From the category archives:

Everything Food!

We Deserve to Know: An Acupuncturist’s Persepective on GM Foods

May 9, 2012

I usually don’t send out even quasi-political emails to my patients, because I feel in many cases it’s not appropriate.  However, the situation that is before us plays such a huge role in the issue of our health and our children’s health forever into the future that I couldn’t NOT alert you all to this, [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

An Acupuncturist’s Tip for Eating Raw Food without Eating Raw Food!

March 28, 2012

  It’s been unseasonably HOT! During warm weather like this, some days you just want to bite into a nice, cool, crisp salad. For many people though, because of Acupuncture theories about medicinal foods, I advise that they shouldn’t be eating raw foods. What to do then, when nourishing soups, stews, and casseroles are the [...]

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Uh-MAZing Beet Recipe for Beet Haters! An Acupuncturist’s Dream for Nourishing your Liver

March 21, 2012

People love hating beets. I do admit, they can go either way…if not cooked right, they have a taste that can be a little, well, bad. But I just tried a new recipe this week that has me fanatical over this humble red root. Because beets are so wonderful for nourishing your “liver blood”, and [...]

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An Acupuncturist’s Recipe for a Sane & Balanced Wood Season

March 14, 2012

“And the day came, when the risk it took to stay tight in a bud, became more painful than the risk it took to blossom” – Anaïs Nin Looking out my window, I see mostly still just a flat watercolor blend of dull browns and grays— for most members of the plant kingdom, dormancy is [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Foods to Nourish Your Jing–An Acupuncturist’s Approach to using Chinese Medicine Nutritional Principles for Staying Healthy

January 18, 2012

Last week, I wrote about our Jing, how In Chinese Medicine it’s connected to our Kidney energy, and therefore the Water Element, and the season that we’re in right now, winter. Acupuncturists know that we want to do everything possible to avoid tapping into and therefore depleting our Jing—the root of all energy—so this week,  [...]

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The Depths of Water will Keep you Balanced this Winter

December 21, 2011

It’s the midst of winter and all is elusive…the days are short and dark, the fields barren.  Not much occurs on the surface, and when we are in rhythm with the patterns of nature, our lives reflect this dormancy as well.  In this time of rest, and especially in our do-ing culture, it is all [...]

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It’s Pear Season! A Great Late-Summer Recipe for those Farmer’s Market Pears.

September 14, 2011

The pears are here, the pears are here!  I just saw the first of the season last Saturday at the farmer’s market, and excited I am!  Last year, for the first time I canned up many different kinds of jams, jelly’s and butters.  But none could compare to the delicate smooth Pear Butter that I [...]

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The Earth Turns ‘Round, the Harvest Abounds…Time to Nourish your Qi!

September 14, 2011

The end of summer is upon us, and the bounty of the earth’s harvest is pouring in. Traditionally, this was the season for building our stores of nourishment for the coming months, and hours would be spent toiling in the kitchen putting up the summer bounty.  While modern agriculture has eliminated the need for this [...]

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Peach and Lavender Butter Recipe

August 31, 2011

Adapted from: Canning & Preserving, by Ashley English Due to copyright laws, I cannot give the recipe in its entirety, so if you don’t know how to can already I would suggest either looking online, or getting a general canning book that will explain all the steps and necessary safety precautions.  By following this recipe [...]

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What to Eat now that Summer is Here

July 13, 2011

  Many of you have asked me “What should I be eating now that it’s summer?”  While of course this is going to depend on your individual Chinese Medicine diagnosis, there are a few overarching guidelines that most people can follow. In my general article about the Fire Element and Summer, I addressed the topic [...]

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The Long Awaited GREENS Experiment…DO Try this at Home, Folks!

June 8, 2011

Is this another shameless plug to try to get you to eat more greens? You betcha! Many of you know I’ve been trying the whole “local eating” this past year.  While it is turning into a huge international movement born out of the need to eat more sustainably, it fits perfectly in with ancient Chinese [...]

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When Eating Beef and Eggs can Help Balance your Liver

May 4, 2011

 Because according to Chinese medicine we are still in the season related to the liver (Wood), I am continuing to focus my “Wisdom”s on various things you can do to help keep your liver balanced.  Don’t worry…soon enough we’ll be in the season related to Fire, and you’ll get to hear some completely new [...]

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Chinese Medicine Knows that Eating Seasonal is the Most Balanced Way: CSA Options

April 20, 2011

It’s that time of year again…time to start thinking about which CSA you’re going to sign up with this year.  As promised, I’m sending out a list this week of our local CSAs. What?!  You’re weren’t PLANNING on doing a CSA?  Well let’s see if I can change your mind! For those of you who [...]

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Foods to Eat to Balance your Liver this Spring: A 5 Elements Chinese Medicine Approach

April 6, 2011

Like every season, it is easy to figure out what foods will be beneficial for us right now by looking out at nature. And what do we see sprouting up all around us? Green!  Just little, little bits; but soon more, and then more, until it is virtually an explosion in green! Usually, at the [...]

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It’s Wood Season: Tips for Keeping your Liver Happy this Spring

March 21, 2011

“And the day came, when the risk it took to stay tight in a bud, became more painful than the risk it took to blossom”   – Anaïs Nin Looking out my window, I see a flat watercolor blend of dull browns and grays— for most members of the plant kingdom, dormancy is still the order [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Is your Microwave Doing More than just Heating your Food?

March 20, 2011

I’ve known for years that there are some serious issues from heating food or water in a microwave.  Most acupuncturists or natural medicine providers do not support their use. But microwaves are so ubiquitous that most people have a hard time believing there could possibly be anything that bad about them. Doesn’t our regulatory system [...]

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Buying Grassfed Beef Locally through Sunrise Ranch

January 8, 2011

Why am I writing an article about beef, when everyone knows we “should be eating way less beef”? Because the reality is, we eat beef.  Lots of it. And the beef that most of us are eating is a major part of why it’s such a problem. Because beef is such a staple of our [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Cozy Winter Recipe: Jool’s Favorite Beef Stew (or as I like to call it “Knock Your Socks Off Stew)

January 2, 2011

Since I wrote an article in my newsletter for my acupuncture patients on Sunrise Ranch Beef, I thought I would include my latest favorite recipe which does include beef.  This recipe is loaded with veggies that will build up your Qi and Yang and keep you fortified and toasty during our cold weather.  Also, because [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Enjoying the Local Summer Harvest

July 21, 2010

This week, I came home from picking up my CSA share with an overflowing bag of veggies.  Chard, 3 kinds of zucchini, big beets and baby beets along with their greens, English snap peas, 2 heads of romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, spring mix, green onions, and garlic scapes poured out; making it undeniably clear that [...]

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One Acupuncturist’s 2 1/2 Month Experiment (Don’t Try This at Home…)

June 23, 2010

This spring, an interesting and unlikely event occurred…yours truly conducted a spontaneous and unplanned “study” in which I ate worse than I’ve eaten since I moved out of my childhood home after high school. I ate more pints of Ben & Jerry’s in those short 10 weeks than I had in the last 10 years [...]

Read the full article → by Inger Giffin, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

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