Nutritional guidance
Published on Organic Gardening (http://www.organicgardening.com) How to Make Natural Easter Egg Dye An Easter without dyed Easter eggs wouldn't be much fun at all. And why waste money on artificial Easter egg dye, especially when you've already grown your own natural Easter grass and made a basket from recycled containers? Natural egg dye is easy to make using berries, vegetables, and spices, and you can create just about any color you want, from pastels to deep hues. The results vary from batch to batch, which adds to the fun in my book. In some cases you can have your dye and eat it, too! We will be having pickled red cabbage some night soon, with mashed berries over ice cream for desert. Even if you don't eat the dye leftovers, you can toss them in the compost pile. At our farm, eggs come in creams, browns, olive, and even pale blue-green—right from the chickens—so we usually enjoy those as is (you can dye non-white eggs if you enjoy the antiqued shades you will get). For clear, bright colors you’ll want to use white eggs. Store-bought eggs are ready to hard-boil as soon as you get them home, but if you buy eggs directly from a farmer, you'll need to wait until they're a week old. Fresher eggs haven't absorbed enough air to make an air pocket inside, and the result will be almost impossible to peel. Prepping Your Eggs Most folks I know dye hard-boiled eggs, but you can also blow the stuffing out of raw eggs and dye the empty shells. To blow a raw egg, you need either a heavy pin (a corsage pin is good) or a long, sharp needle, and a plastic straw (the kind with a bend in it). Use the pin to poke a hole slightly larger then the end of the straw in one end of the egg, and carefully remove the bits of shell. Insert the pin through the hole and stir the contents to break them up a bit. Hold the hole end of the egg over a bowl, insert the straw into the hole and blow into the other end to force air into the shell. This will cause the yolk to come out the same hole you're blowing into, which is why it's important to make the initial hole bigger than your straw. Rinse the inside of the empty shell and let it dry. Make Your Dye Most natural dyes will take longer to work than synthetic dyes—sometimes overnight—so be sure to allow sufficient time to prepare the dye and dye the eggs. Many common foods and spices make great dyes. Here are a few to start with, along with the resulting color: Yellow onion skins = Yellow to dark orange Turmeric or cumin = Bright yellow Red beets = Pink to red Red onion skins = Pale purple to red Red cabbage = Blue (strange, but true) Spinach = Green Purple grape juice (use as is) = Lavender Coffee (use as is) = Tan to brown Chili powder = Orange Raspberries or blackberries = Pink to purple Yellow or green apple peels = Yellow-green To make the dye, take 4 cups of chopped or mashed fruits and veggies, or 4 Tablespoons of spice, and boil them in 4 cups of water (use less if you're working with watery produce, such as spinach) and 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar. Let that simmer for 30 minutes. Then, strain out the bits of fruits or vegetables, and the remaining liquid is your dye. Have fun trying other items you may have around: If it’s brightly colored and stains your cutting board or fingers, chances are good it will stain eggshells nicely too. If the eggs have soaked overnight and the color still isn’t intense enough, carefully transfer the dye and eggs to a small saucepan and gently simmer them for up to 30 minutes. Add Designs While solid-color eggs are attractive, you can make some of your eggs a bit fancier with wax. Using a crayon or an old candle, make designs on the eggs before soaking them in the dye. The waxed areas will remain undyed. You can also wrap rubber bands tightly around the egg to achieve the same effect. Naturally dyed eggs will have a matte finish. If you want them to shine, apply a few drops of olive or other vegetable oil and polish with a soft cloth. If you plan to eat your colored hard-boiled eggs, store them in the fridge and eat them within a week. If you want to use them as decorations at room temperature for more than an hour or two, put them in the compost when the holiday is over. Farm gal, library worker, and all-around spendthrift Jean Nick shares advice for green thrifty living every Thursday on Rodale.com.
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Natural Allergy Remedies
By R. Morgan Griffin Reviewed By David Kiefer, MD If you have allergies, there are plenty of medications to choose from. But you may not want to take drugs that make you feel listless or wired. Or perhaps you’re tired of using nasal sprays for allergy treatment. Can allergy supplements offer an alternative with fewer side effects? Maybe, experts say. “Finding a good supplement for allergies can be a challenge,” says David Rakel, MD, founder and director of the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine Program David C. Leopold MD, director of Integrative Medical Education at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego, says some people are able to manage their allergies with natural allergy remedies alone, while others use them as a complement to drugs. Surveys show that almost half of all people with allergies try a natural allergy remedy. But you need to be careful. Depending on the type of allergy you have, some could actually trigger an allergic reaction. What Natural Allergy Remedies Work? Allergies are caused by the immune system’s overreaction to a harmless substance, such as animal dander or pollen. Like allergy medication, some supplements can help by blocking the chemical reactions that result in allergy symptoms. Here’s the rundown. · Butterbur. “Butterbur is the Singulair of the herbal world,” says Rakel. “I think of all the allergy supplements, it has the best evidence behind it.” The herb appears to work as a leukotriene inhibitor, which blocks some chemicals that trigger swelling in the nasal passages. Some research shows that an extract of butterbur root (Ze 339) are just as effective at relieving nasal symptoms as antihistamines like Zyrtec and Allegra. Butterbur has the advantage of not causing sleepiness, a common side effect of antihistamines, even some so-called “non-sedating antihistamines.” “For someone who is driving a car or flying a plane and really needs to avoid the sedative effects of an allergy medication, butterbur is a good alternative · Quercetin. Found in wine and many fruits and vegetables, quercetin may work as a mast cell stabilizer. It helps block the release of histamine that causes inflammation. “Quercetin is sort of the herbal equivalent to cromolyn sodium [in the over-the-counter spray NasalCrom],” Rakel tells WebMD. “The evidence is promising.” · Stinging Nettle. Often used as an allergy treatment, this botanical contains carotene, vitamin K, and quercetin. There’s some evidence that using stinging nettle after the first sign of allergic symptoms can help a bit. Be sure to choose extracts of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) leaf, not the root, which is used to treat prostate troubles. Despite its common use, however, there’s not much research backing up stinging nettle’s effectiveness as an allergy remedy. · Bromelain. Some studies have found that bromelain is helpful in reducing nasal swelling and thinning mucus, making it easier for people to breathe. It may be particularly useful when added to drug treatment for sinus infections. · Combination allergy supplements. A number of natural allergy remedies contain a blend of botanicals. Leopold singles out Sinupret, a combination of European elderflower, sorrel, cowslip, verbena, and gentian root. “It’s seems to be effective and well tolerated,” he tells WebMD, “especially for conditions like chronic sinusitis, which can result from allergies.” It’s been long used in Europe, and there’s some evidence that it helps treat the symptoms of bronchitis and acute sinusitis. · Other allergy supplements. People use many other supplements to treat allergies, including echinacea, grape seed extract, pycnogenol (pine bark extract), vitamin C, EPA, honey, cat’s claw, albizzia (Albizzia lebbeck), baical skullcup (Scutellaria baicalensis),goldenseal, and spirulina. However, research hasn’t found good evidence that they help. “These supplements might have other benefits,” says Rakel. “But if you’re trying to treat allergies, go with something else.” Allergic reactions. There’s another problem for people seeking allergy supplements: Many of the plants used for allergy treatment -- such as butterbur, echinacea, and several others – are distant cousins to ragweed. So if you’re suffering from a ragweed allergy, a dose of allergy supplements could theoretically make your symptoms worse. “I’ve seen people who come into our offices because their ragweed allergies are being aggravated by their allergy supplements,” says Rakel. “Usually, the first thing we do is get them off all the stuff they’re using. The human body doesn’t generally need a handful of supplements every day to stay well.” Whether you’re using an allergy supplement or a drug, you should plan ahead. Start taking a natural allergy remedy a few weeks before ragweed season starts or before your visit to the aunt with six cats. That way, you can potentially prevent the allergic reaction from happening at all. “By adding on a supplement like quercetin or butterbur, you might be able to take a lower dose of the prescription drug while getting the same benefits,” says Leopold. “And by keeping the medication at a lower level, you decrease the side effects.” |
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