Use Fresh Herbs In Your Cooking

Many common herbs that you might use in cooking are well known for there healing properties. Using them in cooking is a great way to incorporate the healing attributes of natural herbs with your meals. Chances are you probably already use some herbs in your cooking like basil and thyme but experimenting with even more herbs can add taste to your dishes while improving health.

Cooking with fresh herbs is just as easy as using dried herbs. Just chop up a bit of the herb and season to taste. You will need to use about twice as much of the fresh herb than the dried. You may want to wait until the last 20 minutes of cooking to add the herb so the taste stays crisp. Herbs can be used to flavor any foods. Commonly used in pasta sauces, herbs can also be added to soups, oils, eggs and even desserts and drinks.

You can grow your own herbs in the garden on window sill and have fresh herbs all the time. Some grocery stores have fresh herbs right in the produce section and, of course, you can always find dried herbs in the baking section. If you grow your own herbs, you can freeze them or dry them yourself in a dehydrator to have for future use.

Here's some food and herb combinations that I like to use when cooking with fresh herbs:

Eggs with dill
Pesto with basil
Mint in any tea or punch
Parsley with salad
Rosemary and Thyme on oven roasted potatoes
Basil and sage added to flavor butter

If you have a special condition or illness that might be treated with herbs, then feel free to incorporate the herbs into your usual cooking. Start by adding a small amount of the herb(s) and taste - add more to suit. This is a great way to realize the healthy benefit of herbs without having to remember to take pills.

Lee Dobbins writes for pet and health related websites. Visit http://www.herbs-home-remedies.comfor more on natural home remedies and herbs. Dont forget to check their extensive article database at http://www.herbs-home-remedies.com/index2.html

Frugal Cooking With Herbs

Herbs are fun to grow and easy to use. Herbs can
be a frugal cook's best friend because they can
enhance even the simplest fare making it seem
grand! Herbs are easy to grow--you can even grow
them on your kitchen windowsill.

The addition of herbs can change completely the
flavor of foods-from homemade breads to soups,
stews and vegetables. And they can add variety
and excitement to your diet.

A beginner should use herbs with care, adding a little
at a time and adjusting to your own taste. Each herb
has its own individual flavor and certain herbs also
have well-known associations with particular foods.
Basil is often paired with tomatoes, rosemary with
lamb, chives with cream cheese and cottage cheese.

Fresh herbs are wonderful as garnishes. Herb vinegars
can be used in salad dressings, soups and marinades.
You can also add fresh herbs to mayonnaise or butter
for a different flavor.

Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several
days. A good way to freeze herbs such as basil, oregano,
and dill is to chop, place in ice cube trays, cover with
water and freeze. Then just add to stews and sauces
when needed.

Some easy herbs to grow are lemon balm, rosemary, oregano,
dill, basil, parsley, peppermint, lavendar, sage.
Of course, you can buy herbs to cook with at the
supermarket, also.

Here are some simple recipes to get you started
using herbs in your cooking.

Lemon Chive Dressing

1 clove garlic
dash of salt
Rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
and the juice
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Put the garlic and salt in a bowl and crush together.
Add lemon rind, juice and mustard, stirring until
smooth. Slowly whisk in the oil. Fold in chives
and season with black pepper, if desired.

This is a good dressing to pour over warm, cooked new
potatoes. Add finely chopped green onions.

Mint Iced Tea

Wash 8 sprigs of fresh mint, 12 inches long (any mint,
spearmint, peppermint, applemint will do). Place in
blender with 4 cups water and liquefy. Let it set for
about 1/2 hour and strain.

Herb Butter

1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons of dried herbs

Soften the butter to room temperature. Finely chop the
fresh herbs. Blend herbs and butter well. Store in
fridge.

Use to season vegetables, as a spread on bread, biscuits
or baked potatoes. Anywhere you normally use butter.

Here's something different: not really cooking, but a
recipe that you might find fun!
Basil-Lemon Facial Mask

Pulverize a handful of fresh basil leaves. Peel 1/2 of
an avocado and mash. Add avocado to basil in blender,
along with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon honey.
Mix until smooth.

Apply to clean face and leave as long as desired. Rinse
off with lukewarm water.

In short, you don't have to be an herb specialist to
learn to enjoy using herbs.


Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the bi-weekly newsletter
"1 Frugal Friend 2 Another", bringing you practical,
money-saving tips, recipes and ideas. Visit her online at
http://www.cynroberts.comto subscribe and receive the
Free e-course, "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".


The Mystery of DecantingdaniellaDecanting is a strange word to many people. Some do not even know what it means exactly. Taking the sophistication out of it, decanting literally means pouring the wine from the bottle to a special glass container. This is done in order to expose the wine to oxygen and enrich it.

What is the meaning of this process? Do all wines benefit from decanting or not?

The wine experts are not in agreement. Some say wine should be decanted in order to allow it to breathe and develop fully before consumption. Others claim decanting does not contribute to the quality of the wine.

So who is right? Well, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Decanting does seem to benefit certain wines more than others. Most red wines, except for the very aged and some white ones would definitely benefit from decanting 1-2 hours before serving. Young red wines, on the other hand, which are low in tannins, light and fruity, would not improve if allowed to oxidize. There are also wines that would actually suffer from decanting. Those are the aged reds. Their quality could worsen if allowed too much contact with air.

Another important factor in decanting is keeping the right temperature of the wine until its time to serve it. When it comes to white wine, one could easily place the decanter in a bigger bucket filled with cold water or ice. That would guarantee a crisp wine ready to serve and enjoy. However, when it comes to red wine, keeping the ideal temperature for serving is more difficult. The same technique as for white wine could be applied but with a minor difference - the temperature of the water in the bucket should be controlled by a thermometer. It may seem like a hassle but the exercise is well worth it.

Finally, a few words of wisdom - dont be afraid to experiment! Sooner or later youll be surprised to find that you also have an opinion about decanting which you could adamantly defend!

Natural vs. Synthetic Herbs & Vitamins -Four Mountains, Inc. Reveals WHOLE truth about holes in the Health Supplement Industry

Calabasas, CA Paper or Plastic? 1 ply or 2? The best, natural, conscious choice is obvious. When it comes to herbs and vitamins Natural or Synthetic? For those unclear about having the right to choose, Four Mountains, Inc. a clinical & research laboratory is unveiling unknown facts, stating that millions of people are buying incomplete imitation nutrition pills and are not getting the vital information or nutrients they need.

Virtually all vitamin companies buy their raw materials from similar and frequently made from the same handful of manufacturers. The vitamin products that line the shelves in stores are basically all made from the place, all using synthetic imitations of actual nutrients. These formulas that are sold en mass to the public, are not real nutrition...VERY UNDERREPRESENTED in ALL MEDIA, THIS MESSAGE NEEDS TO BE MAINSTREAM NEWS," states Dr. Ward Coleman,N.D. and President of Four Mountains, Inc. "This is about biological facts that humans need to recognize and respect. The human body requires hundreds of whole, functional nutrients and needs UNfragmented, WHOLE FOOD COMPLEXES to be healthy. Fragmented, crystalline, synthetic, non-FUNCTIONAL bits and pieces are not adequate to build health, that's a fact. Formulas that provide what the human body actually needs are very rare. The imitations are not adequate! Coleman explains.

Four Mountains believes the main reasons people buy vitamins & herbs are vanity and health. The anti-aging market continues to grow as millions of consumers learn to take more control of the aging process. Consumers are becoming aware of the power of preventative and natural homeopathic/wholistic ways to treat certain ailments. Scientists and consumers both continue to learn more about the connections between diet, nutrition, degeneration and disease. New nutrition discoveries are continuous.

Only whole food nutrition complexes made from a rich array of food concentrates can supply a spectrum of nutrition BEYOND SCIENCE. The formulas Four Mountains has been using for ten years, from Standard Process Labs., provide thousands of nutrients that no food chemist has been able to imitate, states Coleman.

For media requests, contact Stacey Kumagai - 818/506-8675 or mediamonster@yahoo.com . Get your FREE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT GUIDE from the #1 international supplier of Standard Process Contact Four Mountains, Inc. at fourmountains@earthlink.net or call 800-736-0904

Dr. Ward Coleman, N.D. is President of Four Mountains, Inc. - a clinical and research laboratory.

Herbs: An Introduction

The references for this series of articles is the authors personal knowledge and experience and the Internet. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including this header, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos.

I grew up as a kid during WWII, and we always planted a Victory Garden in the back yard, behind the Rose hedge. It was a goodly sized plot of ground, probably 30 feet by 40 feet, and over the years I became intimately acquainted with every spade full of dirt there.

Why? Well, because it was my job every spring from the time I was old enough to step on a shovel and plunge it into the ground to spade up that garden plot and ready it for planting. And I had to go into the chicken coop and get the chicken manure and spread it on the ground and spade it in, also. I started doing this by about 1941, when I was 5.

And over by the house there grew this veritable jungle of weeds. But, when you broke off a leaf and chewed it up it tasted pretty good. It was mint. Mint grows wild, in one form or another, pretty much everywhere. You may have some growing wild in your back yard right now? Some people call this an herb. I simply call it food. Its something we learned to eat and enjoy. And I learned how, when walking through the woods, to identify licorice root a fern, usually growing on old dead trees and enjoy chewing on it. Also probably classified as an herb, but I simply called it a food.

Every year Mom did the canning. She would can tomatoes out of the garden, carrots and peas out of the garden. And she would can fruit for the winter, some as whole fruit (peaches and pears apples went into applesauce and apple jelly). She canned mostly in quart jars for the foods, and in pint jars for jams and jellies. Apple jelly was special, though, canned in half-pint jars and it always had a leaf from the wild mint in the back yard on top of the jelly in every jar. And sometimes, as a special treat, it might contain a piece of licorice root for flavor.

There was more. We had parsley, sage, sheep sorrel, rhubarb and a few others growing pretty well cultivated in their own corner off the garden. Things Mom used to cook with, sprinkle a little here and there on the meat or vegetables. I guess you might call them herbs. We just called them seasonings or food.

When I grew up and went off in the world to seek my fortune, such as it was, I ran across more exotic foods in different countries I visited. Its been so long Ive forgotten most of them, but I remember from Panama stopping in at a little lunch counter buffet out in the wilds, a place where only the locals usually stopped. I learned that Yucca, a flowering plant native to the American southwest and most of Central America, in various types, is edible. At least the root of some varieties is edible. And I learned that deep fried Yucca root is not only tastier than French fries, its a whole lot better for you, too.

Some people may consider Yucca an herb, others a flower, and others a food. Im with both the flower and food groups. There are many different varieties of Yucca and several different varieties of Yucca Flowers. Not all Yucca is edible, but some of them are. And they provide nutritional values for us that we cant get from other food sources.

What Im going to be doing in this series of articles is examining some of these alternate food sources, some legitimately labeled herbs and some just foods, and explaining just what their essential food values are, how we use them as food supplements, and why we should use them thusly.

My references for this series of articles on alternative and herbally based foods are personal experience plus resources available through your local herbalist, at your local library, and on the internet.

Let me close this introductory article with a statement I have made at least a couple of times in other health-related articles of recent vintage. We are all different, so what works one way for me may work differently for you or may not work at all for you. The strong probability, if its herbs or other alternative foods, is that it wont hurt you, either, so keep on trying until you find that combination of everything that does work for you. Then stick to it and share your findings with the rest of us. Thats where knowledge comes from.

Loring Windblad has studied nutrition and exercise for more than 40 years, is a published author and freelance writer. His latest business endeavor is at
http://www.organicgreens.us or
http://www.organicgreens.ca presently under construction.

Herbs to help with menopause

Question : I HAVE been on an 80 per cent vegetarian diet for about five years now. I take spirulina regularly. Two years ago my period started to become irregular. It came twice in a month for two consecutive months. The medication prescribed by the doctor only helped to relieve the symptoms for only a few months. Am I approaching menopause? I am 43.

Answer : AS you are a vegetarian, the risk of getting not enough vitamin B12 is there as this vitamin is mostly obtained from meat and animal products. But you are on the right track supplementing with spirulina. Your irregular periods seem to indicate menopause.

A woman would normally go through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55 due to reduced oestrogen and progesterone production by the ovaries. The age varies according to several factors. One of these is body weight. Overweight people tend to menopause later. Common symptoms of menopause include amenorrhoea (absence of period), irregular periods like you are having now, increased or decreased flow, hot flushes, heart palpitations, low libido, tingling, chills, nervousness, excitability, inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, depression, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, headaches, muscle and bone aches, and gastrointestinal disturbances. There may also be changes in frequency of urination, stress incontinence, unwanted hair and drying up of vaginal secretions and vaginitis. If menopause has been confirmed by a doctor, you may try taking a herbal supplement to help women cope with menopausal symptoms. This is a safer alternative than hormone replacement therapy. A good herbal supplement should contain black cohosh, dong quai, soya, red clover and sage.

Black cohosh is effective in treating perimenopausal symptoms and those arising from a lack of oestrogen and progesterone, such as hot flushes and night sweat. It is anti-inflammatory and may help to relieve menstrual cramps.
Dong quai, also known as 'female ginseng', helps to restore balance in a woman's reproductive system by toning up the uterus, nourishing the blood and stimulating healthy circulation. Soya is high in isoflavones and is beneficial for menopause-related hot flushes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. Recent evidence shows that red clover helps improve heart health in menopausal women.

Sage is for digestive disorders associated with PMS and excessive perspiration especially at night.

The right way to take vitamins and herbs

Question : IS IT safe to take both vitamins (such as vitamins C, E and multivitamins) and other herbal remedies (such as saw palmetto and pumpkin seed) together daily? I have mild hypertension (140/90 mmHg) and digestive problems, such as bloating and flatulence. Could you give a proper schedule of taking vitamins and herbal remedies.

Answer : IT IS safe to take both supplements (such as vitamins C, E and multivitamins) and herbal remedies (such as saw palmetto and pumpkin seed) together with food daily.

But ginkgo, garlic and fish oil should not be used in patients receiving blood- thinning drugs such as warfarin. The consumption of these supplements also has to be discontinued prior to surgery because they can prolong bleeding time. There should also be a gap of three hours when taking other medications and herbal remedies.

Hawthorn, known as the "mother of the heart", is helpful for alleviating irregular heart rhythm and high blood pressure. Rosemary is a proven heart tonic which is high in calcium. It stimulates the circulatory system and pelvic region.

Typically, a healthy blood pressure reading is seen as being less than 120/80 mmHg. This level may vary according to age, stress levels and day-to-day activities.

Fish oil is important in managing high blood pressure as it lowers blood pressure, dilates blood vessels and inhibits platelet aggregation. Try a highly purified double-strength fish oil containing 65% omega-3 triglycerides. A probiotics supplement that contains both of the lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains of friendly bacteria will help reduce potentially harmful microbial enzyme activities in the intestine, thus alleviating digestive symptoms such as flatulence.

To help manage hypertension and flatulence, it is advisable to have diet that is high in fibre, complex carbohydrates, grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables, but low in animal products, processed foods and refined carbohydrates. Cut down salt intake and gas-producing foods such as beans. Avoid smoking and alcoholic beverages. Maintain an ideal weight to control blood pressure. Exercise regularly to improve cardiovascular fitness. Perform relaxation techniques such as yoga to manage stress. Do not talk while eating and chew your food slowly.

Update on Herbs

Personal Update - Do Not Download

Loring Windblad's HD crashed, with the loss of all current articles and all reference materials, on Sunday 27 March. Backups had not yet been created.

All references and articles will be recreated, but it will be at least another week before they begin appearing here, rather than beginning to be posted earlier this week.

Thanks for bearing with me and waiting patiently.

Loring Windblad's HD crashed, with the loss of all current articles and all reference materials, on Sunday 27 March. Backups had not yet been created.

All references and articles will be recreated, but it will be at least another week before they begin appearing here, rather than beginning to be posted earlier this week.

Thanks for bearing with me and waiting patiently.

Loring Windblad has studied nutrition, diet and exercise, for the past 40+ years. He is a published author, freelance writer and his latest business endeavor is at:
http://www.organicgreens.us