Holiday Tea Blend

Holiday Tea Blend

Recipe created by Lisa Purdy

Are you looking for a nice tea blend for the holidays? This blend is a favorite in my family and I have customers who request it every year. You can package this in a pretty jar with raffia ribbon and a cute label for the perfect gift. It is also wonderful to serve on those cold winter evenings, because it has no caffeine.

Mix together: ¼ cup cinnamon sticks (broken), ¼ cup fennel seeds, heaping ¼ cup crystallized ginger root (chopped), and 3 cups dried peppermint leaves. To make a cup of tea, use 1 heaping tsp. of the herbal blend to 1 cup of hot water. Steep 5 minutes, strain, and enjoy!

Cinnamon is antibacterial and anti-fungal. It helps to settle an upset stomach, comforting nausea and diarrhea. Also helpful for menstrual discomfort.

Fennel seeds improve digestion, expel gas, quiet hiccups, and prevents nausea. Useful for cancer patients after radiation or chemotherapy.  Fennel is a rich source of vitamin A, helping alleviate light sensitivity and improving night vision.

Ginger is most often used to stop abdominal, intestinal, and menstrual cramping. It is very effective to combat nausea from motion sickness or due to pregnancy. Ginger increases the circulation in the hands and feet...a cup of tea is a wonderful way to warm up!

Peppermint increases the oxygen supply to the blood, strengthening the whole body. It is a digestion stimulant, relieves gas and bloating, and aids bowel elimination. Peppermint is one of the oldest household remedies and forms the basis of many herbal tea blends.

Enjoy a cup of tea today! Better yet, find someone to share it with...Happy Holidays!

New Year’s Resolutions at Healthy Life Solutions

I have never been a big fan of making resolutions. After all, they usually last about a week and then you are done! I do however like to look back on the last year, evaluate, and set goals for the next season. Setting a goal requires having a way to measure it. So not a vague, “I want to lose weight this year.” But rather, list the exact amount you wish to lose in January. Something measurable and with a time limit. A due date if you will. Then you have to create a plan of how you are going to accomplish that goal. So maybe a plan to follow the Keto diet, or simply remove sugar and bread, or a list of new recipes to try. Have a plan or plan to fail, as they say.

My goal for the first week in January is to look at expiration dates. Firstly, in the spice cabinet. Most cooking herbs are recommended to last for 1 year to get optimum taste and health benefits. They won’t necessarily harm anyone after that year, but they won’t taste good either. What sparked this resolution? Well, an evaluation of the past year. At Thanksgiving I made deviled eggs and sprinkled them with paprika. It looked a little brown and smelled kinda like dirt, so I looked at the date. Yikes 2017! Really?! Ok, it is time to check all the spices dates in my cabinet. Throw out the old, make a list, and shop for fresh spices.

Need a second idea for a resolution goal? Check the dates on all your oils. Did you know that oils go rancid or bad in about 6 months? They have an extremely short shelf life. If you buy organic or better quality oils, they will go bad even faster than cheap oils. Why? Because they don’t have the added chemical preservatives. Rancid oil creates free radicals which lead to cancer. We don’t want that! One of the worst things you can do for your body is take in bad or rancid oils. Not only check your cooking oil dates, but your moisturizers, lotions, and cosmetics. Bad oils are absorbed through the skin too.

The nice thing about these resolution goals is that they can be accomplished in one afternoon! Start the New Year with a sense of accomplishment, knowing you have done something good for your health.

Happy New Year!

Lisa Purdy ND, MH