Helping You to Better Health Naturally
Please explain why you came to our office.
“Lots of trouble with my back, right leg and right foot. I heard Dr. Mike is a real good person and could help me. So tired of taking drugs, so I came here.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“I am doing lots better. Started walking again. This is a place to go to get help!”
63 year-old female
Please explain why you came to our office.
“Originally for neck pain diagnosed as severe arthritis. This time for bad back strain and pain.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“For the neck pain which was constant, I experienced total relief and have not had a recurrence. Same experience with the back pain which has been eliminated thanks to the treatments.”
64 year-old female
You will need sprouted lentils to make this recipe so please review my previous post on lentil soup that discusses how to sprout lentils. The reason this recipe is quick and also easy on the digestive system is because of the use of sprouted lentils. (Don’t try to substitute!) You can’t buy sprouted lentils most places but it is very easy to sprout them yourself and they keep in the fridge for a week. Once you have them you can make this dish, the soup, or lentil burgers over the course of the week. Prepare the salad first and then make the lentils so that you can serve immediately.
Serves 2
Salad
4 cups mixed greens/lettuce–I used endive and arugala but any lettuce or lettuce mix is fine
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
feta cheese to garnish, optional
Lentils:
2 cups sprouted lentils
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. ghee (you could substitute coconut oil)
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. tamari
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)
salt and pepper to taste (add at the end)
Mix all the salad ingredients together except the feta cheese. Place 1/2 the mixture in each of 2 large salad bowls.
Now prepare the lentils. Melt the ghee or coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and stir for a minute or so but NOT long enough to brown.. Add the lentil sprouts and carrots and stir well. Stir this mixture over medium heat until the lentils wilt and then add the broth, tamari and cayenne. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid cooks off. The mixture should be moist but not soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon half the mixture on top of each of the 2 salads. Garnish with feta if desired. Serve immediately.
This vegetarian version of shepherd’s pie (inspired by a recipe in the cookbook, Moosewood) is a different and very satisfying way to have vegetables. I tend to make it in the colder months of the year when I prefer to eat more cooked foods. It does contain dairy but I use feta (goat cheese) and romano (sheep’s milk cheese); you could substitute cheddar cheese and parmesan made with cow milk which is what the original recipe used.
Serves 2-4
Filling:
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed in 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup frozen green peas
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled goat feta cheese
1/2 tsp. each of dried oregano and thyme
1 Tbsp. organic tamari
salt and pepper to taste
Crust:
2 large red potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Place potatoes in a sauce pan half covered with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. While the potatoes cook, prepare the filling. Saute the onions in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add eggplant and stir well and cover. Stir every few minutes and cook until eggplant is tender for about 15 minutes. Don’t allow to burn on the bottom–add 1 tbsp. of water if you need to to keep the eggplant cooking without burning and lower heat also if it starts to stick. Stir in mushrooms, peas, spices and tamari. Cover and cook for another few minutes. The peas and mushrooms don’t need to be cooked through at this point because they will be cooked further in the oven. Stir in feta cheese. Taste adding salt and pepper as desired.
Drain the cooked potatoes–leave about 2 Tbsp. of the cooking water with the potatoes so they are moist. Mash them with a potato masher. Add butter or olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Now spread the filling in a baking dish (8 inch square or equivalent). Spread the mashed potatoes on top evenly so filling is covered. Sprinkle romano cheese on top. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve immediately.
Please explain why you came to our office.
“My daughter had to be turned during her birth and that caused some inflammation in her neck and back. This led to much discomfort for her and slowed her development of lifting and turning her head. It also caused her to be unhappy a lot of the time early in her life. Much of these complications were believed to lead to her having acid reflux and difficulty breastfeeding.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“My daughter is now a much happier baby and has improved developing her neck muscles. She is very active and her acid reflux continues to improve.”
Please explain why you came to our office.
“Trying to flip a breech baby. Hip and pelvic pain at night that was making it very hard to sleep.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“Baby is now transverse after 4 weeks of treatment. Hopefully on her way to head down. Hip and pelvic pain completely gone after first two visits. Sleep is very much improved, a blessing in late pregnancy.”
Waldorf salad is one of my favorites. Here’s my new and improved version. I replaced plain raw red cabbage with cultured red cabbage which provides lots of probiotics and increases digestibility of the cabbage. Also, I made my own mayo with good oils. It might seem like a lot of work but remember that 1 head of cabbage will make about 1 quart of cultured cabbage which will be enough to make the salad 4 times. The cultured cabbage will keep in the fridge for 1 month or so. Also, you can substitute yogurt for the mayo–I’ve done this and loved it so if you are dairy-tolerant give it a try. Once you have gathered the ingredients the salad is quick to make. Look forward to your feedback!
Cultured Red Cabbage
1 head of organic red cabbage, finely shredded (I used a food processor)
1 rounded Tbsp. of sea salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. of equal parts of ground anise, fennel and caraway seeds (optional) (use a blender to grind the seed)
1/2 packet of Body Ecology Cultured Vegetable starter, optional
Mix all ingredients in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the salt to pull the liquid out of the cabbage. Pack the cabbage into a wide-mouthed 1/2-gallon sized canning jar (or 2 wide-mouthed quart sized canning jars). Follow the directions for making cultured veggies here. Allow to culture at room temperature (65-70 degrees F) for about 5 days pressing down every day. When it stops bubbling when you press down, it is ready to be refrigerated. It will keep about 4 weeks but try to keep the cabbage submerged in the liquid for better storage–just press them down after you have spooned out what you want and try not to spoon out much of the liquid.
Good Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks from pasture-raised chickens fed antibiotic/hormone-free feed, room temperature
1 tsp.. honey–optional
2 Tbsp.. raw, organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
1 cup (room temperature–not cold) extra-virgin olive oil (1/2 c olive oil and 1/2 cup cold-pressed avocado oil is an option)
Be sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Place first five ingredients in food processor and pulse until well blended–be sure this is thoroughly mixed by scraping the bottom and sides of the processor with a spatula. Then, while the processor is running slowly pour in a thin stream the olive oil–think drizzle. The mixture should stiffen as you add the oil and be set once your oil is all added. This is finicky and it has failed for me on occasion. I prefer the version described below as I have had more success with it. One step that is very important is the room temperature ingredients so don’t skip that! It should be as thick as regular mayo but it will thicken more once refrigerated. Keep refrigerated.
Postscript on the mayo: Since posting this recipe I have seen recipes online for making mayo right in a mason jar in one step using an immersion blender–this is a great idea! Place the egg yolks in a clean, dry wide-mouthed mason jar (16 or 32 ounce size). Add the apple cider vinegar, salt, mustard, and honey. Pour the oil on top. Place the blender head all the way into the bottom of the jar where the egg yolks are and pulse briefly in bursts while holding the head in place (the bottom of the jar). Do not move the blender head up and down until you see the “creamy white” mayo forming around the blender head and then only move it up slowly. Once the egg yolks and other ingredients are clearly well mixed and the oil is starting to get pulled and changing to creamy yellow in color continue to pulse while moving the head of the blender very slowly up and down gradually working your way up as the oil gets pulled in. Do this until all the oil is emulsified. Do not over-mix–as soon as the mayo forms, stop! The mayo should be thick by this time. Very nice to have a lot less clean-up–store the mayo in the fridge in the mason jar!
Serves 4
Waldorf Salad
2 Fuji or Gala organic apples, cored and chopped in bite-sized pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup mayo or 1/2 cup organic whole milk yogurt
1 cup cultured red cabbage
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. organic raisins
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped, or 1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Combine all ingredients and stir well. Serve immediately. Keep refrigerated but best used within a day.
There are many green smoothie recipes available in books and online. The idea of using fresh green stuff in a quick breakfast smoothie is appealing but spinach is very high is oxalates and kale in its raw form is a problem for the thyroid. Most of the recipes I’ve seen use either one or the other; the cruciferous vegetables (kale, etc.) are best cooked or fermented while high oxalate foods (spinach, beets and beet greens, swiss chard) are best limited in the diet and should not be eaten on a daily basis. These recipes also often use nut butter or nut milks so I thought I’d offer something different. Leave out the egg yolks if you wish but know that they are a superfood when the eggs come from truly healthy chickens. Let me know what you think!
Serves 1
1/2 avocado
1/2 banana
1 cup packed endive, escarole or mixed leaf lettuce
2 Tbsp. collagen powder (Great Lakes)
2 egg yolks (use fresh eggs from pasture-raised chickens only, and save the whites for baking–use 2 egg whites in place of 1 egg)
1/4 cup water
stevia and vanilla to taste, optional
Place all ingredients except egg yolks in blender. Blend very well. Add egg yolks and blend briefly until just homogenous.
Masa harina is an practical substitute for corn meal in this gluten-free recipe. My perception is that when you omit wheat flour the fine texture of the masa harina makes for a decent corn bread. The flax and seeds give the bread a corn bread-like texture–if you want it sweeter substitute 1/2 cup of ground dry shredded coconut (use a blender to grind it) for the sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Just remember that if you do not buy organic masa harina it will very likely be made from GMO corn. Also, if you replace the ghee with coconut oil, the recipe will be dairy-free as well as gluten-free.
1 cup organic masa harina or corn meal
1/8 cup each of ground flax and chia seed (whole flax seed and chia seed can be ground in a blender)
1/4 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 apple, skinned and cored
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. honey
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. ghee or butter or coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Place dry ingredients in food processor and mix well. Add ghee or butter or coconut oil and pulse until well mixed. Add all other ingredients and process until well blended into a batter the consistency of cake batter (thick enough that it doesn’t pour off a spoon–it drops). If it is too thick add 1 Tbsp. more of coconut milk at a time until the batter drops off the spoon readily. Spoon into a small square baking dish–about 8 inches. Bake at 350 degrees F until lightly browned and a knife placed in the center comes out clean–about 15-20 minutes. Do not overbake or the bread will be dry. Serve warm right away. It’s good toasted the next day also.
Please explain why you came to our office.
“My daughter was having trouble latching and keeping a latch while nursing. A friend recommended seeing a chiropractor.”
Please describe your response to treatment.
“She latches great now and her sleep patterns have improved as well! Very happy with her response to treatment and I’m sure she is too.”
Another secret to good soups besides broths or meat stocks is the use of spices. Turmeric, coriander, and miso give this simple soup full flavor even when you use water instead of broth. I always … [Read More...]
Children suffer injuries that lead to misalignments just as adults do. Children generally respond very well and quickly to gentle chiropractic adjustments. A case in point is that of a 5 year-old … [Read More...]
