Weed Tea

By On · In Health, Kitchen Cupboard · 12 Comments

Making tea is a daily habit for me. Mostly with the variety of loose leaf herbs I have in mason jars in my cupboard and I make at least one pot every day. Leif and I were both a little under the weather when we woke up the other day; he with a runny nose and me with a sore throat. I make at least two pots of tea on the days we are sick and we sip them throughout the day. The tea makes a tremendous difference to how we feel and recover.

Clover

I thought I’d share a quick look into my loose leaf tea shelf for the kinds of herbs I think useful to have for general health and especially for those under the weather days. I notice that when I’m talking to friends who are feeling sick, I’m asking if they have this tea or that. I think it’s useful to have a few herbs on hand in case of sickness but also to add to everyday tea.

Licorice

There’s nothing worst than when your little babe or small child is feeling sick and you don’t know what to do to help them. Maybe they’re so stuffed up that nursing is difficult or worst when they are feverish and you aren’t sure you want to give them something like tylenol (rightly so!). This is when you can make some tea for yourself to drink if you are nursing regularly or serve your child a cooled tea to sip on.

Calendula still going strong.

I can’t stress how quick this will be. There are countless benefits to many of these herbs that I will barely touch on and a few to avoid for various reasons which I will share but it’s always best to look up herbs before harvesting and using or at the counter at your local herbal shop or health food store. Most of the herbs I use are easy and safe to use.

Lemon Catnip

Friends are always asking how much of each herb to use. I have this lovely teapot from Davids Tea which has a large tea basket for steeping the tea. I will just grab a pinch of herbs and throw it in the basket. A bigger pinch for the flavoured herbs I really like and want to taste, smaller for the herbs that don’t taste much and even smaller for the herbs that don’t taste great.

(Btw. Davids Tea makes the most A-mazing cream of earl grey! My favourite tea of all time! Their coffee pu’erh tea is pretty awesome too… Ack- this post is about affordable loose leaf tea! )

Nettle

These herbs have some to a lot of flavour. Some can be combined for great blended taste and others are better as the other flavoured herb in the tea pot. Sometimes you can add a bit more of the flavoured herb that you prefer to overpower the other.

  • Lemon Balm– A fantastic herb for children with colds, flu, fever, nervousness… Tastes great and is very safe! It isn’t a great herb for breastfeeding mothers to use on a regular basis as it does have the ability to decrease the milk supply.
  • Chamomile– Great for nervousness, stomach aches, colds, to help you sleep and relax.
  • Shredded Liquorice Root– Great for inflammation, sore throats (it feels so good on the throat), coughs, runny noes, nervousness, adding sweetness or help quench your thirst. This herb shouldn’t be used on a constant basis without a break from time to time. It will lower levels of potassium in the body.
  • Peppermint– Good for digestion, pain relief, colds, flu, skin issues. Peppermint isn’t a great herb for breastfeeding mothers to use on a regular basis as it does have the ability to decrease the milk supply.
  • Lemongrass- Good for inflammation and digestion.
  • Red Raspberry Leaf–  Nutritious! Great to take during pregnancy to help tone the uterus and afterwards while breastfeeding for increasing milk supply.

These herbs don’t have much or very good flavour. I’m always sure to add a flavoured herb or two along with any of these:

  • Marshmallow Root– Great for the mucus membranes, stomach aches and skin irritations.
  • Alfalfa-Very nutritious! Doesn’t taste that great.
  • Nettle– Lots of nutrient value in this herb. All the herbs have great nutrient value but nettle especially. Good for the immune system, respiratory issues, reproductive health…
  • Yarrow– Not great for pregnant women. Yarrow isn’t a great herb for breastfeeding mothers to use on a regular basis as it does have the ability to decrease the milk supply. Good for fevers, colds, flu, circulation, sore muscles.
  • Red Clover– This herb is detoxing. It’s good for the immune system.
  • Hops– Great for helping with sleep. It doesn’t taste that great but used modestly with other herbs you wont even notice it until your eyes feel droopy and you’re wanting to get to bed. This herb should be used carefully.
  • Burdock Root– A great detoxing herb and will help keep your liver healthy. Take care with this herb. Using on a regular basis is fine for about a month at the most but then a break is needed.
  • Dandelion– Take care not to have this herb in your tea in the late afternoon or evening. It will make you have to pee something fierce in the middle of the night! Great for detoxing and your skin.

Mullein

I had been wanting to share new photos of tea but waiting for some good light has already made me post this later than I wanted. It won’t be long until I’m starting my garden again with veg and herbs so I thought I’d share some older photos of herbs and tea. Looking at these old photos make me long for spring and summer!

Marshmallow

The Power Of A Push Up!

By On · In Health · 5 Comments

I might be losing it but I was sitting on my floor the other day having a little happy cry and all over the fact that I just did four push ups in my daily workout.

It’s a funny thing because for a long time I thought a person (or at least I) could do without structured exercise since I could stay fit with just every day living and activity. Then came kids and life slowed way down. It’s hard to get the heart rate going while walking at a three year old’s pace, you know? I started running again last spring and had great success getting up to running 30 minutes at a time but then at the end of the summer life got busy and I started wondering how I would continue through the winter. I definitely don’t want to be hurt, slipping on the ice or otherwise.

4/365: Impromptu

Enter Turbo Fire. I was gifted with this video set and my first thought was “Oh my gawd! I could never get into this!”

Think perky, blond american instructor dancing and boxing at high speed! It didn’t look like my kind of thing but then reading an online acquaintance’s great experience losing more than 50 lbs and getting fit in less than a year thanks to this program I thought it was at least worth a shot.

I was completely dispirited when I tried the first class. It was labeled “EZ” and supposed to be a breakdown of the moves. It was still SO fast and I didn’t understand most of the moves very well. I was ready to give up but I didn’t.

I just went slowly and learned the choreography in parts on my next try. After about the third time I really started to get it and each new cardio workout hasn’t been too hard to learn thanks to getting that first class’s moves down. It turns out that that perky, blond american instructor is actually really inspiring. I really do feel like she’s talking to me and encouraging me to push harder and to dig a little deeper.

SP

The program is broken down to videos for cardio, strength training, flexibility and stretching and high intensity interval training (short, intense workouts) and the only equipment needed are a couple sets of resistance bands (the kind with handles and a lower body band kind that can be tied into a loop) and a yoga mat.

Before I started I don’t think I realised just how out of shape I had got! I couldn’t even do one push up! It was a shock but it also motivated me to start the nine week prep rotation. Nine weeks of getting myself used to the program before starting the more serious twenty week calendar.

I was five weeks in when I had my happy cry on the floor. I had seriously surprised myself when I was able to do four proper push ups after the ab burning Core workout. I grunted all the while I did it and finish the last few with my knees on the floor and and feet in the air but I felt pretty damn proud! I can’t wait to see how I feel once I start the actual 20 week schedule!

Chocolate Honey Cake

By On · In Kitchen Cupboard, Vegetarian · 3 Comments

This recipe is an old favourite from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. Cam’s had this cookbook since 1991 and while it gets ignored from time to time, it’s is still a cookbook I go to when I want some real comfort food. Everyone I’ve served this cake too has love it!

Since it’s the time of year when food photography is difficult in the afternoons and evenings (and sometimes mornings and mid day as well!) I had to save this piece for the day after I made this cake. It was looking a bit naked on the plate so I dusted it with icing sugar but I don’t normally serve it this way.

Chocolate Honey Cake

Chocolate Honey Cake

  • 6 tbsp Butter
  • 1- 2 oz unsweetened Chocolate (I have a brick of Bernard Callebaut that I cut a chunk off of)
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 3/4 cup Honey (good quality please!)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Walnuts (or other optional), chopped
  1. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 350’F and grease and line the bottom of a square 8 inch or round 9 inch cake pan.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, beat honey at high speed with a mixer for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each. Stir in vanilla.
  5. Beat the butter and chocolate into the honey mixture.
  6. Fold in the dry ingredients and the walnuts until just combined.
  7. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Hello 2013

By On · In Just a Moment · 9 Comments

Goodbye 2012

Goodbye 2012

2012, you were good to us this year. Not wholly good but good enough. We had a lot of adventures here on the coast and in land. We celebrated many things, including birthdays, barge launching, kicking Shell out of the Sacred Headwaters…

I will always remember 2012 as the year my Nana passed away, the first of my four dear grandparents.

Looking forward to 2013 and I see the biggest change is that our time here in Prince Rupert comes to an end. There is more to this story, some of which I don’t even know yet. We have yet to receive any kind of official news on this, although we have had verbal word about where we will go and of course it all hinges on our finishing the house to sell and being successful in our selling before we are able to actually move. The next four months will be spent on renovations and staying close to home. More on all of this to come.

I hope you all had a wonderful ringing if of the new year. Welcome 2013!

Happy Solstice!

By On · In Just a Moment · 7 Comments

I’m staying up late and listening to my old dog snore at my feet to get posting about the day. It was great right from the start. Lily and Leif added the last piece to our countdown calendar and found a clue in the pocket along with the sun. This clue lead the kids around the house looking in books, behind pictures and climbing high to find the next clues. The treasure hunt ended with separate clues to find a gift of Schleich toys. A Moose daddy and baby for Leif and a Grizzly mama and baby for Lily.

Day 21- Happy Solstice!

We don’t normally do gifts at this time of year but Lily had been expressing a strong interest for presents to open and I tried to find a way to make it work for everyone, including me and my not wanting to have a commercialised type of holiday. Two days before Solstice, I set up a different treasure hunt leading to a gift for the kids to share, a portable soft glow night light and two days before that was another treasure hunt leading to a family gift, the boardgame Qwarkle.

While eating breakfast we talked about all the things we were wanting to remember about the last year. We wrote them out on post it notes and stuck them to the wall next to Leify’s cockatiel pictures.

Remembering the last year

Some of our memories included:

Preparing for a daal supper

It was a fantastic blue sky day today! After a few weeks of gloomy weather, it was well received. We went out to Oliver Lake again this year for a bonfire lunch with turkey hot dogs and smores with home made marshmallows. (Last year) It was a lot colder out than I’d expected but really appreciated the fresh chilled air. The lake was frozen over but not enough to chance walking on.

Solstice Fire Getting toasty

Close

Smore Mouth! NOM

When we came home I was eager to warm up with some tea but the kids chose to stay out and play on the sled slide we made earlier in the week. It’s way cool, especially since it’s had a chance to firm up and get more slippery with use. It has an elevated start and goes straight downhill towards the street but turns sharply with a tall bank and heads down towards the cul de sac. This slide has been popular with all the kids in the neighbourhood.

Making wishes

While I finished making Daal for supper, the kids and Cam made the dough for Wish Bread which we put together after supper. This is my favourite part of this holiday. I love when we sit together talking about all our hopes and wishes for the coming year. Very soon I’ll have some big news to share about about my own hopes for the coming year. ;)

Wish Bread

Wish Bread

A Day To Celebrate

By On · In Just a Moment · 4 Comments

Never underestimate the power of a small group of very determined people.

After years of fighting to protect the Sacred Headwaters from coal bed methane drilling, the government announced today a ban on any oil and gas development in the area. It’s a day to stand and celebrate with the Tahltan people. Our salmon are better protected and so is our often way undervalued resource, fresh water.

You can read more about it here.

There have been songs written about the area, books, rallys, gorgeous photography, a local woman swam the length of the Skeena, the longest undammed river in the world… First nations, non first nations, ranchers, environmentalists, fishermen, hunters and many more had to come together to fight this. It couldn’t have been done without the outpouring of support from people all over the world.

Rachelle Van Zanten – My Country (Official Video) from Taylor F. on Vimeo.

 

 

 

If you’re in Northern BC, look for a celebration close to you. In Prince Rupert, we’re celebrating down at Cowpaccinos from 4-6pm today while Nathan Cullen is in town. If you’re local, come by and share some love!