Organico Bantry

Hi everyone,

We are all very aware of the need to keep our immune system in good working order at the moment. I have compiled a quick list of immune boosting foods and some natural remedies that might help keep you healthy or help fight a cold or viral infection if you are unlucky enough to contract one. Obviously you will consider if you need to go to the GP but here are some home remedies to try as well.

You might notice something here that you could easily add to your daily diet, or feel better about eating something that you already eat but didn’t realise how good it was! Please ask our staff if you need tips for cooking anything that is new to you. On www.organico.ie we have a lot of great soup recipes that use things like sweet potatoes and pumpkins if you would like to add them to your diets.

Good foods to help keep you healthy:

Manuka Honey (anti-bacterial) a teaspoon of number 10 taken every day
All the greens – organic broccoli, kale, watercress, nastursium leaves, pursalane, parsley …all good sources of vitamin C
Onions, garlic, leeks and chives are all immune-boosting and are good sources of vitamin C, potassium, selenium, and sulphur. Try to get local fresh leeks for maximum benefits.
Cider Vinegar (1 tbsp in warm water every morning – with manuka honey if you like) is very alkalising
Foods rich in calcium: carrots, turnips, celery, parsnips, figs, brazil nuts, pine nuts, almonds and pecans. Calcium helps strengthen the immune system.
Good quality juices are a very valuable source of vitamins and minerals, preferably fresh pressed or at least without sugar. If you don’t have a juicer try some of the better bottled ones:
Organic Blackcurrant Juice, Beetroot Juice, Blueberry juice, carrot juice or grapefruit – all diluted with water and drunk in regular small quantites.
Organic Chamomile or Elderflower tea with manuka honey is a good evening drink
Green Tea is full of anti-oxidents, but it does contain caffeine so don’t go overboard!
Carrageen moss made into a drink with water, lemon and honey – good source of minerals and very soothing
Echinacea Tea from Dr Stuart is also a good daily drink
Anything orange – sweet potato, carrots, pumpkins – all contain beta-caroteins
Shitake mushrooms added to soups or vegetable dishes (available dried) have been shown to boost red blood cell production
All probiotic yoghurts boost our digestive defences(a few spoonfuls of ‘live’ yoghurt with some fruit every day is great, but avoid the drinks as they contain lots of sugar)
Oats and barley contain beta-glucan, a type of fibre which has strong immune boosting actions in both humans and animals. So stick with your morning porridge! I have started adding cinnamon, sunflower seeds and manuka honey to mine on the advice of a friend. It tastes great and is even more nutritious.

Let me kow what you are currently doing to help boost your immune system!

Hi Everyone,

Sitting at home with nothing to do all day (except look after my lovely little 10 week old daughter!) I have put together a list of some of the good things we sell that might help fight off an infection. Of course, I am not a GP so please if you feel you should get checked out do; these are things to try when you want to prevent or treat everyday ailments. Most good healthfood shops will sell these or give us a call on 0035327 51391 and we’ll post you out whatever you need.

Quick Combinations for treatment for colds or flues:
• Immune +, Kyolic Garlic 600, Echinacea
• Esther C, Elderberry Capsules,, Vitamin D3
• Sambucol, Food State Vitamin C, Echinacea

Prevention: (take daily)
• Echinacea & vitamin C
• Immune +
For those who are very vulnerable/exposed, add:
• Colloidal Silver, Vitamin D3, Kyolic 600

Anti-virals
Elderberry capsules (Solgar) or Sambucol (Elderberry extract)
Immune + (vitamin C, Black Elderberry, Blackcurrant and Zinc; Higher Nature)
Colloidal Silver or Citricidal Tablets, drops, capsules
Kyolic Garlic (600 or 1000), Vitamin D3 from Solgar
 

Immune Boosters
Echinacea Tincture and Tincture tablets (A.Vogel)
Vitamin C (Esther C from Solgar, Food State Vitamin C from Higher Nature, Quest Time Release C1000, A.Vogel Nature C)
Olive Leaf Extract, Kyolic Garlic from Quest
Probiotics (Udo’s, Higher Nature, Quest)
Zinc (Higher Nature Food State)
A good multi-vitamin (see Higher Nature, Solgar, or Salus Haus Epresat)

Cough syrups, lozenges & throat sprays
ZinC from Sona
Echinacea throat spray from A.Vogel, Naturalife Throat Spray
Citricidal Throat Spray , Citritidal lozenges
Manuka Honey lozenges
Drosulina or Santasapina Syrups (A.Vogel)
Molkosan – as a gargle
Ivy-Thyme from A.Vogel

Sinus
Apart from the immune boosting remedies mentioned above, try inhaling Po Ho Oil from A.Vogel (they offer a great inhaler that makes taking it even easier)
Heel make some good homeopathic combinations for sinuses, sprays and drops

Hand sanitizers
Burt’s Bees spray or Silver water spray or Citricidal drops added to hand wash

Remedies for children
Junior Echinacea from A.Vogel
Kindervital – good as a preventative, and to speed up recovery
Nature C from A.Vogel (check minimum age?)
Children’s multivitamins – Solgar do very good ones that taste good too.

Makes 4 to 6 portions

10 Large tomatoes
3 Cloves Garlic
1 sprig Basil
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper and sugar

Heat Oven to 240/Gas 9… Very Hot!
Chop up tomatoes into chunks, cutting out core if tough. Put onto a deep baking tray with garlic, whole sprig of basil, oilve oil,and seasoning…. Roast for half an hour… or until soft.

While that is roasting, prepare:

I large onoin, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 pint of veggie stock (cube dissolved in hot water)
2 tbsp chopped basil

Fry onions very gently until soft, a good 10 minutes.
Add everything from the roasting tray removing the basil stalk.
Add stock and bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins, testing for seasoning.
Blend the soup until smooth, add the basil and enjoy!

Freezes really well…great to have as a standby for those lazy Sunday evenings!

We are delighted to have been selected to be finalists in the Green Me Awards 2009 for the Cork Area. The GreenMe Awards recognise and reward businesses and community groups that ”communicate the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable development and ethical best practice in business or the community”. Endorsed by Duncan Stuart, Greenme.ie is a website that helps everyone become ‘greener’. Other nominees in the Cork area are Cafe Paradiso, Arbutus Breads, and the Clonakilty Fair Trade Committee…may the best among us win…

From everyone down here in Organico – a Big Thank You for recognising us and our work!

Supplements for pregnancy

 
Apart from eating well, many women take some supplements for pregnancy because it is a time when there is a huge nutritional demand on your body. The baby is gets first call on nutrients so you might need more than you can get from food alone.
I take Solgar’s Pre-Natal Nutrients – a very good all-rounder which you can start when you are planning a baby and carry through until you stop breast feeding (it contains the folic acid you need). Another really good choice is Higher Nature’s Mum-2-Be. Both contain the Folic Acid you need for pre-conception and for the early stages of pregnancy. Along with this, I take fish oils for Omega – needed for brain development, helping prevent complications including premature birth, and helping prevent post-natal depression. It also keeps your skin and hair looking good! I take the Eskimo-3 capsules because I’m a wimp and don’t like the texture of the oil.
On the advice of Patrick Holford, I also take extra zinc, magnesium, B6, calcium and occasionally some iron. I have put in a sample of each of the Floradix iron drinks – one has yeast (great for energy) and the other does not (great if you get thrush, bloating, or have candida over-growth). I sometimes also take Spatone Iron Sachets because they are great when you are on the move.
Patrick recommends zinc and B6 for regulating hormones, thus helping to prevent post-natal depression; the calcium and magnesium are necessary for baby’s bones and for preventing mum’s leg cramps.
Another supplement to consider is vitamin D during the winter months especially if you work inside, as most of us do. In ‘Northern’ countries doctors routinely prescribe vitamin D; they don’t here but I wonder if they should. It helps with calcium absorption and bone health as well as mood swings. I would at the least take a calcium supplement with vitamin D in it (Solgar do a good one).

If acidity strikes in the middle of the night (I got this in the early stages a lot) try eating some live natural yoghurt before you go to sleep and keep snacks, such as nuts or ginger biscuits, by the bed. Frutin (sold in Organico and many good Health Food Shops) is a natural anti-acid supplement that is safe for use during pregnancy and gives quick relief.
For nausea I found the Sea Bands (from O’Sullivans Pharmacy in Bantry and many good Pharmacies) very helpful, as well as Nux Vom 6 a homeopathic for nausea, and B6 and Magnesium are both recommended to help reduce ‘morning’ sickness. A hot drink made with fresh ginger helps – you can add a little honey to taste. Alternatively, you can get ginger in capsules or tincture if you don’t feel like the tea. I also kept a bottle of peppermint oil handy to use like the smelling salts of old – it clears the head and settles the stomach. Eating calming foods like rice, yoghurt, bananas, toast, crackers (I really liked oat cakes) as well as nuts, dried fruit, and soups. Nairns make some really good ginger biscuits – I was known to munch them in the middle of the night even!
For constipation eat lots of fibre (Linwoods flaxseed can be added to cereal or yoghuty for added fibre and omega oils), drink lots, take weekly yoga classes and if necessary see an osteopath! Also it might be caused by Iron in tablet form – check with your doctor if you are on one. The iron in the 2 multi-vitamins I have suggested should not cause constipation.

Skin and hair
For strechmarks I have used Trilogy Body Oil which contains rosehip oil which is amazing for treating scars, stretchmarks and generally to give your skin a treat!
For sore feet, legs, shoulders etc I use Arnica Gel from A.Vogel which can be very soothing. I also invested in a pair of Fit Flops (very bouncy sandles available in many sport’s shops and some pharmacies and shoe shops) which I have worn every day since I bought them 2 months ago – and they eased my feet a lot.
 There is alsoVenegel by A.Vogel which can sooth veins considerable – though taking care of your back seems to be the best way of taking care of your veins – or so my osteopath tells me!
For dry or flaky scalps (this condition seems to affect several girls I know who are pregnant and many who are not!) I am trying a combination of internal and external treatments – Eskimo oil internally and Dead Sea Mineral products by Dead Sea Magic externally. They do a good shampoo and a fantastic Scalp Mud which I put directly on my scalp and leave for a few minutes before running it through my hair like a conditioner and washing out.
I used a skin brush a lot during the first 5 months as I was very itchy – I think it is the skin stretching – and as I said, lots of oil.

Books
Patrick Holford’s ‘Optimum Nutrition for Pregnancy’ is fantastic resource for diet and supplement tips. We sell it if you would likt to have a browse through.
I also found ‘Birth and Beyond’ by Dr. Yehudi Gordon very helpful – it is a huge book which covers everything from a very balanced perspective – he is a medical doctor but one with a very holistic outlook. I bought it on Amazon for about €15.
‘Birthing From Within’ is also amazing from an emotional perspective – there are instructors trained in this technique in West Cork who can help you to address the fear that surrounds birth for many women.

Teas
Raspberry Leaf Tea is recommended from about week 30 to tone the uterus (comes in loose leaf or capsules). Goldenrod tea is very good to keep the urinary system healthy and prevent infections. Rooibosh is a good substitute for regular tea (no caffeine) and Traidcraft Decaffeinated coffee tastes great.

Some Local Resounces:
Betty O’Toole for Shiatsu Massage and Pregnancy Yoga 087 7972059
Jessie Field for Pregnancy Yoga (and hopefully for mum and baby yoga in the autumn!) 086 0766608
Liz Ewing – for nutrition, general health and stress management 028 30895
Christine Meadows – nutritionist 027 51615
Catherine O’Sullivan Homeopath Bantry 027 52689
James Heggarty Homeopath Bantry 027 50501
Kieran English Osteopaths 028 38638
Florence Vion 023 8834748 Osteopath Clonakilty
Home Birth Association of Ireland http://www.homebirth.ie/

If you are pregnant, I hope you are feeling well and are delighted and healthy. This is an extended version of an article I put in the Grapevine in July 2009; it includes all the bits I had to edit due to space shortage. I hope it is useful. I have divided the article into 3 parts for the blog.

I have been trying all kinds of things to stay healthy during my pregnancy, so I have decided to share some of it before it’s too late (apparently when the baby comes I won’t have much time for writing!). For the first 3 months I was tired – the huge changes taking place mean most of us need more rest than usual and may feel drained. Lots of rest is essential at this point – your body needs time to focus on the work going on inside. For me, this was not the time to go out, go on holiday or do anything that was not strictly necessary! I also felt pretty nauseas, so my husband did all the cooking – I couldn’t even face washing-up without feeling awful! Handy that! Since then though I have felt great – so everything must be working!
I have found pregnancy yoga invaluable. I go to 2 classes a week, one in Bantry with Jessie Field and one near Durrus with Betty O’Toole (who also offers wonderful pregnancy massage!). I have also had regular cranial osteopathy to keep everything in balance and prevent back and hip problems, varicose veins and odema. I would strongly reccommend finding local practitioners in your area early on in your pregnancy so that they get to know you and your body and you get the best care possible.

Healthy Eating
Pregnancy is a great time to get your diet in order. Plenty of fibre, fresh fruit and veg, complex carbs and protein are all essential to keep you and baby strong and healthy. Lunch in our Café keeps me pretty well fed! If you eat at home then check out our website for good recipes.
I found that my eating patterns changed a lot over the first 7 months (I still have 2 months to go!). Right at the start I was pretty hungry even though I was feeling sick; and I kept on eating ‘for 2’ for a while. But it evened out – I haven’t eaten so much over the last 3 months and my weight has stabilised. Between 2 doctor’s visit s I didn’t put on any weight, whereas up till then I had been a bit over the average weight gain. So don’t panic if you feelo hungry at the start – just try not to eat chips!

Regarding a healthy diet during pregnancy and breast feeding, the World Health Organisation says:
‘’A healthy diet is one that is based mainly on plant foods. Therefore it is
important to eat lots of vegetables, fruits, bread, potatoes, pasta,
cereals, beans and lentils accompanied by only relatively small amounts
of: low fat milk, cheeses, kefir and yogurts; fish, lean red meats, and
poultry. Whenever possible try to get locally grown vegetables and
fruits, especially when they are in season. These can be less
expensive, more nutrient dense, fresh and safe from contamination.’’

I craved fruits at the start of my pregnancy – sounds good but it was hard in January to find nice fruit! Not very seasonal I know. I ended up going to Marks and Spencer’s! It’s great to eat lots of grains like brown rice, quinoa and breads made from nutritious grains like spelt so you are getting all the trace elements that are missing from white rice, flours and pastas. Lentil soups are fantastic – fibre, protein, and filling too. Lots of fruit and veg of course. As much as possible avoid fried foods, and though you need protein I think red meat is best kept to once or twice a week as it can be hard to digest. Good quality eggs are a good protein source.
If you have unusual cravings check out what the food you crave supplies – you might be lacking some mineral (some people talk about craving liver for example so possibly they need iron).
Though fish is very healthy some fish is very high in mercury and other heavy metals and should be eaten in moderation. Tuna is one to be especially careful of – because they are near the top of the food chain they eat many smaller fish and their mercury levels can be very high. We sell a tuna that is better – it is fished in clean waters – but I would personally avoid the ones in deli counters.
I find taking Epresat from Salus Haus very helpful because it is a great top-up if you go through a period of not eating well.
With regard to drinks, it is advised no to drink tea or coffee containing caffeine with you meals as this inhibits iron absorption. Lots of water is really the best thing you can drink while pregnant and breastfeeding – 6-8 glasses per day at least. Alcohol should really be avoided during the first 3 months and after that only a glass or even half a glass or wine very rarely – it can cross the placenta barrier and cause all manner of problems for the baby! Just enjoy the hangover-free mornings and let your partner enjoy you being the driver!

Exciting exhibition of paintings by Rebecca Howles at Organico Cafe in Bantry.

Rebecca is a Cork-born Aritist, singer and Jewellery designer. She will be exhibiting in Organico Cafe from June 24th until the end of August. The exhibition coincides with both the West Cork Music Festival and the West Cork Literary Festival – so come up and see it!

This is a light, tasty salad that I make variations of all throughout the year, substituting different seasonal vegetables for the broccoli and green beans. It is a great salad to bring to a barbecue, to serve as a starter or to serve along side your main meal with some slight variations. For example, if you increase the amount of mint and leave out the cheese you could serve it with spring lamb, or just leave out the cheese and it is delicious with some baked monkfish or fresh mackerel. Topped with marinated lightly fried tofu it makes a dairy-free, vegetarian and yet high protein meal.

Quinoa, if you are not already familiar with it, is a seed, though it cooks like a grain. It comes from central America and is used as a substitute for bulgur wheat, couscous or rice, though it is a lot more nutritious than any of them. It is has a very high vitamin and mineral content and is a complete protein which means it includes all 9 amino acids. It cooks in 15 minutes, is gluten-free and has a slightly nutty flavour and a very light texture. In Organico Café we use Quinoa in soups, chillies, and burgers as well as in salads.

So – on to the recipe! You can vary the amounts of herbs, or substitute different ones depending on what is available to you, and as for the veggies – later in the summer roast pumpkin or butternut squash works really well as do roasted peppers and tomatoes, so feel free to play around with the ingredients.

A nice salty crumbly cheese makes a good contrast to the Quinoa; I really like St Tola’s soft Goat’s Cheese or a good quality feta cheese. St Tola’s is an Irish cheese from Galway that has a distinct flavour so you can use less of it than you might a milder cheese. If you opt for feta I would avoid the ones packaged in plastic and instead try the Real Olive Stall on Fridays (or come up to Organico – we sell their feta all week round!). Your salad will taste much better.

Recipe

250g Quinoa
1 small head broccoli
150g green beans,
1 bunch radishes,
150g Feta or St Tola’s soft goat’s cheese
150g cherry tomatoes (look for organic or local ones with a good sweet flavour)
½ bunch basil,
½ bunch mint,
½ bunch parsley,
50g each of pumpkin and sunflower seeds,
Tablespoon soya sauce.

Dressing

1 Tbsp pesto,
4 Tbsp olive oil,
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (Aspall make a very tasty organic one)
Salt and Pepper

Start by placing the Quinoa in a fine sieve and rinsing under running water. Then into a sauce pan adding a cup of water to each cup of Quinoa. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, then lower heat and cook for a further 5 to 7 minutes. Tip out into a bowl and leave to cool.

Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan on a medium heat for a few minutes. Watch them carefully as the oil in them can burn easily. When they have slightly browned, pour a tablespoon of soya sauce into a bowl and tip the hot seeds into it and mix, then leave to cool.

Cut Broccoli and beans up into bite sized pieces and blanch in boiling water for a few minutes until they have cooked but still have a bite. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop them cooking any further.

Cut up cherry tomatoes and radishes in to quarters.

Chop up basil, mint and parsley. Add 2/3 to the salad and the rest to the dressing jar.

Make dressing by first dissolving the salt in the vinegar in a jam jar, then add the honey and mix in, then add the pesto and olive oil, giving everything a final shake.

To assemble the salad, mix the cooled Quinoa, herbs and vegetables together then add the feta crumbling it in your fingers. Mix in the dressing and finally add toasted seeds on top.

Hi I’m Rachel (the one who you never see because I’m always in the kitchen!) and I would like to share my passion with you for healthy food that tastes great and doesn’t cost the earth. In Organico Café our aim is to provide tasty, healthy food that is really good for you (and to serve it along side indulgent treats to comfort and spoil you). There is a very important link between the food you eat and the way you look and feel. We have always been told that a healthy diet is important but as I discover more about what it means to eat healthily, I realise how different everyone’s interpretations of “a healthy diet” are. There is a confusing amount of information available and a lot of it contradicts itself. So we have decided to try a new approach for this column, writing about natural remedies every 2nd month and giving tasty recipes in between. Along with the recipes we will give some nutritional information on the main ingredients involved. Following Hippocrates’ advice and letting your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food is certainly a recession-proof approach to health!

I have chosen a soup to start with as I think it is essential to a healthy diet – a home made nutritious soup is a complete meal and is very easy to digest. Dried Split Peas are a very good source of cholesterol lowering-fiber, they are also very helpful in managing blood sugar levels as their high fiber content prevents blood sugar rising after meals. They also provide minerals including Iron and magnesium, as well as B vitamins and protein. The fresh herbs change it from a good soup into something special so please don’t skip them! (We will have lots of fresh herbs in the shop from now on – sometimes they can be hard to find). As with all our recipes we recommend the use of organic vegetables and split peas for their higher nutritional quality and taste. The type of stock powder you use is also important, as many use salt as the main flavour which isn’t the healthiest, so look our for Marigold Bouillon or Kallo stock cubes (they both also do a very nice low salt option). In the Café we have found this to be one of our most popular soups with people always asking for the recipe – and it goes down really well with children too!

Spring Sweetcorn Chowder

225g Yellow split peas 2 Cloves of Garlic

2 Tsp Vegetable Marigold bouillon powder 250g Spinach, Kale or Spring Cabbage

2 Tbsp of olive oil 1 Can Sweet corn

1 Bay leaf 2 Leeks, washed and sliced

3 carrots, scrubbed and diced Handful Parsley and Basil or Mint

1 Onion, peeled and diced Salt and pepper

Place the peas in a sieve and rinse well under running water for a few minutes. Place in a large sauce pan and cover with 1.5L cold water, Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, sometimes they will take longer so just check every 5 minutes until they feel soft. Remove any residue that rises up to the surface with a slotted spoon. Top up with more water if necessary. While the peas are cooking fry the chopped onions, leeks, carrots and bay leaf in olive oil on a medium heat for 10 min’s then add the sweet potato and garlic and cook for another 5 min’s., keeping you eye on it to make sure nothing is sticking. When the peas have cooked for 25 min’s blend with a hand blender, add the cooked veggies to the split peas, remembering to take out the bay leaf at this point, and cook for another 15 min’s. Chop up the greens and add along with the sweet corn to the split peas, cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste. Chop the herbs, stir into the soup and serve. If you would like to freeze some portions then just leave out the greens and the herbs and add them later.

Enjoy!

If you are visiting Bantry for the 2009 West Cork Music Festival there have been a few changes in the town since last year…

In terms of eating out, El Gitano’s has changed hands and has opened as Currivan’s, offering both day and night time menus at very reasonable prices. Bantry House is no longer doing evening meals (though they still offer a day-time cafe and a wonderful walk around the gardens – unmissable).

Of course Organico Cafe is still open until about 5pm Monday – Saturday for the Festival Week offering wonderful, mostly vegetarian food, broadband and rgeat coffee and cakes (all possible to take out also). Call 027 55905 to arrange take away.

If you have a free afternoon a visit to Val Manning’s Emporium is really worth it – Val is an expert on Irish cheeses and serves fantastic wines and cheese boards in front of his premesis (to find him just head out the road to Glengarriff for about 5k – he’s on the right in the Ballylickey area so you are going slow anyway, you can’t miss him)

If you feel like a bit of papmering during your visit Anam Chara offer facials, massages and many other treatments from their new premesis on the way up to the Library.

Despite the recesion Bantry is very busy and we hope you will have a fantastic week’s stay here with us.