- Energy Flow Acupuncture & Wellness Center24W500 Maple Ave Suite 212
Naperville, IL 60540630-335-1069 
Tidbits
Your Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking Zucchini
Zucchini is a chameleon vegetable
Chameleon vegetable? Strange images may pop into your head but what I mean is that zucchini, or summer squash as it’s also known, is very versatile. It is very bland so it’s great to take on the flavor of any seasonings or sauces.
Picking and Preparing
Look for a firm, smooth-skinned cylinder, and check for mold if it is wrapped in plastic. Beware that there are genetically modified zucchinis, so make sure to shop for organic if you want to avoid GMOs.
Zucchini can be eaten raw, sauteed, stewed, or steamed. Don’t boil it as it will turn to mush. It can also be used as a way to add fiber and moisture to baked goods. Who doesn’t love a good zucchini bread or muffin! Zucchini cooks quickly and has a high water content, so some people prefer to sprinkle the shreds, slices or cubes with salt and let the water seep out and wring it with a towel before sauteeing, stewing, or steaming.
Recently it’s gained popularity among Paleo dieters as a low-carb grain-free replacement for noodles or pasta. If you don’t have a fancy vegetable spiralizer, you can just use a vegetable peeler to make thin strips then slice those strips as you like or leave them wide.
Taste
What can I say about taste? It takes on more flavor when it’s sauteed – a buttery flavor I’d say. But if you shred and eat it raw, it will go well with almost any salad dressing, or just salt, pepper, and lemon or lime juice, or my favorite, with a homemade dairy-free pesto!
Health Benefits
One popular health benefit nowadays with obesity being a huge problem is that it is so low in calories and together with its versatility and mildness makes it a great stand-in for pasta as mentioned above or as a great way to get more fiber and less empty carbs.
Nutrition-wise, it’s high in vitamin C and pectin, which has been shown to benefit the arteries thus anyone concerned about cardiovascular health can feel good about eating it! Plus it’s a good source of potassium, and it’s high water content and natural electrolytes help regulate bowel movements. Other nutrients provided in decent amounts are B2, B6, and folate. B vitamins are essential for numerous metabolic processes and are important for hormonal health.
Recipes
One of my favorite ways to eat zucchini and also one of the simplest is fritters. Simply shred some zucchini, either by hand or in a food processor, season it with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and mix it with a scrambled egg or two, then pour into a hot skillet coated with a tsp or Tbsp of coconut oil or rendered solid grass-fed or pastured animal fat (beef, duck, lard, etc). Give it a minute or two to get golden brown then flip for another minute or two or until there’s no more liquid egg seeping through the surface when pressed gently with a spatula. You can serve with guacamole, salsa, or pesto, or as is!
Here is my recipe for the other super-vegetable, Daikon. Enjoy!
Promises to Myself
I want to let you all in on a little secret. I am not the perfect picture of health. I’m just like you. But I am proud of my progress on the journey.
I want to get personal with you. My health has been a major challenge over the past 23 or so years of my life. I have known pain, discomfort, fatigue, discouragement. I’ve tried many things, I’ve stopped trying things, I have retried things. The common thread that’s pulled me through is gratitude. I’ve learned hope, I’ve learned perseverance. Just like we all do in the game of life, right?!
Listen to that inner voice – it’s not loud, and yet when you hear it it should feel right. Wondering if a certain therapy, acupuncture or otherwise, will help you feel better? Thinking about making more time for yourself whether it’s a daily walk or a slowly savored meal sitting down? It’s better to try than to just spin your wheels. Then notice what gives you value, and continue.
Positive Side Effects of Acupuncture
(Naperville Acupuncture)
Acupuncture results – what can you expect?
Many of my patients are pleasantly surprised when they start to see results from acupuncture. For one, they often see benefits after the first or second visit. And for two, some of the benefits they get aren’t the ones they originally came in for. What strange effects am I referring to you may ask?
Examples of Acupuncture Benefits
Here’s a common example. Someone comes in for irritable bowel syndrome. Or neck pain. You name it. When I see them after the first or second visit – they report being more relaxed and having slept really well after their treatment. These are people that also had come originally with stress or sleep difficulties.
Another example is someone who comes in for fertility and they report their constipation improving or disappearing. Yet another example is someone coming in for constipation and not only does constipation improve, but the headaches they’d get several times a week have been gone for weeks!
Basically, people seek acupuncture usually for the one or two symptoms that concern them most or interfere with their day to day functioning, but rarely is it just a single problem that is plaguing them. Too often people are dealing with so many issues that may just become a part of their fabric, and they’ve adapted to the pain, discomfort, fatigue, etc., and don’t consider that all those signs are abnormal and can be helped.
And I know I say this all the time but, yet again, that is another thing I just LOVE about my job!! I am here to take into account ALL your signs and symptoms, all your troubles if you will, and to make sense of what is causing ALL of it. Usually it’s all interrelated, much to the astonishment of my patients when I tell them their rib pain and neck pain are one in the same, or that the frequent urination is related to the knee soreness, or that the bloating and gas are related to the headaches, or that their period pain and anxiety have the same source.
Learn more about acupuncture here. Here is one of my favorite acupuncture resources.
If you haven’t experienced the magic of acupuncture yet, or if you have a friend or relative that you think can benefit from a few good side effects, please give me a call at 630-335-1069 directly to get started!
Your all-in-one guide to Cooking Daikon
Your Practical guide to picking and Cooking Daikon
As part of my Veggies – past the ick and on to the yum series, we will first visit the vegetable that inspired me to write this blog. The white radish, known as daikon, is commonly eaten by many Asian cultures and in many ways. I have had it in Indian sambar, a spicy lentil stew or soup, pickled, cultured, stir-fried, and even raw. Next time you go to the grocery store, look for it as it may astound you – it can get really big!
Picking and Preparing
This radish looks a lot different from the little red radish you commonly see by the bunch or bag. It is either torpedo-shaped or cylindrical and can be up to 2 feet long and 3 inches in diameter. The outside may look a bit dirty, but don’t worry. Once you get it home, you can use your vegetable peeler to remove that outer dirty part just like you’d peel a carrot, and what you will see is a snow white firm flesh. Just make sure to choose one that is firm, the same way you’d choose any other type of radish.
Then depending on what you want to do with it, you can slice it thickly or thinly, or shred it. I like to do 1/4″ slices cut into half circles for stir-fry, and 1/2″ slices for a soup or stew. Try shredding it onto a salad like a carrot.
Taste
This radish is very mild. The common red radish is definitely spicier. That makes daikon a great choice for those who like a crisp veggie in their stir fry but that can turn tender when cooked.
Why Eat This Thing? – The Health Benefits
Daikon root is a powerfully healthy food. Most of all it aids digestion because it’s full of beneficial enzymes that break down fats and proteins. Secondly, it’s full of important nutrients especially vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and phosphorous. Thirdly, it’s an awesome detoxifier. Daikon root has been found to neutralize the effects of a common carcinogen called nitrosamine, thus aiding in protecting against cancer. Not only does it help rid the body of toxins, but it’s also decongesting and diuretic when eaten raw, while also aiding in regulating blood pressure.
Recipes
The 
easiest way to incorporate this crazy-good-for-you veggie is to just peel, slice, and stir fry it along with your other go-to stir-fry veggies such as bell pepper, carrot, and broccoli or bok choy.
For the more adventurous, or those interested in really enhancing its digestive benefits, please try this simple lacto-fermentation recipe. The ingredient list is short, and it’s much easier than you think it is.
Lastly, another very no-brainer choice is to simply chunk it and cook it like carrots into your soup or stew. I’ve even roasted it with other root veggies!
Here’s a picture of a meal I made that includes stir-fried daikon.
Check out my other post about how to cook Zucchini.
Veggies – getting past the ick and on to the yum
Part of getting healthy is feeding your body with healthy foods. Digestion is central to health. In Chinese Medicine it really is the center, and is associated with the earth element and color yellow. We call it the Spleen and Stomach system.
In my practice it is very common to see adult diets resembling that of many kids I know – lacking in fresh vegetables, heavy on processed and refined carbohydrates. Yet we all know the research has concluded what we’ve known all along – that vegetables should be a major part of the diet, not just a token to please our parents!
So I want to help you by blogging about some of the vegetables that I like to show that they’re easier to incorporate into a meal than you may think. And of course I will share some of their health benefits.
Here are some of the veggies I will write about:
Daikon radish
Zucchini
Kale
Spinach
Bok choy
Beets
…So stay tuned!
