Vol. 3, Issue 50, April 24 , 2009
From the Desk of the Diva
 If Life gets any sweeter, someone's going to have to poke me with a stick and call me, "Lolly!" I can't tell you how delighted I am that spring is here, the sun is out and Life is in full bloom. We're getting ready to kick off our 6-Week Deep Tissue Detox very soon and excited to see what kinds of transformations will come out of this program. Welcome to our new participants!
Today I have a date! I'm going to a pajama party with my daughter and 3 of her friends. Today I'm busy cleaning, buying flowers and making the house feels special for our big date!
I'm getting ready to move apartments in a few weeks! Having to go through all my stuff in preparation for the move means that I' m getting that Spring Fling feeling and I loooove it! "Out with the old! In with the new!" It doesn't matter if you're talking about furniture, old toys, stretched out sweat shirts or mismatched cutlery, it feel amazing to get rid of some things you don't love or need so you can prepare for a new start.
In the spirit of Spring Flinging, we're going to be giving some special discounts on our ebooks and other things in stock. Watch your weekly Health in High Heels every week until Summer for a special discounts! I hope this issue and that it finds you smilling and enjoying your beautiful life. We're so grateful to have you here with us and look forward to connecting again soon!
Have an amazing weekend!
Love and hugs,
Tera
In This Issue:
Feature Article: A Simple Guide to Fermenting: Food Remedies for the Autism Gut by Gina Laverde
Recipe of the Week: "Hey, Liver Toxins! --Beet it! :-)
Food of the Week: Stinging Nettles: An Introduction to Backyard Snacking
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Feature Article:
Snacking on Stinging Nettles: An Introduction to Backyard Snacking
By Linda Hansen
 I saw something wonderful this morning. Something I have been looking for. Something that made me very happy, like everything is right with the world, after all. I saw nettles in my yard--stinging nettles, that is. Spring is here!
I didn't always love nettles. My neighbor has many, and I used to hope the seed would not blow my way. Two years ago, my son found a few, sautéed them in a pan with yellow onion and garlic, then served them up on a bed of steamed quinoa. I was not particularly interested. Through the seasons, my children tasted different wild foods as they came into season. Prickly pear cactus, dandelion, wild persimmon. I did not.
Last year, my son and I took a class on wild edibles. We were eating quite a bit of raw food by then, and had been drinking green smoothies. We had several books I had collected over the years on wild edible plants so they were identifying the plants all around us.
I live in South Texas, not too far from Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo. Last spring Dr. Ritamarie sponsored a Wild Weed Walk on a Saturday, taught by a lovely lady named Sonja Watt. A friend and I drove the hour and a half with our sons to the class and had such a wonderful time. Something in me just woke up. Sonja led us around her back yard, into the front and down the street where she pointed out edible plants and told us what their benefits are. We tasted each one as she talked. She told us which ones have poisonous look-alikes, and how to avoid confusion. Then we walked back to her kitchen and had a lovely raw lunch which included a salad made from plants we had gathered in the morning.
That was just the beginning. Sonja emailed resources to us to use as we continued to look near our own homes, and we started to use the information in our own yard. I discovered we had many delicious plants growing just outside my front door. Literally! I discovered my son knows a lot about weeds. And I found out I like the food in my yard better than what I can buy at the grocery store. Even more than the organics!
I had read that the wild edibles are stronger and more nutritious than what some people call cultivars. I had read how some people prefer the wild plants because they say they feel so much better when they eat the wild food than what you can buy in the stores. But, somehow, it seemed theoretical. I know I feel different when I eat pastries or pastas and when I eat organic broccoli. I did not really believe I would feel different eating weeds than eating the best organic greens I could buy at the grocery. But I do. They make me feel good.
We started adding the weeds to our smoothies, and eventually drinking weed smoothies and eating salads made entirely out of weeds. The nettles are really good. When you blend them up well, and get them inside your mouth with your saliva, they really don't sting you. Plantain is amazing. I can hardly wait to eat cleavers again this year. There are so many plants to love.
The hardest part was the change of seasons. When seasons change, the plants change. Just as we learned the plants, the weather would change, and the plants we were using would go into a different phase of their life cycle. Another group of plants would become available, and we would have to learn new foods. There was definitely a learning curve there.
But, as I said, I have been thinking about nettles. I have been looking for them. And today, I saw them.
You can see some of Sonja Watt's work here at , and www.RawFunFamily.com.
Linda Hansen
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Recipe of the Week:
"Hey Liver Toxins -- Beet It" Fermented Salad
By Gina Laverde
Ingredients:
5 lbs red beets, shredded in food processor
Tons of dill
Juice of 4-5 lemons
2 cloves garlic
Caraway seeds to taste
About ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar
Few cabbage leaves
Pure water
1 green apple
Few stalks of celery
1 culture starter from Body Ecology
Equipment:
Tiny glass
Humongous mixing bowl
Sterile quart qized mason jars
Process:
Empty room temp starter culture into 4 oz warmish water and set aside
Shred your beets and add to mixing bowl
Finely chop half of your dill and add that to mixing bowl
Blend 1 green apple, about 4 cups water, handful of beets, celery, garlic and lemon juice and the remainder of dill in vitamix or really good blender.
Add water/culture starter mix to your blender.
Pour liquid mixture over beets and mix well.
Stuff your outrageously clean mason jars with these cultured vegetables leaving about 1.5 inches at top.
Roll up some cabbage leaves and place atop each jar before sealing…. This helps prevent explosion.
Seal tightly and run under hot water and wipe clean.
I always do a blessing or intention on my veggies.... you can do this now if you choose.
Ferment for 5-10 days at room temp.
The longer you ferment.. the more sour they become.
Enjoy!
This is a very cleansing food, so begin trying them in small amounts. You can use this mix as a dip for blue corn chips, raw chips, a topping for any salad or wrap, mixed with a nut or seed cheese for extra zing. Or you can even sprout some quinoa and/ or sesame seeds, blend them together and make dehydrated crackers with it. Very yummy, still raw -- and possibly easier to get the kids to love.
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Getting Started on Fermented Foods: Food Remedies for the Autism Gut
By Gina Laverde
 More times than not my counter top’s full of sizzling mason jars spreading their sour stink throughout our poorly ventilated apartment. My hubby and I used to argue about “the way I eat” and how it would drive him bonkers. But he’s settled down ever since I started sneaking spoonfuls of it into his shakes.
We ferment all kinds of veggies and drinks in our home and we do it for the sake of gut healing. See, gut problems lead to indigestion and malnutrition -- undigested foods turn into toxins, and organs malfunction and allow other toxins to grow and thrive. With my son, the label makers liked to call this autism. Autism usually comes with horrific gut issues. And, I learned, that by repairing the gut we allow for the whole body to heal.
We began our recovery with fermented young coconut water (coconut kefir). I am blessed to have found this. Because it was coconut kefir and coconut kefir alone that helped clear the terrain for deeper healing. Kefir brought back eye contact where there was none. Kefir helped him focus. Kefir changed the bacterial make up in his gut, and he began craving greener foods. Soon, he loved all of his green veggies. And, we all know that green is good! Green heals!
Once I had the kefir in my own system as well – I could see the light at the end of the autism tunnel and it was bright!
Soon, my motto for health through food became Green it, Blend it, Ferment it. I use Body Ecology controlled culture starters to ferment, and I highly recommend this if you or your children have severe digestive problems. You can ferment wildly like so many of our raw friends do. But, BED’s starters are very hearty and have been specifically formulated with bacterial strains to conquer candida, create vitamins, and assimilate nutrients from food and more.
When you ferment food you save the body time digesting. You make the nutrients more readily absorbable. You promote detox. The body begins to heal because it’s finally receiving the proper nutrition from every bite. So, even if your child lacks HCL (hydrocholoric acid) in the stomach and has a hard time digesting everything he eats – fermented foods take hold and share their love inside his body. That’s why it’s such a necessary step when trying to undo the autism mess. I advise my clients to begin with a tablespoon of coconut kefir each morning as a first step in the recovery journey. They can usually work their way up to a quart of the amazing drink within time.
Here’s my method of kefir making:
You’ll need:
1 box (9) young coconuts (which can be purchased most inexpensively at your local Asian market)
1 pack Kefir Starter
I glass pitcher
3-4 sterile quart sized mason jars
1. Begin with room temp (75 degrees or warmer) coconuts and starter pack
2. Open 3 coconuts (I just poke hole right below the tip with a screwdriver), and pour into glass pitcher. Make sure that the water is clear and not pink or brown.
3. Pour that liquid into one jar.
4. Add the kefir starter.
5. Lightly stir
6. Close the jar and let it sit out for 24-36 hrs.
7. Then, split that batch into 2 jars.
8. Add fresh coconut water from 3 more coconuts.
9. Close jars and let sit for another 24 hrs.
10. Repeat until you have used all of your coconuts.
11. Refrigerate.
When the coconut water ferments it becomes a bit cloudy, bubby and tastes a little like champagne, you may sense that it smells like bread or beer and that’s fine. Don’t toss it if it doesn’t smell like roses. Sometimes the jars talk, sizzle, make funky sounds and even vibrate and move on your counter top. Seriously! So, if there’s tons of action coming from a jar, I’d watch out. Tops do pop off. Handle this with komucha care. Every batch won’t ferment at the same pace. Too much bubbling could mean it’s dccccone fermenting and you can take a drink. Each jar of kefir can ferment about seven more jars. So you will want to leave about a ¼ cup of this magic juice in each jar to start the next batch.
No need to go to fast when embarking on your fermentation journey. There’s plenty of time to experience the magic. Check out the recipe in this issue of Health in High Heels! Just promise me you’ll go slowly with the kiddos. This stuff is very detoxing and chances are that they’ll be releasing a lot. The detox will be amazing if you support it with colon therapy, skin brushing, spa baths, energetic and emotional reinforcement as well as good old fashioned sleep.
Reactions to probiotic foods like kefir are really as varied as our kid’s symptoms. Some kids get hyper for a while others disconnect. It’s generally a sign that the body is pushing out the old. The body really wants to heal. If you sense that embracing fermented foods as part of your autism healing plan is something you need to do for your child, then please don’t hesitate to contact me for help and support along the way. We can make healing easy if we do it together.
PS. The coconut meat can also be fermented with about a tablespoon of Kefir. This takes about 12 hours. You can do it overnight and wake up to a yummy raw yogurt in the morning!
Enjoy!
Gina
Gina Laverde is a health conscious contributor to the www.RawMom site. In her efforts to address the autism-related conditions being faced by her son, she jumped on the healthy bandwagon and has been inspiring everyone ever since! You can learn more about her by visiting her websites www.certifiedorganicwoman.com and www.healartfully.com. Or by emailing
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