On Dandelion, friend to your liver and much more.

This Spring at Harvest Market we take a look at liver health and its role in allergies, digestion, and skin conditions.  Fortunately, nature provides a liver tonic at the right time to cleanse, outside our back doors: the humble dandelion.

Dr. Cynthia Crosser discusses liver health Thursday, May 3, 7 – 9 pm.  This free talk will arm you with new understanding of liver support and detoxification.  Saturday, May 5, backyard herb-walkers will meet at the store at 10:30 am, then ride over to the Longs’ homestead for a free herb walk with Emma Long, sponsored by Urban Moonshine.  If you don’t use Facebook, details for both events can be found on our calendar.  Look for features on liver health in-store, too.  Modern commerce has made it simple to bring liver-boosting herbs into your life, whether in tincture, tea, or stir-fry form.  (Please note: these resources were chosen for accuracy and sensibility.  However, it is never out intent to diagnose, cure, mitigate, or treat medically defined “disease.”  We hope that changes to food and lifestyle will improve dis-ease you may experience before it becomes a medical condition and seek to point out the information available.)

On Dandelion

Shared by Jovial at Urban Moonshine

You may see them as weeds, but I invite you to take a second look at dandelions from an herbalist point of view. In fact, this common weed is a welcome sign of spring for locavores and herbalists alike.  First the green leaves poke through the dark wet earth, then the cheerful yellow flowers spring forward to the sunshine.  The whole plant is a prized springtime edible as well as a bitter medicinal tonic.  Dandelion and other bitter tasting herbs are excellent for the digestive system.

Tasting the bitter flavor sparks the digestive system and encourages the release of bile, digestive enzymes and other gastric secretions. Why is that so?  Well, think about it- since the beginning of time up to around 150 years ago we foraged for much of our food, ate off the land or out of a garden.  Prepackaged sweet and salty supermarket food? Not so much. That is basically a radical experiment being undertaken by our generation.  What grows in the garden, wild in the woods and fields?  Bitters tasting plants-bitter greens, bitter barks, bitter berries, bitter roots — our traditional diet was full of bitter foods and we have evolved accordingly. In a way human beings are built on bitters! The flavor of bitter to the taste buds equals FOOD!  Time to eat! Time to digest!  Bitter is literally “sexy” to our digestive system, it turns it on, juices it up and gets it ready to rock. By eating bitters around or with a meal we keep our digestive system in a state of engagement, excited and challenged. Try a bitter green salad, or chomp down on a fresh dandelion green from your yard as you walk up to the house after work or check our Urban moonshines organic digestive bitters.  There are many ways to get bitter taste into our everyday diets.

The root of good health is great digestion. The stronger and healthier your digestive system, the more nutrients you will receive from your food and the less digestive drama occurs around mealtime.

Dandelion root is also known as an effective liver tonic with the ability to help the body in its detoxification process.  Dandelion has a strong will and feisty spirit and will grow in the toughest conditions from a city sidewalk crack to a chemical-laden yard.  That strong will to survive is telling of the role it plays in its environment. Dandelion does a spectacular job of cleaning up toxicity in both the environment it dwells in and the human body.  Not to mention the joy it gives to children when they blow the white globe of seeds into the wind.  How smart of the plant to make it fun for people to spread its seeds!  Happy Spring.

Your Skin is Organic. Your Beauty Products Can Be, Too.

Clear skin reflects efficient digestion.  Skin is the body’s secondary organ of elimination.  Troubles here will reflect a sluggish liver, kidneys, or digestive system.  Bitters, nettle tea, and a good probiotic can all boost the systems responsible for clear skin.

Applying conventional toxins to absorbent skin compounds the liver’s workload.  Making your own beauty products from simple ingredients is an inexpensive, easy way to complement any detox effort.  Worth noting is this incredibly effective strategy from Dr. Hauschka: after washing your face at night, apply only water-based preparations, or nothing at all.  Skin “breathes” out toxins through the pores and balances moisture needs while we sleep.  Keeping skin covered in oils or creams prevents this self-balancing process.  Try going without night cream for a couple of weeks.  It may feel strange at first, but in a short while, your skin will remember how to repair itself and thank you for the breather.

 

Eye Makeup Remover

3 Tbsp almond oil (or any oil of your choice- almond is extra gentle)

1 Tbsp dried horsetail, available in our bulk aisle

Witch hazel

Cheesecloth

Using a mortar and pestle or grooved “macro bowl,” grind together almond oil and horsetail.  When sufficiently ground, strain mixture through cheesecloth into a measuring cup.  Add witch hazel until you have 4 total ounces.

Apply a small amount to a cotton ball and gently rub in a downward motion along eyelashes with eyes closed.

 

Cooling Spritzer

½ cucumber, peeled and seeded

3 drops peppermint essential oil

Aloe juice to fill bottle

Mash cucumber to a pulp in a mortar and pestle or grooved bowl until almost completely pureed.  Pour juice into your spray bottle.  Fill with aloe juice.  Add peppermint oil.  Shake vigorously, then spray on skin for a cooling effect and light, refreshing smell.

 

Original Charcoal Eyeliner

1 capsule activated charcoal

Water

Eyeliner brush

Break open charcoal capsule onto a plate.  Moisten brush.  Dip into charcoal and use as you would eyeliner.

 

Gentle Purifying Mask

1 Tbsp raw honey

1 Tbsp plain, whole-milk organic yogurt

1 Tbsp bentonite (white) clay, available in our bulk aisle

Mix ingredients together in a bowl.  Apply to face and neck.  Wait 5-10 minutes before rinsing off with warm water and a washcloth.

Green Smoothies Week

Making smoothies is as simple as it gets.  Combine ingredients, blend, and drink.  Find recipes from our green smoothie week below.  For complete information on drinkable vegetables and fruits, see Green Smoothies: 5-9 Servings Made Simple.

Tropical Smoothie

2 bananas

2 mangoes

½ of a fresh pineapple, chopped

8 romaine leaves

2 cups pure water, or use coconut water if you like (we did)

Pear and Kale Smoothie

2 ripe pears, cored and chopped

7 leaves of Lacinato kale (stems removed), leaves chopped

½ cup aloe or coconut water (just enough liquid to facilitate blending)

1 banana*

Mango Heaven

2-4 fresh mangoes, diced

1 orange, peeled and chopped

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

2 cups of pure water

Kim’s Favorite

4 ripe, organic apples – cored and chopped

1 orange or lemon, peeled and chopped

slice of fresh ginger, peeled

4-6 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cups of water

“Shamrock” Smoothie

adapted from Arnold’s Way, a raw café in Lansdale, PA

2 C water or coconut water

1 frozen banana

2 Tbsp hemp seeds

6 mint leaves or a couple drops peppermint extract

2 leaves kale

2 Medjool dates (for sweetness), chopped and pitted

2 Tbsp cacao nibs, blended in near the end.  We used raw maca chocolate shavings in place of cacao, and it was delicious!

“PB&J” Smoothie

2 C fresh or frozen strawberries

2 C spinach

2 Tbsp peanut or almond butter

2 C unsweetened almond milk

Peach Smoothie

2 C frozen peaches (use fresh when available)

2 C coconut water

2 C kale

1 banana (frozen makes the smoothie cold)

Kate’s Favorite, for old times’ sake

2 large handfuls baby spinach

4 leaves lacinato kale or swiss chard*

1 stalk celery

juice of ½ a lemon

½ a bag of frozen strawberries

½ a granny smith apple (optional)

2 cups filtered water

Variation:

 2 large handfuls baby spinach

2 leaves lacinato kale or swiss chard*

4 leaves dandelion greens (with stem)

1 stalk celery

juice of ½ a lemon

½ a bag of frozen strawberries

½ a granny smith apple (optional)

2 cups filtered water

*The stems of kale and chard must be removed unless using a Vita-Mix or BlendTec because a regular blender does not have the power to break them down sufficiently.  If you do include the stems with a high-power blender it will result in a slightly thicker smoothie.

Green smoothies have endless variations.  Try frozen raspberries in place of strawberries, add fresh parsley for a little kick, or fresh peeled ginger for a stomach soother.  And remember to rotate your greens!

Save those overripe bananas: The more you prepare smoothies, the more you will use them up, but when a couple stragglers get too brown to enjoy fresh out of the peel, chop them up and stick them in the freezer. Those ooey gooey bananas are great for smoothies! Freezing them not only helps them fresher for longer, but also helps make that smoothie cold! This prevents having to add ice, which will water down the final product.