My day on the farm :: Week 6

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jul 21, 2011

I got some new bug spray (the natural stuff, of course) and nary a mosquito came near me today. Finally, some relief. Li’l bastards.

There was plenty of sunshine and just the right amount of heat today, nothing like the sweltering, Amazon-ish, bizarro weather we’ve had these last few days. Want an ag-based perspective on our sweaty summer? Go grassfed to keep that dewpoint down! 

My day on the farm :: Week 5

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jul 14, 2011

We made quick work at the farm today. Lettuce is getting a break for a couple of weeks or so and it was too wet to harvest basil. The chard is still gorgeous, the green onions are plump as all get out, and the kohlrabi look like purple and green balloons about to burst. But they’re still delicious…not woody. 

My day on the farm :: Week 4

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jul 08, 2011

I’ll keep this short and sweet. The mosquitoes were vicious yesterday. Even with bug spray. I hate to say it, but the natural stuff doesn’t work as well as Off. I’ll just have to suffer, as I ain’t sprayin’ Off on my skin.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again. It’s amazing how the fields change in a week. Last week, no broccoli or cauliflower flower heads. This week, broccoli and cauliflower went into the CSA boxes. Joey gave me a whole extra bag of broccoli and I came home, roasted it, and ate it all. 

My day on the farm :: Week 3

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jul 01, 2011

It was a hot one on the farm yesterday – quite the antithesis of last week. And I loved it. Hot blazing sun? Bring it. (A nice breeze doesn’t hurt.)

Because of the forecast for a heat index of 107, we got started early and the greens were the first to get harvested, bathed, and into the coolers. Talk about some dense, hearty heads of lettuce. Oh my gosh, gorgeous. And I was excited about adding a new kind of kale to the bouquets going into the CSA boxes. It was a fatter, wider leaf with a very purple spine. 

Thyroid Self-Test

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jun 26, 2011

One way to test for potential hypothyroidism is to do a basal body temperature (BBT) test at home. According to Dr. John Douillard, “Before blood tests were available, the thyroid was evaluated by basal body temperature and the signs and symptoms presented by the patient. Today, these traditional tests have been replaced by modern blood tests. It has now become clear that these blood tests alone are not accurate enough.”

The Long and Pathetic List of Hypothyroid Symptoms

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jun 26, 2011

If you experience several of these symptoms listed here, you may have an underactive thyroid, including adrenal dysfunction. (Many integrative and functional medicine doctors now claim that the symptoms of hypothyroidism and adrenal dysfunction are largely indistinguishable.)

My day on the farm :: Week 2

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jun 23, 2011

“What’s that? And what’s that?” I want to know what it all looks like as it’s coming up, you know? Joey, our ever-so-patient leader and owner of Cramer Organics is so sweet and enthusiastic about educating us. It’s June in Minnesota, so it’s still early in the growing season (and muddy) and while we harvested a lot of stuff today, many crops are mere leaves, like eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes. So after cleaning our harvests, she took us on a walk through the fields and pointed out what all the “thats” were. 

My day on the farm :: Week 1

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on Jun 16, 2011

Today was my first day working at Cramer Organics, our CSA farm. We purchased a CSA share from them last year, and enjoyed every bit of our weekly bounty. (My husband would say, “…except for the kohlrabi.”)

A few months ago, when they asked who would like to work one day a week in exchange for a share, I leapt at the chance. Think Horshack in Welcome Back Kotter. (I’m dating myself with that one.) 

Coming Soon :: the Fire Your Thyroid Teleseminar Series

Posted by Jill McLaughlin on May 28, 2011

After three years of reading and research about natural, drug-free ways to jumpstart my sluggish thyroid, which meant putting a stop to my weight gain, relieving my afternoon fatigue, facing my day alert versus feeling like I’d been beaten up the night before, and helping many of my clients do the same, I am developing a teleseminar series that is going to be the best of my thinking and personal experience with getting this gland in gear.