This past week my oldest daughter, Kellie, has been very sick. It started after she came home from girls camp. Fatigue, swollen lymph, sore throat, low-grade fever and ulcers in the mouth. It was awful. We thought it might be strep and decided to have a culture taken. The Dr. took one look at it and decided to do a test for herpes as well. It turns out that she did have an outbreak of cold sores. After a great deal of research we decided to try helping it heal the natural way. My sister is a Master Herbalist and so I called her for help with the swollen lymph. She suggested Mullein oil. I'm not sure that helped for this particular case but I've been using it for my hands and it seems to be soothing the excema. I have been using essential oils for years and decided that I would see what I can find. I used my trusty resource, "The Fragrant Pharmacy," by Valeria Ann Worwood. Sure enough she had a couple of formulas. We used this one:
Geranium - 8 drops
Lemon - 3 drops
Chamomile German - 6 drops
Tea Tree - 8 drops
Lavender - 5 drops
Luckily, all of these essential oils are ones I use a lot and I had them on hand. I mixed the oils, took out about 10 drops, added this to a small amount of water, added a bit of salt and had her swish this for about a minute. It was instant relief. It didn't take the cold sores away, but calmed them down and helped relieve the inflammation of the gums. Chamomile and lavender are both very soothing. I made a balm from a few drops of the mixture with an avocado butter base. I've also had her drink a cup of chamomile tea at least once a day. This also was very soothing for her. Now we just need to build up her immune system so this doesn't happen again!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Gluten Free Banana Muffins
This recipe originally comes from this blog. It's a very good recipe. I've changed it to have less sugar and no sorghum flour which I personally find to be heavy. This recipe is YUMMY!
1 Cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup light olive oil or coconut oil
1 C agave nectar (original recipe is 1 Cup brown sugar)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar (original calls for mild rice vinegar)
1 cup buckwheat or quinoa flour (original is sorghum)
1/2 Cup potato starch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Mix wet ingredients together. In a seperate bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. Place muffin batter in a muffin tin. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes.
1 Cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup light olive oil or coconut oil
1 C agave nectar (original recipe is 1 Cup brown sugar)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar (original calls for mild rice vinegar)
1 cup buckwheat or quinoa flour (original is sorghum)
1/2 Cup potato starch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Mix wet ingredients together. In a seperate bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. Place muffin batter in a muffin tin. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes.
Egg Pasta
This is another recipe that I found online but don't know the source. It's a good one!
1 C tapicoa flour
3 Tbs potato starch
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 lg eggs
1 1/2 Tbs olive oil
Combine flours, salt and xanthan gum. Beat eggs and oil. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add water if necessary. Roll out pasta as desired. Boil pasta 10 - 12 minutes.
1 C tapicoa flour
3 Tbs potato starch
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 lg eggs
1 1/2 Tbs olive oil
Combine flours, salt and xanthan gum. Beat eggs and oil. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add water if necessary. Roll out pasta as desired. Boil pasta 10 - 12 minutes.
Gluten Free Pizza Crust
I wish I could give credit to the blog I found this recipe on. I just don't know where I found it. I've changed the recipe slightly but not quite enough to call it my own. Sorry to the original poster! This is a really good recipe. Gluten free doughs are difficult to master at first because the dough is so different in texture than glutenous dough.
1/4 cup millet flour (I use buckwheat)
1 C brown rice flour
3/4 C tapioca flour
2 tsps zanthan gum
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs sugar (I use honey)
1 tsp sugar (honey)
2 1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 C warm water
2 Tbs ricotta cheese or cottage cheese or almond meal (my preference)
2 eggs
2 1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs honey
Prepare liquid ingredients and set aside. Proof yeast with sugar/honey and water. Mix dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. Dough should look like stiff cake batter, hold swirls and be shiny (not dull). Pre-heat pizza stone. Shape dough onto pizza stone. It works best if you use parchment paper under dough. Pre-cook pizza crust @ 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Add toppings and cook until cheese is the way you like it.
1/4 cup millet flour (I use buckwheat)
1 C brown rice flour
3/4 C tapioca flour
2 tsps zanthan gum
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs sugar (I use honey)
1 tsp sugar (honey)
2 1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 C warm water
2 Tbs ricotta cheese or cottage cheese or almond meal (my preference)
2 eggs
2 1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs honey
Prepare liquid ingredients and set aside. Proof yeast with sugar/honey and water. Mix dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together. Dough should look like stiff cake batter, hold swirls and be shiny (not dull). Pre-heat pizza stone. Shape dough onto pizza stone. It works best if you use parchment paper under dough. Pre-cook pizza crust @ 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Add toppings and cook until cheese is the way you like it.
Gluten Free Pie Crust
This is a really good pie crust!
1/3 C brown rice flour
1/3 C tapioca flour
1/3 potato starch (arrowroot would probably work for this but I haven't tried yet)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, chilled (I bet coconut oil could be subbed but haven't tried it)
1 egg
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Sift dry ingredients, cut in butter. The dough should hold together when squeezed. Beat egg w/vinegar and mix in dough. Form dough in to a ball. Roll dough out with tapioca flour. Form in pie plate. Pre-bake pie crust in a 450 degree oven for 18 minutes.
1/3 C brown rice flour
1/3 C tapioca flour
1/3 potato starch (arrowroot would probably work for this but I haven't tried yet)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, chilled (I bet coconut oil could be subbed but haven't tried it)
1 egg
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Sift dry ingredients, cut in butter. The dough should hold together when squeezed. Beat egg w/vinegar and mix in dough. Form dough in to a ball. Roll dough out with tapioca flour. Form in pie plate. Pre-bake pie crust in a 450 degree oven for 18 minutes.
Baked Meatballs
These are super yummy and versatile. I'm not even a big meatball fan and I love these.
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (soy or rice if you can't have casiene)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (gluten free bread or dehydrated potato flakes or ground gf oats)
1 lb ground beef
2 TBS finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp worcestshire sauce
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Shape in 1/2 inch balls. Place in ungreased baking dish. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes!
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (soy or rice if you can't have casiene)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (gluten free bread or dehydrated potato flakes or ground gf oats)
1 lb ground beef
2 TBS finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp worcestshire sauce
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Shape in 1/2 inch balls. Place in ungreased baking dish. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes!
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