Oops! A Half-Eaten Strawberry

It almost landed in the blender while I was presenting a hands-on, Let’s Cook Together demonstration for 20-plus children ages four to seven and adults at a local library. My workshop familiarizes children with a variety of colorful vegetables and fruit. It also introduces the fun of shopping for ingredients for children to prepare and serve easy dishes at home together with an adult.

We were setting up a fabulous, blended breakfast beverage of sliced banana, strawberry, and orange, with cinnamon, honey, a bit of Barleans Flavored Cod Liver Oil, a bit of Barleans Protein Powder, and rice milk. Each child used a fork to select his or her own banana chunk and strawberry. No fingers, please! Oops! One youngster nearly popped his half-eaten strawberry into the blender. Thank goodness I caught him just in time! By the way, Barleans donated their healthful products for my demonstration. They are very interested in promoting and supporting children’s health, and I appreciate their contribution.

This yummy blended beverage gives any child a marvelous start for a great day. While it enhances breakfast for those who have one, for others it could be their only breakfast nourishment. It is by far a better choice over sugar-laden cereal, for it provides a good balance of protein, alpha omega 3 fatty acid, potassium, and other nutrients that keep little brains alert for the morning and their studies.

It was amusing when a six-year-old thought an artichoke was a mushroom. That’s OK. I grew up with canned peas and carrots, so I probably would have said the same thing. I must say that these kids loved the baby carrots. While they supposedly prepared salads for the adults who came with them, they gobbled them up instead! The brave and curious little ones sampled edamame. The children energetically sprinkled pineapple with cocoa and loved the exciting taste. Dipping banana segments into flax seeds thrilled them. They were fascinated to use a special cutter to make apple wedges just the right size for munching. Most of all, the children enjoyed shaping wholesome, organic bread slices with a cookie cutter. Some didn’t even bother to spread the bread with peanut butter, eating it plain. It was so good!

The children were enthused and wanted to learn to cook! Unfortunately, the library did not have cooking facilities. The class was just an hour, not enough for entertaining questions. Thus, I was sure to emphasize and encourage old-fashioned family dining. Children need to eat with the family to experience the variety and selection of foods that adults have. Kids don’t eat as much as their parents or caretakers. If they eat separately before adults, they may not ever see a crispy salad or savor tantalizing soups. Children are naturally intrigued with diversity, and they should be enticed to different choices! Though they may refuse something new at first, eventually they broaden their selections. Use this great tip I read about: Spread the ingredients of a finished stew on separate platters to encourage the child to eventually feast on the veggies.

Soft, firm, curly, angular, apple red, avocado green – nature is rich in delicious tastes and multiple textures. Release your imagination and have the time of your life cooking and eating together with your children! I love it, and you will, too!

The Bee's Nest – The Biochemic System

I love the distinctive mechanism of journalism that permits me to share so much of who I am, especially my genuine belief that health can be restored and preserved naturally. Many years ago when energy medicine was introduced through the New Age Movement, the general public considered its healing claims as subjective and anecdotal. We know better now! At that time, I devoted a column in To Your Health to the types of methods I utilize to maintain energy, handle stress, and heal myself. I would like to share one with you, the Biochemic System of Medicine utilizing tissue salts, also called cell salts. Every proposal listed here is absolutely safe for infants, the elderly, for all ages in between, and also for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I use tissue salts daily. I will, however, suggest seeking professional advice before embarking on any new modality.

The Biochemic System with its related remedies follows the premise that "disease occurs when there is a deficiency of one or more cell salts." Originally proposed in 1858 by the scientist Rudolf Virchow, the technique is based on the well-established truism that the body is a collection of cells. Following Virchow’s premise, in the 19th century Dr. W. H. Schussler, a physician and homeopath, developed biochemic treatments utilizing twelve tissue salts. These include:

Calc fluor, Calc phos, Calc sulph, Ferr phos, Kali mur, Kali phos, Kali sulph, Mag phos, Nat mur, Nat phos, Nat sulph and Silicea.

They are tiny pills that dissolve under the tongue and are packaged in small bottles. These salts reestablish molecular equilibrium, which restores health.

To make it simple, one should purchase The Biochemic Handbook. Revised many times, it is filled with incredible information. I use the Repertory of Symptoms and their Corresponding Remedies portion of the book continuously. It is a simple but comprehensive presentation that anyone can understand. I have assisted myself and many others to remedy a tongue bite, a nose bleed, and other assorted mishaps with ferrum phos (phosphoricum). For those in the know, cell salts are a very preferred solution. As a matter of fact, at a Wellness gathering years ago, I met a woman from Germany whose husband controlled his pain from cancer until he passed on with appropriate tissue salt remedies.

The pendulum is a quirky device I also use, and I shall discuss it at a later time. It offers me the ability to get in touch with my biological requirements at any given moment. Let’s be honest, does every eighty-three-year-old accomplish what I do on any given day ─ dancing, yoga, writing, promoting my book, working on my life story, etc.? I know I am definitely doing something right!