Wouldn’t you love to give a great gift this Christmas? I have three suggestions this year. They’re homemade and delicious, but don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you’ll be slaving over a hot stove!
These are easy, but beware.
You’ll want to make a couple extra batches for yourself.
Or how about oranges with chili peppers? There are countless variations. Pour your finished product into clean, glass canning jars and for a personalized touch, make your own labels. Here’s a basic recipe for Cherry Chutney from Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions:
4 cups ripe cherries, pitted and quartered
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon whole cloves
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1/8 cup Sucanat
¼ cup whey
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ cup filtered water
Mix cherries with spices and orange rind, place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down lightly. Mix remaining ingredients and pour into jar, adding more water if necessary to cover the cherries. The top of the chutney should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator. This should be eaten within 2 months.
Enjoy!
I recently came across an article that described what the original Thanksgiving dinner would have been like. It
seemed to look down its long aquiline nose at the simpler fare of 1621, as if our modern smorgasbord actually could boast a superior culinary position. Today, typical meals include lavish, sweet pies made with vegetable oils as folks smear margarines across their white, yeasty, refined rolls. The vaccinated, domesticated, farm raised turkeys sit satiated with nutritionally vacant stuffing…often from a box.
Let me take you back to the feast that started it all. I’m grateful that we can imitate that 17th century wisdom and enjoy humble, pilgrim foods, even now, centuries later.
The Pilgrim’s spread would have included organic venison, wild turkey, goose and duck. They had dibs on local seafood and cod, bass, lobster and clams could have been served, too.
Their thanksgiving feast wasn’t infused with white sugars or corn syrup so don’t expect to see bowls filled with cranberry jelly in the shape of the can or bright yellow, sweet corn. Instead, they munched on toothsome flint corn, which the Indians toasted.
Instead of rolls and breads made with from bleached and processed flours, expect to see hearty cornbread and sourdough bread.
Smart moms make these breads to this very day!
Pilgrims hadn’t yet filled their gardens with potatoes, so instead they stewed and boiled their pumpkin with cinnamon, ginger, butter and vinegar. Wholesome vegetables like radishes, carrots, beans, lettuces, parsnips and leaks would have been on their menu, too.
Likely, their seasonal and regional fruits, such as grapes and plums would have made a satisfying tart, seasoned with rosemary and cinnamon.
Yes, their foods were simple. Their foods were safe. They were not finessed and fussed, but they were wholesome, local, organic and smart. Animal fats and proteins were plentiful, tart flavors were added to the bland and their wheat was fermented.
Time may have provided us with convenient kitchen aids like the oven and Cuisinart, but good, nutrient dense, whole foods are not a fad.
Thank God.
May you and your family enjoy a happy and wholesome Thanksgiving.
Love,
Kvass. It might be new to the store shelves, but it’s actually an age-old beverage, hailing from Russia and it’s lip-smacking good.
Years ago, I discovered Kvass (Russian for “leaven”) and it definitely raises the bar. Here’s a drink that takes the simplest ingredients and transforms them into a refreshing drink, but what’s more, a healing elixir, too. All starting with bread and water, or beets and salt.
With a simple fermentation process involving sourdough or sourdough rye bread, glucuronic acid is produced. If you’ve never hear of this-don’t worry. All you need to know is that your liver makes this acid, too. It gathers up toxins and poisons and evicts them from your body.
So, after a glass of Kvass, your body gets a boost of glucuronic acid and can really accelerate the detoxification process.
It’s typically flavored with fruits, such as apples and raspberries or vegetables like beets. I highly recommend you add it to your shopping list or better yet-make it yourself and follow in ancient footsteps when you craft and enjoy this detoxifying drink.
To our health! Or as the Russians say, “На здоровье!”
Here’s a great recipe to try from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions (page 595):
You’ll need:
4-5 slices whole grain sourdough bread
2 quarts filtered water
¼ cup whey
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ cup raisins
2 apples, peeled and quartered
“Place bread in warm oven until dried out. Place in a large bowl. Bring water to a boil and pour over bread. Let cool before adding sale and whey. Cover and leave at room temperature for 2-3 days. Remove bread and strain into a 2-quart container. Add raisins and apples, cover tightly and store in refrigerator for about 1 month before drinking. Kvass is ready when the fruit floats-a sign that sufficient lactic acid has been produced.”
Enjoy old favorites gluten-free
With 1 in 133 in the U.S. affected with celiac disease[1], it’s not too surprising that gluten-free diets are popular these days. But people with Celiac’s disease aren’t the only ones who benefit from gluten-free fare. Did you know, it’s been estimated that 97% of Americans who have Celiac’s disease are not diagnosed?[2]
Many people are completely unaware that they have gluten intolerances and end up experiencing years of discomfort (in mild cases) and much worse, in others.
I like to challenge many of my clients to go gluten free for 30 days and find out whether or not gluten is the culprit responsible for their health dilemmas.
Why don’t you take the challenge, too?
In the process, you’ll discover new ways to make old favorites as well as creative alternatives. Perhaps you’ll realize that you’re better off gluten, as many already have.
Let me get you started! Check out my gluten-free pancakes and banana bread recipes. Or how about pizza with an almond flour crust? A simple bread or a festive almond cranberry loaf are good options, too.
[1] http://www.celiac.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=11
Children learn many things in the school, don’t they? Math equations, pronouns, sports and games, but the last thing you want them to soak up is a taste for nutritionally vacant and maybe even harmful foods. Cafeteria foods are notoriously unhealthy and gross. (I remember visiting with the head cook at my son’s school and found that nearly every item in the pantry contained MSG.)
Yes, they must go to school, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t learn invaluable lessons from you and their lunch box, too
Here are 5 easy and fun snacks to snuggle in their lunch box:
Check out these and other fun ideas in my audio CD, “Secret Spoonfuls. Confessions of a Sneaky Mom”!
What do I mean by whole foods? I mean pure foods….. Those foods that are not adulterated by pasteurization, homogenization, preservatives, denaturing and manipulative processes.
I mean foods as they are and as God intended. True, there are some methods that we’ve come up with, to enhance beautiful and whole foods, but it’s only to add an extra spark of vitality and never to take it away. I don’t recommend eating any product that’s been so far removed from the original, that there’s practically nothing of the original left in it. Instant mashed potatoes? Dried cheese powders? Breakfast cereals? 1% milk? Abominations, every single one.
Try these 11 ideas instead:
• Make your own calcium-rich Vinegar: Place several eggs (still in the shell) in a canning jar, and cover with raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. After a day or so, the shell will have dissolved, discard the eggs, and strain the vinegar through cheese cloth. What you have left is a calcium-rich vinegar, which you can use in cooking and in your next Salad Dressing. Better than any calcium tablets on the market..and free!
• Make your own Salad Dressing. Easy and edifying. Use your calcium-rich vinegar and cold-pressed olive oil. Add some spices, onion powder, Celtic salt and pepper.
• Make your own Bone Stock. This is the easiest way to get calcium. Minimal effort produces a nutrient dense source of gelatin and protein and a delicious start to any soup or grain. Use it for soups, casseroles, sauces and the liquid for cooking your rice, beans and pasta. (Check out my CD, “Secret Spoonfuls” for this and other great recipes)
• Make your own Thick Homemade Crockpot Yogurt. An ancient food, delicious on its own, in smoothies, in dips, or even added to bread recipes. Remember to use whole fat milk.
• Make your own Pickled Cucumbers. Great as a snack, on the go or on the side. Long lasting and packed with healthy enzymes (Check out my CD, “Secret Spoonfuls” for this and other great recipes)
• Make your own Kombucha. Easy to make, refreshing but more importantly, great for you.
• Make your own sweets, like my…Moose Mounds and In-the-freezer-Cookies (Check out my CD, “Secret Spoonfuls” for this and other great recipes). Wait ‘till you taste these
• Make your own Breakfast. Start your day with proteins like eggs and bacon fried in bacon fat (nitrate free and free range, of course!). Try this instead of cereal, toast or bagels.
• Make your own Breakfast Smoothie. (Check out my CD, “Secret Spoonfuls” for this and other great recipes) Fast, delicious and easy.
• Make your own Mayonnaise. Use raw eggs, olive oil, mustard and lemon juices. Avoid soybean, corn, safflower and canola oils and instead use almond oil. Inexpensive, quick, gourmet and nutritious.
• Find your own Dairy Farmer and drink local raw milk! Ask around at Farmer’s Markets and small farms.
Tell us some of the important nutritional basics for nourishing our kids:
The most important basics in the kitchen are also the most interesting to kids so they can easily get involved. Making raw cultured dairy such as raw yogurt and kefir are science and life projects at their best. So are fermented vegetables. It teaches kids not only that food has life and can chemically change with the right inoculants, but it trains them to make something from nothing. This is the way we need to think. If we can learn to make something from a simple raw material, we will become more independent which leads to an admirable lifestyle and robust health. This is one of the fundamentals upon which we, as first-rate mothers need to build.
What else embodies this? While most will simply throw out the bones and feet of the chicken, venison, beef, I encourage moms to make something even more nourishing from what at first glance appears to be nothing. Bone stocks are the foundation of good respiratory health, joint suppleness, brain acuity and reproductive vigor. So I entreat moms to make bone stocks regularly. Then use the stock to make soups, cook their rice in it, simmer their beans in it, and even boil their pasta in it. It makes everything we eat infused with nutrient dense gelatin and vitamins that would otherwise be thrown into the garbage.
It’s also paramount that we have snacks available that are kid pleasing. On my blog I make a point of offering snack recipes that fulfill three standards. They must be nutrient dense, delicious and filling. Why filling? So that you can offer them your treat just before they leave for a birthday party or a school function. When they arrive stuffed to the gills with coconut truffles that are nutrient dense, they won’t find much room for soda and commercial cake. A full belly has little interest in junk food.
Tell us some of the fundamentals of learning to treat our children homeopathically:
The more children you have, the easier it is, because it’s a matter of experience. (‘Another good reason to have larger families!) But if you happen to have a small family, I love to share the little tricks that as a homeopath I’ve gleaned through the years from taking care of so many families. One, is to do whatever you can to choose the “right” remedy at the onset. Then stick with it. Don’t second guess yourself. For example, if a child has the croup, stay with Aconitum for at least 4 doses to insure that you’ve allowed the remedy to act fully. If after 4 doses, there are no changes, then retake the case. That is; look at what has come to the fore. It should be enough different that the new remedy will present itself via the symptoms. For example, if a child has a croupy cough (sounding like a seal barking)and you’ve given Aconitum four times, without any measurable improvement, then you know that in the triad for croup, the next remedies to consider will likely be either Hepar sulph or Spongia. What I teach in my audio courses is to be able to differentiate between these remedies and to know some of their associated remedies so that you have a pathway to follow. Sometimes the differences can be very subtle. Other times it’s just a matter of knowing the top remedies of a particular illness. So, for croup, the top remedies are 1) Aconitum 2) Hepar sulph 3) Spongia.
And interestingly enough, they often show up in that order. The need for Aconitum for croup usually presents earlier in the evening or before midnight, while, Hepar sulph often appears after midnight and Spongia emerges around 3 AM. This is just another tool in determining the correct choice.
There are other triads as well. Miranda Castro coined the acronym “ ABC of Fevers” in this way: 1) Aconitum 2) Belladonna 3) Chamomilla . It’s a great way to remember that if it isn’t one, its likely to be only one of two more. And if you know some of the characteristics of each, it will fall into place rather easily. This is how I like to teach moms. Make it easy, easy, easy.
What do you love about your work?
When taking a case, it’s the story that makes it appealing because you are let in on the intricacies of a person’s life. Those lovely and sometimes not so lovely idiosyncrasies make it a fascinating story. Folks share the most poignant aspects of their lives. I get to peer into their religious beliefs, loves and aversions and family dynamics. It’s a rare opportunity to get to know other humans on a deep, private level. They hand me their pearls and it is my responsibility to embrace them with dignity and honor. I feel privileged being respected and trusted enough to be included.
Then the intellectual excitement is in the cracking of the case; finding the little clues represented in the symptoms and exciting causes, that offer pieces to the puzzle. I usually put together a time line of the bench marks in the persons life so we can gain perspective on what happened and in what order. It gives the overall picture continuity and then we can step back and say “Oh! The colitis started right after taking those antibiotics!” This gives us a powerful springboard from which to find the perfect remedy.
When it comes to teaching moms how to gain autonomy in their family’s health, I become a mom on a mission. My passion is in knowing that others can cure themselves and their families. Knowing Homeopathy and high density nutrition has given me such might as a mother, that I can’t help but want to pass on the good word. That’s why I produce audio downloads and teach moms online.
As one who has seen the glaring inadequacies and condescending attitude of modern medicine, sad modern food choices and an oft meddling government, I’m fiercely pro-family. Being an Italian American, only adds to this stance. I grew up believing that your family is the team upon whom you can fully depend. It means that the curriculum of the family is the most important aspect of life. And within that setting only a mom with the commitment to make her own foods and treat her family as often as she can will become a potent mom. Mighty mom means mighty family and that means magnificent kids.
What are some examples that are not on your site from your own life or your children's life that demonstrate the power of this way of eating and homeopathics for healing?
Well , I’ll tell you an incident that occurred only last weekend to my husband who is a professional ski instructor. He took a nasty spill, rolled and landed (hard) on the back of his neck. When he finally came to, there was a crowd of concerned skiers and the ski patrol gathered around him. I’m still not sure how he got home, nor is he, but he was clearly dazed, confused and shaken up quite a bit.
Now, since we live on a ski hill in New York, and my family spends every snowy hour they can on the slopes, I’ve made certain they each have a bottle of Arnica Montana in their ski parkas. This time, however, Arnica was not the best choice because of the fact that he was dazed and wobbly, so the pain was not as important as his state of mind.
I gave him Nat sulph1M and within half an hour , he grew a smile on his face that indicated the transformation. “Thank you” , he said. “My mind was fuzzy and I felt fragile and confused.” There are so many incidents in my life in which Homeopathy has given my family and me the kind of power all families ought to have available.
Our son had fear of a big exam that was forthcoming a few weeks ago but was calmed by Gelsemium taken every 4 hours. He aced the exam, but more importantly, he was not uneasy the morning of the exam. A few months ago, my father had a suspicious lump appear only to have Lycopodium resolve it within 2 days.
But the most profound story is the one about my Aunt Mary. Unfortunately, this one is not bestowed with a happy ending. Aunt Mary was my Godmother with whom I was very close. We spoke on the phone weekly. Years ago I had given her a Homeopathy kit so she could call me should she needed my help. Well, one night she slipped and sprained her ankle. Normally, she would have called me to get a remedy, but this time, she just went to the doctor without phoning because she knew I had a busy week that week. I would’ve indeed recommended she have her ankle looked at to be certain it wasn’t a break and then a Homeopathic remedy for the pain, swelling and quick healing.
Instead, on the way home, my uncle stopped at a drug store to get Darvon, following the doctor’s instructions. That night, she took the Darvon and within 6 hours, she died in her bed. The “cause of death” was cardiac arrest, however, no one in my aunt’s very large family had ever had heart issues and only weeks prior, she had been given a “clean bill of health” from the very doctor who prescribed Darvon. Down to my toes, I knew it was the Darvon, so did my mother and my uncle. When I reviewed the dangers of the drug online, it was logical that the drug had caused her death. Now 2 years later, class action suits are sprouting everywhere against the manufacturer. The FDA has finally banned Darvon and Darvocet. Just for the record, it’s been prescribed since 1957. The reason it was taken off the market? It causes cardiac abnormalities and arrest in people who don’t have a history of heart disease, even in recommended doses. How many unsuspecting folks have been poisoned by this drug in the last 40 years with the cause of death appearing to be something else?
This kind of loss is always difficult. But the salt that stung the wound deeper is that 1st, my aunt trusted the doctor to give her something that was safe and 2nd that the very remedy that would’ve offered her quick and more importantly, a harmless method of healing was only 20 feet away in her medicine closet…… in her Homeopathy kit!
This is the kind of story that I hear on a regular basis from clients and students from all over the U.S. As mothers and others, we need to protect our families and the only way to do so is to arm ourselves with knowledge: Homeopathic and nutritional. Well, there’s also the protection we gain from holding to our faiths and scrutinizing what is taught in the schools. But it means diligence.
I entreat all mothers to not be a “good little patient”. Be the one who questions every decision a doctor suggests and knowing your alternative options. This is not a time for compliancy. Be a fierce lioness when it comes to your family. Be a mighty mom….read, study, educate yourself. And then get to the job at hand…of being the most protective person in your children’s lives. And when they’re set well, take care of your parents, your aunts and uncles, your friends, pets, and so on. I can’t think of a responsibility more important than this one.
http://naturalparentingcenter.typepad.com/natural_parenting_center/2011/02/interview-with-joette-calabrese-empowering-mothers-with-homeopathy-and-nutrition.html
I designed it especially to provide a framework to guide you through your remedy choices. It is perfect for busy mothers and others who love curing their families themselves.
Deal with the flu without drugs and expensive commercial products.
The easiest, safest and most inexpensive way to treat your whole family.
Learn to choose the correct homeopathic remedy to give on the way to the emergency room or better yet,
avoid the trip altogether.
Homeopathy is inexpensive, non-invasive and profoundly curative.
Boost and maintain optimum health with simple foods, instead of vitamin pills.
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| Joette is not a physician and the relationship between Joette and her clients is not of prescriber and patient, but as educator and client. It is fully the client's choice whether or not to take advantage of the information Joette presents. Homeopathy doesn't "treat" an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. In order to be treated or diagnosed, Joette believes that the advice of a holistic physician is in order. Disclaimer: Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated. 2009-2023 © Joette Calabrese – Practical Homeopathy® - HomeopathyWorks® - Health and Wellness
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