Chaga!

I've been looking at herbs I can wildcraft or grow easily in Alaska and I found a video on gathering or hunting CHAGA in Alaska! Chaga is a superfood mushroom that people like David Wolfe, Daniel Vitalis, etc all RAVE about and I now know where to find it, how to decoct it and how to make yummers out of it ^_^





To decoct chaga or make a chaga tea simply rinse it off, break it into nuggets or chunks, throw in a pot with some spring water or glacier water, bring to boil, let simmer 15-30 minutes, then pour off the yummy decoction or tea. Simple! This tea can be added to green smoothies, almond milk, or drunk straight.

Gianni's Stress Reducing Herb

Hey Readers,

So I just finished the free webinar that I promoted today in my previous post. You can still sign up for it, I think they're featuring another one tonight at 9pm and at other times the rest of this week.
Kevin and Annmarie have been talking about Holy Basil for a while now in their videos on The Renegade Health Show on Youtube and their blog so I thought it might be the herb featured.

The webinar was very informative abut adrenal health, how cortisol effects aging and health, and what adaptogens are.
The only fault I found in the webinar information might not be an issue but I did read on WebMD (I'm still looking for other information to deny or agree with this) that Holy Basil should not be used with medication that slow blood clotting (like aspirin) as it might increase this ability. However, WebMD did say " But there isn't enough information to know if this is a big concern."
Another issue that WebMD stated was that Holy Basil interacts with Pentobarbitol but again it said " But there isn't enough information to know if this is a big concern."
Lastly, it said that Holy Basil has not be tested for its effects on pregnant or nursing women. As Annmarie is pregnant, I plan on e-mailing the Gianni's about this, if she's using it, if her midwife has said anything about it, has she noticed anything, etc.

I'll keep you all informed on my research.

Also, if you are interested in buying Holy Basil extract, the webinar does have a %12 discount on 3 bags of the extract that also comes with a free recipe guide.
The add for it did make me a lil uncomfortable as it felt like the whole webinar might be to sell the extract BUT Kevin does believe in this product and I rationalized the advert in that he simply wants to get Holy Basil into the hands of the people and it's not free to him so its not free to us either...

More of my research:

I am looking to see if I can grow Holy Basil in Alaska as it does seem like an herb that would do well to be put into my diet. It can be grown out of doors in tropic to mild areas so if I do grow it, it will have to be indoors at a windowsill or under a grow-lamp.

New Webinar ^_^

Check out this Free Webinar on an Herb that not only REDUCES STRESS but INCREASES LONGEVITY! The Webinar is presented by Kevin Gianni of Renegade Health and author of one of my favorite books, High Raw - so I know its gonna be good.

PLUS! When you sign up for the webinar you have the chance to receive the FREE e-book, Smoothies for Optimal Health. I just downloaded my copy and so far I'm very impressed. This is not just a recipe book but a manual for how to incorporate smoothies into your life and INVIGORATE your health! (This could be my next Gianni book review for Suite...hmm)

I want to also congratulate Kevin and Annmarie on their pregnancy and upcoming addition to their family! If you haven't heard, they announced their pregnancy in this video...

Best Exercise Ever

Truth Calkins discusses the best exercise and best herb especially for women at the Women's Wellness Conference.

You can buy Schisandra products at Mountain Rose Herbs and rebounders at The Raw Food World.

Big News!

Ok, so in case you don't already know...I have a really, Really big announcement!

(no I'm not preggers, lol)

We're moving to ALASKA! (from TN)
I know, big move, right?

Rather than make this big long post about why we're moving (for happiness, of course) and how this came about and all that jazz, which I'm sure you've either heard already or don't care all that much about...I'm gonna share some raw food, natural, health travel vids!!!







More information, videos and articles on healthy travel to come!

Hungry For Change

Watch this amazing documentary about how our modern world is suffering of nutritional starvation!
Hungry for Change is FREE for the next 9 days! Please, give it a try! It could change how you see food

Libido Tonic and Weightloss Formula?

I know, I know, its not Valentines Day anymore but this tonic sounds amazing and I love David Wolf ^_^
Honestly, this video made me giggle lots. I love the take 2000 and e-mail me next month and the sastanch in your pants.
Tho I may not grab all of this stuff I do plan on getting some maca and maybe those capsules.

Let me know if you try this! Email me at aethelvyne at yahoo dot come! I wanna know what you think and I may post your email here on my blog.

Thanks and Love
Happy Chick

Food Documentaries

Here are 2 Food Documentaries that are available for Instant Viewing on Netflix that are inspiring and eye-opening (and gut wrenching).

The Future of Food gives a clear picture of the effects of Genetically Modified food on farmers, economy, government, and food culture.
I feel like we're setting ourselves up for disaster...for famine and pestilence. If these GM crops are all we have and there's a bug or weed or effect of some sort that wipes that type of plant out...we're lost.

When I first heard about the effect of GM crops on other countries I was in my Anthropology class. My professor told us about a group of farmers in India that had committed mass suicide by drinking the pesticide and herbicide Monsanto had sold them to use on the Monsanto crops...the same crops that had made the farmers impoverished (a situation that they could not stand with honor and that led to their suicide).
They became impoverished because of the Terminator technology (the suicide genes in the plant) that cause the plant to be sterile so every year the farmers must buy new seed from the company.

Food, Inc. is a look at the food industry and the effects on the people.
"This isn't about what we're eating. Its about what we're allowed to say; what we're allowed to know."
This movie differs from Future of Food in that it spoke about animals/meat a little more and directed its attention away from Monsanto as much and more on the companies that benefit from Monsanto.
There's a scene in the movie where a man interviewed open up a live cow with a 4-5 inch hole to access the first stomach! The cow squirms and bucks a lil but doesn't feel the cut as its been numbed but still...It squicked me out so I thought I would put a warning. 
There's also a slaughterhouse scene...so if you have a weak stomach...you may not want to watch.
I will say that this movie was emotionally jarring...it made me want to cry several times.

A Practical Look at the Raw Food Lifestyle

The Raw Food World TV Show is premiering a series of shows from a lecture to natural medicine students about how the Raw Food Lifestyle works and how it heals.
I recommend at least watching the first video because I love how he explains that eating meat and even dairy is a lot less dangerous to your health than Processed Starches and Processed Sugars! Very important point!

Folk Herb Webinar

Sort of short notice but tonight Kiva Rose and LearnignHerbs.com is doing a herbal webinar tonight at 8:30 Eastern time. Check it out!

http://herbwebinar.com

Best of Raw 2010!

Best of Raw is a site where YOU can vote the best raw products, people, places, etc.
In response to the voting...Renegade Health and The Raw Food World tv shows have done their own best of shows and I thought I'd share a bit of both with you to give you ideas of some products to try and people to research...

Best Renegade Health Products Show



Best Renegade Health People Show



Best of Raw Food World Tv Show

Healthy Holiday Egg Nog!

I love egg nog and was excited to find soy nog in the store which is super low fat and much healthier for those of you, like me, who can guzzle the stuff...
Here is a raw nog, I haven't tried but I wonder if the dates and avos would make the flavor funky...



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Pine Pollen

Interesting sounding new poduct: Pine Pollen.
Considered a superfood, pine product is available through many health food stores such as The Raw Food World.

New Video Series

Catching up on my health newsletters and read one from Kevin Gianni about The Simply Raw video series hosted by Morgen Spurlock (the guy who ate nothing by McDonalds for 30 days and made a documentary about it), David Wolfe (who we all know by now, surely), Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and Mike Adams (health journalist).
In this series they will be discussing many health issues including a 30 day CURE for diabetes.

I have not watched the series yet, but plan to and would like to invite you to as well.
http://www.rawfor30days.com/sr3/morgan_spurlock2dc.php
Once you sign up it will take you to watch the first video with Morgen Spurlock.
Enjoy and comment please ^_^

Just some amazing vids

This was just an amazing video set about volunteering, jobs, love, and obesity from The Raw Food World

Monthly Herbal: Hemp Reading

I grabbed Living Organic at the library and wasn't too surprised to see a few sections mentioning hemp.


In the Natural Beauty chapter: Hemp oil - a centuries old beauty secret is revived in soaps, shampoos and conditioners, lotions, and lip balms. Its essential fatty acids are incorporated for its moisturizing properties. It helps heal minor skin problems, including acne, and adds body and shine to hair.

In the Organic Clothing chapter: Organic clothes haven't caught on too well in the fashion world due to their subdued colors. Hemp, however, could be the product that turns the natural fashion world around, according to textile designer Louisa Wood. Wood is aiming to transform hemp's frumpy image, saying that hemp dyes well "since its so absorbent, so you don't need so many chemicals as cotton to dye it."
Wood won a scholarship to travel China, a major hemp producer, to learn how hemp fabric is made. She plans to experiment with vegetable dyes.

speaking of hemp clothing...

Super Foods Are For Real!

Shazzie is simply adorable and I love watching her videos. Here is #2 in a 4 part series that talk about superfoods and what they do, including Hemp Seeds!
Both of the recipes in the series following this video include hemp, both the seeds and the dried leaf. 

What a Crazy Saturday!!!

So, if you're my friend on Facebook, you would have seen my status saying I was going to Good Foods for their Sampler Saturday. I also wanted to stop in at the Farmers Market on Richmond Rd.
I woke up early, earlier than I had initially planned but feeling rested and ready to go. 
After some breakfast (a cup of tea, a spoonful of honey, and half a bagel if you wanted to know what I eat) and getting ready my husband and I headed out to meet our day.

The Richmond Road Farmers Market what a lot smaller than I expected it to be but had a good pick of tomatoes, pumpkins (I bought a small one for $1.50 and it is adorable), eggplant, and fall flowers. One booth was handing out samples and cups of chili, which smelled wonderful and full of herbs sold right next door.
Having walked the majority of the market in about 5 minutes, my hubby and I were heading out with our pumpkin, and we ran into Mr. Keith Green. Mr. Green was selling Honey Dew Honey in a variety of jar sizes for a relatively good price (I think the biggest jar was $13).
We talked to Mr. Green for a little bit, about what he feeds his bees, what he does with the wax, the Lexington Bee Keepers Association, and about the honey, which is 3 different colors depending on time of year harvested (ranging from a clear gold to a dark, beautiful red-gold-brown). We also discussed the healing properties of honey and he was enthusiastic about how honey, applied on a wound, works just as well as Neosporin.
He was also kind enough to give us a small jar of honey to try, knowing my husband used to raise bees and considers himself a little but of a honey expert. We shared this jar with my family and think its quite yummy and I was amazed at how easy it pours, its so liquid-like rather than the super thick, sugary stuff at the supermarket.

We went to the Good Foods Sampler Saturday but I think we showed up too early. There were 3 small tables with samples of Fair Trade chocolate and coffee, dips, and a butternut squash soup. I tried the soup and the chocolate, both were very yummy. I do wish there would have been more booths though.

Stopping at the local Taco Bell (I know, I know, soooo not healthy) our day was thrown for a big loop. Our Scion xB (yep, we got with THAT haha) picked up a huge bolt in the tire! Chad was furious! We pulled into a parking lot nearby and checked out the damage. After I let Chad vent his frustration, I reminded him that we had recieved a coupon for 1 Free tire repair at Good Year.
Long story short, the tire is fixed and all is well. This was Grace at work for sure!

We tried to relax for the rest of the day, enjoying our time off work.
I've been watching videos like this one by Shazzie, a widely known raw foodist and author who has also written a book with David Wolfe. Check it out:

Raw Mom Cooked Dad

I just signed up for this program called Raw Mom Cooked Dad created by two lovely women, Fiona and Tera.
While I'm not raw, I do have some issues with my husband on out views of healthy food, or rather I want healthier food and he prefers his Velveeta Shells and Cheese and a gallon of milk a week.

We don't really fight over this, I don't want to give the impression of use arguing over the pots and pans in our itty bitty kitchen. We do try and compromise with organic broccoli in the noodles and cheese and no sodas in the house.
As a couple that does compromise with food, I thought this was a great program for those out there that have the health issue in their house.
Also this video form The Raw Food World about Raw Wife, Cooked Hubby.

Homeopathy to help with Allopathic Treatments

I was inspired to write my article, Homeopathic Remedies for Medical Shock on Suite 101, by the video below from The Raw Food World. I was curious about what homeopathic remedies could help when you have to go to the doctor, especially for those people who would rather avoid allopathic/conventional medicine all together. I hope you enjoy the video and the article and please comment, on my Suite 101 article and on my blog. I love hearing about your experiences with natural medicine including homeopathy.

I am not a homeopath, please speak to your homeopath or medical professional before you take this as medical gospel, as always. Everything on my blog and in my articles come from research and/or personal experiences and beliefs.