ACarroll Wellness Blog

Winter 2025 Book Club

Virtual Meeting Dates: January 27, February 3, 10, 17 at 12:00 pm EST.  Cost:  $25

Are you looking for a powerful and supportive community to dive into the heart of life’s challenges and triumphs? Look no further! Join my Winter Book Club, where we explore Sheryl Sandberg's inspiring and heartfelt memoir, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.

 

This book isn't just a read; it's an invitation to reflect, grow, and share stories together at your personal comfort level. Whether you’ve experienced personal hardship or simply want to better understand resilience and recovery, Option B offers valuable insights on how to rebuild after life’s toughest moments. 

 

Why join the club?

Supportive Community: Share your thoughts in a safe and welcoming environment.

Thoughtful Discussions: Dive deep into the themes of grief, strength, and healing.

Inspiration: Find hope and motivation as we learn together to embrace life's challenges.

Space is limited.

 

Link to register: https://tinyurl.com/bpasdwp3

Intuitive Eating Group Program

My 8-week Intuitive Eating Program starts January 22, 2024!

Use code "earlybird" for a 50% discount.

Space is limited!

More details can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ujvs56wk

You can purchase the program here: https://tinyurl.com/ywzakswb

Lentil Loaf

You will need:

1 cup of dry lentils, cooked and drained

1 chopped onion

1 chopped stalk of celery

1 chopped carrot

1 clove of minced garlic

1 egg

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (feel free to use less if you prefer)

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper

2 Tb of oil for sautéing 

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Sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in oil (adding the garlic in at the last minute). 

Combine lentils, sautéed vegetables, half of the cheese, bread crumbs, egg, and seasonings.

Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for a total of 50 minutes sprinkling the other half of the cheese on top about halfway through. 

Bulgur Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:  
Cooked bulgur (or other grain)
Chickpeas
Chopped veggies of choice (I used peppers and cucumbers)
Chopped parsley 
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil 
Balsamic vinegar 

Instructions: 
I don't really measure anything for this salad.  It is very easy to use whatever you have on hand!

Carrot - Parsnip Soup

Ingredients: 

Peeled and chopped carrots

Peeled and chopped parsnips

Vegetable broth

Chopped onion (optional)

grated fresh ginger (to taste)

salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions:

Cook the veggies in just enough broth to cover until very tender.  Add ginger, salt, and pepper.  

Blend with an immersion blender until smooth adding more broth if needed.

This soup freezes very well! 

Fall Cleaning Spray

References: 

Guo, Q., Liu, K., Deng, W., Zhong, B., Yang, W., & Chun, J. (2018). Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Gannan navel orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck cv. Newhall) peel essential oils. Food science & nutrition, 6(6), 1431–1437. doi:10.1002/fsn3.688

Nabavi, S. F., Di Lorenzo, A., Izadi, M., Sobarzo-Sánchez, E., Daglia, M., & Nabavi, S. M. (2015). Antibacterial Effects of Cinnamon: From Farm to Food, Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Industries. Nutrients, 7(9), 7729–7748. doi:10.3390/nu7095359

Rutala, W. A., Barbee, S. L., Aguiar, N. C., Sobsey, M. D., & Weber, D. J. (2000). Antimicrobial Activity of Home Disinfectants and Natural Products Against Potential Human Pathogens. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 21(1), 33-38. doi:10.1086/501694

Blueberry Lavender Lemonade

Post #2 in the Summer Lemonade Series!  

 

Blueberry Lavender Lemonade 

Recipe for blueberry lavender lemonade:

Ingredients:

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tsp dried lavender (you can leave this out if you don't like the taste of lavender)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water 

water and ice

Directions: 

In a medium saucepan, put 1/2 cup water, sugar, blueberries and lavender.  Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain.  This is your flavored syrup. 

In a glass, add 1 Tb lemon juice, water, ice, and flavored syrup to taste.

 

Summer Lemonade Series - Matcha Lemonade

This is the first entry in my Summer Lemonade Series! 

Matcha Lemonade

Matcha is the ground whole tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf. The plant is shade grown for a minimum of 20 days.  The shading increases chlorophyll and L-theanine content.  In animal studies, L-theanine has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and increase alpha waves in the brain. These alpha waves produce a relaxed but alert state.  It is theorized that the caffeine in match works synergistically with L-theanine to produce a focused state without the jitteriness that caffeine alone often causes. 

There are different grades of matcha with Ceremonial Grade being the highest quality.  It's best to purchase the highest quality matcha that you can afford. 

Recipe for one quart of matcha lemonade:

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2-3 tsp matcha powder (sifted and dissolved in a few tablespoons of warm water)

simple syrup (to taste)

water

Directions: 

In a quart pitcher, stir together the lemon juice and dissolved matcha powder.

Add enough water to almost fill the pitcher. 

Add simple syrup to taste. (I used a little over 1/4 cup.) 

Mix well and serve over ice.

 

Peppermint Matcha Latte

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!  

 

Ingredients: 

1-2 tsp dried peppermint leaf (or peppermint tea bag)

4 oz boiling water

1 tsp matcha powder

sweetener of choice (optional)

1 cup milk of choice - warmed and frothed (I used almond)

 

First, add boiling water to your peppermint leaf.  Let steep for 10-15 minutes.

Pour into a large mug and whisk in the matcha powder and sweetener (optional).

Gently pour in your frothed milk: 

 Enjoy!  

 

Elderberry Syrup

Many of you use the recipe for elderberry syrup that I posted on my blog a few years back.  I'm updating with new information and a new recipe.  Please update your bookmarks!  (I will have a link to this post on the previous recipe page, as well.)

 

Elderberry has been shown to inhibit the replication of cold and flu viruses. In studies, it has been shown to be effective as both a preventative and treatment of influenza types A and B (study link here). An article on the Franklin Institute of Wellness website discusses another study on elderberry and its use in preventing colds and flu during travel (article link here).  A meta-analysis on elderberries done by the Franklin Institutute of Wellness: (link here).

 

In clinical studies on elderberry, a 38% concentration of elderberry is used so this recipe has been modified to replicate that concentration. 

180 grams of dried elderberries

(if you do not have a scale, this is roughly 1 3/4 cups of elderberries)

3 cups filtered water

1 cup honey

(you can substitute maple syrup or a simple sugar syrup)

Optional add-ins for flavor:

stick of cinnamon

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

4 whole cloves

 

Directions:

Bring water and elderberries (and any optional flavor add-ins) to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer.  Continue to simmer the elderberries uncovered for a minimum of 30 minutes.

( This is an important step as there are constituents in elderberries that can cause nausea and vomiting if they are not deactivated by heat and allowed to evaporate.  An instant pot should not be used to make elderberry syrup as it will still contain these constituents with that method.  ) 

The goal is to reduce the liquid in the pot to 1 cup.  If the water is evaporating too quickly during the simmer, just add more water.  If there is more than 1 cup of liquid after 30 minutes, continue the simmer until only 1 cup of extract remains.  Strain out the berries and add the cup of extract to the 1 cup of honey.  Mix well.  Store in the refrigerator.  Use within 2 months (can be frozen for longer shelf life). 

 

Dosing for prevention of cold and flu:

Adults:  1 Tb of syrup up to 4 x per day

Children:  1 tsp of syrup up to 4 x per day

Elderberry is active in the body for only a couple of hours, so during times of illness, the dose can be taken more frequently (every 2 hours) for a short period of time.

Because elderberry is a considered a culinary herb, it is relatively safe for most people.  Those with autoimmune diseases or taking immune suppressant drugs should use elderberry with caution as the herb enhances the immune system.  In these cases, a smaller dose may be helpful without causing unwanted reactions. 

 

Resources:

Monograph. Sambucus nigra (elderberry) Altern Med Rev. 2005;10(1):51-55.