North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 33 her exposure to farm living during summers in the Trinity Alps. Here, Pasquale says, "I used to milk the cow and make ice cream." She also studied herbs and their medicinal uses, and through this was drawn to pursue a graduate degree at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Fran- cisco. During her academic career, she not only learned the properties of herbs, but was required to memorize their names in three languages: English, Latin and Chinese. "It was one of my biggest accomplishments," Pasquale says. In addition to her study and training in acupuncture, Pasquale was influenced by the traditional Chinese medical view of food as medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine looks at the body as a whole, she says, "so every food is ... related to a different meridian." For example, and this may have served as the model for Urban Remedy's philosophy, in San Francisco's Chinatown, not far from the college she was attending, Pasquale remem- bers "there was one of these cool restaurants where they'd look at your tongue and take your pulse and you'd order by that." After graduation, Pasquale opened an acu- puncture practice in San Francisco and Mill Val- ley, where she spent 10 years helping people feel better. "I was treating a lot of inflammatory issues," she says. She prescribed supplements, medicinal herbs and foods, but so many of her patients said they didn't know how to prepare the foods or didn't have time to steep the herbal concoctions. So, Pasquale started leading retreats to take people away from their daily lives and on the road to healthy eating. She prepared all the food for these retreats. But when her patients returned Top left: Urban Remedy ready to eat meals, such as kale salad, zucchini fettucine pesto and Medi- terranean quinoa bowl. Far right: Urban Remedy founder Neka Pasquale and brand ambassador Cindy Crawford; Photo of Neka with photo of her father – Photos provided by Urban Remedy >> con't on pg. 34 Open 6am – 12am Daily 2040 Sir Francis Drake Blvd • Fairfax 415-456-7142 • www.FairfaxMarket.net Fairfax Market Your local neighborhood produce stand & grocery store STOP IN FOR ALL THE NECESSITIES

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