Fruity Minty-Lime Popsicles, OR, an Easy Way to Add Vitamin C to your diet

Not being satisfied with the selection of popsicles in the grocer's freezer(or the price of the 'healthy' ones), I searched and searched for a recipe to make popsicles comparable to the commercial ones, yet free of preservatives, colorings, and other additives.

I was blessed last winter to come across a PBS cooking show where they were making foods from Mexico, and this recipe was featured.

Here is how I do it:

Fruity Minty-Lime Popsicles

In food processor, combine and pulse until finely chopped:
3/4 cup sugar (I use cane sugar in order to avoid GMO Beet sugar)
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped mint leaves(I have been using dried peppermint from my herb garden)

Pour sugar mixture into bowl.
Add and stir until thoroughly combined and sugar is dissolved:

2/3 cup lime juice (I use Santa Cruz Organic Lime Juice)
2 cups sparkling water

In prepared popsicle molds(or other suitable containers), place pieces of frozen fruit. We use frozen pineapple, blueberries, and strawberries(my favorite).

Fill with lime mixture to about 1/4 inch from top. Insert popsicle stick/lid and put in freezer to freeze for a few hours until firm.

Enjoy!

Hummus, OR, How to add immune-boosting raw garlic to your diet

Having just (hopefully) gotten over the flu making its rounds through our family one by one, I am again looking at ways to boost our immune systems.

Raw garlic is a good immune booster, but not many people can stomach the thought of simply eating the cloves every day. Especially not the kids.

Here is one solution and one of my sneaky tricks to getting the kids to eat it: Hummus!


A few years ago I found an easy recipe on the back of my McCormick bottle of ground cumin. I tried it because it had pantry staples and not a bunch of stuff I don't tend to have around(like tamari).

Here is my version:


Easy Hummus:

In a food processor, combine:

1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas(garbanzo beans), drained with 1/4 cup of liquid reserved
3(yes, 3) garlic cloves (original recipe calls for 1)
1TB lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt

Puree until smooth or the consistency that you desire.

Serve with cut up veggies, organic or otherwise non-GMO corn chips, or whatever your heart desires.

Be warned: You WILL have garlic breath! So make sure everyone has some! ;-)

Enjoy!

Low-grade reactions...finding the cause

I have been having some very low-grade reactions(minor throat itching) the past week or two and decided to try and get to the bottom of it today at my BioAllergenix appointment.

We tested the last things I had treated last time(lavender EO, nutmeg, Tulsi Tea, Green tea w/Honey, and Chamomile) and came out fine with all of them. Yeah!


I then started with my toiletries, bringing in my prior "bare bones" baking soda and olive oil, along with some soaps, facial cleansers, two shampoos and some lotions.

For *my body*(your mileage may vary), this is how I came out:
Jason Fragrance Free Shampoo-ok
Gluten-Free Savonnerie Shampoo--NOT OK
Badger Balm-ok
Jergens Original lotion-ok
WAHM-made Lemongrass Ginger Castille Olive Oil bar soap-ok
Velocity facial cleanser-ok
Velocity facial moisturizer-NOT OK
Olive oil-ok
Baking soda-ok
Aquaphor-ok
Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Lotion-NOT OK

So, basically I can use the ok items and be pretty sure I'm not dragging myself down. I guess I will use scant olive oil or coconut oil on my face as a moisturizer, baking soda for teeth brushing until I test some toothpaste, and coconut oil for deodorant(yes, it does seem to be working!).

Having taken care of my showering ritual, I went to the next near-constant in my day-to-day life: Breakfast.

I have been having oatmeal with blueberries and either slivered almonds or sunflower seeds pretty consistently for breakfast. Sometimes I have fried eggs on toast, but don't want to have that every day.
Here's how I came out:

Oats-ok
Almonds-ok
Sunflower seeds-NOT OK, especially when tested paired with the oatmeal

When I was avoiding so many things, one of my main oils was sunflower oil. I wonder if using it during the peak allergy stuff is what triggered my body to react to it as well? Who knows?

Point to ponder: many dried fruits have sunflower oil in them. I know Craisins do(one of my snack staples), as do the dried blueberries from Aldi(which I use sometimes on oatmeal in lieu of frozen blueberries).

Interestingly, sunflower oil is one of the top ingredients in the Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Lotion. I'm bringing it next time to retest and see if it's ok after being treated for Sunflower oil.


Next was a bunch of supplements. As of now, all I am taking is a fish oil, since that's all I have that I know is safe. I would love to get on a multivitamin, but that will have to wait until I have the money for them...maybe in a few months. In the meantime, I shall eat the best I can.

Here's how I fared there:
Twinlabs Allergy Multi-caps--NOT OK! This was about the worst thing today.
Evening primrose oil-ok
NOW brand Quercetin-NOT OK
Twinlabs Quercetin + C -ok
Sambucol Syrup-ok
Sambucol Cold and Flu Tablets-ok

So, I can put the Sambucol, Quercetin + C and EPO in my arsenal. The others I guess I will toss. I used most of them up already, anyway.


I also decided to have weeds treated today, since nothing is pollinating right now and it'll be way easy to avoid.
Last fall, I did grab some ragweed and put in a bag for later. Tested it today and sure enough, I am *still* weak to it. So I *definitely* wanted to have weeds treated. The treatments helped immensely this past fall, but not completely. Hopefully with being able to completely avoid it, it will work all the way this time around.


So, in a nutshell, I got a good idea of what to use in my daily regimen, what to put in my medicine arsenal, and was treated for the ingredients in Astroglide, weeds, and sunflower seeds(and oil).

We'll see how things go next week when I retest!




TMI Ahead for those who might find it useful...

I have been having issues off and on with either the spermicide-free condoms we had been using, or else the paba-free Astroglide. So, , I brought some in to be tested, and --guess what-- the Astroglide is BAD BAD BAD! The doc entered all of the ingredients into the system and treated me for that as well.


Here's to better health!

Allergy sufferers--Use Care with Essential Oils!

I am much better.

Since going to the family doc and then doing some reading about Esinophilic (sp?) Esophagitis, I strongly suspected the throat thing was an allergic response. Totally new(well, my *awareness* of it anyway--I've had minor episodes of difficulty swallowing before) to me, but an allergic response nonetheless.

I had started using Lavender EO in the shower maybe a week to ten days before I got the appt to the family doc. So, since that was a new thing, I cut that out of my regimen. It seemed to be helping my skin clear up, but I'd take a normal throat over clear skin.

I also looked in my food diary for the last 2 years and it seems after I'd had melted cheese, sour cream, or cream cheese that I would have difficulty swallowing(but nothing like this recent episode), so since the Sunday before Thanksgiving I have been essentially dairy free. I had been treated for milk already, and the food diary notes were from before my treatment, but I figured what the heck--dd is dairy-free so I may as well go dairy-free with her for the holidays. It will encourage me to make dairy-free holiday treats, right? I'm interested to see if my skin clears up, too. I am going to give it a month or two to see if I see a difference in my skin.

One thing I did not regularly notate in my food diary is the type of body care products I was using at the time. I know that I was using Lavender EO soap during part of that time, and it is entirely possible that it was the Lavender EO getting me and not the cheese.

So, yesterday I went to my BioAllergenix appt and brought a bunch of foods to test that I suspected. I also brought TTO, my Lavender EO, and my Thieves' oil. TTO and Thieves' oil(that contains Lavender EO) were ok. When she tested the Lavender EO I brought I was so totally weak, I could not believe it! I am normally very strong and am a bit harder to read with muscle testing, but it was like the life was sucked out of me when I had this tested!

So, that pretty much sealed the deal in my mind that it was the Lavender EO that caused the reaction.

I did get treated for it,( along with the Genetic Predisposition to Tomatoes and some other things) and I will bring it next time to see how I do.

I think I just really need to not overdo it on anything. Especially something so volatile like EO's.

You live and learn.

Difficulty Swallowing--Allergy?-Eosinophilic Esophagitis?

I've fallen a bit behind in my updating! Please forgive the long post!

I went ahead and did the Hydrocarbon treatment about a month ago. Retested it today and am strong. So, that is good. (Yeah!)

I suspected our water softener salt was bothering me(something about the shower and when I wash my hands at night...products? the water itself?) and brought in some of the salt and tested weak to it. I was treated for Water Softener Salt. Still need to remember to bring the salt in again to test again, but I am not experiencing the itchy throat during/after I shower and when I get up in the night and wash my hands after using the restroom. (Yeah!)

I also had a Water Samples List scan done and Tap Water(!), Arsenic and Aluminum came up and I had those treated. The doc was able to test the Aluminum today and I am strong there. (Yeah!)

So, in general, I have been doing pretty well. I have had very minimal reactions. I don't remember the last time I had one of those mega-itchy throat/palate/ears/runny nose/sneezing attacks. As a result, I am starting to notice other symptoms lurking about that I missed before when I was dealing with all the immediate allergy reactions.

About 2 weeks ago, I started having a feeling of having a lump at about the base of my throat and some difficulty swallowing. Looking back, I *think* this began when I had made meatloaf and had put 1/4 cup of ketchup in the 2lb loaf and had some for dinner. (I know, I know, what was I thinking???) Two nights in a row. And two nights in a row I had heartburn about an hour after eating it.

So, I am fairly certain it was the tomatoes that started it. I have been putting off the tomato treatment for some reason. I have been treated for the general "Tomato", but have not been treated for the Genetic Predisposition toward tomato. That is next on my list, I believe, since my dad has difficulties with tomatoes.

I had gone to the family doc last Friday about my throat and she seemed to think it was due to acid reflux and irritation. She also ordered a thyroid test.

I followed the family doc's instructions to take Pepcid, but I haven't really noticed any difference while on that. In fact, I felt worse the first few hours after taking it yesterday. :(

In my internet perusals, I came across the condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Turns out a friend's child was diagnosed with this and I didn't know what it was so I looked it up. I was surprised that the adult description fits me very well. It is a condition where, in response to allergy, the white blood cells form in the esophagus in these little things called eosinophils and cause inflammation. It's a fairly new diagnosis in adult medicine.

I really cannot afford to go to another doctor--much less a specialist and testing. Whether I have this condition "officially" or not, the approach is the same: Figure out what is causing the allergic reaction and avoid/treat that allergy. There are medications to take as well, but nothing is promising or really recommended for lifetime use.



So, I went to the BioAllergenix doc today. I brought my list of suspect foods and she muscle tested me for the things that she had available to test me for. I was strong on all of them.

After much talking and looking over my charts and past history, she suggested a re-scan of the Second Procedure on Mother Tincture, since that was not available when I first started. So, I did this scan and most of the Groups came up as Multiple Responses, which means I had a trace response to more than one item in each Group. Unfortunately(for my inquiring mind), it doesn't break it down to exactly what it was my body was reacting to. I decided to go ahead and be treated for all of them today and fast for 6 hours rather than break it up and attempt to avoid a lot of things until tomorrow and have to repeat the process again later with different foods.
(The reason I can do only 6 hours this time is because they were ALL Multiple Response. If I had any actual foods come up, I would have to avoid until tomorrow.)

I'm a bit hungry...but I will survive...in the meantime the kids are going to have to fend for themselves!

Next...Genetic Predisposition for Tomatoes.