Did you know that Honey Bees filter out environmental toxins? They die if they come into contact with toxins so they don't bring any into the hive. No toxins in the hive means pure, toxin free HONEY for us. What could be better!! Raw Honey has been a long used remedy for it's healing properties...so long that I can't just call it a Southern remedy (although I did find all this information out from a sweet Southern lady that use to keep honey bee hives...so there ya go)
Honey got its name from an ancient Hebrew meaning "enchant". It has been used for centuries as a sweetener and for it's healing powers. Treatment with honey is referred to as apitherapy and includes replenishing energy, enhancing stamina and strengthening those weakened by illness or stress. Did you know that honey can help calm the mind and promote rejuvenating sleep? It can also be used as a skin healer.....apply a thin coat to the skin to disinfect and heal minor skin irritations and chapped lips. According to my Beekeeper friend the best pure honey to buy is from keepers that you know don't feed their bees refined sugars or use harmful pesticides. If you don't know any beekeepers check your local health food store or check out Honey bee swarm removal throughout the United States, beekeepers around the Un Also, if you suffer from hay fever, honey that has been harvested locally (that's in your area) has the grains of pollen that over time may have a desensitizing effect. Now that's something all us Southerners know....you should hear all the sneezing and Bless yous and someone saying "Honey, ya better go buy some HONEY".
A note of caution when it comes to buying unpasteurized honey (unpasteurized is honey that has not been cooked...like you get from a beekeeper or the health food stores) it is recommended that children under the age of one year should not eat or be given raw honey due to the bacteria that is in it....good bacteria for older children and us adults, or bigger kids as some of us might be called.
Something my Great Grandmother Nina use to say " Raw honey is medicine and cooked honey is nothing but a sweet treat" Cooked honey is what we find in stores...granted it is good and sweet but since it has been pasteurized (cooked) it has lost all it's nutritional substances, such as antioxidants, vitamins B & C, minerals and enzymes, ones that give our old pancreas a much needed reprise.
Are you stressed? Do you need to find a way to relax? Well, pull out the honey, honey!!! Honey in hot tea is a wonderful stress reliever....just remember this one simple rule..don't add the honey until it's safe for that tea to pass those lips and go into the tummy. If the tea is to hot and you put the honey in then you just COOKED all the good benefits out. Need a bit more relaxing cause your stress is a bit more elevated, well, try a relaxing honey bath. Put 2oz of honey in a glass with 5 drops of lavender oil. If the honey is to thick, heat it by placing the glass in warm water (not HOT...just warm) Add 1 to 2 tbsp of the honey lavender mixture to your bathwater to help you relax. This will also help you sleep better....it's a great way to combat insomnia!!!!
SO the next time you get ready to swat at that tiny lil bee buzzing around, maybe you should just walk around. He might be doing his job in collecting pollen to make an old time remedy just for you.
Showing posts with label southern remedies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southern remedies. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Some Southern Comfort......
Now I know some of you probable got really excited when ya saw the "Southern Comfort" in the title...LOL!!! It's not a drink, so sorry guys....but some old Southern remedies for this nasty cold and flu season that is upon us. I'm thinking it actually never left us from last year and since my lil man Chaz has come down with a nasty case of the flu, I decided to hunt through my book of remedies to see if I could find a few to pass on down to ya'll. These are some passed down to me from some wonderful older Southern moms and grandmoms (I really shouldn't say "Older" cause I'm getting there really fast myself) So sit back...read a little and maybe some of these can just help ya out a bit. (remember....these are just old remedies passed down...if you have some real medical issues that need attending to or addressing then PLEASE call your doctor)
Herbs & Spices...ohhh so nice!!! Did ya know that chives are a member of the family known as onions, scallions and garlic. Chives grow from small bulbs and have a long history in the culinary world as well as being used for old time Southern medicinal purposes. A long long time ago it was thought that chives could promote a cure for melancholy and was also believed to drive away evil spirits. Of course, I always thought that garlic was the only herb that could do that...peeuuu but as a matter of fact, chives have a high concentrate of sulfur compounds and other essential oils that give it that tangy and aromatic taste. These are what are believed to help give chives their healing properties. Chives ease stomach distress and promote good digestion, reduce flatulence (that's a nice way of saying farting) protect against heart disease and stroke, clear a stuffy nose and prevent bad breath and many believe may help the body fight bacteria due to it's antibacterial properties. That's a GOOD thing!!! Today, we know that chives and the chive flower are high in vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Just 3 1/2 oz of chives supplies enough vitamin C to meet your daily requirement of 60mg. Chives would be oh so nice to add to some of your recipes to help restore vital nutrients lost in cooking. Don't overlook the chive flowers either. They have a milder taste than the leaves and add a decorative touch to salads and herb oils. Yes, that means they are edible!! Here's a few Old Southern recipes for using Chives:
**Chive-Flower Oil**
Add 1 1/2 oz of the blossoms to 1 quart of vegetable oil. After a week, the oil will turn lilac
and take on the smell of the flower. Use the oil in salads or in cooking when any oil is called for.
Just keep it refrigerated when not in use.
**Chive Salt**
Add some chives to some salt. Bake the mixture in the oven to dry leaves and blend flavors. Store in an airtight container or jar. Use this to add some zip to all sorts of dishes.
**Cottage Cheese with Chives**
What you will need: 8 oz cottage cheese
1 tbsp mustard
1 shallot
1 bunch of fresh chives
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt
White Pepper
Blend the cottage cheese and mustard. Peel the shallot, chop finely and mix with the cottage cheese blend. Wash and dry the chives and snip them finely. Stir about two-thirds of the chives into the cottage cheese mixture. Season the mixture with the paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the remaining chives on top. Makes 4 servings. Taste great on top of some good vine ripe tomatoes.
In case you don't know how to handle chives, here are a few helpful kitchen tips for ya'll.
*Don't heat them (unless you are making the salt recipe above) or they will lose their valuable vitamin C as well as their digestive properties.
*Cut them right before you are ready to use them. Chives are very delicate so to prevent from losing any of the essential oils, snip yes I said SNIP them with kitchen shears instead of chopping or grinding them.
*Grow them at home in a pot right in the windowsill. Wait until the plant reaches about 6" before cutting. Harvest the leaves frequently unless you specifically want to use the flowers...remember I told ya they were edible. The leaves become much less flavorful once they start to bloom fully.
*Freeze chives for future use because frozen chives retain more flavor then dried chives. Snip fresh chives into small pieces, then place them in an ice-cube tray and fill it with water. To thaw, put a chive cube in a strainer and let melt.
I hope you might be able to gain some useful information from these Old Southern post. I love passing along information that can be used in our everyday lives. So ya'll come back again here real soon...Ya hear!!!!!
Hugs,
Regi
Herbs & Spices...ohhh so nice!!! Did ya know that chives are a member of the family known as onions, scallions and garlic. Chives grow from small bulbs and have a long history in the culinary world as well as being used for old time Southern medicinal purposes. A long long time ago it was thought that chives could promote a cure for melancholy and was also believed to drive away evil spirits. Of course, I always thought that garlic was the only herb that could do that...peeuuu but as a matter of fact, chives have a high concentrate of sulfur compounds and other essential oils that give it that tangy and aromatic taste. These are what are believed to help give chives their healing properties. Chives ease stomach distress and promote good digestion, reduce flatulence (that's a nice way of saying farting) protect against heart disease and stroke, clear a stuffy nose and prevent bad breath and many believe may help the body fight bacteria due to it's antibacterial properties. That's a GOOD thing!!! Today, we know that chives and the chive flower are high in vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Just 3 1/2 oz of chives supplies enough vitamin C to meet your daily requirement of 60mg. Chives would be oh so nice to add to some of your recipes to help restore vital nutrients lost in cooking. Don't overlook the chive flowers either. They have a milder taste than the leaves and add a decorative touch to salads and herb oils. Yes, that means they are edible!! Here's a few Old Southern recipes for using Chives:
**Chive-Flower Oil**
Add 1 1/2 oz of the blossoms to 1 quart of vegetable oil. After a week, the oil will turn lilac
and take on the smell of the flower. Use the oil in salads or in cooking when any oil is called for.
Just keep it refrigerated when not in use.
**Chive Salt**
Add some chives to some salt. Bake the mixture in the oven to dry leaves and blend flavors. Store in an airtight container or jar. Use this to add some zip to all sorts of dishes.
**Cottage Cheese with Chives**
What you will need: 8 oz cottage cheese
1 tbsp mustard
1 shallot
1 bunch of fresh chives
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt
White Pepper
Blend the cottage cheese and mustard. Peel the shallot, chop finely and mix with the cottage cheese blend. Wash and dry the chives and snip them finely. Stir about two-thirds of the chives into the cottage cheese mixture. Season the mixture with the paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the remaining chives on top. Makes 4 servings. Taste great on top of some good vine ripe tomatoes.
In case you don't know how to handle chives, here are a few helpful kitchen tips for ya'll.
*Don't heat them (unless you are making the salt recipe above) or they will lose their valuable vitamin C as well as their digestive properties.
*Cut them right before you are ready to use them. Chives are very delicate so to prevent from losing any of the essential oils, snip yes I said SNIP them with kitchen shears instead of chopping or grinding them.
*Grow them at home in a pot right in the windowsill. Wait until the plant reaches about 6" before cutting. Harvest the leaves frequently unless you specifically want to use the flowers...remember I told ya they were edible. The leaves become much less flavorful once they start to bloom fully.
*Freeze chives for future use because frozen chives retain more flavor then dried chives. Snip fresh chives into small pieces, then place them in an ice-cube tray and fill it with water. To thaw, put a chive cube in a strainer and let melt.
I hope you might be able to gain some useful information from these Old Southern post. I love passing along information that can be used in our everyday lives. So ya'll come back again here real soon...Ya hear!!!!!
Hugs,
Regi
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