July 2010 Natural Awakenings Gulf Coast AL/MS

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET feel good live simply laugh more

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Eating Locally on the Gulf Coast BACKYARD GARDENING Get a Lot From Your Plot

JULY 2010

Mariel Hemingway’s

KITCHEN WISDOM for Healthy Living

LOCAVORE NATION Regional Foods Taste Best

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I can vividly remember my mom saying to me, “You can’t leave the table until you have at least tried the beets.” I was 10 years old and particularly hard-headed. After resisting the purple, pickled beets, and sitting at the dinner table alone for what seemed like hours, I was given another ultimatum: “Eat the beets or write a twopage report on them,” Mom said. With the help of an encyclopedia, I completed the report that night and to this day, have never touched a beet.

These days I consider myself a vegetarian... for the most part.

Vegetarianism is still far from mainstream in our country and a cultural concept that is especially hard to grasp in the American South. On more than one occasion, I have been offered a turkey burger as a vegetarian option.

“It’s complicated,” is a comment I often find myself resorting to when asked about my semi-vegetarian lifestyle.

I generally don’t eat meat, but I do enjoy seafood if it is sustainably caught. My vegetarian tendencies are about making environmentally friendly food choices.

Buying local and organic options whenever possible, I originally gave up meat because it seemed impossible to find grass-fed, free-range options.

While working on this month’s local feature, “Eating Locally on the Gulf Coast,” on page 22, I began to realize that maybe the issue isn’t really so complicated after all. Eating regionally and consciously is fairly easy to do around here.

While the availability of local produce was no surprise, I was thrilled to learn of the many other products stocked by farms and markets in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Honey, barbecue sauce, stone-ground grits, wines, cheeses and cakes are just some of the locally produced items that I discovered. To top it all off, I found out that organic, grass-fed beef is raised right here in Baldwin county.

This month’s Natural Awakenings provides an abundance of information to help us all make healthier and more sustainable eating choices close to home.

Making such decisions not only improves our own health, it is a valuable way to protect the health of the planet. I invite you to grab some fresh fruit from your favorite fruit stand, take a trip to Sweet Home Farms for organic local cheese and sit down with a plate of local cuisine as you enjoy this delicious issue. While I still don’t see any beets in my immediate future, beef is no longer out of the question for this voluntary vegetarian.

In peace and gratitude,

Meredith Montgomery

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July 2010

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contents

About the Cover

Natural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more balanced life. In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

9 A CONVERSATION WITH MARIEL HEMINGWAY Her Kitchen Wisdom

9

for Healthy Living

by Giovanna Aguilar

15 BACKYARD GARDENING How to Get a Lot From Your Plot

by Barbara Pleasant

19 LOCAVORE NATION Savor the Reign of Regional Foods

by Judith Fertig

22 EATING LOCALLY

ON THE GULF COAST

by Meredith Montgomery

Photograph by Victoria Webb In accordance with the local theme of this month’s issue, July’s cover features the work of local photographer Victoria Webb. Mobile residents Kelsey Tew and her mom Hillary enjoyed an afternoon of eating watermelon at Gloria’s Fruit Stand for the shoot.

A resident of Mobile, Webb is a student at University of South Alabama studying graphic design and photography. She says, “As a photographer, my motto is life is how you see it.” Striving to take the shot at the perfect moment, she enjoys capturing life’s interesting quirks, blessings and beauty in each portrait session she works. As an on-location photographer, Webb shoots portrait sessions at her subject’s home or favorite destination.

For Victoria Webb’s online gallery, visit VictoriaWebbPhotography.com.

Gloria’s Produce is located at 3100 Laurendine Road in Mobile.

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19

26 OUT OF THE

MOUTHS OF BABES A Dozen Ways Children Teach Us to Eat Mindfully

by Dr. Michelle May

28 GENTLE REMEDIES FOR WEEKEND WARRIORS Homeopathic Medicines for

30

Sports Injuries

by Dana Ullman

30 TACKLING TICKS

by Dr. Mark Newkirk

32 FIVE AFFORDABLE

VACATIONS THAT GIVE BACK

by Heather Boerner

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9 wisewords

10 globalbriefs

13 healthbriefs

15 consciouseating

Stand Out in the Crowd!

25 localopinion 26 healthykids

13 28

28 healingways 30 naturalpet 32 greenliving

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newsbriefs Coastal Estuary Restoration Fund Established

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) has established a charitable fund with the Community Foundation of South Alabama (CFSA) to support projects aimed at restoring the long-term health of the bay and its estuarine environment.

The Coastal Estuary Restoration Fund (CERF) was created in response to a nationwide desire to support the coast of Alabama in the face of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With BP accepting responsibility for addressing the impacts of this event along the coast, volunteers and donors have been left without a significant role in the process of cleanup or mitigation.

Although BP will address cleanup activities related to the oil spill event, the long-term recovery of coastal resources will depend upon continuing community support. The CERF will provide critical, non-federal dollars necessary to restore and sustain fishery and other estuarine resources. Contributors to the CERF can be sure that their donations will directly benefit Alabama coastal habitats and the fish, shellfish, birds and wildlife that draw visitors and add quality to the lives of residents.

To contribute to the CERF, visit CommunityEndowment.com. For information, contact Sara Shields at 251-431-6409 or SShields@MobileBayNEP.com.

Rain Harvesting in Support of a Community Garden

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer’s Environmental Stewardship Team (REST) is selling rain barrels as a fundraiser to continue expanding their community garden project. “Ultimately, we plan to put garden plots covering the large hill on the back of our property, and make these areas available to the public as part of a community garden,” says Parish Administrator Lella Lowe.

Harvesting rain is an effective way to decrease the amount of water used in residential irrigation, by allowing the collection and storage of rainwater for future use. The 55-gallon barrels being sold by REST feature brass faucets and overflow valves. Their screened water collection openings prevent mosquito breeding, and they are painted a dark green to inhibit algae growth. Each rain barrel costs $45.

For information or to order, call 251-639-1948 or visit RedeemerEpiscopal.org.

Habitat for Humanity Women Build

Habitat for Humanity in Mobile County (HFHMC) is recruiting 50 five-person teams to participate in a Women Build project for fall 2010, in Theodore. In addition to committing to at least two onsite workdays, each team will be responsible for fundraising $1,500, or $300 per team member. With the funds raised, the Women Build teams will construct a home in partnership with a family in need.

Team leaders must be female and at least 16 years of age, while both males and females age 14 and older are welcome as team members. No experience is necessary, because HFHMC staff will be onsite to lead and instruct participants for all projects. The build is scheduled to start in mid-November and continue through March 2011.

HFHMC is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that builds simple, decent houses in partnership with people in need in the community. Through donations of time, materials and investment, HFHMC houses are sold to families at no profit and financed with affordable, no-interest loans.

For information, call 251-476-7171 or visit HabitatMobile.org.

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Cycle United United Way of Southwest Alabama will host its third annual Cycle United on Saturday, August 7, beginning at 7 a.m., with staggered starts. The event was created to help raise awareness of United Way’s work and community partner agencies, while providing a way for citizens to participate in a worthy endeavor.

Starting and finishing at the Municipal (Langan) Park pavilion, the family-oriented bike ride will travel through surrounding West Mobile communities. According to United Way spokesperson Kerry Ann Cohen, last year, Cycle United attracted more than 205 cyclists from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia.

Participants can register online at Active.com. Fees are $30 for adults and $15 for children under 12 registered prior to July 24, or $40 and $25, respectively, after that date.

Through a partnership of volunteers, donors, business leaders and service providers, United Way of Southwest Alabama aims to strengthen neighborhoods, bolster the health of communities and change the lives of locals citizens in need.

Location: Municipal (Langan) Park, 4901 Zeigler Blvd., Mobile. For more information, call 251-4333624 or visit UWSA.org.

George Washington Carver Exhibit

This month, the Museum of Mobile wraps up Chicago Field Museum’s traveling George Washington Carver exhibit, on display through July 11. In a complex and intimate portrait of one of America’s best-known names but least studied men, visitors follow the fascinating life story of this scientist, conservationist, educator and humanitarian.

The exhibit brings together more than 100 artifacts from Carver’s personal life and work, along with animated and live videos, interactive displays, a diorama of Carver’s childhood farm, and a recreation of his mobile classroom, the Jesup Wagon. In support of the exhibition, the museum has also created a garden across the street, at Fort Condé. (See “George Washington Carver” on page 17.)

Admission to the George Washington Carver exhibit is free with general admission to the museum ($5/adults, $4/seniors, $3/students and free for children under 6).

Location: 111 South Royal Street, Mobile.

Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Last tickets are sold at 4:15 p.m. For information, call 251-208-7569 or visit MuseumOfMobile.com.

Easy Gardening: Just Add Water

The Garden Boys, a local business specializing in the creation of backyard gardens in Mobile and Baldwin counties, is accepting new clients. Customers can choose from a variety of plot sizes and an assortment of vegetables for planting.

After building a garden for his wife and several relatives, owner and former farmer Wayne Malone says his business took off by means of word of mouth. “People want to garden, but they don’t want to go out and get the space ready,” he says. “The hard part is preparing and planting the beds.”

The Garden Boys staff takes care of the initial hard work required in cleaning the area, preparing the soil and planting the beds. Customers must water their plants regularly and harvest the produce.

Malone says July is an ideal time to start a garden, because almost anything can be planted.

Malone donates a portion of all proceeds to a ministry program that mentors underprivileged youth and their parents.

For more information, call 251-709-3371. See ad on page 8.

Mary Ann’s Moves to the Market

The Southeast Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Atlanta recently honored 19 conservation partners across the Southeast at the 2010 Regional Director’s Conservation Awards. Alabama’s sea turtle conservation efforts through Share the Beach and the habitat preservation initiated by the Mobile River Basin Aquatics Team were both recognized.

Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Colette Boehm received the award for the Share the Beach program. With its website serving as the main source of information about Alabama sea turtles and the efforts of the program’s volunteers, Share the Beach has been instrumental in the survival of more than 20,000 sea turtle hatchlings since 2001.

The Mobile River Basin Aquatics Team was recognized for their Strategic Habitat Plan initiative that targets the basin’s aquatics. Led by aquatic biologist Jeff Powell, a major achievement of this effort was the designation of 26 river and stream segments in the basin as critical habitat for 11 listed freshwater mussel species. These units contain a major proportion of the basin’s other imperiled aquatic fauna, including mussels, fishes, snails, and crayfish.

For more information about the awards, visit FWS.gov/southeast/ news/2010/r10-039.html.

Photo Credit: USFWS digital library

Fairhope shoppers now have two new reasons to visit the Windmill Market. The popular Mary Ann’s Deli has relocated there, and with this new addition, Windmill’s West Side Grocery is now open seven days a week.

While continuing to operate with the same full menu in their new location, the deli will also offer a selection of meals-to-go, including fully cooked casseroles that are made from scratch and ready to heat and eat.

Since opening the environmentally friendly Windmill Market, owners Mac and Gina Walcott have been buzzing about new ways to improve and expand their brainchild. “The market’s mission is to be local,” says Mac. “You can’t get any more enthusiastically local than Mary Ann’s.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recognizes Local Efforts

Location: Corner of Equality Avenue and Bancroft Street, one block off Section Street, in Fairhope. For more information, find the Windmill Market on Facebook or visit WindmillMarket.org. natural awakenings

July 2010

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Baldwin County Schools Go Green

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Americorps are partnering in an effort to engage students in the greening of their own schools. With Foley High School serving as the “seed” school, the first year of this initiative will teach students to measure the results of energy-efficiency improvements. Foley students will create a series of recommendations for more intensive future enhancements to the school and learn how to calculate the return on investment from their recommended changes.

Organizers plan to produce a guide, so the program can be duplicated and other schools can be involved. Rebecca Bryant, the USGBC green schools advocate for Alabama, is organizing support from local professionals to help with the effort. With the first planning meeting scheduled for July 21, this initiative is being planned during the summer and will launch in the fall.

A tour of two green schools in New Orleans that are being studied as examples for this program will be organized by the group and will be open to anyone interested in energy-efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly schools.

Volunteer Opportunities Needed!

Starting next month, Natural Awakenings will feature a special section devoted to volunteer recruitment. If you are in need of volunteers, contact us with your needs today! It’s free!

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For information, contact Rebecca Bryant at Rebecca@ Watershed.pro or call 251-517-5214.

Healing the Earth With Meditation and Yoga

Yoga instructor Billie Reinhart will host a yoga practice and meditation in an effort to help heal the Earth and benefit the animals affected by the oil spill July 31, at Integrated Fitness, in Fairhope. Participants are invited to take part in any or all parts of this workshop. Yoga will begin at 9:15 a.m. A 30-minute meditation on healing the Earth will follow at 10:15 a.m.

Reinhart says, “My heart breaks when I look at the pictures of the animals that are suffering from this disaster. There is a lot of pain and uncertainty around the Gulf right now, and I’d like to do what I can by raising money and manifesting healing.”

Inspired to bring people together to create a positive change while finding some healing for participants, Reinhart will donate all proceeds from this workshop to a wildlife organization. The cost of the event is $20. For those unable to attend, donations are being accepted.

July is the perfect time to plant your Fall garden!

THE GARDEN BOYS Vegetable Gardens!

All you do is water daily.

For more information, call 251-379-4493 or visit MindAndMotionYoga.com.

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We plant backyard

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We’ll take care of everything else!

PRICING

small 5x3 $50  regular 5x6 $100 deluxe 5x10 $200  premium 5x20 $500 A portion of all proceeds is donated to Mentoring All Youths Individually (MAY I).

CONTACT

Wayne  251-709-3371 Please leave a message if no one answers.

wisewords

How has food influenced your life?

A Conversation with

MARIEL HEMINGWAY Her Kitchen Wisdom for Healthy Living

by Giovanna Aguilar

T

You juggle many responsibilities and roles in your personal and professional life. What advice can you offer readers for achieving balance in their lives?

his month Natural Awakenings speaks with Mariel Hemingway about her personal journey to achieving a healthy and happy life. The veteran actress has practiced and taught yoga for 20 years and avidly pursues avenues of sustainable living and holistic health. Her most recent books include Mariel’s Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life and Mariel Hemingway’s Healthy Living From the Inside Out.

You must make time for what’s most important to you. Ask yourself questions so that you can find places where you can pull back and reset your priorities. How much television do you watch? Are you taking time to exercise? Do you take five minutes to close your eyes, breathe and listen to internal whispers? It’s often the everyday places, people and things of value that work to keep you connected and balanced.

In Mariel’s Kitchen, you stress the importance of local seasonal eating.

What do you consider an ideal meal?

It’s important to connect nature with food—knowing where foods come from, knowing about local farms and farmers’ markets. My perfect meal is something that is very simple, fresh and seasonal. The key is to use the right ingredients, a little olive oil and herbs.

One of my favorites is searing fish so that it is raw on the inside and serving it with a wonderful aioli or fruit salsa and a lightly steamed, seasonal vegetable.

You are a big advocate of organic food, which can be pricey for families on tight budgets. How can healthy eating be accessible to all?

It’s about choices. When people want to eat healthier and believe organic is too expensive, I ask them to consider how many times they buy café coffee or order out. When you start to look at food and how you live your life as a method of preventive medicine, it

My mother went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to learn how to cook. My family was crazy about food; growing up, I was obsessive about food and used it to fill a hole and replace love. I fasted and tried all kinds of diets, which eventually shut down my thyroid. I wound up needing to go to such extremes in order to find my center; now I’m privileged to be able to help other people find theirs.

What I have realized is that instead of serving as a substitute for love, food should come from love as an expression of sharing and giving.

becomes obvious that getting sick [due to poor nutrition and a weak immune system] is a lot more expensive.

How did you come up with the concept for your health snack, Blisscuits?

My mother had cancer when I was a child, and I was her primary caregiver, so I saw what chemotherapy and radiation did to her. When my ex-husband was diagnosed with cancer, I created the cookies as part of a healthy, holistic lifestyle that could help heal him. They are gluten- and sugar-free and healthful. He is now 11 years in remission and well because he made many good choices. Another reason I developed Blisscuits was to feed my daughters as they were growing up in a world of unhealthy snacks.

What projects are you working on that you’d like to share?

I’m currently producing a film based on my grandfather’s book [referring to Ernest Hemingway], A Moveable Feast, and an environment-focused television show with my boyfriend and business partner, Bobby Williams, shot in amazingly beautiful places. It will start filming in the United States, but we plan to shoot internationally, starting with Costa Rica. Bobby and I are also writing a book, Be You Now. Connect on the Internet by visiting MarielHemingway.com and Twitter. com/MarielHemingway.

Giovanna Aguilar is a freelance writer based in New York City. Reach her at LifestyleTargeting.com.

natural awakenings

July 2010

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globalbriefs

Lunch Box

Funding Debate Slows Upgrade of School Nutrition

Economic Security

Buying at Home Keeps America Strong Poll after poll points to Americans’ preference for locally produced goods, according to msn.com; the real question is if we are willing to look for them and pay more. A 21st-century grassroots website, StillMadeInUSA.com, provides a helping hand with an online shopping directory of American brands. Categories range from personal apparel, handcrafts and household goods to tools, sports and entertainment, and include special occasions and shop-by-geography menus.

“I try to buy American products whenever possible, but as a working mother of three boys, I don’t have time to drive from store to store or search for hours online,” says founder Stephanie Sanzone, explaining her website’s genesis.

The Made in USA label represents a heightened concern for guarding American manufacturing jobs, worker and environmental health, product quality, consumer safety, national competitiveness and security while defending against an increasing trade deficit.

Donate a Day

Crop Mobs Sustain Small Farms and Build Communities Across the country, crop mobs comprising dozens of mostly 20-something volunteers periodically gather at local sustainable small farms to donate their time to make immediate improvements. These landless farmers, apprentices, interns and the “agricurious” comprise a remarkably effective traveling work party, often assisted by experienced farmers and gardeners eager to share their know-how with the next generation. Assigned tasks might be mulching, building a greenhouse, prepping garden beds or bringing in a harvest.

“The more tedious the work we have, the better,” says Rob Jones, co-founder of the spreading movement, which originated in North Carolina’s Triangle in response to a regional surge in sustainable farming. “Because part of crop mob is about community and camaraderie, you find there’s nothing like picking rocks out of fields to bring people together.”

It’s all about building the community necessary to practice this kind of laborintensive agriculture and to put the power to muster help into the hands of future local food producers. Any crob mobber can call a crop mob to do the kind of work it takes a community to do. Participants work together, share meals, play, talk and make music.

No money is exchanged; it’s the stuff that communities are made of.

For information and contacts in various states, visit CropMob.org.

For the past year, Slow Food USA has led a consumer campaign now exceeding 100,000 emails asking Congress to improve school nutrition.

“We cannot, in good conscience, continue to make our kids sick by feeding them cheap byproducts of an industrial food system,” states Josh Viertel, president of Slow Food USA. “It is time to give kids real food, food that tastes good, is good for them, is good for the people who grow and prepare it and is good for the planet.”

President Obama has proposed investing an additional $1 billion a year to help schools serve healthier food, but Congress is hesitating to approve the full amount. This change to the five-year Child Nutrition Act, now up for renewal, would add 20 cents to the $1 allocated for ingredients in each school lunch.

School nutrition directors say an additional $1 is needed to serve sufficient vegetables, fruits and whole grains, making the ultimate goal $4 billion a year.

Meanwhile, the viable farm-to-school movement is seeking just $50 million of the total to link local farms with schools.

Vending machines also must be subject to stronger nutrition standards.

“Kids have the most at stake here,” remarks Emily Ventura, of Slow Food Los Angeles. “This is their future, their health, their quality of life. But it’s also America’s future.”

Support the Time for Lunch campaign at SlowFoodUSA.org.

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Parents’ Day on July 25 honors responsible parenting and uplifts ideal parental role models for our nation’s children. ~ ParentsDay.com

New Paradigm

Natural Spin

Research Shows We Can Feed the World Sustainably A benchmark study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research says that it’s possible to sustainably feed the world’s estimated 2050 population of 9 billion, while still preserving the planet. Findings suggest that a diet equivalent to eating meat three times a week would employ green farming methods, leave forests untouched and raise animals only under free-range conditions.

“We can actually do without factory farming,” concludes Lasse Brauun, of Compassion in World Farming. “With 60 billion animals being reared for livestock production every year and the figure set to double by 2050, we really need to reconsider our approach. Animals are being reared like factory units to provide us with cheap meat. The true cost of eating too much meat is animal suffering, deforestation and obesity.”

The Indian state of Sikkim in the Himalayas is among those showing the way.

The government plans to have all of its arable land of 173,000 acres certified organic by 2015.

Eating Sewage

Avoid Sludge Used and Sold as Fertilizer Eight million tons of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, euphemistically renamed biosolids, is annually marketed as fertilizer and applied to the American farms and gardens that grow our food, as well as the parks where we play. No food crop, aside from those labeled U.S. Department of Agriculture certified organic, is regulated to guard against it being grown on land treated with this sludge.

Because of the nitrogen and phosphorous found in human solid waste residue, the sludge industry and certain government bodies overlook the toxic blend of all that goes down the drain. That’s why a few conscientious companies like Del Monte and Heinz have long had a policy not to purchase food grown in sludge.

Sewage sludge contains antimicrobial compounds, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and pathogens that may be absorbed by food crops, water supplies and our bodies. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency requires testing for only nine chemical elements and two bacteria for land application of sewage sludge and no testing for residue buildup in soil. Meanwhile, studies from universities including Yale, Cornell and Johns Hopkins express concerns about the health and safety of this practice.

To protect health: Buy USDA-certified organic; ask at farm stands if they use sludge or biosolids; inquire about food and bagged fertilizer companies’ policies; and tell elected officials that citizens don’t want sewage sludge in America’s food and water supplies. For more information visit United Sludge-Free Alliance at USludgeFree.org.

Shoppers Vote for Healthier Choices Attendees at this year’s mega Natural Products Expo West, in Anaheim, California, saw everything from organic burritos and glass baby bottles to bags that extend the life of produce. “The 30th anniversary of the event mirrors major business and consumer shifts to values of health and sustainability,” observed Fred Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media. Organic products and green packaging are in—genetically modified foods are out.

Accordingly, The Fresh Ideas Group, which monitors new-product trends, has forecasted lower prices for private label organic food in 2010 and an increase in foods with fewer processed ingredients and more whole grains. While organic still accounts for less than 5 percent of national food sales, overall sales of organic foods and other products was up 5 percent in 2009, more than double the growth of conventional wares.

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July 20106/1/10 1:42 11 PM

A Beautiful New Direction

globalbrief

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Conscious Mile Center for Spiritual Living It’s like night and day.

1230 Montlimar Drive (off Airport) Mobile, AL 36609 cmspiritualcenter.org 251-343-0777

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Sundays:

9:30 am Meditation 10:00 am Service Wednesdays: 7:00 pm Service

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Following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, British Petroleum (BP) has released more than 1 million gallons of the chemical dispersant Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico, despite the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warning that it is the most toxic of the 18 dispersants it has tested. While slowing the surfacing of the gushing oil, it may do far more to hide the true magnitude of the disaster from public scrutiny than to save the beaches.

Dispersants are classified by the EPA as bioaccumulators, which are known to drive toxic hydrocarbons from crude oil directly into marine life, while distributing toxins throughout the water column, where they can do the most harm to the widest range of species. The public already has seen how use of chemical dispersants has accelerated the oil’s entry into the loop current and Gulf Stream, where it now poses a significant threat to the health of the world’s oceans.

Experts explain that accelerating the biodegradation of the oil by ocean bacteria using dispersants causes oxygen depletion and animal death. Making the problem worse, dispersing the problem this way also hinders the recovery of the oil through siphoning, and enables it to slip more easily under protective booms into beaches and wetland habitats.

OilSpillTruth.wordpress.com details the issue. Sign the petition at ThePetitionSite. com/25/stop-the-use-of-dispersants-in-thegulf and contact your state representatives to object (via USA.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml).

healthbriefs

Prevention Is Worth a Barrel of Oil

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hether we are smelling it or not, the oil from the Gulf is often in the air. “Minuscule oil particles can find their way into our lungs,” says Laurie Azzarella, Young Living educator. “With the use of essential oils, we can dissolve these particles before they compound into a breathing problem.”

Azzarella recommends using a cold air nebulizer diffuser in homes and offices to help protect and strengthen respiratory systems for the long days ahead. As little as one ounce of therapeutic-grade essential oil, which is more complex than a fragrancing oil, can help dissolve the petrochemicals that people are breathing everyday.

For more information on Young Living Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils, contact Laurie Azzarella at 850-380-4943 or LaurieAzzarella@gmail.com. A free information class will be offered on July 22 (see Calendar, page 34).

Why Mangos are Good for Us

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ncluding mangos in summer fruit salads adds both delicious sweetness and health benefits. A new study by Texas AgriLife Research food scientists examined five mango varieties most common in the United States: Ataulfo, Francine, Haden, Kent and Tommy Atkins, and found that the tropical fruit has anti-cancer properties.

When exposed to a variety of cancer cells in the laboratory, mango turned out to be especially effective against certain breast and colon cancers. The researchers attribute the cancer-fighting properties to the fruit’s polyphenolics, a class of bioactive compounds responsible for preventing or stopping cancer cells.

As one might expect with an all natural anti-cancer agent, normal cells were not affected by the mango, which targeted only cells that had gone bad, by interrupting their mutated division cycles.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLive Communications, 2010

In a 2008 U.S. Food and Drug Administration survey, more than half (54 percent) of consumers said they now read the label the first time they buy a product. That’s a 10 percent improvement since the 2002 survey. ~ FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 2010

Another Strike Against Saturated Fats

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aturated fat commonly found in ice cream, butter, cheese, milk and beef does not behave like fats in other foods, suggests a study from the UT Southwestern Medical Center, in Texas. The researchers found that when brain chemistry gets hit with such fatty acids, it fails to signal the body to stop eating, even when it’s had enough.

Vitamin D Makes News

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itamin D is one of the few vitamins our body can produce itself when bare skin is exposed to ultraviolet B light. But this sunshine vitamin that is known to influence the immune system seems to be in short supply, and mounting studies point to serious health risks that can result from a vitamin D deficiency.

According to researchers at National Jewish Health, a leading respiratory hospital, low levels of vitamin D have been associated with decreased lung function and greater use of medications in children with asthma, as well as increased occurrence of a common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age.

Now, a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health suggests that women living in northern states are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting a link between the autoimmune disease and vitamin D deficiency. Meanwhile, research at the University of Warwick Medical School has shown that middleaged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of developing heart disease or diabetes by 43 percent.

To ensure that our body produces enough vitamin D to keep us healthy, experts suggest that we expose ourselves to 15 to 18 minutes of sunshine daily.

Eating foods that contain small amounts of vitamin D, such as fish, mushrooms, eggs and dairy products, also helps to keep our vitamin D levels up.

Contributing sources: Medscape.com and nih.gov

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onstick cookware, popular because it’s convenient to use and clean, also emits toxic fumes when overheated. Tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have shown that in just two to five minutes on a conventional stovetop, cookware coated with Teflon and other nonstick surfaces can exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart and emits toxic particles and gases. They posit that the same holds true for ovenware. At the same time, the researchers report that ingesting inert particles that have come off scratched cookware isn’t a hazard.

EWG’s recommended alternatives are stainless steel and cast iron cookware.

However, for families stuck with nonstick pots and pans, the group offers the following tips: Never preheat nonstick cookware empty or at high heat and make sure to cook food at the lowest possible temperature possible for safe cooking.

Don’t put nonstick cookware in an oven hotter than 500 degrees and use an exhaust fan. Keep pet birds out of the kitchen, because they are particularly susceptible to the fumes.

Skip Nonstick Pans

For a free downloadable Guide to PFCs (perfluorochemicals) and how to avoid them in a wide range of products, including cookware, visit ewg.org/EWGGuide-to-PFCs.

Exotic Superfruit Mangosteen juice has anti-inflammatory properties that could prove to be valuable in preventing the development of heart disease and diabetes in obese patients.

A study published in BioMed Central’s open access Nutrition Journal states that the juice of the exotic superfruit lowers levels of C-reactive protein, a key factor associated with inflammation.

Slow Down at Mealtime The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports that eating a meal too quickly reduces release of the hormones in the gut that induce feelings of being full, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

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A Perspective on Soy

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ith many new soy foods on the market today, from nuts and beans to energy bars and powdered drinks, choosing those that are most healthful can be confusing. Soy has received mixed reviews, even though it has been eaten in Asia for hundreds of generations without reported adverse effects and is a staple in vegetarian kitchens worldwide. In its natural state, the soybean has proved to be high in nutritional value as a non-animal source of essential amino acids, qualifying it as the only complete plant protein.

The controversy centers on 20thcentury isolation of the soybean’s beneficial compounds, isoflavones, that in their natural state have been found to protect against breast, prostate and colon cancers, menopausal symptoms, heart disease and osteoporosis. Rather than use the whole food, the manufactured food industry instead has added these compounds in isolated form to various products.

Concerns arise because the isolated plant compounds act differently in the body when they lack the supporting vitamins, minerals and plant substances present in natural whole soy. Also, their amount and concentration in manufactured foods tend to exceed what is present in whole soy foods.

To avoid the risk of overexposure to isolated soy compounds and still reap soy’s many health benefits, look for organic, non-GMO (genetically modified organism) whole soy products. Examples include tofu, tempeh, edamame and whole canned or frozen soy beans, as well as products produced from whole soy, such as soy flour, soy milk, miso and soy sauces like tamari or shoyu.

Source: Research compiled by Monika Rice, who holds a master’s degree in holistic nutrition and is a regular contributor to Natural Awakenings.

consciouseating

BACKYARD

GARDENING HOW TO GET A LOT FROM YOUR PLOT

by Barbara Pleasant

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hether this is your first year growing a kitchen garden or your thumb glows green from years of use, it’s possible to quickly turn dreams of bountiful organic harvests into a reality. Even small gardens can be surprisingly productive, sometimes yielding enough squash to feed the neighborhood. These 10 tips will help you reap top harvests of superb vegetables and herbs.

Shop from Your Garden First. After a lifetime of buying food in stores, you may need to change your shopping habits to accommodate the stream of veggies from your own produce patch. It makes sense to shop there first. When you plan meals based upon your garden’s abundance, much less overripe produce ends up as compost.

Spread on the Mulch. Everywhere but in the subtropics, rain often becomes scarce in summer, so do everything you can to keep plants supplied with consistent moisture. Tomatoes, in particular, are sensitive to changes in soil moisture that can lead to black spots on the bottoms of ripening fruits. In any climate, drip irrigation from soaker hoses on the surface makes watering easy and efficient. Covering the hoses with mulch reduces surface evaporation and discourages weeds at the same time.

Harvest Often. From snap beans to zucchini, vegetables will be longer and stronger if you keep them picked. Gather what’s ripe at least three times a week. Early morning is the best time to gather garden-fresh veggies.

Make Plenty of Pesto. A fast-growing annual herb that loves hot weather, basil will keep producing new leaves over a longer time if you harvest big bunches just as the plants develop buds and flowers (the flowers are edible, too). If you have too much basil to use right away, purée washed leaves with olive oil and lemon juice, then cover with water in ice cube trays and freeze. Store the hard cubes in freezer bags for use in making pesto during non-harvest months.

Squeeze Tomatoes. In choosing your favorite tomatoes, taste them fairly by keeping them in a warm place because cool temperatures can destroy their flavor compounds. In addition to watching the vines for ripe colors, make a habit of gently squeezing tomatoes to judge their firmness, the same way you might check an avocado or peach. Heirloom varieties, in natural awakenings

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particular, are at their best just as they begin to soften, but may become mealy if you wait too long.

Taste Local Favorites. Trying new crops is always fun, especially if you know they grow well in your region.

To learn more about which vegetables and herbs naturally grow well in your climate and soil, visit local farmers’ markets to see what local organic farmers are growing. Any crop that grows well in a neighbor’s field is likely to also do well in your garden.

Keep Your Cool. Take on big garden tasks early in the morning or in the evening, when it’s cool. If you must work outdoors on a hot day, try freezing damp kitchen towels into a U-shape and drape a frozen collar around your neck to keep from overheating.

Bet on Beans. Most vegetables are fast-growing annuals that decline after they have produced for several weeks.

Replace tattered spring crops with fastgrowing bush snap beans, which will promptly sprout and grow in all but the hottest climates. Where summers are

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sultry, there is often time to follow spring crops with a planting of edamame (edible green soybeans), which offer sensational taste, texture and nutrition.

Sow More Salad. Lettuce and other salad greens often go to seed and turn bitter when hot weather comes, but a second salad season is right around the corner. Leafy greens, from arugula to tatsoi (a gorgeous Asian mustard), thrive from late summer to fall in most climates. Keep seeds left over from spring in the refrigerator and start planting them outside as soon as cooler nights arrive in late summer. In subtropical areas, start seeds indoors and set the

seedlings out after the hottest months have passed.

Fortify Soil. Each time you cultivate a bed, mix in a generous helping of compost or another form of rich, organic matter. Over time, the soil will become better and better, which means ever more beautiful homegrown veggies, fresh from your own garden.

Barbara Pleasant is the author of numerous gardening books; this year’s release is Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens. For more information visit BarbaraPleasant.com.

SCIATICA? BACK PAIN? HIP PAIN?

POOR POSTURE? Relaxing 20 minutes daily on the Sacro Wedgy® may be all you need. Placed under the sacrum (tailbone), it allows the hips to suspend and relax, letting go of nerves and ultimately “rebalancing.” Only $29.95.

For the therapist:

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

Demonstrations or info, call 251-653-9258 or 800-737-9295 www.sacrowedgy.com

communityspotlight

George Washington Carver A Green Movement Pioneer and Communal Garden Inspiration

By Sara Breland

Although most people believe Dr. George Washington Carver to be the inventor of peanut butter, he was not. He was the pioneer of the green movement long before anyone thought about recycling. He believed that nature produces no waste, and neither should man. Carver’s ideas about conservation were ahead of his time. Blazing the trail for the development of products from plants, a field known as chemurgy, he found hundreds of uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans, including laundry soap, linoleum, wallboard and rubber.

Today’s accelerating research on plant-based fuels is rooted in Carver’s early studies of the production of biofuels with Henry Ford.

As a part of the Museum of Mobile’s temporary exhibit, and to help carry on Carver’s legacy, the museum created the Our Own Destiny communal garden at Fort Condé with funding from the Alabama Association of Resource Conservation & Development Councils and the J.L. Bedsole Foundation. Selected students from Florence Howard Elementary and Prichard Prep visited in the spring to study the methods and approaches of gardening as taught by Carver. The purpose of this garden was to educate students about gardening techniques such as scouting (organic pest-control), composting and weeding. Through hands-on activities, students not only learned about the techniques developed by Carver, but

also produced a garden brimming with cabbage, turnips, tomatoes and more.

After planting, fertilizing and watching their crops grow, students were able to reap the results of their hard work. Not only did they harvest their own vegetables, they learned the benefits of a nutritional diet through cooking and eating food they produced. Working together to make sweet potato casserole and Texas caviar dip, the students enjoyed the casseroles as an afternoon snack at the conclusion of the project.

To celebrate their hard work and dedication to this garden project, each participating student was given a plant and starter kit to continue Carver’s practices at home. They were taught how to plant and maintain their plants, and will enjoy watching a garden of their own grow at home.

The exhibit and garden will be on display through July 11 at the Museum of Mobile, 111 S. Royal Street, Mobile 36602.

For more information, call 251-208-7569 or visit MuseumOfMobile.com.

Sara Breland, an intern at the Museum of Mobile, is a senior at the University of South Alabama majoring in Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Psychology. natural awakenings

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COMMUNITY GARDENS For individuals or families who don’t have a yard suitable for gardening, or apartment dwellers with no yard at all, community gardens are an excellent alternative.

While plot sizes and other details vary from garden to garden, these green spaces are maintained in a communal manner by the individuals sharing the land. Community gardens promote fresh, local food consumption, provide positive recreational opportunities accessible to all ages, beautify public spaces, and contribute to healthy social communities.

There are several in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

De Tonti Square Community Garden

Orange Beach Community Garden

Conception Street, between Adams and Congress streets, downtown Mobile

North of Canal Road, behind the Orange Beach Aquatic Center, Orange Beach

Comprised of 10 raised beds, this garden is fully subscribed, with a waiting list for future years. The garden is organic and uses a rainwater catchment system for watering the plots.

Located on property owned by the city, this garden has 48 11-by-11-foot plots available for annual leases.

Fairhope Community Garden Greeno Road, behind Homestead Village, Fairhope

Providence Farms Community Garden

The Fairhope Local Food Production Initiative is now accepting applications for the first of its two planned gardens. Work on the Homestead site will be completed during the summer in preparation for fall planting in the garden’s 20 plots, which will be available for year-long leases.

Raised garden plots are open to anyone in the community for an annual fee, with the agreement that gardeners will share a quarter of their produce with those in need.

Providence Presbyterian Church 2320 Schillinger Road S., Mobile

Contact Ed Lawrence at 251-928-4646 or visit FairhopeLocalFood.org.

Visit Providence-PC.org, or call 251-633-9701.

Mobile Community Garden

Redeemer Environmental Stewardship Community Garden

Corner of Adams and Calhoun streets, downtown Mobile In partnership with Housing First, Points of Light/Hands On Network, Alabama Extension Service and local residents, this garden was created to benefit homeless and area residents in the downtown community. Three beds were built in September 2009 and have been planted, tended to, and harvested by local residents.

Contact Hands On at 251-433-4456.

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Contact garden board member Laura Thomas at 251-747-8172.

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Church of the Redeemer 7125 Hitt Road, Mobile Currently a demonstration garden producing vegetables that are distributed with food pantry donations and used in church meals, this garden plans to expand and offer plots to the community.

Contact the church at 251-639-1948.

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LOCAVORE NATION SAVOR THE REIGN OF REGIONAL FOODS

by Judith Fertig

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onsider Boston cod, Georgia peach pie, Florida’s Indian River grapefruit, wheat from Kansas, heirloom tomatoes from Colorado, Michigan sour cherries, Texas pinto beans and California wines.

While the definition of American cuisine is difficult to pinpoint, it definitely exists in regional form, say the Americans polled by the James Beard Foundation. It’s the particular tastes of the places we call home.

There’s a delicious reason why regional foods remain popular; as The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture found, the average “fresh” food item on American dinner tables now travels 1,500 miles to get there—and often tastes like it.

Taste is All About Terroir “Place-based foods have a unique taste, related to the soil, water, air and cli-

mate of a region, as well as the ethnic or regional heritage of their producers,” advises Rachelle H. Saltzman, folklife coordinator and director of the Iowa Place-Based Foods project. She notes that regional food might be considered a result of the happy pairing of nature and nurture.

Regional foods start with terroir, a French term that refers to a peculiar combination of microclimate and geography. If we draw a circle with its center in our own backyard, the area within the circumference of the circle that encloses the same climate and geography is the general terroir.

Although terroir is in wide use in reference to wines, it also applies to any food. Terroir accounts for the differences in flavor between mild orange blossom honey from Arizona, aromatic and pear-like tupelo honey from Florida, amber-colored and medium-

flavored clover honey from Iowa and dark and slightly sulfurous sunflower honey originating in South Dakota.

“When you eat honey that local bees make, you’re eating an easily digestible, raw food full of enzymes, pollen, vitamins, proteins and minerals from the region,” says Tony Schwager of Anthony’s Beehive, in Lawrence, Kansas. Bees forage for nectar in nearby blossoms and then do all the processing in the hive. The result is a regional food yielding more than 300 varieties across the United States.

Even Vermont maple syrup can register the flavor changes from terroir, according to Amy Trubek, assistant professor of nutrition and food sciences at The University of Vermont and author of The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey Into Terroir. Trubek is participating in an ongoing study of the character of small-batch maple syrups.

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“Like Burgundy wines or Savoie cheeses, the terroir of maple syrups matters,” she says. For example, maple syrup—a whole food made only from the sap that rises in the tree only after a long, cold winter—can taste different depending on whether the maple tree grows in areas rich in limestone (giving flavor notes of caramel, vanilla and bitter almond) or schist (where minerals yield a slightly moldy note), giving it a unique taste of place.

Wild Bounty Before European settlement here, Native American tribes were often identified—and strengthened physically and spiritually—by the regional foods they ate, whether gathered by hunting or fishing in the wild or raised themselves. Early visiting explorers and naturalists noted such delicacies as wild strawberries growing along the New Hampshire shoreline, native persimmons in Virginia and beach plums on Cape Cod.

In Early American Gardens: For Meate or Medicine, gardener and author Ann Leighton chronicles which plants were native to New England and which ones the 17th-century colonists brought or had sent from England.

The resulting cuisine evolved into a fusion of English recipes with New World ingredients.

Through many generations, regional cuisines developed along the Eastern seaboard, often featuring maple syrup, cranberries, wild blackberries, corn, pumpkins, Carolina gold rice, cod, clams, blue crab, shad and shrimp. Grafting 20

new and old world plants produced the happy accidents of the Bartlett pear, Concord grape and Newtown Pippin apple. What grew in these innovative gardens naturally began to grace American tables.

“Native corn became a truly American food,” observes Lenore Greenstein, a food and nutrition journalist who has taught at several U.S. universities. “The corn of the settlers, however, was not the sweet corn we know today, but the field corn used to feed livestock and make corn meal, syrup and starches.

Sweet corn was unknown until 1779, yet by 1850 it had replaced field corn on American tables.”

Ethnic Traditions Beyond the land itself, regional foods continue to be influenced by the transportation routes followed in early trading ventures; the ways of the English homeland were soon joined by those of African slaves.

Greenstein relates that New Orleans’ famous gumbo comes from the African ngombo, for okra, its principal ingredient.

The thick stew gets “In this wine, you can taste some of its distincthe magical place where tive flavor and smooth texture from gumbo file our children, Hailey and powder made of dried, Loren, grew up. Aromas wild sassafras leaves. of blackberries and bay In other parts of the South, a cuisine that leaves, like those that grow became known as soul along the spring-fed creek food grew up around with subtle notes of tobacco, dishes made from produce that slaves could smoke and earth, dance in grow in their own the background, derived kitchen gardens: boiled peanuts, sweet potato from the soil itself.” pie, boiled greens and ~ Janet Trefethen, of Trefethen black-eyed peas.

Immigrants from Family Vineyards, in Napa, Ireland who arrived in California, about its HaLo the New World during the potato famine of cabernet sauvignon.

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What’s Growing in Your Region?

Slow Food, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to “good, clean and fair food,” has created an American Ark of Taste, its list of regional foods. Backyard entries include the granite beauty apple from New Hampshire, green striped cushaw [squash] from Tennessee, hand-harvested wild rice from Minnesota, Four Corners gold bean from Colorado, Padre plum from California and Alaskan birch syrup. (See SlowFoodUSA. org/downloads/Ark_Foods_By_ Region_9.29_.09_.pdf) To find local farms and producers, visit: LocalHarvest.org, SustainableTable.org/ issues/eatlocal and FoodRoutes.org.

the 1840s and those Europeans promised free land under the Homestead Acts of the 1860s brought garden seeds, favorite plants and ethnic food traditions with them, further enlarging our country’s collective eating repertoire to include sauerkraut, coleslaw, cheesecake, cinnamon rolls and potato salad.

Mennonite farmers who had emigrated from the Netherlands to

Good for Our Community

Germany and then on to Russia, as their pacifist views clashed with the prevailing governments, finally left the steppes of the Ukraine for the similar terroir of the Kansas prairie in 1875. (This was around the same time that cowboys were herding longhorn cattle from Texas along the Chisholm Trail to railyards in Abilene, Kansas.)

The Mennonites brought bags of turkey red winter wheat seeds that helped transform the wild prairie into the cultivated “breadbasket” it is today.

In a similar fashion, Italian families coming to California brought their love of wine to a hilly region that benefited from moisture granted by the fog rolling in from the Pacific.

They knew how to make the most of a climate with a spring rainy season followed by a dry summer—great conditions for growing wine grapes.

Good for Us Food Foods naturally suited to their environment grow better, taste better and are packed with more nutrients, reports Sustainable Table, an educational nonprofit working to build healthy communities through sustainable eating habits (SustainableTable.org).

When grown and consumed locally, foods escape the degradation of being irradiated for longer shelf life. When they come from organic farms, they’re also grown without pesticides and herbicides.

Consider also that milk from dairy cattle raised in areas where they can eat grass for most of the year has a better flavor and contains more beneficial nutrients than milk from grain-fed cows. Jeni Britton Bauer uses regional Midwestern ingredients—including organic milk from grass-fed cows, local goat cheese, foraged wild foods and organic berries—for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. “We couldn’t believe the difference in flavor in milk from grass-fed versus grain-fed cows,” she says. “It’s because grass-fed cows produce milk with more conjugated linoleic acid, a cancer-fighting compound, as well as healthful omega-3 fatty acids.” Local examples such as hers illustrate the larger truth.

“Indian beliefs are the same and different [from one another]. For us, the sacred food is salmon; for the Plains Indians it was buffalo; in the Southwest it was corn. We all see food as part of our religion, but different foods give us our strengths… if we move about from place to place, we become separate from our sacred foods; we become weak.” ~ Louie H. Dick, Jr. of Oregon’s Umatilla tribe in “Water is a Medicine that Can Touch Your Heart” from Native Heritage: Personal Accounts by American Indians 1790 to the Present, edited by Arlene Hirschfelder

Growing and eating regional foods is equally beneficial for our communities.

According to Larry West, a writer for E/The Environmental Magazine, most farmers on average receive only 20 cents of each food dollar spent on what they produce. The remaining profit gets consumed by transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration and marketing costs when their crops travel far and wide. Farmers who choose to sell their foods to local customers see a better return on their investment. When neighbors choose to eat locally, it supports local agriculture and encourages continued use of area land for farms, keeping development in check while preserving open space.

There are even more benefits.

Research by Duncan Hilchey, a senior extension associate at Cornell University, and his colleagues in upstate New York found that regional agriculture contributes to the local economy, provides fresh food and a secure food supply, and plays a role in preserving our rural heritage. In Goût de Terroir: Exploring the Boundaries of Specialty Agricultural Landscapes, he concludes that “Agricultural landscapes, and the regional cuisine and foodways [culinary practices] to which they contribute, offer powerful expressions of place.”

As Greenstein sums it up, “Regional food is better, however you look at it.”

Judith Fertig is a freelance food writer in Overland Park, KS; for more information visit AlfrescoFoodAndLife style.blogspot.com.

Primary sources: Tony Schwager at AnthonysBeehive.com; Lenore Greenstein at LenoreSue@Comcast.net; Rachelle H. Saltzman at Riki.Saltzman@Iowa.gov; Duncan Hilchey at Duncan@NewLeafNet.com; Justin Rashid at SpoonFoods. com; Amy Trubek at Amy.Trubek@uvm. edu; and Jeni Britton Bauer at JenisIceCreams.com Also, Culinaria: The United States, A Culinary Discovery, edited by Randi Danforth, Peter Feierabend and Gary Chassman; and Early American Gardens: For Meate or Medicine by Ann Leighton natural awakenings

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Eating Locally on the Gulf Coast

by Meredith Montgomery

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eturis Farm Market is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., but owner Giuseppe Peturis says, “People don’t pay attention to our hours very much. We have a couple from the subdivision across the street that often comes by at 9 p.m. to get some produce. They just leave money by our door, or come back the next day to pay.” This friendly Daphne market is the epitome of the local food movement.

Giuseppe and his wife, who have been farming their entire lives, live onsite and run the market themselves. When they were no longer able to keep up with competition in the wholesale sector of the industry three years ago, they opened their retail market to sell a full line of fruits and veggies.

Visitors can see the produce being picked fresh every day, right on the farm.

Becoming a locavore is a growing trend in the world of food, for good reasons. Locally grown produce often tastes better, contributes to a healthier diet, supports the local economy and is an effective way to reduce carbon footprints.

Is it easy to eat locally in Gulf Coast Alabama? Yes—both Mobile and Baldwin counties offer a wealth of resources.

Farm-Fresh Produce

Another source of local food in Daphne is Allegri Farm Market, which also farms much of its own produce, growing less 22

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common varieties, such as goldenrod zucchini and five types of watermelon. Referencing an old wives’ tale, manager Patty Kontos says, “If you can’t sit bare bottom on the dirt for five minutes, you shouldn’t put anything in the ground,” pointing out that seasons determine the availability of local produce.

Allegri supplies as many Alabama products as possible, especially from Baldwin County. In addition to a colorful inventory of produce, they stock local eggs and goat milk, cheesecakes from Gulf Shores, rolls and rum cakes from Montgomery, and Viper barbecue sauce from Fairhope.

Kontos strongly backs the local food movement, commenting, “By providing local inventory, we are able to support the people who support us.” Despite purchasing smaller amounts of produce, local markets are often able to compete with big box stores because they buy directly from the grower and, as Kontos says, “It’s better quality and better value for the money.”

In Foley, two family-owned businesses provide local produce.

Krupinski’s has been around for 50 years and only sells what is grown on their farm, except for peaches.

Although best known for their supply of palm trees, Mike’s Produce and Plants also sells local fruits and vegetables. Employee Millie Chenot, who frequently provides recipes to customers, says, “Whatever we can get local, we do.”

Burris Farm Market, in Loxley, is known as, “Your first stop

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on the way to the beach and your last stop on the way back home,” and offers as much local produce as possible. What began as a roadside stand 25 years ago has grown into a large, open-air market frequented by locals and tourists. Customers enjoy the option of buying bushels of produce to can or freeze, so they can enjoy local foods year-round. Owner Jeanine Stewart, a former corporate CFO, and her husband, say, “We love this business, because it’s as close to farming as we can get without having a farm.”

“By providing local inventory, we are able to support the people who support us.”

-Patty Kontos, Allegri Market Manager Another new locavore venue, in Mobile, is Crab Apple Market. Since opening in April, owner Melissa Johnson says, “We sell any local produce we can get.” They currently have a full inventory of local vegetables and watermelon, as well as Gulf seafood. In addition to oysters, crabmeat, fish and shrimp, Crab Apple also stocks stuffed crab and shrimp, crab cakes and jalapeño poppers stuffed with crabmeat, all made in Mobile county.

Organic Options

Watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and okra are grown at Stewart Organic Farms, in Bay Minette. Customers can buy produce from owner Carl Stewart at the farm, or find him at farmers’ markets in Fairhope and Pensacola.

Virginia’s Health Foods, in Mobile, and its sister store, Fairhope Health Foods, sell only organic produce. Whenever possible, they stock local items, including hydroponically grown lettuce from Mobile county. The stores also sell local grass-fed beef, honey and goat milk.

Grass-Finished Beef

Although cattle are not biologically designed to eat grain, that is what most are fed. For a more sustainable, healthy option, choose grass-fed beef, which makes better use of resources.

Fidler Farms owner Jimmie Fidler explains, “The fence line surrounding the cattle is moved by 100 feet each day to shift their grazing area, and after 30 days, they’ve made a full rotation around the field.” The result is a well-composted field, ideal for growing the Fidler’s other crop, peanuts.

This Silverhill farm’s products can be bought directly on the farm or from retailers such as Allegri’s, in Daphne, or Jack’s Produce, in Mobile. Fidler Farms sells ground meat, roasts, burger patties and steaks, in addition to peanuts, roasted and boiled year-round, and green in the fall.

Boutwell Farms, another source for Alabama beef, also

offers organic, grass-fed poultry and pork. Their mission is to provide local families with high-quality food by using sustainable agricultural practices. Fairhope’s environmentally friendly Windmill Market carries Boutwell Farms’ meats and chicken in their West Side Grocery.

Seafood on Your Doorstep

One of the benefits of living on the Gulf Coast is the availability of locally caught seafood. Many venues sell local products, but only one business offers residential delivery.

Shrimp on Wheels owner Carlton Spinks says, “You’re familiar with the neighborhood ice cream truck? We’re the neighborhood shrimp truck.” Working directly with local shrimpers and broadcasting festive Calypso music from his truck, Spinks delivers shrimp to residents of the Eastern Shore every Friday and Saturday.

Customers should call ahead to guarantee delivery.

Baldwin County Cheese

In 1984, Alyce Birchenough and Doug Wolbert, owners of Sweet Home Farm, moved from Michigan to Elberta for the more favorable farming climate.

What began as a hobby grew into a successful business that is now the last dairy in Baldwin County.

Their handcrafted, natural cheeses are made from the raw milk of their grass-fed, hormone-free Guernsey cows. Aged for a minimum of 60 days, the cheeses are full of flavor and preservative-free.

“The cheeses reflect the particular soil, climate and herbage of each season,” advises Birchenough. “We celebrate these seasonal variations in the cheese and recognize them as the hallmark of unique, regionally produced food.” In addition to their cheeses, Sweet Home Farm offers bread from an area baker and honey from a local beekeeper at their store.

A Teaspoon of Honey

Beekeeper Cheryl Kittrell did not always like the taste of honey. She says, “My husband and I were just city slickers who didn’t know anything about bees.” After reading about its health benefits, she turned to local raw honey as a remedy for her allergies, eating a teaspoon a day and adding it to food.

Her husband joked that they would need to become beekeepers to keep up with the amount of honey she was buying—and the joke turned into reality with Kittrell’s Daydream Apiary, on 30 acres near Weeks Bay, in Fairhope.

Operating under organic standards, the Kittrells produce honey, soaps and beeswax candles, available at Baldwin County farmers’ markets, a few local retailers, and their onsite self-serve cart that functions on the honor system. Their all-natural soaps use essential oils and no preservatives. For an exfoliating option, some of the soaps incorporate stone-ground grits from a local supplier in Fairhope. natural awakenings

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Local Wine and Vinegar

Producing wines for more than 30 years, Perdido Vineyards offers a full line made from local fruits and vegetables. This Perdido business values the importance of supporting the local economy and relies upon local resources whenever possible. Earlier this year, the vineyard released Daphne, a dessert wine with a label designed from a painting by artist Faye Earnest, who resides in Daphne. According to owner Jim Eddins, “We worked with the artist to yield a special wine contributing to the namesake heritage of Daphne, its founding citizens, the native grapes grown in Baldwin County, and the ancient history of our land.”

Since 2002, Perdido Vineyards has also produced unique, gourmet, award-winning wine vinegars made from local produce, including a popular cucumber vinegar and a tomato vinegar stock that will be introduced this fall. Their products are available directly from the vineyard and at select local retailers such as Andree’s, in Fairhope.

“We worked with the artist to yield a special wine contributing to the namesake heritage of Daphne, AL, its founding citizens, the native grapes grown in Baldwin County and the ancient history of our land.”

-Jim Eddins, Perdido Vineyards Owner

Dining Out

Area restaurants also provide locavores with a taste of regional foods.

Will Hughes Catering and Market, in Daphne, uses Alabama produce and cheeses. According to the market’s staff, the cheeses from Sweet Home Farms in Elberta and Belle Chevre in Northern Alabama are very popular with their customers.” They also sell Maddawgs Slatherin’ Sauce, made in Mobile, and jams and jellies from the Punta Clara Kitchen, in Point Clear.

Another option on the Eastern Shore is Alleman’s by the Bay, which recently opened in Fairhope’s former Gambino’s building. Owner Lynette Alleman describes their menu as, “fine cuisines from around the world, prepared using the freshest local ingredients available.”

For grab-and-go convenience, the Windmill Market in Fairhope offers lunch items, freshly baked breads, cakes and pecans, in addition to locally grown produce and shrimp from Bon Secour Fisheries.

Other restaurants incorporating local food into their menus include Sunflower Cafe and Fly Creek Café, in Fairhope; Michael’s Downtown Café, in Mobile; and Lulu’s, in Gulf Shores.

Learn more about local food efforts by supporting organizations that encourage people to buy or grow locally produced food, such as the Alabama Farmers Market Authority (FMA.Alabama.gov) and the Fairhope Local Food Production Initiative (FairhopeLocalFood.org). The Gulf Coast Local Food Blog (GulfCoastLocalFood.org) serves as a rich resource for information, news and events pertinent to our local food systems.

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LOCAL FARMERS’ MARKETS Farmers’ markets are an excellent resource for locally grown, farm-fresh produce and a convenient way for citizens to support local agriculture. Because consumers are able to buy directly from the farmers, these markets are often an affordable way to buy locally produced products and shop from several vendors at one place.

Several family-friendly farmers’ markets operate in lower Alabama. Take some time to explore them and enjoy a farm-to-table education as you introduce yourselves to the hard-working individuals who farm our land and produce our foods.

Baldwin County

 Chicago Street Farmers’ Market Chicago Street (Highway 59 Railroad Park), Foley. May 21-July 30, Fridays, 4 to 7 p.m. Contact: Kathy Danielson, 251-943-1222.  Elberta Farmers’ Market 24978 State Street, Elberta.

May 1-July 17, Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Contact: Paul Stryker, 251-987-5343.  Fairhope Outdoor Farmers’ Market Church Street, behind the library, Fairhope. May 20-July 8, Thursdays, 4 to 6 p.m. Contact: Alex Robinson, 251-929-1466.

Mobile County

 Dauphin Island Market Cadillac Square Park, Dauphin Island.

April 17-TBD (depends upon crop availability), Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact: Bill Harper, 251-861-5524.  Halls Mill Road Farmers’ Market 2245 Halls Mill Road, Mobile.

May 11-TBD (depends upon crop availability), Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Contact: Joe Hilley or Art Sessions, 251-626-2743.  Market in the Park Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile.

May 27-July 29, Thursdays, 3 to 6 p.m.

Contact: Chris Barrazza, 251-208-7443.

Source: Alabama Farmers Market Authority, FMA.Alabama.gov

by Carlton Spinks localopinion SUPPORT LOCAL SEAFOOD I’m not an expert on shrimping or oil catastrophes, but I can tell you, the Gulf oil crisis is not good for the local seafood industry.

This was poised to be one of the best shrimp harvests in years. Since the devastation to the Gulf Coast by Katrina in 2005, the grassy areas of the bays and coastal shores that are valuable habitats for shrimp have finally recovered and grown back. All the shrimpers who have rebuilt their fleets have been ready to go since the start of the shrimping season, which is typically June.

Because of the oil leak in the Gulf, a huge area of trawling waters has been closed to commercial fishing, the price for Gulf shrimp has increased, and now the concern for quality exists in the minds of consumers.

I know of one business operator who reports a drop in sales of more than 70 percent for the prepared gumbo he sells in retail grocery markets. This is most likely due to consumer concern over perceived quality. My business is down, too. While I’m just approaching my one year anniversary, I’ve put a lot of money and effort into building my brand and capitalizing on fresh local product. What should have been a banner year in terms of sales is now becoming one more casualty of the BP, Transocean, Halliburton fiasco.

The entire Gulf fishing community has worked so hard over the years to promote wild-caught Gulf shrimp. The alternative is farm-raised, individually quick frozen (IQF) shrimp, typically grown in Asian markets, that is available at big-box retail grocery stores. We believe that wild-caught Gulf shrimp tastes better, and that our health department has a better oversight on what is processed in this country.

With the continuing scares of imported food illnesses, it’s been comforting to know that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Baldwin County Department of Public Health and Seafood Conservation Division, work closely with local processors to oversee the proper handling, processing and delivery of raw shrimp.

A friend of mine works with the Alabama Department of Public Health, and I am assured that through inspection and quality control, they closely watch Gulf seafood. While the near future and long-term implications are unknown, the product the fishermen are currently catching is still high quality, because any Gulf waters that are at risk have been closed to fishing.

So now, it is more important than ever to continue to support the local seafood industry. Plagued with misdirected consumer concern about the quality of Gulf products, those of us in the local industry ask for your support. The shrimp is good, the beaches are still beautiful, and this catastrophe is a harsh reminder of the paradoxically fragile environment we live in, and how a seemingly small mistake can literally destroy the lives and livelihoods of so many.

Submitted by Carlton Spinks, The Shrimp Guy, on June 16, 2010; info@ShrimpOnWheels.US.

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July 2010

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healthykids

Out of the Mouths of Babes A Dozen Ways Children Teach Us to Eat Mindfully

by Dr. Michelle May

Children are born with the ability to eat instinctively, fully tuned in to internal cues of hunger and fullness.

P

arents are usually the main facilitators of life lessons for their children, but in some arenas it’s best to let the kids do the teaching. Their natural eating behaviors, for example, exemplify smart choices for us all. Here are some surprising rules of thumb:

Eat when you are hungry. From birth, babies know when and how much they need to eat and cry to let us know. As youngsters grow this vital instinct can be unlearned, so that by the time they are adults, most have learned to eat for other reasons besides hunger. By recognizing the difference between needing to eat and wanting to eat, adults can also relearn when and how much to eat.

Stop eating when you are full. Infants turn their head away when they have had enough to eat and toddlers throw food on the floor when they’re done. But as adults, we clean our plates because we were admonished as youngsters about starving children, feel a social obligation or something just tastes good.

Being hungry makes you grouchy.

Being hungry, tired or frustrated makes a child crabby and affects adults in the same way. Take care of your mealtime needs instead of taking out your crankiness on those around you.

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Snacks are good. Kids naturally prefer to eat smaller meals with snacks in-between whenever they get hungry.

That pattern of eating keeps their metabolism stoked all day; adults’ too.

All foods fit.

Children are born with a natural preference for sweet foods and quickly learn to enjoy fatty foods.

Such fun comfort foods can be part of a healthy diet.

In fact, studies show that overly restrictive food rules can cause children to feel guilty or ashamed and lead to rebellious eating.

Everyone eats healthier when they learn to enjoy less nutritious foods in moderation without deprivation.

Be a picky eater. Kids won’t easily eat something they don’t like. Consider how much less you’d eat if you didn’t settle for food that only tastes so-so.

You can learn to like new foods. Healthy eating is an acquired taste, so provide a variety of appealing, healthful foods at the family table. If children observe us eating a variety of healthful foods, then they will learn to as well. It can take up to 10 different occasions of two-bite exposures to a new food, but kids often surprise themselves by liking something they never thought they would.

Coming in August

VIBRANT CHILDREN

Eating until you are content is more important than finishing everything on your plate.

Make the most of your food. Eating is a total sensory experience for children as they examine, smell and touch each morsel. You’ll appreciate food aromas, appearance and flavors more if you aren’t driving, watching television, working on a computer, reading or standing over the sink.

Eating with your family is fun. Babies and toddlers naturally love eating with other people. Family mealtime is a golden opportunity to model good habits and conversational skills and connect with each other. With older children, play high-low around the dinner table, where each family member takes a turn sharing the best and worst parts of their day.

There is more to a party than cake and ice cream.

Invite children to a party and they’ll want to know what they are going to get to do; invite adults and they’ll wonder what food will be served. Instead of avoiding food-based get togethers, focus on the social aspects of the event.

Sleep is good. Children need a good night’s sleep to prepare for the adventures that tomorrow will bring. Everyone benefits from a consistent bedtime and good rest.

Live in the moment. Kids are masters at living in the

present; they don’t waste a lot of energy worrying about what has already happened or what might happen tomorrow. They are fully engaged in small, enjoyable pursuits. Adults will do well to reconsider the true joys of life and we can learn a lot from children.

Michelle May is a medical doctor, founder of the Am I Hungry? mindful eating program (AmIHungry.com) and the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat. Her mission is to help individuals break free from mindless and emotional eating to live a more vibrant, healthy life.

Natural Awakenings’ August issue is all about

ALTERNATIVES

in education nutrition fitness and sustainable living.

For more information about being a part of this special issue, call 251-990-9552 or email MobilePublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com before July 5th.

natural awakenings

July 2010

27

healingways Gentle Remedies for

ADOPTION OPTION

Weekend Warriors Homeopathic Medicines for Sports Injuries

by Dana Ullman

CASPER is a spunky three-month-

old Siamese kitten mix who brings a smile to everyone’s face he meets. He was transferred to The Haven from a partnering animal control shelter and has made himself right at home at The Haven. If you’re looking for a kitten to cuddle with or a companion for other pets, Casper is the kitten for you!

A

POOH BEAR is a lovable six-yearold lab mix. Found drowning in a swimming pool, he was recovered by the City of Fairhope Animal Control Officer and rushed to a local veterinarian for immediate care. Armed with great manners and a bag of tricks (only for a cookie of course), he has since made a full recovery and is ready to go to a loving home today!

To adopt, please download an application or view other homeless animals in need of a great home on our website. www.havenforanimals.org or call 251-929-3980 or email mmcgrath@ havenforanimals.org The Haven is a non-profit no-kill sanctuary located in Fairhope. Help is always needed and appreciated!

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growing number of professional athletes and weekend warriors are spelling relief h-o-m-e-op-a-t-h-y. Founded on a reputation for helping people suffering from chronic diseases, natural homeopathic medicines also are becoming recognized for their effectiveness in treating common sports injuries.

Using them is considered easier than conventional drugs in addressing acute injuries, because applying homeopathic solutions doesn’t require a high degree of individualized remedies. When two people have sprained ankles, for instance, they can each be helped along in their healing by a similar homeopathic remedy, but two people suffering from arthritis will generally require different remedies that are individualized according to each person’s pattern of symptoms.

Note that homeopaths recommend that homeopathic medicine be taken in conjunction with, not as a replacement for, conventional first-aid measures.

Form of Doses Homeopathic medicines are available as single remedies or as formulas of two or more remedies mixed together. Single remedies are recommended for injuries when all symptoms point to one homeopathic medicine and it is better to use a stronger dose or higher potency not available in mixed formulas.

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

The use of several remedies in a formula provides a broad-spectrum effect not available in a single remedy. Because injuries sometimes involve muscle, nerve and bone tissues, it sometimes makes sense to use formulas to help heal the various tissues involved.

Frequency of Use When taking homeopathic medicines, experts generally recommend taking as few doses as possible, but as many as required to reduce symptoms. At first, in the face of a great amount of pain and discomfort, this may necessitate taking the appropriate remedy every hour. Usually, after four doses the frequency can be cut to every other hour; as the intensity of pain diminishes, dosing every four hours is common. If no improvement is noticeable after one or two days, it is generally recommended that the patient stop taking any further doses.

Although most homeopathic remedies come in pill form for internal consumption, some are available in external applications; such ointments, gels and sprays provide similar effectiveness.

Dana Ullman has a master’s degree in public health and is the founder of Homeopathic Educational Services. His books include The Homeopathic Revolution, Homeopathy A-Z, Homeopathic Medicines for Children and Infants and Discovering Homeopathy. For more information, visit Homeopathic.com.

Indicated Homeopathic Treatments

Clayton College of natural HealtH

Three key medicines for sports injuries are Arnica for shock and trauma to soft tissue and muscle; Hypericum for shooting pains and trauma to nerves or parts of the body rich with nerves, such as the fingers, toes and back; and Calendula for cuts or open wounds to promote healthy new skin formation. The information here indicates external use for common injuries.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy New Career!

SPRAINS AND STRAINS

n Arnica immediately after injury, especially if there is swelling and soreness. n Rhus tox for sprains with annoying stiffness. n Bryonia for sprains with excruciating pain whenever the joint is moved. n Ledum for easily sprained ankles that feel better when ice is applied. n Calcarea carbonica for chronic ankle sprains and repetitive stress injury. n Ruta for tendon injury (especially helpful for tennis elbow or carpal tunnel

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syndrome).

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DISLOCATION

n Arnica immediately after injury, also later if there is soreness. n Hypericum for sharp shooting pains that accompany a dislocation.

FRACTURE

n Arnica immediately after injury, especially if there is bruising. n Bryonia for fractures with severe pain made worse by motion. n Ruta for injuries to periosteum (bone-covering membrane), common with

trauma to the shin, skull, elbow or kneecap. n Symphytum to promote bone growth (only to be given after a fracture has been set). n Calcarea phosphoric to speed the progress of slow-healing fractures.

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HEAD INJURY

n Arnica immediately after injury, especially if there is bruising and/or large

swelling that is sensitive to touch. n Natrum sulphuricum for a head injury followed by irritability or depression; always seek professional treatment for a head injury.

WOUNDS

n Calendula to help prevent infection in scrapes and open wounds; for any open

wound and for blisters; do not use arnica, but instead apply calendula topically. n Hypericum to speed healing and lessen shooting pain in wounds to the tongue, fingertips and toes. n Ledum to repair injury from puncture wounds.

Note: Most health food stores carry homeopathic medicines in the 30C potency, considered a mid-range strength that is safe to use when self-prescribing for the sports injuries described here. For severe injuries and emergency care, contact a certified professional homeopath who can prescribe remedies in higher, more appropriate potencies. For a state-by-state directory, visit HomeopathicDirectory.com.

Helpful Resources: Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines by Stephen Cummings, MD and Dana Ullman, MPH; Homeopathy for Musculoskeletal Healing by Asa Hershoff, doctor of naturopathy and chiropractic Source: Dana Ullman, MPH (master of public health) and Dr. Lauri Grossman, doctor of chiropractic certified in classical homeopathy natural awakenings

July 2010

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naturalpet

TACKLING

TICKS

by Dr. Mark Newkirk

N

o one likes ticks (except the birds that love to eat them), but like fleas and cockroaches, ticks are a fact of life. After a winter break in the northern states, they’re back with a vengeance come warmer weather and plague parts of the south all year round.

Many species of ticks can carry disease.

From the more common Lyme, Erlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever to tick paralysis and Anaplasmosis, these bugs are bad news. Some diseases are species specific, but some, like Lyme disease, can infect deer, dogs and humans. Cats seem to be resistant to many tick diseases like Erlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever; although why this is so remains largely a mystery.

early stages of the disease, so it’s important to have a dog tested every year and anytime the guardian suspects the dog has been exposed to ticks. The disease has been reported in every state.

The good news is that Lyme disease cannot be transmitted directly from a pet to family members. If ticks are typically found in an area, it’s wise to reduce the risk by inspecting canines and people several times a day when enjoying outdoor activities. An excellent vaccine exists for pets, although not for humans.

Ehrlichiosis The second most common infectious disease in the United States, this potentially life threatening menace is spreading, carried by several common dog ticks. The parasite attacks the blood cells, rather than the joints. Intermittent fever and lethargy (which can signal various illnesses) are the main signs.

The disease can result in permanent disability or death.

While there are no proven cases of direct transmission of the Ehrlichiosis parasite from dogs to people, ticks can transmit it directly to people. A simple in-office blood test can determine if a pet has this disease; blood screening will often show a decreased platelet count.

Lyme Disease Dogs are 50 percent more likely to contract Lyme disease as humans. If left untreated it can cause serious, debilitating problems.

Symptoms affecting joints and organs may be hidden in the 30

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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Tick Control

This illness shows similar signs and symptoms as Lyme disease in dogs. The danger is that pet owners and vets often chalk them up to a sprained ligament or twisted knee, because the pet seems better in a day or two. Keys to diagnosis include the appearance of fever, repeated symptoms or lameness that shifts between legs. Again, a disease-specific blood test is helpful.

Ticks are tough. Daily grooming and combing to search for ticks remains the best non-medical treatment. Because we have found no truly holistic alternative with the desired effect, I do advise topical tick control rub-on products like Frontline and collars like Preventic. Be aware that veterinary versions of such products are both safer and more effective than retail brands.

Risk versus benefit to health is always the rule in considering the best route to take. The best advice for an individual animal will come from the family’s holistic veterinarian.

Treatment No vaccine exists for Erlichia or Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and the decision to vaccinate for Lyme disease depends on exposure risk. At the Alternative Care Center in Margate, New Jersey, we sometimes use nosodes, a homeopathic “vaccination” in the treatment or as a preventive measure for Lyme disease. Homeopathic treatment of active or resistant Lyme disease may use Lym D (from BioActive Nutritional) and Ledum, which can also be used in combination with antibiotics.

Some holistic vets believe that such homeopathy works with the body to boost the immune system in attacking the Lyme organism. Yet the only prevention measure approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the Lyme vaccine.

Primary treatment for all tick-borne diseases is the antibiotic doxycycline, taken as prescribed for three to four weeks. Using special tests after treatment will show if the disease is gone.

Mark D. Newkirk holds a veterinary medicines directorate degree and is the owner and director of Margate Animal Hospital and Alternative Care Center, in Margate, NJ. Phone consultations are available at 609-823-3031. For more information, visit AlternativeVet. com.

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July 2010

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greenliving

Five Affordable Vacations that

Give Back

“You get such a richer experience traveling with homestay,” observes Horowitz from his farmhouse in Hadley, Massachusetts. He advises prospective homestayers to verify the number of nights agreed upon and then pay a host for their hospitality beyond that, and also expect to spend time with your hosts in the evenings. Finally, be prepared for any kind of accommodations.

“You have to be somewhat adventurous,” he says.

by Heather Boerner

T

Home Swap

his year, you can cut the cost of taking a much-needed vacation while doing something good for the local community and the whole planet. Here are some ways to travel, get involved and avoid tourist traps while walking lightly on the Earth.

Homestay Shel Horowitz has been sleeping on strangers’ floors, couches and private guest suites for decades now. In the process, he’s met peace activists, ecologists and friends with whom his family still interacts. But he’s not just couch surfing; he’s homestaying, a travel option that runs the gamut from traditional foreign-exchange visits for students to the nonprofit peace outreach program Horowitz has been involved in since 1983, called Servas (Joomla.Servas.org).

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The way he sees it, he’s doing his part to spread cross-cultural understanding and making travel more affordable.

There’s the time he visited Colorado on a homestay and met a couple who gave him a private tour of their collection of Native American art.

Last year he stayed with the director of Guatemala’s National Park Service and another man active in sustainable development work in the country’s highlands.

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

As a renter, San Francisco resident Melanie Jones figured home swapping wasn’t in the cards for her. But when she gave it a try, she found herself in a cozy studio in Paris’ ninth arrondissement near a train station with easy access to the city’s major attractions. “It’s a unique way to connect with people who are different from us and to put ourselves in situations to see the world through someone else’s eyes,” she says. “It’s a lot easier to do that when you’re literally eating off someone else’s dishes and sleeping in someone else’s bed.”

Although scores of home-swapping websites offer to help streamline and vet potential swaps, she chose to post her ad on Craigslist. A 20-something Frenchman responded; he wanted to visit his girlfriend who was staying in San Francisco. Jones notes that it’s important to both trust the person with whom you’re swapping and to set ground rules.

WWOOFing The World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (wwoof.org) movement matches eco-conscious urbanites with organic farms around the world. You

stay for free and receive some meals from the farmer host, repaying him by weeding, preparing soil, planting and even building fences.

It’s a way to integrate into a community, says Lucas Weiss of Brooklyn, who has taken weekend trips to the Meadowstone Farm of Tim Wennrich, in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Staying in a farmer’s house and eating with the family gave him a taste of life he wouldn’t have experienced if he had stayed in a motel or bed and breakfast.“We got to see first-hand how much work can get done when you have four extra hands,” says Weiss. “You really get to see the inner workings of the [agricultural] community.”

No gardening experience is required, but come prepared to work up to six hours a day, for several days.

You may need to bring your own tent or sleeping bag.

Voluntourism Brooke Bailey was new to both yoga and volunteer work in 2006, but after seeing the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought in New Orleans in 2005, she decided to do something. Bailey scheduled her yoga training sessions around days spent participating in the demolition, cleaning, painting and renewal work the city so desperately needed. It was her first volunteer sojourn, but it hasn’t been her last.

Bailey reports that the effort was life-changing for everyone involved: “I really learned about giving just to give and not expecting anything in return. I realized that even if they aren’t literally my community, even if they’re halfway

around the world, they’re still humanity.”

Find intriguing opportunities at CharityGuide.org, CrossCulturalSolutions. org, Earthwatch.org, GlobalVolunteers. org, TransitionsAbroad.com, Travelocity. com/TravelForGood, VolunteerAdven tures.com and Voluntourism.org.

Make the Connection

Philanthrotourism Jill Gordon had been volunteering in inner-city Chicago schools teaching literacy for years when a friend invited her to a talk about a girls’ school in Afghanistan. That’s when she knew she wanted to take her volunteer work global.

First, Gordon joined the Chicago Women’s Initiative of CARE (care.org), a nonprofit organization fighting global poverty, to help organize talks and fundraisers for education programs; she saw some of that money at work later, when she visited remote areas of Peru.

A few years ago, she visited rural India, where CARE funds schools and nutrition programs, and she was allowed to feed infants their first bites of solid food in a Hindu Annaprashan (first riceeating) ceremony.

“I don’t know if I would have gone to India, otherwise,” remarks Gordon.

“I just loved meeting the real people in India, the kids and the mothers groups.

We got to see what India’s really like.”

Many nonprofits offer these kinds of travel, from Christian groups to United Way, which has an Alternative Spring Break service program for teens (LiveUnited.org/asb). To find a program that suits your interests, ask groups that you support if they offer such trips and how they’re funded, so more of your time, treasure and talent goes to the people who need it.

Heather Boerner, a freelancer based in San Francisco, CA, is a contributing writer for Gaiam.com. Contact her at HeatherBoerner.com.

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natural awakenings

July 2010

33

calendarofevents

All Calendar events must be received by the 10th of the month prior to publication and adhere to our guidelines. Go to Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com to submit entries.

FRIDAY, JULY 2

Farmers’ Market, Music and Movie – 4pm. Shop for fresh produce, plants, flowers, baked goods and so much more. Plan to stay for live music beginning at 6pm followed by a movie on the big screen at dusk.

Bring lawn chairs and blankets. Free. Chicago St, Heritage Park, downtown Foley. 251-943-1200.

SATURDAY, JULY 3

Bay Minette Homecoming Celebration – Celebrate the heritage of Bay Minette with the unveiling of a historic marker, fireworks, entertainment and other activities. 301 D’Olive St, Bay Minette. 251-580-1637.

Grand Bay Watermelon Festival – 8am. Family fun day with arts and crafts, entertainment, all- you-can-eat watermelon, children’s activities and food. $5/vehicle. Odd Fellow Park, Hwy 90, Grand Bay. Marie Mathis: 251-367-8646.

GrandBayWatermelonFestival.com.

SUNDAY, JULY 4

5th Annual Fourth at the Wharf – Spectacular fireworks extravaganza and live concert. Admission charged. The Wharf, Orange Beach. 205-224-1012.

TheWharfAL.com.

Daphne’s Jubilee Independence Day Fireworks Display – Enjoy a beautiful fireworks display.

Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Free. Trione Sports Park, Whispering Pines Rd, Daphne. 251-621-9000.

DaphneAL.com.

Fourth of July Homecoming – Parade, barbecue at the Fire Department, children’s activities and unveiling of historic marker showcasing the history of Magnolia Springs. Downtown Magnolia Springs. 251-965-9888.

Mobile 4th of July Fireworks Celebration – Independence Day Celebration presented by the City of Mobile with fireworks, flyovers by the USCG, and musical entertainment. Free. USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. 251-470-7730.

CityOfMobile.org.

Fort Morgan Cannon Salute to American Independence – 10am-3pm. Independence Day event with cannon being fired celebrating the nation’s freedom as was the custom in years past. Admission charged.

Fort Morgan Historic Site. 251-540-7127.

Fairhope 4th of July Festival and Fireworks Display – 7:30pm. Baldwin Pops Band Independence Day Concert will feature a variety of patriotic music before and during the fireworks display which begins at 9pm.

Free. Henry George Park and Fairhope Municipal Pier.

251-929-1466. COFairhope.com.

Gulf Shores Annual Fireworks Show – 9pm. Visible from any Gulf Shores area beach. Tune your radio to Sunny 105.7FM for fireworks information and simultaneous patriotic music during the show. Free.

251-968-1172. GulfShoresAL.gov.

MONDAY, JULY 5

Reptile Planet – Jul 5-Oct 24. Reptile Planet exhibit features 30 exotic, live reptiles from 20 different countries, including Burmese pythons, snake-necked turtles, veiled chameleons and American alligators.

Admission charged. The Exploreum, 65 Government St, Mobile. 251-208-6852. Exploreum.com.

TUESDAY, JULY 6

Alabama Hiking Trail Society Meeting – 6pm. This will be a strategic planning meeting to plan goals and objectives for the next two years including fundraising, activities, publicity, officer elections and more. 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, Spanish Fort. LAHiker.

Blogspot.com.

34

NA Mobile / Baldwin Edition

SATURDAY, JULY 10

Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament – Designed to bring families together and encourage sportsmanship. Open to children 15 and younger. Dauphin Island.

251-471-0025. ADSFR.com.

Blue Angels Air Showcasing – 2pm. Flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. Free. Pensacola Beach, FL. BlueAngels.Navy.Mil.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14

Teens Making Impact: Extension Summer Camp – Jul 14-16. 8:30am-12:30pm. Healthy boys camp. Have fun exercising, preparing healthy snacks and loving oneself. Ages 6-18. Parents welcomed. Lunch/snack provided. 1070 Schillinger Rd N, Mobile. 251-5748445. ACES.edu.

THURSDAY, JULY 15

Greening Existing Schools Planning Meeting – See News Brief page 8. Anyone interested in learning about this new program is invited to this meeting. For details: Rebecca@watershed.pr.

Free Concert: Shane Tucker’s Elvis Remembered – 7pm. Blue suede shoes are optional when we get all shook up over this well-constructed, always fresh, tribute to one of the best-known singers of all time.

Free. Erie H. Meyer Civic Center, Gulf Shores. 251968-1172. GulfShoresAL.gov.

FRIDAY, JULY 16

78th Annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo – Jul 16-18. Nation’s largest and oldest salt-water fishing rodeo with more than 3000 fishermen competing for prizes, including large jackpots, boats and other items.

Dauphin Island. 251-471-0025. ADSFR.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 17

Habitat for Humanity Homeowner Orientation Meeting – 10am. Individuals interested in applying for the Habitat program in Mobile County must attend an orientation to receive an application. Habitat ReStore, 4128 Government Blvd, Mobile. 251-476-7171.

HabitatMobile.org.

SUNDAY, JULY 18

Backcountry Trail Hike – 7:30am. AL Hiking Trail Society hike. 6-mile out-and-back hike to GPS and inventory the sign needs for this route on the Alabama Trail. This is an easy multi-use trail hike through beautiful wetlands past oaks draped in Spanish Moss.

Orange Beach. Joe Cuhaj: JCuhaj@gmail.com.

MONDAY, JULY 19

Kids Yoga – Jul 19-21. 3pm. Stephanie Williamson specializes in Children’s Play Therapy and is leading Kid’s Yoga at Yoga Birds. $45/3 sessions. Register and pay online. Yoga Birds, Fairhope. More info: YogaBirds.com.

TUESDAY, JULY 20

To Your Health Seminar: Arthritis 101 – 10am.

Laurie Repoll, physical therapist at Thomas Hospital will lead this seminar. Reservations required. Free and open to the public. Homestead Village Ballroom, Fairhope. 251-279-4008. InfirmaryEvents@ InfirmaryHealth.org.

THURSDAY, JULY 22

Myasthenia Gravis Support Group – 10am. Boardroom at Thomas Medical Center in Daphne. For more info, call Angela Waters at 251-937-4433 or Thomas Hospital at 251-279-4008.

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

Frankincense: The Healing Oil – 1-3pm. The ancient Biblical Gift of Frankincense Essential Oil is resurrecting itself in modern medical science. New research gives us hope against cancer, viruses, respiratory diseases and more. Must RSVP. Free. Curves, Hwy 13, Daphne. Laurie: 251-604-9532 or LaurieAzzarella@ gmail.com.

Free Concert: Mithril – 7pm. South Alabama’s bestknown professional quartet is passionate about playing high-energy Celtic music from Ireland and Scotland.

Free. Erie H. Meyer Civic Center, Gulf Shores. 251968-1172. GulfShoresAL.gov.

MONDAY, JULY 26

Seniors’ Best Blood Sugar Screenings – 9-10am.

Free for Seniors’ Best members (free membership).

Fasting not required. Thomas Hospital Health Resource Center, Fairhope. For info: 251-279-4008 or InfirmaryEvents@InfirmaryHealth.org.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

Seniors’ Best Seminar: Medicare -What You Need to Know – 1pm. Tom Gills, director of patient business services at Thomas Hospital, will touch on Medicare patient rights, prescription drug plans, and supplemental insurance and out of pocket expenses. Limited seating. Reservations required. Thomas Hospital Wellness Center, Fairhope.

Reservations: 251-279-4008 or InfirmaryEvents @InfirmaryHealth.org.

THURSDAY, JULY 29

Frankincense: The Healing Oil – 7-8:30pm. See Jul 22 listing. Office/Home Bay Branch Estates off Rte 90, Daphne. Laurie: 251-625-0080 or LaurieAzzarella@gmail.com.

FRIDAY, JULY 30

Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation’s 12th Annual Professional Rodeo – 4pm. Chicago Street Farmers’ Market kicks this event off. Live music begins at 5:30pm and the movie Pure Country will play at dusk.

Also includes Touch a Truck and announcement of the 2010 Rodeo Queen. Chicago St at Heritage Park, downtown Foley. 251-943-1200.

Coastal Chorale Summer Show – Jul 30-Aug 1.

7:30pm. After a one-year sabbatical, the Coastal Chorale returns. $15 tickets available thru mail-in order form or at Vision Bank. Spirit Center, Foley United Methodist Church, Foley. CoastalChorale.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 31

Reflexology Workshop – Jul 31-Aug 1. 8am-5pm.

Learn the therapeutic Ingham Foot Reflexology taught

by Laurie Azzarella, International Institute of Reflexology Instructor. Use on family, friends or professional clients. 16 CEU’s for therapists. $375 new students.

RSVP. Office/Home Bay Branch Estates off Rt 90, Daphne. Laurie: 251-625-0080 or LaurieAzzarella@ gmail.com.

Healing the Earth Meditation and Yoga – 9:1510:45am. Practice yoga and meditate on healing the Earth and the animals affected by the spill. All money will be donated to a wildlife organization. See News Brief page 8. $20. Integrated Fitness, Fairhope.

251-379-4493.

PLAN AHEAD SATURDAY, AUGUST 7

Cycle United 2010: Community Awareness Ride – 6am. A family-oriented bike ride to benefit United Way of SW Alabama and its community partners. See News Brief page 6. $30 before Jul 24. Municipal (Langan) Park, 4901 Zeigler Blvd, Mobile. UWSWA.org.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14

Conscious Health: Iridology – 9-10:30am. Naturopath, Herbalist, and Iridologist Betty O’Brien will share her knowledge on holistic means to help us stay healthy as a part of a day-long event. More info will be in the Aug issue. 1230 Montlimar Dr, Mobile.

251-343-0777.

ongoingevents

All Calendar events must be received by the 10th of the month prior to publication and adhere to our guidelines. Go to Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com to submit entries.

sunday Conscious Mile Spiritual Center Service – 10am. Make every step we take, every choice we make, every word we speak a conscious one.

New Thought Spiritual Center, 1230 Montlimar, Mobile. Rev. Sherrie Quander, 251-343-0777.

CMSpiritualCenter.org.

Sunday Service – 10:30am. Explore one’s spiritual pathway. Mobile Unitarian Universalists, 6345 Old Shell Rd, Mobile. UUFM.org.

Sunday Worthship Celebration – 10:30am. Find, strengthen and celebrate one’s connection with Divine Spirit. Donation. Unity on the Eastern Shore, 22979 US Hwy 98, one mile north of US Hwy 104, Montrose. 251-990-8934. UnityEasternShore.org.

Sunday Worship – 11am. Celebrate Spirit in this special and sacred space. Unity Mobile, 5859 Cottage Hill, between Hillcrest and Knollwood, Mobile.

251-661-1788.

Weekend Yoga – 2pm. Get ready for the busy week ahead-Nadine, Jasmine, Tamara, or Chris McFadyen will refresh one’s body and renew one’s spirit.

Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

monday Pizza Night – First Mon each month. Have a little fun while getting healthy. Free pizza for members.

All Planet Fitness locations (3 in Mobile, 1 in Daphne). For details: 251-414-2700.

Strengthening and Stretching Class – 9am. Free for Thomas Hospital Seniors’ Best members (free membership). James P. Nix Center, Fairhope. For more info: 251-928-2835.

Bosom Buddies Breast Cancer Support Group – 12pm. Second Mon each month. For breast cancer patients, families and friends. Thomas Hospital Health Resource Center. For more info: American Center Society, 251-928-8650 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Gentle Yoga with Dana – 4:15pm. A calming yoga class to ease one’s stress and quiet one’s mind. Finish one’s day in the land of “ahhhhs.” Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

tuesday 10% Terrific Tuesdays – 10% discount entire stock.

The Health Food Center, 5238 US Hwy 90, Ste G, Mobile. 251-661-3065.

Bagel Morning – Second Tues each month. Have a little fun while getting healthy. Free bagels for members. All Planet Fitness locations (3 in Mobile, 1 in Daphne). For details: 251-414-2700.

Complimentary First Facials – Tues-Sat, by appointment only. First-time facial customers receive their first facial free. Monette’s Family Hair, Magnolia Place, Hwy 98, Ste J, Daphne. Dixie: 251-621-8511.

Sunrise Yoga with Audrey – 6am. Summer is here,

so jump-start one’s morning and refresh oneself with Audrey’s energizing brand of yoga. Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

Halls Mill Road Farmers’ Market – 7am-12pm.

2245 Halls Mill Rd, Mobile. Joe Hilley: 251-6262743.

West Mobile Success Circle – 8-9am. First Tues each month. Female business owners are invited to join a networking/mentoring group to learn to grow their businesses. Free. Legacy Financial Planning, 5901 Airport, Mobile. 251-219-4574.

Low Impact Aerobics Class – 9am. Free for Thomas Hospital Seniors’ Best members (free membership). James P. Nix Center, Fairhope. For more info: 251-928-2835.

Fibromyalgia Support Group – 10:30am. Second Tues each month. For friends and family of patients with Fibromyalgia. Thomas Medical Center, Boardroom, Daphne. For more info, call Jason Pierce, 251-752-1140 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Chair Yoga – 11am. Regain stability, flexibility and connection to full breath. $15. Yoga Birds, Fairhope.

251-990-3447. More info: YogaBirds.com.

Parkinson’s Support Group – 12pm. Third Tues each month. For friends and family of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Thomas Medical Center, Daphne. For more info, call Jane Godfrey, 251-4559919 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Yoga with Adrienne – 5:45pm. Refresh and recharge after a long day. Enhance one’s balance, increase suppleness and calm one’s mind. Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

Fairhope Bicycle Company Ride: Thrills, Old Battles Road Criterium Practice – 6pm. 45-60 mins on closed course. Riders are able to drop and re-enter. Leave from Fairhope Bicycle Company, 325 S Greeno Rd across from Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. 251-990-7383.

Yoga Foundations – 6:15pm. Learn proper form.

Experience stability and freedom in the body. For beginners and more. $15. Yoga Birds, Fairhope.

251-990-3447. YogaBirds.com.

Diabetes Support Group – 6:30pm. First Tues each month. For people with diabetes and their families and friends. Thomas Hospital Diabetes Center.

For more info: Thomas Hospital Diabetes Center, 251-279-1700.

nice break from a crazy pace and hectic lifestyle.

Free. Healing Hands Massage, 409 N Section St, Fairhope. Jennifer: 251-517-5483.

Spiritual Cinema Group – 7-9pm. First and third Tues each month. View and discuss spiritual DVDs. Contact Heiner, 251-607-9089.

wednesday Discounted Perms for Seniors – Seniors 65 and over receive discounted perms. Monette’s Family Hair, Magnolia Place, Hwy 98, Ste J, Daphne. Dixie: 251-621-8511.

Summertime Wonderful Wednesdays – Thru Jul 28. Enjoy a special program about Bellingrath Gardens and Home, gardening, local history and nature, as well as special children’s activities. Gardens admission charged for nonmembers. Bellingrath Gardens and Home, Theodore. 251-973-2217.

Bellingrath.org.

Pilates Plus – 9:15am. Pilates and some yoga.

Work deep core and more. Transform one’s body.

Equipment may be used. Call first. Some Pilates experience please. $10 with package; $15 without.

Integrated Fitness, Fairhope. 251-554-4121.

Teen Yoga with Annette – 10am. Need some balance during the summer? Stressed even though school is out? Come for a fun hour to recharge one’s body and refresh one’s spirit. $8. Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

Alzheimer’s Support Group – 10:30am. First Wed each month. For family and friends of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Thomas Medical Center, Daphne. For more info, call Bunnie Sutton or Kellie Sutton of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of the South, 251-660-5661 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Medi Weightloss Support Group – 12pm. Third Wed each month. Medi Weightloss office, Thomas Hospital. For more info: Cindy Adams, 251-9906535 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Pranic Healing and Meditation – 7pm. Pranic Healing clinics offered to the public followed by the meditation on Twin Hearts. Learn to heal oneself in upcoming classes. Free. Mobile. RSVP: 251-454-0959.

T’ai Chi with Jay – 7:30 pm. Students will learn a traditional T’ai chi long form with applications to martial arts, health and meditation. Reservations required. Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251473-1104. synergyoga.net.

thursday

CWG Mobile Group – 7-9pm. Second and fourth Tues each month. Read and discuss books by Neale Donald Walsch. Joy N Love, 171 Crenshaw St, Mobile. 251-382-4215. CWG_Mobile_Group@ yahoo.com.

Halls Mill Road Farmers’ Market – 7am-12pm.

2245 Halls Mill Rd, Mobile. Joe Hilley: 251-6262743.

Rosie Blu’s Free Mediation Classes – 7pm. Guided meditation is a relaxation exercise and a way to reconnect with the divine spirit that resides in each of us individually; however, mostly, it is just a

Kids Days – Thru July 8. 10am-1pm. Bring the kids out for some summertime fun and enjoy live entertainment, arts and crafts, and visits from The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the Mobile Police and Fire Departments and much more. Free. Bienville Square.

Fort Morgan Candlelight Tour – Thru Jul 27.

7-8:30pm. Living history interpreters in Civil Warperiod dress tell the story of Fort Morgan’s Civil War service through historic vignettes based on actual events. Admission charged. Fort Morgan Historic Site, Gulf Shores. 251-540-7127.

Low Impact Aerobics Class – 9am. Free for Thomas Hospital Seniors’ Best members (free membership). James P. Nix Center, Fairhope. For more info: 251-928-2835.

natural awakenings

July 2010

35

Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Support Group – 10am. First Thurs each month.

Thomas Medical Center, Daphne. For more info: Joy Peters, 251-626-6337 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Yoga Foundations – 10:15am. Learn proper form in asana. Move with awareness from one’s core through skillful yoga. $15. Yoga Birds, Fairhope.

251-990-3447. YogaBirds.com.

ALS Support Group – 11am. Second Thurs each month. For people with ALS and their families and friends. Thomas Medical Center, Daphne. For more info: Lynn Sanderson, 205-937-4415 or Thomas Hospital, 251-279-4008.

Spring Market in the Park – Thru July 29. 3-6pm.

The Mobile Museum of Art serves as a beautiful backdrop in Langan Park where one can get the freshest spring crops in South Alabama. Shop for locally grown honey, produce, flowers, breads, casseroles, plants, plus seafood and much more. Enjoy live music, children’s activities and free admission to the Museum during the Market. Langan Park.

Fairhope Outdoor Farmers’ Market – Thru July 8. 4-6pm. Everything at this growers’ market is straight from the farm, or fisherman, to the family.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, local honey, fresh cut flowers, fresh Gulf shrimp, and homemade baked and canned goodies, plus live entertainment and face painting fun for the kids. Bancroft behind the library, Fairhope. Alex Robinson: 251-929-1466.

Fairhope Bicycle Company Ride: Ladies Night – 6pm. 3 groups: The Katie and Jill- 20 mi at 18mph, The PeeWee-20 mi at 15mph, The CC-12 mi at below 15mph. Leave from Fairhope Bicycle Company, 325 S Greeno Rd across from Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. 251-990-7383. $5 Flow Yoga – 6:15pm. Third Thurs each month is “One for the Community.” $5. Yoga Birds, Fairhope.

251-990-3447. YogaBirds.com.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Support Group – 6:30pm. Open to individuals, friends and family. The Harbor, Thomas Hospital, Daphne.

For more info: NAMI, 251-965-6264.

Starry Night Theater – Thru Sept 16. 7pm. Third Thurs each month. Movie at the market. Fairhope’s new open-air theater hosted by the Bay Art Project.

Monthly screenings of newly released, awardwinning, independent films. $10 includes popcorn.

Beer, wine and food available. Windmill Market, Fairhope. 251-709-0188.

friday Fortis College Massage Clinic – By appointment.

Receive a one-hour massage by a highly skilled student. $25. Fortis College, 3590 Pleasant Valley Rd, Mobile. Call for an appointment, 251-344-1203.

Family Fridays – 7am-10pm. Offers children a balloon and coloring page. Free. Smoothie King, 720 Schillinger Rd S, Mobile. 251-633-9033.

Fairhope Bicycle Company Ride: Saturday Morning Shop Ride – 7:30am. 34 mi at 17mph. Leave from Fairhope Bicycle Company, 325 S Greeno Rd across from Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. 251990-7383.

36

NA Mobile / Baldwin Edition

Yoga with Faye – 8:30am. Enjoy Faye’s seamless style and renew one’s spirit with a glorious yoga class. Refresh and re-energize. Synergy Yoga and Pilates, Mobile. 251-473-1104. synergyoga.net.

Music at the Market – 11:30am-1:30pm. Third Fri each month. Catt Sirten playing live music at the Windmill Market. Fairhope. WindmillMarket.org.

Fairhope Bicycle Company Ride: Saturday Afternoon Junior’s – 4pm. Frazier Cycling junior’s skill session and ride. Ride groups decided after 1hr skill session. Ages 10-18. Leave from Fairhope Bicycle Company, 325 S Greeno Rd across from Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. 251-990-7383.

Chicago Street Farmers’ Market – Thru Jul 30.

4-7pm. Fresh produce, plants, flowers, baked goods, and more. Chicago St at Heritage Park, downtown Foley. Kathy Danielson: 251-943-1222.

First Friday Artwalk – 6-8pm. First Fri each month. Enjoy an artsy and fun-filled night with an evening of exhibit openings, guest artists and live entertainment throughout beautiful downtown Fairhope. Map of participating venues available at the Eastern Shore Art Center, 401 Oak St, Fairhope.

251-928-2228. EasternShoreArtCenter.com.

First Friday Night Entertainment – 6-9pm. First Fri each month. Leavin Brothers play at the Windmill Market and wine is always free. Food from Mary Ann’s and Moe’s also available. Weekend market vendors will be set-up. WindmillMarket.org.

LoDa ArtWalk – 6-9pm. 2nd Fridays in downtown have become quite a popular time and place to be at. With the LoDa ArtWalk in its 4th year, the event seems to be getting better each month. Cathedral Square Arts District, Mobile. 251-208-7443.

saturday Fortis College Student Clinic – By appointment.

Receive a one-hour massage from a highly skilled student. $25. Fortis College, 3590 Pleasant Valley Rd, Mobile. Call for an appointment, 251-344-1203.

Dauphin Island Market – 7:30am-1pm. Cadillac Square Park, Dauphin Island. Bill Harper: 251861-5524.

Market on the Square – Thru July 31. 7:30-11am.

Fresh, locally grown tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, seafood, flowers, plants, baked breads, casseroles, pies, handcrafted goods, much more. Stay for live music on the green. Cathedral Square, Mobile. 251-208-7443.

NCSMobile.org.

classifieds Rates for classifieds start at $16 per month. Listings must be received by the 10th of the month prior to publication.

Email MobilePublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com for details.

For SALE CURRENTLY PUBLISHING NATURAL AWAKENINGS MAGAZINES – Be part of a dynamic franchised publishing network that is helping to transform the way we live and care for ourselves. As a Natural Awakenings publisher, your magazine will help thousands of readers to make positive changes in their lives, while promoting local practitioners and providers of natural, Earth-friendly lifestyles. You will be creating a healthier community while building your own financial security working from your home. For sale in Birmingham/ Huntsville AL, Boulder CO, Morris County NJ, and Southwestern VA. Call for details 239-530-1377.

opportunities Become an ONLINE TRAVEL AGENT - Training provided. CoastalDreamsTravel@earthlink.net.

CAREER IN COSMETOLOGY – Are you a creative individual that has dreamed of a career in cosmetology? Formerly known as Capps College, Fortis College School of Cosmetology can help you reach that dream. Call us today at 251-342-3230.

PRODUCTS WHY BUY? RENT TO OWN! – $1,250 Ionic Detox Foot Bath Only $49/Mo. $1,500 Water Ionizer $39.95/Mo. Ozone Generator $29.95/Mo. Handheld Laser $29.95/Mo. 239-649-0077. BeWellU.com.

services

Elberta Farmers’ Market – Thru Jul 17. 8am12pm. 24978 State St, Elberta. Paul Stryker: 251987-5343.

BIONETIC BODY SCAN FOR PEOPLE & PETS – Non-invasive testing for over 10,000 substances in minutes: allergies, parasites, chemicals, metabolism, vitamin deficiencies, emotions, etc. Bring body back into balance. Serving FL/AL Gulf Coast. Cell: 239-560-6667.

AllIsWellHealthAndInspirations.com.

Baldwin County Humane Society (BARC) Pet Adoption – 10am-2pm. Third Sat each month.

Adoption event. PetSmart, Eastern Shore Center, Spanish Fort. 251-928-4585. BaldwinHumane.org.

IMPROVE YOUR ANIMAL’S HEALTH – Canine and equine acupressure, therapeutic massage, bionetic body scan, muscle testing for allergies, TCM nutrition, intuitive animal communication.

Serving FL/AL Gulf Coast. Cell: 239-560-6667.

IntegratedAnimalTherapy.com.

Flow Yoga – 9:15am. A perfect way to start one’s Saturday. $15. Yoga Birds, Fairhope. 251-990-3447.

YogaBirds.com.

Restorative Yoga – 11am. Relax, renew, and reenergize with deep relaxation and mindful breathing techniques. $15. Yoga Birds, Fairhope. 251-9903447. YogaBirds.com.

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

NEED CLEAN? GO GREEN! – Green Clean provides environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning services for commercial and residential properties.

Schedule a free in-home consultation and estimate today. 251-508-3796.

naturaldirectory

SHRIMP ON WHEELS

Connecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community.

To find out how you can be included in the Natural Directory, email MobilePublisher@ NaturalAwakeningsMag.com to request our media kit. Rates begin at $36 a month.

beauty Rikki m

Threading Expert Licensed Cosmetologist, Master Stylist 251-508-1983 Threading expert (facial hair removal). 34 years experience Color Correction Specialist.

Long hair foil highlights. 20 years experience Brazilian Wax.

churches Conscious Mile Spiritual Center OF MOBILE

Sundays at 10am 1230 Montlimar, Mobile 251-343-0777, CMSpiritualCenter.org Rev. Sherrie Quander invites you to visit a loving, inclusive spiritual community where we aim to make every step we take, every choice we make, every word we speak a conscious one. See ad page 12.

mobile CENTER FOR JOYFUL LIVING 60 N Ann Street Mobile, AL 36695 251-391-6960

The Center for Joyful Living—practicing disorganized religion. Come live the Question with us, Sundays, 10:30am.

251-391-6960.

CLEANING SERVICES GREEN CLEAN, LLC Nicoll Mastin 251-508-3796

Green Clean, LLC provides environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning services for commercial and residential properties. Regular and deep cleaning services are available, as well as special services such as organizational assistance.

See ad page 29.

Essential Oils LAURIE AZZARELLA, LMT, CRR

Young Living Educator, Sponsor #327923 251-625-0080, AzzFoot@aol.com YoungLiving.com/AzzFoot Experience the healing, uplifting and detoxifying benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oils and supplements. Contact us for personal consultations, in-home classes, household products, health supplements, diffusers, group presentations and business training.

MIDDLE EARTH HEALING AND LEARNING CENTER

20205 Middle Earth Rd, Citronelle, AL 251-866-7204 MiddleEarthHealing.com

Serving Point Clear, Fairhope, and Daphne 251-281-7794, Info@ShrimpOnWheels.us ShrimpOnWheels.us The neighborhood shrimp truck. Working directly with local shrimpers, fresh product is delivered every Friday and Saturday along the Eastern Shore. Call ahead to guarantee your order or visit the website to place an order via email.

virginia’s health foods AND THE SUNFLOWER CAFE II 3952 Airport Blvd, Mobile 251-345-0494 Café 251-345-0495 Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Supplements, wheat- and gluten-free, organic produce and meats, vegetarian, low carb, sports nutrition, books. Café features a juice bar. Store open 7 days a week. Serving the public 33 years.

See ad page 25.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Wisdom of the Earth therapeutic-grade essential essences now available. These high-vibration 100% pure oils are hand-poured with ritual and ceremony. Consultations and classes are available. See ad page 10.

Michael M. Wilson

Creative & Graphic Designer MMWilson@gmail.com MMWilson.com For all of your graphic design needs, including but not limited to websites, logos, brochures, posters, postcards, business cards reports, greeting cards, mailers, newsletters, menus, and door hangers.

FOODS AND SUPPLEMENTS Burris farm market & Bakery 3100 Hickory Street Loxley, AL 36551 251-964-6464

HEALING ARTS pranic healing in mobile

On Hwy 59 on the way to Gulf Shores, AL. Fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh baked strawberry shortcake, ice cream and much more!! Your “first and last” stop to the beach or any other time.

Deana Lannie 251-454-0959

Free healing nights and group meditations every Monday.

Pranic Healing classes and the advanced technique of Superbrain Yoga.

Volunteer Opportunities Needed!

fairhope health foods and the sunflower cafÉ 280 Eastern Shore Shopping Center 251-928-0644 Café 251-929-0055 Va-FairhopeHealthFoods.com

Comprehensive health food store and organic café, featuring organic food, free-range meat, organic wine. Store open 7 days a week. Serving the public 33 years. See ad page 25.

Starting next month, Natural Awakenings will feature a special section devoted to volunteer recruitment. If you are in need of volunteers, contact us with your needs today! It’s free!

251-990-9552 MobilePublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

natural awakenings

July 2010

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massage therapy

reflexology

FORTIS college

LAURIE AZZARELLA, LMT, CRR

Student Massage Therapy Center 3590 Pleasant Valley Road, Mobile 251-344-1203, FortisCollege.com Massage really works. Schedule a therapeutic massage with our Student Clinic. Friday and Saturday appointments, along with some weekday appts. See ad page 4.

PETS PET PORTRAITS FROM YOUR PHOTOS Art by Mer Fairhope, AL 601-918-2833, Art.By.Mer@gmail.com MeredithMontgomery.com

251-625-0080 Daphne, AL 850-380-4943 Pensacola, FL AzzFoot@aol.com, Reflexology-USA.net Upcoming Workshops: July 31 and August 1 in Daphne; August 21 and 22 in Tallahassee, FL. Certification in Ingham Reflexology through the International Institute of Reflexology. 16 CEUs per workshop.

Available to everyone, these workshops provide education in better health naturally. Young Living Essential Oil Education also available.

Minutes from Pensacola, Mobile and Gulf Only 25 homesites, more than 1,100 protected acres. Rolling hills up to 275 feet. 20 miles of equestrian trails. See ad on opposite page.

KALOOSA BUILDERs, LLC

Fairhope, AL 251-928-6980 JeremyFriedman@bellsouth.net Kaloosa Builders are custom home builders specializing in energy conscious construction.

We build comfortable, healthy, energy-efficient homes on our lot or yours.

Massage Therapy Program of Study 3590 Pleasant Valley Rd, Mobile 251-344-1203, FortisCollege.com Train for a career as a professional Massage Therapist.

1,060-hour program. Fortis offers the most comprehensive and in-depth training in the region. See ad page 4.

shelton academy

Victoria Webb Photography 251-716-9699, VictoriaWebbPhotography@ hotmail.com VictorialWebbPhotography.com

1050 Hillcrest Rd, Mobile AL 36695 251-639-1311 SheltonAcademy.org

Victoria Webb is an on-location lifestyle photographer located in Mobile but she also loves to travel. View online galleries and blog.

Drawings for memory books going on now.

No entrance/exit exam. Work at own pace. Get diploma whenever you complete all requirements. One-on-one instruction. Small classes, Grades 5-12. School MondayThursday, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Fully Accredited.

See our special August edition of

VIBRANT CHILDREN For more information about advertising and how you can participate, call

251-990-9552

NA Mobile / Baldwin Edition

First Conservation Community in Gulf South, Located in Baldwin County Dauerwalden.com 251-937-3276

FORTIS college

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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DauerWalden

schools

Commission a portrait of your pet. Portraits are original acrylic on canvas paintings from your photos. View online gallery for examples. Gift certificates are available.

Family Portraits and Wedding Photography

sustainable living

Mobile.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com

wellness products sacro wedgy速

5650 Old Pascagoula Rd, #203 Mobile, AL 251-653-9258 800-737-9295 Back pain? Sciatica? Poor posture? SacroWedgy has worked when all else may have failed. Simple, economical self-help. Testimonials & info at www.sacrowedgy.com. See ad page 16.

No spotlights... No waterfalls... No massive entrance... ...and that’s the point.

A Conservation Community

25 homesites More than 1100 protected acres Rolling hills up to 275 ft 20 miles of equestrian trails Streams and longleaf pine forests 251.937.FARM www.dauerwalden.com natural awakenings July 2010

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Connecting communities...

creating a better world.

Reaching 2.5 million readers each month, Natural Awakenings magazines are now serving more than 80 communities across the country.

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