Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Neti pot — A how to

With fall allergies in full swing, along with the start of flu and cold season, allow me to introduce nasal irrigation and my neti pot.

With the exception of a 4-year respite in South Bend, IN, I’ve suffered from general “hay fever” type allergies most of my life.   For me, this generally manifests as congestion leading to sinus headaches.  In high school, I was a Flonase junky (back before there was a generic option).

When I started having problems again after college, I wanted to try something different.

Nasal irrigation cleans out the nasal passages, removing allergens, bacteria, and other irritants.

What you need:

  • a neti pot
  • pickling salt
  • baking soda
  • dechlorinated water

You can find neti pots at most drug stores and many health food stores.  These places also sell a packaged salt mix, but you don’t need this!  It’s a waste of money and packaging.  You could use table salt, but I highly recommend the pickling salt, which is pure salt, no iodine and no additives, like anti-caking agents, to irritate your delicate little nasal membranes.

My mix: 1 1/3 c. dechlorinated water (just let let regular tap water sit in an open measuring cup for 24 hours to dechlorinate), generous 1/2 teaspoon pickling salt, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder.  I pour 2/3 c. of the mixture into the neti pot for one nostril, then use the rest for the other.

Here’s a slideshow to walk you through the process.

Does it hurt?  Usually, no.  It’s only painful when I’m REALLY congested, or sometimes when I skip a day.  Lesson here?  For this to work well, you should neti every day.  Once you make it part of your routine, it will only take a few minutes.  I neti in the evening, usually an hour or two before bed.

Using the neti pot every day means traveling with proper supplies.  Come back tomorrow for that tale.


Is your desk job killing you?

For the past couple of months, I head home at the end of the work day with seriously tense, sore upper back and neck muscles.  Most days, I feel it setting in before lunch, and once it’s there, it’s there to stay.

As far as I know, I’m doing a lot of the right things ergonomically: my computer is a laptop, but I have it propped up on a couple of thick phone books so the monitor is at eye level; I use a separate keyboard on one of those keyboard trays that attaches under the desk; I try to be aware of my posture.

All of this pain from spending a huge chunk of my day sitting and working at a computer reminded me of some articles from earlier this year that talk about the dangers of prolonged sitting.  See, some recent studies show that even if you are one of the very few people who get at least 30 minutes of activity a day (heck, even if you get 60 minutes of activity a day), if you spend long periods of time sitting (as many of us do for our jobs), you’re at higher risk for a variety of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

You can read the articles, which have information on where to find the actual research publications, here and here.  Both articles are worth the read.

Recently, I’ve been trying to break up the sitting at the desk by taking at least one, if not two, short walks during the day.  I’m also experimenting with giving up my 6-year-long practice of sitting on an exercise ball, based on this article.  I’m also looking into small exercises or stretches that I can incorporate into the work day — there are some suggestions here.

What are your tips or tricks for making a desk job more active?  Any suggestions out there for the neck and upper back pain?

 

Quinoa-stuffed acorn squash

Do you have quinoa cooked up?  If not, cook some quinoa.

Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds.  Place cut-side down in a baking dish with a few tablespoons of water.  Bake at 350-400 degrees F (temperature is flexible and can be set to accommodate other things you’re baking at the same time) until the squash is tender (20-30 minutes?).

After the squash is in the oven, chop some onions, garlic, and bell peppers (you can toss in almost any veggie you like here).  Saute in olive oil, then remove from heat and stir in the cooked quinoa.  Add dried fruit — I used golden raisins, but cranberries would be good.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When squash is tender, turn them over and fill the squash “bowls” with the quinoa mixture.  Top with toasted almonds and bake for 5-10 more minutes.

Twas a great weekend . . .

. . . to go by bike! And by weekend, I mean four days — in addition to my usual three-day weekend, I took an extra day to eat up some comp time.

On Thursday afternoon, after a morning making tomatillo salsa and granola, I biked to the library and then on to City Greens Farmers’ Market. On my way to the market, I was wishing for a juicy, refreshing snack — fortunately, they had grapes again — big time yum! In addition to the grapes, I filled my bike crate with eggplant (soon to be baba ganoush), sweet potatoes, and green peppers.

I started Friday with a bike trip to the dentist. I survived the little girl puking in the waiting room, only for the dental hygienist to say she thought I had a little cavity.Continue reading “Twas a great weekend . . .”