Beverages

Pine Needle Tea

Pine needle tea has been prized for thousands of years for its many health benefits. What’s so good about pine needle tea? Here’s what I found out at Forest Holidays:

  • Pine needle tea has a pleasant taste and smell (always a good start).
  • It is rich in vitamin C (5 times the concentration of vitamin C found in lemons) and can bring relief to conditions such as heart disease, varicose veins, skin complaints and fatigue
  • Vitamin C is also an immune system booster which means that pine needle tea can help to fight illness and infections.
  • Pine needle tea also contains high levels of Vitamin A, which is good for your eyesight, improves hair and skin regeneration and improves red blood cell production.
  • It can be used as an expectorant for coughs and to help relieve chest congestion; it is also good for sore throats.
  • It brings you clarity and mental clearness.
  • It can help with depression, obesity, allergies and high blood pressure.
  • Pine needles contain antioxidants. These reduce free radicals, which are harmful to humans and can cause disease.
  • Taoist priests drank pine needle tea as they believed it made them live longer. There is researched evidence that pine needle tea can help to slow the ageing process.
  • Pick some pine needles and let them soak in boiling water on your stove and it will add a crisp pine smell all over the house. Perfect for Christmas.

How to make pine needle tea

  • 1/2 cup young, bright green Eastern white pine needles
  • 3 cups water

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil in a stainless steel pan. Add pine needles to water and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes and remove from heat. Cover and let sit overnight or continue to next step and serve.

Strain out pine needles, sweeten to taste, and serve tea hot or cold.

Notes: 

Make sure not to boil the pine needles in order to preserve the vitamin C and prevent the release of bitter terpenes. Vitamin C doesn’t last long, so drink this tea as soon as possible.

Pine Needle Tea In The Wild:

  • Collect pine needles
  • Build a fire
  • Light it
  • Boil water in a mess tin
  • Add pine needles and let them infuse in the boiling water
  • Sieve and serve

Enjoy your tea. Who knows, you might live to be 103 with 20:20 vision, a mind as sharp as a pine needle and no varicose veins. We’ll drink to that!

A word or two of caution:

Firstly, don’t try pine needle tea if you are pregnant. Secondly, most pine varieties can be used, but steer clear of Yew and Cypress which can sometimes be mistaken for pine. A good rule of thumb is to avoid flat needles. If in doubt, ask a Forest Ranger.

Found at: Forest Holidays

Cleansing Pineapple, Apple, and Ginger Juice


Ginger root has a slew of health benefits ranging from high in antioxidants to being used as a natural remedy for motion sickness or nausea. Ginger is also great for stimulating and aiding in digestion by breaking down food so that nutrients can be absorbed quicker.

Pineapple and apples also have wonderful cleansing properties, especially if you are feeling sick, as they are packed with vitamin C and magnesium. Vitamin C helps to support your immune system with antioxidants, while magnesium is essential for muscle and nerve function. Basically, just what the doctor ordered this fall season!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 small pineapple
  • 1 1/2 apples
  • 1/4 piece of a thumb of ginger

Instructions

Simply wash and chop the pineapple, apples and ginger and put into your juicer to be juiced. Store in an airtight container (mason jar) and enjoy for the next 3 days!

Found at Raw Food Recipes

Sunshine juice

A naturally sweet and low-glycemic raw, veggie juice that’s packed with ingredients to boost your mood, heart health, improve your blood pressure, and ensure optimal digestion of nutrients!

Ingredients

  • 1 head of organic romaine lettuce, washed (or 1 bunch of organic kale)
  • 1 organic lemon
  • 1 large organic carrot, peeled
  • 2 stalks of organic celery
  • 1 one-inch knob of ginger root
  • 1/2 an organic cucumber (or zucchini)
  • (optional): 1/4-1/2 a green apple (or a leftover apple core)

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to the juicer in the order listed and juice. Pour the juice over a glass of ice for a nice and chilled juice, and enjoy! Clean the juicer immediately after (this is much easier to do right now than later). Let the juicer parts dry well and put away for tomorrow.

Found at Raw Food Recipes

Flu-Fighting Beet and Cucumber Juice

This beet and cucumber juice is the perfect drink to have at your side during any flu season. It will give you a boost in energy, as it is packed with flu fighting vitamins and minerals! Aside from all the nutrition this juice generously yields, it actually tastes delicious!

The cucumbers add a refreshing note to the juiced beets, which surprisingly does not have an earthy undertone. Instead the beets are sweet, especially when squeezed with a little lime juice. The lime highlights the sweetness of both the cucumber and beets, leaving you with just a delicious and refreshing juice full of flu fighting nutrients. Give it a try if you’re feeling under the weather, or simply to give your body a boost.

Ingredients

  • 2 raw medium beets
  • 1½ – 2 medium cucumbers
  • juice of 1 lime or lemon ( I use lime)

Instructions

Simply wash and chop the beets and cucumbers and put into your juicer and squeeze in the lime juice. Enjoy right away or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container (mason jar) for the next 3 days!

Found at Raw Food Recipes

Turmeric, Carrot, and Ginger Remedy

Not a fan of straight carrot juice? Try doctoring it up with ginger, turmeric, lemon and honey, which has an enormous side benefit of giving the immune system an even more powerful boost. It’s delicious – potent, refreshing, spicy and sinus-clearing, and a little goes a long way.

Ingredients:

  • 8-10 large carrots – peeled if not organic
  • 1″ piece ginger or more – peeled if not organic
  • 1″ piece fresh turmeric root – peeled if not organic
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon raw honey

Instructions:

Run the carrots, ginger, turmeric and lemon through a juicer. Pour juice into a blender, add the honey and blend until the honey is incorporated. Enjoy.

Notes:

I like to use organic lemons for this juice, so that I can run the peel through the juicer and get its oils and benefits into the tonic. I generally use a bit more than 1″ of ginger for this amount of juice, but I like things really fiery. If you are the same way, add some more ginger.

Found at: Raw Food Recipes

Raw Juice Therapy

Raw juice therapy is a method of treatment of disease through an exclusive diet of juices of fruits and vegetables. It is also known as juice fasting. It is the most effective way to restore health and rejuvenate the body.

During raw juice therapy, the eliminative and cleansing capacity of the organs of elimination, namely lungs, liver, kidneys and the skin, is greatly increased and masses of accumulated metabolic waste and toxins are quickly eliminated. It affords a physiological rest to the digestive and assimilative organs.

After the juice fasting or raw juice therapy, the digestion of food and the utilization of nutrients is vastly improved. An exclusive diet of raw juices of fruits and vegetables results in much faster recovery from diseases and more effective cleansing and regeneration of the tissues than the fasting on pure water.

Dr. Ragnar Berg, a world-renowned authority on nutrition and biochemistry observes:

“During fasting the body burns up and excretes huge amounts of accumulated wastes. We can help this cleansing process by drinking alkaline juices instead of water while fasting.

I have supervised many fasts and made extensive examinations and tests of fasting patients, and I am convinced that drinking alkali-forming fruit and vegetable juices, instead of water, during fasting will increase the healing effect of fasting. Elimination of uric acid and other inorganic acids will be accelerated. And sugars in juices will strengthen the heart.

Juice fasting is, therefore, the best form of fasting. ”

As juices are extracted from plants and fruits, they process definite medicinal properties. Specific juices are beneficial in specific conditions. Besides specific medicinal virtues, raw fruit and vegetable juices have an extraordinary revitalizing and rejuvenative effect on all the organs, glands and functions of the body.

Favorable Effects

The favorable effect of raw juices in the treatment of disease is attributed to the following facts : Raw juices of fruits and vegetables are extremely rich in vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes and natural sugars. They exercise beneficial effect in normalizing all the body functions. They supply needed elements for the body’s own healing activity and cell regeneration, thereby speeding the recovery.

  • The juices extracted from raw fruits and vegetables require no digestion and almost all their vital nutrients are assimilated directly in the bloodstream.
  • Raw juices are extremely rich in alkaline elements. This is highly beneficial in normalising acid-alkaline balance in the blood and tissues as there is over-acidity in most conditions of ill-health.
  • Generous amounts of easily assimilable organic minerals in raw juices especially calcium, potassium and silicon help in restoring biochemical and mineral balance in the tissues and cells, thereby preventing premature ageing of cells and disease.
  • Raw juices contain certain natural medicines, vegetal hormones and antibiotics. For instance, string beans are said to contain insulin-like substance. Certain hormones needed by the pancreas to produce insulin are present in cucumber and onion juices. Fresh juices of garlic , onions, radish and tomatoes contain antibiotic substances.

Precautions

Certain precautions are, however, necessary in adopting an exclusive diet of raw juices. Firstly, all juices should be made fresh immediately before drinking. Canned and frozen juices should not be used. It will be advisable that one should have one’s own juicer for extracting fresh juices.

Secondly, only fresh ripe fruits and vegetables, preferably organically grown, should be used for extraction of juices.

Thirdly, only as much juice as needed for immediate consumption should be extracted. Raw juices oxidize rapidly and lose their medicinal value in storage, even under refrigeration.

Fourthly, the quality of the juices has a distinct bearing on the results obtained. In case of incomplete extraction of juices, their effective power is proportionately reduced due to the absence of the vitamins and enzymes which are left behind in fiber and the pulp.

Finally, if juices are too sweat they should be diluted in water on 50 : 50 basis or mixed with other less sweet juices. This is especially important in some specific conditions such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, arthritis and high blood pressure.

The Six Main Types of Juices

Fruit and vegetable juices may be divided into six main types. These are :

  • Juices from sweet fruits such as prunes and grapes
  • Juices from sub-acid fruits like apple, plum, pear, peach, apricot and cherry
  • Juices from acid fruits like orange, lemon, grapefruit, strawberry and pineapple
  • Juices from vegetable fruits, namely, tomato and cucumber
  • Juices from green leafy vegetables like cabbage, celery, lettuce, spinach, parsley and watercress
  • Juices from root vegetables like beetroot, carrot, onion, potato and radish. Generally speaking, fruit juices stir up toxins and acids in the body, thereby stimulating the eliminative processes.

Vegetable juices, on the other hand, soothe the jaded nerves and work in a much milder manner. They carry away toxic matter in a gentle way. Owing to their differing actions fruit and vegetable juices should not be used at the same time or mixed together. It is desirable to use juices individually. In any case not more than three juices should be used in any one mixture.

Rules For Mixing Juices

The following broad rules apply when using mixtures of juices. Juices from sweet fruits may be combined with juices of sub-acid fruits, but not with those of acid fruits, vegetable fruits or vegetables.

  • Juices from sub-acid fruits may be combined with juices of sweet fruits, or acid fruits, but not with other juices.
  • Juices from acid fruits may be combined with those of sub-acid fruits or vegetable fruits, but not with other juices.
  • Juices from vegetable fruits may be combined with those of acid fruits or of green leafy vegetables, but not with other juices.
  • Juices from green leafy vegetables may be combined with those of vegetable fruits or of the root vegetable, but not with other juices.
  • Juices from root vegetables may be combined with those of green leafy vegetables, but not with other juices. A proper selection of juices in treating a particular ailment is very essential.

Thus, for instance, juices of carrot, cucumber, cabbage and other vegetables are very valuable in asthma, arthritis and skin disease, but juices of orange and mosambi aggravate their symptoms by increasing the amount of mucus.

Treatment of Diseases

Some common ailments and fruit and vegetable juices found beneficial in their treatment are mentioned below :

  • Acidity : Grapes, orange, mosambi, carrot and spinach.
  • Acne : Grapes, pear, plum, tomato, cucumber, carrot, potato and spinach.
  • Allergies : Apricot, grapes, carrot, beet and spinach.
  • Arteriosclerosis : Grapefruit, pineapple, lemon, celery, carrot, lettuce, and spinach.
  • Anemia : Apricot, prune, strawberry, red grape, beet, celery, carrot and spinach.
  • Arthritis : Sour cherry, pineapple, sour apple, lemon, grapefruit, cucumber, beet, carrot, lettuce and spinach.
  • Asthma : Apricot, lemon, pineapple, peach, carrot, radish and celery.
  • Bronchitis : Apricot, lemon, pineapple, peach, tomato, carrot, onion and spinach.
  • Bladder Ailments : Apple, apricot, lemon, cucumber, carrot, celery, parsley and watercress.
  • Colds : Lemon, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, carrot, onion, celery and spinach.
  • Constipation : Apple, pear, grapes, lemon, carrot, beet, spinach and watercress.
  • Colitis : Apple, apricot, pear, peach, pineapple, papaya, carrot, beet, cucumber and spinach.
  • Diabetes : Citrus fruits, carrot, celery, lettuce and spinach.
  • Diarrhea : Papaya, lemon, pineapple, carrot and celery.
  • Eczema : Red grapes,carrot, spinach, cucumber and beet.
  • Epilepsy : Red grapes, figs, carrot, celery and spinach.
  • Eye Disorders : Apricot ,tomato, carrot, celery, parsley and spinach.
  • Gout : Red sour cherries, pineapple, tomato, cucumber, beet, carrot, celery and spinach.
  • Halitosis : Apple, grapefruit, lemon, pineapple, tomato, carrot, celery and spinach.
  • Headache : Grapes, lemon, carrot, lettuce and spinach.
  • Heart Disease : Red grapes, lemon, cucumber, carrot, beet and spinach.
  • High blood pressure : Grapes, orange, cucumber, carrot and beet.
  • Influenza : Apricot, orange, lemon , grapefruit, pineapple, carrot, onion and spinach.
  • Insomnia : Apple, grapes, lemon, lettuce , carrot and celery.
  • Jaundice : Lemon, grapes, pear, carrot, celery, spinach, beet and cucumber.
  • Kidney Disorders : Apple, orange, lemon, cucumber, cucumber,carrot, celery, parsley and beet.
  • Liver ailments : Lemon, papaya, grapes, carrot, tomato, beet and cucumber.
  • Menstrual Disorders :Grapes, prunes, cherry, spinach, lettuce turnips and beet.
  • Menopausal Symptoms : Fruits and Vegetables in season.
  • Neuritis : Orange, pineapple, apple, carrot and beet.
  • Obesity : Lemon, grapefruit, orange, cherry, pineapple, papaya, tomato, beet, cabbage, lettuce, spinach and carrot.
  • Piles : Lemon, orange, papaya, pineapple, carrot, spinach, turnip and watercress.
  • Prostate Troubles : All fruit juices in season, carrot, asparagus, lettuce and spinach.
  • Psoriasis : Grapes, carrot, beet, and cucumber.
  • Rheumatism : Grapes, orange, lemon, grapefruit, tomato, cucumber, beet, carrot and spinach.
  • Stomach Ulcers : Apricot, grapes, cabbage and carrot.
  • Sinus Trouble : Apricot, lemon, tomato, carrot, onion and radish.
  • Sore Throat : Apricot, grapes, lemon, pineapple, prune, tomato, carrot and parsley.
  • Tonsillitis : Apricot, lemon, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, carrot, spinach and radish.
  • Varicose Veins : Grapes, orange, plum, tomato, beetroot carrot and watercress.

When on a raw juice therapy, the prescribed juice should be drunk every three hours. One can thus take juices five to six times a day. A glass of water mixed with lemon juice and 20 to 30 grams of honey may be taken first thing in the morning on arising. Thereafter, the prescribed juice may be taken at three-hourly intervals.

The quantity of juice on each occasion may be 250 ml on the first day. This quantity may be increased by 50 ml each succeeding day till one takes 600 ml on each occasion. The juice diet can be continued for 30 to 40 days without any ill-effects.

The patient should take adequate rest during the raw juice therapy. Raw juices act as a cleansing agent and start eliminating toxins and morbid matter from the system immediately. This often results in symptoms such as pain in the abdomen, diarrhea, loss of weight, headache, fever, weakness, sleeplessness and bad breath.

These reactions, which are part of the cleansing process, should not be suppressed by the use of drugs. They will cease when the body is able to expel all toxins. After the raw juice therapy, the return to normal balanced diet should be gradual, and in stages. In the beginning, two juice meals may be replaced by milk and fruits. Then gradually juice meals may be substituted by a balanced-diet.

From: A Complete Handbook of Nature Cure

Making Coconut Milk

Here are tips for selecting, opening, and creating basic milk from the coconut. This coconut milk has numerous purposes and can be used in the recipe for Roasted Stuffed Papaya.

  • Selection

Choose a coconut with a chestnut-brown hull, that is smooth with no apparent holes or mold. Shake and listen for a water sound. If it still contains water, it will be moist and tasty.

  • Opening the Nut

Bore two holes in the eyes using an ice pick or sharp knife. The eyes are the dark brown spots at either end of the coconut. Pour the coconut water into a bowl. You can drink the coconut water, add it to your bath or beauty recipes, or save it for magickal or ritual uses. If you choose to save the coconut water, you will need to refrigerate or freeze it depending on how long you wish to keep it.

Now that the water has been drained from the coconut, hit the hull on a hard surface sharply a few times – it should crack open. You can also hit the nut with a mallet or hammer. This will be easier to do if the nut is wrapped with a dish towel to keep it stabilized.

Once cracked open, scoop out the flesh, which is called coconut meat. The coconut meat that comes out of the hard shell may have a thin brown skin that will need to be peeled off. This is most easily done with a potato peeler.

  • Making Coconut Milk

Heat 1 1/2 cups water in a kettle on medium high heat. While it’s heating up, grate the coconut flesh and put it in a sieve over a large bowl. Just before the water comes to a boil, slowly pour it over the grated coconut in the sieve. Press the coconut meat with the back of a wooden spoon until all the water has been pressed out.

Pour this liquid into a Pyrex measuring cup with a pouring spout. Now pour the collected coconut milk once again into the sieve full of coconut meat and press it once again with the back of the wooden spoon and into the bowl.

Repeat 3 to 4 times. This makes about 1 1/4 cups rich coconut milk.

  • Coconut Cream

To make coconut cream, bring `1 1/2 cups full-fat milk almost to a boil. Go through the steps above (making of coconut milk). Coconut cream is a bit denser, with a full-bodied, sweeter taste, just right for deserts and drinks.

  • Toasted Coconut

Remove coconut from the hull with a sharp knife. With a potato peeler, peel off any remaining dark skin. Shred the coconut. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Add a pinch of sea salt if desired. Toss until medium brown.

Toasted coconut is a great low-carb snack. I like to toast almonds and sunflower seeds with it and use this as a snack food when watching movies. You can also use toasted coconut as a topping for fruit salads, yogurt, or cereal.

From: Four Seasons of Mojo

Master Cleanse – Lemon Diet

Daniel and I are going to try this diet. It’s supposed to work wonders for your body, clearing and detoxing, and giving you a fresh new start.

Here’s the Lemon Drink recipe for a Master Cleanse

  • 2 tablespoons FRESH squeezed lemon or lime juice (approx. 1/2 lemon)
  • 2 tablespoons genuine organic maple syrup, Grade B (the darker the better)
  • 1/10 teaspoon (a small pinch!) cayenne pepper, gradually increase (the more BTUs the better)
  • 10-14 oz pure water

Important notes:

  • Use fresh lemons or limes only, never canned or frozen lemon juice (organic, vine ripened – if possible).
  • Use only real (and organic, if possible) grade B or C maple syrup. (Don’t use Grade A maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup. They are over-refined, which means that they are mostly refined sugars and lack essential minerals.)
  • It’s best to make each drink fresh, but if that is not possible (or practical) you can make a larger batch to drink throughout the day. Just be sure to make it fresh each morning.

For larger batches, in a 2 liter bottle mix together the following:

  • Juice of 3 lemons
  • 6 oz of grade B or C maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp of cayenne (or more)
  • Spring or purified water (fill bottles to the top)
  • Mix all the ingredients by thoroughly shaking

Wish us luck! I think we’re going to need it!

Queen Anne’s Lace Cognac Apéritif

On late-summer evenings, I take the chill off with a cognac apéritif, the rim of the glass dipped in spicy Queen Anne’s Lace.

For the rim:

  • 3 tablespoons dried Queen Anne’s Lace fruits
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fine sugar

Crush the dried Queen Anne’s Lace fruits with the sugar and mix thoroughly. (To save effort for multiple drinks, we made a larger batch with the same 2:1 ratio.) Spread the mixture on a saucer or plate that is larger than the diameter of the glass rim. Moisten the rim of the glass by dipping it upside down in a shallow bowl of water and let the excess water drip off for a few seconds. Dip the moistened rim in the Queen Anne’s Lace/sugar mixture, pressing down firmly. The mixture should cling to the rim where moistened. Gently shake off any excess.

Note: Instructions on collecting the Queen Anne’s Lace fruits can be found here: Queen Anne’s Lace

For the drink:

  • 2 ounces cognac (I suggest Pierre Ferrant 1840)
  • 3/4 ounce fresh Meyer lemon juice or bergamot juice
  • 3/4 ounce honey syrup (equal parts honey and hot water)
  • 1 teaspoon dried Queen Anne’s Lace fruit

In a cocktail shaker, combine cognac, lemon juice syrup, and ice. Shake vigorously for half a minute or until chilled. Pour the mixture through a strainer (to remove the Queen Anne’s Lace bits) and into the rimmed glass. Serve immediately.

Makes 1

Important Notice:

Historically, Queen Anne’s lace was used for medicinal and contraceptive purposes. Avoid it if you are pregnant, and check with your doctor if you are currently taking medications. More information about this wild herb can be found here: Encyclopedia of Herbology – Wild Carrot

The carrot family contains a number of poisonous look-alikes, most notably poison hemlock. Once the fruit has formed, it is easy to tell them apart, but less so when the plants still only have leaves.

When foraging, always choose high-quality landscapes (not next to the highway or on post-industrial or sprayed sites), and make sure to obtain permission if it is not your own yard. If possible, go out with an experienced forager.

Found at: Food 52

 

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Quotable
"Diet has the distinction of being the only major determinant of health that is completely under your control. You have the final say over what does and what does not go into your mouth and stomach. You cannot always control the other determinants of health, such as the quality of the air you breathe, the noise you are subjected to, or the emotional climate of your suroundings, but you can control what you eat. It is a shame to squander such a good opportunity to influence your health." ~Andrew Weil, MD
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