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Your Guide to Well-being and Wild, Crazy
Healthy Living!
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December 2008
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2009 CSA Subscriptions now available.
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The Holistic Moms Network presents
A Vaccination Seminar:
What Choices Do
Parents Have?
by Louise Kuo Habakus
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
6:30-9:30 pm
Pediatric OT Solutions
615 Rt. 32
Highland Mills, NY 10923
Individual registration required
Please contact Aimee Henkel,
Chapter Leader, Holistic Moms Network, Orange County, NY at aimeehenkel@yahoo.com
Free admission & light refreshments
All parents welcome. The agenda includes vaccine safety, efficacy, conflicts of interest, exemptions, Gardasil and NJ's four new mandated shots including
the flu vaccine.
http://www.holisticmoms.org
http://www.njvaccinationchoice.org
The Holistic Moms Network is a non-profit support and discussion network for moms with an interest in natural/holistic, alternative health and intuitiveparenting. Their goal is to develop a thriving local community of holistic parents with a wide range of interests. The Orange County Chapter will offer monthly meetings the first Tuesday of each month on a variety of natural health and parenting topics as well as activities
For more information
please visit
www.holisticmoms.org _________________
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Free Health Consultation
This
free hour-long
session includes a
full discussion of
your health
history
and health goals,
a chance to get
your questions
answered, and
the
opportunity to find
out more about
a personalized
health program,
completely catered
toward your busy
lifestyle and needs.
Visit Barbara Taylor Health
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Events
upcoming winter workshops:
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Happy Holidays to all!
Very best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful holiday season! Hope you
enjoy this month's newsletter - and note we are planning three
workshops in January, which are perfect for jumpstarting your New
Year's resolutions to get healthier!
Why Weight? Diets don't work - how to achieve your ideal weight.
You can't turn on the TV, drive down the road or go to a party without being confronted with America's hottest obsession: weight. Diets are a billion-dollar industry; companies spend millions and millions luring you to try the latest diet (low carb, high protein, low fat, no fat, you name it) with promises that this will (finally!) be the solution-your shortcut to a thinner body. Advertising efforts also deeply affect our children, who develop distorted body images and are often on diets as early as nine or 10 years of age.
Our culture touts diet pills, celebrity workouts, convenience foods and trendy diets to help us achieve our desired weight, but these quick-fix solutions have backfired. America's populace has reached its highest weight in history. About half of Americans are overweight; one-third are obese. Diets steer us away from our common sense and dip deeply into our pocketbooks while eliciting few, if any, lasting results.
Diets don't work because each person is unique, with different needs based on gender, age, ancestry and lifestyle; how could one diet be right for everyone? Diets don't work because they are extreme solutions. A diet might work for a short amount of time, but research shows that almost all diets result in a 10-pound gain once off the diet. Diets don't work because they are too restrictive. People who fail on diet plans are not flawed and weak. Diets by nature require discipline and restriction at levels that are unsustainable by a healthy human body. Diet companies aren't judged as being worthless if the person doesn't get thinner or if the person regains the weight; for some reason, the consumer just blames him/herself for lacking will power. Sometimes the same person will go and re-pay for the same diet plan again, or buy the same diet-food over and over even if it isn't working, blaming him/herself for its inefficacy.
Most people are disconnected from why they gain weight and see diet as the only culprit. For example, ignoring or discounting emotions is often the first thing to cause weight imbalances. In our fast-paced world, we have lost sight of many aspects of life that truly nourish and balance our bodies, such as slowing down, eating a home-cooked meal and spending quality time with loving people. Eating consciously and making simple lifestyle changes will create positive results and release you from the endless cycle of dieting.
Balance and a sustainable weight are your birthright. Given half a chance, your body will balance out by itself, but this is only possible by getting out of the diet mentality and listening to what you truly need. Imagine taking all of the outward energy you expend on diets, fads, and gimmicks and turning it inward, so that you can listen to your heart and inner wisdom. There is no such thing as a quick fix; you already have everything you need within you. With careful thought and loving reflection, you can feed yourself wisely and purposefully and be completely nourished. Working with your body rather than against it will bring about increased energy, stabilized weight and sustainable health.
Don't make achieving your ideal weight about cutting back and denial. Don't count calories or cut carbs or fats. Make it about adding healthier foods - crowd out the bad stuff. Of course everybody is different and you will need to work out a plan for what works best for you, but here's a list of good stuff to start adding to your diet :
~1-2 servings of raw cruciferous vegetables each week (raw cabbage/coleslaw, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, etc.)
~1 serving of berries each week
~make sure you're getting 1-2 servings of vegetables each day
~3 servings of Whole Grains each week
~3 servings of Beans each week
~a full breakfast with protein and fat
~a full glass of water when you wake up and at least 32 oz throughout the day
~1 fruit each day
~1 small handful of nuts or seeds each afternoon
~a chunk of dark chocolate or a couple tbsp of cocoa nibs each morning
Ok that's a lot already! But once you start adding these healthy things I am sure your energy levels will rise and you'll start getting more comfortable in your body, which may mean losing weight for some, getting more muscle tone for others, or just feeling more vibrant and alive.
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Exercise
Last month I recommended a hard-core work out DVD The Bollywood Dance Workout With Hemalayaa,
so this month, I thought I would recommend a less strenuous, calmer DVD - T'ai Chi Beginning Practice ~ David-Dorian Ross
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The one thing you can cut out and make a huge difference - soda. Just don't drink the stuff. And drinking soda should especially not be a regular habit; only drink it on special occasions knowing full well that it is just sugar and chemicals.
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Diet Stuff that is dangerous and should be avoided no matter how "healthy" it sounds:
- ~Diet Soda
- ~Artificial Sugars
- ~Low Fat versions of foods
- ~Skipping Meals
- ~Doing a diet that makes your "intestines explode." Someone once gave me a diet plan the she tried and lost weight on, where she only consumed grapefruit juice and Olive oil. She said, "my intestines exploded, and I felt nauseous constantly, but I lost 10 pounds in the first week." I have seen many different diet plans just like this one, using different food combinations. This is just dangerous and ridiculous; avoid anything that sounds like this! And be careful with detox plans and products.
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Check out these other highly recommended books - these are rare in their field as they are not about promoting a particular diet plan. Instead they focus on holistic health and individualized eating habits that are healthy and allow for acheiving a natural optimal weight.
~What to Eat by Marion Nestle
~French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
~Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control by Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
~Eat, Drink, and Weigh Less: A Flexible and Delicious Way to Shrink Your Waist Without Going Hungry by Mollie Katzen and Walter Willett
And these are some awesome cookbooks that share the same phliosophy and are really more than just cookbooks:
~Greens Glorious Greens: More than 140 Ways to Prepare All Those Great-Tasting, Super-Healthy, Beautiful Leafy Greens by Johnna Albi
~Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon
~The Biodynamic Food & Cookbook: Real Nutrition That Doesn't Cost the Earth by Wendy E. Cook
For more information on Holistic Health and how to have a truly healthy lifestyle, please visit my web site: Barbara Taylor Health
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Food Focus: Heartburn
The holiday eating is always tough. Heartburn and indigestion are common complaints, as people eat more heavy foods, more sugar, more alcohol, and more coffee during the festivities than they are used to. Also, stress tends to be high and people tend to be tired.
My first piece of advice would be to not assume that you have to stay on prescription or over-the-counter medication for long term if you have had acid reflux / heartburn / GERD gastroesophageal reflux disorder / or even Barrett's Esophagus. I again have to say that I am not a medical doctor and cannot give you personal medical advice, but here are some ideas you should research and consider for yourself and possibly discuss with your medical practitioner. I can also say to be wary of a medical practitioner who doesn't have knowledge of or doesn't want to talk to you about trying options other than prescription medication - you probably would want to switch to someone who is more knowledgeable, more up on the current research available, and more concerned with your well-being than with making more money.
There are three main areas to consider when addressing heartburn:
Simply put - alcohol, coffee, and white carbs (white flours, sugar, pasta, white rice, white bread, rolls, bagels) aggravate heartburn. Simply cutting these out of your diet can significantly improve or even eliminate heartburn for many people. Some people do not have cut white carbs out completely, just cut back and avoid eating them at certain times of the day - most likely avoiding them at suppertime will be a huge help.
Food - pay attention to what you ate before you experience heartburn.
Particularly be suspicious of white carbs like pasta and potatoes, low-quality prepared foods like chicken nuggets, desserts, and dairy products. You'll find that eating quality foods - whole grains, grassfed meats, and vegetables will not be a problem.
Habits - Be aware of what you have eaten and done when you get heartburn. I realized I experienced heartburn if I ate a meal of pasta and then reclined on the sofa afterwards. By just making sure I sat up straight after eating pasta, or taking a quick walk afterwards, I completely avoided the heartburn. Certain foods can make you want to lay down - like pasta - and turkey - and other heavy meals - but lying down will make indigestion worse. Take a walk instead, which will settle food and aid digestion. If you have to lay down, lying on your left side and keeping your nap under 20 minutes may be helpful for some people. Work at reducing stress and get enough quality sleep. Quality sleep is sleep that occurs during the normal cicadian cycles, deep sleep between 11 pm and 4 am in the dark without noise, lights, TV, etc. Your body is depending on these sleep cycles for various hormonal and immune processes.
Why do you NOT want to stay on acid blockers? Well, antacids don't address the root of the problem. Three reasons: First, sometimes people's heartburn is caused by not enough acid - John Neustadt, ND, medical director of Montana Integrative Medicine suggests swallowing a spoonful or two of of apple cider vinegar with meals. Neustadt writes, "It's [sometimes] too little stomach acid production and not too much that's the problem." He recommends that people work with their doctor to determine the cause behind the low acid production (such as allergies, nutrient deficiencies, and autoimmune diseases), and complement that with a few dietary changes: avoid mint, caffeine, and nicotine (which weaken the esophageal sphincter); eat smaller, more frequent meals; chew your food well; don't eat on the run or while stressed; and forgo food three hours before bedtime.
A second reason is because acid blockers are not addressing the problems. You may be medicating when all you need to do is change your diet, habits, etc. By medicating instead, you continue eating and doing the things that are bothering your body, and you just mask the symptoms, which are the cries for help and change that your body is giving you.
Thirdly, by blocking acid, you may be blocking your ability to fully digest or metabolize your nutrients. Many people who take acid blocking medication long term have symptoms of various types of nutrient deficiencies, mineral deficiency being most common.
For a quick fix when you experience heartburn, instead of reaching for TUMs or some other acid blocker, try deglycyrrhizinated licorice - also known as DGL; it coats and soothes the esophagus, and it fights inflammation. I was shocked at fast it worked the first time I tried it against heartburn. I use Enzymatic Therapy's GASTROSOOTHE. Slippery Elm bark tea also works well. And don't forget the benefits of replenishing your intestinal flora - take a good Probiotic or Acidolphilus supplement regularly.
5 Steps to Better Digestion
Eating in a stressful environment can set the gut into fight or flight mode and interfere with digestion. Do this instead:
1. Take a moment before a meal to breathe deep, relax, and give thanks.
2. Eat in a quiet place with few distractions.
3. Eat in the same place whenever you can. It trains the body to calm down at mealtime.
4. Don't talk about anything at mealtime that will stress you out.
5. Take a walk after eating. Mild exercise aids digestion and calms the nervous system.
Consider heartburn to be a sign to you that you are doing some things that are wrong for your body and as an instigator for making some healthy changes.
Please note: statements are made pertaining to the properties and/or
functions of nutritional supplements. These statements about
nutritional supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug
Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent
any disease. Recommended sources are a starting point for you to make
your own decisions about what supplements work best for you as an
individual. The ones mentioned above work well for me, but are not best
for everyone.
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 On Midsummer Farm
- December
Mud is happening! Well we've had typical fluctuating mid-Atlantic weather going from over 60 degrees to ice storms taking trees down. And it all ends up just muddy. So we've been careful not to use the tractor, which would just make ugly tracks in the mud, and we've been adding lots of pine shavings to the chicken coop as it gets pretty muddy with all the birds going in and out all day long.
We also replenished the spices and herbs we use in the chicken coop. To prevent lice and mites, which can be big problems this time of year, we add cayenne, clove, and eucalyptus powder to the nesting materials in the coop. I have to say the coop smells pretty holiday-like with all the clove and pine scent. I'm pretty proud of how my chicken coop smells!
Other than keeping up with the birds and mud, the farm is at rest, the planting fields have become quiet, and the plants gone into themselves concentrating on their roots and rhizomes.
Inside the house we are ordering seeds and starting to set up for seed-starting. We also have started taking reservations for our CSA, including the Winter Egg Share, which starts Wednesday evening February 25th. We also have three intense workshops planned for January - see below for more info...
Please check out our website for more information about what we're doing. Midsummer Farm
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RECIPE OF THE MONTH
(to complement our Legume workshop on Friday January 16th from 11 am to 1 pm)
Black Salad with Forbidden Rice and French Lentils
A Midsummer Farm original; makes a great side dish or a refreshing lunch
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked lentils
3 cups of cooked Forbidden Rice
½ cup minced shallots or mild onion
1 tbsp garlic granules/powder
1 cup finely chopped green and/or colored bell peppers
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ cup olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
Directions:
Mix all together and refrigerate overnight at least for flavors to meld.
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Workshops - January 2009
Participants must register 1 week in advance. Cooking classes are hands on and tasting is encouraged.
Legumes!!!
Friday 1/16/08, 11 am - 1 pm
A
strong addition to a healthy diet. Beans are full of antioxidants,
phytonutrients, and can even help regulate blood sugar. We'll
demonstrate a variety of great recipes. And you'll learn to love
beans! Dry beans, canned beans, fresh string beans, lentils, and
sprouts will all be covered. In the Farm Kitchen, $36, registration
closes 1/9/09
Conscious Eating Workshop - How Do I Include Local, Healthy, Ethical, Sustainable Food in my Diet?
Saturday 1/24/09, 10 am - 12 noon
We will discuss ways to make your eating style more holistic and beneficial to both body and soul. This class will demonstrate simple ways to upgrade your eating habits to power-charge your life, boost your energy and immune system, and be healthier. We will also discuss the ethics of eating and various options that are available for local, ethical eating, seasonal diets, and Orange County Super Foods. In the Farm Kitchen, $36, registration closes 1/17/09
Whole Grain Cookery
Saturday 1/24/09, 12:30 - 3:30 pm
All
the facts on Whole Grains, Carbs, and Your Health. The number one most
detrimental element in most American diets today is white flour and
simple carbs. This class will teach you all about the vast and
wonderfully tasty, totally fulfilling and satisfying world of complex
carbs, and we'll do a bunch of recipes. In the Farm Kitchen, $36,
registration closes 1/17/09
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2009 CSA Subscriptions now available
We are cutting back on the number of CSA Shares we will offering this year, so please reserve your spot early and take advantage of the discount as we will probaby sell out by January 15th. Please visit our website for full details on the CSA and what Community Supported Agriculture is all about.
2009 UPDATES
We take what our members say on the evaluation form very seriously, and we have used the input to make some changes...
One big change is to have our pick up earlier in the week so planning meals and shopping works out easier. We are planning to have our pick up Wednesday evenings between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. The official start and end dates for 2009 are June 3 through Sept 16. Note: we will not be running the farm stand on Saturday mornings in 2009, so we will only be selling our produce through the CSA program and at the Wednesday evening pick up time. Farming is extremely time consuming and we also work off farm to make ends meet, so please understand that is why we have to group the pick ups into one evening each week.
Due to popular demand, we will do a Summer Egg Share - see details below.
We also will be encouraging our members to spend more time in the garden this upcoming year - we know that schedules are always hectic, so it is not a requirement (no pressure!) - but for time-intensive crops, we will appreciate help in harvesting - things like string beans, shelling beans, small salad greens like baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, small peppers, Brussels sprouts. Children really love picking such things, and we think it will let members get more in touch with the garden, which is also something people asked for on the evaluation form. We will also schedule specific dates for weeding, sowing, transplanting, etc., which will hopefully make it easier for people to schedule time to get their 'hands into the soil.' These sessions will be fun events - you can spend as much time as you want or feel comfortable with - and there will be snacks, sharing of some stretching and yoga techniques for gardening - and they should be great opportunities to socialize. 
Another suggestion we thought we would try concerns finances. Many CSAs have a program, where people of larger monetary means can donate extra money with their share, to offset either the raising costs of farming or the cost of a CSA share for someone who might be struggling to afford it, and few people suggested we give it try. Of course in order for this concept to work we need generous people (especially generous in this economic culture) and a trustworthy, honest, and sincere membership group. We truly feel that we have that, and we're looking forward to seeing how this works out. For me, running a CSA is more than being paid money to grow crops and hand them out each week; it is about relationship, community, and food with real meaning and nourishment. If you have the means to donate something extra, it will be greatly appreciated. [Note: Midsummer Farm is not a registered charity organization; donations are not tax deductible.]
And we've got some awesome new vegetable varieties planned for this upcoming season. We are planning a new Scotch heirloom leek, new Riverside golden skinned onions to compliment those juicy Red Barons we grew last year. New tomatoes for this year will include Red and Green Zebras, Costoluto Genovese, Orange Blossom, Pruden's purple, and Box Car Willies. We also will be experimenting with different colored broccoli and cauliflower. We will be trying a whole other group of hot and sweet ethnic peppers, and there will be Heirloom Shelling Beans and Edamame available to be picked. We are planning to triple the number of different lettuce varieties. We're expanding the Asian greens as well - two new mustards and some different Pak Choi and Tatsoi. New herbs will include Culantro, Lemon Grass, Lemon Verbena, Angelica, and fresh Stevia. And the Papalo Cilantro from 2007 will be coming back. Herb share members - don't forget that we have a wide variety of tea brewing herbs and a huge variety of thyme, mint, basil, and cilantro available. And we're determined to get a solid crop of Chervil and Mitsuba this year! We're also planting 100 new raspberry canes of a variety that gets fruit late in August so we should be able to have raspberries available in Early July and Late August! And we will of course, continue to grow all our regular vegetables and herbs. It is going to be fun year!
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2009 PRICING AND OPTIONS
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It seems prices keep rising, and as much as we hate to do it, we are facing having to raise our prices as well. Our regular vegetable share price will be $625 this year. But if we receive your reservation form and check before January 15th, we will keep reduce the price by $15. And returning members receive an additional $15 off. I believe you will see the organic produce in the stores go up in price much more dramatically than ours because our situation is much more simple - for example, we don't need to worry about rising shipping costs. And as usual, we promise to continue to improve our quantity, quality, and variety this year (we take a lot of pride in always improving and adding.).
Don't forget that a CSA subscription is a wonderful holiday gift for friends and family who are interested in supporting the community and local agriculture; it is also a gift of better health.
We will continue to offer the herb share at $55.00 - and we want to encourage herb share members to feel welcome to get out into the gardens and pick your own. We find it so hard choosing herbs each week! Remember that herbs are truly cornucopias of nutrients and phytochemicals!
Fruit and the Seed & Nut shares - we organized these shares to get people organic fruit and seeds & nuts at wholesale pricing and these shares are offered basically at our cost - like a buying club. But we hadn't planned on the large price increases we experienced last year, and ended up losing money. In order to do these shares, we will have to raise the prices quite a bit this year - $569.00 for the 16 week summer Fruit share and $368.00 for the Seed & Nut. We will need at least 10 people to sign up for the Fruit share in order to do it (if we don't get 10 people, we will return your money). One thing to note - we don't mind getting feedback from people on varieties and types, so feel free to get yourself more involved in the decision making processes of these shares.
We will again be working with local grassfed organic meat farms, and possibly some dairies as well, to offer opportunities for purchasing their products for CSA members.
Eggs - as requested, we're going to do two eggs shares - winter and summer. The Winter Egg Share will run 11 weeks: February 25th through May 6th, pick up is Wednesday evenings between 5:30 and 6:30, cost is $85.00. The Summer Egg Share will run 16 weeks: June 3 through Sept 16, pick up is Wednesday evenings between 6:30 and 7:30, and the cost is $125.00. Our eggs are Certified Organic, Certified Naturally Grown, and are now certified through Animal Welfare Approved, the strictness humane animal care guidelines in the country.
Please also consider our "Super Share," which is an economical way to learn a lot of first hand personal health knowledge. The price includes both the vegetable and herb shares, other great organic ingredients each week, and personalized cooking workshops and holistic health counseling. This share will make your summer into a health-empowering event. Perfect for the health-conscious foodie. See website for for more details. The cost of this share is $1,195 and is more than a quick pick up - expect to hang out for 1/2 hour to a full hour every Tuesday from June 2nd through September 15th to participate in cooking demos and talk healthy changes! Also included is a free one-on-one health custom counseling session.
We are looking forward to hearing from you, click here for the 2009 reservation form; if you are interested in a farm subscription this year, please send in your reservation form and check before January 15th. We certainly would love to have you as a member of our farm.
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Have a wonderful Holiday season and very best wishes always,
Barbara and Mark
Midsummer Farm
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Disclaimer
© Copyright 2008 Barbara Taylor-Laino, HHC / Barbara Taylor Health. All
Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright,
contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission,
when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired,
permission in writing from Barbara Taylor Laino is required.
This information newsletter is designed as an educational
tool for better health. Recipes and information are included as
examples for you learn from; they are not diagnostic or prescriptive.
Everyone's health needs are different. This newsletter is not to be
used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any
health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health
should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider.
The entire contents of this newsletter and the websites of Barbara
Taylor Laino and Midsummer Farm are based upon the opinions of Barbara
Taylor Laino, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based
upon the opinions of the respective author(s), who retains copyright as
marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a
one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and
is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of
knowledge and information from the research and experience of Barbara
Taylor Laino. You are encouraged to make your own health care decisions
based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health
care professional.
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Upcoming Events
2009 Organic Plant and Seedling Sale
May 2009
We're already planning and plotting for a better-than-ever Plant and Seedling sale! Feel free to let us know if there are any specific varieties you would like for us to grow this season.
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Thank you very much!
Forward to a Friend
It's such a pleasure to help those closest to us become happier and
healthier. Please forward this newsletter to friends, family members or
colleagues who might be interested and inspired by it.
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Farm Contact Info
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@midsummerfarm.com
Holistic Health Counselling Contact Info
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@barbarataylorhealth.com
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