I think every cook has those few items they just can’t live without. The tools they use over and over again until they’re worn out and practically falling apart. At least I know I do. I’ve gone through three Williams Sonoma high-heat silicone spatulas in the last two years, the last of which ended up burned, chipped, scarred and eventually, in two pieces. All out of love, of course. And my Global 8” Chef’s knife? It’s like an extension of my arm.
Here are the top ten kitchen tools I cannot live without:
$400,000! This is highest price anyone has ever paid for a ginseng root. It was a 300-year-old root that was found in 2007. Some say that ginseng is worth the money. I’ll let you be the judge.
The proper name of ginseng is Panax Ginseng. The word Ginseng is derived from a Chinese term, which means “man root”. Most likely due to its signature appearance that resembles the limbs of a person. Panax shares the same origin as “panacea” meaning “all heal”. Put the all together and you get the “all-heal man root”.
Now that we’ve defined the dirtiness that is Healthwashing, it’s time we start addressing some of the viscous culprits. Back in May, I received a press release for a brand shiny new cook book by Anna Boiarde, granddaughter and niece to the brothers behind Chef Boyardee (they changed the spelling for phonetic reasons). I thought I should take the PR rep up on her offer and schedule an interview, that they agreed could be filmed. The PR rep claimed to love my website and all my recipes and when I arrived at the downtown hotel for the interview, she went to the trouble of lining up all these Chef Boyardee “foods” beside me.
Anna’s book is truly beautiful and has some really delicious sounding, back to basics style Italian recipes. She claims to shop organic, feed her family well and from our interview, clearly has an appreciation for top quality ingredients.
I have a new hobby and it’s really fun: Gardening! I’ve always planted a few things in my garden every Spring, but this year I’ve gotten really into it. And want to know a secret…I’m really terrible at it! Things have died, wilted, been chewed up by rabbits, and are growing into one another. At least I can plant flowers that survive….that counts for something right? My garden is what Meghan would call a ‘gong show’ but I’m really proud of it. I planted it myself, played in the dirt, and pretty soon I’ll have a few local organic veggies of my own.
What fun, what fun! It is May which means farmer’s markets are popping up all over the place! Last week I shared my amazing recipe for asparagus pesto and I ate that up so fast that I had to go back to the market. What did I buy on this trip? A giant bag of weeds!!! Wildly grown and foraged food that I likely spent the majority of my life trampling over.
For the most part vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements are really just a means to increase the value of your pee.
What?!?!? Huh!?!?! How dare I say that, being a nutritionist and all?
The truth is that for every good, valuable and effective supplement there is on the market, there’s probably about ten bad ones (exhibit A: supplement aisle of Costco, Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, and Walgreens).
There are all these laws and bills being passed here in Canada in an effort to regulate supplements in terms of dosage, availability etc. You can bet that when a supplement gets pulled from the shelves of your local health food store, it is not because it is really in violation of anything, or that the dosage or contents will be harmful. Chances are quite good that supplement is actually incredibly effective, rivals a pharmaceutical, is plant based and therefore unpatentable. Meaning- it’s a threat to the biz side of disease care.
Yesterday I introduced you to one type of doctor. Now let’s meet another!
In December, when I had the pleasure of holidaying with my family in Jamaica, we met an herbal medicine man named Charlie who took us on a tour of some local herbs. Not THAT herb… the healing kind. The OTHER kind of healing. Come on now!
I was well overdue for my annual check up with my doctor. We’re talking about 18 months past the annual check up date. Finding a doctor was no easy task for me, so I settled on one that made up for her lack of open mindedness with being really nice. My doctor is really, really nice. That’s kind of it though.
Going to the doctor for me is a bit of a field trip into The Land Of Different. Everything about how they operate is different to how I run my health practice. But I always, always, always go with an open mind, hoping for the best.
That is the sound of joy in my tummy. Raise your hand if you always thought it odd that recipes called for one single bay leaf. I did, so I always put two or sometimes really throw caution to the wind and used three. Now, on that sweet sacred island that I like to call St. Lucia, where I spent the last month collecting most of my meals from the fields that surround the gorgeous Balenbouche Estate where I held my retreats, these leaves of wonder literally grow on trees.
A couple of weeks ago, a good friend commented on her status about taking her evening dose of psyllium. Now, I know of many people who have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning to get things moving. I do this too sometimes, but it’s not what you think.
Are you ready to talk enemas? I do think it’s time. If you have my Green Smoothie Cleanse you have likely seen my little one pager on the importance of and how to with a regular enema. I don’t include this information because I am some insane nutritionista without a grasp on what peeps are really willing to do for their health.
Oh my sweet mommas! It has been a while since I was this excited for an event. Maybe not since my St. Lucia retreat (which sadly will be ending in 2 days). So because I knew I’d be in a funk when the fun in the sun came to an end, I had to bring in some sunshine. That sunshine is coming in the form of the Groove Master trainer herself, Ms. Brooke Yanzte.
Much of this post was written and shared over a year ago. I have tweaked a few things and believe this is worth sharing again, and maybe again and again if you missed it the first time around. See, sugar and sweets is a problem for us. We are so hooked on sweetness that massive powerful industries are built on the fake chemical version of sugar and our weakness for sweetness. This fake stuff is being put into everything- from vitamins, to soda, to gum, to tooth paste.
Now aren’t these just gorgeous!?!?! Like really glowingly beautiful in all their vibrant redness. I was so excited about this baking adventure for many reasons. I was going to use fresh grated beets in the batter, I was going to use millet in a muffin for the first time. I had some fresh cranberries in there and I was so psyched that I was going to have the most amazingly unique valentine’s day recipe ever.
I know, I know. You like to read the blog while you sip your morning tea, or eat your breakie or when you sit down at your desk at work. I get it. But not today I’m afraid. Today you have to come back here at 10:45. At 10:45 this morning there will be loads of goodness. All the goodness in fact that I cooked up on the Marilyn Denis show this morning.
Only two spots left for the February Retreat. Just saying… And the holidays 2011 class prices will be going up a little from January 1st. Register early! Brand new eBook 21 Days To Health now available. Get your copy now! All this week, we’re reviewing the top posts of all time on Making Love In [...]
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