berries

Blackberries are a member of the family Rosaceae, also known as the Rose family of the genus Rubus L. or blackberry P which contains 244 species. The plant is native to five of the seven continents, which excludes Antarctica and Australia, and is considered the most widespread food crop.

The May Tree in the Celtic calendar, Hawthorn is the powerful grandmother of the Rose family and was thought in Europe to be the home of faeries. “Haw” means berry and “thorn”—well, that’s pretty self-explanatory. “Crataegus” derives from Greek…”kratos” means strength and “akis,” sharp.  The thorns can be an inch long. Ouch!

The eyes and our other senses are our windows to the world. Vision is a powerful sense that we often take for granted. And this particular window is sensitive…to dryness, dust and other irritants.  There are some simple steps you can use to support the health of these valuable portals of information and beauty. I’ve found all three to be useful for myself, for friends, and for clients in my wellness practice.

Looking to add a little excitement to your glass of water? Many of the products used for flavoring your water are unnatural and often contain chemicals you wouldn’t want to put in your body. If you are interested in finding alternatives, check out these 10 neat ways to naturally flavor your water.

Rosemary and Watermelon

Nothing beats a nice summer BBQ with fresh, seasonal foods and good company. Even when you're not at a BBQ or special occasion, you can still bring in the bounty of summer with these four recipes. All of them incorporate in-season produce. I highly recommend going to the local farmers market and picking up the ingredients for these recipes from there, as it will enhance your dishes greatly.

Today's walk through Mother Earth's Medicine Cabinet will lead us down the Heart Health & Healing section. There are several different natural ways to lower your blood pressure, such as adding or eliminating certain foods in your diet.  Before we move on to the goodies in store that can help you with lowering your blood pressure, I'd like to explain exactly what high blood pressure is.

Whenever I notice naturally thin people eating greasy junk food non-stop, I can’t help but wonder if their presumably fast metabolisms are responsible. I’m sure I can’t be the only envious one who does this. Another thing that might have some women stricken with envy is the fact that men tend to have faster metabolisms than women. How great is that (for men)?

There truly is an art to creating a fine tasting bottle of wine. Wine is the art of fermenting fruits and berries in water with sugars and yeasts.

Just over a year ago, I changed my grocery shopping habits. Instead of looking for the best deals, I began looking for the best options for my health. I was already buying quite a few organic packaged products, but not as much organic produce. Now, I buy fewer packaged products overall and 100 percent organic produce whenever possible. Why? After taking a few food and environmental politics classes, I was enlightened about how unfortunately detrimental to one’s health pesticides truly can be.

Potato chips may taste good, but are they good for us? As they say, “You can never have just one,” and the high levels of fat, salt and additives often found in potato chips can easily take their toll on our health over time. If you’re down to snack on something, here are five healthy alternatives to consider.