Pesto Potato Salad and Seasonal Sunday Retreats!

Summer Flower Power!

I am still flying high from our Herbal Garden Retreat Weekend. Finding our plant allies, learning about the first aid power of abundant weeds, sharing our food traditions and surveying pollinators - a feast for all the senses and more.  Join me and friends for a Seasonal Sunday Herbal Retreat, one Sunday a season starting in October.  Register now to secure a spot.

PESTO POTATO SALAD!

One great american summer food tradition is Potato Salad.  I had made various pestos before the retreat weekend (explored purslane with added molasses!)  and decided to combine the two using a tried and true Basil Pesto to wild acclaim.

Adding mineral rich Pesto of any Greens boosts the nutritional punch of your favorite dish but is particularly tasty with cold potatoes for flavor.  Healthy greens and fats are excellent for cutting sugar cravings and keeping your brain focused and body energized for more summer fun. Use with your favorite potato salad recipe add some basil leaves to dress it up.  Enjoy!

PREPARE

1-1/2 lb potatoes, scrubbed and peeled, diced and steamed ( I like to keep the red skins on and use new potatoes)

1/4 cup each olive oil and pickle juice or vinegar

1/4 cup capers

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1/2 t salt (optional .. especially if pesto uses a lot of parmesan)

1c each diced celery and red onion

3 Hard boiled eggs cut up in pieces

1 cup half mayo and half greek yogurt

2-3 ounces of your favorite Pesto (see below)

CREATE

Put hot steamed potatoes in large bowl.  Whisk oil and vinegar, salt and pepper together and pour over potatoes.  Combine celery, onions and eggs with mayo/yogurt and pesto and mix with potatoes.

Voila!  Garnish with basil.  Serves 6-8 hungry guests.

(This recipe was adapted from VegetaBalls Pesto Farm - a favorite found at Hunger Mountain Coop) 

PESTO PRESTO

Try Purslane in Pesto.. so good for the brain as it has natural Omega 3's, or Cilantro for heavy metal detox, great cleansing herb too.  Use other nuts instead of pricey pine nuts.  I always use walnuts, my favorite, but pumpkin seeds (great zinc for colds) or sunflower seeds (a tip from Lisa Mase of Harmonized cookery) work just as great.  Consider adding sea vegetable powder like kelp instead of salt. so many ways to change up Pesto! For a delicious basic pesto recipe that you can change up.  Click here.

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Marie offers transformational health coaching for individuals and food as medicine demos and healthy living workshops focused on reducing stress and building energy.  Find out more at her website MarieFrohlich.com

TWO Favorite Super Summer Salads

Happy 4th of July Weekend~  

A Salute to Two Favorite Summer Salads!

The garden is in it's glory! and I am so grateful for the bounty, the sun, the rain, and the compost that nurtures those roots and blossoms of green and color.

Two spots left in the Vermont teaching garden retreat!  Let me know if you are interested.  Next summer we will move this to June and become a traveling garden group to workshops at the homes and gardens of local healers.  Let me know if you want to be on the list to get updates.

SUMMER SALAD JOY

Summer is full of deliciously fresh salad fix ins..a colorful array of whole foods to build and boost cellular energy and cut cravings.   Two of my favorite salads for family and friends, summer gatherings, major dinner sides and left overs for breakfast or lunch.   Enjoy!

TABOULI
I love this recipe because it reminds me of the first time I tasted it from a cook in an old crusader castle in the middle east when I was fortunate to experience working with a team on a biblical archeological dig near the dead sea in Jordan.  I love the addition of mint to salads - the aromatic sensation combined with parsley is pure joy.  I also make this with Quinoa.  

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup bulgar (cracked wheat)  You can substitute this with Quinoa for gluten free.
1 tsp salt
¼ cup lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 shallots, trimmed and thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped mint
¼ cup olive oil
Pinch black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2/3 cup parsley, chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the bulgar and salt. Cover the pan, remove it from the heat and let the bulgar soak about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare other salad items.
2. When bulgar is tender, turn it out into a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, shallots, mint, oil and pepper. Toss to mix. Cover the salad and put it aside until you are ready to serve.
3. Just before serving, add the tomatoes, parsley and cucumber and toss again. Serve.

 Recipe courtesy of Maggie Taylor of The Gourmet Saint

BLACK BEAN, TOMATO, CORN and CILANTRO  

This is a true favorite and always a hit at pot-luck picnics and cook-outs.  I love the combination of flavors and the Mexican salsa like kick.   You can use it in taco's too.

Ingredients:

Lime Juice from one lime, olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, one avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, two cans of black beans (or your own cooked) ,corn kernels (fresh or frozen), cilantro.

Salad Dressing

1/3 cup fresh lime juice in ball jar

add one minced clove of garlic

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper - Shake and wait.

Directions: 

Then: 

Drain and rinse two cans of black beans

Dice one avocado

Chop one red bell pepper

And two tomatos

Thinly slice 6 green onions

Chop ½ cup fresh cilantro

Put all ingredients in a bowl with

1.5 cups of frozen corn kernals

fold veggies together

add lime dressing

Toss and serve. Garnish with cilantro

Taken from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-And-Corn-Salad-II/

GREEN GREEN GREEN- Cleansing Recipes to Spring into Summer!

GREEN GREEN GREEN- Cleansing Recipes to Spring into Summer!

   Spring is a wonderful time to wake up your sluggish liver and energize your body to take on the gardening tasks and enlivening birth of color and sounds of this season.  It is no wonder the they call it the season of love.  Love up your body and soul now with attached recipes focused on Cilantro, an amazing medicinal herb for cleansing and detox and a free 3 Day Guide with recipes free from my website at MarieFrohlich.com

 July 18-19-20 -- 2014   A SUMMER Weekend in Vermont
 More wonders for Self-Care and Herbal Medicine..THERE ARE A FEW SPACES LEFT IN MY HERBAL GARDEN RETREAT WEEKEND.. A truly holistic adventure for mind, body and soul. 

Updated info on Workshops and two week extended discount available if you act now. http://www.mariefrohlich.com/herbal-weekend-retreat-in-vermont

   

Are you interested in becoming a health coach?  Contact me for details and a substantial discount.  We need more of us out there in the world to support and guide and empower others to self-care with the most cutting edge holistic and integrated nutritional offerings available today.

CILANTRO BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE – TO YOUR HEALTH!

I have shared this before and love sharing again.  Grow Cilantro in your garden and joy this smoothie throughout the summer for health and longevity!

You will need:

•           1 cup regular or lowfat Plain Greek-style yogurt

•           1/4 Cup of Walnuts or ½ of avocado for fat substitute if nut allergy

•           1 cup coconut water or pure water

•           ½- 1 banana

•           1to 1-1/2 cup cilantro, or baby spinach

•           1 to 1-1/2 cups Frozen Blueberries or mixed berries

•           Optional, can use other nuts, dates, substitute yogurt with almond milk, and add in a raw egg.

Instruction:   Start with the nuts, blend, then add banana and yogurt, blend, then add the liquid of choice, pulse and then all the rest.

Servings: 2-3 8-oz servings

Benefits:

Walnuts: excellent sources of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as well as Vitamin E and B6 which supports balancing the brains serotonin levels. Avocado’s also have these and many more vitamins and tons of potassium.

Cabot Greek Yogurt – excellent for pro-biotic to support digestion, protein to cut cravings throughout the day, vitamins 6 and B12 to combat stress and magnesium, excellent for supporting Calcium uptake.

Herb cilantro accelerates the excretion of mercury, lead, and aluminum from the body.  Boosts immunity and has anti-inflammatory capacity. Use Parsley or Spinach if

you don't like the taste of Cilantro

Berries – chockfull of antioxidants for boosting the immune system and staying flu and cold free- go for the dark colors to get the most support.

Banana – we all know it is good for potassium, but it is also excellent fiber for keeping us regular, provides sustained energy throughout the morning because of its sugars.

Coconut water- a super food, providing many benefits, low in sugars, detoxifier, boosts immunity, cleansing digestive tract, promotes weight loss.

CILANTRO CHELATION PESTO

Coriander (cilantro) has been proven to chelate toxic metals from our bodies in a relatively short period of time. Combined with the benefits of the other ingredients, this recipe is a powerful tissue cleanser. Two teaspoons of this pesto daily for three weeks is purportedly enough to increase the urinary excretion of mercury, lead and aluminum, thus effectively removing these toxic metals from our bodies. We can consider doing this cleanse for three weeks at least once a year. The pesto is delicious on toast, baked potatoes, and pasta.

Ingredients

•    4 cloves garlic

•    1/3 cup Brazil nuts (selenium)

•    1/3 cup sunflower seeds (cysteine)

•    1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium)

•    2 cups packed fresh coriander (cilantro, Chinese parsley) (vitamin A)

•    2/3 cup flaxseed oil

•    4 tablespoons lemon juice (vitamin C)

•    2 tsp dulse powder

•    Sea salt to taste

Process the coriander and flaxseed oil in a blender until the coriander is chopped. Add the garlic, nuts and seeds, dulse and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Add a pinch to sea salt to taste and blend again. Store in dark glass jars if possible. It freezes well, so purchase coriander in season and fill enough jars to last through the year.

BENEFITS OF CILANTRO

Heavy metal poisoning is rampant. It is a major cause of hormonal imbalances, cancer, thyroid problems, neurological disturbances, learning problems, depression, food allergies, parasites, etc. etc.

Two teaspoons of cilantro pesto daily for three weeks is purportedly enough to increase the urinary excretion of mercury, lead, and aluminum, thus effectively removing these toxic metals from our bodies. We can consider doing this cleanse for three weeks at least once a year. The pesto is delicious on toast, baked potatoes, and pasta.

If the green flavor of cilantro does not appeal to you, yet you still want to receive its health benefits, consider using cilantro tincture or extract which can be found online or at your local health food store.

The known benefits of organic cilantro are extensive, and researchers are discovering more every day. Currently, there are several well-known, well-documented benefits of organic cilantro, including:

• Powerful anti-inflammatory capacities that may help symptoms of arthritis
• Protective agents against bacterial infection from Salmonella in food products
• Acts to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind), and reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad kind)
• Relief for stomach gas, prevention of flatulence and an overall digestive aid
• Wards off urinary tract infections
• Helps reduce feelings of nausea
• Eases hormonal mood swings associated with menstruation
• Has been shown to reduce menstrual cramping.
• Adds fiber to the digestive tract
• A source of iron, magnesium, and is helpful in fighting anemia
• Gives relief for diarrhea, especially if caused by microbial or fungal infections
• Helps promote healthy liver function.
• Reduces minor swelling
• Strong general anti-oxidant properties
• Disinfects and helps detoxify the body
• Stimulates the endocrine glands
• Helps with insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar
• Acts as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal agent for skin disorders like fungal infections and eczema
• Contains immune-boosting properties
• Acts as an expectorant
• Helps ease conjunctivitis, as well as eye-aging, macular degeneration, and other stressors on the eyes.

Resources:  James A. Duke, Ph.D., a former botanist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, states that cilantro has been shown to settle the stomach. He recommends drinking a cup of the tea made from a handful of the leaves, when experiencing any form of stomach discomfort.

Dr. Yoshiaki Omura discovered that mercury levels in the urine increased after an individual ate Vietnamese soup, which contains cilantro. Dr. Omura’s further research discovered that the herb cilantro could accelerate the excretion of mercury, lead, and aluminum from the body.
Contributed by:Rhio (www.RawfoodInfo.com)

Several internet sources

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