Lemon

Come On Baby Light My Fire

fire-cider-recipe-2

Posted by Judy Moon

I know it’s an odd time of the year to be talking about Fire Cider, but oddly enough, people are still battling the flu at this time of year. I’ve been told the flu season started later this year…whatever that means.

I am usually pretty mindful about doing the simple, common things to keep my immune system happy –

*regular exercise
*eight hours of sleep
*frequent hand washing
*lots of fruits and vegetables
*managing stress levels
*dry brushing
*staying hydrated
*vitamins and supplements and essential oil blends

This past winter I learned about Fire Cider and added that to my arsenal of tools to keep my vibes high. My good pal and coworker Gwyn shared a recipe with me and it was super simple to make and the taste kind of grows on you. If you are new to Fire Cider like I was, here’s the skinny-

“Though not imparted with any actual mystical powers, fire cider truly is magical in its own right. This tonic is revered by herbalists for its ability to help prevent cold and flu symptoms and/or shorten their duration if they occur, and for good reason. It’s an apple cider vinegar infusion that contains “powerful immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, decongestant, and spicy circulatory movers” that make it “especially pleasant and easy to incorporate into your daily diet to help boost the immune system, stimulate digestion, and get you nice and warmed up on cold days.”

As I mentioned it was super easy to make. I buzzed everything in the food processor, covered it with ACV and waited a month. I took it through the winter and as I mentioned, folks are complaining of flu and summer cold symptoms here in Philadelphia right now and I didn’t want to wait a month, so I found some for sale in Essene, a local health food store.  I’m sure you could also find it on line if you’re not a DIY kind of person.

Here is the recipe I used from the Mommypotamus blog.

Fire Cider Recipe
I first read about fire in Rosemary Gladstar’s book, Herbal Recipes For Vibrant Health. This recipe is adapted from her recipe and this one from Mountain Rose Herbs.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup peeled and shredded/diced ginger root
  • ½ cup peeled and shredded/diced horseradish root
  • ½ cup peeled and diced turmeric OR 1/4 cup additional ginger and 1/4 cup additional horseradish
  • ½ cup white onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup minced or crushed garlic cloves
  • 2 organic jalapeno peppers, chopped
  • Zest and juice from 2 organic lemons
  • Raw apple cider vinegar
  • Raw, organic honey to taste

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS

  • Several sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns

EQUIPMENT

  • Quart-sized jar
  • Wax paper

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, jalapeno and lemon juice/zest to a quart-sized jar. Pack them down lightly so that the jar is about 3/4 full. Use a fermenting weight to hold down the veggies/roots, or place heavy roots at the top so that they will weigh down the herbs and jalapenos (which float). Pour a generous amount apple cider vinegar over the roots/vegetables. You want everything to stay under the liquid to prevent spoilage. Keep in mind that some of the roots will expand a little so top it off well.

If you’re using a metal lid, line it with wax paper so that the vinegar doesn’t corrode it, then put the lid on. Place in a dark, room temperature cabinet for 2-4 weeks. (A month is best)

When the cider is ready, shake well and then strain the roots/veggies using a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve. Add honey to taste and store in the fridge.

Note: Mountain Rose Herbs suggests that you used the strained veggies in stir fry or spring rolls.

Yum!

Let’s Talk Dirty

Posted by Judy Moon

January is upon us and you know what that means – Clean Program!

Every January my husband Joe and I do Dr. Junger’s Clean Program – I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve done it, I think it’s maybe 5 or so. It has become our go-to way to kick off the New Year and push the reset button after a month of holiday fun and good cheer. It’s also a nice path to take to starting off your year on the road to health and wellness. It’s kind of the ultimate wellness seed.

I was inspired by a client years ago who would do it every January and then often after a vacation. I always said to her “I could never do it, 21 days without x,y and z…” anyone who knows me knows x,y and z stand for red wine, cheese and at that time pasta. I then reached a point of switching from “I could never do it” to “I have to do it”. So I bought the book Clean, made my husband read it as well and we were sold.

A lot of clients, and friends ask me “how” we do it. There’s a few ways you can go about it. When we first did it there were 2 options available on the website, I think they were called Renew and Refresh. One option was to buy the kit, drink a shake for breakfast, a meal from the list of foods you can have for lunch and a shake for dinner. Snacks could also be from the list and it came with a boatload of supplements.

The other option was a kit with shake mix and less supplements and you had the shake for breakfast and 2 smaller meals from the list of foods you can have, again having a snack if you need one from the list.

Since my husband was being a good sport and doing this with me, I opted for the second option since I knew this beer drinking, chicken wing eating dude was not going to have a shake for dinner.

We did great, lost some weight, had more energy, stopped having food cravings and felt like a million bucks. Was it as big of a detox as if we had done the other option, no, but I felt so much better and I was sold.

The following year, the second option wasn’t available on the site, and they explained to me that they felt the other option was a better detox, more thorough, etc. and that was what they were promoting, but I could always still do it the other way if I chose and just buy the ingredients separately.  So I reread the book and just purchased what I needed without buying the kit.

For a protein shake, I went with the Chocolate Plant Fusion 

For the supplements, we took PB8 probiotics, Enzymedica digestive enzymes, Milk Thistle, and Oregano oil Capsules which I picked up at Whole Foods. The other supplements are also available there as well.

I drank Natural Calm at night to help “keep things moving” and it helps you sleep well.

We eat from the list of foods you can have and avoid the things you can’t have and drink tons of water. We actually find that by week 2, we are just having soup for dinner or sometimes we actually have a shake, your appetite does change and your portions get smaller. You get fuller faster.

So over the years we’ve added some things to increase the detox process and some of these things have become daily habits.

Here’s what a typical day looks like on Clean (and sometimes even after Clean)

  • Wake up and Tongue Scrape
  • Oil Pull for 10 minutes with coconut oil (this is new this year for me!)
  • Brush teeth
  • Axe Detox drink
  • Meditation
  • Exercise
  • Dry brush
  • Shower
  • Plant fusion shake with frozen berries, flax seed, almond milk, raw coconut cream, colloidal minerals (the minerals are a new addition this year),
  • Cup of Kukicha tea with stevia
  • Snack if I need it – raw nuts
  • Lunch – salad from the list of foods you can have
  • Snack – green drink with wheat grass powder, kale, more berries, coconut water and an apple. (this is my go to afternoon pick me up everyday)
  • Dinner – meal or soup from list of foods you can have.
  • Water with lemon throughout the day. (also started adding chlorophyll to the water)
  • Herbal tea after dinner, Tulsi Rose is a favorite.
  • Natural Calm before bed
  • I take the supplements according to directions on labels.
  • Alternating detox epsom salt baths, and Castor Oil Wraps through out the week.
  • The Castor oil wraps are new to me this year as well. I just rub it all over the abdomen especially near the liver and the lymph channels wrap some saran wrap around myself, put on an old T shirt and chill for 45 minutes.

Is this the best most thorough detox on the planet, probably not, but it works for us. At the end of the 21 days, we’ve shed some weight, feel less puffy, have more energy, have more clarity, feel inspired to take better care of ourselves, and are motivated to eat better.

I would call that a success!

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