Gotu Kola: a small plant with big healing potential.
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) has been considered a cure-all for thousands of years. It is considered to be an herb of longevity in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine with good reason. This slender, tiny herb is packed full of some truly amazing health and healing benefits.
Flaxseeds have been cultivated in the Mediterranean basin as far back as 4000 B.C.E. There is evidence that man has been eating flaxseed as far back as the Neolithic Era. Flaxseed is comprised of flavorful meat which is packed with oil and has many nutritional and healing benefits. The non-food grade flaxseed oil is known as linseed oil, which is used commercially in paints and wood finishes. Flaxseed is used in livestock feed and is grown throughout the world.
Who doesn’t love chicken pot pie? Creamy, hearty chicken soup wrapped up in a warm flaky crust…it sounds dreamy, but it’s actually a nutritional nightmare! Not only are there far too many carbs and calories in the crust, but the soup itself is often filled with heavy fats and noodles that make weight gain easy.
Here, I have a lightened up recipe for chicken pot pie soup that gives you the same flavors and comfort of chicken pot pie, while keeping you on track with your fitness and fat loss goals. Enjoy this warming recipe on a chilly day!
Everyone in my family is fond of heavy white sauces, but not me; I’ve always been a fan of this thing called flavor. If you think you’re more of a white sauce person, think again. This velvety, luscious red sauce will even win over the hearts of Italians who think their nonna's “gravy” is the best hands down.
The walnut tree is found from the Balkans to China. It is a slow-growing tree, and its fruit has been eaten by Europeans for more than 8,000 years. The ancient Greeks began cultivating the trees and the practice spread throughout Europe. The walnut tree came to North America with the English settlers in the early 19th century – and thus the walnut got its name the English walnut. Today the largest groves of walnut trees are found in Kyrgyzstan at high elevations.
Deep in the heart of Southern Chile in South America lives a group of indigenous people called the Mapuche. According to legend, the Mapuche warriors were able to resist the Spanish by consuming a fermented beverage that gave them strength and stamina. That fermented beverage came from the maqui berry.
For those of you who are curious about these food co-ops that you see popping up, you should know that these grocery stores with a twist are called food cooperatives for a good reason—they’re all about cooperation. Food co-ops thrive in communities that are interested in working together for the common good.
When your plants no longer have the space needed to survive in their containers, it’s time to transplant those babies. Taking growing plants and placing them into a larger space will give them room to spread their roots and develop successfully. For some gardeners, it can be something of the mundane, while for others it is something completely new to attempt.
Love them or hate them, beets are an incredibly healthy root. Starchy, sweet, and bursting with nature's nutrients, beetroots are an ancient food with many purposes. Belonging to the same family as chard and spinach, they contain as many phytonutrients as well as the addition of long sought after plant pigments. If you find yourself beet curious, read on to satisfy your fascination.
In ancient practices, certain Ayurvedic medicines called bhasmas or paks could only be made on the fire of cow dung cakes. During this time, cows were left free to roam in forest meadows where they ate sweet grass, gave nutritious milk and their dung fertilized the forest further. While the same might not hold true today, cow dung – when composted – makes great slow-release manure for your garden and backyard.