Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Natural Rememdies

When Amber came to take care of Sam and Mae on Thursday, she ended up taking amazing care of me as well! One of the things I was very into when I lived in Chicago was "natural remedies." I pretty much dropped it after getting married and moving out to Colorado, busy with school and babies. But Amber has turned me back on to it. I am impressed with the body's ability to heal itself on its own (I haven't been given any antibiotics or even a pain-relief cream for the area - it's healing itself just fine. A few minor spots to keep an eye on, but no problems.) I think that's just amazing, since I certainly associate medications with any sort of surgery, no matter how minor. Besides the wonderful potato that brought my swelling down in a matter of hours, and the arnica cream that has helped the massive black eye shrink to almost nothing, Amber has suggested other natural remedies to help strengthen my immune system and assist in healing, as well as generally keeping myself healthy.
I was feeling a bit weak after the stitches were removed today, probably much more of an emotional reaction than a physical one. So I decided to have a power lunch - a lunch chock full of all the things I had learned about.

Amber gave me a recipe for tempeh with a dipping sauce that I knew I had all the ingredients for (always a plus!) After nuking the sliced tempeh for about 5 minutes to pre-cook, I fried it in peanut oil (plus some garlic. I heart me some garlic.) The dipping sauce was a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, seasoned rice vinegar, mirin and a few drops of hot chili oil. It was good but I overcooked the tempeh. I can see that it would make a tasty snack.
After sauteeing the beet greens in the leftover garlicly peanut oil, I topped it with Amber's dressing: some DHA 369 Blend (Omega Fatty Acids), Balsamic Vinegar, a generous squeeze of half a fresh lime, and a dash of salt. I have to say, that was a good dressing. I'm going to try it on a spinach salad tonight. Mmm. I think she should write a cookbook.
I added about 3 ounces of Aloe Vera (Gel & Juice, berry flavored) to the rest of my Synergy Kombucha (guava flavored) bottle for my drink.
After lunch, 2 TBSP of Probiotic Acidophilus (it has a yogurt texture and tastes of blueberry) finished up my meal. I feel full and full of energy, and it's about 3 hours later. Cool.

For anyone who's interested, here are some of the natural rememdies I'm trying:
Colloidal Silver: a natural antibiotic (we're excited to try this for Mae's ear infections. That and garlic should help keep her down to fewer than one a month! It's been suggested to me that constant ear infections are a sign of a food allergy, so we're going to run her bloodwork at her 3year and see.)
Probiotic Acidophilus: probiotics keep the organisms responsible for strengthening the immune system healthy and happy.
Aloe Vera
Omega Fatty Acids
Tumeric: a powerful antioxidant that is said to help prevent cancer. it's also a good healing agent, so I've been adding a dash of tumeric to my daily (non) petroleum jelly that I apply under the bandage. I also tried a tea; it was OK but I'll stick to my green tea for now.

1 comment:

Jenn said...

Your tempeh is really pretty! I've never precooked mine in the microwave before pan frying -- was it frozen?

Not having read up on the history of Mae's ear infections - do you feed her dairy or soy? They are both really common allergens and can lead to ear and throat infections. I had problems for over 30 years (as a baby, I was "colicky" so they switched me from dairy to soy - which I vomited but then slept for 2 hours -- that still happens with soy milk).

You can test for food allergies with kids - probably easier than as an adult (giving up dairy was painful but worth it to not be sick) - just cut out common allergens for a couple weeks and slowly reintroduce things.