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 We grow lots of basil in the garden right through to mid-September. Nothing like fresh, still warm from the sun green basil all wrapped up in sandwich roll-ups or wrapped around crispy cucumbers. I lay some out in the sun to dry for the spice jar too.
Mostly though we make pesto and whatever we don’t eat in a couple of days I’ll stick in the freezer. In the winter, the vibrant color of pesto is most welcome!
My youngest is dairy-free and as a family we practice The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) which avoids pine-nuts and parmesan, so here’s the recipe we use… …read more.
Cultured cream is just a fancy name for sour cream, also known as crème fraiche. Making it’s easy. All you need is a jar, cream, and starter* to break down the milk protein (casein) and convert the milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. …read more.
 One way to decrease your chance of being diagnosed with GBS infection during pregnancy is to build up your birth canal with good bacteria that will naturally discourage GBS overgrowth. The best way to do this is to eat the right food before and during pregnancy.
Group B strep bacteria live in every expectant mom’s birth canal. They are normally harmless but cause a problem when they grow in bigger #’s bigger than the good flora (probiotics) that also live in there. If this happens then the homeostasis in the gut (inner ecosystem) gets knocked off balance and can lead to a GBS+ infection.
Click for 10 ways to avoid GBS+ naturally.
The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) is the best protocol I know of to keep this common condition off your list of things to worry about. If I could have my babies over again, I’d have started this type of dietary protocol in my pregnancies. This way of eating does not ‘feed GBS’, only you and your baby. The food is rich in probiotics, healthy fats, protein, and essential minerals to nourish you and your growing baby.
I am a Holistic Nutrition Consultant, NC. and offer B.E.D. Support Sessions by phone or Skype to moms ready to make dietary changes that can prevent or reverse a GBS+ diagnosis.
Key foods to decrease GBS+
- Animal Protein from grass-fed, hormone/antibiotic-free animals to build cell membranes and body tissue (i.e. organs, wild meat)
- Plant Protein is an important secondary source of protein (i.e. lima beans, almonds, pumpkin/sunflower/chia/hemp seed)
- Cultured Dairy that is raw from pastured, organic-fed animals (i.e. kefir, yogurt, crème fraiche, butter)
- Eggs that are organic, free-range, omega-3 rich, and high in EFA’s/DHA/B12, and antioxidants – especially yolks
- Fish that is wild/ocean-caught is a healthy protein source that is high in omega-3 fatty acids EPA/DHA (salmon, sardines, mackerel)
- Healthy Fat that is unrefined/monounsaturated is body’s preferred source of energy (i.e. avocado, olives, flax seed, lard, coconut oil)
- Ocean Vegetables are rich in alkaline minerals to strengthen and support body (arame, dulse, hijiki, kelp, kombu, nori, wakame)
- Non & Mild-Starchy Vegetables are alkaline-forming and rich in vitamins/minerals (i.e. kale, collards, carrots, burdock)
- Starchy Vegetables are a great energy source, providing bulk, vitamins, minerals, and fiber (i.e. winter squash, peas, artichokes)
- Seed Grains are rich in amino acids, carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, vitamins, fat, and low in starch. Steady n’ slow burning grains provide food for friendly flora and NOT for the GBS bacteria (i.e. millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth)
- Cultured Food made with starter and no salt are alkaline-forming, living foods that send tons of enzymes, minerals, and friendly flora “probiotics” to your gut. These foods play a vital role to keep you balanced and strong immunity (cultured veggies, coconut kefir)
Disclaimer: This content is for general information only; primarily educational in nature; and should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice of your health care professional that you, the reader, may require for any cause whatsoever, now or in the future.
May all bellies be happy!
Most pregnant women aren’t prepared for a group B strep diagnosis. I know I wasn’t when I found this out at 38 weeks. With no time to reverse my condition, I opted for i.v. antibiotics during labor.
If I’d known then what …read more.
 Nori is grand, nori is sweet.
Nori wraps rice into sushi like no one can beat.
This lean green machine is seaweed no doubt.
Contains every mineral in the book ~ get out!!
Calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, 30 times the potassium of bananas LOOK, LOOK
…read more.
Kefir means “feel good” and that’s how I feel after drinking young coconut kefir (yck). This probiotic-rich food is made with raw Thai young green coconuts and high-quality kefir starter*. You simply mix them together, let it culture, and just like that you have a delicious food …read more.
 Every spring, the liver organ moves into a major detoxification phase. During this brief season, you have the power of nature behind you, which makes spring is a PERFECT time to cleanse your body!
Any time is a good time to take the burden off your liver. You don’t have to wait for spring. It’s just that during spring your body will naturally go into …read more.
When you’re on The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) or another type of gut healing protocol, traveling can be a real challenge. It’s not easy to be away from your kitchen, your comfort zone.
When you travel on B.E.D. the world can feel big and the food choices are slim. Food seems to be everywhere, except in your mouth! Then there’s the smells! Coffee brewing, fries frying, pizza baking. It’s hard to say no when you’re on the go. …read more.
Boluses, a.k.a. ovules/vaginal suppositories, are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. They provide relief to a lot of women who have vaginal yeast infections.
I used to get yeast infections a lot. Years later, after I was diagnosed with systemic yeast overgrowth and I finally understood why. I helped myself recover with The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) which is a yeast cleansing diet and by doing the boluses. …read more.
 As a mom, who also wears the hat of a Holistic Nutritionist, I put my foot down on man-made colors. There’s nothing about them that I feel good about don’t feed them to my kids, even on celebratory days. So what’s a mom like me to do about Easter eggs??
I love the tradition of egg dyeing and grew up using the PAAS Kits. That smell of vinegar and the fizzy colors were magical and I loved finding the eggs – so bright and bold – in the green grass where they hid Easter morning. I want my kids to have these memories too. …read more.
This grocery list is for Stage 2 of Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) for people who are on the tail end of bringing a yeast or bacteria overgrowth back into balance. If you haven’t been on B.E.D. for at least 3-6 months, stay with the Stage 1 Grocery List. …read more.
This writing came through on Valentine’s Day. What you see here has not been edited or changed, not even a comma – you read it as I received it. Check out what Intuitive Writing with Spirit is about.
What if you love yourself so much so that you stop for a moment as you put on your sock to let your finger pause just so there on your skin as if it was porcelain. As if your finger had nothing else to do but touch and move with great care, with great love for the simple beauty of skin.
What if you brush your teeth and stop mid-brush to …read more.
 I wrote this on the way to visit my son for the 1st x since he moved out. Before I got there, I pulled over to do this writing. I was nervous and out of sorts and these writings always clear my head. I set a timer for 10 min. and wrote, hence what I call a 10-minute writing a.k.a. ‘streamlining’.
Sometimes I think he is running away, other times flying away. Either way, he’s going away. That’s it. One way is easier to think about than the other. But both are equally hard to understand.
A fledgling at 14 moving into his father’s den. Not a nest. Not cozily prepared for his entrance into …read more.
 When you were born, and in those first days, I studied you. I listened to you. Every sound you made. You had your own language and as your mother I learned it.
I remember how my ears would strain on the insides to so finely imprint you into the corners of my brain. You of course, my 7 pound baby, wanted nothing more than to be held and fed.
But, each sound …read more.
This is a 10-minute streamline writing, check out what that’s about here.
 No one wants to be a single mom. No little girl I know plays with dolls imagining what it’ll be like to be a single mom. As if there’s something glorified about the experience. No, little girls carry their baby dolls tenderly, pretending to nurse them and change their pretend little diapers. …read more.
 If you’re on stage 1 of The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) or following a ‘gluten-sugar-yeast free’ diet, then you know what it takes to pack a lunch-to-go. I’ve put together some ideas here to help make it all easier. I keep this list on our fridge so the whole family can see it.
Ready for a Stage 2 Grocery List?
Getting out the door on a work/school day is hard enough. Let alone, rack the brain about what to pack for lunch. But if we’re going to eat, we gotta do this. It’s just not easy to find suitable food on B.E.D. out in the big world. …read more.
Fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) is rich in fat-soluble nutrients like Omega-3 (DHA/EPA), Vitamin A, and Vitamin D. These are all nutrients that most of us lack. Especially as we get older or have digestive issues.
I live in Vermont where it’s often cold with limited amounts of sun-shine, so my family takes a daily dose of FCLO year-round.
If you’ve ever been …read more.
As a PBi-Certified Placenta Encapsulator I see first-hand how new moms benefit from the capsules I make for them. This is mainly due to the hormones in the placenta. After you have a baby, you can ride the hormonal roller coaster as your body learns to regulate itself again.
If this is true in the postpartum, then what about during menopause? After doing a fair share of research, here’s what I found… …read more.
 Meat stock goes back centuries as food with medicinal properties. Whether it’s made with chicken, lamb, beef, or fish – It’s all good stuff.
It’s the 1st thing we think to eat when we get sick. It’s nourishing and anti-inflammatory. It’s also healing for the digestive system to keep our bellies happy ?
…read more.
We take fermented cod liver oil (fclo) every day. Twice a day. Year round. My kids started taking it when they were 7 and 2 yrs. old.
My husband likes his oil straight-up and unflavored. I like the chocolate Butter Blend and my oldest likes the …read more.
 Tara, PBi-Certified Placenta Encapsulationist If you want to have a lotus birth AND encapsulate, here are 3 ways to do it…
#1 Way) Keep baby connected to umbilical cord and the placenta for up to 4 hrs. This is the easiest way to keep the placenta fit to be …read more.
 I’ve been doing colonics for years and though I did them here and there in college, I really got into them after being diagnosed with systemic Candida, a.k.a. yeast overgrowth. A friend lent me a book called The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) that layed out a healing protocol to remove excess yeast from the body and the author, Donna Gates, recommended to do a series of back-to-back sessions with a Hydrotherapist.
I did and was amazed at what poured out. At first it was nothing exciting but in my 4th session I felt like a cement mixer truck dumping out thick pasty sludge. It felt great and my body was much lighter. …read more.
 We pick a ton of blueberries every year. I freeze most of ’em in bags and also into ice cube trays for making smoothies. I save out some to make tarts and fruit leather. And, every couple of years I jam a few jars.
But, I haven’t eaten ‘regular’ jam in years. After being diagnosed with yeast overgrowth, I started The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D). Which meant avoiding sugar.
Especially jam, because it’s concentrated in fruit sugar. By not eating sugar I had a better chance of starving out the bad yeast. Called ‘die-off’. I did this for a long time and it worked. Totally worth it.
But, I missed jam! …read more.
Last week I woke on a hot summer morning and looked out the window ☀ at the strawberries in our garden so red and ripe and all I could think was strawberry ice cream…for breakfast!
The kids loved the idea and their response was nothing short of joyful with a splattering of kisses on my cheeks and spins of delight. I don’t give them treats often, lol.
I had cultured cream* so the boys picked the berries and we made the recipe below. I usually wait to go public until I make a recipe at least 3 x’s (more like 30), but we liked the results and summer is short.
The boys and I rarely eat sugar, so if you have a sweeter tooth you may want to play with this recipe. Making ice cream is a forgiving process and lends itself to many variations. Add blueberries, almonds, orange extract…
I scream, you scream, kids really scream for ice cream
Give them cultured ice cream! Kids are born with a sweet tooth – think breast milk – and kids on a healing protocol like The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) are deprived as it is from watching friends eat what they can’t. So, when you come across a food you can BEDIFY, do it.
My kids started the diet when they were 2 and 5 yrs. old. They’re used to how they eat and I make treats to make up for the lack, but every now and then they get that look in their eyes…like when they watch someone eat ice cream…and this look gets me every time. I could write a cookbook from the recipes I’ve created after seeing that look! It’s what inspired me to create this recipe 😉
The good news is that kids on a strict healing protocol tend to be the most appreciative when you make something yummy that they can actually eat. They have to say ‘no’ to many other foods all day long and hand-made ice cream is pretty darn special, one of summer’s simple pleasures. Making it from scratch may also be the only option you have, as it’s tough to find this degree of finesse at a grocery store.
Why culture?
 We culture cream with starter* before churning it because we want to break down the milk protein (casein) and convert the milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid. Both of these steps make the cream easy-to-digest along with being rich in probiotics, brain-building fats and nutrients.
In this form, cream is often tolerated by people with gut issues. That said, it’s wise to be on a gut protocol like B.E.D. for 3+ months before eating ice cream, no matter how ‘cultured’. Didn’t mom ever tell you that dessert comes after the hard stuff?
Sweeten things up
I use stevia to sweeten things up. This natural sweetener doesn’t feed bad flora, nor does it affect blood sugar making it ideal for those with diabetes or yeast overgrowth.
Cultured Strawberry Ice cream
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 cups (480 ml) cultured whipping cream
1-2 fresh, raw egg yolks (pasture-raised)
½ teaspoon (2 ml) vanilla extract
½ teaspoon (2-3 ml) liquid stevia extract or 3/4 teaspoon (4 grams) green stevia powder
Pinch of sea salt
Handful of strawberries
Method
- Place all the ingredients, but the berries, into the blender and mix well.
- Add to ice cream maker, along with the strawberries, and process according to the directions of your ice cream maker.
- Enjoy immediately or transfer to a bowl for freezing.
Tips & Tricks
- Careful not to add too much stevia otherwise you’ll get a bitter ice cream.
- Don’t have an ice cream maker? Use a mixing bowl and pour in the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 1 hour until mixture begins to freeze at edges. Then give it a stir and freeze for an hour. At the 2 hour mark, blend it well and freeze it until it’s firm enough to stay in the bowl but soft enough to dip into – about 6 hrs.
*Use a culture starter that contains high-quality probiotics, particularly Lb. Plantarum – one of the heartiest strains you can put in your body. Most probiotics get destroyed by antibiotics, fluoride, stomach acid, chlorinated water, etc. before reaching the small intestine, yet Lb. Plantarum is strong and survives to keep your gut full of good flora. This is the starter we use.
May all bellies be happy!
In the palm of my hand, you are at peace.
You are still.
Moments prior stretching, back-bends, kicking so.
In my hand I explore you whom spent 15 weeks deep inside my warmth and safety.
Now you are still.
.
…read more.
 This is a list of easy-to-digest snacks for kids (and adults) on The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) or any other gut healing protocol. All are gluten, sugar, yeast free, and kid-approved! …read more.
I found lakanto when I started The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) to reverse my systemic yeast overgrowth. This sugar substitute that doesn’t feed harmful pathogens living in your body (i.e. GBS+, Candida, viruses) nor does it acidify the blood. Lakanto is also a safe sweetener for diabetics.
 Seconds after birth, with cord full of blood. When a baby is born, only 2/3rd’s of his blood is actually in his body. The remaining third is still in the umbilical cord and placenta. This blood does not get into the baby’s body until the 3rd stage of labor, which is…
That period of time after baby is born until the time that the placenta is born. It’s at this stage of labor, that the cord actively pumps the remaining blood into baby. Blood that’s rich in iron, oxygen, and stem cells. …read more.
Candida, also known as Candidiasis or yeast overgrowth, is not a germ, bug or disease. What it is, is a serious immune disorder. Candida gets its name from Candida albicans, which is a family of yeast that happen to be the most common micro-organisms living in your digestive tract.
A healthy bowel contains a 10:1 bacteria to yeast ratio with good yeast outnumbering bad to maintain ecological balance. Certain factors (i.e. stress, sugar, “the pill”, antibiotics) allow …read more.
My boys love cultured butter. We make it a couple times a year by culturing fresh pasture-raised cream into crème fraîche and churn into this yellow goodness called ‘butter’.
This recipe contains beneficial flora (a.k.a. probiotics) and is easy-to-digest. Butter made this way is often well-tolerated by people with …read more.
This grocery list is for the initial stage of The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) or anyone looking for a holistic way to address yeast, bacterial, and viral overgrowth (i.e. Candida, GBS+).
These are your foods people!! If you’ve already moved through stage 1 and are ready to transition into the next phase of gut rebuilding, here’s my stage 2 grocery list.
B.E.D. was created by Donna Gates and is a way of eating designed to give the gut a chance to rest ‘n repair. The foods listed below are for stage 1. They’re nutrient-dense, probiotic-rich, easy-to-digest, and ‘gluten/sugar/yeast’ free.
If you practice food combining when you eat these foods, you’ll give your gut even more of a break and can more quickly relieve …read more.
This recipe uses mostly buckwheat, an energizing grain that warms the body and works well at regulating blood sugar and thyroid issues. It’s also alkaline-forming and increases the circulation to the hands and feet.
I created this recipe while healing systemic yeast overgrowth with Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D). The diet recommended not to eat gluten, yeast, sugar, or flour products and yet I missed waffles! So I set out to make something that I could eat and that my kids would like too.
We loved them so much and friends who didn’t even have food issues also loved them and so I made this a ‘cookbook recipe’ for all! We top them with carrot butter, hemp seeds, and flax oil or for sweet times with creme fraiche and lakanto-cinnamon sprinkles.
You can use this batter to make …read more.
These cookies are perfect for anyone on The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D). My kids love them. I like that the dough doesn’t make a sticky mess on my kitchen counter when they roll it out! Not bad for a cookie without eggs, dairy, or grain 😉 …read more.
Chicken stock (or another kind of stock) is rich in minerals, gelatin, and collagen. It keeps bones and teeth strong, joints supple, hair soft. I’ve got experience with the last. My hair was dry with grey coming in. I started drinking stock and my hair softened up with less grey. The collagen in the stock had a lot to do with that.
When I was a kid, my mom made chicken soup a bunch. There was always a pot of it on the back-burner. Then I grew up and turned vegan for a spell where the idea of cooking a chicken this way wasn’t …read more.
I got this recipe from Holistic Squid and tweaked it here and there to suit my dietary needs. The kids ask for them in their lunchboxes and we think that they taste better than the frozen kind at the store.
I like them because they don’t contain …read more.
 Traveling – whether by car, plane or train – can mess with our digestive system. Not only are we in a flurry of organizing and packing for our trip, but then we sit for long periods of time as we’re whisked away at unnatural speeds!
…read more.
Is Bragg’s Liquid Aminos a healthy version of soy sauce? It appears so, with a label that boasts a wide range of amino acids. Must be a good thing. Right?
I’ve always thought there was something not right about Bragg’s. After many years of the bottle gracing our dining table I did some research. As a nutritionist, it’s what I do…then I attempt to put all that I discovered into something that you can hopefully understand.
Here’s what I found… …read more.
THIS POST CONTAINS A PHOTO THAT MAY BE DISTURBING – VIEW AT OWN DISCRETION.
 Sunflower, yellow and tall you were the prettiest one of all.
On July 27th 2006, I lost a baby girl so tiny she fit in my hand. She was 15 weeks old and perfect. Her features delicate and complete, simply needed plumping up. She had fingernails and a cleft in her chin.
The day before I miscarried she fluttered for the first time inside of me. I was happy to finally look pregnant and not be so nausea’s anymore. I welcomed the next phase of pregnancy. Yet, for one reason or another she was not meant to stay. …read more.
Many pregnant moms are in distress when they find out their baby is transverse or breech – often just weeks before their estimated due date (EDD). This puts a spin on things because if the baby doesn’t turn “in time” many care providers recommend a cesarean birth. …read more.
 Finding Myself Again and Again I love my yoga mat. It is red and used and full of stains. It is mine and like a loved teddy bear it will have to fall into pieces before I let it go.
My yoga mat has been with me through thick and thin. I got it during my Esalen days in Big Sur where my love of yoga deepened into a practice I continue to this day. …read more.
Feeding your baby is one of the most important decisions a parent can make. Breast milk from a nourished mother is the best option, but what if that’s not possible?
A next best alternative is to make your own formula with high quality ingredients – especially fat – to mimic breast milk’s natural fatty acid profile. …read more.
 I learned of ASEA while encapsulating for a mom whose placenta was so vital that I inquired what she had done differently, if anything, during her pregnancy.
The only unique thing this mom had done on a regular basis was supplement with ASEA. …read more.
Green Pastures ™ fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) has a bunch of benefits. Most of us know this, but they don’t know how much oil to take. Or give their kids. So, I asked Dave Wetzel, the owner of this family-owned company for his thoughts on the matter.
“The oil can be medicinal, but it’s not a drug with “one size fits all” dosage. It’s up to each person to decide the …read more.
 I no longer struggle much with digestive issues (i.e. gas, constipation, brain fog). But, I did a few years ago when I had a yeast overgrowth issue (systemic candida). After years of cleansing with Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) and making some pretty big lifestyle/diet changes I feel a lot better now.
One thing I did during that time was take …read more.
This is a good recipe to start with if you’re new to cultured vegetables (cv’s). I lay it all out step-by-step with just 3 ingredients; cabbage, carrots, and starter. A simple, colorful mixture to light up the taste buds!
But, don’t let their simplicity fool you. CV’s are potent and kick-start your gut engine to have you digesting like a rock star ✨ …read more.
I food combine every meal, every day. Have for years now. So, do my kids and husband. It’s the secret I wish I’d been told about earlier. Before I met ‘food combining’ I had to wear stretchy pants because I was so bloated. People thought I was pregnant. Now, I fit into jeans I wore in college and feel more slender with curves I thought were long gone. …read more.
Wondering why I’d write a recipe like this? Or, what the rave is about these little reds? Check out my story below called Liver…A Bitter Pill to Swallow. Or, dive in and make these no-fuss, flavorless, real-food multi-vitamins. …read more.
 Just like earth, your body (your belly) has an active inner ecosystem. One that’s teeming with micro-flora that live and work inside of you to keep you balanced 🙂
Basically, your inner ecosystem is your digestive tract. All the way from your mouth to your bottom. If you were to stretch it out, your digestive tract would be 30 feet long! In your inner ecosystem, there’s an entire world that is home to millions of both good flora (probiotics) and bad flora (pathogens).
Every time you eat, the good flora digest and …read more.
Sugar cravings are a real issue for many of us and strike at familiar times each day…esp. the late afternoon! Their are many reasons why we experience energy dips yet we’re not getting into that here. Instead I’m going to mention a healthy and doable way to get a handle on sugar cravings ? …read more.
 Photo Credit: Prentice Hall Good digestion is the corner stone of well-being and is involved in so many processes that if not working at top speed order, your immune and nervous system can become compromised.
For example, poor digestion can lead to …read more.
 Seasonal, Organic, Unadulterated, Local The other day I prepared breakfast for my family…lettuce from our garden; eggs from our chickens; bacon from farmer down the road; shiitake mushrooms grown on logs in our woods; scapes from garlic patch; nasturtiums from herb garden; and cultured vegetables made using a neighbor’s cabbage.
Breakfast is served…from our backyard!
As I served everyone it dawned on me that …read more.
 Photo Credit: www.lotuscentre.com Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ is a traditional Maya healing technique developed by Dr. Rosita Arvigo to restore the position and health of pelvic and abdominal organs.
This external, noninvasive abdominal massage is best known for correcting a prolapsed, fallen, or tilted uterus (wandering womb).
Sudden falls, whiplash and bouncing (i.e. running), even just wearing heels can swing the …read more.
 Thomas’ Placenta! When my youngest turned 5, I gave myself a gift for bringing this fine boy into our world by encapsulating his placenta. Yes it was 5 years old and its hormone and nutrient levels might be nil, but what do I have to lose?
A colleague encapsulated her 2 year-old’s frozen placenta …read more.
This nutrient-dense pumpkin seed butter contains no sugar or poor-quality oil. It’s also a safe alternative for those schools and kids who are “nut-free”. My family likes to spread it on flax crackers, nori sheets, green apple slices, and celery 😊
Pumpkin Seed Butter
Makes about 1 1/4 cup …read more.
 Group B strep (GBS) is a transient pathogenic bacterium sporadically present in the gastrointestinal tract and reproductive system. Typically, these microscopic life forms do not cause any harm, yet have the potential to present problems for pregnant women and their growing babies.
If you test positive for GBS infection it may mean you’re a group B strep carrier rather than a definitive indication that your baby will become ill. Often, it’s the babies born to moms with large amounts of GBS that are at the greatest risk of becoming infected.
…read more.
 A perfect treat for cooling down on a warm morning! Made with Great Lakes Gelatin and pomegranate concentrate, this nourishing dish allows everyone to reap benefits of gelatin!
This recipe came about from being inspired to create something yummy for those on Happy Bellies or Body Ecology Diet who are healing Candida, thrush, group B strep or other flora imbalance. …read more.
 High quality, unsalted cultured foods can help eczema (dermatitis) and a variety of other skin disorders for at the root of such conditions is often a gut flora imbalance and damaged intestinal lining.
Cultured foods, naturally rich in probiotics, deliver loads of beneficial bacteria to the gut where they quickly colonize – crowding out the pathogenic bacteria, yeast, etc. living there. Not only do friendly flora keep bad guys “in check”, but also maintain a balanced …read more.
 I recently returned from a trip to my sister’s home on the coast of MA. I drove 6 hours each way, and was away for 10 days. In all of those days and nights I did not have one belly-ache. Not even the slightest dull ache. In the past, the traveling alone would have been enough to put me under for days. This is a BIG deal for someone in my shoes! Since healing myself from systemic Candida almost 5 years ago …read more.
Placenta is recognized by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as having strong Qi (life force energy), scientific research also shows placenta to be incredibly nutritious, containing iron, B12 and protein.
Placenta also contains the new mom’s very own hormones. Hormones that are uniquely bio-available to her. A perfect lock ‘n key fit where her body recognizes these hormones and quickly puts them to use.
In fact, many of my clients feel a positive effect within minutes of drinking Mother’s Broth or taking a couple doses of placenta capsules.
When reintroduced to the body, like we do with placenta capsules, these beneficial nutrients have …read more.
 Women who give birth at home have the luxury of being in complete control over the care and handling of their baby’s placenta. A woman who births in a hospital has to adhere to the guidelines and policies in place at their facility of choice. In some cases, there is no written policy, and mothers are then subjected to the whim of …read more.
Nama Shoyu is a traditional soy sauce that is unpasteurized. Nama means “raw” and Shoyu means “soy”. This soy sauce is made by fermenting non-GMO soybeans with a probiotic fungi called Aspergillus oryzae. Then water is added along with wheat and sea salt.
This mixture is left to ferment in cedar kegs for 6 to 8 months, and sometimes as long as 4 years. …read more.
 These crackers are full of flax seeds which are full of fiber and omega-3’s. They’re crispy, easy-to-digest and are known to relieve constipation – one of Nature’s digestive cleansers!
I decided to add in onions because they have antibacterial properties which stimulate gastric juices and get things moving. Sound yummy?! The good thing is that they are and happen to make your belly happy too ?
This recipe was created while I was in the early stages of …read more.
 Ben’s Breakfast! My son awoke on a recent Saturday morning and offered to prepare breakfast. With the typical rush of our daily grind coming to a halt on this relaxing weekend morning, I happily accepted his offer.
I busied myself chopping vegetables for a dinner casserole, watching from the corner of my eye as this boy of mine moved about the kitchen with grace and ease. Speaking aloud, yet to himself, he busily went to work pulling assorted dishes and food from the refrigerator.
Other than my help turning on the gas burners, he did it all – even deciding the menu; cleaning the pots and pans he needed; and cutting a head of cabbage with my cleaver! At one point I asked if I could …read more.
Bone marrow is fatty, nourishing and one of the best remedies for the gut lining and the immune system. This once known “superfood” is a primal brain food that our ancestors relied on for good fats, quality proteins and loads of minerals.
…read more.
This is the question that I get asked the most in my cultured food workshops. People are always stumped as to how cultured vegetables will stay fresh and safe if they don’t contain salt. The short answer is that they do.
The cultured vegetables that I refer to are fairly new to our modern day culture. Yet, they’re really a long lost food that we’re bringing back to the dining room table! Everyone knows what sauerkraut is and many people eat it to get their daily dose of probiotics.
Here’s the thing…’sauerkraut’ (German for ‘sour cabbage’) didn’t originally contain salt. It was only when natives of Poland, Germany, and Russia began to travel to America by ship and added salt to preserve the kraut for the long travels. Somehow this way of doing it stuck.
…read more.
 A delicious spread for waffles, pancakes or crackers! This recipe is specially created for those in the early stages of healing yeast/bacterial overgrowth or a gut issue. Perfect for anyone on The Body Ecology Diet.
Creamy Carrot Butter
Serves 4
Ingredients
5 cups carrots, cut in 1″ chunks
1 cup water …read more.
 I love this picture. I think it really shows my boy’s inner joy and health!! This child of mine who once upon a time had a bloated belly, a face full of rashes, runny nose and mini seizures from his 1st week of life.
Look at him now!!
…read more.
 Gelatinous Gelatin Gelatin gets a bad rap. Yet, the benefits of traditionally made gelatin are HUGE. Many of us simply have no idea. Suffer from leaky gut, allergies, tooth/bone decay or joint pain? Check out the many gifts of this healing food. …read more.
The following home remedies are simple and can help relieve both Athlete’s Foot and Nail Fungus: …read more.
Where I live in Vermont, the Green Mountain State, spring is a combination of muddy roads and snow melting into the rivers from the big mountains above.
You know spring is in the air when you hear the plink plink plink of sap dripping into the metal buckets hung from maple trees. When you see bulbs shooting straight up through the bit of snow that remains.
I hear the sounds of geese honking in formation as they find their way. When we have to strap bells on our ankles before heading out to hike the trail behind our house. When my 9 year old dumps a whole basket of fresh-picked fiddleheads onto the counter.
Cooking in the kitchen takes on a whole new feel when spring rolls around. For one, I don’t want to go in the kitchen because it’s so nice outside, lol. When I do, I simplify what’s on the menu and change up my cooking styles to reflect the coming warm winds, new growth, and cool rains.
Compared to winter cooking, my spring cooking is light n’ lively.
In the same way that the earth warms to allow new growth to come, I too harmonize with the shift of spring. I prepare food in a way that’s more light and easy. Like blanching, steaming, and quick sauteing.
Vegetables such as sprouts, leafy greens and wild grasses (dandelion greens, chives, etc.) are a great addition to meals. Strong seasonings replace lighter ones such as miso and fresh herbs for a refreshing flavor.
Spring is a time for subtly tart and sour foods.
The sour taste of unsalted probiotic food like cultured vegetables and young coconut kefir satisfy us and allow the liver to detoxify and relax. As the weather warm, there’s a tendency to crave more fruit and ice cream and probiotic food can help squelch these sweet cravings along with quick-cooked vegetables and lightly pressed salads.
Moving with grace during the shift in seasons.
It’s not unusual for one of the kids to have congestion and discharge during the spring months, often referred to as hay fever or seasonal allergies. This is natural and often due to the thawing process of cold energy, both inside and outside of our body, occurring at a deep level.
The warm spring air wakes up this deep energy in us, an energy that’s been laying dormant for months. This can appear as discharge through our nose, eyes, mouth, ears. Strep and conjunctivitis are common health conditions during this time.
Depending on how balanced our overall diet and health was during the winter months, this discharge can be mild or downright not comfortable. By aligning our food and cooking methods with the spring season, we can more easily harmonize with the energy of spring.
May all bellies be happy!
 Bone stock has been used for centuries as a folk remedy with many healing properties. It’s made by simmering animal skin and marrow bones. The result is stock which provides a basis for countless recipes. Or, on its own in a big mug with a pinch of salt added ?
Stock contains collagen, gelatin, omega-3 fats, essential minerals (calcium, magnesium), amino acids and electrolytes. …read more.
Vaginal yeast infections are often the result of a type of micro-flora called Candida albicans gone out of control. Typically, these good guys live in harmony with other types of micro-flora in your mouth, intestines, and genitals.
Problems occur when this delicate balance “harmony” gets out of whack. When that happens the bad Candida guys breed faster (we’re talking tons of baby flora every second) and overtake the good flora guys living in there.
…read more.
 These fun and alternative Easter ideas are for The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) or another gut healing protocol. My own kids started BED when they were 2 and 7 yrs old so I’ve had many years to perfect the holidays and Easter is by far the easiest imo! …read more.
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We grow lots of basil in the garden right through to mid-September. Nothing like fresh, still warm from the sun green basil all wrapped up in sandwich roll-ups or wrapped around crispy cucumbers. I lay some out in the sun to dry for the spice jar too.
