Healthy Eating


Two Super Simple, Cleanse-Friendly, Healthy Treats : The YinOva Cleanse 2012 Two Super Simple, Cleanse-Friendly, Healthy Treats : The YinOva Cleanse 2012

Let’s face it, we all have a sweet tooth and now and again we need a little sweet fix. I’ve found with minimal effort, these treats really hit the spot. Chocolate Chia Pudding two tablespoons of chia seeds in a bowl add a cup of water (you can use coconut milk, almond milk, or your milk of [...]


Lea’s Cleanse-Friendly Breakfast Ideas : The YinOva Cleanse 2012 Lea's Cleanse-Friendly Breakfast Ideas : The YinOva Cleanse 2012

It’s Spring! That means time for spring-cleaning and the annual YinOva Spring Cleanse.  Because I usually eat greek yogurt and fruit, or eggs in the morning (and I’m usually in a rush) I’ve found the hardest meal to adhere to on the cleanse is breakfast. Here are some fast, healthy, and cleanse-friendly breakfast options. They’re [...]


Can Klara overcome her coffee habit? Can Klara overcome her coffee habit?

In anticipation of the YinOva Cleanse, many on our staff are seeking to overcome and  break-free of their coffee habits. For some coffee is purely about the caffeine, for others it’s about the ritual, the aroma and the taste. But, regardless of why you love coffee, overcoming the addiction is challenging to say the least! Today, I spoke with Klara [...]


What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat? A look inside Laurel’s refrigerator. What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat? A look inside Laurel's refrigerator.

In this feature series, “What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat?”, Kelsey peaks into the refrigerators of our YinOva team to get a glimpse of what they eat. Laurel Axen Carroll is a woman in motion. She is a YinOva acupuncturist, certified herbalist, labor support doula, graduate level professor, personal trainer, Pilates mat instructor and avid surfer. [...]


Eat to Beat Urinary Tract Infections Eat to Beat Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections, or UTI’s, are most commonly seen as an infection of the urethra and bladder but if left untreated can develop into a more serious infection of the kidneys. They are caused by germs, usually the bacteria E. Coli from the digestive system, entering the urinary tract through the urethra and spreading to [...]


What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat? A look inside Klara’s refrigerator. What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat? A look inside Klara's refrigerator.

In this feature series, “What Does Your Acupuncturist Eat?”, Kelsey peaks into the refrigerators of our YinOva team to get a glimpse of what they eat. As a YinOva acupuncturist, certified herbalist, labor doula, massage therapist and student of both Western and Eastern medicine, Klara Kadar understands the importance of a comprehensive, well-balanced career. This [...]


Going Gluten-Free Going Gluten-Free

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 [...]


Can Probiotics Help You Get Lean? Can Probiotics Help You Get Lean?

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 [...]


It’s Apple Picking Time It's Apple Picking Time

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 [...]


Some like it hot! The healing power of peppers Some like it hot! The healing power of peppers

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 [...]


Frugal Food Shopping the Healthy Way by Penelope Frugal Food Shopping the Healthy Way by Penelope

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 [...]


Find Your Perfect Diet by Mary Sabo Find Your Perfect Diet by Mary Sabo

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 [...]


End of Summer Soup End of Summer Soup

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 [...]


Back to School with some Healthy Habits. Back to School with some Healthy Habits.

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. [...]


Gluten Free Summer Squash Bread Gluten Free Summer Squash Bread

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 [...]


Should women trying to conceive cut out coffee? Should women trying to conceive cut out coffee?

“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 [...]


Cool as a Cucumber on a Hot Day Cool as a Cucumber on a Hot Day

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 [...]


Beer-Can Chicken Beer-Can Chicken

  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 [...]


The Skinny on Diet Soda The Skinny on Diet Soda

  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…. [...]


Tofu “Egg” Salad Tofu "Egg" Salad

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 [...]


Butternut Squash and Kale Soup Butternut Squash and Kale Soup

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 [...]


Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives

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 [...]


Digging in the Dirt – Start an Urban Garden! Digging in the Dirt - Start an Urban Garden!

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 [...]


YinOva Cleanse 2011 – An Introduction YinOva Cleanse 2011 - An Introduction

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 [...]