rebuild your health

here is a nice freebie i found today:
rebuild your health ann wigmore audio book


i think it comes after her book
why suffer
that i had a free link for in pdf


so i just got done downloading all the chapters of "rebuild your health"
but being i am visiting with family
i won't be rude and put in earbuds just now
:)

hope you are having a great weekend all!
xoxo
snowdrop

oh look!

oh look
some kind person i did not know
did something nice for me

thank you shawn for the link to my blog!!!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24975287/Raw-Food-Blogs
back atcha :)

i am packing (food) for a week long trip

many dehydrated things.

i have these wonderful little chocolate coconut macaroons
that are calling (yelling, really) my name
but i keep telling them "not today my little sweeties!"

:)

i also have 7 wonderful granola bars with chocolate drizzle
that really look too good to eat.
but you know they are not...since there used to be 8
crunch crunch, yum!

i have a head of cauliflower on the counter
ready to make some unfried rice for the next few days
the petite peas are not quite as raw as could be
but they are green and taste oh so fine
and add that element of color
and reality
to a remade to raw dish.
here is where i found the how-to for it...

isn't she just a hoot?! i love watching her.
here is the list of ingredients for this dish:
Cauliflower
Green petite peas
Carrot
Celery
Scallions
Ginger
Nama shoyu
Sesame oil

off to prepare!
have a lovely day all
xoxo
snowdrop

ps-

very yum!!! (thank you michelle)

life is good

life is good
i have a clean house at the beginning of the day.
i taught a lovely class yesterday
and i have a dehydrator full of good food.

i just munched on a handful of cinnamon apple flax crackers
and dunked them in almond butter for a nice
stick to the ribs lunch, finishing off with a small banana.
now all i need is a spot of tea. mmm

we had a touch of snow last night
i wish it fell earlier
so my dh & i could have had a nice walk in it
as it fell... big fluffly flakes

instead i leaned towards the window from my warm spot in the bed
and thru sleepy eyes saw the beautiful snow falling
dropped on my very comfy pillow and had good dreams.

:)

i went out today and cut some cedar & pine branches
to arrange in a heavy crystal vase
i placed it on a new white tablecloth with teeny hearts
lacing the edges

life is good today

i wish every day felt this wonderful...

xoxoxo
snowdrop

bread crackers & wraps

i just scheduled a class
a basic dehydrator class
to make bread (onion bread, mmmm)

crackers (sweet & savory)

and wraps (my FAVORITE!!)


sunday 3:30 pm for 2 hours
raw vegan food, yum!

i am always excited to teach
but this will be an especially fun class
with take away samples

i think people going raw tend to miss the
convenience of the sandwich


the crunch of snack foods
and the ease of a wrap (one more satisfying
than a lettuce leaf.)



so i am about to pre-make all the recipes
so that we can have a finished product available for tasting
since these recipes can take 5+ hours in the D.

i have already gotten some excited responses
and am really psyched to have sunday here!

have a super day!!!
xoxoxo
snowdrop

healing balm

in continuation of my calendula blog
i got my mountain rose herbal order yesterday afternoon
ripped open the box (everything looks so good!)
and gathered everything i needed to make a healing balm.

the first thing i did was strain the soaking calendula petals
(1 oz petals in a pint glass jar covered with good olive oil,
capped and shaken daily for 2 weeks)
i netted 1-3/4 c golden oil

then i powdered some beeswax in my coffee grinder
and weighed out 1/2 oz on my digital scale
i put this powder in my 1 c saucepan
along with 3/4c calendula oil
and set it on my woodstove to slowly melt

once it was melted and stirred
i poured it into little blue glass jars
labeled them and let them cool.
the balm became semi-soft, semi-hard
perfect for a finger dip and spreads
perfectly on warm skin



i got the measurements from
the herbal medicine-maker's handbook



what a treasure this book is, with all the how-to's
i actually bought my copy in a very small bookstore
along the way on an anniversary trip to old forge ny
it was a book i hadn't seen and was more modernized than
my "back to eden" book that i had been using for 20+ years now.

another very good herb book!

i then made a lotion also for the sweet little baby
with the excema that is making his little 4 month old life difficult.
this i made from an strong tea of healing and cooling herbs, oils and vitamins
along with some of the healing balm i had just completed.
when i gave the balm & lotion to the mommy
i did mention that it is not cortisone and herbs take longer to
take effect, but, being the ingredients were all organic
and well researched, it is SAFE
and even if he licked some
he would come to no harm.


i am now about to make some super-fatted soap for the same use.

when i was cleaning up i rubbed the remnants from the mini
food processor onto my hands and face. it absorbed well.
and i was ultra-delighted at how soft and smooth and young
the skin felt immediately!
thinking i may make another batch just for me! :)

oh, & by the way-
beeswax does not seem to come off in the dishwasher
so you'll have to hand wash to clean up well. :)

i will let you know if this helps the wee one.

till next time, stay well!
xoxo
snowdrop

Calendula

i am about to begin making a special salve for a sweet baby.
he is 4 months old and had had quite a time with excema.
poor little pumpkin.
i began by buying an ounce of calendula petals

because the ones i grew & harvested this year are all used up.
they are VERRRRY easy to grow & come back every year from self seeding.

i am covering the dried petals with good olive oil in a glass jar.
then i have been giving it a few shakes every time i walk by.
this will be the basis of my special skin soothing salve.

here is an article on how calendula works:

Calendula has a long history of use as a wound-healing and skin-soothing botanical. This lovely marigoldlike flower (although called pot marigold, it is not a true marigold) is considered a vulnerary agent, a substance that promotes healing. Calendula also has anti-inflammatory and weak antimicrobial activity. It is most often used topically for lacerations, abrasions, and skin infections; less commonly, it is used internally to heal inflamed and infected mucous membranes.

and here is a nice article on making salves from herbs:

Herbal Salves

Salves are made by adding an herbal oil to beeswax in proper-like proportions to make a firm salve. Herbal salves are used externally to heal cuts, scraps, skin irritations etc. I like a nice mild salve just for winter chappies.

* Mix 1-1/2 oz. dried/powdered herbs or 3 oz. fresh herbs with 1 cup olive or sesame oil in a non-reactive pan (non-reactive = stainless steel, glass, porcelain).

* Simmer on low for 20 minutes.

* At the same time, melt ½ oz. beeswax in another pan or double boiler.

* Pour herbal oil over beeswax. Mix together.

* Add 1/8 teaspoon vitamin E oil as a preservative.

* Test for hardness: dip teaspoon into oil and place in the fridge until it gets hard, about 3-5 minutes. If it’s too hard, reheat gently and add more oil, too soft, more beeswax.

* Pour it into a small container with a lid.

Helpful herbs and essentials to add on in: calendula, comfrey, mullein, lemon balm, yarrow, plantain, echinacea, lavender, frankincense (I love the smell of frankincense and it's good for acne, rashes, and more), chickweed, etc.

Guess what everyone I know is getting for Christmas? Salves, baby. So you can see from here, is not a big stretch to lip balms. Just make sure the herbs/oils you use are safe for ingestion. I know you aren’t chomping on your chapstick but it let’s just say, licking your lips adds up. Vanilla, cinnamon, and honey make nice additions for your pucker slicker.

And if you haven't yet, check out http://www.MountainRoseHerbs.com. They have wonderful products and are a great company.


i actually am expecting my first mountain rose order
in the coming week. can't wait!!
once it is here with the remaining ingredients
the salve will be made. i will update you then.
until then i will keep shaking the oil with calendula petals.
i have made plenty of soap, lotions, salves and the like...
they are pretty easy to do and there are many books to help you
learn at the library, bookstore and articles on the internet.
if you haven't tried them yet- go for it! it is very satisfying.
you know what is in your product and it's waaay cheaper too.
save some nice little glass jars just for these treats.
the squat kind with wider openings are the very best kind
cause you can get your fingers in to scoop the last bit out.
:)

stay healthy!
xoxo
snowdrop