Lots of us enjoy trying something fresh for the New Year. And since many of you have been buzzing about going gluten-free, we thought we’d explore it further. If you feel like you don’t understand all the fuss, you are not alone. With so much media attention, going gluten-free is quickly becoming a fad diet [...]
With recent research suggesting a link between obesity and the overuse of antibiotics, we thought it might be a fitting time to discuss probiotics. When we take antibiotics, we alter our community of healthy intestinal bacteria. It may surprise you to learn that the bacteria in our bodies out number our human cells by a [...]
I love the rhythms of the country and the way the passage of time is marked by the fruits and vegetables we grow and the foods we eat. I look forward to each crop from the early summer peas and beans to the autumn pumpkins and squashes. However, nothing generates more excitement in our house [...]
When I go to a restaurant and look over a menu, I can be rather indecisive. One question that I never linger on though is “would you like that mild, medium or hot?” Hot peppers are a favorite seasoning in our house, and we grow them from seed in our garden. This year we had [...]
I just love me some groceries… “We are proud to have film maker and activist Penelope Jagesser Chaffer joining us on the blog today.” – Jill I’m so glad to be writing this post. It’s probably the number one question I get asked: “How can you feed a family frugally if you are living an [...]
Ever pick up a book or magazine because it claims to have the secrets for the “perfect” way to eat? Are you constantly changing your diet based on what science or the media is telling you is healthy? What is a “perfect diet” anyway? In America, we tend to think there is this one right [...]
This is barely a recipe. In fact I almost didn’t share it with you because it’s so simple. However it tasted good, looked pretty and is cheap and nutritious. It’s also an ideal soup to make as the season changes because it’s light enough to evoke the taste of summer and warming enough to serve [...]
It’s that time of year again! Our children are heading back to school. We Moms often have some mixed feelings around this. Most of our YinOva Moms tell me they feel a bit wistful that summer is over whilst at the same time breathing a giant sigh of relief as everyone gets back into routine. [...]
Few things are more comforting than a boiled egg with toast soldiers, a sandwich on crusty bread or a cake with afternoon tea. But for the millions of people who suffer from gluten intolerance these pleasures are denied. At the YinOva Center we’re familiar with the territory. Quite a number of our patients are allergic [...]
“Do I really have to give up coffee now that I’m trying to get pregnant?” Patients ask me this question a lot and here’s how I usually answer it. If you’re trying to get your body healthy in order to conceive it makes sense to limit your coffee intake to one cup a day. However [...]
Cucumbers thrive in warm sunny weather and in our garden we tend to have dozens that ripen at the same time. It makes me realize why, in days gone by, people invented dill pickles, because it’s hard to keep up with a cucumber harvest and a shame to waste them. Cucumbers have been used medicinally [...]
Summer is here and to celebrate Father’s Day I decided to cook a family favorite – “Beer Can Chicken.” It’s a simple concept. Make a tasty rub for your chicken and keeping it whole, prop it up on an open can of beer over the barbecue. As the chicken cooks the beer simmers inside and [...]
We all have bad habits. From twirling our hair to smoking, they range from harmless to harmful. A bad habit I finally kicked was my addiction to Diet Soda. I tried many times but failed when I couldn’t find fulfillment from any other drink – none had the fizzies, the taste, the mouth feel…. [...]
For those of you who don’t eat eggs, I thought I’d share my favorite vegan version of “egg” salad. This makes a great sandwich filling. I like it with salad leaves in an Ezekial Wholegrain Flourless Tortilla or between two slices of Ezekial Bread. It’s one of my favorite lunches. Vegan Egg Salad 2 packs [...]
This is a wonderful soup for people who are tired or convalescing because in Chinese medicine winter squash is a qi tonic. Butternut squash is mostly eaten in the autumn when it is said to have absorbed the sun’s energy over the summer and packs a warming nutritional punch as the days get colder. However [...]
Milk seems to be a most controversial issue…as I wrote in my last post, the options for dairy milk are dizzying enough but for people who want to avoid dairy altogether there are choices to make as well! Non-dairy alternatives for milk include: Almond, Coconut, Hemp, Oat, Rice and Soy Milk. ALMOND MILK is made [...]
When you live in a big city it can be hard enough to find a patch of green to sit on, let alone fertile ground to garden. But do not despair. There are lots of things that can be grown in the urban jungle. Once you work out how much room you have, there are [...]
It’s that time of year! In Chinese medicine spring is the season of the wood element which governs the liver and gallbladder, two organs that become particularly sluggish thanks to festive excesses. In the five element system this time of year is associated with cleansing and renewal. So as we ease into Spring, here at [...]
Sprouts not only taste good, they’re full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and enzymes. Their nutritional benefits were discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. In Chinese medicine a seed is considered to be yin and it’s offshoot is considered to be yang, so the ancient Chinese recognized that as a seed sprouts, [...]
MILK: Like eggs, when it comes to milk the options can be overwhelming – between cow’s milk, goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, raw milk, almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, rice milk, and soy milk – what should you choose? Did I mention there’s lactose-free, organic, antibiotic-free, non-pasteurized, homogenized, rBST/rBGH free and so on……? In this [...]
Splenda®, it is claimed, is the perfect alternative to sugar – sweet but with no calories, no insulin spike and according to the manufacturers no side effects. However recent research suggests that Splenda® is not as safe as we thought. In fact it seems to be the latest in a long line of artificial sweeteners [...]
It is a very chilly evening and the mercury is expected to keep dropping. With this in mind, I thought we’d head south for dinner and that I’d try my hand at making Pozole, a hearty soup from Mexico. Pozole is an ancient stew that dates back to pre-Columbian Mexico. Traditionally, it is made with [...]
I love Italian Wedding Soup but some recipes can be quite high in calories. This healthy version uses ground turkey instead of beef and is packed with veggies for their nutritional value. I also tossed in some pearled barley as a healthier alternative to the pasta used in most Italian Wedding Soup recipes. So yummy! [...]
Eyes are often called the window to the soul but they are also a window to your health. When I meet a patient for the first time I always look at their eyes for clues about their well being. We all know that our vision decreases with age, but did you know that you can [...]
