Holy Basil, Passion Flower,Summer Mountains, Bananas

  How can it be Friday already! The week flew. I am doing some volunteer work, and time slips by so fast when I get into that.
  My favorite southern tree broke into bloom this week, the lovely Mimosa. It seems to grow where there is water, so along river banks there are lots of them. The blooms are spiky and delicate and pink, so pretty.
  I have been looking into a plant called Holy Basil lately. Its an ancient plant, considered to be an "escaped weed." Has been used as a medicine for many years. It is a Cox2 inhibitor which means it controls pain, and may be good for cataracs and for controlling blood sugar. Its  also called Tulsi. Seems its considered an adaptogen, which means a substance that moves you toward better health. If you make tea by combining tulsi, hawthorn and arjuna, it improves your heart health. It eases pain because of the euginol it contains. It has also been used to help hay fever and allergies.
  To make a tincture, put 1 heaping teaspoon of tulsi leaves, 1 heaping teaspoon of hibiscus flowers, 1 teaspoon of dried rose petals and a pinch of stevia in a teapot with 16 ounces of hot water, steep 15 minutes , strain into a cup and enjoy. In case I have neglected to say, any of these herbs you do not grow, can be purchased at Mountain Rose Herbs. It's a great company, and they have a very informative newsletter.
  The other herb I am reading up on is Passion Flower. This plant is native to the Andes. It's usually a vine but can also grow as a bush. It's pollinated by bees and hummingbirds. Makes a lovely plant in your yard or garden.  It has been studied as useful for epilepsy, hysteria, and insomnia. A cup of tea at bedtime will give you a good night's sleep. Wikopedia has pictures of the lovely flowers, mostly purple and white. If you are totally stressed out, try some of this tea to soothe your jangled nerves.
  It's raining today, hurray, we needed it.  And it's much cooler. I have one more idea to share, if you have scrapes or a bleeding cut, rub a banana peel on that,  the peel is astringent and will help the healing process. Can't beat that for cheap and easy. Have a good week, stay well.

Mountains, Dirty DVD's and recipes

 I like to shop early, before the local Walmart gets busy. So Thursday a.m. I headed out at 7 am. The Knoxville news was reporting heavy fog, so I was not sure what I might find.  It was a lovely morning, crisp and fresh, following rain the day before. The drive is always nice, something new to see every trip. The calves are growing so fast, here they are born in February so they are now four months old.
  Did my shopping and headed home. The sky was a lovely blue, the mountains tall and proud, and sitting atop all the Smokies in my home area were puffy white clouds, just resting on the peaks. So beautiful. Sometimes they are tucked  down into the rows of mountains, but this day they just sat there and created another picture. The mountains rise up around us like protective giants, fending off most storms and keeping us safe. Makes me think of the hymn, A Mighty  Fortress is Our God.  I was brought up in the midwest, which is quite flat by comparison.
  There are two shows I watch most days, The Doctors and Dr Oz. Both give us so much information on healthy living, preventive health care and so much more. We live in a dirty world, but would not think of things like this. Did you know that DVD's from Redbox, Blockbuster, Netflix etc are found to be crawling with staph, fecal matter and other  gross stuff? Its a good idea to use a disinfectant wipe on them, and then after putting them in and out of the player, wash your hands before munching on that popcorn.
  If you rent a car now and then, be sure you wipe down the steering wheel, gear shift, door handles etc. The car places vacuum but don't sanitize. When I visit my grand daughter, her parents make sure to wipe high chairs, table and anything she might  touch.Good thinking.
  I have a quick recipe for you, good for your face, like feeding it a meal.  Mash up about a teaspoon of avocado, add a teaspoon of Organic greek yogurt, and about a half teaspoon of honey. Mix well, spread on face and let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse off gently with warm water. Leaves skin silky and soft.
  Last thought for today, to make  a natural window wash, use the juice of 1 lemon, 2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint essential oil, and 1 teaspoon of corn starch.  Mix all and put in plastic spray bottle.  A bonus, newspaper makes a great window cleaner , no lint and you are recycling. Yeah! Don't use the funny pages, the colors might mess up your effort.
  Be sure to take time to look at the beauty in the world around you this week, what an incredible world we live in. Take care, be well.
 

Friday, a bit of this and that

Sorry I missed last week, we had  yard sale at our church to benefit our local hospice and it took extra time and work, but was so worth the effort. Good cause to support.
 I am baking kale chips this morning,if you haven't tried them I recommend them. Just tear kale into chip sized pieces, toss a bowl full of them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, lightly salt, and bake at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes, or til crisp. They are a great alternative to potato chips, quite tasty. If you are avoiding salt, you can use paprika, cumin, or whatever spices you like.
 Have a few ideas for you, first, if you have brown spots on your hands, arms etc,  try taking about a half cup of cooked brown rice, add a teaspoon each of agave nectar and lemon juice mix well, rub on and leave for 20 minutes, then wash it off.
 If you eat foods with biotin, you can keep your lovely locks from graying much longer.
  To look slimmer, don't wear baggy clothes, things that fit more make you look thinner.
  Grapefruit burns bodyfat,  so be sure to include it in your diet.  You can make a sangria type drink by slicing grapefruits and tangerines into rounds,  adding sliced cucumbers and parsley and adding to a pitcher of water. Let sit in frig til cold, strain and add ice for a refreshing drink.
  If you are watching your purchased products and looking for more natural items, here's a recipe for home made body wash:
 1/2 gallon of distilled water
 2 cups Dove soap

2 Tablespoons glycerin
if you want,you can add essential oils for scent.
Melt the soap in 1/2 cup of the water, add the glycerin, mix back into the 1/2 gallon of water, and store in plastic squeeze bottles.
  Time to take the kale chips out, working on drying some herbs my son brought yesterday, rosemary, thyme and sage, smells great.
 Have a great week, we seem to be into summer now, warmer days, but still cool nights here on the mountain, love it. Til next time, be healthy!
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Aloe Vera, a true wonder plant, not just for burns

  Living in my east window in the front room, is a very old, large aloe vera plant.  My first use of this plant was for burns, most of you are familiar with its soothing properties.
  But I have learned there are many more uses for this wonder of wonders.
  Aloe was brought to this country  by Spanish priests, and first uses seem to be in the Florida area.   One of the earier studies was done on digestive issues, and today more uses are being studied.  Aloe  contains anthraquinones and an enzyme  called bradykinose, besides phenols, sulpher and magnesium. Capsules are available for internal use now. It soothes the stomach and intestines regulating  issues in that area. It is also being studied  for anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties.
  On a news cast this last week, it was pointed out that  if we women use as few as 2 cosmetic products, we are being exposed to no less than twelve chemicals that are not good for us.  I am awarethat there are natural companies outthere but the cost of their products is sometimes much higher than theones we could buy in the stores. It was suggested that we cook up  a beet, and use the resulting water on our lips or use asblush. LipsI can see, blush, not sure.  I do know I have been making a good share of my face creams, hand lotion, lipbalms etcfor quite a few years now, and they have no unpronounceable words in them. Rule of thumb, if you can'tsay it, and don't know what it is don't use it. My creams are based on beeswax for thickening, and oils, like jojoba, apricot kernal, etc, and I add rose water, vitamin E, calcium and aloe to them along with essential carrot seed oil. They work well and cause no problems. I have had an allergy to coconut oil all my life so avoid    it.As  long    as you are making your own product, you controlthe ingredients. I would much rather be there  than   trusting a manugacturer with that list. For many years I ve used product, starting with an A, that I love, but turned the containers over and read labels last week. Oh no, must  no w part company with them until they revise their formulas. Sad, I will miss them.
  So besides breaking off a piece of the leaf and using ist for burns,cuts and scrapes, you might want to consider  kee pingsome capsules handy for those occasional tummy woes.I also have  a bottle of pure aloe gel that I use for brewing up stuff, much easier than milking the leaves.
  Hope your week end is productive, see you again soon!

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GMO's, Food Safety, choices to make

  Our food safety is at risk!  GMO's(Genetically Modified organisms) are now in an estimated 70% of our food supply.
  Corn, soy, sugar beets and canola are the main targets. The seeds for these crops are modified to keep insects from attacking the crops. What they are doing is producing a strain of super bugs, resistant to the pesticides now used.
  As much as 90% of corn and soybeans are now treated in this manner. This use is increasing the allergys and illnesses in our country. Europe has already banned the use of  GMO's as unsafe. For some reason, we are always behind in making our food supplies safe.
  300 organizations and doctors have now filed a petition with the FDA, seeking to label all foods grown with GMO's, thus giving us a choice of whether or not we purchase these unsafe items.
  Scientists actually modify the DNA codes of plants, to produce insect free crops, thus adding that element to what we eat. No wonder we have so many health problems, we are ingesting totally harmful food. Again, go back to the farmer markets and organic grown foods to keep your children and family safe. It's a horrible thought, but little girls as young as 6 years old are having periods now because of the food they eat.
  Here is a clue to super market buying, there are PLU stickers(price look up locators) on produce.  A four digit number  is a conventionally grown product.  A five digit number starting with a 9 indicates organically grown products. Be sure to read the labels on your produce as much as you do the labels on your other products, we have to take charge and look out for ourselves these days, no one will help us out as that ever present dollar sign seems to be all that matters.
  If you want more information, visit http://www.nongmoproject,org/consumers/about-gmos/.
  I think back to my young days, on my grandads farm. No electricity, running water, just a wood burning cookstove that provided heat for the house and did the cooking. My grandad was up at at dawn, using 2 horses and a walking plow to turn his fields. He planted in the same manner and fertilized with manure from the farm animals that was piled up all winter, and was ready by planting time. He spent the summer hand weeding. When harvest came, neighbors banded together and helped each other out to get crops in when they were ready. I learned to cook in my grandmas kitchen, she was a great cook, and the long table down the middle of the room fed the crews that came to harvest each fall. Those were ideallic years, playing with all the newborn kittens, chicks, calves etc. The windmill clank was peaceful,   and I enjoyed the summers there. Sure different from this day and age. Too bad we can't go back a little and enjoy the peace, fresh air and family times together. The only thing I would not miss would be the outhouse.  Those were nice to have replaced with modern plumbing.
  Have a great week, eat healthy.

Scary things in your food, cream soup recipe

 I am about to complicate your life, unless you are content with eating awful stuff.  I learned some really scary, icky facts about canned things we buy this week, and I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg, another reason to grow and process your own food, or at least buy fresh produce from a farmers market and use that.
 First, how often do you open a can of tomato sauce and use it in soup, stew, recipes of some sort? Do you know the FDA allows 30 fruit fly eggs per one small can? To check this out go to http://communitydiscovery.com. If you just put fruit flys in tomato sauce in your search engine, you will find more sites.
  Most of us keep canned mushrooms in the pantry, useful for all kinds of recipes.  The FDA allows 20 maggots per small can, 3 ounces, of mushrooms. You can check this out at: http://www.nytimes.com. There are other sites for this yucky problem too .
  Lastly for today, are you a fan of hard candy? The FDA allows anal juice from beaver glands to be added to candy for flavoring. I can purely do without that. You can check this out at: www.drozfans.cm, or: toyourgoodhealthradio.com.
  It's plain to see you are better off to process your own food, and skip the pre processed grocery store stuff .If you can't grow your own, there are always farmer's markets, or places to buy fresh produce. I buy organic mushrooms, saute them in a little olive oil and freeze in containers for use when needed.
  Lastly if you are a lover of cream of celery, mushroom, broccoli, chicken etc soup, here is an easy way to quickly make your own base.
   Cream Soup Base

 2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup boullion powder
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper(black)
 Mix all together and store in jar in refrigerator. To use, mix 1/3 of a cup of mix  with 1 and 1/4 cups of water, stir over medium heat til thickened, add 1 tablespoon of butter, then your choice of celery, chicken etc. This is a great, rich tasting base, and was one I used for my diabetic hubby to make soups he liked.  It is neccesary to precook the additive, celery etc. Have a great week see ya soon.

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Learn prevention at a young age, helps for your health

  I married young, eighteen years old. By the time I was twenty one I had 3 children and was traveling the states and overseas as an Air Force wife.
  One of the first things  learned in life was to care for your body, and health. My folks did not give us candy except for a rare treat. We ate fruits and veggies as snacks, often picked right out of Dad's garden in the back yard.  I was lucky that I had no cavitys or major health problems until the summer I was fifteen. I taught a swimming class at the YWCA in the morning, then rode my bike across town to my grandparents and helped get their lunch. Late afternoon I baby sat with the neighbors kids while the parents worked. Got too tired and left myself vulnerable to the polio epidemic that was going around then.
 Once I had recovered enough to get back to life, I tried college, but couldn't go fast enough between classes to make it work well, so after one semester I went to work. And after a year, I got married.
  Where ever we were stationed, one of the first places I visited was the local Health Food Store.  The people who ran them were always so knowledgeable and taught me so much.
  My mom by then was in her fifties and was suffering from cripplng arthritis in her hands. She was a teacher and this made it hard to write on blackboards, grade papers etc so she started taking a medicine called Endocin. Wicked stuff, caused bleeding and other health problems but did let her hands work better. So I talked to my source at the Health Food store, and got some recommendations.  They told me to take ginger and turmeric. Both are common spices, easily available and pretty cheap. Also added MSM, which is a sulfer substance mined from the ground. The combination has served me well, I am 75 now and have no knarled knuckles or painful joints. In fact, pain of an sort is rare. turns out these spices are now being touted as wonderful antioxidants that help prevent a great many illnesses, even cancer. Its amazing how we learn as we go. I  am greatful for being able to take these all the past  years and prevent a lot of problems.
  I watch Dr Oz, and read health books like others read novels. I recently learned that if we started taking astaxanthin about age 30, we could prevent cataracs. Wish I had known that a few years back. I take it now, and after being told by one doc I had cataracs, let a few years go by while my hubby was ill before I got them checked, and was told then I had nothng to worry about .
  Do some reading and checking on natural ways of coping with family problems and see if you can build your health up and prevent future problems. You may be predisposed to things but you have in your power the ability to change what could happen.
  Be healthy!