Chinese Spinach Soup

At last week's West Hollywood Farmer's Market, I bought a big bunch of Chinese spinach. It looks a bit like basil, but tastes like spinach. I wanted to make a soup out of it, but couldn't find any recipes with Chinese spinach. I didn't want to see this green beauty wilt in my refrigerator or go to the compost bucket untouched, so I created this recipe. Jacob tells me that this was the best soup he's tasted, and second only to his Bubby's. I tend to think that the love you put into the meal you make is what makes it tastes so good, but this time it was a complete accident. I put the soup on the stove and completely forgot about it. I was consumed by some phone calls for about 45 minutes, while the soup was bubbling on the stove. This soup tastes yum with bits of matza. I plan on buying a different bouquet of greens every week and making a soup around it. Next week will be sweet potato greens week.

Ingredients:

1. 1 leek, washed and thinly sliced; remember to discard the dark green parts
2. 4 stalks of celery, washed and diced
3. 2 medium potatoes, washed and diced
4. 1 large or 2 medium carrots, washed and diced
5. 1 bunch of Chinese spinach, washed and chopped roughly, including stems and leaves
6. 2 tablespoons of miso
7. olive oil
8. salt, pepper, cumin
9. bragg's liquid aminos
10. 8 cups of water

Directions:

1. saute leek in olive oil on low heat
2. add celery, carrot, and potato; mix well
3. cover and let sweat
4. add Chinese spinach, salt, pepper, cumin; mix well
5. continue to saute under the cover
6. add water; cover and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes
7. turn off the heat, add miso and mix well
8. adjust salt to taste or add bragg's liquid aminos
9. enjoy!

Mint Green Tea Iced Tea

Ingredients:

8 cups of filtered water

1 bunch of washed regular mint, pepper mint, or spear mint

1 tablespoon of loose green tea

2 tablespoons of honey or agave nectar

juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. boil 8 cups of water and set aside

2. put a whole bunch of mint into a glass container and bruise with a wooden spoon to release essential oils

3. add loose green tea

4. cover with hot (not boiling) water and set aside for 1-3 hrs

5. strain 

6. add lemon juice

7. serve over ice with a sprig of mint

8. enjoy

Naturopathic Medicine Series Airs on April 8th, 2009 on KOCE PBS

Naturopathic Medicine Series to Air April 8th, 2009
Program is the first to educate public on this powerful form of natural medicine

On April 8, 2009 the country's first series on naturopathic medicine will air on southern California's KOCE, the sixth-largest PBS station in the country. Produced by the award-winning American Health Journal in conjunction with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the series will educate the public about the practices and philosophy of naturopathic medicine. 

"The public is hungry for a system of health care that is patient-centered, wellness focused, cost-effective, and which uses natural remedies without side effects," said Karen Howard, AANP's Executive Director. "Naturopathic medicine is what the public wants and needs. We're excited about this opportunity to educate the public about naturopathic medicine."

The program will cover a broad range of topics, including the training and education of naturopathic physicians, environmental health and cancer, naturopathic approaches to chronic disease, family medicine, preventing heart disease and diabetes, mental health, allergies, and chronic pain.   The six-part series (with a seventh "best of" episode) will begin airing April 8, 2009.

Naturopathic physicians combine the wisdom of nature with the rigors of modern science. Steeped in traditional healing methods, principles and practices, naturopathic medicine focuses on holistic, proactive prevention and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. Naturopathic medicine embraces the medical oath "first do no harm." By using protocols that minimize the risk of harm, naturopathic physicians help facilitate the body's inherent ability to restore and maintain optimal health. It is the naturopathic physician's role to identify and remove barriers to good health by helping to create a healing internal and external environment. Currently, 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have licensing laws for naturopathic doctors. In these states, naturopathic doctors are required to graduate from a four-year, postgraduate naturopathic medical school and to pass an extensive postdoctoral board examination (NPLEX) in order to receive a license.

A View on Naturopathy

Today's Naturopathic Insights guest contributor is Lena K. from Boston, MA with a policy statement on naturopathic medicine.

• Identifying the Problem

In the United States, people rely heavily on conventional medicine, often resulting in the overuse of prescription drugs. While therapeutic drug treatments may be both effective tools of healthcare as well as being cost effective, often replacing the need for costly surgical procedures, people’s increasing reliance on them suggests an unhealthy dependency. Moreover, consumer’s increasing demand for quick fixes is increasingly being met by doctors who are overburdened with a growing waiting room of patients. The trend is such that people no longer care about safe-guarding their own health as much as alleviating their symptoms. The current healthcare approach has therefore placed greater emphasis on a person’s symptoms and how best to eradicate them, than on the overall health and well-being of the person in question. First and foremost, this is a problem in the way people think about their own health and the kind of priorities they place on their healthcare services.

• Creating a Solution – The Vision of Naturopathy

“To transform the healthcare system from a disease management system to a comprehensive health program incorporating the principles of naturopathic medicine.”

– Mission Statement, American Association of Naturopathic Physicians

It is the position of physicians who practice Naturopathic medicine that this attitude and outlook towards life and health must change in order to see the improved health and vitality of a people. While conventional medicine is important and its advances and benefits to mankind should not be underscored, natural medicine offers a new way of thinking about health. Naturopathic medicinal theory posits that in many non-emergency circumstances, man has the ability to heal himself. Furthermore, by providing the right circumstances and conditions, the body has the ability to perform at its best and fight off common disease and ailments. This outlook and lifestyle is the difference between being of average health and being in the best possible condition; the difference between feeling ok and feeling full of energy without having to drink a single cup of coffee.

In this manner, Naturopathic Medicine is not only a type of alternative medicine, but it is equally an alternative lifestyle. It stresses people taking responsibility for their own personal health by altering their lifestyle to make themselves healthier, instead of waiting for a doctor to determine how they should do so. Such lifestyle changes range from the minor, such as drinking less, to the more extreme, such as maintaining a diet of only organic foods. But ultimately, Naturopathy prescribes to the idea that in order to be healthy people should take better care of themselves by watching what they put into their bodies and how they treat their bodies.

Examples of conditions that should be improved to improve overall health include examining the types of foods that are eaten, specifically looking for any harmful contents, the overuse of drugs or other harmful substances, constant stress, lack of exercise, and overuse of pharmaceuticals to cover up ailments. Naturopathy also prescribes to the idea that natural substances and methods, such as vitamins and plant extracts with healing properties can effectively deal with internal ailments, while acupuncture and chiropractic services can manipulate the physical ailments of the body. Naturopathy is all encompassing in this sense, and quite literally examines the patient in his or her entirety rather than simply focusing on a localized complaint. Naturopathic physicians go about treating patients in the manner described above on the basis of the Guiding Principles of Naturopathic Medicine:

• First, do no harm

• The healing power of nature

• Identify and treat the causes

• Doctor as a teacher

• Treat the whole person

• Prevention

So not only is the aim to provide better conditions for health, but also to create better educated and more responsible consumers of healthcare services. This is a notable departure from the aims of conventional medicine, which often stresses particular issues and not a person’s overall health and knowledge. Yet people should know their bodies, and should have an understanding of how their ailments affect them in order to make more informed and effective decisions about the type of healthcare offered to them. People have a right to know what they are putting in their bodies, whether this applies to certain types of drugs or even the contents of their food.

Naturopathic Physicians are unique in their mandate to help people make lifestyle changes. They are able to identify how best to establish a new level of health for their patients by providing a comprehensive health analysis based on the Guiding Principles of Naturopathic Medicine. Naturopathic Physicians will continue to work towards shifting people’s understanding of health from one that simply alleviates symptoms to one that treats the entirety of the person.

Works Cited

American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. AANP 2006. Retrieved Feb. 3. 2009. http://www.naturopathic.org/viewbulletin.php?id=206.

Cold Care Soup

Just as the winter became spring, the weather turned cold and rainy. This morning, I woke up feeling chilly, achy and congested. Oh no, I have a cold! My mission for today is threefold:

1. Increase my body temperature

2. Remove obstacles to launching an effective immune response

3. Give my body all that it needs to get back into balance

I put on my winter wools (hat, scarf, socks) and snuggled under the down blanket. I am avoiding solid food, stress, and alcohol. And most importantly, I must rest, rest, rest!

To aid me with my recovery, I made an awesome broth that I named Cold Care Soup. It actually satisfies all three of my mission objectives. It helped me break a sweat, it is super light on the digestive track, and it helps my immune system.

Ingredients:

6 cups of filtered  water

1 whole medium onion peeled 

5 whole cloves of garlic, peeled

1 sprig of thyme 

1 lemon grass stick, cut into 3 inch pieces

2 inch section of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced

ground black pepper

cayene powder

1 tablespoon of miso per serving

additional or substitute ingredients: (fresh oregano, fresh sage or any other fresh and pungent herb from your local farmer's market)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except miso in a soup pot. Bring to boil. Lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or until the onion is soft. You will smell the aroma and know when the broth is ready.

2.  Ladle the broth into a bowl or a mug taking care to leave the herbs and savories in the pot. Add 1 tablespoon of miso to each bowl or mug and mix well.

3.  Enjoy and feel better!

New Breakfast Idea

This breakfast is really hearty and works well for people who don't like the taste of eggs alone, and are no satisfied by cereal. This dish can be made indian or mexican style with the addition of indian spinach or curry sauce (sold at trader joe's) or salsa/pico de gallo sauce.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 diced onion (red or white)

1-4 eggs 

1 cup of Indian spinach sauce from trader joes or salsa/pico de gallo of your choice 

1 avocado

1 cup of steamed or slightly boiled florets 

1 cup or package cooked lentils

salt

pepper

cumin

cilantro

1. saute onions in olive oil until golden brown

2. add salt, pepper, cumin

3. lower the heat and add eggs. scramble by moving a wooden spatula back and forth across the pan

4. when eggs are almost done, add indian sauce or salsa/pico de gallo. mix with eggs on low heat.

5. add lentils and brocolli. mix well and cook the mixture on low heat for a few more minutes

6. serve with cilantro garnish and avocado

7. enjoy

What is naturopathic medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of health. It is
distinguished from other systems of healthcare by the guiding
principles upon which its practice is based.

Guiding principles of naturopathic medicine:

First, do no harm.
Naturopathic doctors use the most natural methods to help patients
feel better. Patients do not experience unpleasant side effects.

The healing power of nature.
Naturopathic doctors recognize that the human body knows how to heal.
They assist the patient with the process.

Identify and treat the causes
Naturopathic doctors work to determine and address the underlying
cause of the patient's health concern. They do not believe in treating
symptoms.

Doctor as a teacher
Naturopathic doctors work to empower the patient to take
responsibility for their health. Patients become better informed
consumers of health care.

Treat the whole person
Naturopathic doctors use a holistic approach to remove the cause of
the patients illness.

Prevention
Naturopathic doctors believe that it is easier and cheaper to prevent
illness in the first place, than to attempt to treat, reverse or
correct it later.