Heres a preview of our “Return to Nature Radio” Podcast with Dan De Lion and Special Guests – Coming Soon!
Soon, as I travel the globe, I will be rolling out podcasts with awesome guests on really important topics, such as, herbalism, foraging, and rewilding lifestyle, consciousness, science, alchemy, art, indigenous rights and teachings, as well as global political policy.
Check out Lots of Podcast Interviews with Dan at: Podcast Interviews
More to come…
Hey friends, don’t miss this Live Return To Nature Webinar tomorrow evening for an insightful discussion on Spring Cleansing, Herbal Tonics, and Fine-tuning your Body, Mind and Spirit for the upcoming transition into Spring. Each student will walk away with simple practical tips on how to increase energy, reduce stress and optimize your overall wellbeing.
In this webinar, Ill be discussing easy to make herbal remedies, recipes, and a break down at some of the ways herbs effect the organs specifically related to what we need for detoxing from the winter, and entering into spring healthy. He will then address your questions.
The energy of winter looms, and its time to start tapping into our new growth.
Hope to see you there!
Dan De Lion
Also check out our herbal goods and support small family business at Return to Nature – Herbal CSA
Please register in advance to receive your access link and replay file…
Check out the fb event here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1433404963368225/
And Sign up here: http://www.antinanco.org/online-store/!/Spring-Cleansing-Herbal-Healing-Tonics-and-Seasonal-Tips-for-Wellness/p/66470121/category%3D13145315
Van Plan Update – March 1, 2017: This is a look at the van plan I envision to be finally decided on march 30th… I have decided with the wise advice of talking to many people, that instead of purchasing an old van and putting that money into the constant need of work and repairs, it will be better to take out a loan from my credit union for paying off and purchasing a new (or slightly used) ram windowvan then it will be paying for payments instead of repairs. What do you say?
The Final Vision Questions:
-Gas or diesel? Some say that diesel freezes up in the cold conditions and needs to be plugged in, others have said that that is not true for new vehicles, and that this is only the case in extreme cold conditions. Some say diesel is hard to find, back and fourth, opinions differ.
-Can I maintain at least more than 5-800 payments (payment and insurance) sharing our herbal goods, teaching live classes, and webinars, and serving in the awakening however I can.
Offerings With the Van:
– My vision is to offer different permutations of short film and live webcasting tv shows with exclusive content with subscribers through patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Returntonature – please join here.
– This will give the ability to teach SO MUCH, from how to bulk stock a van with survival/food items, how to make your own wild food incorporated meals, and how to cook on a fire, foraging and rewilding practices, and exclusive interviews with elders and herbalists; influential teachers as I travel to visit them.
This will give the opportunity of in person and online workshops, and to mix and match both online and in person options.
– To travel and share our awesome Return to Nature Herbal Goodies. I envision being able to ethically wildcraft all over north America to bring to our apothecary, and to then share with you all a piece of that medicine journey.
What do you say? is this something you want to see happen?
If you do appreciate this work that I and our growing community endeavor, please help share or donate for a van so that I can take the mission of Return to Nature full time on the road! Every share about our offerings, and every donation helps!
http://www.gofundme.com/returntonature
Also please consider purchasing our hand crafted love made goodies from our Return to Nature – Herbal CSA – Where we offer both individual products and yearly subscriptions to our lovemade goodies available. All of our herbal goods are hand crafted, and proceeds help our growing return to nature community thrive, as well as portions go toward helping me achieve my van dream!
Plant love!
www.returntonature.us
Hey friends of the forest,
Join me live March 14th for an interactive herbal webinar with Q&A
About: Join Dan De Lion of www.returntonature.us in the Web Universe from the comfort of your home for a discussion on Spring Cleansing, Herbal Healing Tonics and Seasonal Tips for Wellness.
If we work with the seasons, and help support the bodies natural processes throughout each season, then optimal health and wellness can be achieved.
In this webinar, Dan will discuss easy to make herbal remedies, recipes, and a break down at some of the ways herbs effect the organs specifically related to what we need for detoxing from the winter, and entering into spring healthy. He will then address your questions.
The energy of winter looms, and its time to start tapping into our new growth.
Cost: $25
(See below for scholarship opportunities)
Four full scholarships are available with a short essay submission (1-2 paragraphs) explaining how you think this class will be of value to you. Email to info@antinanco.org
The link to connect to the webinar will be provided 24 hours prior to the class and upon your registration
Hey friends of the forest,
Join me this weekend for another round of insightful classes into the art and science of foraging for early spring greens. Due to the unusually warm weather, lots of plants are popping up early.
Come learn about your local ecosystems food, medicines, survival craft, and sanity!
Check out the event details on Facebook:
Saturday: Foraging and Herbalism Class @ Southern NJ
Sunday: Tracking Class @ Southern NJ
For each class there is a $25 dollar suggested donation. If you plan to come to both classes you can take 10 dollars off the total.
RSVP required for meeting location, email Dan@Returntonature.us
Help Spread the Word!
Tips For Soaking and Sprouting Legumes, Beans, Seeds, and Nuts
To sprout seeds, nuts, grains, or legumes, just add water to cover over night. After 4-6 hours, or overnight, pour off the water and make sure to rinse with fresh water daily. Once you see the sprout developing, they are ready to eat.
You can eat sprouts raw or add them to a stir fry, sprinkle them on top of eggs, or one of my favorites is into my own fermented vegetables which you can learn how to do here: About Fermentation
This versatile veggie prep not only bulks up your food stores, and increases food volume by 3 x, but opens nutrition and converts anti-nutrients into enzymes. The soaking and sprouting process decreases antinutrients like phytates and protease inhibitors which block the ability for the vitamins and minerals to absorb into the body. I suspect that a lot of food allergies can be linked to the fact that we took foods from these traditions, and discarded their traditional ways of preparing the foods. Anti-nutrients are extremely irritating, inflammatory, and allergenic, and after years of eating them, we have reactions to them. Yet, its likely that all we had to do was soak and sprout the foods.
Nutritionally, sprouting increases levels of vitamin C, B vitamins, and increases protein absorption directly into the system. This helps ensure that your body doesn’t have to work so hard to absorb the nutrition from the food you’re eating.
You will also find that pre-soaking any of these plant seeds helps to speed up how fast they cook, which is essential knowledge especially if you plan to cook on a fire, and even if you’re trying to spare on using fracked natural gas to cook your food. All of this great increase in health and vitality, thanks to the powerful metabolic effects of the sprouting process.
Mung Beans: (seen above) are the easiest and it’s good to start with them to get a feel for the cycle. Just soak them overnight, rinse with clean water once a day and they are ready to cook over night, or eat raw in 1-2 days. The same is true for most lentils.
Chickpeas: Are a harder example, and require 3-4 rinses a day because they get slimy and can go bad if not taken care of. It will take 4 days or more for them to sprout and not be hard and therefore super gassy if eaten that way. They are much trickier and require much more diligence.
Rice: All rice should be rinsed thoroughly if not then also soaked overnight. In this case it’s not going to show a visual sprout unless you work on rinsing it for 3-6 days. The point of rinsing rice is to reduce the level of starch, and you can see it come off as you soak it.
Quinoa: Quinoa contains saponin which actually stops cells from being able to absorb oxygen, which is essential for metabolism.
Almonds: Soaking almonds overnight and peeling the skins helps to covert the unavailable protein into usable amino acids, removing the skins reduces the tannin which also blocks protein absorption, and makes them way more digestible.
In the Ayurvedic tradition it is said that eating 10 soaked and peeled almonds for breakfast sets the protein levels of the body and modern science seems to affirm this.
Soaking and sprouting almonds is also said to relieve their pitta (fire) aggravating properties.
Sprout Mixes: There are also lots of sprout mixes to experiment with which are often called “sandwich mixes” or “salad mixes” try to see what you like, and get optimal nutrition from the foods you eat.
Despite all the fancy sprouting tools available on the market, I exclusively use ball jars and bowls and have soaked all the above succesfully.
Check out lots more herbalism and foraging videos, articles, and upcoming classes as well as herbal goods: www.returntonature.us
Plant Love,
Dandelion
Sunday, Feb 19th, at 2 pm: Join me for an exploration into the art of tracking.
In this class, I will be teaching methods to practice paying deep attention to the signs and tracks that continually surround you and the questioning practices to help learn and go deeper into the meaning of the maps of tracks.
Check out a favorite winter foraging food here: Gathering Winter Rose Hips
And lots of other foraging articles at: Foraging Articles
Dandelions Gluten-Free Oat Bread Recipe:
Oat Sourdough Starter:
I have had many attempts succeeding in sourdough starter from oat flour, when many say it cannot be done.
I used a few tbsp of flour in a ball jar, some warm water, and added a tablespoon or 2 of maple syrup and stirred it. I repeated stirring for three days and I knew it was active when it was bubbling. I then replaced the need for commercial yeast by stirring it into the full batch of my bread flour, added the rest of my bread recipes, stirred, and let it sit for another night.
In the morning it rose and I baked it into bread succesfully.
Ingredients Needed for Bread:
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup rolled oats
1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp or 1/4 oz) or the above sourdough
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
5 cups flour, approximately (I use up to 7-8 cups total)
Oat Bread Recipe:
Gluten free bread can be fresh, delicious, and preservative free. Heres my favorite recipe for making bread that leaves me well satiated with bread goodness, without the allergic reactions!
1. Put 1 cup of oats into a bowl. Pour 2.5 cups boiling water over the oats and set aside to soak for an hour.
2. Sprinkle 2 1/4 tsp yeast over the cooled oatmeal and stir to mix. Add 3/4 c maple syrup, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil, and 3 cups of the flour. Blend all of the ingredients. It will have the consistency of a heavy batter.
3. Cover the bowl with towel and set aside to rise over night.
4. Knead bread and add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is the correct consistency.
5. Grease baking pan and bake at 415 for 50 minutes, leave it in the pan with a towel over it for a few hours to continue to cook. Then enjoy with your favorite butter or spread.
Check out lots more articles, videos,
and upcoming classes on foraging, herbalism, and healing at:
Hey friends, my podcast interview in Ancestral Health Radio is now live! Huge thanks to James for his great work on this informative podcast…
Check out the Episode at:
A Few Topics Discussed:
~Some problems with modern sanitation practices.
~The group of herbs Dan recommends we all grow to help combat common infections.
~Dan’s favorite fermented creations that you and I can make in the comfort of our own homes.
~Alchemy and Herbalism Practices.
Plant blessings,
Dandelion
Also, help support the building of the Roving Foraging and Herbalism School! Check out lots more at: https://www.gofundme.com/returntonature
Hey friends of the forest,
Join us in person at the Garden of Healing in New Brunswick, NJ this Saturday at 6:30 pm! Click below to check out the event on facebook:
The Yoga of Herbalism – Exploring Herbal Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season:
Online Viewer: Or sign up to view the class online through paypal. After we receive your payment we will email you simple instructions on how to join us live through a smartphone or any computer.
Price: $30 – Join Dan for a discussion on ayurvedic herbal principles and herbal approaches to apply for the cold and flu season for the whole family. In this class, each student will become empowered to explore the many, many applications and preparations for working with making and administering remedies for the whole family. Demystify aspects of the ancient lineage of herbal medicine and bring your questions!
