)

The liver can be damaged. Alcohol can kill liver cells. Viruses, especially hepatitis viruses, can destroy liver cells. And cancer can take over the liver and quickly render it dysfunctional.

But the liver is amazingly regenerative.

Cellular turnover is quite fast. Every cell in a healthy liver is replaced every forty days.

Only substances that can keep up with the ever-changing liver are preserved (such as vitamins and sugars); chemical toxins are made homeless.

To regain and maintain good liver health is reasonably easy if the liver is not too badly damaged. I follow these guidelines to nourish and protect my liver: Avoid liver cleanses. Herbal and other products and regimes which claim to cleanse the liver can damage and destroy cells. The liver cannot be dirty; and it does not need to be cleansed.

Eat well and regularly. Fasting reduces liver efficiency quickly.

Eat cooked food. Raw food may contain bacterial, viral, and enzymatic substances that create more work for, and may even cause an infection in, the liver. Fruits and vegetables need to be well cooked; steaming may not be enough to kill pathogens.

Eat enough fat. But not vegetable oils, which can cause inflammation and increase chemical sensitivities and auto-immune problems. Instead, I use olive oil, butter, and full-fat dairy products. I believe that diets containing 30-35 percent non-vegetable fats promote both liver and heart health. An article in Science News, May 28, 2005, observes: "In the absence dietary fat [there is] a marked decline in the metabolism of glucose, fatty acids, and cholesterol."

Avoid ingesting chemicals. Remember that chemicals are stored in fat and excreted in milk, eggs, and sperm. To avoid chemicals in your food, focus your organic expenditures on organic butter, oil, cheese, full-fat milk, eggs, meat, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains. The amount of agricultural chemicals in one pound of non-organic butter is equivalent to eating non-organic produce for ten years. With the exception of apricots, cherries, peaches, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, green beans, and bell peppers - the most heavily "dosed" produce—I often buy locally-grown non-organic produce since the cost is usually far less.

Get angry. The liver is the storehouse of unexpressed rage. And, yes, we are all angry about "life as it is" as one of my teachers puts it. My mentor, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, favored a Manhattan phone book and a rubber radiator hose as a way to "wake up and work out" anger. A rolled-up newspaper and a cushion, a tennis racket and a bed, or even boxing gloves and a "heavy bag" will also work. Don't wait until you are angry.

Make it a part of your routine, just like brushing your teeth. Set aside at least thirty minutes a week to bring your anger to the surface. You will be shocked at the rapid benefits this brings your liver and your health.

Avoid essential oils. Even natural essential oils can impair liver function. Look for them hidden in natural and organic products such as soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash, skin lotions, deodorants and antiperspirants, and candles. And avoid antibacterial soaps, too.

Use herbs that nourish the liver. Simple remedies such as dandelion, yellow dock, chicory, milk thistle, and nettle aid the liver and are safe to use. But many herbal reme-

dies, especially those taken in capsules, are hard on the liver and need to be avoided or used with great care and caution when liver function is not strong.

Avoid herbs that are rich in alkaloids and other natural chemicals that stress the liver: including golden seal, senna, celandine, chaparral, lobelia, licorice, valerian, rhubarb root, cayenne, and poke root. Some sensitive people may find aromatic herbs such as peppermint, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme, and lavender upsetting to their livers.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is probably the simplest, safest, most effective, and least expensive liver-nourishing herb known. All parts of the plant are medicinal: root, leaves, stalks, and flowers. Tincture of the root is most often used, but root vinegars, flower wine, cooked leaves, and stalk tea may be substituted. The greatest effect comes from eating or taking a dandelion remedy three times a day, but even once a day is useful. For more information on making and taking dandelion remedies, please see my book Healing Wise. The usual dose of the tincture is 10-30 drops diluted in some water and taken before meals. There is no known overdose.

Yellow dock (Rumex crispus and other species) is another common weed widely used to improve liver functioning. The root is generally tinctured and taken in 20-30 drop doses with meals; but the leaves or seeds can be put up in apple cider vinegar, and 2-3 tablespoonfuls taken on salad, cooked greens, or in water. Yellow dock, like dandelion is simple and safe to use. There is no known overdose. It is a highly effective agent for promoting bowel regularity.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) flashes her brilliant blue flowers for months along roadsides here in the northeast. In the fall, we dig her roots to make a liver-strengthening tincture. The dose is usually 20-40 drops three times a day in some water. There is no known overdose. Some folks do drink chicory root tea, but it is very bitter. Roasted chicory roots are used as a coffee substitute; opinion is divided as to whether this preparation still has medicinal qualities.

Milk thistle seed (Psylibum marianum or Carduus marianum) is the most famous liver tonic in the United States. It is widely recommended for anyone dealing with liver problems, whether it be jaundice, hepatitis, or multiple chemical sensitivities. It is not a wild plant, but it is relatively easy to grow from seed, and the seeds are available and not too expensive. A dose of the tincture is 1-2 dropperfuls 2-4 times a day. There is no known overdose.

EATING WELL IN KANSAS CITY ~ 13 ~ Jan/Feb 2011

To tincture seeds that you buy, simply fill a jar one-third full of milk thistle seed. Then fill the jar to the top with 100 proof vodka (no, 80 proof won't work). Shake daily for a week, then sit back and wait for five more weeks. After six or more weeks, your tincture is ready to use. Leave the seeds in the vodka for as long as you wish, even after you start using your tincture.

Milk thistle is most properly thought of as a liver protector. It functions best when taken before the liver encounters alcohol, chemicals, poisons, or other stressors. Those with chemical sensitivities find it helpful to take a large dose of milk thistle seed tincture before venturing into difficult environments.

Nettle, also known as stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), is one of my favorite herbal remedies for everyone. I pour a quart of boiling water over an ounce of dried nettle (that's about one full cup) in a canning jar, screw a tight lid on the jar, and let it steep for at least four hours.

The resulting brew, which is dark and rich, nourishes the kidneys and adrenals as well as the liver. Allergic reactions of all kinds, including sensitivities to natural and man-made chemicals, may have as much to do with the adrenals as with the liver. I drink 2-4 cups of nettle infusion daily for optimum health. There is no known overdose.

Look for results from these Wise Woman ways within a month of beginning regular use. No need to use all the herbs mentioned.

Consistent use of even one of them, along with anger work and a good diet, can bring results that border on the miraculous.

Herbal medicine is people's medicine. It is here for all of us: simple, safe, and free.

You don't have to be an herbalist to understand and use the herbs I have discussed.

You can buy or make your own remedies, as you wish. Your children will be delighted to join you in exploring the green blessings that grow all around you.

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com;and www.ashtreepublishing.com Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition.

She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine.

Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.

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