Oatmeal Cookies

A healthier version of an old family favorite. When the weather gets cold, hot tea and warm cookies, made with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon, make a great occasional treat. Freezing the dough makes fresh from the oven cookies quick and easy when friends stop by for a cup of tea.

      This is a half recipe. It can be doubled if desired.

1/2 cup grape seed oil

2/3 cup palm sugar

1 organic egg

1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

3/4 cup whole spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cardamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven 350 Degrees. 

Mix spelt flour, baking soda, spices and salt.  In large mixing bowl beat oil, palm sugar, egg and vanilla ; slowly beat in flour mixture.  Mix in oats. Add raisins and walnuts.  Drop spoonfuls on cookie sheet, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 10 minutes.  Enjoy! 

                                              Nancy Burton, L.Ac.

                                                  534 Washington St. Ashland, OR   97520

                                                              For Appointments Call:   541-646-0134

Bone Broth Soup

Bone Broth Soup

      Bones used to be used regularly in making soups, stews, sauces and gravy. As with many other healthy components of diet, bones have gone by the wayside as an unnecessary inconvenience. But bones are where the marrow creates blood, both red and white blood cells. Bone broths are wonderful for the immune system. Large predators crack open the bones of their kill and suck out the marrow. They know instinctively that the marrow helps keep them strong and healthy. Incorporated into meat or poultry soups it can help keep us healthy as well.

beef or lamb marrow bones  (can also use ox tails)

2 boxes organic beef broth   ( the kind with no can juice ) 

1 large yellow onion   minced 

1 Shallot   minced

6 cloves garlic   minced

3 stalks celery  chopped

2 large carrots  chopped

curry

garlic powder

sea salt

Herbs De Provence

grape seed oil

  

Place broth, bones, carrots and celery in pan. Bring to boil then turn down to low and simmer.  

Sauté   onions, garlic, shallots, in grape seed oil, until soft. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, curry and garlic powder. Add to broth. 

Cook several hours. Add Braggs Amino Acid, miso, and/or a dash of brown rice vinegar and Mirin (rice wine), or red wine if desired.

Enjoy!
                                                        Health & Happiness,
                                                               Nancy Burton, L.Ac.
                                                                      534 Washington St.  Ashland, OR 97520
                                                                                      For Appointments Call:  541-646-0134
                                                                      

   

                                     

What Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats

What Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats

      People ask all the time, "What does Acupuncture (TCM) treat?"  It treats just about everything, except acute situations. In emergency situations, go to an emergency room. Western medicine excels at treating life threatening conditions, with drugs and surgery. Western medical tests are incredible for asserting if there is a 80-90% failure in an organ or system, in which case surgical, or drug intervention is appropriate. It is the stages before, and after, the acute where TCM shines.     

     When patients come in with chest pain I refer them to their doctor. After we find out what is going on, we can proceed. One gentleman came back with a clean bill of heath, after all the tests his cardiologist odered, but the chest pains persisted. We cleared the phlegm from his chest and the pains went away. Another woman was told she was not a candidate for heart surgery, due to her age, but Acupuncture, Chinese herbal, and nutritional supplements, decreased her discomfort and increased her energy and quality of life. 

     With cancer patients TCM works so well together with western medicine, that most oncology departments in hospitals now employ Acupuncturists. By keeping the digestive and immune systems strong, patients typically come through surgeries, chemo, or radiation much better and with fewer side effects, often increasing life span and quality of life. While waiting for surgery there is Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas that can help reduce masses and tumors.

     After surgeries TCM can dramatically reduce pain and recovery time. A patient that went in on a Friday to have posts implanted, to replace teeth, returned to her surgeon for a check up on Monday. During the surgery, it was discovered that she had so much bone loss that a major reconstruction of her jaw was necessary. On Monday, when the surgeon saw her, he exclaimed "Why aren't you bruised? Why aren't you swollen?"  There are Chinese herbal formulas for acute injury that address inflammation, bruising, bone and soft tissue regeneration, even disc inflammation and injury, for cases with back injuries. All of them effectively address pain by treating the root cause of the problem.     

      What does Acupuncture / TCM treat?  The question with the briefer answer would be to ask what it doesn't.     

  

                                                               Health & Happiness,

                                                                       Nancy Burton, L.Ac.

                                                                               534 Washington St.  Ashland, OR  97520

                                                                                                  For Appointments Call:   541-646-0134

Vegetable Pate

Vegetable Pate

      Many people wonder how to incorporate as many vegetables in the diet as I advocate, aside from the trusty stir fries and steamed vegetable medleys. Vegetable pates are a good way to do it. Great as appetizers, or snacks, the fresh vegetables give quick energy, vitamins and nutrients to hungry people and the nuts or seeds, and olive oil, in the recipes slow down the metabolism of the glucose, (that everything we eat is converted into except protein), and the good oils supply the building blocks for hormones, that are the messengers  for everything in the body. Coconut oil would be a nice addition, since it quick brain food and  easily assimilated by the body.    

      To make a vegetable pate, chose a wide range of vegetables, and an assortment of nuts and seeds. You can keep it simple, or throw anything and everything in. The main way to master vegetable pates is to experiment and have fun!  

       My latest concoction included, cauliflower, carrot, broccoli stalk, pea pods, a little green onion, roasted red pepper, one garlic clove, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, sea salt, Tamari, ( or you can use Braggs Amino Acids), Lemon juice from one lemon and about 1/4 cup olive oil. Two small packages of a roasted seaweed snack, cut into small very squares (available in Health Food Stores), and a very small amount of minced fresh ginger. Flax seeds or sesame seeds would be lovely additions as well. Put it all a food processor and blend until smooth. You might need to add more olive oil.    
       Serve on brown rice crackers, celery, or for added color and flair, cut mini red, yellow and orange peppers in half and stuff with pate. You can also spread the pate 1/4 inch thin and dehydrate it to make a delicious cracker. 

        There is no wrong way to make it. Taste it as you go and see what you like. The main way to master vegetable pates is to experiment and have fun.  Enjoy!

                                                        Health & Happiness,

                                                                  Nancy Burton, L.Ac.

                                                                           534 Washington St.  Ashland, OR   97520

                                                                                             For Appointments Call:  541-646-0134

   

Oils

What oils to eat or not to eat and what to use for cooking as opposed to use for uncooked recipes can be confusing. Oils where villainized for many years. But the high carb low fat diet just made people fatter and impaired health. 

      

Good fats are necessary in our diets. They slow down the glycemic assimilation of foods. Butter, or olive oil on a piece of bread, in spite of the increased calories, causes less of a weight gain than a piece of bread with nothing on it. This is assuming a person can assimilate fats.    

      

Good fats are the building blocks of hormones. Hormones are the messengers for everything in our bodies. If our hormones aren't working it causes a wide range of health problems. 

These are my favorite oils and why.

Grape Seed Oil:  good for cooking, and baking, doesn't create free radicals when exposed to high heat.

Olive Oil: Don't use for high heat cooking. Use to drizzle over foods, for flavor, in salad dressings, for dipping bread on feast days. 

Coconut Oil: 

Is absorbed differently, and more easily by the body than other oils. Can be used for cooking at high temperatures, for stir fries, etc. Available in refined or unrefined. In this case refined does not destroy it's healthy properties, it just does away with the coconut flavor, for those that don't like coconut, or don't want coconut flavor in a particular recipe.    

                                                                                                Enjoy!  

                                                  

                                            Health & Happiness,

                                                           Nancy Burton, L.Ac.

                                                                534 Washington St.  Ashland, OR  97520

                                                                 For appointments Call:  541-646-0134

Food Poisoning

Food Poisoning

      Indications of food poisoning, as opposed to stomach flu, can be violent vomiting, or diarrhea, with sudden onset. There are Chinese Herbal formulas, that are great for food poisoning. So, after eating, if things aren't sitting quite right, and there is any question of food poisoning, it is a good formula to take. Unfortunately, by the time many people realize there is a problem they are too sick to take anything. Thank goodness there are other solutions.

      Coconut Water, unsweetened and pure, is a treatment for food poisoning in many warm countries that grow coconuts. It is also a natural way to replace electrolytes, a major concern with vomiting, diarrhea or when people are too sick to drink water. It very quickly alleviates the headache, body aches, and nausea of dehydration. 

      Recharge is another product that helps replace electrolytes. It doesn't contain the chemicals, and difficult to digest sugars, that most sports drinks contain. 
     After a case of food poisoning it is advisable to take a Chinese herbal formula to kill the bacteria that causes food poisoning, and can lead to stomach ulcers.
      When traveling in third world countries, my husband and I bring our food poisoning herbs, along with those for parasites, and take them before meals, so we can eat where the locals do, with out getting ill.  
      Keeping a few Chinese herbal formulas on hand and knowing how to use them is a great way to enjoy your food and not pay for it later.

                                                              Health & Happiness,
                                                                       Nancy Burton, L.Ac.
                                                                                534 Washington St.  Ashland, OR  97520
                                                                                                   For Appointments Call:     541-646-0134

Deodorant