Zombie Buster Salad Dressing

A.K.A Professor Cayenne Salad Dressing

I LOVE THIS STUFF!

This is an herbal vinegar tincture made into a zesty and healthy dressing

 It's a great immune booster for the winter season

As well as very warming and satisfying 

Place 1/2 Cup each of the following chopped vegetables into a large mason jar:

     Ginger Root

     Horseradish Root (This is very easy to grow. Harvest the root in the fall and freeze in a plastic bag.)

     Garlic

     Onion

     Parsley

Also add:

     1/8 Cup dried, crushed or chopped red pepper

     1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Cover the vegetables with raw apple cider vinegar and place the lid on tightly. Shake daily for two weeks. Squeeze the spent vegetables to get all the goodness out and discard. 

This vinegar tincture can be used by itself as a great immune boosting agent, or you can make it into a delicious salad dressing as follows.

To the vinegar add: 

     Extra Virgin Olive Oil (usually about equal parts with the vinegar or as you like)

     Honey to taste (doesn't take much)

     Bragg's Amino Acids to taste (or sea salt if you prefer)

Enjoy! 

I've been healthier than usual this year. 

I'm pretty sure this salad dressing has something to do with that!

     

Stomach Flu

It works! 

So, I started to come down with THE stomach flu on Tues evening (today is Thursday) and my natural healing instincts kicked into gear. I ate no dinner and instead made a quart of red raspberry leaf tea with a some peppermint leaves thrown in for flavor and stomach soothing action (it's a nervine) and drank it. Over the course of the next 36 hours I drank a gallon or more of this raspberry leaf tea and ate a little alkalizing, whole food and I feel almost completely healed.  (Remember, with a virus no potatoes, tomatoes or bell peppers.) I feel the bug has been flushed out in a miraculous way. I dodged a bullet! ! Of course, I also took a couple yarrow capsules with my hot tea that first night to open my pores and encourage perspiration, and cayenne and had a nice hot sweat bath to dump the toxins. That night before bed I took a couple Dr. Christopher's Lower Bowel caps to further cleanse and nourish the system. And I took plenty of XPAC throughout the next day.

Did I say I am grateful to be healed?

Red raspberry leaf tea is not only good for strengthening and toning the female organs, it is very cleansing and nourishing to the lining of the stomach, which is why it also helps with pregnancy nausea. And it's mildly laxative. In addition, it is packed with essential minerals and vitamins, so while you're not eating much, you get all the nutrients you need. 

Thirty six hours later, I ran five miles today and I feel great! 

Go, red raspberry leaf tea!!  

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea and Molasses

 This post is intended to be of benefit to all you women out there who are trying to nourish your bodies, especially in the child bearing years.  

Most people have heard that taking red raspberry leaf tea is beneficial for women and children, and indeed it is!  In fact, it is greatly beneficial to everyone for the reason that it is high in many of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies crave; especially Vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, magnesium, magnesium, niacin, and selenium!  This is why raspberry leaf tea it's considered one of the super foods, or a super herb, more specifically.  

In addition to being a powerful nutrient booster, red raspberry leaf tea cleans the mucus membranes throughout the digestive system and the female organs.  This cleansing nourishing power makes a woman's reproductive organs well toned and more ready to carry and deliver a healthy strong baby.  This is good news for the mom and the baby!  In addition, this process helps prevent constipation and is a good anti-emetic; which means it helps prevent vomiting.  AND, for many, it greatly eases nausea.  Wonderful!

Another use for this calming, cleansing effect on the mucus membranes is the use of red raspberry leaf tea for  the stomach flu.  It does for the stomach what a good sinus rinse does for the sinuses.  It's a good preventative, if the flu is going around, and if you do get the flu, eat nothing and drink red raspberry leaf tea all day long, as much as you can (you can't get too much) until the flu is gone.  This will cleanse the stomach lining and flush out what is causing the problem.  Many people report getting well in 24 hours.  If you stop using the tea too soon you'll know.  The symptoms will return :)  

To make this wonderful red raspberry leaf tea; pour one cup boiling distilled water over 1 tsp dried leaves and let steep 5 -20 minutes.  (We make a quart at a time and put it in the fridge.)  Strain out the leaves and the tea is ready to drink.  We find it more enjoyable to drink with some peppermint added in :)  For pregnant women, or those planning/hoping to be, it's recommended you take the tea 3 times a day.  It's very beneficial for postpartum as well. Taking the tea a few days a month when not pregnant helps tone the body and minimize the unpleasant effects of your cycle.  

Many of us have access to red raspberry leaves in our yards or neighborhood.  The best time to harvest them is late spring/early summer when the strength of the plant has gone out into the new leaves but before the flowers of the berries have come out.  Also, the leaves can be harvested as well after the berry harvest while the leaves are still fresh and supple. Never take more than 1/3 of the leaves off any branch as to maintain the strength of the plant.  Dry the leaves out of direct sunlight, in a basket perhaps, and then crush them and store in glass, not plastic.  

Is this enough about red raspberry tea?  

Just a  note about molasses, it is another wonderful "super food" for pregnant women because it helps build the blood well, helping to prevent hemorrhaging.  Taking 1 T per day while pregnant, especially during the last trimester, would be wise.  Even more is indicated if there is a history of excessive bleeding, say 3 T a day or more.  It's important that good molasses from the health food store be used, and not the common varieties found in grocery stores.  Since taking a tablespoon of molasses might be strong, one might well mix it in with their red raspberry leaf tea :)  

Have a great day!       

Cold and Flu Season

As per a few requests, I am sharing some suggestions that work for me in getting over colds more easily.

First, an illustration:

     In simplistic terms our body can be likened to a wood stove.  Like a stove, we take in fuel and air and burn them to create heat and energy.  Naturally, the better quality of fuel and air we receive, the hotter and cleaner our stove will burn with a minimum of waste.  When the fuel we take in is inferior, like eating lots of junk food, the fire will burn poorly and our bodies will get clogged with waste.  This will result in a lack of energy to properly run the body's many functions and we will eventually end up getting sick.  (In addition to eating clean foods to prevent toxic build-up, fasting is a good natural way to help clear out the toxins.)   

The theory is that the symptoms of many diseases are the results of the body's efforts to remove the waste material from the system.  There are four "chimneys" through which this waste can be eliminated - the digestive tract, the urinary system, the skin and the respiratory passages.  When the body tries to use the digestive tract we can experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.  When the body uses the skin we experience body odor, rashes, pimples and pox.  If the respiratory passages are used we experience runny noses, coughs, earaches, sore throats and so on.  Using the kidneys results in kidney and bladder irritations and infections.  Fevers are seen as the body's efforts to "burn  up" waste material to be eliminated more easily.   

So, "the cold is the cure", as stated by Dr. Steven Horne, in that through this process of elimination, which unfortunately results in symptoms we don't like, our bodies are getting rid of the waste or toxins that are creating this condition.  "Germs" actually feed on toxins, and by eliminating these toxins, the germs will no longer be able survive.  Naturally then, by helping the body to do it's job of getting rid of, or flushing out these toxins, we will get well faster.  And conversely, trying to block this process (such as using anti-histamines to stop the nose from running) we will delay getting well.  Our bodies know just what to do to rid themselves of these toxins but the process can be slow.  By using herbs, pure water and other natural means we can help the body to accomplish this task more quickly.  

SO, with these basic principles in mind, following are a few tips that work well for me:

     At the first hint of a cold coming on take warming herbs to heat up the depressed body.  (Xpac helps with this too.) For me two capsules of cayenne and a tall drink of water work well.  Some people take this as often as every hour with no other food and this alone can help you get better in just a few hours.  Children should take milder warming herbs like ginger, cinnamon or peppermint.  It should be noted that it's good to give the digestive system a rest during this process. The more simple the foods we eat the better; like clear broth soups, juices and teas.

Along with warming herbs, I also take yarrow (hot tea or capsules with hot water) to relax and open the pores of the skin so that the toxins can "dump" more easily.  (Yarrow is also mildly anti-viral and anti-bacterial, as well as helping to stop bleeding.)  To enhance the effects of the yarrow (peppermint works too) take a hot bath or shower and wrap up to keep warm to speed the process.  Remember to drink a lot during this process.

It is also important for children and adults to clear the bowels quickly as toxins can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream.  (Is this too much information? :) We use Dr. Christopher's Lower Bowel formula.

If the symptoms are upper respiratory, sinus rinses are also useful.  We use Neil Med sinus irrigators from Costco.  Rinsing your sinuses is also a good preventive measure if you are around others who are sick as it may stop an infection before it even begins.  I like to add a pinch of goldenseal root powder to the rinse as it also is antibacterial and antiviral. (And speaking of preventative measures, echinacea should not be taken at the same time as vitamin C  as it will render it less effective.)  Sinus rinses are also useful for calming sore throats as the irritation is often caused by toxins dripping down from the sinuses.  Another good remedy for sore throats is cayenne stirred into a spoonful of raw honey.  (See my post about honey.)

In addition to these simple steps we take, here are a few other herbal tips for fighting colds:

     For early cold symptoms consider using lemons, elderberry, vitamin C, wild cherry.

     For old cold symptoms more useful are garlic, horsetail, thyme and rosemary.

     For a yellowish tongue, bitter herbs like horehound and goldenseal.

I hope these suggestions are helpful.  Feel free to share other ideas you have or contact me with questions.