Just to let you all know that one of the Directors of the world reknowned healing mecca Hippocrates Health Insitute, Dr. Brian Clement, will be coming to Dublin on Saturday 12th March to give a talk along with best selling author Bernadette Bohan (The Choice) on the necessary tools to transform your health. The day will take place at Moran’s Hotel, Red Cow Roundabout, Dublin from 11am-4pm.  The cost for the day is €65.

The duet will also be giving a talk on Friday 11th March from 7-9pm in the Cork International Airport Hotel. The cost for this is €25.

Topics will include Overcoming Cancer, Relieving Painful Arthritis, Easing Depression, Losing Weight, Defeating Heart Disease with a Nutritional Approach.

For enquiries and bookings, contact Bernadette Bohan at 01 845 2957 or b@changesimply.com.

Sprouts are the young shoots from vegetables and grains.  They are produced when a seed starts growing into a vegetable or a grain.

They have between 10 -30 times more nutrition than the healthiest vegetable.  Their nutrition is very easily obtainable.  At this young stage, their nutritional make-up is assembled in their simplest forms – starches are sugars, proteins are amino acids and fats are essential fatty acids.  Furthermore, their cell walls are not fully formed and thus very easy for us to unlock their goodness.

Sprouts are among some of the most healing and nutritious foods you can eat.  They all contain phytochemicals such as anti-oxidants, bio-flavanoids, saponins, carotenes, enzymes and iso-flavones to name a few, which work to keep the body healthy and strong.

Take alfalfa sprouts, for instance, studies on the high levels of saponins contained in alfalfa, have been proven to help lower cholesterol and directly stimulate the body’s immune system.    In the brassicas family, studies on broccoli sprouts, have been proven to block the tumour growth of cancers through the body’s process of converting glucosinolates to sulfurophane which work directly on the tumour receptors.

Sprouts are all alkaline forming in the body – that is they work to keep the body’s pH above 7.  Dis-ease of any kind thrives in a acid rich environment (pH below 7)  By eating foods that are alkaline forming to the blood – green vegetables, raw and living foods, we are greatly reducing the risk of illness.

The healing benefits of sprouts can also be attributed to the fact that they are still living up until the moment you eat them.  This living dimension can bring more vitality and energy into the body.   as they are still attached to their l

Eating sprouts, and having them regularly in your diet will greatly help with keeping you youthful, vibrant and energetic.  There are thousands of ways to use them.   They snaze up any sandwich.  They bring radiance to salads and main dishes.  I personally love mixing them into any rice or quinoa dish which brings life and colour!  Use your imagination! Be creative!

Where can I buy sprouts in Dublin?

If you follow this link, you’ll see a list of shops which stock sprouts in Dublin:

http://www.livingfoods.ie/stockists/

I have to admit, its a really fun initiative.  It was Graham who first brought up the idea.  We were talking away while working on the sprout farm and he mentioned that his friend was interested in Irish and maybe taking up a course.   Both of us liked the idea and began checking out what courses were around.  A week later I was out with a friend, Laura, who was a fluent speaker and I asked would she be up for teaching us and she agreed. So that was it – our respeaking Irish experience was set to begin.

The following week, Graham Stringer, his cousin Mark and myself began relearning Irish.  We were excited to begin and after our first lesson we continued speaking Irish down in the local pub.  It had begun.

As the weeks are going on – we’re all improving bit by bit.  I’m finding ways of bringing the Irish in more and more.  I was delighted to find out that Foinse comes free each Wednesday with the Irish Times.  We’re still a long way off our aim of speaking down on the sprout farm all the time but its fun to begin. Sprouts and Irish, sounds good and Irish doesn’t it? It feels like we’re regaining more of our identity! Slan go foill!

Kick off the New Year on the right foot!  Try some of the amazing health benefits of wheatgrass available at Donnybrook Fair in Donnybrook or on Baggot St, in Dublin.

Begin the year eating well!  Why not have a go of some of the healthiest foods you can eat.  Try out our wide range of healthy sprouts on your salads, on your sandwiches or on some crackers with pesto as a starter.  All available at both the Dublin Donnybrook Fairs.

They not only taste good but will help with boosting your immune system!

EXERCISE IS MASSIVE!

Getting active, either through picking up a new activity (running, doing yoga, swimming), or getting stuck into one you already do, is such a great way to boost your vitality and vigour as we kick off 2010!

Running, for instance, is wonderful for building your cardiovascular capacity, your breathing and for releasing powerful endorphins which help you to take a positive perspective on events.

Swimming and yoga are both fantastic all-round exercises also as they work the entire body.  Jumping into your local swimming pool once or twice a week is brilliant for mental and physical health.  Yoga, I’ve found a great way to centre me and to tone all of my body.

Taking some exercise, whatever it is, will certainly help with keeping you upbeat and positive as we face this cold and frosty spell.  Go for it!

FOOD IS YOUR MEDICINE!

Getting back eating healthy is often a struggle after the joys of indulgence and excess that often go with the holiday period.  However, with this freezing cold snap, eating well is very important to keep yourself strong and healthy.  Here’s a few simple tips I find useful:

• increase your veggie intake, particularly green veg like baby spinach
• start having a juice once a day (with lots of greens and/or ginger or garlic)
• take a wheatgrass shot to boost your immune system
• eat sprouts *(broccoli, alfalfa, beans etc) with your main meal or in your sandwiches
• Drink lots of water throughout the day
• Have at least one hot drink each day!

Quick recap – GET ACTIVE and EAT MORE GREENS, particularly sprouts!

Here’s to a great 2010!

*nutritional powerhouses, having between 10 and 30 times more nutrition than the healthiest vegetables.

Or ever wanted to do it but couldn’t be bothered because the weather is too wet in Ireland?

Ever wanted to have more green and growing stuff in your living space?

Well now is your chance.  Growing your own Wheatgrass is not only easy but amazingly  good for you!  It’s grown indoors at room temperature (about 20-25C) and only takes about 10 days to grow. While its growing, it’s releasing oxygen out to you and providing a green, living glow that soothes your surroundings.  All it needs is a little care and some water once a day.

Once it’s grown,  you can benefit from this miracle of foods.  It has be labelled by many as Nature’s Finest Healer due to its extraordinary high concentration of chlorophyll.  This chlorophyll plant blood in wheatgrass is anti-bacterial, suppresses bacterial growth, purifies your liver, regulates digestion, regulates your blood sugar levels and helps make your tissues and bones.  In short, it massively helps to boost your immune system.

And now you can purchase your very own Wheatgrass Growing Kits from The Happy Pear Living Foods for €19.50 (including VAT). In your growing kit you will get 6 growing trays, 10L of organic compost, 700g of Organic Wheatgrass seed (enough for 6+ trays) and instructions to grow wonderul Wheatgrass! Below is a picture of the contents.

These kits will be available in a number of shops in the Wicklow and Greater Dublin Area, including The Happy Pear in Greystones.

The Happy Pear Living Foods are now selling a cheap and affordable, very easy to dismantle and clean Healthy Juicer for just €45 + postage!

These juicers are perfect for juicing Wheatgrass, and other green vegetables such as cucumber, celery, apple and any young green sprouts.  They work on a simple auger mechanism.  The ingoing food is placed into the hopper and augered up the body of the juicer like a corkscrew until it is crushed against the stainless steel back plate.  From there, the freshly pressed juice drops into a collecting jug, ready to drink.  A very simple, robust and easy to use and equally important, easy to clean system.

The Healthy Juicer is endorsed and sold by the Hippocrates Health Insitute in Florida, one of the leading alternative health centres in the world since 1956.

In addition to this, the Healthy Juicers are very portable and small enough to take with you while you travel.

If you would like to order a Healthy Juicer, please email sprouts@livingfoods.ie with your address and contact number and Sprouticus will get onto you in person.

Health and Healing

Not only are these sprouts really good for you but they also taste great and will leave you with more energy and vigour to carry with you throughout the day.  If you’re living near Wicklow Town, pop in to Health and Healing on Church St, where Neville will be glad to show you were they are!  They’ll help in keeping you and your family healthy and well over the colder months.

Enjoy them in salads, in sandwichs or a delightful little entree served on crackers with pesto!

To place an order all you need to do is send an email to: sprouts@livingfoods.ie with the order you would like to make and a telephone number that you can be best contacted at and Sprouticus will get onto you to complete the order.   Sprouts up dudes!