 | | The Swiss chard is ready for her close-up |
As a person who thinks about food all of the time, the summer is a fabulous time of year to enjoy the bounty of fresh vegetables in every meal. We've enjoyed the lovely Swiss chard in breakfast frittatas, stir fries, salads and in a fresh-squeezed green juice.
Vegetables are the queens of summer and the berries are the princess jewels. Read on for the importance of and inspiration for how to include the royalty of summer in your meal plans.
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Every Bite Counts
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At our house we spend an inordinate amount of time on food - whether it's growing it, harvesting it, preserving it to browsing recipes, cooking the food, leisurely enjoying the meal and then, of course, there's the clean-up and hopefully leftovers for lunch. The time spent on growing, preparing and eating fresh, nutrient-packed food is an investment in our health and well being as well as being a feast for the senses. After all, my tagline is "Your First Wealth Is Health."
Now I realize that not everyone has the desire to spend quite that much time on their food, but consider this quote that I recently read by Kris Carr, a wellness activist, that had a profound impact on me, "Your future is being written with every meal." I added the emphasis on every meal. Every meal, every day contributes to either your health or ill-health.
I urge you to take advantage of the summer offerings at the Farmer's Markets. Going to a Farmer's Market isn't just shopping for food, it's an event. Often times there is live music, an incredible array of vegetables, cheeses, honey and even food trucks. The Kingfield and Fulton Farmer's Markets are two of my favorite markets.
For how to cook all of those beautiful vegetables I urge you to check out the Nourish e-book series by Anna Dvorak. Anna debuted the Nourish: Winter e-book last December, and she has released the Nourish: Spring and Nourish: Summer issues as well. Anna's e-book certainly contains more than just vegetable recipes. A favorite recipe of mine is the Thai Coconut Curry Soup with red lentisl from the Nourish: Winter. I just couldn't get enough of that soup!
How our food is grown is of utmost importance, so when we go out to eat we support restaurants that support organic and sustainable farmers such as The Birchwood Cafe for Good Real Food, Restaurant Alma, Brasa and Common Roots Cafe.
The health-promoting garlic even has a festival of its own. The Minnesota Garlic Festival in Hutchinson is just a blast. It is sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota, and it features great food, chef demonstrations, entertainment, classes, fun stuff for kids and lots and lots of garlic for sale for good eating or planting in October. The festival is held on Saturday, August 10th, and it makes for a great day trip.
Lastly if you need a bit of inspiration to wean yourself off of processed and fast foods check out the documentary Hungry For Change - Your Health is in Your Hands. Hungry for Change "exposes shocking secrets of the diet, weight loss and food industry don't want you to know about; deceptive strategies to keep you coming back for more."
Vegetables keep me coming back for more!
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Planting The Future Conference
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Kickapoo Valley Reserve, LaFarge, WI
Saturday, August 10th
 | | Bloodroot |
Plants and herbs are near and dear to my heart, so the Planting The Future (PTF) conference is definitely a summer highlight. The PTF conference is put on by United Plant Savers whose mission is to protect our native medicinal plants. I am honored to have been asked to teach my breast health class at the conference. My breast health class focuses on promoting breast health - a topic sorely needed among all of the breast cancer awareness hoopla. I'll be teaching in the company of some pretty fabulous herbalists such as: Matthew Wood, jim mcdonald, Jane Hawley Stevens, Elizabeth Heck and many more talented teachers. The class topics include Your Brain On Lyme, Herbal Cordials, The Wild Kitchen, Developing Ethical Wildcrafting Practices and many herb walks. The conference is held at the beautiful Kickapoo Valley Reserve in LaFarge, WI. It is about a 4 hour drive from the Twin Cities area. You may have noticed that both the MN Garlic Festival and the Planting the Future conference are held on the same day. Day trip or weekend trip - it's a tough choice.
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As Always. . .
Your First Wealth Is Health,  | | Baptisia in Bloom |
Katherine Krumwiede
Licensed Acupuncturist
and Herbalist
Diamond Stone Oriental Medicine, Inc.
and Bee Balm Botanicals 612 872 9133
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Tip of
the Month
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Scratch & Dent
Ointment Set
A must have first aid duo consisting of 1/2 oz. each of Plantain ointment and Yarrow ointment.
Use Plantain for all things you want to scratch. Yarrow works wonders on bumps, bruises, dents and stops bleeding.
Pick one up at the clinic soon for yourself and your family.
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Newsletter
Archive |
There's a wealth of health-inducing information contained in past issues of my newsletter.
Newsletter Archive
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Gift Certificates
Are Available |
Give the gift of good health to your friends and family. |
The Benefits
of Acupuncture
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De-stress
Alleviate pain
Improve concentration levels
Lift the cloud
of depression
Get a better night's sleep
Improve digestion
Boost energy levels
Insure success with smoking cessation
Excellent preventative medicine
And many more. . .
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