I have had many prescriptions from my GP over the past 9 years to relieve pain & improve mobility after a fall off a building onto scaffolding that taught me a good lesson. ( Don’t be stupid & climb random objects when drunk )!

As I have never been too happy about taking prescription medication, I have looked into natural ways to control inflammation & when I cycled fro Vietnam to Cambodia last year, the doctor that accompanied us on the trip thought I was a bit mental at first when he saw me drinking bright yellow water & found that I was putting turmeric extract into most of my drinking water.

His attitude towards this really changed after a couple of days & then thought that my way of managing my body was ( although new to him ) a good way to curb inflammation.

I have also started giving some of my daily mug of turmeric tea to my greyhound, if she has had a sprain & this seems to help her too.

I found this recipe, that I have added to my daily diet from James Wongs, Grow Your Own Drugs. It is called Teh Halia & is a Malaysian recipe.

I buy my fresh ginger & turmeric roots from a local Thai supermarket & then make up a couple of weeks worth of base paste at a time. Even when wearing latex gloves when preparing the fresh root I often have yellow stained hands afterwards as I usually forget to don gloves again when washing my pestle & mortar.

Below is James Wongs recipe off his Grow Your Own Drugs website for Teh Halia ( stretched ginger tea ). The stretching part is explained in the recipe: a bit messy but fun, delicious & a massive help to those who suffer joint pain

TURMERIC ‘TEH HALIA’ FOR ARTHRITIS

3 sticks fresh turmeric or 4g dried
Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger root
Few pinches black pepper
250ml whole milk
250ml water
1 tsp black tea leaves
Palm sugar, to taste (or maple syrup or brown sugar)

1. Peel and chop the fresh turmeric, if using (being careful not to stain surfaces or hands). Peel and grate the ginger. Put into a mortar (with the dried turmeric, if using) and add a few pinches of black pepper, then pound with the pestle until you get a smooth paste.

2. Combine the paste with the milk, water and tea leaves in a pan and simmer on a low heat for 10-20 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain. Sweeten with palm sugar to taste, and stir.

3. Before drinking, pour the Teh between two containers, holding them the maximum width apart to aerate the tea as much as possible and produce a froth on top. Despite not having too much of a medicinal effect on the remedy, this is more than just a flamboyant whim. Aerating the mix improves its flavour by making it easier for your tongue to perceive the chemicals that give the drink its unique taste.

USE: Make the Teh up as you need it, and drink at once. Take daily to help with arthritis, aches and pains in the joints, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory conditions.

STORAGE: The paste keeps for up to 1 month in the refrigerator.

QUICK-FIX TEH HALIA

112g dried turmeric
28g dried ginger
½ tsp black pepper
25g black tea leaves
140g brown granulated sugar

Stir together, then store in a dry, airtight tin. Makes 14 cups - or one a day. To make up into a Teh, place 5-6 teaspoons of the mixture in a pan with 250ml whole milk and 250ml water, then simmer over a low heat for 10-20 minutes, or until reduced by half. Strain and serve. The mixture will keep in an airtight tin for 2 weeks.

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The article below was on Yahoo news last week. It is not the first time I have come across the theory of seaweed being added to foods to aid weight loss. Apart from the fact that seaweed is a highly nutritious natural ingredient to add to your diet anyway.

As this report below has said that scientists have tested the effectiveness of 60 different natural fibres with an ” artificial gut “, I decided to try it on myself.

I sourced a supplier of dried bladderwrack & I have been adding 2 teaspoons of this + 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper to my basic bread mix.

It is thorougly delicious & all friends that have tasted it so far are in total agreement with me regarding how good it tastes.

As from today:-

I will be eating 1-2 slices of this bread every day for 1 month & sharing my results on this blog. I do not own bathroom scales, as I do not think it is healthy to weigh yourself too regularly.

I weighed in at 150 kilo, at my friends house on Sunday evening & I had been eating seaweed bread then for 4 days.

One observation that I have made so far on this, is that if you are constipated. eating seaweed bread may help to wake up the bowels. Nothing extreme you understand. But if you are an irregular person, eating a slice a day may make you function on a daily basis.

Seaweed bread ‘key to obesity’

Seaweed bread could be the answer to the obesity epidemic, scientists have said.Skip related content

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Researchers found seaweed fibre could reduce the body’s fat uptake by more than 75%.

A fibrous material in Sea Kelp called alginate was better at preventing fat absorption than most over-the-counter slimming treatments, laboratory tests showed.

Dr Iain Brownlee, who co-led the University of Newcastle team, said: “This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily - such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts - up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body.

“We have already added the alginate to bread and initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging. Now the next step is to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective it is when eaten as part of a normal diet.”

The scientists used an “artificial gut” to test the effectiveness of 60 different natural fibres by measuring the extent to which they affected the digestion of fat.

They presented their findings at the American Chemical Society’s spring meeting in San Francisco, US.

Dr Brownlee said the aim was to see if the same effects modelled in the laboratory could be reproduced in living volunteers.

“Our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion,” he said.

The research is part of a three-year project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Last night, courgettes were in the bargin bucket in the local co-op.  So I took home, 2 very big, & mint condition  courgettes for 20p & stuck one in a juicer, with 3 slighly sad looking kiwi fruits. I was planning on executing a banana into this drink but after tasting just the kiwi & courgette I decided to leave it at that.

Very refreshing, low calorific value & a good fix of folate, Vitamins A, C & E .  And kiwi’s have almost as much potassium as a banana. Nice!

P.S   NO MICE WERE INJURED IN THE MAKING OF THIS SMOOTHIE

I tried making this for the first time tonight. It’s quick, tasty & nutritious plus has the added theraputic benefit of a forrage in the woods to pick the nettles.

Ingredients:-

About 6 oz stigging nettles

2 big cloves of garlic

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup pine nuts

approx 100ml olive oil

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:-

Rinse the nettles, then blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute.

Strain the nettles, decant ont a chopping board & roughly chop.

Put the nettles, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil & seasoning into a bowl & blitz with a hand blender or put all the ingredients into a food processor & blitz away.

Simple, tasty dressing for pasta, fish or salad & ready in 2 minutes.

Well, the festival season is nearly upon us & decent weather here at last.  There was a lot of talk  & enthusiasm amongst my fellow campers last year about making Elderflower Champagne.  Of course I tried to make some & yes it was worth it. Bucket loads of Elderflower champagne for just a few pence a bottle.

To make approx 2 dozen bottles, all you need is the following:-

About 30 Elderflower heads, picked in the prim of their blooming ( End of May- beginning of June is usually a good time ) by July most are starting to die off.

2kg Sugar

6 litres water

4 lemons

2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

Bucket & a muslin cloth or an old, clean t.towel or t.shirt. I used an old dress and parcel tape to secure it to the bucket.

Then Simply:

Heat  4 litres of water & put into your ( spotlessly clean ) bucket along with the sugar. Let the sugar dissolve, then add annother 2 litres of cold water.

Zest & juice the lemons & add to the bucket, add the vinegar & pre rinsed Elderflower heads.

cover with muslin & leave in a cool, airy position for 2-3 days.

Check the brew for signs of fermentation, i.e is it getting foamy? Elderflowers should naturally ferment the brew,but if there are no signs of fermentation add a pinch of yeast at this stage.

Leave the bucket alone for 4 more days, then strain through your muslin & bottle up. Do make sure you sterilise the bottles first! Seal & leave to ferment for 8 more days & serve chilled.

These do not have a long shelf life, but if you drink it within the first few weeks you should enjoy some refreshing, tasty & cheep home brew champagne.

Ever faniced a BLT for lunch but didn’t have a lettuce?

What to do then /  Go and buy a lettuce or some limp, tasteless, clinically bagged salad.?  And how much is a little gem or lollo rosso down the shops these days? Anything from 60p - £120 at a guess.

Why not… ( at this time of year ), step into the garden and pick a few, young dandelion leaves. They are free, they have a taste, you just pick what you need, saving on unnessesary waste. At the same time weeding your garden.

Dandelions whip the pants of most supermarket bought lettuces nutritionally too!

You might as well pick a dandelion flower too, put it on the side of your plate for a garnish & feel pampered & extravagent by swerving commercialism and enjoying the riches of your garden.

No, this is no discounted special offer. Just the wonderful power of nature itself. No Dr’s. No painful red, burning face for days & days.

I have never, ever facied the idea of having a chemical peel to make me look younger, get rid of my lines or whatever reasons people put themselfs through unessesary rish & pain for.

But…… that has changed. I will probably now have 1 weekly, or at least on a regular basis.

There is a fab series running at the moment called ” Grow your own drugs “.

Etnobotanist James Wong shows how to make natural treatments for certain ailments, such as motion sickness, insomnia, and the common cold as well as showing how you can make your own beauty treatments using bits of nature picked from your garden & hedgerows or local shop.

One of the treatments in his episode about fruit was a kiwi & papaya face mask.

I tried it tonight & it is great!

All you need is:

1 kiwi fruit

1 lime

1/2 papaya

2 sachets of gelatine

click on this link to see all James Wongs recipies in the eries or to view episode:

www.bbc.co.uk/growyourowndrugs

I enjoyed the preparation of making the peel in my kitchen & the applied it warm. It felt & smelt wonderful.

I left it on for 1 hour & sat at my desk, perusing the net peeling bits off my face. The bits I peeled off looked like transparrant satsuma peel. When I felt that I was being mingin enough, peeling away at my face I went and washed my face in warm water. My face now feels smooth as a babys bum & feels, oh so clean. I don’t think my face has felt any cleaner after a sauna & steamroom session. It’s that good! And still a bit tingly now, 1 hour after rinsing. But, it is a clea tingle, not a stingy one.

When I was peeling the drier parts it reminded me of a slightly evil thing I did years ago to an ex boyfriend.

We were sitting on the floor, in a darkened room, infront of an open fire, slightly inebriated & watching the original Alien film. I got up to go to the loo during an ad break & saw on my bathroom shelf a peel off face mask. I applied it a sat rapidly in front of the tv again. I waied ’til a second before the bit where the dogs head splits open like a banana & an alien bursts out of it. I pocked my ex in the ribs and said hey watch this & pulled my face off! He freaked for a second. Much better reaction than I anticipated.

Anyway, I really recomend this kiwi & papaya face mask. I also recomend the programme ” grow your own drugs “.

James Wong as mentioned above, is an ethnobotanist.   Ethobotany is the scientific study of the relationship between people & plants & combines the knowledge of botany, chemistry & anthropology.

Groovy job.  Gardening should be in the school curriculum.

Ingredients:

4oz softened butter

6oz granulated sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe mashed bananas

3 oz raisins & shredded coconut

8 oz self raising flour

1/2 t.spoon salt

1/2 t.spoon nutmeg

pinch cinamon

few drops vanilla essence

1/2 t. spoon bicarb

Method:

Cream butter & sugar together

beat in the eggs, one at a time

add mashed bananas

sift in the flour, salt & spices then gently fold the mixture

add vanilla essence & bicarb

pour into a greased 1lb loaf tin

bake for approx 1 hour in 180 degree c ,pre heated oven & enjoy!

My friend went to give my dog a treat the other night and asked if it was o.k to give her a fruit shortcake biscuit.

Nope, not that, it has raisins that dogs can’t digest, have you got any cheese?

Craig opened the fridge and offered parmesan?

Have you got any cheddar?

I’ve got this nice ham, she’ll like ham.

Not that though it’s formed.

It’s ham.

It’s formed, if I won’t eat it I won’t give it to my dog.

Now Craig does think that I am a little extreme at times with my feelings towards food, but he was also very dissapointed that the ham was formed. He saw the ham in the shop and as it looked like just plain unadulterated ham he bought it not noticing that it was clearly labeled ” from formed cuts of meat”. He decided then that he didn’t want it either.

Many people I meet think that I am vegetarian & then learn that I will eat meat & also things that some may find a bit repulsive, I will try pretty much anything as long as I know where it’s been, and if it’s from a good source and undoctored that usually good enough. I dispise the hidden chemical additives that is sneeked into our food for monetary gain  & corporate monopoly and it is not restricted to human food. Although some bought dog food actually contains less disturbing ingredients than is allowed to be labeled “fit for human consumption”. Read Fast Food Nation if you really want to know what is legally allowed to be put into burgers, sausages, nuggets etc and you may think dog food pie to be a more tempting option.

Well rant almost over with,

Here is a recipe for treats I make for my dog, which any dog that has tried just loved. It’s also the stuff that my brother ate after the pub unaware that I had made it for the dog.

Liver cake:

1 lb lambs liver   chopped

2 cloves of garlic  chopped

2 eggs

4 oz  plain flour

Stick all ingredients into a bowl and blitz it with a mixer. Scrape into a loaf tin ( no need to grease ) and bake 180 % until firm. Cutinto chunks when it has cooled. I put the batch in the freezer and take out a couple of days worth at a time.

I can’t remember where I first saw this idea. Probably from a magazine but, I have been using this facepack recipe for years.

What you need is……

1 small tub of natural yoghurt

1 ripe banana

1 tablesppon of honey

What to do is…….

Decant the yoghurt into a bowl, mash the banana and add that to the bowl. Finally add about a tablesppon of honey and mix it up. Then smear it all over your face, mind not to get it into your eyes but if you accidently lick some….bonus…as it is rather yummy. Leave it on for 10-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water and relish in the fact that your face feels as smooth as a babys bottom. Any left overs can be put in the fridge for 2nd application a day or 2 later.

I remember making this face pack when I stayed at my dad’s a few years ago. My brother asked me ( after he had been on a heavy drinking session the night before ) What was that stuff in the fridge last night? What stuff, I replied , and he said “that weird cake”. I told him that it was a liver cake that I had cooked for treats for my dog and then realised that he had eaten some when he got home with the munchies. He said the pudding was quite nice though. “Bill you muppet, you ate my dogs liver cake and my facepack” was my reply. I didn’t mind at all though. It was pretty funny at the time & still makes me smile whenever I make a facepack.