The May Pole Installation

Here is the tree being picked....



And stripped.....by hand!!!




The hole being dug in the meadow......




Put in the hole... I am sure there were some funny jokes about this......




Oh, beautiful green meadow. Our house is set behind the trees on the far right side of the photo.....




It is a rainy, cloudy monday here. So wonderful. I am a little sad to think it may be our last as the dry, hot season is coming. I am eating my lunch before I go pick up M. at school (whole grain tortilla with goat chevre, baby arugula, drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt; highly recommended!) and typing at the same time.
This weekend is May Day in the big meadow. We do own the land, but not the event. It is a purely community supported event that has been happening on this land for over 20 years before we owned it. People from the local community come for a large circle ceremony and a big picnic after under the big oak tree. There is a May Pole there and it is a favorite activity of the young children who attend. This year we got a new May Pole thanks to our neighbors. There is lots of volunteerism in our neighborhood, and we are beyond lucky to have these particular neighbors who are very dear friends and good-natured about doing favors that take them away from their families (and their cute little babies). Just big hearted people everyone would love to have living close by.
You will see in the photos big expanses of our big meadow, and how a May Pole evolves. Thanks to my neighbor Sara G. for letting me use her photos.

Hospital Food

Hospital Food is a blog of photos and food from hospitals around the world. Like a weird, sick dream of a website for me. Just had to share with you. Happy Saturday Night.

Probiotics for Swine Flu

The four things I am taking for influenza protection are:
1. undenatured whey protein
2. probiotics
3. antioxidants with selenium
4. omega 3 fatty acids (for the vitamin D)

Today I am going to go over Probiotics. This weekend I will tackle selenium, omega-3 fatty acids and whey. I was able to find many abstracts of studies done all of these things that have been specifically studied for influenza. In some ways I am amazed this is not being covered more in the media because they are so readily available, easy to take and effective.
Probiotics may help your body fight an influenza virus more effectively. Of course I use them for many other uses, yeast infections, chronic urinary tract infections, preventing antibiotic induced diarrhea, rotovirus, and traveler's diarrhea. We all need probiotic bacteria to synthesize vitamins. They work to prevent over growth of virulent bacteria too. You can eat a diet high in fiber with inulin (jerusalem artichokes for example) that promote the growth of these bacteria in the gut too. I personally take Dr. Ohirra's Probiotics 12 Plus (see photo above) It is available online and some health food stores. Online is significantly less expensive than what I have found in the stores. Don't pay more than $35 a box. My local co-op charges almost $50 a box which is crazy. It is enterically coated to bypass the stomach acid and release in the gut. It is a lactose-free fermented paste that has been used in Japan for years. It also has a bacteria that has been shown to be effective against MRSA. After looking at many, many probiotic supplements, I like this the most. This is what I take, and what I recommend.

Probiotics are viable microorganisms. Sufficient amounts of which reach the intestine in an active state and thus exert positive health effects. They can prevent antibiotic associated diarrhea, prevention of respiratory tract infections, urogenital infections, reduction of duration of rotavirus diarrhea. Most of us are familiar with eating yogurt for the "good bacteria". There is only one product I have found that contain the Shirota lactobacillus which was studied individually for influenza. It is call Yalult yogurt drink, and you can buy it in most grocery stores. For influenza, Lactobacillus casei Shirota given to infant mice "ameliorates influenza infection in the upper respiratory tract and protects against influenza infection". In another study, a randominzed, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out with several preparations containing 3 to 5 strains of Lactobacillus and FOS or GOS (substrate for bacterial growth in gut) was given to 237 volunteers over 3 different winter seasons between 2003 and 2007. Bowel function improved (bloating, regularity), length of acute respiratory infections in both colds and flu were significantly decreased. The number of respiratory tract infections were also decreased. This was reported in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in Sept. of 2008.
I am writing about this mostly because if I can do something to help my body be stronger against influenza, I feel better. My stress decreases. All of these things I recommend going to you are good for your body regardless of swine flu.

antioxidants for influenza

Have you ever heard of Resveratrol? Alpha Lipoic Acid? These too have been show to help increase the antioxidants in our body and help the influenza virus from replicating in our bodies.
They are available at good quality health food stores, and I will post later with detailed information about how they work, and how to take them.
Also, Undenatured Whey Protein is safe for your whole family.
Disclaimer: If you are HIGHLY allergic to milk, this is not for you. It is considered a low allergen milk product, but if you are sensitive don't risk it.

Baby Artichokes!

Spring vegetables are my favorites of all year. I could dream all day about english peas, baby artichokes, asparagus, fava beans, spring onions, green garlic. At my local grocery store, SPD I asked the vegetable guy twice to pretty please get some baby artichokes. A week later I was scooping them into my bag. That is why SPD is the best grocery store in my mind. That kind of service is non-existent in most places these days.
So here is my one dish wonder of today. I served with pasta and pecorino romano cheese.
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into big chunks
3 shallots, peeled, cut in half
10-14 baby artichokes, trimmed (cut top and bottom off and all the outer leaves)
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
a major drizzle of olive oil (maybe 1/4 cup)
1 cup white wine
1 tbls fresh thyme
1 tbls fresh rosemary
mix together and put in a 375 degree oven covered for 20 minutes
then uncover, stir, and bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the juices are thick and chicken is starting to brown.

Swine virus and Glutathione

Two posts tonight.
Here is a small piece of nutritional information about influenza.
First, the swine flu is a type A Influenza. Death from influenza usually occurs from inflammation at the lungs caused by the virus that causes fluid to accumulate in the lungs progressing into pneumonia. So is it possible to decrease lung inflammation to prevent pneumonia?
Yes.
According to the Dept. of Biochemistry at Emory University Glutathione, a type of antioxidant has both in vitro and in vivo anti-influenza activity. And oxidative stress that causes low glutathione levels in the oral, nasal, upper airways may enhance suseptibility to influenza infection. In another study it was shown that glutathione was found to down-regulate influenza's ability to replacate in the presence of glutathione in host cells.
This in my mind, could be an explanation of why people in Mexico could be falling fatally ill to influenza and not in the US.
Mexico City has some of the worst air pollution in the world. Air pollution causes oxidative stress in our bodies and lungs. Oxidative stress causes free radical in our bodies. Glutathione, known as the "Master Antioxidant" neutralizes free radicals. It also is an important detoxifier for our liver. So people who are perpetually exposed to air pollution tend to have lower glutathione levels circulating in their bodies. Just a thought.
So how make sure you have enough glutathione in your body?
Undenatured Whey Protein.
It is relatively inexpensive, and effective for increasing lung glutathione. But, undenatured whey must not be put in a blender to make a smoothie (breaks the fragile bonds) and is very specific. Most whey protein powders are not undenatured.
I will go over some other antioxidants and delivery systems for combating influenza (and anything that causes oxidative stress for that matter) in the coming days. Unless this is beyond boring to my dear readers. I will ask my sister. She is a good meter for how I am doing on my blog....

Kale Coconut Soup

Spring is almost here, but there are still some cool nights and cloudy days. Today was like that, so I made soup. Soooo easy. It will only take an hour. Vegetarian too.

Kale Coconut Soup

1 bunch kale washed and chopped
1/2 onion diced
1 shallot diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups butternut squash 1 inch cubes
1 tsp. coriander powder
2 cans coconut milk
6 cups chicken stock
1 tbls. grated ginger
1 dash cayenne
1/2 mango (optional)
Juice of one lemon
1 tbls sugar
olive oil

Using a vegetable peeler, remove skin off of butternut squash and then slice into 2 inch wide pieces. Than cut to smaller 1 inch pieces. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in your soup pot and sautee for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside in bowl. You will add this back to the soup about 20 min. before you serve the soup. If you over cook the butternut squash it will fall apart (which if fine if you like that).

No need to clean the soup pot. Just add onions, shallots, garlic, ginger and coriander in atleast 1 tbls. olive oil and sautee until starting to brown and translucent about 10 min.

Pour chicken stock directly into pan, bring to simmer and cook for 20 min.

Add coconut milk, cayenne, lemon juice and sugar. Whisk if the coconut is clumping.

This is where I added mango but you can skip this step because it makes this whole recipe more involved. Ladle out 2 cups of soup into a bowl. Add 1/2 of mango peeled off its skin. Use an immersion blender to mix the mango completely into the stock. Add back to the soup.

Add butternut squash and kale. Cook covered on med. low heat for 20 minutes.

I made brown jasmine rice to serve with this and it added a nice aroma. Also, I added some fresh chopped cilantro before eating. The cayenne is optional. I only added the slightest dash because M. won't eat spice. She did not notice it tonight, but I do think even a subtle heat makes the dish more well rounded.