Jackfruit Taco or Bowl Night

This vegetarian bowl has become a family favourite. Jackfruit is a tropical “fruit” that has a texture similar to pulled pork and a bit of a nutty flavour. It tends to take on the flavour of the sauce it is cooked in.

It is high in fibre, contributing to about 10% of your daily retirement of fibre. It is also higher in potassium, contributing to approximately 20 percent of your daily need for potassium. Potassium is important for helping maintain electrolyte balance and regulating the amount of water in your cells. It also has a role in lowering blood pressure and controlling the electrical activity in the heart.

You can buy it canned (young jackfruit in brine) or in the fridge section (Blush Lane and Community have it in their fridge section) or any health food store.

Enjoy!

Jackfruit Bowl/ Taco’s

4 Tbsp Avocado Oil
1 onion chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp sambal oelek (paste) or chill powder (I love the Mayan Chili Powder from Spice Merchant.)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Tbsp tamari
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
3 packages of Upton’s Natural Jackfruit (looks like this:https://www.uptonsnaturals.com/products/original-jackfruit)

Instructions:

1. Heat up oil in medium, heavy bottomed pan. Add onion until cooked through. Then add garlic and fry until fragrant.

2. Add spices and blend for 1-2 minutes

3. Add tomato paste and blend.

4. Add drained Jackfruit with tamari, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar. Mix well. Squash the jackfruit pieces with your spoon to shred them. Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.

5. While you prepare the veggies, spread jackfruit over a sheet and bake at 390F for 20 min.

6. Serve with:

   1. quinoa / rice

   2. shredded red cabbage, shredded sour kraut or Kimchi, carrots, broccoli sprouts, avocado and greens

   3. Add in Stir-fried cauliflower and sweet potato “rice” (fried in coconut oil)

Energy Balls

Energy Ball Recipe

This snack is a family favourite. They hold up well in coat pockets for outdoor activities and keep everyone moving forward on hikes.

I used pumpkin seed butter for this batch. Pumpkin seeds are anti-parasitic, high in zinc, magnesium, fiber and help to lower blood sugar levels.

Spring is the time of the Liver in Chinese medicine. Clients often ask if and when to do a cleanse. If there is a time to cleanse and support the liver, spring is the time to do it. If we take nature's lead, some of the first plants to show up in our garden are cleansing: dandelions. Dandelion greens have long been used as a herb to release toxins from the body, clear heat and reduce swelling. Like pumpkin seeds, they are high in magnesium, lower blood sugar levels and are antioxidants.

Though maybe leave them out of the energy balls. 😉

Raw pumpkin seeds are another spring food to consider. They contain tetracyclic triterpenes which can help remove parasites from the body. The cucurbitins in pumpkin seeds can paralyze worms, making it difficult for them to hide within the intestinal walls. while the high zinc content is a bonus for strengthening the immune system.

Just like the urge to open your windows and spring clean your home in March, consider offering the same internal support for your body. This is a great time to load your plate with greens and consider doing a food challenge. Taking foods like gluten, dairy, eggs and corn out of your diet for 30 days and sticking to whole foods found on the outer isle of the grocery store. Then when you add foods back in after 30 days, do it slowly. One food every 3-4 days so you have a chance to notice if or how they bother you. Whole 30 does a good job of laying out an elimination and re-introduction schedule. As always, reach out if you want one-on-one support and a more customized approach.

Your liver will thank you.

Power Balls

2 C Gluten Free Oats
1.5 C Coconut unsweetened
1 C Ground Flaxseed (keep in the freezer)
3 TBSP Ground Chia seed (keep in freezer)
3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C Pumpkin seed butter (Almond Butter & Sunflower seed butter work well too)
2/3 C Honey (I sometimes use half honey & half maple syrup)
2-3 tsp Vanilla
1 TBS Hemp seeds (optional)

• Mix the first 5 dry ingredients together

• Warm the nut butter, honey and vanilla together until soft.

• Mix all together and form into balls.

• Keep refrigerated.

Favourite Local Gluten Free Business: Alkeme

February's Favourite Local Business:

Alkeme- Rossland, BC

Moving through COVID, the importance of supporting locally owned businesses felt more urgent this last year. I often have clients asking me for ideas on products and companies I love, so I thought I would share one a month over this next year. As a note, these are my personal recommendations not anything I am compensated for, just innovative companies that I love. First up, Alkeme, a family run, dedicated gluten free company who changed our families world this last year.

Our daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago. I felt well versed in whole foods and we mostly lived in a world without gluten prior to her diagnosis. Celiac though took gluten free living to a whole other level of specificity -checking labels, cross contamination, grains that are more likely to be exposed to gluten, medication, facial products, ridding the house of commonly used appliances like toasters exposed to gluten... basically a whole new lens of awareness.

My husband found Alkeme's GF granola bars (meals really) at our local ski hill. Eating their granola bar felt like something my mother would have made for me growing up - nutrient dense and delicious. We went home intrigued by this family run business out of Rossland, BC.

What we found changed our world. They had a dedicated gluten free facility and...They made Gluten free sourdough bread, bagels, pizza crust.

Dense, delicious, packed with nutrition and fibre... AND they could ship direct to our house. We could order in advance, they take time to hand prepare, using fresh ingredients to create a loaf of labour and love. Shipping it out the same day they make it, we receive it 2 days later, sliced and ready to go in our freezer for weeks worth of breakfast and lunches.

Game changer.

GF bread is often airy, void of fiber and feels like you are eating the wonder bread of years past. Alkeme's bread felt like I was walking back into my grandmothers farmhouse, greeted by the scent of fresh, dense bread... except this time, I could take making one gluten free item from scratch off my to do list and simply receive. Knowing that I was offering our family nourishment, nutrition and ingredients that were mindfully sourced and made.

Their gluten free granola bars are a meal and our kids go to lunch on the ski hill this winter.

Melinda and Todd truly care about what they are creating and how they are creating it. Melinda was beyond supportive when I reached out to talk about sourcing of ingredients for the celiac piece. I tell all of my GF clients about their offering, and at times, may be a little scared they will be overwhelmed with orders yet thankfully they keep growing! I invite you to check out Alkeme, especially if you are avoiding gluten and want to support a whole food, mindfully sourced and local, family run business.

"Our passion for making meticulously crafted whole-food products is founded on the realization of how the food we eat plays an integral part in our ability to be the best version of ourselves. A healthy mind and body are the keys to realizing our full potential and we believe that all of this starts with what we’re taking into our bodies. And here lies where we found our personal purpose in life to be...making delicious products to help everyone remove nutrient-poor household staples from their diets and replace them with nourishing ingredients to fuel the body and the mind.

We care. About everything. We care about the food we eat. We care about the food you eat. We care about where it comes from. How it impacts your health. How it is grown. How the grower is compensated. We care about how many layers of transportation and distribution occur to get food into your hands. And we care about the impact those layers have on the quality:cost ratio. We care about the environmental impact of our packaging (we hate it - so we aim to reduce it). We care about our staff. We care about efficiency. We care about thoughtfulness in our actions. We care about other growers, suppliers and producers who care like we care. So, yeah - we care about a lot. But perhaps not everything. We don’t care about maintaining the status quo. We don’t care about fitting into the mold. We don’t care about maximizing earnings at the cost of the well-being of our customers or the planet." - Melinda & Todd

New Moon- Year of Metal Ox

NEW MOON: THE YEAR OF METAL OX

A Year for Planting Seeds and Rest.

Tomorrow we move away from the year of the Rat to the year of the Metal Ox. The Ox is associated with hard work, slow but persistent movement, reliability, determination. Lillian Pearl Bridges explains the Element for Ox is Yin Earth, as it is an animal long connected to farming. The element for the year is Yin Metal, which is harmonious with the Earth Element, as Earth generates and feeds Metal. Here is Lillian’s summary for 2021’s year of the Ox.

The yin or feminine aspect of this element and the the hindsight gained from 2020 gives this coming year themes of many “re” actions:

"regroup; rebuild; reform; restructure; restore; replace; recycle; renew; reevaluate; reorganize; reestablish; revitalize and reinvent."

• What seeds are you planting?

• How do you incorporate rest into the fabric of your day?

February's Thai Abundance Bowl

Can you feel the shift in light as we enter February? I notice the sky a bit brighter as leave in the morning and more light floods the clinic room at the end of the day with my last client.

The earth is slowly waking up and with it, you may notice the foods you are drawn to will change.

Our digestive systems aren’t quite ready for daily raw salads, for those of us still in winter, yet the colours of spring are dancing into our palate and minds.

Here is our families new favourite meal. It shows up on the menu every Wednesday.

We call it the Thai Abundance Bowl, inspired by Oh She Glows Thai Almond butter sauce with some modifications by our Thai friend and sitter. Use this one to clear out what is in your fridge… here is our favourite version.

Enjoy!

Thai Almond Butter Sauce

3/4 Cup Almond Butter (If nut free sunflower seed butter)
4 TBSP Lime Juice
2 TBSP Gluten Free Tamari or coconut Aminos
3 tsp Maple Syrup
3 tsp grated Fresh Ginger
3 TBSP almond milk/ coconut milk from a can/ water as needed to thin
1/2 - 1 clove of garlic (optional. Leave out if following Gaps)
1 TBSP Cilantro (optional- you can add it into the bowl instead if you want)

Throw it all in the blender and then put in a mason jar to store in the fridge for up to 11 days. I usually double the batch for easy left over lunches.

Bowl Ingredients

• As a base we use:

  • Brown rice

  • Quinoa

• Shredded purple cabbage

• Shredded carrots

• Baked Tofu or left over salmon

• Chopped cilantro (load it up… so delish)

• Steamed broccoli (leftover works)

• Left over sautéed mushrooms (play with wild mushrooms if you want!)

• Fresh Broccoli Sprouts

• Chopped up Arugula or Kale

• Raw Pumpkin Seeds pan fried with coconut oil and sea salt (honestly the crunch makes the difference!)
  

After you put it all together, squeeze a lime overtop and Enjoy!

Full Moon Invitation: Wolf Moon 2021

On January 28th at 12:17 pm is the first full moon of 2021: The Wolf Moon. 

As women, we are powerfully tied to and cycle with the moon, before menarche, during and even after menopause.

The Wolf moon invites you to consider:

🔹What you are Creating for 2021?
🔹What are you releasing that no longer serves you?

Full moons are a powerful time to let go of anything in your backpack that doesn't need to be there anymore.  As a culture, we tend to fall short in creating rituals for releasing and letting go. Releasing isn't just for difficult experiences. It is an opportunity to allow all that you have moved through to be free. To grow. 

This is a powerful invitation I give to clients regularly.  I never cease to be amazed at the outcome.  The client that walks back into my clinic after a Full Moon Ritual, isn't the same one I spoke to prior.

If our lives are like well worn trails in the forest, these releases are an opportunity to forage a new path, allowing the old stories and beliefs to grow over.  A chance to connect with yourself and something so much bigger all at the same time.

The release of a birth story, fertility journey, health journey, relationship, work situation.  The process is the same:  Letting go of all that doesn't serve you or is being invited to be released. 

Holding the intention to allow a new landscape to emerge. 

I the next couple of days, I invite you to:

• Go for a 20 min solo walk in nature.  No animals or friends.  Just you showing fully up for you.

• After the walk, sit down with a pen and your favourite drink and start writing out all that you are releasing.  No one reads this but you and the universe so let it all flow.  When it feels complete, put what you have written in an envelope. 

• On the eve of the full moon, this Wednesday, go outside with matches, a stainless steel bowl and your envelope.  

• Energetically invite in anyone or anything in nature that you feel connected to.  Then light the match and allow the envelope to burn...releasing all of its contents.  You can scatter the ashes on the ground.  Releasing all of this back to the earth.

• Take in the magic of this act of self care.   

An epsom salts bath is an incredible invitation to wash away the evenings release and sink into nourishing self care.

What are powerful ways that you honour transition and release?

Soil Regeneration, Microbiome & Rise in Autoimmune Disease

Dr. Zach Bush's work on the microbiome, regeneration of soil, autoimmune disease and the impact of glyphosates on wellness is pertinent right now, at a time when we need to support equal access to the building blocks of health, regardless of socio-economic status.  There are staggering numbers for our overall decline in fertility, both male and female factor.

Dr. Zach Bush, MD is a triple board certified physician specializing in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, as well as in Hospice and Palliative care. The director of M Clinic in Virginia, Dr. Bush has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the areas of infectious disease, endocrinology, and cancer.

I have listened to him speak on a number of occasions, each time with new awareness and call to action. Having grown up through the summers on our family farm, this has me understanding even more deeply that we are what we eat, down to the soil and seeds that are used to grow our food and our bodies.

I would encourage you to watch this video and visit his website www.zachbushmd.com.

He is founder of Farmers Footprint, an organization connecting and inviting regenerative farming practices so that we can turn back the damage on our nutrient deprived soil. You can find more information about Farmer’s Footprint here: www.farmersfootprint.us

Nourishing Your Body Though Covid-19

Wow. It feels like a year since I have seen most of you in the clinic, not a few weeks.  

We are navigating an unprecedented time for our generation. Some of you are on the front lines supporting and caring for those who are ill, others are supporting in their communities and families.  All of you have an ability to create light in what feels like a dark time. Yet let's also not be afraid of the dark.  That is where growth happens and seeds are planted.  If you aren't on the front lines, stay home, connect with your families and as my Grandmother said, "Look for the people helping Leisha...that is where you will see love surpass fear."

I wanted to share a video I put together for More Gatherings on COVID-19, self care, and supportive measures you can take at home.  This won't be new to most of you as I talk about this in the clinic with you almost each session!  Yet a reminder never hurts.

I also wanted to let you know that I have tested out video appointments with clients this week.  We did our check-in at the beginning as always, and then I guided the client through a meditation for the last half of the call, focussing on what support their individual body needed. The feedback was positive and all three clients liked the format and felt grounded and in flow by the closure of our session.  If you are wanting support, I am offering this in a few blocks per week to start and will expand from there depending on family needs at home.

For the next month, I will be donating half of session fees to Made By Mama, a local non profit organization supporting single mothers facing adversity.  If you have been impacted by COVID-19 or are dealing with symptoms, reach out to 811, then please reach out and I can do my best to support you.

I am aiming to individually connect with each of you over the next bit in-between homeschooling (which has consisted of 85% recess and 15 percent work - I clearly wasn't cut out to be a teacher and BLESS our teachers!).

In the interim, here are a few resources available that could be helpful:

Fitness/ Movement: 

• On instagram: Fran Train Fitness - a great guy that I do group workouts with when I am home on the Island.  He has been posting doable workouts each day.

• Yoga Santosha is doing live streaming yoga Classes. www.yogasantosha.ca

• Orange Theory Fitness is offering online workouts (I haven't done these yet), yet I do like their classes!  www.orangetheoryfitness.com

Meditation

• Daring to Rest- Karen Brody - www.daringtorest.com

• Headspace - is offering free meditations for the next while

• Calm App and Insight Timer both offer free selections

• Depak Chopra and Oprah have a free 21 day meditation Hope in uncertain times - www.chopracentermeditation.com/experience

• Joint effort with the Dalai Lama and Stanford University - www.ccare.stanford.edu

Connection

• Next-door in our neighbourhood (an app connecting neighbours) has been a great source for knowing what is happening in your community and who may need help (essentials like medication and groceries dropped on the porch, etc)

• If you have a few people you feel connected to in your life, reach out and meet them for a virtual meditation.  Set a time, Light a candle of connection each and "meet" in meditation.  If you want to take that further, set the intension to send love, "hold the hand" of those alone and afraid, be it in Italy or around the world.  COVID-19 is showing us how fully connected we all are.  Let's use this in support of our own circles and those beyond.  

• FaceTime meetups with your inner support circles or those who might be showing up unexpectedly!

Please reach out if you have any questions or need support.  Sending a virtual hug to you all.
Be Well,
Leisha

Why Underwear Matter

A question I am often asked in the clinic is, “Why did I get a urinary tract infection (or yeast infection)? “  At that point we dive into digestion, their microbiome, medical history and what foods they are commonly eating.  We take a thorough look at the inner world of their body. 
 
Yet, we can’t stop there. 
 
What we take into our body and what we are wearing against our body, both matter.
 
Underwear is a common touch point in the clinic for women and teenage girls and one take-home message I give is:  cotton & natural fibres. 
 
The pelvic floor is a source of abundant fluid for women and we don’t talk frankly enough about it.  At different points in a woman’s cycle, cervical fluid will increase or change texture.  When we exercise, cervical fluid can release.  Moisture from exercise increases dampness in the whole pelvic floor region.  Intimacy increases fluid levels left in the vaginal track. 
 
The bottom line: this is a damp area.
 
Bacteria, love dampness.  We complicate that matter with the fact that the vaginal and anal opening are relatively close in proximity.  Fecal matter that contains bacteria (E.coli being an example), doesn’t have far to travel and enter the urethra, which can lead to urinary tract infections (UTI’s). 
 
What problem does your synthetic and lace underwear present?  These materials hold moisture close to the skin, keeping the vaginal area warm and moist.  This is the perfect breeding ground for yeast and bacterial overgrowth.  Those with sensitive skin can react to synthetics, increasing the propensity for overgrowth.
 
Cotton and natural fibres, however, breathe and absorbs moisture.  Keeping you dry.
 
Here are a few suggestions that your whole pelvic floor will thank you for:

• Wear cotton (or, other natural, breathable fabric) 

• After a workout, change into dry underwear

• If you are having issues with yeast or UTI’s consider switching away from thong based underwear or, make sure they fit properly.  Too much travel in the material leaves the opportunity for bacteria to travel with it.

• Nutritionally, consider adding ferments, filled with prebiotics, into your diet. 

There is a wonderful local company in Calgary making ethical and natural fibre under garments called Cooch. I encourage you to check them out. www.coochunderwear.com

The bottom line?  Your mom’s advice was right, wear cotton.  Leave the frilly lace for your night out on the town.

Bone Broth Magic

My fondest memories of growing up were usually on my grandmothers farm. More specifically in her kitchen, which housed a rocking chair, couch, big table for gathering and wood stove that was constantly running. Both to keep us warm and cook her nourishing food.

The one constant was a pot of bone broth simmering away through the day to make the next stew, meal or simply to drink and ward of the sniffles. As is often the case, our grandparents farm wisdom was rooted in knowing which science is now showing in research.

Part of what I love about making stock for our family, is that I feel my grandmother in the kitchen with me. A cup of tea in hand, fussing about making sure everyone is loved and cared for. Smell is so powerful, it brings me right back to the farm kitchen.

Now it is time to pay forward that tradition to my children.

Bone broths help support your immune system, nourishes your joints, nourishes and helps heal the gut lining which can support reducing allergies, food intolerances and GI symptoms, just to name a few benefits. From a Chinese medicine view, it also nourishes the kidneys which is something I will do with most clients working with me.

Its simple to make:

• Place approximately 2 lbs of left over chicken bones (or the left overs from a whole chicken) into a deep soup pot

• Add chicken feet if you have them for extra collagen.

• Add left over celery ends, carrots, onion, herbs (I keep left over ends in the freezer and pull them out when I am making broth)

• 2 Tbsp apple cider (helps to extract marrow from the bones)

• Two inches of ginger cut (warming, aids digestion and flavour filled)

1. Fill the pot with water so that the bones are covered by 3 inches of water.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer until it is just slightly bubbling.

The length of time to cook varies.

For those who tend toward histamine responses, shortening the cooking time initially to 1.5- 3 hrs is helpful.

Otherwise, 24 hours simmering works.

Same recipe for beef except use beef marrow, knuckles and stewing bones. I don’t add ginger to Beef stock. Simmer beef bones for 4-5 hours for those with histamine issues, 24 hours if none. Note: I like to roast my beef bones and onion for 20 min before adding to the pot for more flavour!

Aim to drink a mugful a day through the winter months or when you are feeling run down. Otherwise, freeze it and use it when you make soups and stews!

There are great resources on line. One of my most loved and used books is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.