Flavors of Fall!

It's the end of October and San Diego is just now feeling the beginnings of Fall! My favorite season! Time to bust out the scarves, sweaters and boots! Time for Pumpkin Spice everything and lots of festivities with family and friends. Oh yeah, and who can forget Crock Pots!

I often get asked how I manage to make delicious, homemade dinners 6 times a week. With a little planning, it can become rewarding to prepare these meals rather than feel like a chore! This post will share one of my favorite fall Crock Pot recipes! As always I try to keep my meals as healthy and loaded with nutritious foods as possible! This recipe is low prep, easy and perfect for eating on a crisp fall evening!

My most favorite thing about the crock pot is its very low maintenance. After you throw everything in you can go about your day whether it be heading off to work or chasing the kids around and picking up your living room 900 times a day! It's so nice when at the end of your day your house smells as if someone has been slaving away over dinner, but you haven't done anything since morning.

French Dip Sandwiches

Place a roast in a crock pot and cover with water. Add a dash or two of red wine,  about 1/3 cup of soy sauce and some chopped garlic, sliced onions and maybe even some mushrooms and/or bell peppers. Let everything sit in the crockpot on low heat for 6-7 hours or until the meet is shredded.  With tongs remove meat and any other additions so that just the au jus sauce is left in the crock pot.

Place sliced rolls open faced on a baking sheet and place in the oven set to 300 degrees for about 5 minutes or so to warm the bread. Remove the bread, top with meat and cooked veggies, place a slice of pepper jack or swiss cheese and place back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.

Pour some of the au jus sauce in a small bowl and enjoy your delicious meal! You can always make, or buy some horseradish sauce if you want a little extra kick. My favorite is to spread some Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo on the roll. Mmmmmmmmmm........................

Disclaimer:  Please note: I am not a medical professional. Please use your careful discernment and double check with your naturopath or doctor before taking any vitamins or supplements

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.

Don't Fear the Fever!!!

No one likes to see their little babies sick and in pain. This post is written as to share some information on how to naturally deal with poor, sick little munchkins, specifically to handle one of the most commonly feared symptoms, a fever. It will describe how this indicator should not be feared, but is rather a sign that the body is doing what it is supposed to in order to fight off a sickness.

We recently had a hard week! My son got his first real sickness. It came just after our first trip to Disneyland and I think just being exposed to a large amount of people and germs just took a toll on his immune system. About 2 days after our fun, family adventure he was very fussy and felt VERY hot. I took his temperature and the thermometer read 102!

No Mama likes to see their little baby in pain and a fever as high as that can be pretty scary! Being that my son is my second baby, I feel like I've been around the block and no longer panic when my kids are sick as I did as a first time mom. From previous research, and a quick read through of my homeopathic pediatric books I researched some ways to help make life a little more comfortable for my little man. His symptoms were a high fever, a slight runny nose with clear discharge and he was very very weepy and clingy (but then again aren't most men when they are sick!) My poor boy wasn't his usual happy, smiley self. He wouldn't walk, wouldn't play and had absolutely no interest in laughing at even the funniest behavior. All he wanted to do was lay on me, or lay in bed and sleep. I put him to bed in a onesie, gave him a few Belladonna tablets and put him down with a bottle of almond milk with some Vitamin D drops. I knew the most important thing to do was to monitor the fever (you should contact your doctor if the fever gets to be 104, continues to climb or is at 102 for longer than 3 days) and to make sure that he was getting enough fluids.

I continued to monitor him every hour or so, and gave him Belladonna tablets whenever he seemed really miserable. I have always read that you should let fevers run there course. They are due to the body fighting off a virus and the heat from the fever kills the virus. Breaking the fever before the virus has been killed can actually prolong the sickness. This is why its important to let the fever do it's natural thing and just try to make your itty bitty patient as comfortable as possible. I also gave him a bath with a few drops of essential oils added, Rosemary, Lavender and Tea Tree. These particular oils help the body to stabilize the fever naturally. I offered fluids to him often, most times persisting to make sure that he didn't get dehydrated and made sure to include his vitamins (Multi and D). I could tell he didn't feel good, but he wasn't miserable and suffering and I could tell it was coming to an end.

On the afternoon on the 3rd day of the fever, it was much lower that day and by evening my son was beginning to return to his happy, fun little self. Because he had slept so much those couple of days when it was bed time he wanted to play instead. I let him stay up for a few minutes more to play and put him down confident that the worst was over. When I went to pick him up the next morning and saw a red, bumpy rash all over his face, neck and torso I immediately got nervous and sent a text to my husband. Right after I texted him I remembered back to when my daughter experienced these same symptoms around the same age. I referred back to my books and the internet and knew that he was suffering from Roseola. A very common viral infection that typically occurs in babies 9 month to 2 years of age. The symptoms are actually a lot scarier than the actual illness itself, you just need to keep an eye on your little one and notify your health care provider if you child appears to be dehydrated or the fever is over 104 or persists for too long.

Even with having an entire rash my sweet boy seemed happy and not too uncomfortable. I did give him some chamomilla twice, once before nap and once before bedtime just to make sure he was comfortable and had a good nights sleep to help his body heal. By the next morning his rash was almost completely gone and if it weren't for the slight pink, bumpy spots you would have never known he was sick as he was back to full energy and had his appetite back. Illnesses like this are actually very healthy for children and help them to build up their immune system to develop into healthy adults.

Disclaimer:  Please note: I am not a medical professional. Please use your careful discernment and double check with your naturopath or doctor before taking any vitamins or supplements

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.

Benefits of practicing mind body techniques to facilitate a natural labor

With so many medical interventions and use of drugs during labor it is no surprise that many woman are unfamiliar with the importance of mind body techniques and the benefits they have on labor and post-partum health. Educating women on these techniques early in pregnancy can significantly reduce unnecessary medical processes that are typically seen. For example, Cesarean and Pitocin rates are at 30%, with epidural rates at and astounding 80%. These interventions can cause complications during labor along with side effects in both mother and baby, which can result in trauma.

Pitocin is a synthetic form of Oxytocin and is released into the system via IV, delivering the drug in a steady flow instead of in secreted bursts, which is how the body releases natural Oxytocin. This results in stronger contractions, which may decrease blood flow and can cause distress to both the mother and baby increasing the likelihood of a C-section. Mind body techniques such as yoga, relaxation, imagery, and meditation offer both psychological and physiological benefits to both mother and baby. These techniques help to improve comfort during labor, and shorten the duration of the overall labor time.

Most popular mind body techniques

Yoga is one of the most popular forms of exercise during pregnancy and combines gentle stretching, relaxation and breathing techniques. This ancient practice increases internal awareness and focus that helps create confidence and trust in your body while also bonding with your baby. It can lower blood pressure and prevents and relieves aches and pains that impinge on the body during pregnancy. Yoga builds stamina, relaxes the pelvis, and helps the baby transition into an optimal birthing position.

The relaxation response can significantly improve your overall health and well being. Research has shown that when the relaxation response is used on a daily basis it can reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain, as well as improve blood pressure, immunity, and self-esteem. Relaxation helps to create endorphins, which help to decrease pain during labor, whereas fear causes the release of stress hormones and catecholamine that can increase pain and duration of labor. Meditation and imagery can be effective methods of helping to achieve complete and total relaxation.

Meditation helps to create melatonin, which is released into the bloodstream during stress inducing times. It also produces endorphins that have very powerful pain relieving effects, similar to morphine. The more dedicated the woman is to her prenatal meditation, the less afraid she will be of preconceived pain prior to the onset of labor. This will allow the woman to be less disturbed by any actual pain felt which creates feelings of joy. Frequent practice results in higher levels of endorphins during labor.

Imagery and visualization are other powerful tools for women to practice prior to labor. Envisioning a successful labor can help build confidence in the woman's ability to birth naturally without medical interventions coming into play. Tight and tense muscles can prevent the body from opening, which is essential in order for labor to progress. Practicing imagery and visualization towards the end of your pregnancy and during labor helps to condition the mind and reduce stress and anxiety.

In addition to helping make pregnancy and labor easier, these modalities also help the post-partum body recover quicker. These techniques prevent and treat post partum depression and anxiety by allowing the mother some time to herself to nurture her mind-body connection. With so many physical and hormonal changes going on during this time, it is beneficial for the mother to take some time to decompress and build awareness with her changing body to adapt to each new stage of motherhood.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.bidmc.org
http://www.bidmc.org
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17900044
http://www.birthresourcenetwork.org


Disclaimer:  Please note: I am not a medical professional. Please use your careful discernment and double check with your naturopath or doctor before taking any vitamins or supplements

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.