Jump Start your New Year’s Resolutions with Acupuncture!

Stoneburner Acupuncture is now offering a New Year’s Special to help you achieve optimal health and reach your potential. This January, schedule a new patient appointment for the price of a follow up visit, a savings of 33%! (New patients only, does not apply to insurance rates.)

How can acupuncture help you with your New Year’s Resolutions?

• Weight Loss Support
• Smoking Cessation
• Cleansing and Detoxification
• Stress and Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Physical Pains and Discomforts
• Headaches
• PMS

These are just a few examples of how acupuncture can help you achieve your goals and improve your life. Please call or email to schedule your appointment or with any questions.

Take your health to a new level this year!!

Comfort Food for Cold Weather

My favorite foods are those that are nourishing for both the body and soul.  When the days get cold and dark, soup becomes a significant part of my diet.  I like to create soups that are yummy and comforting, as well as good for building immunity and packed with nutrition.  To this end Kale and Leek Soup is one of my go to recipes during the cold, wet days of winter.  This simple soup is a staple in my kitchen, and my freezer.  Easy to prepare, and packed with immune boosting garlic and nutritionally rich kale, this beauty of a soup has excellent staying power, and freezes well.  I always  feel  like I’ve been given a great gift when I am able to pull healthy goodness out of my freezer that requires no effort beyond defrosting!

To make this delicious soup you will need:

2-3 leeks

6-8 cloves of garlic (I tend to go heavy on the garlic as this is one of my great loves)

1 bunch kale

1 quart of Vegetable Stock

1 can of Cannellini or Great Northern White Beans

Butter (optional)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Start by thinly slicing the leeks, the food processor does as great job at this!  Put about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté over medium low heat.  Next, dice the garlic and add to the leeks, taking care not to burn the garlic by cooking too long or on too high heat.  Chop your kale into bite-sized pieces (I don’t bother destemming as the stems become soft with cooking.)  Pour your stock into the pan and add the kale.  Turn the stove up to medium high heat and allow the stock to just come to a boil.  Immediately return the heat to the medium low setting and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes.  Next, add your beans, including the liquid in the can, this adds delightful depth to the soup.  Add a pat of butter to the soup if you wish to create further richness, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer the soup to gently for another 15 minutes so the flavors can meld together.  This soup tastes great and keeps well.  Enjoy!

Comfort Food for Cold Weather

Top 5 All Natural Summer Time Remedies

The following suggestions and remedies are key for relieving common summer time ailments to keep your summer fun at an all time high!

1.)    Sunburns:  The best cure is prevention. Cardinal rule: always wear sunscreen. I recommend a chemical free, mineral based sun block.  However, if you find yourself or a loved one suffering from the sun’s scorching… Your very first step is good hydration.  Be sure to drink plenty of water or hydrating beverages like coconut water. You can also add a slice of lemon to your water to keep your electrolytes up, quenching your tender skin from the inside out.  Also consider adding a high quality Vitamin E or Evening Primrose Oil supplement to boost your inner hydration.

Both Vitamin E and Evening Primrose oil are known for their skin healing properties. Topically, you can apply a compress made from green or black tea bags, the tannins from the tea help remove the pain of the burn. You can also mist sunburn with a mixture of lavender and cooling peppermint essential oils to really cool down the heat.

To do this you will need:

40 drops of lavender essential oil

10 drops of peppermint oil

1/4 cup of witch hazel

Mix all of the ingredients into a spray bottle and spritz over sunburn for pain relief and healing benefits.  Calendula cream is also a fabulous remedy for any kind of burns, and can be found at most health food stores.  (Always test the essential oil mix and ointments on a small area of skin before application to larger areas.)

2.)    Bruises and Bumps, Sprains and Strains: While you’re at the health food store picking up your Calendula cream, be sure to grab a tube of Arnica cream or gel for your medicine cabinet!  Arnica is the number one remedy for any kind of bruise, strained muscles or sprains.  Apply Arnica to the site of trauma as soon as possible and your hard knocks will heal much more quickly.

3.)    Beat the Heat:  Be sure to eat lots of cooling foods, such a melons, salads, and cucumbers. Keep the hydration levels high, and consider adding some fresh mint leaves to your sun tea.  The recipe listed above for sunburn relief can also cool you down during other hot days.

4.)    Keep the Bugs at Bay:  Make an all-natural bug repellant using a combination of essential oils.  You can mix essential oils into a base of witch hazel and spray on, or blend with a carrier oil such as jojoba or grape seed oil and apply a few drops to elbows, knees, neck, chest, etc.  Recommended bug banishing essential oils include:  citronella, lemongrass, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and patchouli.  Mix at least 3 of these oils into witch hazel (approximately 50 drops per ¼ cup) with an emphasis on the citronella and/or lemongrass.  The ratio of these two oils should be about double the amounts of the other oils listed.  Alternatively, mix the same ratio of oils into a base of your chosen carrier oil.

5.)    Critter Bites and Stings:  Should you or your loved one suffer from the bite of a mosquito, a painful sting, or fall victim to another obnoxious bug, mix 15 drops of essential oil into 1 tablespoon of coconut, jojoba, or grape seed oil.  Essential oils that are soothing for bites and stings are:  lavender, eucalyptus, chamomile, patchouli, lemon, and thyme.