A few weeks ago I moved to the fine city of Austin, Texas.  Austin has many features that I am enjoying so far: ample sunshine, great swimming holes, lots of gluten-free dining, nice people, and great music.  Not to mention that I have family here–added bonus!

Bluebonnets of Texas

One thing I’m not necessarily looking forward to about my new town is the fact that Austin is sometimes described as the allergy capital of the US.  It is notorious for its high pollen and mold counts that often last year-round.  I’m not someone who usually suffers from outdoor allergies (my allergies seem to be all food related), but I will get the occasional runny nose, or itchy eyes, now and again.  However, adjusting to new allergens can sometimes be rough, so lately I’ve been thinking about what I can do to prevent allergies and alleviate symptoms if they do occur.

Here are a few things to consider:

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I got this idea from a few different sources and it has been bopping around in my head for a few months, begging to be experimented with.  If you are wanting a traditional Shepherd’s Pie, this probably won’t quell your craving, but if you love Thai food and lots of veggies, this might just be a welcome variation.  Tell me what you think!

“Under the Hood”

In Chinese medicine, sweet potatoes are great for nourishing deficient patterns–especially qi deficiency and yin deficiency.  A deficient pattern might arise from overwork, illness, or emotional stress and signs of deficiency could be extreme fatigue, listlessness, a pale face, shortness of breath, and dizziness.  According to the classic book on Chinese dietary therapy, Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, in deficiency one should eat many nourishing foods with a sweet taste.  In Chinese medicine a “sweet” taste does not indicate sugar or even necessarily fresh fruit.  Foods with a sweet taste are generally whole grains and vegetables (complex carbohydrates in western nutrition).  Animal foods in small amounts as well as seeds are also useful.  I hope to go into more detail about nourishing a deficient pattern and building qi soon on the blog.  This dish, with its turkey, veggies and sweet potato would be great for recovering from a deficiency.

“Finished Product”

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A few weeks ago, right before I was supposed to fly across country to visit my parents, I had the distinct feeling I was coming down with something.  Determined not to be sick on the plane (can you say miserable?), or during my brief stay with my loved ones, I pulled out all of the stops to stop the sickness “cold.”  ;)  Here’s my formula for knocking out a cold or flu.

10.) Black Elderberry-Black elderberry halts the spread of viruses and strengthens the immune system.  I took Honey Gardens Black Elderberry Syrup.  It’s on sale right now at New Seasons for those of you who live in Portland!  You can also take small amounts of black elderberry on a preventative basis every day to make yourself impermeable to viruses.

9.) Daikon-Carrot Drink-This is a macrobiotic recipe that helps to break up congestion and phlegm (it also helps to break up fat accumulation, but that’s for another topic–added bonus!).  Shred about a 1/2 cup each of carrot and daikon (Japanese radish) and add to simmering water.  Add some fresh ginger and umeboshi plum (a Japanese medicinal food that you can find at health food stores).  Cook for a minute or so.  I ate this twice a day until I was feeling better.

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Well it’s time for final exams in my world, so for the next 7 days or so I am going to be busy, busy, busy.  I need food to power my brain and body that will keep me stress free and my blood-sugar stabilized.  I know that I sometimes have the tendency to want to snack on comfort foods that contain sugar and fats when I am under stress, but this time I want to make sure I have clean-burning fuel that won’t leave me frazzled when finals are over.

I just went to the store to stock my fridge and pantry with super nutritious food that will be a snap to prepare.  Here are the top ten things I’m eating this week:

10.) My go-to quick food these days, turkey nori roll-ups.  Someday I will do a blog post on the many possible variations of this snack.

9.) Amy’s Low Sodium soups. If I am going to resort to canned soup, it will probably be this one. Look for the cans that specify low sodium.

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It seems lately there is a “day” for everything.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a National Log Cabin Interior Designers Day or a National Poodle Owners Born in the Month of June Day.  Well, in case you didn’t know, today is National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day (National AOM Day).

AOM Day is a “day” that I think actually deserves to be recognized. Why?  Well, the point of these “days” is usually to raise awareness, usually about something that will benefit people.  Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine definitely fits into that category.  According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a federal office that conducts research on medicine outside of the allopathic realm, visits to acupuncturists almost tripled in the years from 1997 to 2007.  See a an article about the study here.

People are definitely using this medicine, and there is definitely a reason why.  It works!  Here are a few tidbits about Oriental Medicine:

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