Spring Fling with Nettles

I grow nettles in the "flower" bed up against my home. I have been asked on many occasions: "What person in their right mind would plant nettles in any flower bed and the bed right up against the house?" The answer is obvious to me; I am not in my right mind and who wouldn't plant nettles so close to the house? They are oh so close when I need them for soups. stews, stir fries, pesto, tinctures, medicinal infusions, etc.

Now here is the double edged sword with this situation: they are close at hand but these 'lil buggers like to run and take over the world just like mints. They create this under soil runner that, well, just runs, and runs, and runs spiraling out of control. I spend the spring pulling the renegade nettles out of the rest of the flower bed in front of my home. When I planted them, 5 years ago, I politely asked them to stay in their space on the side of the house. I even dug down into the soil and planted sandstone pieces to deter them from running. They out smarted me.

As aggravating as this can be, I do have a steady supply of spring nettles that I do not feel guilty about pulling. I snip the leaves to eat and plant the runners along the yard's edge hoping for yet more nettles to eat and make medicine with.

My bowl of nettle tops and leaves.

A close up of 2 nettle tops ready for dinner.

Nettles in the pan, a gentle saute' in butter is all that is needed.

The stems that I gently cooked first;  why waste the nutrients?

Cooked nettles waiting for me to consciously devour them.

The finished salad with nettles scattered across the top.

I have made mention of my Spring difficulties around food. All winter I graciously and gratefully eat local cabbage, root veggies, and squash. I save my frozen local summer veggies to tide me over when I can no longer stand the thought of a root veggie and cabbage slaw. Yes, it does happen. (My winter leftovers are waiting to be made into sauerkraut when I can dig enough wild leeks to enhance this kraut batch.) 

I yearn for local food: asparagus, greens, fiddle heads, peas, strawberries...

To survive until the local food is bountiful once again, I buy food from California. There, I confessed. The above salad is Romaine lettuce, celery, carrots, and juicy red peppers from California. I also buy non-local fruits: mango, banana, kiwi, citrus, and canned organic pineapple. I am desperate for neatly gift packaged sunshine to tide me over to the local food scene. A ripe mango has a serious amount of sun waiting to burst out of its skin. I bow my head in gratitude to the people, the trees, and the soil that brings me these gems to keep me happy.

I plopped the above salad down in front of my kids, minus the nettles of course. They would have flipped had I expected them to eat Nettles! (They did each have a small spoonful that they chucked into their mouths and barely chewed before swallowing. Someday they will appreciate the things I have exposed them to...) Here was my salad response:

"Finally, a real salad. No more nasty cabbage - root veggie slaw! Yay!"

Poor kids, they suffer so.

"Wow, Mom broke down and bought something that didn't grow within 20 miles of our home."

When do they learn to not harass the person keeping them in food?

Tip for the day: Get outside. Snip some nettles. Hey, dig some wild leeks and saute' them together, ever so gently. Enjoy the taste sensation, the local wild food, and the spring nourishment for your body. Oh yeah, don't bother sharing with the kids!

To create your own female energy spring fling:

Join the Female ♀ Moon Cycle Wisdom Training

Tuition, this year, stays at $72 Bucks in honor of My Mom,

an awesome female, & her Birthday (April 17th)! 

BUY HEALING COURSE NOW

Serve Up More Veggies to Your "Valentine" Kids

I am asked this question quite often:

"How do I get my kids to eat more vegetables and less junk?"  (This topic pertains to anyone in need of more veggies, not just kids!)

The easy answer is this: "Serve them vegetables and do not bring junk into the home. They can only eat what is available to eat."

So I know you Moms are chuckling and maybe thinking... easy for you to say Paula, you don't live with my kids. 

My kids ate every fruit or vegetable I gave them (Well, maybe not broccoli, but remember that cruciferous veggie taste is a strong one!) until a certain age. It was like veggie eating (not so much the fruits) almost stopped on a dime. It left me wondering what had happened to my happy to eat veggie kids. The funny phenomenon is this: when my oldest boy decided veggies did not tantalize his palate anymore, it was a license for my younger son to bag eating veggies too. "No way Mom, Jake doesn't touch them and I am not either."

What IS a Mom to do?

I say:  Sneak feed your kids more nasty (their word) vegetables!

Photo Courtesy Of Christina & Brycen Smith, Parishville.

1. Puree cooked beets in the blender with the milk, eggs, and butter for the pancake batter. Pour into mixing bowl and finish making your pancake batter.
2. Use cooked squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. in the same manner. I do confess... broccoli in pancakes is not a winning combination with kids! Remember to add spices to these beautifully colored pancakes: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, star anise... perhaps a dash or two of vanilla!
3. I used to add spinach to pancakes and called them "Shrek" pancakes. They loved it and gobbled them up. At the time, they loved the Shrek movies. When they finally figured out my scam... I was not popular in the kitchen for a bit of time. It did work for a couple of years so I was grateful for the added veggies.
4. Chocolate milk for my kids was this: raw goat's milk, cocoa powder, 1/2 ripe banana, vanilla extract, and cooked squash. Use enough squash to add sweetness but not so much that the end product is thick like a milk shake... unless, of course, you want to pass it off as a milk shake. For years my kids had no clue a milk shake actually contained ice cream!
5. Add cooked beet to a berry smoothie, not so much that it overwhelms the berry taste. Beets are very earthy in taste.
6. For more information on beet's blessing to your kid's and your body's health, click here and scroll down to read beet information: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/blog/2013/01/26/the-beet-goes-on
7. Puree a bit of cooked squash into pasta sauce.
8. Chicken or other bone broth? Puree veggies into the broth. Use just enough veggies to add vegetables to the broth and your meal but not enough to turn the broth into stew. Bone broth video added below.

Fun shapes always amused my kids into eating veggie infused pancakes. 

Photo Courtesy Of Christina Smith, Parishville.

For more fun ideas of how to add veggies to your life, click here. 

Cheers and Happy Valentine's Day!

My Holistic Momma's Dilemma

You might remember my earlier blog post on healthy kid's b-day parties and WHY have healthy kid's b-day parties. So my latest dilemma... my soon to be 12 year old kid wanted an Oreo cookie birthday cake.  First of all I asked: "Why Eli? I have never purchased Oreo cookies for you!"

Bottom line is he wanted what he wanted.

Truth of the matter is there is not one ingredient in an Oreo cookie that was ever meant to be:

• in your digestive tract being digested and
• sent out into your blood stream being delivered to
• every cell in your body to do
• all the processes to nourish your cells so you have a
• healthy body!

Nature did not mean for our body cells to be poisoned by packaged food's synthetic ingredients.  Ouch, Paula, really?  My healing advice comes into question on occasion:  "She is so strange, too harsh, very severe, too tough..." But really, the truth is the truth, our bodies were not meant to be poisoned.

I am all about moderation; moderation in foods that were meant to be part of our cellular metabolism. There is no way, in my mind, to be moderate about that which was never meant to be a part of our cellular being.

For just 2 weeks, try feeding your body with 100% whole food, every snack and meal.  I guarantee you will feel like a whole new person: alive, vibrant, clear headed, sleep well, etc. Then, after 2 weeks of whole food eating, go back to your regular diet, 100%, for a day or two.  You will be aghast at how lousy processed food leaves your body feeling.

Whole food eating is not about what you are removing from your life, junk food, but what you are inviting into your life, vibrant health.  Let me know how it goes.

So, back to that Oreo cookie cake. I started off with the basics.  I do not measure ingredients, just throw in the bowl, so I am giving my eyeballed estimates. Thank my Mom, that is how she cooks. I learned through observation.

• real butter, from grass fed cows grazing in the Finger Lakes of NY - about 3/4 cup
• 3 pasture eggs from Maria of Deep Root Farm, wicked orange yolks. Lots of good nutrients.  Use the whole eggs.
• local milk from some sweet, grazing, local goats - 1 cup
• *oat flour I ground from gluten-free oats - about 1 1/2 cups
• Sucanat unrefined, real brown sugar (Available at the Potsdam Food Coop & Nature's Storehouse, Canton) - 1/2 cup
• organic vanilla - 1 Tbsp.
• baking soda - 1/2 tsp or less
• baking powder - 2 to 3 tsp.

*gluten free flours will make a shorter, denser cake.  If gluten is Ok in your diet, use whole spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour.  Whole food cakes, made with 100% whole grain flours, will be heavier, denser, and shorter cakes.  When you get used to this denser, more flavorful, manner of creating in the kitchen... the "fluffy" refined food versions will be tasteless and boring.

The below Newman cookies are made with wheat flour and therefor contain gluten.

I caved (What else is a Mom to do? He is so damned cute.) and bought Newman's Own Organics Newman-O's Creme Filled Chocolate Cookies.

Original Ingredients:

Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Corn Starch), Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Canola Oil (Expeller Pressed), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Unsweetened Chocolate, Salt, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier)

I took one row of the cookies, scraped the creme filling out, crushed the wafers, and added the crushed mess to the batter.

The "Oreo" cake after baking:

Tomorrow I shall slice it in half to make 2 layers and fill the center with frosting. Then I will slather the whole thing with the rest of the frosting.

Frosting:

• 2 eight oz. packages of Organic Valley Pasture Raised whipping cream
• 1 eight oz. package of Organic Valley Pasture Raised Neufchatel cheese
• 2 Tbsp. local, dark maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. organic vanilla
• the second row of Newman-O's, scraped and crushed, added to the finished frosting

The final, third row, of Newman-O's will be cut into 1/2 rounds and placed on top of the cake.

Happy Birthday Eli!  Much LOVE, Mom

Or, as my boys call me...

Teaching whole food eating, cooking, and baking classes:  I volunteer teach cooking classes through the Sustainable Living Project, Local Living Venture. Sign up for their emails to be notified of upcoming classes.  I also do small groups at my home, just ask.  pyoumell@gmail.com

Wild Leeks & Wild Child!

My youngest buddy, eating his morning, local eggs with wild leeks! His body is being infused with the nourishing goodness of wild foods.

• Wild foods have their genetics intact, non- GMO!  This is a huge boost in your personal cell nourishment arena.
• Wild foods are grown in soil that generally has not been disturbed by agricultural chemicals: pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, on & on & on... if chemicals are in the soil, they are in every cell of your food (despite the "just wash it off" campaign of Big Ag.) Support local farmers who opt to not use chemicals.
• The soil, in the wild, is naturally composting, year after year.  This continual composting cycle keeps the soil's nutrients high.  Foods grown in this soil, well, are naturally high in minerals.

There is so much more to be said for food being grown in its natural environment, living and growing the way it would without human intervention.  Growing food naturally, even when we cultivate it, raises the nourishment level by leaps and bounds.

Looking for local food, raised naturally?  Don't want to grow it yourself OR forage in the woods?  Get on this website and find a local farmer. who will love you up with good food and you can support their desire to produce good food. It's a win-win relationship!

Want to help others enjoy well raised, local food?  The healthier people we have in our communities, the healthier our communities will be. It takes a community to raise a community!

The gift of good food is the best gift you can give. (in my opinion!)

I have pasted GardenShare's request for CSA Bonus Bucks support below.

Eat well, share good food, love people.  Paula

CSA Bonus Bucks Needs Your Help!

Hello Friends,

GardenShare's CSA Bonus Bucks offers low-income families an opportunity to join the CSA of their choice with a $100 discount.

This year we've been overwhelmed with requests, and do not have the funding to cover five families who came in just as we had spent the final funds for the year. Some of these families have enjoyed this program for several years.

CSA Bonus Bucks works double duty by helping low income families enjoy great, healthy, local food, while at the same time, supporting our local farmers with additional business.

Any donation will help. Simply follow this link.

If you prefer, you can still send a check to 

GardenShare, PO Box 516, Canton, NY 13617