February Kombucha Class!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great transition into the Chinese new year! If your body needs a little extra support or you are looking to improve your diet, our kombucha class may be for you!

One of the most effective ways to strengthen your immune system is by having a healthy gut. Kombucha and other fermented foods play an essential part in establishing and maintaining a healthy colony of the friendly bacteria we all need.

I am offering a class on how to make your own health giving kombucha on Friday, February 10th from 6-8 pm for only $10! It will be a lot of fun, and one lucky student will go home with her/his very only scoby!

If you are interested, please contact me at the clinic at 612-824-0037 or send an email to redcricketjoi@rocketmail.com. It will be a very small class, so contact me soon to reserve your space!

Peace and Blessings,

Joi

Beat colds and flu with Kimchi soup!

Hello everyone!

Well, it is finally getting cold here in Minnesota and with the cold I am seeing an uptick in colds and flus. My children brought me a doozy this weekend, and as I was whipping out my herbs and trying to remind myself to rest, (doctors make the worst patients) I remembered one of my favorite soups which helps the body to resist a cold or flu.

Most of you know that I am a big fan of both fermented foods and soups and this one is a little of both.  It is called Kimchi jigae and it is a delicious korean soup that I was taught to make by my brother Aairam who had the great fortune to live in Seoul for a little over a year.  When the avian flu was plaguing Asia I remember reading an article that stated that Korea had experienced no deaths.  Some attributed it to the kimchi in their diet - it's fermented, and has loads of both garlic and chili.  Yum!

I'll do my best with this recipe, but keep in mind that I learned this dish by taste, so all of the measurements are approximations.  Alter this as you see fit.

Kimchi Jigae

1lb pork (chops etc) sliced thinly
1 bunch finely sliced green onions
4-8 cloves minced garlic
5 T sesame oil
salt/pepper
16 oz kimchi (separate cabbage from juice.  SAVE JUICE!!!)
1 medium Mu peeled and cubed (Korean radish) see photo below
4-8 c water
2 tsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
2 tsp miso or dengjang (Korean fermented bean paste)
2 tsp (Korean) soy sauce
8 - 16 oz firm tofu
cooked rice
3 sheets Korean roasted seaweed cut into strips

1. Slice your pork and add to garlic, sesame oil, green onions, salt and pepper.  Let sit for a bit.  Saute pork mixture in soup pot.
2. When finished,  transfer out and saute kimchi until translucent.
3. Add pork mixture to kimchi as well as cubed mu, water, gochujang, dengjang, soy sauce and half of   kimchi juice.
4. Let cook for 45 mis to hour until mu is translucent.  Check the taste.  Add more sesame oil if you desire a richer, fuller flavor, more kimchi juice for spice, and soy to even the two flavors out.  Add tofu 10 mins before serving.
5. Serve with a few tablespoons to 1/2 cup rice, topped with the roasted seaweed (laver).

Here's a link to a recipe most like mine.  http://norecipes.com/blog/2009/11/18/kimchi-jigae-recipe-kimchi-soup/

I learned to cook from my family members, so I do my best finding a recipe I like and then monkeying around in the kitchen until I perfect my own version of the recipe.  So, if you are catching a cold, I would suggest you run over to one of our fantastic Korean restaurants and ordering a nice bowl of kimchi jigae to go!  Then you will know the taste to aim for!

If you live in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area, I would suggest you head over to Kim's Market on Snelling for your ingredients.  It's a great shop, and they always have the best kimchi in the metro area.

Bon appetit!

Joi

January Healthy Eating Workshop!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season! Guess what? It's that time of year to uphold your new year's resolution and usher in the new year with a new you! Yay!

We all know that January is the month to clear out all of the excess from the past months. Start anew this year with healthier eating habits. Learn valuable skills on how to improve your diet and how a healthier diet can produce a happier, more balanced you!

Whether you are looking to finally kick those naughty eating habits, to balance your diet for optimal health, or to improve your intake to aid weight loss, this class could be the help you have been waiting for!

I am offering this healthy eating workshop on Friday, January 13th from 6-8 pm. The workshop will be held here at the Red Cricket clinic, directions can be found on our website www.redcricket.com. 

If you are interested, please contact me at the clinic at 612-824-0037. The class will only cost $10, and it will be a very small class, so contact me soon to reserve your space!

Peace and Blessings,

Joi

Winter Newsletter 2011

Hi everyone!

Great news! Our Winter newsletter "Your Whole Life" is done and available for your reading pleasure. Get tips on how to fight colds and strengthen your immune system. Learn about CranioSacral Therapy done by our very own Erica Geier. Plus get a yummy recipe for homemade chicken soup!

The newsletter is available on our website, www.redcricket.com, under "Your Whole Life."

Or click on the link below to see the newsletter in a PDF version:
Winter Newsletter - PDF


Health and Blessings,

Joi

Walnuts for fertility!

Hello again!

One of my favorite foods for boosting fertility and strengthening the body are walnuts.  In Chinese medicine, walnuts are one of the best foods for profoundly strengthening the body at its core. If you're trying to get pregnant, walnuts are very nourishing food capable of building your body so it will be ready for the demands of growing a baby.  Plus, they also really taste good!

Have you ever noticed that walnuts look like tiny brains?  They do!  Chinese medicine teaches us that walnuts are chock full of good things to make us smart.  So, grab a handful of walnuts next time you sit down to do your crossword!

Here is one of my favorite recipes for candied walnuts - I never measure anything, so you may have to tinker with the measurements a bit...

Candied walnuts (yum, yum, yum!)

1 c walnuts
3-4 Tbsp peanut oil
1-2 tsp soy sauce
1/4-1/3 c maple syrup
1/8-1/4 tsp spice (cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, whatever you'd like)

1) Heat walnuts and oil on medium hight heat in a saucepan or skillet until browned.
2) Add maple syrup, soy sauce and spice (if desired) to coat walnuts and heat until boiling. (usually this will happen very quickly)
3) Stir maple syrup until you notice fine threads forming when you lift your spoon from the syrup.
4) Let it cool in the pan.
5) Remove from pan when cool.  Store in an airtight container.

You can eat these walnuts as a snack or add to salads (my favorite).  Here's my favorite salad..

Beet & Goat Cheese salad

• Mesclun greens
• Cooked beets, sliced (I like to boil up a bunch on the weekends, peel after they've cooked and keep them on hand to use throughout the week)
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Candied walnuts (yum!)
• Goat cheese (Cypress Groves makes a lavender infused cheese called 'Purple Haze' which is spectacular in this salad!!!)
• Simple balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar and olive oil will do)

You can determine the proportions yourself.  This salad is so delicious, and very, very good for you.  Still one of my favorite treats!

Enjoy!

Upcoming Kombucha class!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely summer! Now that it's fall and school has started it's cold season again! Ugh.

One of the most effective ways to strengthen your immune system is by having a healthy gut. Kombucha and other fermented foods play an essential part in establishing and maintaining a healthy colony of the friendly bacteria we all need.

I am offering a class on how to make your own health giving kombucha on Friday, November 4 from 6-8 pm for only $10! It will be a lot of fun, and one lucky student will go home with her/his very only scoby!

If you are interested, please contact me at the clinic at 612-824-0037. It will be a very small class, so contact me soon to reserve your space!

Peace and Blessings,

Joi

Acupuncture and Herbs can help relieve your allergies!

Hi everyone!

I hope that you are doing well, and enjoying our spring, now that it is finally here!

After the tough winter that we had, it is such a relief to be able to be outside and enjoy all that the outdoors have to offer. If you have spring or any type of seasonal allergies that may get in the way. Don't let that happen!

I have found acupuncture and chinese herbs to be very effective at treating seasonal allergies. These treatments can not only help to relieve the symptoms you're suffering with, but they can also help strengthen the body so that your allergies can decrease and hopefully disappear altogether!

Here's a great article I found on the subject. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263787,00.html

Have a lovely day, and get outside, the lilacs are waiting!!!

Yours in health,

Joi