Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Courage and Tea

It takes a lot of courage to fight cancer.  It also takes a lot of courage to help someone through cancer.  Frankly, there is nothing good about cancer at all, but I like the expression "Have lemons? Make lemonade" and so maybe we can look at it as an opportunity to let things that we love help heal us.


In my family's case, that is definitely tea.  I always say "Tea helps everything" and I truly believe that it does.  Tea is your warm little friend in your chilly hands.  Tea is an opportunity to chat with your friend, or mother, or cousin, or child.  Tea is simply wonderful.

Recently in our lives, in order to reduce sugar, we have all replaced the sugar in our tea with honey. That is a good start towards letting what we love heal us.  My mom and I still put a splash of milk in our black tea, and I figure the pleasure outweighs the negative effects of the dairy.  I personally love Tulsi Green Tea.  Or white tea.  Or peppermint tea. 

The following recipe is one I adapted from my dear friend Ingrid.  Every time you go into her house she has something fragrant and delicious on the stove.   This chai has true health benefits, especially for cancer. The anti-inflammatory benefits of the spices help cancer cells repair themselves.

So, back to courage.  You can do it!  Sit down with a friend and a cup of chai, and let both the companionship and the tea make you stronger.  "The trick is not to rid your stomach of butterflies, but to make them fly in formation."




Holiday Chai

There is nothing better in the winter than a fragrant pot of home-made chai on your stove! The whole house smells of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and general holiday goodness.  Made without sugar or dairy, this is also a very healthy and nutritionally-beneficial treat!

Makes 8 small cups of tea

Ingredients:
6 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cardamom pods
1 heaping Tbsp. peppercorns
2 vanilla beans, sliced open length-wise
grated nutmeg
10 whole cloves
2 inch piece of ginger, in slices (skin on)
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
4 decaf black tea bags 
2 cups oat milk

(I like the deep flavor of the tea, but including the tea bags is actually optional. If you'd like to go tea-free, it is a milder but delicious treat without it! )

-In a large pan, bring the water and all spices to a boil. 
-Reduce to a simmer and add sweeteners. Continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.
-Turn off stove and add tea bags. Let tea and spice flavors meld for several minutes.
-Strain the ingredients into a smaller pot.
-Return smaller pot to stove, add the oat milk, and heat to desired temperature for serving!
Enjoy!

A few nutritional highlights: 
Cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves are all digestion aids, anti-inflammatories, antimicrobials, and antibacterials. Nutmeg also contains a compound called myristicin, which prompts a tumor-fighting ability in the body!

Ginger is also an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, and it also reduces nausea. 

Honey has anti-cancer properties and aids liver function.

Black tea contains relatively high amounts of vitamins C, D, and K, as well as a number of important minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium and more.


Friday, December 16, 2011

Creating an Environment That Cancer Dislikes

I was fotunately reminded recently that there is SO much we can do to create an environment that cancer dislikes.  There is so much evidence & science supporting this.  Once again, we are what we eat.  There is so much we can do to choke and starve cancer.

We can increase the amount of foods we eat that fight & reduce cancer cells.

We can eliminate foods that feed cancer.

In a nutshell, we are talking, eat:
-greens
-onions/garlic
-mushrooms
-berries
-beans
-seeds

And eliminate:
-SUGAR
-animal proteins

These are the major cancer-fighting and cancer-feeding foods above.  Even moving in the direction slowly of emphasizing these foods can make a difference. It doesn't have to be 100%. Maybe 80%. Or whatever works for you, to make the change in your diet in a way that fits into your lifestyle/likes/cravings.




Here is a rocking awesome salad that you can throw together in minutes. It could be your dinner. Tonight. And it will fill you up and make your body so happy.

I always have a glass container of brown rice in my fridge. Getting into that habit changed my life for the better. When it runs out, I pour a cup or two in a bowl soaking in water while I'm at work.  When I get home, I cook it. It keeps in your fridge for a few days, and you can have it for breakfast, throw it in salads or stir fries, etc.  Soaking rice separates the phytic acid from the whole grains (phytic acid makes brown rice hard to digest & absorb--removing it turns brown rice into a wonder food.)



Everything Salad

The amount of the following ingredients isn't really important. What matters is that you use a great variety of foods which makes you and your family happy!

-mixed greens (from your CSA or Farmer's Market is best!)
-brown rice (one ice-cream scoop on top of each serving)
-garbanzo beans (pre-soaked and cooked; or from a can)
-blueberries
-walnuts
-green olives (from the salad bar area of your market, marinated in herbs)
-pepitas
-Gomasio*, shake on top of scoop of brown rice

Cover with dressing, below, and enjoy! This really fills you up because of the brown rice.

*Gomasio contains sesame seeds, seaweed, and sea salt, and can be obtained



Apple Cider Dressing
1/4 cup Braggs Raw Apple Cider vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. raw honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small jar, add the ingredients in the order above, adding the olive oil last and shaking it up a lot.

Sesame Seeds are high in protein, fiber, vitamins B1 and B2, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, and calcium.  They have amazing antioxidant properties, aid in digestion, stimulate blood circulation, and benefit the nervous system.

Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) supply minerals such as iron, magnesium, zinc, and phosphorous.   They are a good source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, protein and more.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Things I Love

In the vein of good health and overall holistic wellness, and in this time of gift giving, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things...things you can give your loved one and feel really good about.  Both because they are good-for-you, but also because the artistic, visionary people who have created them are good for our planet, and good to support.



Love and Tea
 Beautiful tea and art; grown on a farm in Vermont. Happy in every way.
Navitas Raw Cacao
 The source of chocolate. This is a true superfood.  So decadent & delicious and true health properties.
Cold Country Salmon
 Wild salmon fished by a DC resident every summer in Alaska & flash frozen on deck. Incredible!
Super Natural Every Day Cookbook
 Healthy, inspiring recipes to entice your tastebuds and enrich your health.
Tiny Devotions
 Sacred Mala Beads strung together with a precious stone of your choosing. Powerful & beautiful!
Cypress Sun Jewelry
 Gorgeous hand-made necklaces & earrings that will sparkle your way through the holidays.
Organic India Tulsi Tea
 Tulsi (Holy Basil) green tea is stress-relieveing & energizing, with healing properties.
Larabars
 Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, Vegan, Kosher, no added sugar, and all raw fruit & nuts! The best "energy" bar on the market, by a long shot.
Rapunzel Vegetable Broth Boullion
 This is the best stuff ever. Actually delicious vegetable broth. We are head over heels. Avail. at Whole Foods (a great stocking stuffer!)
Lotta Jansdotter
 Beautiful, hand-crafted fabric & small pieces, craft books, and more.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
 Heirloom seeds raised by a small Missouri Family. Your garden really will boom and your taste buds smile with the abundance and flavor of these rare varieties.