Tag Archives: #WAPF

Mary’s Oil

Posted on by
mary's-oil-blend

Mary’s Oil is good in salads, mayonnaise or in cooking.

“This wonderful blend of three oils can be used in salad dressings or as a cooking oil. When used for cooking, flavors come through beautifully, and the blend does not burn as easily as pure coconut oil. In salads, it provides all the benefits of coconut oil and does not have the strong taste of olive oil. In mayonnaise, it provides firmness when chilled.”
Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Dr Mary Enig

I have been rereading some of my old books this last month. One book I have really enjoyed is Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats by Dr Mary Enig and Sally Fallon Morell. Even though I have been following many of the recommendations of the Weston A Price Foundation, I have never made Mary’s Oil.

I haven’t made Mary’s Oil because I had trouble finding a good source of reasonably priced organic sesame oil. Recently, I learned about a local Nelson, BC business called Organic Matters that has both raw and toasted sesame oil. I purchase the both oils in 2.5 gallon containers which helped reduce the cost some. Another thing I like about Organic Matters other then their excellent quality products is the company uses excellent containers that can be reused.

For making Mary’s Oil, I use the raw sesame oil. My husband and I both like the toasted sesame oil for cooking.

1c organic cold pressed sesame oil
1c organic coconut oil
1c organic extra virgin olive oil

Use a funnel to decant the sesame oil and the olive oil into a glass bottle. I like reusing flip-top bottles for oils. Put the coconut oil in a 1-2c Pyrex cup. Add some water to a sauce pan and place the Pyrex cup into the water. Bring the sauce pan to a boil, and simmer the coconut in a water bath until completely melted. Add the melted coconut oil to the other oils. I was surprised that at room temperature the oil mixture did not congeal.

Mary’s Oil is a great way to get more coconut oil into your diet.

sesame-oils

Reusable flip-top bottles work great with oils.

Healthy Household: Activated Charcoal and Infections

Posted on by
ek-charcoal

Ionic silver has replaced antibiotic cream in my first-aid kit. Lugol’s Solution can be used for infections and emergency water treatment. Activated charcoal is good for infections and poisoning. You can get ionic silver at Nature’s Fare. Lugol’s Solution and activated charcoal are both available at Glover’s Medicine Centre.

“The British medical journal, Lancet, discusses the amazing ability of the human skin to allow transfer of liquids, gases, and even micro-particles through its permeable membrane and pores, by the application of a moist, activated charcoal poultice and compress which actually draw bacteria and poisons through the skin and into the poultice or compress!”
Natural Holistic Health: Benefits of Activated Charcoal

Like most households, I used to use antibiotic cream for all minor wounds. These days, I treat minor wounds with ionic silver gel. Normally, this treatment is enough. If for some reason the wound doesn’t heal quickly I follow up with a treatment of Lugol’s Solution.

Recently, I had a wound that would not heal after these two treatments. A blister became infected and my toe became inflamed, swollen and extremely painful. I was having trouble walking and my sleep was disturbed. I had a bad infection and I was considered using an antibiotic cream. Instead I decided to give activated charcoal a chance. I had heard that activated charcoal can pull — even very serious infections — out of the skin. Almost 2 years have passed since my mother broke her hip neck in two places. When she was in hospital, there were terrible pains. I read on https://www.mbhci.org/tramadol-ultram/ about Tramadol and bought it. The drug is really effective, but often it is not pricked, because it should be administrated under the strict supervision of the doctor. You can’t buy it on the free market.

  1. I soaked my foot in very hot water with sea salt for about 20 minutes and dried it off.
  2. I took about half a teaspoon of powder charcoal and added a very small amount of water. I mixed up a paste of charcoal and put it on the infected blister with a band-aid. I put a sock on to avoid making a mess. Using charcoal can be very messy. Make sure the wound is bandaged well to avoid this problem.
  3. Within 30 minutes the pain was much reduced. By the end of the day, I could sleep without pain. By the morning, the toe looked normal and the infection was completely gone!

I would highly recommend activated charcoal as a treatment for infected wounds. Activated charcoal can also be used internally as a treatment for poisoning. For more uses please see: Natural Holistic Health: Benefits of Activated Charcoal.

“When mixed with water and swallowed to counteract poisoning, activated charcoal powder adsorbs the poison or drug, inactivating it. It then carries it inert through the entire length of the digestive tract and out of the body. One of the benefits of activated charcoal is that it is not absorbed, adsorbed, neutralized, nor metabolized by the body.”

For more recipes please see Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.

Healthy Household: Licorice, Mommy’s Little Helper

Posted on by

“Licorice root may be used to assist with upper respiratory catarrhs and is recognized by traditional Chinese practitioners as an adaptogen, helping the body to cope with daily stress. It may also be used to relieve minor abdominal discomfort, and is used in the herbal preparation STW-5 to alleviate dyspepsia.”
Mountain Rose Herbs: Licorice Root

licorice-extract-1

Licorice Extract is very easy to make at home and the extract tastes good to most children. If you don’t have time to made your own, you can purchase extracts from a local herbalist.

“Mommy, my stomach hurts,” is the most common childhood complaint I have heard over the years. Most children’s stomachaches are over very quickly and can be treated at home. This stomachache remedy is very easy to make and will save a trip to the pharmacy.

Licorice Extract
1 part licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra), slices
3-4 parts organic vodka

All extract are made the same way. Use a small pint-sized glass canning jar with a plastic lid. Put the licorice root slices into the jar. Add the alcohol to the jar. Label the jar with the name of the plant, percentage of alcohol, today?s day, and the decanting day. Decanting day will be in six weeks. The jar will need to be gently, shaken every day for at least the first week. On decanting day, squeeze out all the liquid from the root slices. Store the extract in a dark glass bottle. If available, use a dropper top for easy dispersal.

For children one full dropper is usually enough. Most stomachaches will be gone within 15 minutes. A second dropper can be given after 15 minutes if the pain has not reduced by at least half. A hot water bottle, a story, and a nap works well to cure most stomachaches. We have also used licorice extract to treat motion sickness with good success. Ginger root works wonders for motion sickness too.

For adults, two full droppers will stop a stomach ache in about 15 minutes. People with high blood pressure shouldn’t use licorice root because it will increase blood pressure. People with low blood pressure or adrenal fatigue may find licorice root helps with symptoms of low blood pressure.

licorice-extract-2

Licorice roots slices can also be chewed to stop stomachaches and motion sickness. A few slices kept in the car can makes trips with children more pleasant. Just spit out the fiber after use.

For more recipes please see Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.

Homemade Stevia Extract

Posted on by

“Stevia leaves and stevioside are virtually calorie-free, beneficial in the prevention of cavities and do not trigger a rise in blood sugar. They are not only safe for diabetics and hypoglycemics, but in some countries stevia leaves are even prescribed as a medicinal substance for these conditions because they normalize pancreatic function and thus aid in the metabolism of sugar.”
Weston A Price Foundation: Sugar-Free Blues: Everything You Wanted to Know About Artificial Sweeteners

ek-stevia-extract

It has taken me a long time to discover a way to make a stevia extract that is sweet but without the unpleasant aftertaste.

“The whole stevia leaves contain a number of beneficial compounds, including ascorbic acid, calcium, beta-carotene, chromium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, selenium, silicon, sodium, thiamin, tin and zinc.”

Stevia is an excellent sweetener for people with metabolic syndrome or diabetes. It tastes incredibly sweet but some people dislike the aftertaste. I’m one of those people so I’m not a fan of stevia. Nevertheless, I have family and friends with blood sugar issues. It has taken me a long time to discover a way to make a stevia extract that is sweet but without the unpleasant aftertaste.

Normally, when making plant extracts infusions take 4-6 weeks. This does not work with stevia. The trick to making a nice stevia extract is to only infuse for less than 24 hours. During the infusion process, taste the extract every few hours. If the extract starts getting a foul taste, note the time and stop the infusion process. This method will produce a very sweet extract without the nasty aftertaste. I have also found that using homemade vanilla extract as the alcohol base improves the flavor greatly.

1tsp organic stevia powder
1/4c Homemade Vanilla Extract or organic vodka

Add the stevia powder to the homemade vanilla extract and let the stevia infuse for no more than 24 hours. Longer infusions will bring out the unpleasant aftertaste. I don’t normally filter extracts but with stevia filtering is needed to avoid pieces of plant material staying in the extract and fouling the taste. So, filter the extract to remove any stevia powder. A coffee filter or cheese cloth will work well. Decant the stevia extract into a bottle with a dropper for convenient use. Add some more straight vanilla extract if you find the stevia extract too sickly sweet.

stevia-extract-2

Use a coffee filter or damp cheese cloth to filter out the stevia. Filter a second time, if necessary. I’m still not a fan of stevia but this extract with vanilla is pretty good.

“When applied topically, the stevia leaves also fight acne and speed wound healing while also reducing the formation of scar tissue.”

You can grow stevia at home. If you are looking to purchase, there is a local farm that grows stevia. They attend the Kamloops Farmer’s Market:

Suede Hills Organic Farm
Phil and Cindy Levington
6049 Thompson River Dr, PO Box 513, Savona, BC, V0K 2J0
T: 250.373.0191, C: 250.682.1188
www.suedehills.com
www.steviasweetsuccess.com
44km
certified organic STOPA farm no.166: organic stevia powder, alfalfa powder, pet supplements, worm castings

Homemade Broth Powder

Posted on by
broth-powder

This homemade broth powder is a good camping or travel food. Adding some healthy fats to the broth will make this drink very nourishing and sustaining.

“Nutritional yeast is an excellent natural source of B complex vitamins (except for B12) plus a variety of minerals. Look for yeast that has been processed at low temperatures.”
Weston A Price Foundation: Guide to Superfoods

Commercial broth powders, bouillon granules or cubes are filled with some very questionable ingredients. These ersatz foods are among some of the worst industrial foods available. Making your own broth powder is a easy way to say “No!” to a boatload of food additives while still having access to a convenience food. With homemade broth, no one has to pay for convenience with their health.

This homemade broth powder is a good travel food. The powder can be used by itself in hot water or with bone broth. A cup of broth is tasty with 1-3 teaspoons of coconut oil, creamed coconut or butter. Add some extra nutritional yeast or fermented miso, if desired.

1c organic shiitake mushroom powder
1-2T sea salt
1-2T organic sage, finely ground
1-2T organic nutritional yeast, finely ground
1-2T wildcrafted dulse, finely ground (optional)
1 organic birdeye pepper, finely ground (optional)

In a spice grinder, finely grind the sea salt, sage, nutritional yeast, dulse and hot pepper into a very fine powder. In a bowl add the mixture to the shiitake mushroom powder and mix very well. Use 1-2 tablespoons of powder for each 2-3 cups of hot water. Adding some healthy fats to the broth will make the broth very nourishing and sustaining.