Naturally Simple Blog

I thought I would take a break from the herbs to talk about one of my other favorite subjects: playing in the dirt.   It is the time of year when gardening enthusiasts are beginning to plan gardens and order seeds.   My friend, Tom, asked me for more information about this company on my “Safe Seeds” post so I went out and dug some up.  (tee hee hee -gardening pun intended).

First, I thought I would share my personal experience with the seeds.  I found Botanical Interests Seeds for the first time last year at a local nursery.  I should warn local friends who know where I shop that their selection is pretty limited compared to what is available online.

I admit that it was the artwork that drew my attention to the seed packets, originally.

As I examined the packets, I continued to like what I was reading and is there ever there a lot to read.  These might be the most informative seed packets I have ever run across! The fun doesn’t stop on the outside though, so be quite careful when opening your first Botanical Interests seed packet.

Of course, while all this information is nice, I only bought a few packets to “test them out” .  The seeds are suprisingly inexpensive for organics.
I had fantastic results!   My Trionfo Violetto Pole Beans outgrew and outproduced my Kentucky Wonder Beans.   I think my Dwarf Blue Kale  might still be alive out there under the piles of snow. My favorites was the Broccoli Di Cicco.  I started it indoors and was quite satisfied with the germination rate.   I am not going to claim 100% but we certainly had a lot of sprouts for a salad when it came time for thinning.   My transplants went in next to four nursery plants that were supposed to be my early producers.  Within a few weeks, the Di Cicco had out grown them and produced before they did.  In fact, it was still producing when we got our first snowfall.   My groundhogs adored it but that is another issue entirely.

Earlier in the month, when I started to think about  planning my garden,  I looked  around online to find the company.   I was pleased with the quality of the information on their website and blog.  I also enjoy the selection of heirlooms.  I found a lot of the varieties mentioned in my favorite gardening book:  Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden: Creative Gardening for the Adventurous Cook that I haven’t been able to find, locally.

So with my personal experiences out of the way,  here is some information about the company.  Botanical Interests is a family owned and operated business started by Curtis and Judy Seaborn in 1995.  Their business objectives are “to inspire and educate gardeners; to provide high quality seed to their customers; and to create an enjoyable work place for employees.” I included links to the companies blog and an article about the company at the end of this article.
All-in-all it seems like a good company and I plan on spending a good share of my gardening budget at their website.

Additional Reading:

California Garden Magazine Article

Botanical Interests Blog

Company Profile

A lot of herbalists talk of using herbal infusions to support your body during and illness or perhaps as an alternative to a nutritional supplement in the form of a nourishing infusion.

They are quite useful; I have been making herbal preparations, for years now,  with good results.

You don’t hear many of them mentioning  spaghetti sauce as an decoction although the acidic base of tomato sauce is wonderful for drawing minerals out of foods. You also don’t hear hot sauce  tossed around as an herbal preparation but these are both excellent examples of ways you can incorporate more herbs into your diet. I think I might have been making hot sauce when it occurred to me that we had lost touch with the reasons that many ingredients are in our foods.  Grandma’s Chili Sauce recipe also reminded me that people use to have a better grasp on cooking to sustain health than we do now.
Keep in mind I am not talking about the watered-down, additive-laden prepared foodstuff you buy at the the megamarket.   I am talking of preparations you make yourself.
I don’t remember exactly when it occurred to me that soups and broths are really just giant pots of herbal goodness.    It was probably  have been shortly after Darian became a vegetarian and I made my first batch of homemade vegetable broth.  I know I definitely had a handle on it by the time I was making garlic broth to use in soups. There is nothing quite so satisfying as a healing soup simmering away slowly on the stovetop, while the flavors and properties of the herbs flow gently into the food.
If you look at the dates on some of the recipes, you will see that this idea evolved over the years.  I didn’t really find one book that sent this message clearly, although I am sure they are out there.  It has been more like a giant experiment for me.    I am always thinking  of new ways to incorporate herbs into my food.  Just the other day it occurred to me to toss a couple of astragalus sticks into the rice pot.  I am sure I am not the only one to do this but it never really occurred to me before, despite the fact that I have been throwing it in soups for years.

I realized that I don’t know that I ever have put our spaghetti sauce recipe on the blog, so I though I would use it here as an example of the herb to food ratio that is health-producing.

Our Marinara Sauce

1 large onion (chopped)

3-5 cloves garlic

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms (sliced)

1/4 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup fresh oregano

1/4 cup fresh rosemary

1 quart tomato sauce  (I can my own sauce and it is not as thick as you buy at the store but it is thicker than juice; you might need to experiment with mixing sauce and juice.)

Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan.  Saute onions and garlic until they are translucent.  Add the mushroom and herbs and saute for a few more minutes.  Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Turn heat very low, cover and simmer for at least forty minutes.

You can see I am not talking about putting two teaspoons of  store-bought italian seasonings in a can of tomato sauce.  I am using lots of herbs; fresh whenever possible and really cooking the sauce long enough to extract the constituents of the herbs.  You can substitute quality dried herbs but by quality I mean herb shop quality not those little containers at the supermarket.
Beverages don’t have to be the boring preparations many people think of as medicinal infusions, either. Almond-Oatmeal Milk may be a bit thick for drinking but it is great for baking and making smoothies.   Herbal Chai,  Creamy Carob Drink, homemade lemonade, vitamin C drink and ginger lemonade are fun drinks which  incorporate herbs and hopefully will be more appealing to the children in your lives.

There is an added benefit of incorporating these beverages into your daily diet.  I have experimented with many different ways to get little ones to eat their herbs. It is much easier to get herbal preparations into children when they are sick, if they are accustomed to them.  As a side note,  Lemon balm is an antiviral could easily be added to any of the last three drinks without noticeably changing the flavor of the drink.  “wink, wink”

We have been doing a good job of staying healthy this winter around our house.  Other than the bout of H1N1 which hit us in October and one gastrointestinal virus which were both short-lived, we have been pretty healthy.  (Riley gets sick once in awhile, but that is to be expected when one exists on a diet of soda, corn chips and queso dip.)

We still have to weather the transition from winter to spring in late March, though.  That is usually the peak of the cold and flu season, so I thought perhaps now would be a good time to discuss my thoughts on nutrition.  I don’t really believe that “ramping up” your nutrient intake once you are sick is very useful, other than perhaps in providing your body with the extra-nutrition it needs at the time.   But what if you ate every day as though you are fighting off a virus or a cold; maybe you would find that you didn’t get sick in the first place.
I  do not like pill pushing regardless of what is in them.  You shouldn’t need to take encapsulated herbs or a fistful of manufactured vitamins every day, in place of food. While I am sure that in cases where a blood test has shown there to be a deficiency, supplements can be useful to catch the body up.   I prefer to avoid the deficiency in the first place.

I also don’t like using them from a sustainability standpoint.  I don’t want my well-being to be dependent on any industry and it would be rather hypocritical of me to talk a good game about local sustainable food systems when half my nutrients are arriving on a boat from China.  This is one of the reasons that I tend to focus on using herbs and foods that I can grow or wild-craft in my area.

I   mention this so that you know that I really am not very much help when it comes to giving advice about supplements.  Sometimes people are surprised that I haven’t bothered to learn about this sort of thing.  Studying herbalism, to them, should be a study of which bottled herbs you should buy at the supermarket or nutrition store in the mall.   Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which company produces the best supplements and  I try to avoid those aisles at all cost, for fear of saying something offensive.  I do openly admit that I came by my aversion to pills honestly.  Back in the days before I knew better, I lost a lot of weight (125 pound) with these bottled supplements and almost destroyed my health in the process.

For the next couple of weeks, I am going to post about different ways eating and cooking with herbs can help to improve your health.   Hopefully I will post some recipes you would consider trying along the way and give you new things to think about when making meals.   Do keep in mind though that I am a staunch proponent of the concept of having “all things in moderation”.  Don’t fight with yourself (or your family) to entirely give up a questionable food substance, just don’t abuse your body with it and use the healthiest form of the substance possible.

Some General Guidelines I Follow

1.  When you don’t eat properly, your body does not find the nutrition in the food you eat, it will find the nutrients someplace in your body such as your bones, muscles or brain matter.   This is especially true of protein which your body will leach from your muscles or brain matter and vitamins and calcium which your body will take from your bones.  A vast majority of health complaints in this country; fatigue, mental fogginess, depression, etc… are caused by your bodies natural response to incomplete nutrition.

2.  It should go without saying, but purchase as many organic foods as you can afford and avoid eating food additives.  The best way to do this inexpensively, is to learn to cook and bake your own food.
3.  70-80% percent of your daily intake of food should be in the form of organic whole-grains, vegetables (including legumes), fruits, and herbs.   Don’t be afraid of fats & oils though.  Your body needs a certain amount to function properly.   I cook with mostly olive oil, and I bake with butter, coconut oil and applesauce.

4. Regardless of what they taught our parents in the fifties, darker is better where most foods are concerned.  Refined white foods have been completely robbed of nutrients and should be avoided.  Brown rice, old-fashioned oats, whole wheat flour, (we compromise around here on the white whole wheat) and whole hulled barley are far more nutritious than their polished counterparts.

5.   I don’t avoid sugar completely, but I don’t use it often and I NEVER use the white junk they sell at the grocery store.   I don’t even enjoy the constant influx of “sweet” that many people crave.  I think it is because I get plenty of B vitamins.  I read someplace that craving sugar was a sign of a B vitamin deficiency which makes sense when you think about it as sugar cane naturally contains B Vitamins.   Unfortunately, sugar in the form of the white sucrose powder you buy in the store is completely devoid of the B vitamins.  So when you bake with sugar, you should be substituting locally produced honey, organic molasses, sucanat, turbinado, or evaporated cane juice in recipes that call for sugar.   Maple syrup is nice too, but opt for “Grade B” maple syrup which is less refined and retains more of its natural nutrients.    I avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague and I don’t use agave nectar nor do I plan to base on the information I have read.

6.  Eat Your Herbs!   I have learned that by taking in herbs in the form of nourishing infusions, tonic nutritive vinegars and most importantly by eating them,  you can provide your body with a much broader spectrum of daily nutrients than you can by with food, alone.

While my blog posts have been focusing on herbalism lately, I thought I would take a moment to round out the content, a bit, with a post on gardening. I have been happily perusing the many gardening catalogs that begin arriving this time of year and making plans for the upcoming growing season.

As I grow many of my own plants from seed, one of the most important issues to me when considering my future purchases is seed safety.   In light of the latest news concerning Monsanto genetically modified seeds, I am glad to say that I decided quite some time ago that avoiding genetically modified food, seeds and plants was the right choice for our family.  Thankfully,  there are many companies out there which have recognized that consumers are wary of GMO’s and with good reason.

According to the findings of an Independent Science Panel report on GMO’s, “GM crops have failed to deliver the promised benefits and are posing escalating problems on the farm. Transgenic contamination is now widely acknowledged to be unavoidable, and hence there can be no co-existence of GM and non-GM agriculture. Most important of all, GM crops have not been proven safe. On the contrary, sufficient evidence has emerged to raise serious safety concerns, that if ignored could result in irreversible damage to health and the environment. GM crops should therefore be firmly rejected now.”

The  documentary, “The Future of Food” did an excellent job of explaining the issues surrounding the food industry today, in terms that are easily understood by your average consumer.  I highly recommend watching it, if you haven’t had a chance to see it.

Thankfully,  many small seed companies are aware of consumer discontent and have taken steps to ensure that non-GMO alternatives are available for gardeners.   Many of these companies have taken the following pledge:

The Safe Seed Pledge

“Agriculture and seeds providethe basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundations as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers,gardeners and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seedsor plants. The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel that genetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing is necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately people and communities.”

There are many companies which have signed this pledge but I thought I might recommend a few, as I have purchased seeds or plants from them with good results:

Botanical Interests, Inc.

Freedom Seeds

Horizon Herbs

Seed Savers

Richter’s Herbs

Additional Reading:

Monsanto Squeezes Out Seed Business Competition, AP Investigation Finds

Monsanto’s GMO Corn Linked to Organ Failure, Study Reveals

(Editorial Note:  I don’t often post these types of press releases but someone actually asked me about this study.  Apparently a web newsgroup  ran something on the jama article. I knew that the ABC had provided a far more effective rebuttal than I could, so here it is.   If this is too much scientific mumbo jumbo for you basically what it boils down to is this.  It was a poorly designed, executed and documented study. The first lesson I learned in my Environmental Science class was that it is important to question the soundness of the methodology and the financial motivation behind the results of scientific studies.  This holds especially true when dealing with Big Pharm’s bought-and-paid for trade union aka the American Medical Association.)

Herbal Science Organization Clarifies New Ginkgo Study

(Austin, TX) December 28, 2009.

New research findings published this week on a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract are very limited and the public should focus on the well-documented cognitive and cardiovascular benefits of ginkgo, said the American Botanical Council (ABC), an independent nonprofit research and education organization.

A new study of previously published data being published in this week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has reported that a leading ginkgo extract did not reduce the decline in cognitive impairment in older adults.1,2

“There are many significant limitations of this study”, said Mark Blumenthal, ABC founder and executive director.

First, the data being published this week are drawn from a previous clinical trial which was not designed to determine the decline in cognition.3

Second, about 40% of the subjects dropped out over the 6-year duration of the trial; the statistics reported in the study include the dropouts for which no final data are available.

Further, the subjects in the study were not monitored for certain cognitive parameters until several years after the trial began, creating difficulty in determining accurately whether they experienced a decline in cognition or not.

Also, the age of the subjects is quite advanced, at an average of 79 years at the beginning of the trial. This age group is not typical of the age of both healthy people and those with mild cognitive impairment who use ginkgo for improving mental performance.

Further, ABC noted that another weakness of this trial is the lack of an active control, i.e., a potential third arm of the trial (i.e., besides the patients on ginkgo or placebo) in which patients would have used a pharmaceutical medication with presumed efficacy, to determine to what extent the particular population being tested would respond. This was not possible for this trial since no conventional pharmaceutical drug has ever demonstrated the ability to prevent the onset of dementia or diminish its progression.

ABC also stated that several recent publications have demonstrated an improvement in cognitive performance in subjects using the same German gingko extract.4,5,6

The new publication, by Beth E. Snits, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist associated with the University of Pittsburgh, and other colleagues, analyzed outcomes from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study (GEM, published in 2008 in JAMA) to determine if ginkgo extract slowed cognitive decline in older adults who had either normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study. 3

The GEM study previously found that ginkgo extract was not effective in reducing the incidence of Alzheimer dementia or dementia overall. This large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centered clinical trial included 3,069 community-dwelling subjects (aged 72 to 96 years) who received either a dose of 120 mg of ginkgo extract twice daily or an identical-appearing placebo. The trial was conducted at 6 academic medical centers in the United States between 2000 and 2008, with a median follow-up of 6.1 years. Change in cognitive function was evaluated by various tests and measures.

ABC emphasized that the original GEM trial was designed to determine whether taking ginkgo would prevent the onset of dementia. What this new publication has done is attempted to analyze the possible decline in levels of cognitive function – not a primary outcome measure of the GEM study.

“This trial is not conclusive nor should it in any way detract from ginkgo’s reputation as a useful dietary supplement to help support and improve cognitive function and enhance peripheral circulation – conditions for which it has been reported to be effective in numerous clinical trials,” reminded Blumenthal.

At least 16 controlled clinical trials have evaluated various ginkgo extracts for healthy, non-cognitively impaired adults. A systematic review has shown that in 11 of these trials, the ginkgo increased short-term memory, concentration and time to process mental tasks.7

“The results of this new trial must be viewed in proper perspective,” noted Blumenthal. “There is a vast body of pharmacological and clinical research supporting numerous health benefits for ginkgo extracts, particularly for improving various symptoms and conditions associated with declining cognitive performance and poor circulation.”

ABC also emphasized that this publication, and the one published in 2008 on which it is based, both underscore the relative safety of ginkgo extract: the amount of adverse events were basically the same in both the ginkgo and placebo groups, particularly no serious adverse effects, e.g. no statistically significant incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke of any type, and major bleeding.

The trial utilized EGb 761®, the world’s most clinically tested ginkgo extract, produced by W. Schwabe Pharmaceuticals in Karlsruhe, Germany.

About Ginkgo Extract

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is the world’s oldest living tree, dating back about 250 million years. Ginkgo leaves have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for about 500 years. For about the past 30 years the leaves of ginkgo have been made into a highly concentrated (50:1) extract, chemically standardized to compounds unique to ginkgo (ginkgolides and bilobalide) as well as other compounds. The leading German ginkgo extract has been subjected to a vast range of clinical trials documenting its ability to improve peripheral circulation and cognitive function, particularly in patients with early stages of mild cognitive impairment, senile dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and memory loss. Clinical trials also support the use of ginkgo extract in assisting elderly patients in walking longer distances without leg pain (peripheral arterial occlusive disease, also known as intermittent claudication). Standardized ginkgo extracts are approved for use as medicines in Germany and numerous other countries.

About the American Botanical Council

Founded in 1988 the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit organization addressing research and educational issues regarding herbs and medicinal plants. ABC’s members include academic researchers and educators, universities and libraries, health professionals and medical institutions, botanical gardens and arboreta, government agencies, members of the herb, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, journalists, consumers, and other interested parties from over 70 countries. The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas where it publishes the quarterly journal HerbalGram, the monthly e-publication HerbalEGram, HerbClips (over 4000 summaries of scientific and clinical publications), reference books, and other educational materials. ABC also hosts HerbMedPro, a powerful herbal database, covering scientific and clinical publications on more than 220 herbs.

ABC is tax-exempt under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS Code.

Information: Contact ABC at P.O. Box 144345, Austin, TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900.

Website: http://www.herbalgram.org/.

References

1. Snitz BE, O’Meara ES, Carlson MC, Arnold A, Ives DG, Rapp SR, Saxton J, Lopez OL, Dunn LO, Sink K, DeKosky ST. Does Ginkgo biloba slow cognitive decline in older adults? JAMA Dec 23/30, 2009.

2. American Medical Association. Ginkgo Biloba Does Not Appear to Slow Rate of Cognitive Decline. [press release]. Chicago, IL: Dec. 23, 2009.

3. DeKosky ST, Williamson JD, Fitzpatrick AL, et al. Ginkgo biloba for prevention of dementia: a randomized controlled trial.[see comment]. JAMA. Nov 19 2008;300(19):2253-2262.

4. QWiG Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen. IQWiG Reports - Commission No. A05-19B. Ginkgo in Alzheimer’s disease. Executive Summary. Cologne: IQWiG, 2008.

5. Kaschel R. Ginkgo biloba: specificity of neuropsychological improvement – a selective review in search of differential effects. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 2009;24:345-370.

6. Kasper S, Schubert H. Ginkgo-Spezialextrakt EGb 761® in der Behandlung der Demenz: Evidenz für Wirksamkeit und Verträglichkeit. [Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in the treatment of dementia: evidence of efficacy and tolerability.] Fortschritte Neurologie Psychiatrie 2009;77:494-506.

7. Crews W, Harrison DW, Griggin ML, Falwell KD, Crist T, Longest L, Hehemann L, Rey ST. The neuropsychological efficacy of ginkgo preparations in healthy and cognitively intact adults; A comprehensive review. HerbalGram 2005;67:42-62.

I would like to take a moment to offer some thoughts I have to everyone about herbal classes and learning about herbalism.

Many of my friends recently signed up for the Gladstar course due to the price break Sage Mountain is offering on the course.   As you begin studying herbalism, you  will find that there is often conflicting advice being offered.

I had already been studying herbs for a number of years before I finally took the plunge and ordered the Gladstar course in 2004 so I suppose you could call that my first “formal” training.  It was almost a very overwhelming and discouraging experience for me.

What you need to keep a handle on is that there is not just one way to do things and just because you might have learned things a different way, doesn’t mean that you are doing things the “wrong” way.  It seems to me that many of you are quite knowledgeable.  Don’t throw that knowledge out the window just because one expert might disagree with you.   There are as many methods of herbalism as there are herbalists and all of them are useful and worthwhile.

Take for example formulation.  Rosemary’s formulas are quite busy and you end up ordering a lot of herbs to take the course if you follow them to the letter.  On the other end of the spectrum, you have the simplers  who are very much into using one herb at a time.   In the end,  I settled on a middle of the road approach and use a “triad” method.  Most of my blends have three main ingredients with some extras thrown in for flavor, at times.  I was listening to the Village Herbalist classes and was actually encouraged to find that my instincts had led me to do something that other people are teaching.   Heather uses what she calls a Celtic Triad method which is quite similar to what I do.

Also you don’t have to learn everything about every herb available.   As I studied more I began to pare down the number of herbs in my apothecary.   I started out trying to memorize a little bit about a  lot of herbs, but now I focus on learning as much as I can about a smaller core group (mostly plants I can grow or wildcraft in my area).   There is nothing wrong or embarrassing about  saying,  ” I don’t work with that herb much”,  this is what I have tried that has worked.

The other thing I might offer is that you can never learn too much and that there are always new opportunities to gain knowledge.  I am currently investigating the next class I will take and attending some conferences.

I can’t tell you how excited I am for the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference  and I am also thinking of attending the MidAmerica Herbal Symposium .  I am trying to talk the family into one of our Northwoods camping trips the weekend that Jim McDonald teaches his Foundational Herbcraft class for the North Country Herbalist Guild
Always remember though, that herbalism is instinctive.  Don’t get so caught up in the “book” studies that you forget to listen to your own intuition and the plants.
Happy Learning!

The November Herbal Blog Party is on and the buzz this month is morning stimulants or ritual blends.  This topic hits home for me because I LOVE coffee but I have been making a concerted effort to cut back on the amount I drink.  I found the way to make this transition easier on myself was by replacing an unhealthy habit with healthful herbal concoctions.    There are many herbs that are considered stimulants which can be included in the daily diet.   These herbs create energy by nourishing the body, activating body systems and increasing circulation thus restoring vitality and health.   Making the switch to herbal stimulants, however, is a process that requires patience   Herbal stimulants don’t provide the instant gratification that one becomes used to when consuming caffeinated products.

There are many herbs that I  have experimented with including; cinnamon, cloves, ginger, ginseng, peppermint, spearmint,  cayenne, and horseradish.  These are all very mild herbs which I feel comfortable including in my daily diet as sources of nourishment and stimulation.  While there may be stronger stimulants out there such as ephedra and guarana,  I feel they should be treated with the same respect as coffee and saved for occasional use.

Morning Brews
In the morning,   I need something warm and quick.  Nourishing infusions are strong herbal “teas” which contain nutritive herbs that tonify and nourish the body.  I also like to throw a little “wake up herb” in to the mix as well.    As these infusions need to brew for quite some time, I have gotten in the habit of starting mine before I go to bed.  It is nice to wake up to that steaming carafe.  Often I just drink mine black but you can make a latte if you are in the habit of drinking your coffee with creamer or sweetener.

Peppermint Latte

1/3 part  dried peppermint or spearmint leaves

1/3 part  dried red raspberry leaves,  blackberry leaves, red clover blossoms, or any other nourishing herb

1/3 part  oatstraw

1 quart water

Brew a  nourishing infusion of the dried herbs.   In the morning you just steam some milk or coconut milk and add to the infusion and sweeten with honey, if desired.

If you are wanting to add root or bark herbs to your diet, the best way to prepare them is by decocting.   Chai is an excellent example of a decoction which stimulates and nourishes. A great way to make chai caffeine free is by replacing the black tea with dandelion root and burdock root.   This is a single recipe but you can make it in large batches and just use a few tablespoons of the mixture at a time.

Herbal  Chai

1/2 tablespoons dandelion root

1/2 tablespoon burdock root

1 tablespoon of fennel seeds

6 green cardamom pods

12 cloves

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 small cinnamon stick

1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger root (or a teaspoon of dried ginger)

Grind all of the ingredients except the  fresh ginger.  Bring 7 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and add the ground mixture and fresh ginger to the boiling water.  Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and simmer the ingredients for 30 - 40 minutes.  At this point you can add milk, coconut milk, or almond milk to your liking.    Sweeten with honey, if desired.  I don’t really have much of a sugar habit so I don’t add any sweetner.  I think that the herbs add a mild sweetness of their own which I enjoy.

The 3 p.m. Drop
If you are like me,  you might experience a mid-afternoon drop in energy.   Consider turning to a healthful drink or snack for energy rather than reaching for a soda or more coffee.  These make good summertime drinks as well.

Oatmilk Smoothie

1 1/2 cups  almond-oatmilk,  or coconut milk

1/2 cup berries (we like raspberries)

dash of cinnamon

Blend all ingredients and drink

This blend is nice because you can mix a large batch up and take it with you to enjoy during break-time.  I think you will agree that it is a better alternatives than a candy bar & soda. You can play around with the herbs in this recipe to suit your taste but I like a little bit of spice.

Vegetable Juice Cocktail

1 cup tomato juice

1/4  cup carrot juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove of garlic  (I am lucky to have a juicer and I just toss this in with the carrots)

1 tsp fresh horseradish

dash of cayenne pepper

These are a yummy snack that provide a more healthful source of energy, as well.  I came across the recipe, originally, in the Gladstar course but I tweaked the ingredients a bit to suit my taste.  Rosemary Gladstar recommends the very sparing use of guarana in these balls for students or people who might be driving long distances.

Zoom Balls

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup tahini

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon ginseng

1 tablespoon bee pollen

Add  unsweetened coconut, chopped almonds and chopped dried cherries in equal parts until the mixture is stiff enough you can roll the  it into balls or pat it into bars.

1/2 cup raw almonds

1 1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup oat straw

10 cups of water

(Editor’s Note:  I didn’t mention my oatstraw is a mix of straw and milky oat tops.  I mix four ounces oatstraw and four ounces milky oat tops together and use it when oatstraw is being used for nutritional purposes.)
Grind almonds, oats, and oatstraw in a food processor.  Put water and ground mixture into a large saucepan.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 20 minutes,  strain, and refrigerate.

This is a thick liquid as it brings out the mucilage from the oats.   It works best in smoothies and baking although I like it warm over granola.

Winter weather and the flu season hit our town early last weekend.  Along with the snow it seems as though half of the people I know (including myself) are coming down with “flu-like symptoms”.   Our neighbor who works at the university hospital tested positive for H1N1 so I am thinking that it is most likely what we are dealing with at this point.  I have been listening to many people talk about the sickness in their homes this week and realized how few people really know how to take care of someone who is sick.   I suppose it is because we live in a “pop this pill and get back to work” society that people have lost this skill but given that this particular flu season we are being encouraged to stay home and get well, I thought I would share how we care for an illness in our home.

Environment

The room in which you are caring for your “patient” should be around 70 degrees and free from drafts.   The air should be kept moist and purified.   Generally we use one of those steam humidifiers with the vapo-rub well for this purpose.    I put eucalyptus oil in the well and run the steamer constantly keeping the door to the “sick room” closed.     I also make an anti-microbial aromatherapy spray which we spray in the air and on the bedding occasionally.  This also serves the purpose of stopping illness from spreading to other people.

The room should be quiet, restful and free from too much distraction so that your “patient” can get the extra sleep they need.   Even if they aren’t sleeping, you should encourage them to rest by listen to relaxing music or perhaps an audio book.

If the patient is sweating profusely, you should change the bedding and clothing frequently.  With the little ones, I have them lay on a soft bath towel that I can switch out occasionally.    I also have a stack of handkerchiefs nearby.  I prefer to use those to cover my mouth when I sneeze or cough rather than coughing on my clothing.   These can easily be thrown into the wash with the bedding and bedclothes to be sanitized.

Diet

Someone who is sick with the flu should immediately avoid uncooked dairy, cold food and juices, soy, sugar (including fruits really high in sugar such as oranges) as these foods tend to create more mucous in your body.    Coffee, cigarettes, alcohol or other items that contain substances which would stress your body should also be avoided.    I would like to think that it goes without saying that foods with preservatives, food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, etc. should also be avoided but it is probably best to throw that out there as well.   I don’t care what your mother said about warm Sprite, soda is not good for sick people.  It isn’t even good for people who are well.

You should keep a thermos of warm lemonade or a nice peppermint tea by the bedside.  You could even serve vegetable broth as a drink.     It is very important that liquids are replenished to avoid dehydration (3-6 quarts daily) but it is also important that these liquids be nourishing as it may be the only thing your patient feels like taking in.    Soups are a good source of nutrition and liquid but keep them light and simple.    Miso soup, chicken-rice soup or vegetable-lentil soup are nice choices.

Monitoring Patient

It is a good idea to take regular temperature checks and possibly even check your patient’s pulse periodically.  Pay attention to how much liquid your patient is taking in and whether or not they are eating.     It isn’t an awful idea to jot this info down on a sheet of paper along with a record of when you are giving medications just in case you need the information later.

Support Therapies

Keep the patient warm.  The chills that you often experience with a fever are due to the fact that your hypothalamus is causing your body to respond as though your body temperature has lowered.  You start to shiver and your body temperature increases creating an unstable environment for the viruses in your body.  This is just one of your body’s natural defense mechanisms.

I make rice bags from flannel and wool scraps to be kept in the freezer and used as cold packs on the forehead and feet during a fever.   They can also be heated and used as a warm pack for an aching ear or sore muscles.

Use the following massage oil on the temples and the neck to help soothe a headache or cool a fever.  It can be used as a body massage as well.

Peppermint Massage Oil

10 drops of peppermint essential oil

½ cup carrier oil such as olive oil or sweet almond

In the Gladstar course,   Rosemary recommends two warm baths daily for those suffering from the flu.  I probably take more like three or four depending on how I am feeling.  I like to add 1/2 a cup of the following bath salts to the tub; they help ease aches and pains, and clear the nasal passages.   Baths also help with hydration because your  skin will absorb liquid.

Winter Cold Bath Salts

1 cup Epsom salts

1 cup bath salts or coarse sea salt

10 drops rosemary essential oil

10 drops eucalyptus essential oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1  1/2 teaspoon minced gingerroot

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions for sauce: Combine all of the ingredients except garlic and ginger in saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved.   Add fresh garlic and ginger root to sauce.  This is good served over rice as a light meal.
Instructions for glaze:  Combine all of the ingredients except garlic and gingeroot in a pan and heat until sugar is dissolved.   Mix 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder with 1 tablespoon of water.  Stir this into sauce and cook until thickened.  Add garlic and ginger.  This is great as a dipping sauce or on wings.