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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I have a recipe for gluten-free pumpkin ginger bread that I want to write up, but as school ramps up I wanted to share what I know about how Chinese Medicine and lifestyle choices can help with stress management.

You see, I am a person who gets stressed out fairly easily and when my to-do list piles up, I start to feel the pressure.  So what does that look like for me?  Well, I begin to feel irritable.  I start hating whatever it is that is making me busy, even if it is something that I would otherwise like.  I feel exhausted and foggy during the day, and then ramped up at night and can’t sleep when I desperately need to.  I start eating more to deal with the stress, and I usually exercise less since I have no time–a bad combo!  In general, I feel anxious and on-edge.

As we head into cold and flu season, an important reason to keep your stress under control is to keep your immune system strong.  If you are feeling weak and tired you are much more likely to catch whatever bug is coming around.  So let’s all work on staying stress free and healthy!

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