I *heart* Mushrooms

I had a funny thing happen to me yesterday.  I handed samples of my new favorites, reishi coffee and tea, to friends of ours, not to be sales-y, but just because I honestly wanted to share, which I love to do with anything that I am passionate about.  Now, for anyone who knows me, I have been a lover of mushrooms for some time now, and have been deepening my knowledge more recently. Well, apparently, lack of sleep and moving myself and 4 children out of a timeshare that we exploded into for a week, had me a bit  discombobulated, so when she asked me what it was good for I drew a complete blank.  As I walked away, the myriad of reasons that I love mushrooms and consume them daily came flooding back. If you would let me,  I would love to share them with you.

Just off of the top of my head...

Why I Love Mushrooms

1. Mushrooms are awesome for your immune system.  Whether your immune system is low or you have an autoimmune disease, mushrooms will support you.

2. Mushrooms are classified as adaptogens, recharging your adrenals, helping your body handle stress, remain in a calmer state, and use your energy for more productive purposes.

3. Mushrooms protect against radiation from cell phones, computers, the summertime sun, and other environmental forms of radiation.

4. Mushrooms inhibit blood vessel growth into fat and cancer cells, preventing our bodies from feeding them and enabling their growth.

5. Mushrooms work to clean toxins. In fact, I've heard that you could literally grow mushrooms on toxic waste and not only will they clean the toxins, but they are safe to eat afterwards!

6. Medicinal mushrooms are an excellent source of antioxidants.

7. Medicinal Mushrooms are anti-inflammatory.

8. Mushrooms are a great source of micronutrients.

9. Mushrooms grow in a network.  When you are taking mushrooms, you undoubtably feel more linked in to the universe. (Laugh if you will, but try it out and see for yourself!)

10. Medicinal Mushrooms are incredible for the whole family.

Please contact me if you would like to chat more about the power of mushrooms, and join in on our "Fungi For Forty" Experiment!  There is no time like the present to take control of your health!

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Immuno Latte

I love my morning coffee.  Really Love coffee. 

MAYBE the only thing I like better is a latte.  

Unfortunately, it's not good for me and my constitution.  There are lots of good substitutes, but really when it gets down to it you need something full bodied, warm and deeply satisfying.

In comes my reishi, chaga latte.  

Tree mushroom are an amazing medicine.  I'm going to keep my explanation short, as you could literally write a book on them (and there are plenty of books regarding the subject) I suggest looking in it further if this entices you.  What I will tell you are the basics.  They are immunomodulators.  What does this mean exactly?  They strengthen your immune system.  Over time it will build, however I feel the effects in the beginning myself.  Please don't get this confused with immune stimulators.  Herbs in the echinacea family, for example, are immune stimulants.  These are great if you feel a sickness coming on, however overstimulating your immune system is not healthy if it is not fighting against an oncoming cold or flu.  You will overtax and burn it out.  Also, good to note, these immunostimulators should not be taken if you have an autoimmune disorder. In this case your system is already overstimulated and attacking itself.  This is where immunomodulators come into play.  If your immune system is low it will bring it up, if it is high it will bring it down.  Reishi, "The Mushroom of Immortality" and Chaga, "King of Medicinal Mushrooms", are two of my very favorite mushrooms.  When I am consistently consuming them I feel stronger, healthier and tend to ward off sickness easier.  

Tree mushrooms are very woody and cannot be eaten as a ground mushroom.  They are best used in tea, soups and powders. When making a tea from a medicinal mushroom you need to decoct it. Which is cooking at a slow simmer for about 2 hours (other herbs that require decoction can generally be simmered for 45 minutes).  Strain the herb, and if you'd like, take the strained herb and tincture it to further pull out medicinal qualities, such as immunomodulating polysaccharides. For this recipe, all that you need is the tea.  I make a large pot of tea and use it for the family over the course of the next few days.  Mushrooms go a long way for the price and as far as bang for your buck, here it is.

In this recipe I've added Maca for its hormone balancing qualities, cacao for antioxidant and as a delivery system for the medicine (Cacao helps to deliver nutrients into your blood.  Take it with medicine verses low quality milk and refined sugar to optimize the medicinal benefits). Coconut oil and butter for the multitude of coconut oil as well as slowing the release of the latte into my system and making it into more of a meal (Don't be afraid of fats as we need these for proper brain function and believe it or not, in order to lose weight!) A sprinkling of cinnamon helps balance your blood sugar.

Try it out and let me know how you like it!  

Visit my Imagine Health Facebook Page  with any questions or comments!

 

And without further ado...

 

Reishi Chaga Latte

2C warm Chaga Reishi Mushroom Tea (Decoct (simmer) mushrooms 1- 2+ hrs and strain)

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp coconut butter

10 drops vanilla sweetleaf stevia

3 tbsp cacao nibs

1 good tbsp of your favorite honey

1 tsp-1tbsp maca

Twist of your best salt

Blend Well

Top with a dash of cinnamon and enjoy!

Matcha Milkshakes

One of my favorite memories of my time in Patagonia, AZ, was when I would sit in the shade with my Cafe Sisters on a hot Arizona day, and sip on a tall glass of Matcha Milkshake.  It was always wonderful, and by midway through our drink we would all have smiles spreading  from ear to ear.  If you can get your hands on some of the scrumptious DoMatcha brand Matcha, I can't recommend it enough. 

For those of you new to the concept of Matcha, Matcha is a powdered green tea originating in China by Zen Buddhists, and brought to Japan in the year 1191 where it continued to be important within the Zen monasteries.  Matcha is prepared in a different manner than traditional green tea.  Weeks before the plant is harvested, the plant is placed under shade, removing it from direct sunlight and forcing the it to take up more nutrients and minerals from the soil, resulting in the formation of amino acids.  The finest buds are hand-picked, laid flat to dry and then ground into a fine powder.  When consuming Matcha, the powder is added directly to the drink, where all of the nutrients are taken into the body, verses steeping the leaves and discarding the leaf.  The resulting product leading to a blissful, peaceful, awakened state.  


Traditionally, Matcha is consumed in a ceremony, however, living in the west, and not being exposed to the sacredness of this tea, I learned to drink Matcha as a blissful, summertime drink.  All of my ladies have their own rendition of the drink, I will provide you with my favorite recipe, but please, the fun is in experimenting and finding the combination that most tickles YOUR taste buds.


And if my Cafe Sisters are reading this, I love you and can't wait for our next Matcha break!!!

Matcha Milkshake

Tools:

Blender

Ingredients:

2C Nutmilk

6 dates, pitted

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

3/4 tsp matcha powder (or substitute in cacao, lucuma, mesquite or other superfood powder of choice)

twist of himalayan pink salt

1 tray ice cubes

Blend nutmilk, dates, vanilla, matcha and salt until smooth.

Add ice and continue blending.

Pour into two pint glasses and share with someone you love.

 

The Great Superfood Debate: Part One

My next three entries are in rebuttal to Frank Ferendo's Superfood Debate: Parts One and Two
www.reasonablyraw.blogspot.com

After reading these two blogs, it was necessary to defend products that I believe in.

At the young age of fourteen, my father decided it would be a good idea to expose me to John Robbin’s Video of “Diet for a New America”. For any of you who have ever read the book, or worse, seen the movie, you can imagine the horror I felt. I’ll never forget the nausea as I tore into a piece of steak later that weekend. That was that, for the last eighteen years the thought of eating an animal has completely revolted me.

For many years I ate a pastatarian diet, which also consisted of bagels, pizza and coffee. As I progressed through my college years I began to learn about “health food”. I ate tofu, whole wheat, stir-fry, soy substitutes, and veggie burgers. My now husband and I experimented quite a bit with a vegan diet, but really, we were far from healthy.

When my oldest daughter was born we knew that we couldn’t raise her on these foods. Through Ruth Yaron’s “Super Baby Food” and Cynthia Lair’s “Feeding the Whole Family” we began to learn the value of a whole foods diet. We switched to brown rice, steamed vegetables, beans, lentils and homemade bread. We felt much healthier than we had for the years we survived on a processed vegetarian diet. We were learning the flavors of real food and the art of food preparation.

Four years ago I started learning the amazing benefits of a raw food diet. I became serious about it when I learned I had a health issue that required medical attention. One month later that issue was almost completely resolved and I was feeling better than I ever had in my entire life. I feasted on many varieties of greens, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. What an amazing summer! I was so full of energy and was at the top of my game.

Then came the fall. Living in New England, winter is when the weather gets colder and signals the time for heavier foods. Our bodies need warmth, grounding and the raw food was making my body cold, and a bit spacey. I transitioned to a cooked foods diet. I inevitably began again with wheat, cooked oils and dairy. These were substances that my body had already proven to me to be sub-optimal. I pushed through the winter, and in the spring we started the transition to a new level of health.

Each year the cycle was the same. Spring brought a new level of health, leading into an amazing living food summer. This was followed by a fall and winter that would leave much to be desired.

A raw foods diet is a detoxifying diet. It is an amazing tool that can do WONDERS for our health. The lightness, freedom and strength that accompanies living food is beyond anything that can be described. The speed in which this live food can heal dis-ease is astonishing.

Our bodies need to follow the seasons in their own right. They need a cycle of detoxifying, building and maintaining. Spring has an abundance of wild and cultivated greens and liver cleansing herbs. Summer brings its bounty of fruit, carrying vibrancy to every cell in our being. Fall is a time of rebuilding, grounding the lightness of summer for the hibernation of winter. In New England, we see this with our winter squash, roots, and autumn olives. They are crops that root us in the earth and supply us with our stores for the winter. Winter is a time for maintaining our connection to the earth and of feasting on stored grains and legumes.

The challenge that I face is that consuming starchy vegetables, legumes and grains on a daily basis keeps my body, mind and spirit feeling sluggish and puts my body in hibernation mode. Winter for me needs to be home-centered, nesting with my family. However, like many folks in this current paradigm, I cannot spend my winters following the rhythms of the sun. I am awake well after the last glimpse of sunlight and in the morning I wake while the stars are still bright in the sky. I am a mother of three wonderful and energetic children and need to be a bit on my toes during those winter months.

This winter I made new discoveries. I explored new passions. These connections made for winter months in which I felt a strength I had yet to experience. I stayed grounded and focused and accomplished more than I ever imagined.

And this leads into…

THE GREAT SUPERFOOD DEBATE!

to be continued...

Autumnberries

It's full swing autumn, here in New England. Possibly my favorite time, the crisp air, the changing leaves, preparing for hibernation, and autumn olives.

If you've never tasted the tart-sweetness of an autumn olive, it is time you did. Autumn olives, also known as autumn berries, are extremely abundant this time of the year. Not only delicious, these berries are purveyors of vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids, essential fatty acids and are loaded with lycopene. They are a truely local superfood. And my husband views it as such, squirreling it away for us (but making sure to leave enough for the birds and some for the plant). My husband and I have grand plans on preserving the harvest: freezing, concentrating, drying, blending, tincturing. What a wonderful medicine to aid us on our winter adventures.

The shrub is easy to identify. My daughter points out the silvery shimmer of their under-leaf as we make our way through town. "Mom, autumn olives!" She'll yell as we are driving down the road, taking note as to where we'll be able to harvest this year's goodies. My four year old picks the gold-speckeled, red berry out of a line up including autumun olive, poke berry and the deadly night shade berry, positive that he has picked the only edible fruit of the three. My children can identify a growing number of edible and medicinal plants at this point, but by far their favorite is their precious (and, unfortunately for the environmentalist in me, wildly invasive) autumn olive. Lucky for us we have more than we can handle, only a few steps away, giving us and our bird friends a convenient way to dine together for a few cherished weeks of the year.

For more information on the autumn olive, check out this link:

http://www.psa-rising.com/eatingwell/wild-foods/autumnolive.htm