Healthy Doesn't Have to be Hard

You can try to choke down raw kale or you can find a recipe that makes it taste delicious.

Healthy doesn't have to be hard.

Eat More Vegetables

Simply eating more vegetables would resolve a massive amount of health issues for people. It seems so simple but very few people eat enough vegetables on a daily basis. Instead they run to the doctor to get medication to cover up an auto-immune problem or an "itis" caused by the unhealthy food they are eating. 

Start eating vegetables with every meal, especially leafy greens and broccoli!

-Make smoothies and load up on the mixed greens
-Steam broccoli and put Kerrygold USA Grassfed butter on it

Fruits and Vegetables

As you are filling your grocery cart with fruits and vegetables it is important to know how to store produce correctly so it lasts as long as possible, especially if you buy organic.

Avocados can be ripened quickly if put in a brown paper bag with a banana. Whereas if you want to slow the ripening process, put avocados in the fridge. 

To store bananas long term, peel, slice and store in the freezer in a plastic bag. They will keep for awhile in the freezer and they work great for smoothies.

Eat Real Food

Real food is not made in a factory.
Real food does not have an ingredients list.
Eat real food -- the easiest rule to live by when trying to get healthy.

Delaney in the garden

Delaney working with her Grandpa, Al Thieme, in the garden learning where real food comes from. She's even doing a little barefoot grounding while she's at it.

She doesn't look too excited about it yet, but she will appreciate it later in life!

#barefootbaby #nofreerides

Medicine is not healthcare -- food is healthcare

Learn more about nutrition and true health.

Blueberries: Nature's Super Food

Dr. Kehres picking blueberries at Russell's Blueberry Farm

When it comes to health and nutrition the experts don’t always agree on everything, but there is one food we all almost always agree on – blueberries. One of nature’s super foods, blueberries have a very high nutrient content and many health benefits.

When your body is under stress, oxidation happens. Oxidation causes inflammation which leads to basically every disease known to man from Alzheimer’s to cancer. Oxidation can be caused by unhealthy food, toxins, mental stress, physical stress and any other form of stress.

Researchers from Oregon State University found that blueberries are the most powerful antioxidant rich food on earth.

Blueberries contain a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compound called anthocyanin. On top of blueberries being loaded with antioxidants nutrition expert Dr. Jonny Bowden explains that the phytochemicals and antioxidants in blueberries work together to increase the free-radical absorbance to a level greater than any other fruit. Definitely a fruit you want to have in your diet on a regular basis!

We picked 34 lbs. of blueberries in less than two hours!

Russell’s Blueberry Farm in Freeland, Michigan has a you-pick blueberry farm open from July 4th until Labor Day. If you live in the Great Lakes Bay region, not only can you eat a superfood but you can get it locally grown!

Try incorporating blueberries into your daily diet to maximize your antioxidant content. Eat blueberries fresh, use them in a veggie shake or dehydrate blueberries. Eating more blueberries will help to keep your antioxidant levels high throughout the day and not only help you deal with stress but also help to reduce pain and inflammation.

Sources:

Oregon State University; Berry Health Benefits Network.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Dr. Jonny Bowden; 2007

Strawberry & Asparagus Season in Michigan

Locally grown strawberries and asparagus brought in for me by my patient Lynne. They were grown on her own farm! Thanks Lynne!

Learn more about the benefits of eating local.

Fresh from the Garden

 

Eliminate the risk of eating genetically modified foods (GMO), foods produced with chemicals or other fertilizers and grow it yourself! 

Have you ever noticed that many of the vegetables in your local produce section look identical? That is typically because they are GMO's. Every vegetable grown in an organic non-GMO garden will and should look different.

Gardening: Update & Natural Rabbit Repellent

Three weeks after planting our garden, it has turned into an organic jungle! Everything has been coming in great, especially with all the rain we have had.

We have not used any pesticides on our garden, but we did have to deter some rabbits who ruined our sugar snap pea plants and got into the spinach (see the picture top right). I mixed garlic powder, cayenne pepper and a little bit of natural dish soap with water, spray on the plants about twice a week, and the rabbits haven't come back since! We have also been spraying a mixture of natural dish soap and water on our plants as a natural bug repellent.

The cilantro tastes great, and the butter crunch lettuce is just about ready to start eating. There are a few green peppers that are coming in, and we have a ton of green onions. Hope your garden is growing well! What works for you to keep rabbits and bugs away?

Read more about gardening:
How to Build a Raised Bed
Planting Map

Pass the Pesticides Please

I always encourage people to buy food as natural as possible so you can add your own salt, seasoning, sugar, dressing, etc. to taste. You always add less than the restaurant or food manufacturer would. It gives you more control over your food and what you are eating.

For example, if you are ordering a salad at a restaurant, ask for dressing on the side and add to taste. Choose low sodium soup, add salt to taste. Choose unsweetened tea, add sugar to taste.

Choose organic food, add pesticides to taste.

Would you ever add insect spray, that "kills on contact," to your food before eating it? Why would you use pesticides in your garden as your fruits and vegetables are at their most vulnerable state? Buy and grow organic produce! Then it is your choice if you want to add pesticides to taste.

On a budget? Learn what fruits and veggies are the most important to buy organic.

Gardening: Planting Map

We recently built raised beds for our garden (learn how we did that here). Here is how we laid out the garden, planning for the taller plants in the back of the garden, so they didn't block the shorter plants from sunlight. We also put the green vegetables rabbits seem to favor in one bed and placed a small fence around it. Our garden is going to be chemical free, caring for our plants naturally and organically.

There are a combination of seeds and plants, and everything we bought was either organic or heirloom (meaning that nothing is genetically modified). For the herbs we don't use while fresh, we are planning to use our dehydrator to make dried spices.

We have a few pots around our deck where we planted stevia, lavender, basil, oregano, chives and a strawberry plant.

Gardening: How to Build a Raised Garden

Do you know where your fruits and vegetables come from? What chemicals are used on them? Are they genetically modified? If you grow your own food, you will know exactly how they are grown. This is the first year we've had an opportunity to put in our own garden. We're learning as we go, will share our experience and we look forward to hearing tips from others!

We decided to build two raised garden beds, it was very easy to do. With help from my dad, it only took an hour and a half to build.

Visit your local hardware store to buy the wood you are going to use. We decided to make two 6 ft. x 8 ft. raised beds. I bought four 8 ft. by 8 in. boards and four 6 ft. by 8 in. boards of untreated wood with no chemicals, and deck screws to secure the boards together (which cost around $40).



Find a spot in your yard that gets a good amount of sunlight and is the ideal location for a garden. Be sure to leave enough room around it for a mower if you build close to a fence or two right next to each other. 



Try to find free labor if possible (thanks Dad)! We bought two 12 ft. boards and cut in half to have four 6 ft. boards. Screw them together to create your frame.



Place the frames in the area you want and secure them with stakes in the corners. You can screw the steaks to the frame with deck screws. This will keep your garden from bowing and shifting when you add dirt.

 

One full trailer load was enough to fill both beds, and it only cost $20.

 

Have your free labor fill the frames up with dirt! It's going to settle a few inches so be sure to fill to the top. 

  

                            Stand back, admire your raised garden beds and get ready to plant!