newsletter opening banner
  Your Guide to Well-being and Wild, Crazy 
  Healthy Living!
October 2009
In This Issue:
~Avoiding White Carbs
~NEW Carb-Control Program
~RECIPE OF THE MONTH
~Pacific Natural Foods
~Fall Garden Planning
__________________
We just updated our Holistic Pet Rearing Page at the Midsummer Farm website.
Healthy Puppy!

We have one of our recipes for a balanced home made meal available on the webpage along with links
to sources and literally TONS of other
useful info!

__________________
LOOKING FOR PICK-YOUR-OWN ORGANIC APPLES?
Empire Apple
We found the place!  Liberty View Farm in New Paltz has wonderful organic apples ready for picking this weekend~

We had heard that once Empire Apples are kissed with a touch of frost, they get amazing, but we really didn't completely believe the hype until we tasted them! AWESOME!

Liberty View Farm has a great farm stand as well as the U-Pick apples and Apple tree leasing program too.

A beautiful ride
this time of year!

________________

Want More Energy?
Want to regain your optimal health? Maybe optimize   your weight while  you get healthier?

Do you feel that you have the right to better health and that it is just out of your reach?

Act now and start optimizing your health and renewing your energy!

 Schedule a Strategy Session with Me!
_______________
I have reserved some special evening and weekend hours for meeting with you to see if we would be a good match to work together to strategize and revamp your health.
_______________

I work with people   who suspect that conventional health care and advise is leaving out most of the Truth about how to live a vibrant healthy life. As your health coach, I will act as a resource and advocate for you, working with you like a personal trainer would.

Visit Barbara Taylor Health 

Strategy Session is free of charge and no obligation; it is strictly some time
set aside for you to see
if working together could turn your health and
life around.
Before our session, I will ask you to fill out a Health History form, which can be found here!
 
Top 10 ways to renew your energy levels:
Limes and Lemons
1. Reduce caffeine
2. Drink more H20
3. Eat dark greens
4. Gentle-up sweets
5. Physical activity
6. Get enough sleep
7. Evaluate protein
8. Take "you" time
9. Nourish spirituality
10. Set boundaries 
leafAutumn greetings!
I've been working so hard on the new website I almost forgot to send out my October Artisanal Farm & Holistic Health Newsletter - or as I just learned, I suppose this is actually an E-zine! I'll send out an email update once things are fully up and running on the new website in the next week or so!

The farm is quieting down with the frosts we've been getting and that bit of snow we had. But it is still magical - the colors and leaning bows of now-tawny colored goldenrod and tansy - floating fuzzes and golden grasses. Fall is just gorgeous! And everything seems to be turning in itself - going within - settling and becoming introspective. When you lay your hand on the earth, it is totally different experience than during the growing season, when everything was wildly churning and growing and green was popping out everywhere and in all directions. Now it is busily intense, darkly and warmly colored, and full. I just can't get enough of it - it is such a fleeting time between summer and winter.

And the change of seasons is also fabulous for detoxifying and re-establishing your own health and well being. Start getting introspective with yourself and what you need right now. Can you start adding in some new good habits and healthy foods into your lifestyle? What can you do to get healthier and more energized during the upcoming winter and holiday season? For some reason, I'm always drawn to making life changes at the equinoxes rather than as New Year's Resolutions!

maidenhair fern close up There's no arguing that one of the most effective and important things you can do to better your health is to Cut Back on Sugar and White Carbs! And look below for information on my new 4-day workshop on gaining carb-control!

Also, consider taking an hour out of your life to sit down and do a Strategy Session with me. See side bar for more info!

Midsummer Farm is excited to announce that we are now on Facebook!  Come and join us!
 
Don't forget that I have also started a website to archive the articles from these newsletters in one place - you can access it here.  And you can also still find additional links and materials on the Midsummer Farm website's Newsletter Extras and Links page.

_____________________________________________________________________

Cut Back on Sugar and White Carbs!
What is the main culprit causing so much ill-health and disease? It is actually NOT fat.[Transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) are indeed mutated and ultimately poisonous food products, but healthy fats are so important to your health - don't get led in the wrong direction and villainize all fats.] Sugar and White Carbs are the big bad super-villains! Anyway that you can reduce the ingestion of these two things will make you healthier. The most conservative of new studies are now saying that 1 of every 3 people will now become diabetic. That will soon change to 1 out of every 2 if it isn't there already. Children are actually becoming diabetic - this should not be accepted - it is criminal.

For most people, diabetes is one of the EASIEST diseases to overthrow and reverse with lifestyle and eating changes.

Are you a Sugar Addict?  In many ways, sugar is a stronger addictive substance than drugs and alcohol. Sugar triggers many of the same brain chemicals that drugs and alcohol do. And it becomes psycho-somatic - even fake sugar will create the same brain and hormonal response as real sugar. Beware of this if you are trying to control diabetes or even trying to shed pounds by avoiding sugar but you eat other things that taste sweet. This is why diet sodas always end up making people gain weight. The sweet taste triggers all the same bad processes as if you ate actual sugar. And aspartame/nutrasweet has been proven to cause more cravings for more sweet, thus selling more soda. 

Face it, you have to cut back on sugar. There is no substitute that will allow you to eat lots of sweetness and be OK for you. When you do eat something sweet - make sure that it is sweetened with real cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, or something natural like stevia or agave syrup. But always in moderation!

The Top Way We Ingest Sugar: in Drinks: Sodas, Juices, Ice Teas, etc.  You should be drinking 32-64 ounces of plain water each day. Water should be the main source for liquid. Consider juice and soda as desserts. Soda shouldn't accompany meals - it has more sugar in it than if you served a slice of cake on each dinner plate. Juice seems healthy, and is better than soda, but fruit is meant to be eaten whole with the rest of the fiber. When you drink a glass of orange juice you're consuming just the sugary part of about 6-10 oranges. Eat a single whole orange instead. Much smarter. It is a Whole Food.

And many people don't understand that sugar and white carbs are basically the same. They are equally responsible for diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, cancer, etc., etc - basically, all the worst epidemics of today's society.

What do I mean by "WHITE CARB"?  Basically stuff made from white flour. Sources of white carb to be avoided are things like bread, pasta, white rice, crackers, cookies, cake, muffins, cereal, pancakes, waffles, bagels, pizza, etc.

Start to keep track of how much white carb you eat each day. Is it a part of every meal? Every snack? Start slow as you cut back. You may feel anxious, depressed, and tired as you first start to cut back. Keep a food-journal or pair up with a friend or family member to help you keep track of exactly what you're eating.

Don't be fooled by whole wheat bread! Most bread dubbed whole wheat or total-super-grain or whatever in the supermarket is full of sugar - usually high fructose corn syrup and white flour. You will probably have to go to Whole Foods or a local health food store for real whole wheat bread with honey or cane sugar. Watch for partially hydrogenated oil in your bread as well. Consider dropping the bread from your sandwiches. You can simply fill small containers with tuna or salmon salad for lunches. Sometimes people find that bread is present at every meal ... toast in the morning, sandwich at lunch, a loaf of French/Italian bread with dinner.

Watch for carbs in not-so-intuitive places - like shake'n bake coating on foods, fillers in things like sausages, and bread crumbs in meat balls. Have you noticed the huge ingredients list on the cardboard cartons of bread crumbs for sale in supermarkets? It really is appalling - you think you're cooking a true homemade meal, but you're adding high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, and a whole slew of various preservatives and artificial flavors. Crazy - they are bread crumbs. Toast some slices of good bread and crush them up. Or use brown rice or healthy crackers or barley instead.

Read ingredients labels - look for words like wheat gluten, hydrolyzed wheat protein, unbleached flour, etc. Buy high quality processed foods and if you don't know what something is on that ingredients list, you don't want to eat it. Have confidence in yourself; you know what is a real food; what sounds like a synthetic filler chemical probably is. Don't be naive assuming that if it is on a label or if it's been approved by the FDA that it is actually edible.

For November's issue, I'll discuss gluten-free foods! Mark and I are going gluten-free for three weeks and I'll share our experiences, our recipes, the products we bought, and how we feel!  

_____________________________________________________________________

EAT BREAKFAST
Don't make breakfast from white carbs - like bagels and toast and white-carb-cereal.
Oatmeal, and truly whole grain cereals are fine. Consider experimenting with high protein/fat foods for breakfast. Led by less-than-ethical marketing, people started dropping the eggs, sausage, and steak for breakfast and substituting low-fat bagels or muffins. This has been devastating to our health. Breakfast is the best time to eat fat as you have all day to burn it off. I like to cook up some flounder fillets in butter with fresh tomato halves for breakfast. Hamburgers make good breakfasts. Cold left over roast chicken is always tasty in the morning. And chicken soup - even canned, if necessary - makes a solid breakfast.
Try it out and see how you feel. Note your energy levels and hunger-levels after a couple days of eating a fat/protein rich breakfast.

_____________________________________________________________________

ENERGY & SUGAR

If lack of energy is a concern you have, take a look at the amount of sugar in your diet. Sugar and caffeine tend to "fry" you. They seem to give you a boost of clarity and energy but ultimately you end up "fried" and adrenally fatigued. Caffeine has its place (like in proofreading newsletters!) but you have to keep aware of exactly how much you consume - it is addictive, so it sneaks up on you and you end up drinking more and more. Start replacing caffeine and sugar and carbs with high quality fats and proteins. Keep some nuts in your car or at your desk for a boost of energy. I find that fish actually works great for tasks that need focus like writing and proofreading - a can of sardines is pretty portable, or some salmon or tuna salad, or boiled cold shrimp. 
_____________________________________________________________________
NEW WORKSHOP PROGRAM!
Late Autumn Carb-Control Program


Break the white-carb habit now and control the sugar blues!


This program focuses on how to systematically cut back on sugar
and white carbs and regain your own natural energy, escape from the sugar blues, purple leaf overthrow pre-diabetes, revitalize your immune system, optimize your weight, and basically strengthen your whole body, which becomes seriously weakened and diseased from sugar-overload.

Now's the time. Don't put it off any longer. If you are officially diagnosed as pre-diabetic or if you realize that you are consuming a lot of white carbs or find yourself craving them regularly, you're probably not feeling as good as you could be and you're also probably on track for becoming diabetic, and you need to halt this habit now.

My Late Autumn Carb-Control Program is a 4 session group
workshop. Each session will involve cooking three perfect white-carb-free meals including a portable lunch and power snacks. These 4 sessions are spaced a week apart for you to experiment and make healthy changes and re-focus your habits and healthy routines week to week.

This is an intensive program. Be ready to absorb a lot of information and really work at making major changes. Your whole family will be a part of this as you bring home new healthy routines and eating habits.

Takes place Sunday mornings - 11/15, 11/22 (focus on Thanksgiving), 11/29, and 12/6. 10 am to 12 noon. You can plan to stop at Blooming Hill Farm Stand, or a local farmers market, or the grocery store after the workshop to pick up ingredients and start cooking for your family's meals for the upcoming week that Sunday afternoon.

BarbaraYou'll receive tons of resources and information, including books and CD's and tons of handouts. You also get demos of 12 great "template" style recipes that can be changed and adjusted according to what is available and in season to form literally hundreds of different super-healthy meals from these 12 recipes. Gluten-free will have a big focus. Cost is $224 per person. Food samples and tasting will all help encourage and push you into initiating and then continuing these changes in your life. The benefits for you and your family will last forever.

We are keeping this group small as there is so much to cover, and I want to be sure all participants get the individual support needed. So sign up now to hold your spot! Registration closes 11/10/09. To register, please send a check for 1/2 the amount, $112 per person, made out to Midsummer Farm.

Please send check to:
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990.

Workshop takes place in the kitchen at Midsummer Farm.

Please do not hesitate to email or call me for more info: 845-986-9699 or [email protected]
______________________________________________________________________
 RECIPE OF THE MONTH
A quick, throw-together white carb free meal

Greens and Chicken Saut� with Red Lentils

1 - 1-1/2 lbs of  boneless/skinless chicken thigh meat  - chopped into 1 inch pieces (chop when slightly frozen for easier quicker cutting). I usually take frozen chicken out of the freezer the night before, rinse and chop in the morning before work, and then it is all ready to throw together that evening.

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup red lentils
5-10 cloves of fresh garlic (to taste)
2 tsp garlic granules (Mountain Rose Herbs is a great source)
1 tsp mild red pepper flakes
1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano herb

3 baby Bak Choi - coarsely chopped
1 bunch of dark leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, escarole, collards, etc., shredded
5-6 tbsp Olive Oil

Heat Olive Oil over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic granules, black and red pepper, lentils, and dried oregano. Heat until onions are starting to get soft. Add chicken, fresh garlic, and bok choi. Cook until chicken is done, mixing often. This is fast - the chicken is small and will cook through quickly. Add in the greens and sprinkle with salt.

And Enjoy! 


_______________________________________________________________________
Pacific Natural Foods A product/brand to be recommended
Whenever I can, I try to announce good and positive organic and ethical brands. It can be very hard to distinguish what products are actually good and trustworthy and which aren't.

This month's brand is: Pacific Natural Foods

Their products were just certified by Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), the same group who certifies our own eggs and chickens, so we know how strict and careful their regulations for certification are. We had a very difficult time finding a certification agency that reflected our ideals about ethical and respectful treatment of animals - AWA was one of the only ones.

Look for the Animal Welfare Approved label on foods and inquire
animal welfare approved logo about it at stores like Whole Foods.

I'm switching to this brand of chicken broth - I was using another brand when I didn't have any homemade broth, but I feel I can trust this one more!
_______________________________________________________________________
Fall Fennel Fall Gardening Tasks and Planning
Now is a great time to start planning and re-accessing your garden for next Spring. As you put your current garden to sleep or do your fall clean up chores, think about what changes you might want to make for next year.  Do you have too much space being used with lawn and ornamental scrubs?  Can you add some perennials and natives for next year?  Can you grow more of your own food?  Growing a garden puts us back in touch with both nature and our roots. It is intrinsically fulfilling. Nothing tastes better or is fresher or healthier than food you grew yourself. And you get lots of varied exercise out in the air and sun while caring for the garden.

Some tasks to do now: Start planning where you may want the garden or how you can add onto your current garden plot; start a compost pile; look into fencing options; start planning what to plant spring.

Location: You want a sunny location for growing most vegetables and herbs. It should also drain well and not be soggy. Put it as close to your house as possible so you can step out and grab a handful of basil while your cooking a meal. Avoid places that may have come into contact with chemicals, oil, etc. If you have been spraying your lawn, stop doing that and let the area rest and renew itself before starting an organic garden. 3 years should be safe. Consider proximity to your compost pile. Consider raised beds and other intensive gardening strategies. Check out the books listed on our newsletter links page for some great places to start some winter reading!

Compost Pile: Using your fall leaves is great starting place for a compost pile. Find a spot that is protected from wind, perhaps against a fence or wall, and loop chicken wire around it to keep it in place. Partial sun is best, but full sun and shade wok fine too in the long run. Compost is not picky. You can find a bunch of different rules and strategies for making compost, but it pretty much makes itself! Just pile your leaves into the loop of chicken wire, and then you start adding kitchen scraps, etc. to it!  It won't do too much composting during the winter, but you should be able to get a good start and it will pick up again in the Spring, especially if you flip it over and fluff it up every other week or so next Spring. We have some great Composting books listed here too.

Fencing: Always fence first! Before you start planting, make sure your vegetables are safe from deer, woodchucks, rabbits, etc. Fencing is the most expensive part of starting a garden, although you have quite a few good options.

What to Plant: What vegetables do you and your family enjoy the most? Consider salad greens - and fresh herbs - these are impossible to find in stores. Consider veggies that go bad fast - like greens. About 3 - 4 kale plants and about 10 Swiss Chard plants will keep a family in greens all summer - you can just go out a pick a bunch as you're cooking dinner.  What did you make the most of last year?  Was there anything you wished you had grown more of? Make some notes now, before the arrival of the seed catalogues, so you can work from a specific plan and not get too distracted!
 
Happy Planning & Very Best Wishes,
Barbara
_______________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
� Copyright 2009 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.
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. 
 Booth Lounging
Farm Contact Info
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]


Holistic Health Counselling Contact Info
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]