A Simple Dip of a Stick

I love getting urine from my patients. I know that sounds crazy (and gross) but as an ND with the simple dip of a urine sample I can quickly assess the internal aspect of a patient. The dipstick tells me how hydrated or dehydrated a person is, if they are acidic or alkaline. It also checks for white blood cells (also known as leukocytes), blood or protein to tell me if there is a urinary tract infection (UTI) or glucose if diabetic. All this with a simple dip of a stick. Baby Bell has had her share of UTI's (my next post will discuss this) and getting a urine sample used to be quite challenging. Now that she pees in a potty I can check her urine so easily! Today she was well hydrated and alkaline.

New Life

I went to a birth yesterday that was simply magical. Mom was amazing and after 12 hours of natural labour out came a perfect baby. I am honoured to be part of this little beings life.

Farm Fresh

Trying to keep things local this weekend, we went to Forsythe Family Farms today. http://www.forsythefamilyfarms.ca/index.html
It's in Markham and we often make the trip out of the city to spend some time in fresh country air. They have a little petting zoo, games for the whole family, a wagon ride out to an enchanted forest, fresh open space and a market full of produce, freshly baked goods, local eggs and meat products. Here are some shots of the day....

ewan loves goats.....

a healthy snack in the woods

dinner......

dessert....

From Farm to Table

We went to the Farmer's Market this morning and got some beautiful produce. I should have brought my camera to take pictures with the kiddies but being there with 2 busy children solo my hands were already full. Here are some shots of what we got and what we ate! Feels so good to support Local Farming..... (We just watched Food Inc.....nuf' said!)

Here are the eggs we made when we got back. I finely chopped up basil and rosemary before scrambling them. I then had to pick out all the 'green' for Aidan....

We had my parents over for dinner. Here is the arugula salad and asparagus freshly cooked.
The dressing for the salad was super easy. I roasted an entire bulb of garlic and then mashed the cloves into olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I then topped with sunflower sprouts.
Simply grilled on the BBQ

Cough and Cold Remedy

So I was thinking that every Friday I would discuss a favorite product of mine. This is by no means to endorse that product but simply to introduce my readers to the things I find useful to have at home for natural family medicine.

Bella was sick on the weekend (yet again!) and by Sunday the cough and cold were pronounced. She was fine for a couple of days and then by Wednesday night she had a terrible cough that was waking her up. It was wet and mucusy all congested and she could not expectorate the mucus. I had been giving her Antimonium Tart. and Spongia and both were helping but I needed a little more help. I had picked this cough syrup up at Shopper's the other week and pulled it out from the cupboard. I gave her 2.5 ml at 10 pm and she slept til' 3 am! I then gave her a second dose at 3 am and she slept til' the morning. Amazing. Yesterday things were going well so I did not give her any (my mistake!) and this morning it was rumbly again. I listened to her lungs and all was clear and I gave her a another 2.5 ml and once again she is doing much better. My plan is to give it to her once daily until the cough is gone.

It is a liquid preperation made by Homeocan and contains a variety of homeopathic remedies. It tastes good, as most homeopathics do. Overall, I was quite pleased!

A Gift

The other day one of the receptionists at the clinic gave me this gift.


The timing was perfect as we were just listing our house and needed some foilage. It came from Richter's Herbs which is a fabulous herb farm located north of the city. What I love about this plant is that the herbs keep growing and is full of healing properties. It really was a thoughtful gift and everytime I look at it in the living room it makes me smile. (so much better than flowers!)

Tonight I made a sandwich with fresh tomato and basil. Delicious.....

Summer Fresh

I made this salad today. It was inspired by a similar salad I had at a good friend's a few days ago and I could not stop thinking about it. It was delicious! I often don't use recipes and just put flavours together. This one turned out fresh, packed full of medicinal properties and the kids loved it!

A few words on Basil. This herb has so many wonderful properties. It is a digestive aid and is wonderful for the Immune system. It's great for clearing out the Lungs and useful for colds, bronchitis, asthma and coughs. (Aidan recently had an asthmatic episode....crazy....this will be a post on it's own). Basil also helps the adrenal glands adapt to stress and I think we can all use that!

Summer Fresh Orzo Salad
3 cups of orzo boiled for about 10 minutes
Lightly steamed Asparagus and Broccoli
Onions and Garlic finely chopped and sauted in Olive oil
I then mixed the orzo with the onion and garlic and then added in the asparagus and broccoli.
I added in a healthy handful of chopped Basil, sliced Black Olives and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
I seasoned with Sea Salt, Pepper, Apple Cider Vinegar, and fresh Lemon

Voila!

Some key Ingedients
All mixed up
Coupled with a piece of fresh trout and dinner is served!