Got nasal congestion, itchy and burning eyes, the sneezes, fatigue, headaches, runny nose, sore throat, and brain fog? You’re not alone. Everything is abloom and while it’s wondrous to finally see green after our long, cold winter, suffering from allergies can make many want to become shut-ins.
Life is funny. For the last, oh, year or so, I had wanted to reach out to Sarah Moran to tell her how much I appreciate her writing. A couple of weeks ago, I woke up thinking, “Must…email…Sarah” and dropped her a few lines. Minutes later, my phone rings. She and I proceed to chat each other up, wherein she shares that her brother, Jack McCann, and wife Betsy recently started True Cost Farm in Montrose, MN. What? A sustainable farm near the Twin Cities that I hadn’t heard of? I had to know about these people.
Butter. The thought of this delicacy might make some folks gasp in horror, as conventional nutritional advice has browbeaten many into believing that butter (and other naturally occurring fats) will make us fat and clog our arteries. Butter lovers can rejoice, as this is simply not true.
The holidays are a challenging time to think about watchdogging sugar and refined carbohydrate intake. If you want to be cautious about not overloading on sugar and refined flour, there are a few simple steps you can take to treat yourself as well as your taste buds well.
Thanksgiving, and the holidays in general, can be a daunting time for those who are watching their waistlines. With so many food-focused festivities taking place bam bam bam, sheer terror strikes many a heart. Yet terror is antithetical to what the holidays are about and that terror can do way more harm than pumpkin pie lovingly crafted with butter crust and topped with real whipped cream.
Just like those dark leafy greens that I’m often proselytizing about, Brussels sprouts are another vegetable that can get me on my high horse. Basically, get ‘em into anything and everything, people, because they are major cancer fighters.
Unfortunately, apples frequently arrive at their destination road weary, mealy, and tasteless, having been harvested before their time. Fall is the time to venture out and locate a pick-your-own apple orchard or farmers’ market where you can choose your own tasty treasures that aren’t jetlagged.
“The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.” – Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume
Radishes, which are from the cabbage family, have powerful antibacterial, anti-fungal and detoxification properties, and as members of the brassica family (which includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and broccoli), have been lauded as vigorous protectors again cancer.
While statistics on beverage consumption vary considerably, it’s inarguable that Americans consume vastly more soft drinks than any other country. It’s no coincidence that we also suffer from the highest rates of obesity, heart disease, and Type II diabetes, all of which are exacerbated by excessive sugar intake.
