BaxAura, Take 2

I went in today for a followup appointment with the BaxAura. 

As per instructions the last time I went in, I fasted an hour before my appointment.

The doc and I discussed how I was feeling since the treatment 10 days ago.  The first 2 nights I still struggled with nighttime throat itching due to our window fan dragging in the pollen with the cool night air.  The nights after that I have generally been able to get a good night's sleep without allergy problems.  A couple times during the last week or so, I have had very minor allergy itchy throat/eye/sneeze episodes and some arm itchiness after picking beans and cucumbers in the garden (which I think any non-allergy person might experience).  When I was mowing part of our grass weed/plantain acreage, I did have a little-more-than-minor episode but it passed quickly and I was able to go out and mow w/o it happening again.

I am definitely not going through the tissues like I have in years past. A definite blessing!

The doc had me hold what looked like a small aluminum(brushed steel?) cylinder hooked up to the computer and ran a Mini-scan. My body is still working through the grasses, ragweed and something else(can't remember) from the last treatment. And Gluten is still a no-go. (tsk-tsk)  Apparently, with the BaxAura, the treatment takes more time to fully take effect.  My homeopathic spray was run through the machine again, but I didn't need to get another treatment(and thus no fasting afterwards). I just need to continue taking the homeopathic until my next visit.

I was not charged for the followup appointment.

RECIPE: Sweet Freezer Pickles

The heat and rain last week has made my garden go crazy! Especially since I didn't make it out there to swelter in the 105+ temps and weed.

Last Monday, I picked about 20 cucumbers. Then, it was too hot all week to be able to can them (we don't have a/c). Those cukes have been living in the fridge.

Today (Monday), I think I picked 25 cucumbers out there. It's cooler today and the forecast is a little more promising than last week, so I am working in the kitchen today.

Here's a pic of the cukes, beans and some Forellenschluss lettuce I picked today. And my kitty thinking, "What on earth was she thinking, planting so many cucumbers!".

While I was picking, I found a few cucumbers with mysterious white foamy stuff on them....so my cucumber picking days might be over soon. All the more reason to preserve my bounty!

On the suggestion from my sis-in-law, I am going to try making freezer pickles. She made them last  year and they were a success. So, since I have so many cucumbers, I am jumping in.

I started with this recipe from Cooks.com and changed it to my preferences.


Sweet Freezer Pickles

7 cups sliced cucumbers
1 cup sliced onion
2 tbsp salt
2 cups sugar (I use cane sugar)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp celery seed

If your cucumbers are of average size and the skins aren't bitter, you can leave them on for more nutrition. A food processor makes quick work of the slicing. I used my glass 8 cup batter bowl to make measuring easy.

Put your sliced cucumbers and sliced onions in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix it up so the salt is distributed.
Heat sugar, vinegar and celery seed and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cucumber mixture. Stir well.

Refrigerate 1 day, then put in freezer containers and freeze.


I tripled this recipe, using 13 cucumbers and 3 smallish purple onions. This fit perfectly in my Tupperware Thatsa Bowl, with plenty of room to stir. I will divide the pickles into containers and freeze tomorrow.



Editing to add the pic of my pickles in the containers I could scrounge up from around the house. I froze the plastic containers and have the glass jarred pickles in the fridge for use to eat the next 2 weeks or so. :)

My BaxAura Experience - The Day After

So far the environmental allergies haven't been horrible after getting the treatment with the BaxAura.  Last night, it was quite difficult to sleep, but that could very well be due to the high temps/humidity and we live in an old farmhouse with only fans for cooling. It's stinky hot these days, folks!

I did have a few episodes of itchy throat last night. It sort of came in waves, though. I found that if I concentrated enough and did NOT rub the inside of my throat w/my tongue (fellow allergy sufferers know what I'm talking about, I'll bet), then I wouldn't get near the histamine response/pileup that I would get if I gave in.  And then the feeling left and I could sleep a little bit.

I have had my jaw tension come back, again, in waves.  It comes and goes.

Interestingly enough, my head itchiness has gone away for the most part. I mention this because one of the things that came up on the scan had to do with this issue I've  had off and on for some time. (I have had such a hard time finding commercial shampoo/conditioner that doesn't cause this!)

I am taking my homeopathic sprays as recommended and waiting to see what happens next.

Freezing Basil

In my gardening experience, Basil has not been one of my high points. I usually forget to water it, and then I get sidetracked with life and I forget to pick it until it's way overgrown and gone to seed.  At most, I would get a few pickings for embellishing a meal here and there each summer.

This year has been different.  The garden might look a wee bit sparse on the bean row, but the groundhogs don't seem to like basil.  Plus, I planted the basil in the rows, mixed in with my veggies, instead of in the overgrown herb garden or a container that always dries out.

So, the basil has been good this year. And I find that it's one thing I can stand to process/deal with in this heatwave we have been experiencing.

Today, I went out and picked two salad spinner's worth of basil. Since I have little experience with preserving it, I looked up info on how to preserve this fresh herb.

So, here's what I did today.

How to Freeze Basil

1. Pick  your basil, pinching it off at the base of each stem. New leaves will grow on the plant on either side of this stem.  Be sure to leave some leaves on each plant, as that is how the plant gets energy to grow new leaves.

2. Rinse the basil in cool water and pinch off the leaves. Place the leaves in a bowl and discard(compost) the stems.

3. Give your basil one last rinse if needed, then use your salad spinner to get as much water off as possible. Alternatively, dry with a clean towel.
 

4. Fill your food processor with the basil, being sure not to pack it in too tight.

5. Run your food processor, and stream in some olive oil as it processes, until the basil looks like pesto. I used a couple tablespoons worth of oil. You need the oil to help the basil to keep its color and not turn black once it's frozen.

6. Divvy it up into ice cube trays and freeze.

7. After freezing, put the basil cubes in a freezer bag to use later in soups, stews, on pizza, pasta, etc.

In my experience, two food processers full of basil yielded about 1 1/2 ice cube trays of basil cubes.

Voila! I've got the lovely taste of basil without a long list of additives!


How do you like your Basil?

My BaxAura Experience

With August (historically my worst allergy month) approaching and the need to take a Zyrtec ever so often increasing, I decided to give the BaxAura a try.  I am told it would take 1 visit to do the scan/treatment, and then 1 visit to follow up. I am not sure if they charge for the follow-up, but I figure Zyrtec isn't cheap either.  My visit today cost me $85. The price may vary from location to location.

The BaxAura operates in a similar way to the BioAllergenix system(which uses the Bax3000). Apparently, though, it tests for even more things than BioAllergenix, and it makes a homeopathic remedy for you to take home with you. I went today in hopes of the BaxAura being able to treat the little things that have fallen through the cracks with the BioAllergenix system. 

I am MUCH better than I EVER was pre-AAT/BioAllergenix with the environmentals. But I still feel the need to take a Claritin/Zyrtec ever so often. Especially because I don't want to operate on the "tough it out" mindset that may have had some role in getting me to the point of having so many allergies in the first place.  Trying to ignore the allergies and making my body fight and fight and fight just wore my immune system/adrenals out.  "Get tough or die" might have some truth to it....when you can only get so tough...

But I digress.


The first step of the BaxAura testing/scan was to have a cuff strapped onto my forearm. The cuff is similar to something you would use for a sprained wrist, only without the padding, and with little metal pieces on it much the size of the rivets on a pair of bluejeans. The cuff is hooked up to the system and the computer runs through the scan. This lasted under 10 minutes for me. (You can't have magnets or batteries on your person during the scan.)

After the scan, the machine pulls up how your body responded to each item scanned for, and the practitioner selects the items over 10,000 (I am not sure what the units are here).

Once the items are selected, then the laser is used the same as with the BioAllergenix/Bax3000 system. Forehead over the head and down the back with eyes open, forehead over the head and down the back with eyes closed, same with a full breath in, then the same with a full breath out, then at the points on the feet, arms and hands.

A homeopathic remedy was also made using the machine, specific to my needs after this treatment.  I got two, one for the regular treatment, plus one for my gall bladder issues.

I was to fast for 3 hours after the treatment, only taking in pure water(no flavorings or sweeteners). Then, starting tonite I use the homeopathics 3 times a day until my followup appointment.

One nice thing about this is, with the environmentals, it is not necessary to completely avoid them for the treatment to work. I think this is a definite plus compared to the Bax3000/BioAllergenix and AAT, because who can really avoid all that stuff in the air....anywhere, much less in a 100 year old farmhouse? Not being able to completely avoid things may be my handicap with the other systems....time will tell.

So far, I have gotten extremely tired, my jaw(self-diagnosed TMJ type issues) has acted up, and I had a little bit of heartburn for just a few minutes that quickly left (all at different times).

It will be interesting to see how well this works on my August allergies.



Oh, and as an aside--you know that Gluten-free pizza crust I posted about a few days ago and got a headache afterwards? Coconut came up on the list that needed treated. Listen to your body.