Hints and Tips and Recipes

This seems like a good place to put my diaper rash remedy...crush up a few acidophilus tablets and make a past with some water, and spread it on the rash....dust with a little corn starch and a clean nappie. The acidophilus eats up the bacteria that's causing the rash. Worth a try on acne, too.

Kombucha tea wipes out diaper rash, sunburn and hot spots on dogs.

I have plenty more.

8-D

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Do you think it would work on boils? That seems to be quite a problem among the younger children. Apparently it is a germ/bacteria whatever which lives just inside the nostrils and children pick it up when they are at playschool...

Yes, it should help. Aquene's suggestion of using digestive enzymes such as lipase is a good one as well. Even yogurt will be helpful as it does contain living cultures. Kombucha tea would be excellent both topically and internally. Tea tree oil (melaleuca) topically only - and by the way, tea tree is one of VERY FEW essential botanical oils that is (generally) safe to use on the skin!!!

Ladies if you are into essential oils, I am a walking encyclopedia. Not on aromatherapy. But on the oils themselves, their properties and constituents, possible hazards and side effects. Also, I know most of the ingredients in your cosmetics, what they are, where they come from etc. I know everything there is to know about soap. Well, almost.

These bacterial boils should probably be dealt with in the ways described - with probiotics - instead of standard medical treatments which would be antibiotics and steroids (cortizone). I do not know the environment there nor the resources these kids have available, but there are relatively simple, inexpensive ways to support the immune response and assist the body to hold its own against common infections.

Nutrition is key of course, and that's exactly the problem in far too many areas. As Aquene says, if more would just live simply, so many more could simply live.

8-D

I'm baking Japanese Sweet Potatos right now. It's so easy - just coat them in butter and throw them in the oven on 350F for 40 minutes. Perfect for pot-lucks or movie watching with friends. They come out so sweet, perfect moisture (regular sweet potatos come out a bit on the dry side for my likings). Yummm.. simple.

I love cooking and out of all cuisines my favorite one is Indian. (Though a Russian Potato Salad or Borsh' are pretty amazing too.) Here is a recipe for Sambar Masala - I use this and Garham Masala in a lot of my cooking. It's great in Dahls and soups, eggs, vegies and almost anything else.

You will need:

2 tbsp. Coriander seeds

1 tbsp. Chana dal

1 tbsp. Toor dal

1 tsp. Cumin seeds

1 tsp. Black Peppercorns

2 tsp. Brown Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. Fenugreek seeds

2-inch piece Cinnamon stick

15-30 dry or fresh Curry Leaves

1 tsp. Tumeric

1/2 tbsp. pure Chili Powder (optional)

Preheat a heavy skillet over medium-low heat; add everything but the tumeric and chili powder. Toast the ingredients until they are fragrant and lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or a spice mill and reduce to a fine powder. Sprinkle through a fine sieve; discard the roughage. Mix in the tumeric and chili powder. Store in an airtight jar and use as needed.

Helpful tip: It's a lot easier to use a small coffee grinder than a big blender. To clean out the coffee flavor just run some oats through the coffee grinder. Don't forget to do it afterwards as well unless you want Sambar Coffee!

This has become a staple for me, and I give it to friends as a present sometimes. I got the recipe from an Indian cooking book (Beth has it). I think it was titled Indian Vegetarian Cousine or something like that.

Lots of love, Bon Apetit & Hare Krishna
Andrey.

Poverty has taught me a great deal about maintaining my body simply. Eating well is always a challenge for older people. I do not know whether poverty or prosperity is more conducive or corrosive to achieving our potential - I suspect almost equally so. To eat well within the limits imposed on me, I find that I do well on a diet consisting of about 80% raw fruits and vegetables, about 10% meat and dairy, and the other 10% whatever I wish and can afford.

One of my favorite meals is a baked beet. I cut away the top and the root from a large beet. I scrub it but don't peel it, score it, coat it with sesame oil and wrap in foil. I bake it for an hour or so at around 400° and then eat it with tahini or hummus.

A good protein supplement is a daily meal, and at $20 for the package, it's a bargain. I blend a scoop of vegetarian protein and vitamin powder, (I prefer Alive! brand with rice and pea protein) along with a spoonful of greens consisting of wheat grass powder, algae and similar stuff, into a glass of oat milk if it's evening, or juice in the morning. This I take with a few other supplements including co-Q10, hoodia, a B12 (methylcobalamin not cyanocobalamin) tablet, and a good antioxidant. Other supplements I use are fish oil and flax seeds.  This is a meal for under a buck that gives me solid nutrition and energy. It keeps my weight steady at its optimum level, almost effortlessly. I do not work out but I am very active.

It is also a way of eating that is only available in a society with health-food stores. Nevertheless, the resources exist for me and I use them.

I eat fruit in the morning and vegetables after noon. I do not drink with meals but before and after. I eat less than a pound per month of flesh. Mostly fish and poultry, with a very small amount of red meat. The only reason I eat meat at all is that I like it. I begin each morning with six raw almonds. I limit soy except in its fermented forms. I limit dairy except for yogurt - I do eat cheese, ice cream occasionally, and rarely drink goat milk. I very, very seldom touch alcohol, even medicinally. It does have uses. I do have bad habits: I drink gallons of coffee, and I smoke. Who wants to live forever.

My mom planned the meals when I was growing up. She was a wise woman who insisted her son learn to cook at least enough to be able to feed himself well. She planned menus and counted pennies, bought in bulk and planned months in advance. Our table was always abundant. She understood immunity (she called it resistance), and gave us a diet rich in minerals and vitamins. She also collected cookbooks, and fed us amazing dishes from around the world.

Even so, our diet was based on the old-paradigm food pyramid....heavily weighted toward meat and dairy, rich in saturated fats, carbohydrates and cholesterol. It was the fifties. We've come a long way.

Our new paradigm diet and our entire lifestyle will be based on community, on simplicity, on availability, and on what works. I welcome this discussion - the nuts and bolts of how we will be putting together the new ways...using what is good of the old, and creating anew what we need to survive and thrive.

Andrey, my man - proof that men can cook! Ajo!

8-D

Mmmmmm lasagne mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!

I'm glad to see that this forum went back on-topic and I hope it will continue, since I listed "food" as one of my passions in my profile. These recipes sound delicious and I hope to try all of them. I'll try to find some special ones to contribute.