Brown Sugar

Are you still using sugar to sweeten your foods and beverages? While I don't promote sugar, I do understand that sometimes it's the most appealing or appropriate option. What can we do to change white sugar from the highly processed, nutritionally bereft crystalline powder it is into something better?

Add Blackstrap Molasses! Blackstrap Molasses is part of the sugar refining process. Blackstrap contains all of the minerals that have been removed to make sugar white. The problem is that Blackstrap Molasses isn't very sweet. It's actually pretty potent stuff. I love it, but it doesn't help me sweeten my tea on the hot summer days when sugar is what I want.

So, I make my own brown sugar, for those occasions when Stevia, Xylitol or Honey aren't my first choice.

I pour a cup or so of sugar into a jar, and then pour some blackstrap on top of that. Mix together with a fork until you've done the best you can. The bottom will be lighter, but you can put the lid on the jar and shake it until it mixes the rest of the way. Make it as dark as you want!

Blackstrap contains minerals, including Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium. There are also trace amounts of some B Vitamins.

Commercial brown sugar and turbinado sugar have slightly more nutrition than white sugar, but it is a slight difference when compared to what you'll have when you make your own with Blackstrap.

A Call to Healers

A Call To Healers ~ The energy is shifting, changes are accelerating, and it is time to get it together. Wrap up your loose ends and deal with the obstacles that prevent you from authentically offering your gifts to the World in Service. Be ready, make a difference, change. What are you waiting for? Love, Pachamama

Sometimes I feel so helpless in the face of things like Natural Disasters and Politics. The scope of what's happening compared to the size of just one person can be daunting. There is fear, and a lack of control. Sometimes there is also a feeling of victimization. Sometimes I get sucked into the political thing, and sometimes I believe the corporate media machine. Sometimes I would prefer to pretend none of it is happening, but that doesn't gel with my solution-oriented personality.

So what do we do? How can we make a difference in the face of such magnitude?

I am reminded that there are many ways to make a difference, some subtle, and some overt. For me, it's the subtle ways that make me feel better. The subtle ways hone my skills and strengthen me.

There are countless forms of energy work. Some are learned, some are gifted, some are intuitively known. All have the ability to make the world a better place, through improving the health of Earth's inhabitants and/or Earth herself.

It can be simple or complex, and I'll be the first to admit that I prefer simple. Here are some of the things I do when I have a problem or challenge that needs my attention, that you can do, too:

• Light a candle with an affirmation and focused intent relevant to the problem you want solved
• Reiki given to yourself, others and the Earth
• Prayer in all forms
• Visualizations of your desired outcome
• Pray to running water - the hydrolic cycle will take that energy around the world. Check out Masaru Emoto's work: Dr Masaru Emoto's Water Crystals
• Tonglen is a meditation technique for relieving suffering. This can be applied to Natural Disasters.

Everything helps, and I encourage you to do whatever works for you!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Gandhi

Menu of Services

I am currently available to see clients by appointment.
(720) 323-7319

Heather Luttrell CCH

Certified Clinical Herbalist, Reiki Practitioner, Nutritionist

Herbal Nutritional Intake ~ 2 hours ~ $100.00

During your initial appointment, a complete medical history is taken, and your reasons for consulting me are discussed in detail. Some initial suggestions may be made on this day, although this appointment is primarily for gathering information, which I will then spend time analyzing, and I will research and put together a customized plan of action for us to negotiate at your follow-up appointment. A flower essence formula is offered for emotional support at all appointments.

Acute Herbal/Nutritional Intake ~ 1 hour ~ $60, additional time is prorated in 15 minutes increments @ $15 each.

During your initial appointment, your reasons for consulting me are discussed in detail. Some initial suggestions and formulations may be made on this day, although this appointment is primarily for gathering information, which I will then spend time analyzing, and I will research and put together a customized plan of action for us to negotiate at your follow-up appointment. A flower essence formula is offered for emotional support at all appointments.

Herbal/Nutritional Follow-up ~ 1 hour $60, additional time is prorated @ $15/15 minutes

At your follow-up appointment, we will go over your customized plan of action, and negotiate where you would like to begin. These suggestions may include diet and lifestyle changes, herbal formulas, and essences.

Flower Essence Consultation ~ 30 minutes/$30.00, 60 minutes/$60.00

Flower essence consultations are designed to offer emotional support at any time it is needed or desired. Essences offer support and structure to help bring us back into balance. I primarily work with Bach Flower Essences, Perelandra Garden Essences, and Alaskan Gem Essences.

Reiki Session ~ 1 hour $60

Clients are fully-clothed during a Reiki Session.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

Combination Herbal/Nutritional Follow up and Reiki ~ 1 ½ hours/$90.00

A combination session involves a conversational follow-up, where we will talk about the work you are doing with your diet and lifestyle changes, essences are offered to support you with what is going on in your life, and the appointment is then ended with a Reiki session.

Self Care

Superwoman!!! Da dat da dah! I'm not Superwoman, but sometimes (lots of times), I forget that I am a mere mortal, and can't do anything and everything that crosses my mind or path. I like to be busy, I love getting things done, racking up accomplishments, being resourceful. And then I start to notice that I am always tired, my sense of humor is wearing a little thin, and all I really want to do is stay in bed with my dogs, watching cartoons. It's hard to pay bills when you stay in bed and watch cartoons, and the dogs aren't any help at all when it comes to rent.

So, times like these (now) are times when I try extra hard to remember to take my vitamins, and eat a really good breakfast. (high protein, what most people would consider to be dinner) I think I'll thaw out some lamb for tomorrow, and cook some sweet potatoes and lentils. Mmmm....... comfort food, nutrient dense, warm, delicious, building. I'll remember to meditate and do my self-care.

I may even go to bed early, and stay in bed just a little late, but instead of cartoons, I think I'll be dreamy-eyed over seed catalogs, plotting and planning for when the Earth starts to wake up again, and the soil is ready for seeds. It'll be here before I know it, seed sowing time.

That's the problem with staying busy, life moves faster when I move faster, and spring will be here in a blink. Even sooner is the co-op, we open February 3rd, and there are herbs to order, tinctures to make and cabinets to paint. Much much more to do, but that will suffice for now. Smaller to-do lists, and more naps. And breakfast.

Detox - It's the New Year!

Interesting post on Skeptoid about detoxification programs. Very timely, what with New Years Resolutions still fresh on our minds. This guy obviously doesn't like Natural Medicine, and that's a bummer, but his take on detoxification is right on.

Detox is a booming business, making lots of money from a lot of people who all suffer from the same delusion - that we are inherently dirty, and must be cleansed!

Yep, your bowels look like the inside of your cheek, that mucoid plaque is a result of the "cleansing products" you take as part of the cleanse, and it's all really expensive.

So, are you tired, sluggish, run-down, digestion is out of whack, your appetite isn't so good, you experience cravings, maybe your skin reminds you of your teenage years, lots of aches and pains, and the brain fog has you wondering what happened to your smarts?

These are not symptoms indicating the need for a cleanse. These are symptoms indicating the need to re-evaluate your diet, eliminate the foods that make you sick (it's different for everyone, but there are common themes), support your liver, move around more, find more joy, and love yourself. Eat food that looks like food, nothing from a bag or a box, produce in season (this is the season of root vegetables, warming spices and soups), organic grass-fed meats, and drink plenty of good water. Reduce the load on your liver by limiting or abstaining from caffeine, alcohol and stress. Drink a nice cup of chamomile tea, make getting enough sleep a priority, and don't forget to go out and play! (think back to when you were 7 if you've forgotten what that means)

If you need more, or would like to work one-on-one with me, I am available for consultations. We can work together on a nutritional program that works for you. One that you can actually stick to.

Green Blessings,
Heather Luttrell

Excellent Read!

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Wow. Just Wow.

You'd think the story of a family eating locally for a year would be dry, but not when it's written by Barbara Kingsolver! Many things impressed me about this book: specifically, it is full of recipes :) and the sidebars written by her husband, Steven Hopp, are informative and full of resources for further learning. Her chapter on Harvest Day is insightful, practical and compassionate. This book is inspiring, and an invaluable catalyst to raising awareness about local and sustainable food sources. This is a "we can do it" kind of story, and it leaves me with a greater-than-before desire to do more. I want chickens, and a bigger garden!

Dandelions

Dandelions rock! I love them. I remember living in Michigan, and sitting in my Grandmother's front yard with the dandelions, just hanging out and getting to know them. It was a magickal feeling, communing with the dandelions, and pondering the gift of their medicine. As a little girl, we rubbed the flowers on our chins to see if we liked butter or not!

This sweet little dandelion lives in my front yard next to the walk, and I couldn't resist a picture, cozy the way it is with that grape hyacinth. They are two of the first flowers for the bees, and make me so happy. I "encourage" the dandelions in my yard, and this year there really are a lot of them. I always make a wish before I blow on the puffballs :)

Dandelions are an invaluable wild food, prolific and early, and full of vitality. I try to eat some almost every day as we come out of winter. The first day is a little odd, I'm never really sure how I feel about that bitterness. A funny thing happens to me on the second day. I can't stop thinking about dandelions! I begin to crave them.

Bitter is cold and dry energetically, the perfect flavor and energetic to lift the dampness and "stuck" feeling I have by the end of winter. My body craves fresh, wild foods.

Cooking with dandelions is so easy! I go outside with my steamer basket or a strainer, whatever I have handy. Look out across your lawn, and notice which plants call to you. You may think that some look brighter than others, or feel inexplicably drawn to some over others. These are the dandelions that are offering you their medicine. Be respectful of these beings, and thank them sincerely for their offerings. I always say "thank you" as I am harvesting. Take some from each plant, being careful to leave enough greenery behind to feed the plant.

Dandelion greens get more bitter as the season progresses, so later, when the bitterness becomes too much, you can pickle the leaves. Now, while the bitterness is tonic and pleasant, they make a nice addition to sauteed onions and mushrooms with garlic. I like to chop them and put them in soups, or make pesto! Dandelion pesto is fantastic! There are many many ways to prepare Dandelions. Be creative!

Last week I sauteed an onion with coconut oil in a saucepan until the onion was translucent. Then I added a can of pumpkin, a can of coconut milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. While the soup was warming back up, I went out to my front yard and picked a basket of dandelion greens. Rinsed and chopped, they went into the soup. My friends raved about that soup! It was tasty, and was adapted from a recipe I found in Susun Weed's Healing Wise. She has a really nice chapter on dandelions.

I also baked a salmon with rice and dandelion greens last week. I had high expectations, as everything that went into that pan was yummy! Turns out, according to my friend with a culinary degree, that I actually poached the salmon instead of baking, and that's why it came out kind of bland. I sprinkled Old Bay, Dill and Garlic powder liberally over the salmon fillet (wild caught Alaskan), then poured 1 C of rice around the salmon, covered the rice with 2C of hot water (should have been something with some flavor, like veggie stock) and then put washed and chopped dandelion greens on top of the rice. Yum, right? Not so much. The fish was bland, as was the rice. I put tamari on it and that saved the day. Had I used veggie stock instead of plain water, it would have come out the way I had anticipated. Now I know, and so do you! I baked the salmon at 350 for about 45 minutes. Next time it will be as fabulous as I imagine.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a gorgeous day, followed by a cold and rainy/snowy day, so I'll be out bright and early to harvest dandelion blossoms. Susun Weed has a recipe for Dandelion Cordial that is calling to me! I'll stop by the liquor store on the way home for some really nice Vodka, and keep you posted on the results!

Green Blessings!

My Speciality...

I am a very busy woman, and I wear many different hats. I am a Healer. Student. Gardener. Entrepreneur. Daughter. Doberman’s Person. Friend and Sister. Conservationist. Feminist. Environmentalist. Idealist. Worm lover! Musician. Wise Woman. Vitalist…

I don’t have time for things that don’t work, or that take so long to work that you’re never really sure if they’re working at all! I like to see and feel results. I am a fan of what works. Reiki works. Flower and Gem essences work. Herbalism and Nutrition work. Spiritual bathing works. There is much in the world that works, but I can only speak to what I know.

I love it when after a Reiki session my client is riding out the door on the Bliss Train. I love the wonderful allies we have in essences, and their bringing-us-back-into-balance medicine! I love the life-altering effects of getting to the root of chronic illness through Diet, Lifestyle and Herbs! I love the way Spiritual Bathing can touch the things we often do not have names for, but sometimes do, and wash them away with warm, messy, colorful buckets of Sacred Water. I love the Magick and Wisdom of Wild Places, and the insights gained from quiet moments spent in solitude.

I am often asked what I specialize in. People want to know what I prefer; Reiki, Herbs or Nutrition. I have difficulty answering this question when put on the spot, as I have been busy following my heart along the Student/Healer path, and hadn’t really thought about a specialty before. I thought I should spend some time and really think about what I would like to say.

"I am a Healer, and I have many tools in my Medicine Bag. The tools that are brought out depend upon what that Person needs and is open to receiving. Everyone is unique, and so I specialize in plans, formulas and strategies tailored to the needs of the Person in front of me. My approach is Wholistic, and my intention is to treat People like People, instead of like a presenting set of symptoms."

You could say I specialize in making the world a better place, little bits at a time.

Green Blessings,

Heather Luttrell