Author Archives: acuplace@gmail.com

About acuplace@gmail.com

Sarah began her studies of holistic health at the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard where she earned a certificate in Therapeutic Massage Therapy in 2003. Sarah continued on her educational journey at the Temple of Kriya Yoga where she earned a 200 hour certificate in Hatha Yoga teacher training. From here Sarah continued on to the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine earning a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Master's degree in Oriental Medicine. Sarah also holds an advanced 108 hour certificate in Acupuncture from the Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangzhou, China where she spent time in specialized lectures on Traditional Chinese Medicine for women’s health, weight loss, MS, strokes and more. Sarah is also an Adjunct Professor and Clinic Supervisor at the College of Lake County Health and Wellness Promotions Program.

Minestrone Soup Recipe

I had lots of garden goodness to process so I made a big batch of soup. Its the perfect day for soup today isn’t it? Do you make your own broth? Its super easy to do. I was scared of it until I started reading all the benefits of “bone soup”. Last year we joined our first CSA for meat and eggs and it really opened my eyes on how we eat. Before then we almost never had any bones in our meat. I learned how super simple it is to get several meals out of one piece of meat when you use everything. (as a side note we all lost some weight and feel better 🙂

For this recipe I had recently cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot (I used the chicken for a coconut stir fry with lots of veggies and enchiladas verdes with homemade tomatillo sauce straight from the garden). I took the bones and the juices and kept them in the crock pot and added whatever I had on hand: garlic, celery, carrots, scraps of veggies etc and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (that helps extract the marrow out of the bones into the soup where all the good stuff is) and let it slow cook for 12 hours or so then strained everything out.

All veggies for this soup are a mix of my garden and the store. We started with leeks, garlic, eggplant, carrots, celery, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, brocoli, and mushrooms.

leeks, garlic, mushrooms, white beans (lung/large intestine)

carrots, yellow and orange peppers, yellow tomatoes (spleen/stomach)

zucchini, celery, and brocoli (liver/gall bladder)

home-made broth (kidney/urinary bladder)

 

Start with a few pieces of nitrate free bacon. We got ours from farmer Nick. Cook that up with some leeks and garlic until brown then add the rest of your veggies. We like a hardy soup so I usually fill up 2 or 3 cereal bowls of cut veggies. Cook the veggies for a few minutes then add some tomato paste or homemade canned/stewed tomatoes and 6 cups or so of chicken broth. Add whatever seasoning you like or have on hand; I used thyme, oregano, parsley and some garlic salt. We also added in a cup of white kidney beans and a cup of dry brown rice pasta to make it a meal. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Keep the Wind Out: A Fun Twist on Wrapping a Regular Old Scarf

I mentioned this last week on Facebook. Right now the wind is really wreaking havoc, from neck pain to sciatica, Belly’s Palsy, muscle cramps and rashes to sore throats and colds.

In Chinese Medicine when the body becomes depleted it can easily be invaded by wind through the back of the neck. This can cause all sorts of ailments in the body which is why wind is known as the mother of 1,000 diseases.

What to do, what to do.

First don’t sleep with a fan blowing directly on you or next to an open window especially if its breezy.

The days are warm but the mornings and evenings are cool and the temperature can change quick so make sure to dress in layers and wear a scarf or high collar if you are outside and its windy.

I am always a fan of a scarf or pashmina. Here is a fun twist on wrapping a regular old scarf around your neck. Forgive the pictures, they are self portraits done quickly during nap time! 🙂

Start with looping your scarf like you normally do, see below

Next take the center loop and twist it kind of like a figure 8

Now take the outside ends of your scarf and slide them into the lower loop of your figure 8

And here’s what you will end up with, ta-da! A cute scarf that will keep the wind away

Natural Remedy for Sore Throat (and immune health)

Natural Remedy for Sore Throat or a super easy, tasty immune boost

This makes me think of what my mom would always make me when I was sick as a kid. A cup of warm water, lemon juice and honey with a toasted english muffin lightly buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon. 🙂

What you need:

2 lemons

fresh ginger root

cinnamon

raw honey

Directions:
For a sore throat and overall immune boosting – cut up 2 lemons, drop them in a small mason jar. Finely grind 1/2 – 1 fresh ginger root. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon or pumlin spice mix. Pour raw honey over. Stir well. Store in the fridge. Take 1 teaspoon 3-4 times a day (or more if desired). Can be added to a cup of cold or warm (NOT HOT!!!) water or tea.

And, if you don’t have the time to make this because you are already feeling sick and don’t want to run out to the store there are always the ginger honey crystals available in the office. 🙂 A box of 10 packets can get you up to 30 cups of tea. You can mix into warm water or tea.

What to know about a natural remedy? Leave your comments and I will write one just for you!

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TERMS OF USE:
Medical & Health Information

Any information on this website is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, cure, or treat any illness or disease: it has not been evaluated by the FDA. Neither are the products mentioned on this website meant to do the same: they have been evaluated by the FDA. Information here is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional of your choice when making health choices for yourself or any member of your family – pets included. By proceeding to read articles / posts, look at pictures, watch videos, contact Sarah Canga, and listen to audios you agree and accept these terms.

Natural Medicine Cabinet Essentials: Thieves

This week let’s focus on keeping the immune system strong. Here is my immune system natural medicine cabinet essential.

 

What’s in a name? This blend of essential oils is named after thieves after a band of robbers from the black plague. This group of apothecaries couldn’t get into the towns to sell their goods so they would mask their faces in the herbs and spices found in this blend and steal from the dead bodies. The king of France finally caught up with them and promised not to kill them if they gave up their secret of how they could get so close to the plague without getting sick.

Thieves contains: cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon. These oils are all highly antiviral, antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-infectious.

From the Essential Oils Desk Reference: Studies conducted at Weber State University during 1997 demonstrated the killing power of these amazing oils against airborne microorganisms. One analysis showed a 90% reduction in the number of gram positive Micrococcus luteus organisms after diffusing for 12 minutes. After 20 minutes of diffusing, the kill rate jumped to 99.3%. Another study against the gram negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a kill rate of 99.96% after just 12 minutes of diffusion.

 

How to Use:

Diffuse it! It’s currently diffusing in the treatment space at NAP so make sure to take some nice deep breaths while you get your acupuncture treatments.

Thieves is a great oil to diffuse preventatively or when you start to feel sick. If you don’t have a diffuser put a few drops on a cotton ball and place in air vents at home or in your car.

Place 10 drops into a spray bottle with water and use to spray in the air instead of toxic air fresheners.

Take it with when you travel and sniff on the plane. If you don’t want to take the whole 15ml bottle put a few drops on a cotton ball in a sandwich baggie and take some deep breaths from the bag through out the plane ride.

For a sore throat place a drop or two in a cup of hot water or tea and drink.

For a headache put 1 drop on tongue and push against roof of mouth.

For a pimple place a drop of Thieves in your palm and using index finger massage over blemish.

 

Young Living has a whole line of Thieves inspired products. I love the household cleaner, tooth paste and mouth wash!

You can order your own Thieves here or pick up a sample of Thieves at the office for $2.

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TERMS OF USE:
Medical & Health Information

Any information on this website is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, cure, or treat any illness or disease: it has not been evaluated by the FDA. Neither are the products mentioned on this website meant to do the same: they have been evaluated by the FDA. Information here is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional of your choice when making health choices for yourself or any member of your family – pets included. By proceeding to read articles / posts, look at pictures, watch videos, contact Sarah Canga, and listen to audios you agree and accept these terms.

Perfect Breakfast Recipe for Fall: Oatmeal Waffles

I had a hankering for waffles this morning. It got me thinking, how could I make some waffles that won’t A. make me feel sick afterwards B. are healthy(ish) C. taste good!

I started with this recipe from Mavis. (she feeds a family of 4 on $100 a month! and she has some pretty tasty recipes too) I’ve made this recipe before and its tasty, here is my adaptations to help nourish the lung/large intestine system for fall.

What you need:

2 cups quick oats (lungs/large intestine system)

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

1/4 cup flour

1 beaten egg (lung/large intestine system)

1 tablespoon local honey (lung/large intestine system)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup almond milk  (lung/large intestine system) I used store bought but almond milk is super easy to make yourself

Directions

In a large bowl, soak oats in milk or water for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix until there are no lumps. Then follow your usual waffle making instructions.

We like to add raw almond butter (almonds are great for the lungs) on top of our waffles with a little honey or homemade blueberry lemon syrup.

This is a great base recipe. Next time I will add some cinnamon, apples and walnuts. Cooked fruit is the best way to get fruit in your diet as the weather becomes colder.

Enjoy!

p.s. if you are nursing this is a great recipe for supporting a healthy supply (oatmeal and flax seed are galactogogues)

p.s.s. We eat on small plates so visually it looks like we are eating a lot of food. It helps us feel full on less food. sneaky sneaky 🙂

p.s.s.s this recipes has lots of fiber so you might enjoy an extra trip to the bathroom!

Natural Medicine Cabinet Essential: RC

Keeping with our theme this week of allergies and lung health today’s Natural Medicine Cabinet Essential is the essential oil blend RC.

 

RC contains  Eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, myrtle, pine, spruce, marjoram, eucalyptus radiata, eucalyptus citriodora, lavender, cypress, tsuga, and peppermint.

When I think of RC I think of congestion. Back in the days when I was doing straight massage therapy I always dropped a RC on the face cradle while clients were face down so they wouldn’t get plugged up. When I would have them turn over I would massage some RC around the sinuses (either side of nose, around cheek bones and across forehead) and let them know the oil would help open their sinuses and 9 times out of 10 they would tell me it already had! If a cold comes through our house I will even put a drop of RC on my pillow case so I’m breathing it in all night.

According to the Essential Oils Desk Reference RC offers relief from colds, bronchitis, sore throats, sinusitis, coughs and respiratory congestion. It can also decongest sinus passages, combats lung infections and relieves allergy symptoms.

How to use:

Diffuse/humidify, inhale directly from bottle, apply on chest, neck, throat, or over sinus area. Use as a hot compress. Put 4-8 drops on cotton balls and place in vents at home or in your car.

Especially for sinus and lung congestion:

Add RC, Raven, dorado azul or eucalyptus blue to a bowl of hot, steaming water. Place a towel over your head and inhale the steam. Combine with Raven  (alternating morning and night) with Thieves to enhance effects.

***RC is recommended to dilute 1 part essential oil to 1 part vegetable oil (coconut, olive etc) if skin sensitivity use vegetable oil to dilute NOT water

What else can you do with RC? 

Studies have shown that RC can also help with bone spurs! There are several people that have come to NAP that can attest to RC helping their bone spurs. Massage it right into the area!

Need to order some RC? You can buy here or send me a message and I will help you set up your account.

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TERMS OF USE:
Medical & Health Information

Any information on this website is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, cure, or treat any illness or disease: it has not been evaluated by the FDA. Neither are the products mentioned on this website meant to do the same: they have been evaluated by the FDA. Information here is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional of your choice when making health choices for yourself or any member of your family – pets included. By proceeding to read articles / posts, look at pictures, watch videos, contact Sarah Canga, and listen to audios you agree and accept these terms.

Yellow Tomato Salsa

I’m overrun with tomatoes in the garden and wanted to share how I cook because a lot of you ask. I started with the thought that a yellow tomato salsa with be a great spleen/stomach dish due to its yellow color and sweet flavor. I googled a yellow tomato salsa recipe and then adapted it based on what I had on hand. As I was cooking and grabbing new ingredients I realized I had a balanced dish full of great things to keep my family healthy this fall. We plan on enjoying this salsa with our morning eggs, enjoy!

What you need: 

A bowl of yellow tomatoes (spleen/stomach)

A handful of tomatillos (liver/gall bladder)

A small red onion (heart/small intestine and lung/large intestine)

8 cloves of garlic (lung large/intestine)

2 jalapenos (de-seeded)  (liver/gall baldder)

A handful of fresh, hand picked basil (liver/gall bladder)

olive oil and apple cider vinegar to drizzle (liver/gall bladder)

salt and pepper (kidney/urinary bladder)

Prep:

Preheat oven to 375. Wash your goodies. For this batch I didn’t cut the tomatoes but I think next time I might halve them. I cut the tomatillos in quarters. I roughly chopped the onion, garlic, jalapenos, and basil.

I put foil on 2 cookie sheets and layed the tomatoes down first then sprinkled the rest of the ingredients on top ending with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper.  Cook until roasted apprx 45 minutes. Fill jars and enjoy!

What is Vita Flex Acupuncture

Vita Flex Acupuncture is a new treatment offered at NAP. Consider it a flu shot alternative!

Acupuncture has been shown to have higher concentrations of white blood cells at the acu-point sites. Stimulating these points with an acupuncture needle or pressure gives a natural boost to your immune system.

Vita Flex means “vitality through the senses” and is a specialized foot massage. In this treatment 9 Young Living therapeutic grade essential oils are massaged into the spinal vita flex points of the feet to gently detox the system on a cellular level. These 9 oils (basil, thyme, oregano, cypress, marjoram, wintergreen, peppermint, aroma seiz, and valor) support both the respiratory and immune systems. These oils have antibacterial and antiviral properties.

After the oils are massaged into your feet, enjoy an immune boosting acupuncture treatment and continue to inhale the benefits of the oils applied. This treatment will continue to work in your body for up to 7 days.

Now until September 30th bring in a friend or family member that is new to NAP and get 2 vita flex acupuncture treatments for the price of one! *offer good for new patients only