German Bio Shops

Heiligenstadt Kneipp/Kurpark Bath

Hahnemann House and European Homeopathy Library Photos

Germany September 2010

I traveled to Germany for 3 weeks in September 2010 to visit with family, and although this post is more than a bit late and out of place at this time of year, I wanted to share some of the interesting photos from my trip. I hope you enjoy them!

Germany is the birthplace of Naturopathic medicine and I was able to visit two very interesting places while was there. One was a house that Samuel Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathy, which is one of the therapeutics I work with as a Naturopath) had lived and practiced in from 1821 - 1834. Interestingly, the house is only about 15 minutes away (in a city called Kothen) from where I was staying with my mom's cousin and her family. The house has now been turned into a small museum and is situated right beside the European Library of Homeopathy. I was able to go through the

museum and the library and it was awesome to see many of the original

remedies that Hahnemann had prepared and worked with and to be in the same space he had practiced in. This was definitely a highlight of my trip!

Another exciting place I was able to visit was Heiligenstadt, a city that was about 30 minutes from where I was staying with my mom's other cousin and his family. Another therapeutic utilized in Naturopathic Medicine is hydrotherapy, or water therapy, which was developed by Sebastian Kniepp, and there as was an outdoor Kniepp bath/Kurpark in Heiligenstadt that I was able to try out. It was a VERY refreshing (cold!) arm and foot bath and felt great, circulation and energy wise! This was also another highlight of my trip!

When I last visited Germany, it was 1993 and my mom's family let me know it would be hard to find natural food

choices at that time, so I was prepared and took a 40 pound bag of food

with me (as a carry on too because I wasn't letting that bag out of my sight!!)! This time, I knew it would be much easier and I was pleased to find lots of natural food stores and lots of organic (called Bio in Germany) food choices. I was able to find most all of the foods I would find at home, although they only grow kale (grunkohl) as a winter crop, so there was NONE to be found during my entire trip! I stayed primarily in small villages, and everyone has a large garden, as well as fruit trees. I was able to eat fresh carrots, zucchini, kohlrabi, plums, and pears from my mom's cousin's garden. As well, while I was in Germany, everything was still green and growing, so I was able to see lots of beautiful plants and flowers (see top three pictures to the left). There was especially an abundance of goldenrod, which is a great herb for supporting both lung and urinary health (see bottom picture to the left).

Overall, my trip was a great learning experience and I look forward to being able to visit again in the future.

Coconut oil!

The remainder of the cleanse went well, but I was mainly drawing from already posted recipes and simple suppers, so unfortunately I didn't have new recipes to share. As well, the cleanse ended a few days early for me (at my favorite restaurant, Fresh!) because I went to Toronto for a class on Jan 29 and 30th. The class focused on healthy blood sugar balance and the wide ranging impact it has on all the systems in our body. One of the simple suggestions for healthy blood sugar balance that I picked up from the class was to integrate coconut oil into our daily routines, at 1 tsp 3 times per day (if possible) to support stabilized blood sugar throughout the day. So far, I am only managing to integrate it into my morning smoothie, but it has been easy to do and it adds a yummy coconut flavor to the smoothie. If you do not like the taste of coconut, you can pick up refined coconut oil - the refined coconut oil still offers the benefits of unrefined coconut oil, but tends to have a less strong taste. The reason I went with the brand in the above picture (which is an unrefined coconut oil) is because it is in a glass jar and it is always best to purchase fat based foods in glass to prevent the leaching of xeno-estrogens found in plastic containers into the food that is in the plastic container.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Tonight for supper, I had a yummy cauliflower soup. Cauliflower (and kale) is from the brassica family of vegetables which all offer great support for healthy liver cleansing, so this soup is a great cleanse meal!

Here is the recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup (see picture to the left):

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 4 garlic cloves, minced, 1/2 leek, chopped, 2 celery ribs, chopped, 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped, 2 cups vegetables (I used zucchini, portobello mushrooms, and shitake mushrooms), chopped, 1 head of cauliflower, chopped (this was approximately 2- 3 cups of cauliflower), 6 cups vegetable broth/water (I used water with 1 tsp of sea salt), 1 1/2 cups nuts (I used cashews, walnuts, and pine nuts), 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1 lemon, freshly squeezed, 1/2 cup water, 2 green onions, chopped, 2 cups leafy greens (I used black kale), chopped, 2 cups cooked beans (I used chickpeas, but a smaller bean, like a navy bean, may be a better fit), 1 cup cooked rice (I used short grain brown rice), 1 avocado, sliced

Heat olive oil in soup pot and saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add leek and celery and saute for 2 minutes. Add basil and saute for 1 minute. Add assorted vegetables and saute for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and saute for 3 minutes. Add vegetable broth/water, bring to boil, and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. In a food processor, combine nuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and water and blend to a smooth consistency. Once 15 minutes have passed, remove soup from heat, add nut blend mixture, and mix well. Blend soup (I used a hand blender) to a chunky consistency. Mix in green onions, leafy greens, beans and rice. Garnish with a few slices of avocado and serve.

Once the soup was dished up, it was seasoned with flax oil and sea salt. It was a rich, creamy, and delicious meal!

Stir Fried Broccoli with a Lemony Twist!

I recently got a great new cookbook called Appetite For Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who is one of my favorite cookbook authors. This stir fry is inspired by a broccoli and chickpea bake recipe in her new book.

Here is the recipe for Stir Fried Broccoli with a Lemony Twist (see pictures to the left):

1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 5 cloves garlic, minced, 1 green onion, chopped, 1/4 cup parsley, chopped, 2 cups assorted vegetables (I used a mixture of carrots, zucchini, snow peas, shitake and portobello mushrooms), chopped, 2 tsp lemon zest, freshly grated, 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed, 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 2 cups broccoli, chopped, 2 cups leafy greens (I used collard greens), chopped, 2 cups cooked brown rice (I used long grain brown rice and cooked the rice while the stir fry was being prepared), 2 cups cooked chickpeas (the chickpeas were soaked for 4 hours prior to cooking and they were also cooked while the stir fry was being prepared)

Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion, garlic, green onion, and parsley for 5 minutes. Add assorted vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, and sea salt and saute for 2 minutes. Add broccoli and saute for 3 minutes. Add leafy greens and saute for 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve with rice and chickpeas.

Once the food was dished up, it was seasoned with sea salt and flax oil and was a delicious and refreshing meal on a cold winter night!