HealthiaCynthia

Living Lemon & Barley Water

Filed under: Health & Wellness, Food & Recipes, NingXia Red, Vita-Mix by healthiacynthia on September 13, 2007 11:09 pm

LemonThe following recipe is adapted from a similar heated recipe in the book "Lemon Zest: More than 175 Recipes with a Twist" by Lori Longbotham.

Living Lemon & Barley Water

Remember how some of your friends used to make a cold tea concoction over a few days? Well, the same idea goes here.

Soak 1 C. organic barley in about 2 C. filtered water for 48-72 hours (soak it somewhere cool, like the fridge– we are not aiming to make alcohol here…lol).

On the day you plan to make the brew,

Cut 6 large organic lemons into quarters. Leave skin on but remove pips (you can sprout them later if you wish).

Combine barley and its water with the lemons and a

1/2 Cup of raw honey (or stevia to taste)

and 6 more cups of fresh water

in the Vita-Mix Container.

Process with both double lids securely in place. Begin by setting the speed to Variable Low and steadily increasing it to the highest Variable Speed and then flipping it over into High until the "juice" is of a creamy, same consistency throughout. Put in the fridge in a large container. If it is too 'thick', you can just stir in additional water.

You may want to keep a little of the juice and just add in more water as a nice thirst quencher for a fresh after-work pick-up.

Barley water has a long and esteemed history in England for nourishing the sick and slaking the thirst of those doing hard manual harvesting. This version uses raw ingredients and thus avoids some of the excessive acid-forming action of the cooked and process-sugared brew (although both the barley and the honey are also acid-forming). You will benefit from the enzymes in the raw honey and the vitamins and phytonutrients in the living brew itself. Enjoy!

Here are a couple of ideas for jazzing the drink up even more:

 

 


Joyful Recipes with Essential Oils

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on November 2, 2006 9:36 pm

It's here!!  The Young Living Christmas Gift Guide… there is not another time of the year when scents and aromas are so fragrant and so evocative of love and warmth and celebration and family!  How about this wonderful set of oils that can be used in a variety of seasonal recipes (and probably some that haven't been thought up yet).  I will definitely be ordering this:

Seasonal oils cinnamon clove peppermint orange nutmeg

To order, click on the picture above, or go to Diffusing Life
You can also order by calling 1-800-371-2928 and giving the operator Sponsor #607652

Fragrant Greetings!

Cynthia 


Yummiest Breakfast Ever!

Filed under: Health & Wellness, Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on August 17, 2006 2:00 pm

Luscious Living August Fruits and Berries in a Pie This is the raw fruit pie that grew out of last night's yummy fruit salad. I went out earlier this morning and picked the luscious blackberries from nearby bushes… they are as organic as they come. This may be difficult for food combiners to deal with, but there is a sunflower seed/date "krust" under all this fruit. The recipe is simple:

Blend up 1 C. sunflower seeds and 10 pitted dates. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt. Press into the bottom of a pie plate and put in the freezer overnight (or until set).

Cut 3 bananas over the krust. Add other fruits as available. We used: grapes, fresh pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Eat!!

—————————————————————————————

"Get Started on the Raw Food Diet With the Most Complete Kit of Resource Available Anywhere!"

Kickstart your health, and find out exactly how you can use the power of raw foods to experience:
Boundless energy, Detox and rejuvenation, Reach your ideal wei*ght.

Go here to find out more!  I'm happy to report that I have lost 28 pounds so far with this incredible healthy way of eating– and I thought that my metabolism had conked out years ago! ~Cynthia


How to Make a Memory Salad

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on August 16, 2006 2:10 pm

fruit salad

This is the delightful fruit salad (my version) that my friend Bonnie made on the weekend– candy-sweet fresh pineapple, organic blueberries, strawberries and grapes.  This is one of the great joys of eating live (raw) vegan … the other great joy was that today on my 6 week follow-up with my naturopath I found that I had lost another 11 pounds…. added to the 17 pounds I lost previously, that is 28 pounds over the past three months!!!


Lemongrass Special!

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on July 21, 2006 8:17 pm

YL Lemongrass essential oil

 Some of us have lemongrass growing in our gardens… I think that I might, but I am not sure.  I do see it in the grocer's.  And I enjoy its tangy flavour in my Asian food.

I've often heard stories related about the wonders of pure, therapeutic-grade Lemongrass Essential Oil .  A friend tells me how her mother puts a little lemongrass essential oil on her tummy at night and is able to sleep through the entire night… quite a feat at over 80 years.

Lemongrass has powerful skin-healing properties.  Studies have been published in the Phytotherapy Research Journal.

You can even add it to your favourite Asian dishes, or to a cup of tea– BUT ONLY if you are sure that it is therapeutic-grade and not an essential oil that has been obtained through solvent distillation.  You can be sure of that with Young Living Essential Oils.

Take a look here . 


Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on July 18, 2006 6:17 pm

We haven't done this yet, but we have been long-time users of apple cider vinegar and I'm thrilled to have run across a recipe that looks like a way to use those apples that are falling off our tree, and to use up all those peels and whatnot leftover when making apple pie and other treats.

Get hold of a wide mouth jar or crock, with a cover for it, and fill it up with peelings, cores, and bruised apples left over from making juice or apple sauce or whatever.  Cover with cold water.  Place the lid on the crock and put it in a warm place.

Occasionally, lift the cover and add whatever additional peels, cores, and apple pieces. 

Strain off the froth as you go.

When the vinegar smells and tastes right (you will be the judge of that), strain out the apple pieces.   Pour the liquid into steralized bottles and cap or cork.  You could use jars, as well.

There are piles of things you can do with apple cider vinegar that promote good health.  We'll look at some of those ideas in future blogs.


The Saga of Sauerkraut

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on July 16, 2006 11:43 pm

Our son Conrad is making sauerkraut the traditional (non-cooking) way.  Basically, he sprinkled Celtic Sea Salt on chopped cabbage and stored it away for 2-3 weeks to cure. 

We had some tonight– just a taste– and it was delicious!  Maybe it just tasted so fresh and tasty because I've been becoming rather bored on this raw food diet that we are eating, or maybe it is truly delicious– not sure. 

As a young adult I wasn't keen on sauerkraut. Most of the sauerkraut I ate had been cooked and contained vinegar, setting my teeth on edge.   My German mother-in-law used to cook it and stink up the whole house (in my opinion).  Then she would tell me (if I were pregnant) that it was too bad, but I couldn't eat sauerkraut.  Secretly I was rejoicing.

Now I seem to have developed a taste for the stuff.  Good thing, since it is  apparently quite nutritious.  Our son plans to make quite a bit more.

Little known fact: the original sauerkraut came from China with the Tartar invaders.  The German name stuck.


Chocolate Nightmare

Filed under: Health & Wellness, Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on July 7, 2006 11:23 am

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

As a kid I used to ride my bike to town from our farm to buy a few groceries and cash in on on my reward for doing so: a Coffee Crisp chocolate bar.  I was a skinny little kid.  I could eat a chocolate bar a day and it had no evident effect.  I used to dream of having a grocery carton full of Coffee Crisps. 

Then, in my young adulthood, I learned to eschew chocolate: acne, thigh fat, that sort of thing.  I learned that others… not just PMS'd women either… had love affairs with chocolate.  Movies were based on chocolate.  Valentine's Day commerce revolves around chocolate. 

For quite a while now there has been talk and writing about the "love" chemical in chocolate.  And then, hey, they started coming out with organic chocolate and even raw cacao nibs and WOW!!  Chocolate is a HEALTH FOOD!! 

Oops… seems we're back to that other cycle in the life of chocolate…>>>

 Cacao: Not As Good As You’ve Been Led To Believe


The latest and greatest “so-called” super food being promoted in the raw food world is raw chocolate, also known as cacao. I myself was excited when I first heard about it. But after trying it, I didn’t feel that great.

I asked others how they felt after consuming cacao and there were no complaints. That was then. After a few months, I started to get more and more complaints from people who were taking cacao. It didn’t surprise me because chocolate in general is not good for us. Other than the enzyme issue, why would raw cacao be so healthy for us?

That is when I decided to do research and I found some scary facts. What’s even scarier is that people are so addicted to it, that even after learning of the high possibility of harmful effects, they keep consuming it. What concerns me the most is the amount people are eating.

If someone took a pinch, let’s say once a week, then maybe they wouldn’t have to worry. When I see people being led to believe that there are many health benefits to consuming tablespoons every day; that is just crazy!

If you are eating a raw food diet because you want to find a natural toxin that will make you feel high, then you have found a good product. Beware, because there are many downsides to it. If you are eating a raw diet for health benefits, consuming chocolate in any form should be off your list and out of your mind.

In one of the best overall raw guides ever written “Diet by Design: Fruits, Nuts and Natural Foods ” it says the following about cacao:

"Chocolate and cacao are outright health hazards due to the chemicals, contaminants, and additives they contain. The chemicals within chocolate are called methylxanthines. They can be further classified as theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline, all of which have deleterious effects on the body. Theobromine is known to cause a host of symptoms including abnormal glandular growth, nervousness, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and itching. Caffeine is highly suspected of being a carcinogen, and is directly linked to heart and circulatory problems, glandular difficulties, nervous disorders, osteoporosis, birthing abnormalities, and so forth. Theophylline causes stomach problems, nausea, vomiting, and nervous disorders.

The processing of cacao beans into powder and chocolateis an unsanitary, risky procedure to say the least.  To be blunt-chocolate and cacao are laced with animal feces and hair, insects, and molds. The carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin has been found in large quantities on cacao beans.  Allowable limits have been set by the FDA regarding rodent feces and insect parts in chocolate and cocoa!

As quoted from Poison With a Capital C , “…every time you eat a chocolate bar, it may contain a rodent hair and 16 insect parts and still carry the blessing of the FDA.”, and “For chocolate powder or cakes there must not be more than 75 insect fragments in three tablespoons of powder.”, and “Four percent of cacao beans may be infested by insects. Animal excreta (such as visible rat droppings) must not exceed 10 milligrams per pound”.

Now, after learning this information, people will still continue to indulge, making excuses to keep eating it. Please note I have no reason to write this information, other than to make you aware of the truth.

In fact, I would make a lot of money if I sold raw chocolate and products that contain it. But I just can’t do that, knowing the truth. 

I give lectures all over the world, mostly in the United Stated. I have already giving over 100 lectures this year alone. Just about every lecture I give, I have someone come up to me telling me that they experienced one or more of the symptoms above after consuming cacao. Now if you are eating cacao and have not had symptoms, that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you. It’s just a matter of time, so why not stop now?

It is my passion and my goal to get information about health to as many people as possible. What you do with that information is your own personal choice.

(The above article was written by Paul Nison, raw food author. He can be found online at rawlife.com )

Raw Genesis ©2007


Little Red Hen (Manna) Bread

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on 9:56 am

Our son is making us some manna bread– he's been sprouting the wheat for a few days with his "secret" magnetized water recipe in a hemp bag that he sewed up himself.  I remembered that I had put one of my forays into manna bread on-line.  You can not find it anymore (since Modblog died) but someday I will re-publish it.  Basically, sprout the wheat, blend it up, and pat onto a pan as a round loaf.  Cover it with a bowl and bake at a low temperature for about 2 hours. It's delicious!


Sprouting Information…

Filed under: Food & Recipes by healthiacynthia on June 26, 2006 2:27 pm

Today our son outdid himself with his lunchtime salad… and part of the credit for the delectability goes to our local veggie sprout company called Eatmore Sprouts.

Now, I have eaten lots of their other sprout varieties– but these are their newest addition: organic mung bean sprouts … probably the first ones I sprouted in my home back in 1972.  These were the freshest, sweetest, crunchiest bean sprouts I have ever eaten in a salad.  I highly recommend them!

sprouting supplies

Sprouts are the most nutritious little plants you can eat.   Fresh and organic, they contain all the nutritional properties of the much-larger plant they would potentially grow into. 

 


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