Spring has sprung! It's a great time for a seasonal cleanse and detox, so turn your attention inward to your liver and gallbladder.
What if you went to your doctor today and s/he prescribed a miracle prescription? Would you use it daily, without fail, if it can improve your health with zero side effects, and...
Our food, water, air, and soil are polluted, and as hard as our sweet bodies work to cleanse on their own, they simply cannot keep up the pace with the toxins that are the reality today. Detox and cleansing are necessary, and spring, according to Chinese medicine, is the time to support your lovely liver.
Let’s jump on to our microscopic space shuttle and take a trip into your body… in a nutshell, the food travels into the mouth, down the esophagus, into the stomach, then through the small intestine. Meanwhile you liver is busy making bile (fluid to help digest food/fats). That bile is then mixed with the ‘food’ to continue along the digestive process before the ‘food’ is expelled as feces.
This crucial step by your liver is only one of the 500 known functions of this organ that sits just to the right of your belly under your ribcage. Give it a pat; it deserves some lov’n. The liver is your largest organ, and some say the most important and vital to life.
You can contribute to the above results by utilizing the springtime, liver loving, miracle prescription – the little, yellow, pesky plant, commonly known as the dandelion.
This plant has been used medicinally for over 1000 years and the name for dandelion comes from the French, fleur de pisenlit. This translates into English as, “wet the bed”! When you eat the dandelion greens they remove water from your body. You may want to avoid eating the greens several hours before you go to bed!
Be aware where you forage! Foraging is highly recommended in natural and organic settings, to avoid effects of toxic sprays or fertilizers, or you can find the greens at your local markets. Pick your greens before the flowers have bloomed or the taste may be bitter.
Dandelion greens, eaten raw, provide a high amount of nutrients and minerals. This is not medical advice, but people attribute improvements, and even cures for their ailments, to dandelion greens.
For 1,000 years, dandelions have brought miracles to millions of people.
Try the raw salad recipes, below, and you may enjoy dandelion root tea… so yummy!
Dandelion Root Tea
Check your local stores, purchase on Amazon, or you can make your own dandelion root tea or coffee!
Voila, fleur de pisenlit!
RECIPES
Zigorriesalat (lion’s teeth salad) – Renee’s recipe from her cultural roots
(serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients
4 cups dandelion greens
6 hardboiled eggs, chilled, peeled and sliced
1 cup prepared creamy dill or creamy italian-style salad dressing
salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
After picking your dandelion greens, sort the leaves (see caution above), throwing out the harder outer leaves. Separate the tender, inner leaves, tearing them into bite-sized pieces. Wash well in cold water at least 3 times to get rid of sand or grit. Drain well.
Place eggs in a bowl. Add prepared salad dressing. Stir to mix.
Place greens in a big salad bowl. Add dressing and egg mixture. Toss together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Salad of Dandelion Greens with Almond Vinaigrette and Dried Ricott
Insalata di Dente di Leone con Vinaigrette di Mandorle e ricotta Salata
~ recipe courtesy of: www.lidiasitaly.com.
Ingredients
1 pound dandelion greens, young and tender, (about 10 loosely packed cups)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound ricotta salata, cut into shards with a vegetable peeler
Directions
Cut tough stems from the greens and trim any wilted, yellow or tough leaves. Wash and dry them. The greens can be prepared up to several hours in advance and kept, loosely covered with a clean towel, in the refrigerator.
To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the toasted almonds, vinegar, and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place the greens in a large bowl, season them with salt and pepper, and pour the dressing over them. Toss well and divide the dressing greens among six plates, mounding them in the center of the plate. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted almonds and top with shavings of ricotta salata. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Renee Heigel, CHHP, AADP, is an life coach, writer, holistic health and nutrition practitioner, mom, entrepreneur, foodist, speaker, cook, world traveler, media maven, and creator of Love Yourself Naked and Local Nourish Flourish.
Renee trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and has over a decade of experience plus certification in coaching work.
She shows women in their mid-20s to mid-50s how to eat more local, whole foods so they can create long-term health and love themselves naked! She offers private health, life and nutrition coaching, webinars and corporate wellness coaching.
Visit www.reneeheigel.comto find out more & sign up for Visit http://www.reneeheigel.com to find out more & sign up for The Birthday Suit Morsels ezine.