Cold or Flu? Try these easy remedies . . .

Have you been sick and taken a sick day from cold, fever or flu symptoms? Can you afford to do that?? Lots of companies are taking sick days away from employees, so not only do we lose a day's work, we now are potentially lose a day's pay as well. In these tough economic times, we cannot afford time out of work for being sick.

When a sore throat, fever and stuffy nose gets you down, don't reach for the OTC medications. These only mask your symptoms and provides alot of sugar, alcohol and other chemicals. Instead, try some homemade teas such as ginger & cayenne tea or apple cider vinegar tea. These teas will clear your sinus passages and cleanse your blood. These remedies target the problem, not cover it over. Here's how:

Ginger & Cayenne
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled & sliced
1/4" slice of fresh lemon or lime - use juice if you don't have fresh
a bit of lemon or lime zest
1 tsp honey or agave nectar
Dash of Cayenne pepper - more if desired

Boil ginger in two cups of water for several minutes. Pour into a large mug. Squeeze the lemon or lime and add to the mug - drop the slice into the cup as well. Add the honey and cayenne pepper to taste. This is a very aromatic tea, which is sweet and spicy. It is very soothing on a sore throat and clears the sinus passages in no time.

Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Substitute the apple cider vinegar for the ginger. Boil the water only and add it to one ounce of apple cider vinegar in a mug with the remaining ingredients above. Drink, enjoy, feel better!

OR
Drink shots of straight apple cider vinegar every hour chased by a glass of water. This is NOT the most fun way to take the ACV, but it is effective, and it is quick. It is kind of harsh if you have a sore throat, but the initial shock of it is over quickly, and the benefit of getting rid of the sore throat in a matter of hours is huge. I would say enjoy, but I think endure is a better word for it.

Nighttime Trick
Rub wintergreen oil (or similar) on the bottoms of your feet and put your socks on just before bedtime. This clears your sinuses while you sleep. You will have not be losing sleep with a cold or flu using this trick. Sweet dreams!

Gardening - Eat Fresh, Eat Locally, Eat Seasonally!

Hello! What an awesome day it is today! The sun is shining, it is a little breezy and a balmy 28 degrees here in northern Rhode Island. A short, brisk walk is enough to enliven the spirit. Days like today remind you that winter doesn't last forever, and that spring is just around the corner. I love to garden and I can't wait to get my hands in the soil and get my garden going. I love to plant veggies and herbs and mesclun salad greens. There is nothing like a fresh garden salad with tomatoes warm from the sun. My kids eat them like apples right off the vine! Of course, I am an organic gardener, so no pesticides or herbicides or chemical fertilizer here!
Some of the perennial veggies we grow are asparagus, rhubarb, chives, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I will be putting in a few cranberry bushes this year as well.
We try new things each year to see what works best, so beets and kale are our two new ones this year for the first time. Our usuals are tomatoes (orange pear and and medium size heirloom variety), parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, a sweet and a spicy mesclun mix. I usually do peppers, zuchini, pumpkins and eggplants, but I don't have enough room in the veggie garden for everything. So, we are leaving those along with corn and broccoli to other local farmers this year.
In addition to the fruits and veggies we grow, we also have an abundance of fresh flowers we can cut and bring indoors to enjoy. We usually have fresh flowers in the house until late fall - almost to Thanksgiving! Then we cut a few boughs of holly and evergreens to bring in for the winter. Oh, good times ahead. Never a dull moment around here!
I have been an avid gardener for most of my life. I know alot about composting, vermicomposting and growing so if you have any gardening questions, please feel free to comment on this blog and I will answer the best I can.
I hope today's blog has given you inspiration to start planning your own gardens and think about how buying locally and seasonally can benefit you and your family. Eat fresh!!

Yummy Raw Food

Mmmmm . . . today we made some awesome salsa with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, red onions, fresh lime juice and kosher salt! Very simple and easy to make . . . enjoyed with organic corn chips.

Also made some nut pate for supper: It was made from raw cashews, raw almonds and raw sunflower seeds, red onion, celery, carrots and a bit of kosher salt, piled on top of a bed of fresh organic spinach, topped off with some black olives and sundried tomatoes, and a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yummmeeee!

I have had the flu this last week, so now that my taste buds are working again, the yummy raw food was a nice way to end the day. I haven't exercised this wee, so that gets me down, but I will be visiting my favorite chiropractor tomorrow and all will be right in my world.

That's all for now, enjoy!!

Upcoming Events

Celebrate St Patrick's Day
Sign up for the inaugural St Pat's 5K Walk/Run to benefit the Rhode Island Food Bank.
The 5K will start and finish on Smith Street at the RI Statehouse.

Saturday March 21, 2009 ==== Start 11:30 a.m.

St Pat's 5K is limited to 3000 participants.
Registered participants approaching 1800 as of March 5, 2009!!

St. Patrick's Day Parade follows the race.
For more information: http://www.stpats5k.com/