July 2019 Newsletter

“The summer night is like a perfection of thought.”

-Wallace Stevens

Summer Nights bring delights!

Treefrogs singing

Cicadas buzzing

Lightning bugs flashing

Fireworks for the 4th

Friends in the outdoors

Festival dancing

What’s your favorite summer delight?

Ya’ Can’t Beat Beets

This Seasonal Delight Packs A Nutritious Punch!

Local gardens are beginning to yield one of nature’s delicious and extraordinary foods – BEETS!
Harvest Moon carries fresh organic beetroot in the produce section and organic beetroot powder in bulk for smoothies!

Beets are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and plant compounds, some of which have medicinal properties.

Here is an overview of the nutrients found in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked beetroot:

Beets also contain inorganic nitrates and pigments, both of which are plant compounds that have several health benefits, including:

▪ Helping To Keep Blood Pressure in Check – Beets contain a high concentration of nitrates, which have a blood pressure-lowering effect. This may lead to a reduced risk of heart attacks, heart failure and stroke.
▪ Improving Athletic Performance- Nitrates appear to affect physical performance by improving the efficiency of mitochondria, which are responsible for producing energy in your cells. Eating beets may enhance athletic performance by improving oxygen use and time to exhaustion.
▪ Helping To Fight Inflammation – Chronic inflammation is associated with a number of diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, liver disease and cancer. Beets contain pigments called betalains, which may potentially possess anti-inflammatory properties.
▪ Improving Digestive Health – Dietary fiber is an important component of a healthy diet. One cup of beetroot contains 3.4 grams of fiber, making beets a good fiber source. Staying regular can prevent digestive conditions like constipation, inflammatory bowel disease and diverticulitis. Moreover, fiber has been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases including colon cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
▪ Supporting Brain Health – Interestingly, the nitrates in beets may improve mental and cognitive function by promoting the dilation of blood vessels and thus increasing blood flow to the brain. Beets have been shown to particularly improve blood flow to the frontal lobe of the brain, an area associated with higher-level thinking, such as decision making and working memory.
▪ Potential Anti-Cancer Properties – The antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory nature of beets have led to an interest in its ability to prevent cancer.
▪ Helping You Lose Weight – Beets have several nutritional properties that should make them good for weight loss. First, beets are low in calories and high in water, but also contain moderate amounts of protein and fiber. These are both important nutrients for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

How To Eat Beets

Beets can be juiced, roasted, steamed or pickled. Dietary nitrates are water soluble, so it is best to avoid boiling beets to maximize their nitrate content.

Here are some delicious and interesting ways to add more beets to your diet:

Beetroot salad: Grated beets make a flavorful and colorful addition to coleslaw.

Beetroot dip: Beets blended with Greek yogurt make a delicious and healthy dip.

Beetroot juice: Fresh beetroot juice is best, as store-bought juice can be high in added sugars and may only contain a small quantity of actual beets.

Let’s Talk About Hemp

Part 1 of a Series by Katy Reany

What’s the Difference Between CBD and THC?

CBD and THC in Cannabis are like L-theanine and caffeine in green tea. So, what does that mean exactly? Green tea has a very high dose of L-theanine and a low dose of caffeine (about half the amount of black tea). Cannabis or Cannabis sativa L., contains a higher quantity of CBD and lower quantity of THC. Federal law categorises a cannabis plant as hemp if it contains 0.3% or less THC by dry weight. Interesting fact: The FDA does not currently look at genetics or strain purity. This has led to hybrid hemp strains introduced with genetics from marijuana in order to be able to manipulate the ratios of CBD and increase profit.

Did you know that you have a system in your body that uses and produces its own Cannabinoid from Omega-6 fatty acids? This system is known as your Endocannabinoid System or your ECS. The ECS is the main adaptogenic system in mammals regulating the homeostasis of every area of pathology and physiology. This keeps our bodies functioning optimally by adapting to change. The ECS is why so many people get such a variety of benefits from CBD. You may have heard someone say they are taking CBD to sleep, or to reduce pain, or help with anxiety. Some people will tell you that CBD doesn’t work for them, or that they saw good results with one thing but not another.

What exactly does the ECS do and where is it located??

Remember that the ECS produces endocannabinoids, the enzymes that regulate their production and degradation, and their receptors. Endocannabinoids are “messengers”, isolated from brain and peripheral tissues that communicate via cannabinoid receptors.

The ECS is also involved in the direct regulation of appetite, metabolic health, pain/inflammation, thermoregulation, intra-ocular pressure, sensation, muscle control, motivation/reward, mood, and memory. Oh, and one more thing, the ECS is also involved in learning and synaptic plasticity!

Wow! That’s a lot! No wonder CBD has such a wide variety of uses! Now you might be asking how CBD works with the ECS. We all have Cannabinoid receptors. These receptors have two main subtypes, known as CB1 (which is found mostly in the brain) and CB2 (which is found mostly in the immune system). The CBD molecules attach to these receptor sites and support the endogenous system to do its work better, like propping up a tired or injured person with a crutch. It says to the system, “come on, we can do this together.”

I feel like we now have a pretty good grasp on what the ECS is and how it affects us (and I hope you feel the same). Now I want to look at why we might need help with our ECS. Many lifestyle factors are involved in affecting your ECS overall function or the ‘Endocannabinoid Tone’. This affects the density of your Cannabinoid receptors, their functional status (if they are up- or down- regulated), and the relative abundance of endocannabinoids.

I know I’ve thrown a lot of science at you, but hopefully it is all starting to make sense! If you want to do some of your own research into CBD, a good source of information can be found at PubMed.gov.

In Part 2 we are going to be looking into hemp types and dosing. Have questions you want answered right now? Come in and talk to me! I’m no expert, but I’ll help with anything I can.

-Katy

What to do with Leftovers

Try these great ideas!

Don’t let those leftovers go to waste. Here are some delicious ways to turn your leftovers into another great meal that everyone will love.

Directions

Step 1
Place chicken in a medium bowl. Process anchovy fillets, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. Gradually add olive oil, and process until smooth; stir in Parmesan cheese. Pour dressing over chicken, and toss to coat.
Step 2
Stir together mayonnaise and garlic powder in a small bowl. Brush cut sides of bread evenly with mayonnaise mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Cook bread, cut side down, in hot skillet, until toasted and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Divide chicken mixture and lettuce leaves evenly among bottoms of toasted bread; cover with bread tops.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line deep dish pie pan with the pie crust. Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from oven and press up sides with a fork.
In a pan melt the butter, then sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes (no tomatoes or greens), season with salt and pepper, then add the bacon, and any tomatoes and greens and cook for another 3 minutes, until greens cooked down. Remove from heat and set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the eggs and heavy cream. Add the shredded cheese and stir.
Combine the veggies and egg mixture.
Fill pie crust with filling, place on top of a baking sheet (in case of spillage) and bake for 40 -50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into balls. Roll in cracker crumbs. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Combine butter and paprika; drizzle over croquettes. Bake at 375° until golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

NEW, BACK IN STOCK & SEASONAL ITEMS

DURING JUNE

We want to be YOUR store. Please let us know if there is something we don’t have that you want, and we will do our best to get it in!