Healing Diet part 3 (day 25)

In this video I talk about some of the things that have helped me stay on this healing journey, and what I have learned thus far. It has been worth it.

Harvesting Basil

Healing Diet day 17

It has not been a breeze to go through the last 17 days of no Dairy, Sugars, or Grains but I am glad I have persevered and accomplished what I have so far. The biggest obstacle or temptation is when other people offer things I should not be having. I have done o.k. because the cravings I used to have are dramatically lowered. My boys on the other hand were not able to say no as easily. This diet is very strict and the food choices are narrow, so I do not blame them. I thought they were courageous for even trying to do this with me. My 9 year old son is still going strong. Once in a while he will have a little of something before he realizes or is told that he shouldn't and then he steers clear of it. He is a trooper and I am tickled with his determination. He is proud of himself too. We both look forward to 2 weeks from now when we can add some things to our diet that will make this process a little easier like more fruits! That will be so nice!
  Here are some of the details of what I am doing.
    http://www.herballegacy.com/Candida.html
    This is the leaky gut/ yeast cleanse that I am following. I love the way herbs gently but effectively heal.



 Body Ecology by Donna Gates
This is a book that has filled in some of the details that have been helpful in following the recommendations from the School of Natural diet. It gives specifics on what kind of sugars to allow, how to make probiotic foods, why this diet is important and so on. It has been a great resource as I try to heal. I have read a lot of health books and can say that this one is full of great information and worth owning and highlighting to reference again and again.


Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger
This book also was a help in figuring out that it was my gut that needed to be healed. The author prescribes a bit different of an approach than herbs but I believe it would be just as beneficial. It has points that I needed to know as I have embarked on this healing journey and it was an interesting read. If I could choose just one book it would be the Body Ecology book but if I could get both I would. (I did!)

Be sure and check out the video that I did about how I am coming along! HERE
Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Healing Diet *Video* Day 17

Transplanting

This week we have done a ton of transplants. To do that, the first true leaves called cotyledons are taken off of the stem and the plant is buried in soil up to the next leaves. Not all plants can be done this way but peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers can. There are probably more, but those are the ones I know of for sure right now. I have heard of old-timers who do it with every transplant no matter what it is.
We have been using a soil less mix of 2 parts sawdust, 1 part sand, and 1/2 part pearlite. This makes a nice mix that drains well and yet doesn't dry out quickly. This mix keeps disease and bugs at bay too. The plants seem to love it as long as we are making sure they are getting their Mittleider nutrients. Check them out HERE.
  We also put a pre-plant mixture into the potting soil which consists of 20 cups gypsum, 1 cup epsom salts and 1/4 cup borax.  The plants do really well with these nutrients.
  Now that I have posted this blog, I am off to the greenhouse to transplant more tomatoes and eggplant! Have a happy healthy day!
Elisa
  
 

Healing Diet Video

Video 1 of 2

 Video 2 of 2

May this inspire someone else to do what it takes to heal and gain the health that could be theirs.

Happy Healthy, Elisa

What do chickens and smoothies have in common?

When I make juices I feel wasteful throwing away the pulp. One of my juicers came with a recipe book for how to use different pulps but I am not home enough to be baking experiments. Maybe I should look into some of the recipes and sell the baked goods at our Farmers Market but not for now. I am sure there are some yummy concoctions but I need simple right now. Here are two things I do with the leftover pulp from my wonderful juicing.

1. If the juice has any fruit in it (apples, oranges, etc.) then I give the pulp to the chickens or eventually I will be putting it in a compost heap when I get around to doing that.

2. If it is things like carrots, squash, celery or other such vegetables, I add the pulp to a freezer baggie I keep in a special place in my freezer. When the baggie is full of pulp and leftovers from chopping vegetables(onion and garlic skins, potato shavings, carrot tops,etc.) I empty the baggie into a stockpot, cover it with water and boil it for about 20-30 minutes. This recycles my leftovers into a vitamin and mineral rich stock that can be the base for many different soups. I can strain the pulp and vegetable trimmings out after they have boiled and add noodles or sprouted beans, or or or. There are all sorts of possibilities. Use the broth for a pea soup base, or a lentil soup. Freeze it and use it as a substitute when something calls for a broth.

Since doing this I feel like the pulp is being put to good healthy use and I don't have to throw anything out. No waste. I love it.

Happy Healthy,
ElisaOmega Vertical Masticating Juicer (Google Affiliate Ad)

Last Minute Stirfry Dinner

 I got home late from the farm and wasn't sure what to eat on this anti-yeast/fungus diet I am on. Pretty much I can't have any dairy, grains or sugars. Wow, the list of things that I can have is pretty small compared with the list of things that have those 3 ingredients in them!  The purpose of the diet is to heal my gut and hopefully get rid of a few pesky things that have been ailing me.
On to the dinner:

I had a stirfry mix in the freezer but it had a flavoring packet in it that was full of preservatives and other things I am staying away from.  I looked through my cupboards at things that I can have and found Apple Cider Vinegar - so I added some of that to the veggies that were frying in coconut oil on the stove. I found some wheat free Tamari Sauce, so I added some of that. Then I added some Vege-sal which is sea salt with dried vegetables that are full of minerals and vitamins.    That's all I added and it was delicious. Before I left for the farm that morning I had put quinoa and water in the rice cooker with a time delay. It was ready to go when we got home, so I ate the stirfry with it and loved how it filled me up and was so taste satisfying. I don't have a lot of time to cook lately, so I appreciate meals that are good for me and quick. It was a yummy end to a long day.

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Bucket Tomatoes

 In the greenhouse I have planted my tomatoes that I started from seed into buckets. It is so cool to see a thriving plant that used to be just a seed. I don't think I will ever get used to the miracle of that!

 I used a ratio of 2 sand: 2 sawdust: 1 pearlite. How we measured that was with a water pitcher. Two pitchers of sand, 2 of sawdust, and 1 of pearlite.

• We mixed it in a wheelbarrow, then put it in the buckets until they were within 2 or 3 inches of the top rim.  
• Then I mixed some pre-plant mix into the top 6-8 inches described HERE. 
•  When that was done, I watered the bucket until water was coming out of the holes I drilled into the bottom of the buckets previously. (6-8 1/2" holes).
• I let the mixture sit over night to absorb moisture and then put the plants into the mix the next day. You probably don't have to do that. It is just a habit for me. 
• To put the plants in, I pinched off the little leaves (cotyledons), the first leaves to sprout, and put the plant into the soil up to the first leaves. New roots will grow from the part of the stem that is in the ground making a much sturdier plant. 
• When the plants were in, I sprinkled about a Tablespoon of Urea(nitrogen) on the soil mixture and watered it in.The nitrogen will give them a good head start and protect from transplant shock.

 The plants have been in the buckets for a couple of weeks and are growing rapidly. I give them about a Tablespoon of weekly feed once a week and water it in. Daily I check to see if the soil within the top 1/2" is dry. If it is, I water until it starts dripping from the bottom again. I have found that if I do that, it distributes the fertilizer good, leaches out extra fertilizer, gives good moisture content (obviously!), and keeps the soil fresh.

  The greenhouse is going to have 80+ tomatoes in it this summer! I have never grown that many tomatoes at once and I have never grown in a greenhouse before. This could get interesting!

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

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Daily Liver Cleanse

 Every morning before I have eaten or drank anything, I partake in an easy but effective liver cleanse. I take a break when I have been doing it for a month or so, then get back on it again to keep up the cleansing. Nothing in it is hard on my body. It only does good.

First I use my handy dandy lemon squeezer. It is so nice to use. In one motion, half of a lemon is sqeezed into my cup. I do the other half into my husband's cup, or if he isn't there I let a kid try it out. Then I add 1 drop of lemon essential oil and 1 drop of peppermint essential oil. I used to use Forever Green oils because I had researched and found their quality to be very high but that was a few years ago and things have changed. I have switched over to the company that the resourcer for the oils went to from Forever Green(she got a new contract Green Organics International when her contract with Forever Green was void because of a change in quality). I have met her in person and trust her integrity. She has promised to not be with a company who does not have the very best quality which includes being organic, wildcrafted as much as possible and having absolutely NO fillers. I should write a post on that separately! Back to the recipe....

1/2 squeezed lemon
1 drop lemon e.o.                    Get Your Essential Oils HERE
1 drop peppermint e.o.
1/2 to 1 cup of water
I mix these all up and while it still swirling in the cup I drink it. The reason I drink it while it is still swirling is because the oils tend to rise to the top when the drink is let to sit for even a few seconds! Then you get a whole bunch of lemon and then a surprise of peppermint at the end and a whole lot of it gets left on the cup!

If you have any allergies, liver spots, red moles, sluggish bowel, weight gain, chills, constipation,gallbladder attacks, headaches, lower back aches, skin problems, weakened eye sight, depression, the list could go on and on, a liver cleanse would do you good. Even if you have ever had antibiotics in you life, a liver cleanse would do you good. Your liver is filtering and filtering all day long every day and needs help to stay clean. This is the way I do it. You could do more extreme ways like I have tried where in the middle of the night you are propped up by the toilet hoping the night will pass quickly. I don't recommend it!

Go get yourself some lemons and essential oils and do your body a huge favor, possibly even skip out on the allergy season that is looming ahead of us!

Happy Healthy,
Elisa

Start a Garden with the Mittleider Method

 My brother called wanting to know the details of how I fertilize the garden using the Mittleider Method (You can watch a you tube video from the President of growfood.com about the Mittleider method is considered the best of organic) For those of you living in Fort Collins, I have bulk micronutrients and the weekly feed recipe that I can sell to you so you don't have to wait for it in the mail.

 HOW TO PREPARE A GARDEN BED USING THE MITTLEIDER METHOD

Before putting any soil in your 36"x8' beds, sprinkle 1 1/2 cups gypsum on the ground. The 36"x8' beds are what I have in the greenhouse and you can plant 4 rows in it. Outside I have 18"x30' beds. Those would get 4 cups of the pre-plant mixture tilled in and 2 cups of weekly feed when the plants are up.
After putting in 1 part sand and 3 parts (or 1 part sand, 2 parts sawdust and 2 parts pearlite) sawdust into your beds until the beds are level with the tops of the boxes, sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the following pre-plant mixture.  20 cups gypsum(hardware store); 1 cup epsom salts(pharmacy); 1/4 cup Borax(laundry isle). Till or shovel it into the top 6 -8 inches of soil.

When the plants are up, start fertilizing once week with 3/4 c. of the weekly feed mixture. You can buy the micronutrients that will come with the recipe at growfood.com for about $14.

When you know your plants only have a couple more weeks until they are through producing, you can stop the weekly feed. If you plant something else in their place, start with the pre-plant mixture again. Do not put the pre-plant mixture in with seeds. They will not germinate correctly.

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Questions?