Be YOUR Own Valentine- Move to the BEET of your Lymph!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A time to be your own Valentine too.. with a healthy valentine treat making my Valentine Bon Bons (shared on WCAX this week) and moving your lymph with red foods, especially beets, a blood-building root vegetable that detoxifies blood and renews it with minerals and natural sugars.  I have only recently acquired a taste for beets and now I could eat them every day.  Steamed, raw, roasted, boiled and mashed - so many ways to cook them but my favorite right now is mashed with sweet potatoes or juiced with carrots and kale. All perfect seasonal mineralizing pick-me ups!

Move to the BEET of Your Lymph: Ginger and Rosemary Mashed Beets with Sweet Potatoes

Kids will love this naturally sweet recipe - a pretty pink - perfect for LOVE!

3 medium beets
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup Cabot Farmer's Greek style yogurt (low fat available)
Fresh Rosemary sprig
1/2 inch of grated Ginger
Small bunch of green onions
1T Butter or Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut up sweet potatoes and beets, steam with Rosemary and grated ginger for 20 minutes. Place beets on bottom and sweet potatoes on top as they soften faster. If you prefer, you can also roast for 45 minutes at 375 F with the same spices. When ready, put potatoes and beets in a bowl and mash with a potato masher using some of the steamed water, reserve the rest for a beverage. Stir in the Greek style yogurt.

Chop the green onions and lightly sautee with the olive oil or butter in a small pan. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Top mashed sweet potatoes and beets with green onions. Enjoy the sweet steam bath water as a nutritious beverage to go with a meal. 

Ways to MOVE your Lymph
A stagnant lymph can create all kinds of havoc with your body especially stiffness and pressure in your shoulder area.  The blood has a pump (the heart) to keep it circulating but the lymph does not.  The only thing that keeps it moving is YOU.  Stress, anxiety and lack of exercise can congest the lymph and cause sinus trouble, pressure headaches, mucus build up and reduce immunity in general. Through moving your body via exercise, muscular activity, massage, hydration and deep breathing you can relieve this congestion.   Using a mini trampoline, or rebounder can help provide an alternative indoor option especially during these icy winters.  Jumping up and down for 3 minutes on a mini is equivalent to walking one mile! And let's talk about massage - get a great recipe for a muscle rub with buds of the balsam popular tree shared in this wonderful folk herbalist 2012 calendar for planting by the moon - awesome photos too by Sandra Lory - contact her at her website - www.mandalabotanicalsvt.com.  

February 27th - Getting to an Anti-Infammatory Diet at Tusli Tea Room, Elm Street, Montpelier - 6:30-8PM Pre-register before Feb 20th with me at MarieFrohlich@gmail.com.
Please share this with your friends.  Find out more about health coaching, other upcoming workshops, recipes and more  at  my website: www.MarieFrohlich.com