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We have had a lot of people asking us about "Liver Detox or Spring Detox"  Below is our thoughts and  our beliefs from our studies and experiences. Please also click on the links at the bottom of this blog for further research.   

You can see that spring is telling us what to eat.  But, Americans are clearly very disconnected to nature because they are not getting the message.  The only message humans seem to be getting is jump on the latest fad and start your spring detox and flush your system.  

Spring is not about the next new detox diet, the next fruit juice fast, etc..  Spring is the awakening of the new season to come.  It is the season to wake up from the sluggish winter and  eat bitter.  It is time to move your body more and get outside in nature.  

Feeling sluggish by spring, means you need to take better care of your body throughout the year and through winter season.  It does not mean do some radical detox and flush your body out.  

You feel sluggish because you gorged yourself with foods that were to heavy, toxic and sugary during the winter season.  

Spring brings us beauty and awakening.  If you were eating right through the winter and sleeping enough you would feel renewed.  Instead of focusing on a detox diet, focus on creating a better winter eating plan for next winter.   You need to be thinking about the long term damage to your body that your are creating , not short term quick fixes like detox/cleansing diets that really don't work and are damaging to your body.  

Spring brings us spring greens, spring edible weeds and spring herbs. Spring brings us beauty after a long dark winter.  Spring is a reminder to eat your greens , especially eat  your bitter greens, it is a reminder that you should always think about boosting your detoxifying process, not just once a year.  

Spring is not here to torture your internal organs with fad detox diets.  It is a reminder that if you feel sluggish because you made bad choices throughout the winter with heavy sugary holiday food, toxic food that maybe next winter you will make healthier choices for your body mind and spirit.  

What spring is telling you  is to wake up, take a walk out in nature, slow down your life because you refused to do it, breath more, and enjoy the beauty that the next few seasons will bring.  

Say NO to spring detox/cleansing diets, start making better choices/better life style habits and learn to eat your bitter greens.

 A life of eating to be healthy is truly about finding  balance, listening and seeing what nature  is bringing  to you.  

 Life Detox:

You are living a life that is too fast.  Slow it down.  Take deep breaths, learn to breath again.   A fast paced life gives you indigestion. Simply put, it is bad for your digestion to live a life that is fast.  Instead of a juice fast that will give you a blood sugar high, sit down under a tree with a cup of nettle tea.  

Drink nourishing bone broth made from animals that are treated beautifully and fed a non-gmo diet.

Practice being kind and learn to give instead of take

Get to bed by 10:00 PM

Cut out sugar

Find out your food allergies

Exercise is a must.  No excuses, humans need to move their bodies.  Find something you like.  It does not have to be something that is hard core.  Walking is a great way to exercise.  It is being consistent that is important.   You need to exercise at least 5 days a week.  

Eliminate chemical toxins out of your life.  Remember hair dyes and nail polish are toxic.  Eliminate products that are made from petroleum, synthetics and GMO's 

 All screens, cell phones, computer, gaming, video games, TV, I pads, kindles,  etc All of them put your body in Fight or Flight mode.  So, instead of reaching for the newest cleansing diet, turn of your screens and limit your use of them.   If you have a cell phone then only use it for emergency's or if it is job related and If you have to use it for your job then set limits right away.    Turn the ringer off.  

Stop texting and start making time to see each other.  Texting turns you off from this world and keeps you overly connected, it is stressing your digestive tract out.   You need to set limits.  

Gaming/Video games, this is one of the worst things you can do to your body.  Total fight or flight mode every time you log on.   Get gaming out of your life, it is a serious addiction to adrenaline and it turns you  off from the real world.   Set your bare feet onto the ground and drink a cup of burdock root tea.  

Be Here Now.  Simply put if you are waiting for someone or something, just be, look around, observe what is going on around you, start a conversation, smile at someone, bring a paper book to read,  just get off of your phone.  You are keeping your body in constant state of stress.  What does stress do to your digestion? 

Create community and get involved.  This gives your body happy emotions 

Smoothies are the new quick fix, and you are skipping one of the first steps to digestion by drinking your meals.   I truly feel people are having more digestion issues because of our liquid diet and the smoothie fad.   Chewing and saliva are the first steps to breaking down your food.  

Sit and eat.  Be still while you chill.  Breath while you eat.  Breakfast at the table.  No Screen time while you eat.  All of those routines are becoming extinct .  It is time to start the day by eating a balance breakfast  with cooked greens, a clean protein and a salad.   

Stop eating raw food in the winter. 

Eat more green vegetables.   To this day I have yet to meet someone who eats enough vegetables.  

Eat seasonally. It does not make sense to your body for you to go on a juice fast in the spring if you live in an area that fruit is not ripe or even growing at this time.  

 Shop local farmers markets.  They are growing the foods that you can eat seasonally.   Buy organic as much as possible.   It is important for your health to eliminate eating foods that have  chemical toxins in them.  

Drink filtered water or spring water.  Most people are not drinking enough water 

Eat Spring Greens

Wild Spring Greens, head out and harvest some spring energy

Nettle, Urtica dioica - Nutrient, diuretic, detoxifying, astringent, glactagogue, decongestant and hypoglycemic.  Highly nutritious, high in vitamins and minerals.   Great for a nourishing tonic.  They stimulate the action of the kidneys and bladder.  Nettles help cleanse the body of toxins and wastes.  In the respiratory system nettles help clear catarrhal congestion and relieve allergies such as hayfever and asthma (with a balanced, healthy, diet) 

Cleavers, Galium aparine - Diuretic, alterative, antiinflammatory, astringent, antineoplastic, tonic and refrigerant.  Cleavers cleanse and clear toxins from the system and reduce inflammation.  They are a diuretic aiding elimination of wastes and also act ot enhance the lymphatic system, promoting lymphatic drainage of toxins ans wastes.   These actions ( with a healthy balanced diet) make them excellent for fluid retention, skin problems , urinary infections, and more.  

Sheep Sorrel - click on link below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivx-B9iRcCo

Horsetail, Equisetum arvense - click on link below

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-horsetail.html

Chickweed, Stellaria media - Alterative, demulcent, refrigerant, mucilaginous, pectoral, resolvent and discutient. It is a mild diuretic and is used for water retention.  Has many nutrients, including calcium, potassium and iron.  Use as a food, it heals and soothes.  

Violet Flower and Leaf, click on links below: 

http://www.herbalistlisewolff.com/violets.html

http://www.susunweed.com/An_Article_wisewoman3e.htm

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis - Antiviral, decongestant, antihistamine, antiseptic, carminative, antispasmodic, antidepressant, nervine diaphoretic, hypotensive and bitter tonic.   Lemon balm is an excellent remedy for soothing the nerves and lifting the spirits ( a rainy spring would be a great time to make a wonderful cup of tea with this beautiful herb) It has a particular affinity with the digestive system, it calms and soothes nausea, vomiting poor appetite, colic, dysentery, colitis and any stress related digestive problems.   Make a bitters and it will gently stimulate the liver and gallbladder and enhance digestion and absorption.   It is useful for nervousness or depression.    It makes a great remedy for headaches and migraines.  A hot infusion causes sweating reducing fevers and making a good remedy for childhood infections.    This is one plant I would make sure I had growing in my garden!  

Dandelion Greens, Taraxacum officinale - Cholagogue, diuretic, antirheumatic, laxative, tonic, nutrient and detoxifying.  The whole plant ca be used medicine and is highly nutritious.   Pick the leaves in the spring and early summer.   Eat them as a bitter tonic to cleanse the body of wastes from the heavy clogging food and more sedentary habits of winter.  Dandelion eliminates toxins, wastes and pollutants through the liver and kidneys, cleansing the blood and tissues.  The bitters in both root and leaf activate the digestive tract and the liver, increasing the flow of digestive juices, enhancing the appetite, easing digestion and cleansing the liver.    So instead of reaching for the latest detox/cleansing diet, take a hike and eat some Dandelion Leaves (in a no spray area) 

Plantain, Plantago major - Leaves: demulcent, refrigerant, detoxifying, astringent, vulnerary, decongestant, expectorant, antiseptic and diuretic. 

My recommendations are this:

I won't recommended a Liver Detox tea to flush out toxins. I would never recommend a juice fast.   I will recommend that you increase your intake of green raw and cooked veggies,  I will recommend Susan Weeds Nourishing  infusions, I will recommend nutritive teas that nourish and tonify your body. There are many more recommendations that I would make.  But the most important thing I will tell you is that you need to take care of your body all the time, think about detoxifying it all the time through nourishing your body with healthy habits.   

Wild Weed Pesto: 

http://mcminnvillehealthdefense.ning.com/profiles/blogs/let-food-be-thy-medicine-and-medicine-be-thy-food-hippocrates

Trying implementing Nourishing Infusions in your daily wellness plan: 

http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/September08/anti-cancer.htm

More information on Winter Detox Diet: 

http://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/winter-detox-diet.html

Herbs for your liver: 

http://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/natural-liver-cleanse.html

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” 

 Nut flour crust, wild weed pesto, my own canned sauce, mozzarella cheese and all organic.

The wild weed pesto is made out of dandelion leaves, plantain leaves, nettle leaves, yellow dock leaves, olive oil, raw cheddar, dehydrated ground up nuts and raw garlic.   

Plantain

Yellow Dock

Dandelion 

Nettle 

Collected and Ready to Make Wild Weed Pesto 

1 cup or more of edible weeds (make sure no one has sprayed any chemicals on or around them!!)

1/2 to 1 cup organic olive oil 

1/2 cup organic raw cheese of choice

1/8 cup ground nuts or seeds

3 cloves raw garlic ( or more if you are a garlic fan) 

Blend in a  mixer 

Use on crackers, rice, meat, pizza dough or as a veggie dip. 

In this weeks Mountain Mama Wellness letter I decided to give information in a variety of ways. How you can invest in your health care?  Investing in your health care now is what will give you a better future.  

Not only is it a better future for your health, but, also for the oceans, rivers, the air you breath, the soil, the animals, birds and bees. 

If you were looking for a retirement plan, looking for a house to buy, etc. you would have a list of needs, things that are important, you want to make sure you have a strong foundation and a good roof over your head.  

Correct? 

How is it humans do not apply this to their own health? 

Why do they continue to put bad investments into their body.  By eating out, not eating enough veggies or no veggies.   Eating GMO Food.  Eating foods that are high in pesticides.  

Why do humans continue to let their kids eat toxic food?  Food with artificial colors, high sugar, artificial flavors, toxic food additives and preservatives.

No matter how positive you are, how enlightened you try to be, how much Buddha you put in your life, you are still contributing to a very negative energy to the earth,  to your physical  body, to your spirit and  to your mind, by supporting bad food, bad agriculture, eating GMO foods, eating artificial colors and the toxic food list goes on and on.  

Taking Care Of Your Body

When it comes to taking care of your body, I really can't say it enough, support your local organic farmers, eat your veggies, stop eating at restaurants that do no support local farmers, stop eating at restaurants that use GMO oil for their cooking,  You want to starve cancer cells not grow them.. 

Find out what your food allergies are.  Then stay away from those foods..

Exercise is a must "NO Excuses"  For you and your kids, 5 to 7 days a week.  

Your heart, needs community.  You community needs you. 

Help others that are in need 

Stop consuming. There are only two categories when it comes to consuming

 Ask yourself is it a "Need" OR A "Want" 

VEGGIES ARE THE KINGS AND QUEENS IN LIFE

GREENS FOR VITALITY

And

AND 

AND REMEMBER...

AND WATCH OUT FOR THE WOLVES....

AND HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THIS:

 PUT IT INTO ACTION

REMEMBER YOUR TOXIC FOOD CHOICES

AND

EXCESS CONSUMERISM AFFECTS EVERYTHING 

AND WATCH OUT FOR THE TRICKERY,AND MORE TRICKERY

AND I AM SORRY BUT THIS GROWS SICKNESS,

NOT A GOOD INVESTMENT,

NOT EVEN ONCE IN A WHILE.... 

AND DARE TO BE THE LEADER IN THE CROWD? 

AND TRUTH

DO YOU GET IT NOW?

AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? 

ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING HOW TO INVEST IN YOUR HEALTH?

For many years I have heard people say they can not afford to eat healthy foods.  Being a single mom for years I new they were very wrong. People can afford to eat healthy. The underlying issue is this, we have a society that does not know how to cook.  Living off of a dollar menu will give nothing but bad health and a lot of expensive health care bills.  Besides why not work on feeling good, vibrant, healthy, active, awake, motivated and happy.  You are what you eat.  If you eat unhealthy food, then you are burning bad fuel.  Bad fuel causes things to clog up, slow down, and sputter.  

On that note, I thought I would start sharing some of our low budget healthy meals.  Of course always eat organic as much as you can.  After all the chemicals they use in conventional (I call it poison farming) farming is the same chemicals that they make bombs with.  No wonder there are so many tummy troubles and other serious health issues that are going on in the human race.  

Here are some great recipes, enjoy! 

Multi Bean Salad 

2 cups cooked kidney beans

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans

2 cups cooked butter beans 

6 Tbs olive oil

2 minced garlic cloves (spring use green garlic) 

4 Tbs. lemon juice

6 Tbs red balsamic vinegar

5 Tbs. Fire Cider (http://mcminnvillehealthdefense.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fire-cider)

1 tsp. local honey

1 tsp. Celtic salt

1 tsp black pepper ( or more)

1/4 lb fresh green beans (if it is summer time and they are in season)

2 medium stalks celery, finely minced

1 red onion minced

1 cup finely minced parsley

1/2 cup chopped carrots 

Combine oil, garlic,lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, fire cider, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

If it is summer time and you have green beans to add: 

Trim the tips of the green beans, and steam until tender (5 to 8 minutes, or to  your preference). Refresh under cold running water and drain well. 

Drain the cooked beans, rinse gently under cold water adn add them to your bowl with the dressing.   

Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Let marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours (even longer is better)  

Serve cold or at room temperature.  Serve with some hot rice, quinoa, steamed tortillas or rice wraps.  You could also try some raw cheese grated on top of it.  

Other optional ingredients: 

During the spring try green garlic, about 4 finely minced

During the summer try adding cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  

What is Green Garlic? 

Green garlic is young garlic which is harvested before the cloves have begun to mature. The resulting vegetable resembles a scallion, with a deep green stalk and a pale white bulb. It can often be found for sale at a farmers' market in the spring, and can also be grown at home relatively easily. Many large grocery stores do not stock green garlic, although growing consumer demand may change this. It can also usually be special ordered through a greengrocer.

When garlic is grown normally, it is harvested when the lower part of the stalk visible above the ground starts to turn brown. The bulb of the garlic has differentiated into garlic cloves, and it is cured so that it will last in storage. Typically, garlic is harvested in the middle of summer. Green garlic, on the other hand, is harvested before the plant is mature. The stalks are still totally green, usually around one foot (30 cm) long, and the bulb resembles that of a green onion, rather than a segmented head of garlic.

Green Garlic Butter:

http://www.inerikaskitchen.com/2011/04/green-garlic-butter.html

Green Garlic Spread:

http://www.greenling.com/blog/recipes/sidedish-recipe/green-garlic-sandwich-spread

Multi Bean Salad

Lentil Salad Recipe: 

2 cups cooked lentils, rinsed

Dressing:

3 to 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

3 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 red onion  minced

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional)

1 tsp. Celtic  salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. homemade mustard or organic mustard- Summer omit mustard and add cumin

Spring Version: 

handful cilantro chopped

handful garlic chives minced

handful onion chives minced

2 fresh peppermint leaves minced

1 cup organic kale chopped

1 cup of purple orach spinach chopped or regular spinach 

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing is too zingy for  you feel free to add more olive oil to soften the flavor. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir gently.  Let marinate for a few hours.    Serve with rice wraps or rice tortillas.  You could also add some raw organic cheese.   

Summer Version: 

2 tomatoes

1 organic red pepper chopped

1 organic yellow pepper chopped

2 organic hot peppers minced

optional:  minced fresh fennel leaves 

Lentil Salad Recipe: 

2 cups cooked lentils, rinsed

Dressing:

3 to 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

3 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 red onion  minced

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional)

1 tsp. Celtic  salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. homemade mustard or organic mustard- Summer omit mustard and add cumin

Spring Version: 

handful cilantro chopped

handful garlic chives minced

handful onion chives minced

2 fresh peppermint leaves minced

1 cup organic kale chopped

1 cup of purple orach spinach chopped or regular spinach 

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing is too zingy for  you feel free to add more olive oil to soften the flavor. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir gently.  Let marinate for a few hours.    Serve with rice wraps or rice tortillas.  You could also add some raw organic cheese.   

Summer Version: 

2 tomatoes

1 organic red pepper chopped

1 organic yellow pepper chopped

2 organic hot peppers minced

optional:  minced fresh fennel leaves 

Thank you to all that participated.  You did a beautiful job and I know you  have motivated others to do the same! 

Thank you, to Sophia, for the great food that she made for Joseph and I.  She took beautiful pictures and helped make a video. If you would like to watch her video, click on the link below:

http://mountainwarrior.ning.com/video/mcminnville-health-defense-so...

First, I want to thank Laz for such a beautiful job on his blog post, of eating green food. His was on a different day.  I think he did this to motivate people to take the green food day challenge on, March 17th 2012 because if you know Laz he eats this way everyday.  If you do not know Laz, he is a 16 year young, who eats incredibly healthy..  Here is an example of what he eats on a daily basis.  I would like to mention that his brother Max eats incredibly too and he bakes homemade bread.  Max is 14 years young.

Before working out and running this morning I had a glass of water with kelp. Then some green tea whilst making breakfast.

Breakfast was Organic eggs with local organic kale, kohlrabi, leeks, cilantro, raw onions and some salsa.After eating I had a little bit of apple cider vinegar, then a few minutes down the road, some oat milk with hemp protein powder... and a pinch of cocoa powder.

After a couple hours, made a salad containing the following: Raw onions (i love onions!), garlic, organic local mustard greens, beets, turnips, swiss chard, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Apple, and mushrooms.Then for lunch/food for classes, I made Kamut with chard, kohlrabi greens (don't waste food), ginger and onions.Okay, Dinner! Made homemade organic spinach tortillas with cilantro, spinach, avocado, organic cheese, pinto beans, salsa and an Organic Raw Multi-Green Kombucha!

That was my food for January 17th, 2012. How did you fuel you bodies today?!? Everything you see was organic... now it's in my tummy. Be Kung Fu in EVERYTHING!

I also want to thank Victoria for taking the challenge on , her morning started beautiful.  If you need ideas for a morning meal Check out Victoria's morning breakfast: 

Besides organic coffee and organic half and half, I am having some kombucha with cranberry juice. Then I sautéed some homegrown shallot and homegrown garlic and organic ginger in organic butter. Added some cumin and coriander which were ground. Added some homegrown spinach and wilted that. Added seasalt and some cooked blackeyed peas from last night (dinner was blackeyed peas and collards from the garden), also organic. Sprinkled on some hempseed, ground flaxseed, and a pinch of pollen. Pictures later, when I download from phone. Right now I want to eat!

Then we had Joe and Sue's green food day post.  They had a life challenge to work though, to eat super green  food all day while they had a day trip.  All of us know that when traveling, in order to eat good you need to prepare a head of time.  Check out their day.  Again, if you need help with eating healthy while you have a day trip there are some great ideas in their blog post.  

Started out with a cup of Organic coffee. Breakfast was Rice noodles with kale, eggs, pesto and pumpkin seeds.Challenge for us today, we were spending all day at the zoo for  grandson's birthday, so we made some turkey wraps in organic flour tortillas with green hummus and spinach to take with us. Mid way we had a "ReBar", organic fruit & vegie bar containing 8 servings of fruits & vegies. After the zoo we went to Voodoo Donuts for "cake". You can't believe the line of people waiting to get in that place. It took about 20 minutes to get into the building. The amazing array of facinating donuts to choose from! People really had a hard time choosing between deep fried fritters, donuts covered in various colored frosting then topped with sugar laden cereals like Captain Crunch or Cocoa Puffs and even bacon, I guess that's the complete breakfast donut. Jelly or cream filled to choose from also of course. It was definately not difficult for Joe & I to resist. When we got home, Yummy homemade pizza! with spinach, homemade pesto, mushrooms, & Organic Valley cheese.

Cathe had a lot of fun all day posting pics and making food.  I loved watching her post's on Facebook.  What was great about her post's is that her friends were seeing what she was eating.  One can only hope that they would find interest in challenging themselves on a daily basis to eat for green healthy food.  She had some great ideas and came up with some great conclusions.  Here is one of her post's on Facebook, I love the humor she puts into her day: 

Still too full for snack yet and its almost movie time! Tonights snack will be a smoothie and its movie night! I think it will be a very green one. Will post ingredients. I still have enough vegies for two more days! With planning, eating green is very affordable, and with extra thrift, eating Organic is doable! Stay tuned it ain't over till the fluffy lady drinks her smoothie! (I still have 30 pounds of fluff to remove_

Here is Cathe's day:

Prebreakfast  Green Coffee  (half coffee and half stinging nettle tea)

Breakfast       Green and raw Oatmeal (raw zuchini and raw sweet potato in oats)

Snack           Green and Raw Angled Eggs  ( ground raw asparagus tips ground raw red onions)

Main meal     Green Spagetti  (Mango and red bell pepper sauce with grated steamed cabbage)

Snack           Green and Raw Smoothie ( contained RAW spinach liquid) 

Super Green Organic Oatmeal
1 icecream scoop of soaked, barely cooked oat meal
1 cup cup of grated raw zuchini
1/2 cup of grated raw sweet potatoe
fresh lemon juice and honey 
mix all together and eat! 
Ka Chin Super Green Eating Points

hmmmmm! I think I will do organic deviled eggs for my 11:00 snack! I am going to add another personal challenge to my efforts here! All of my foods MUST be original recipes! Like the green coffee and the confetti oatmeal! Stay tuned for Cathes "Angled Eggs" ! They are sooo healthy that we can't give you know who the credit for them!

hmmmm

St Patties Day Angled Eggs 
blenderize cooked eggs with one tablespoon of red onion and two tablespoons of raw asparagus tips. add to blender mayo, mustard, tumeric and lemon juice to taste. Place in boiled egg whites. Enjoy.

TADA! These will help you find that blarney stone!

Apparently I did not add enough batter to this waffle iron, and while it is "thoroughly cooked" we will not be having this green snack tonight. Instead a green smoothie will substitute. Tomorrows post will be on, "How To Easily Clean A Really Messy Waffle Iron".

getting ready to blenderize, (ninja) the following:
1 whole red bell pepper
1 cup of mango
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons of oat flour
any spices you use for spagettie sauce

Mango Spagettie Sauce! NO CANS OF TOMATOES! And that means no food dye or BPAs! This sauce is orange. The "noodles" for me are lightly steamed cabbage. The kids had regular GF noodles. Hey it was hard enough to get them to try the weird "Mango Sauce". But in the end, all was declared Yummy!

saute onion and hamburger, dump in Ninjaed stuff. stir till thick, if too thick wisk in hot water. simmer to allow flavors to yumernize.