Good morning friends and family! Sorry that this blog is one day late. We had company from out of town last night and, well, you know how that goes. LOTS of chatting and catching up to do!
This weeks topic is celery tea & soda. Yes, thats right, celery tea, made from celery seed. We have to give credit to Alton Browns show "Good Eats" where he talks about celery soda and the benefits from drinking it. Well, being celery lovers that we are we decided to give his recipe a try...and to do some of our own research into this delicious and healthy drink.
Please remember that anytime you are consuming herbs you should always check with your doctor how it could interact with any medications that you are taking. We will discuss the benefits and warnings of consuming celery tea.
BENEFITS:
Celery tea has shown to help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, reduce arthritis paid, and inflammation due to gout. It has been used for thousands of years in India to treat liver disease, flu, colds, edema, and help with digestive prooblems.
** When I was pregnant I ate celery stalks when I had heart burn, followed by drinking fresh squeezed lemons in water...and it WORKED!!
Back to celery tea.... drinking tea has also been acredited to being a laxative & sedative. Celery seed also contains a substance called lutein, which may help prevent cancer and tumor growth. It may also help with muscle spasms & nervousness. It is a source of fiber, flavenoids, linoleic acid (which is an omega 6 essential polyunsaturated fatty acid. When we are deficient of linoleic acid we can experience hair loss, dry hair, and poor wound healing). But just like anything else if you have too much of linoleic acid, there can be negative side effects. For more information about linoleic acid go to http://www.linoleicacid.net/
WARNINGS:
Celery seed contains bergapten, which can cause your skin to become more sensative to sunlite and ultraviolet rays. It can aslo increase kidney inflammation, as well as cause uterine contractions & bleeding in ppregnant women! It can increase the levels of lithium in your body.
********If you are taking blood thinners such as Coumadin because celery seed contains coumarin (which is another blood thinner), consult your physician before starting a celery tea/soda regiment.
DOSAGE:
There are two celery recipes we are going to share today
1) CELERY TEA: 1 tsp celery seed (grind just before using it, fresh ground is always better), 1 cup boiling water.
Boil the water, turn the heat off add the tsp of ground celery seed, let steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the seed. You can enjoy up to 3 cups of celery tea daily.
******University of Maryland Medical Center advises not to consume more than 3 cups of celery seed per day, or 1 TBSP of ground celery seed.
2) CELERY SODA: Grind 2 TBSP of celery seed, set aside.
In a sauce pan combind 1 cup of honey, if you are allergic to honey you can use 2 cups table sugar, (Honey is the healthier option)!!! AND 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer and reduce to a simple syrup consistancy. Turn off the heat.
Pour the 2 TBSP of ground celery seed to the syrup, DO NOT MIX IN!!! Just sprinkle it on top. Cover with a tight lid and let steep for 1 hour.
After steeping, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or sieve into a heat save GLASS jar...throw away the celery seed remains.
Let cool completely. The syrup can remain in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 6 months.
Pour 2 TBSP of the celery syrup into a glass, add 8 OZ of club soda or selzer water. Add ice if desired. ENJOY!
Ed and I drink 1 glass a day. We stay under the max consumption recomended, yet enjoy just enough to take in it's benefits.
PRODUCT OF THE WEEK:
Ed's Happy toes Foot Balm. Ed developed this due to his own cracked heels. This is the ultimate foot balm for dry and cracked feet! Silky smooth, no alcohol to dry out your skin. It's rich texture and ingredients absorb into your skin leaving you feeling like you just stepped out from a pedicure! Let us not forget to mention that sweet birch essential oil gives it a sweet winter green like scent that smells amazing!
Ingredients: almond oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, essential oils, and glycerine.
4oz jar $16.00, includes S&H
Once again, we thank you for spending your precious time with us.
Have an energetic day!
Ed & Amy

Todays recipe: MAYONNAISE What you will need...a food processor (if you don't have one I hightly recomend getting one!) They can run anywhere from $30.00 - $300.00, for most purposes such as making mayonnaise, a $30.00 machine will do just fine!
A glass Ball, Mason, or Kerr jar with lid and ring. Ingredients include: 2 whole raw ORGANIC eggs, 2 TBSP of champagne vinegar, 2 TBSP of lemon or lime juice (must be fresh squeezed, organic prefered), 1 tsp dry mustard powder, 1 tsp mineral salt (himalayan, or a quality salt from a co-op), 1/4 tsp sugar (organic prefered), and 2 cups oil. We use either first cold press olive oil, or our favorite, grape seed oil. Olive oil gives it a more pronounced and heavier flavor than grape seed. You will find which works best for you. If you would like to add a little spice to the mix, try adding 2oz of a chili oil or a little chipolte powder!
In the food processor add the eggs, mustard, salt, sugar, vinegar, and juice. Pulse 5 times. Then turn the food processor on and slowly add the oil, in a steady streatm. The total time should only take about 3-4 minutes. Pour into the glass jar and cover losely with lid. Let stand in room temp for 4-6 hours. Refrigerate. Mayo will last up to 2 weeks refrigerated. We find in our house it doesn't last even that long, because it tastes SOOO good! Ed and I had decided to make our own mayo when we read the ridiculous list of ingredients, most of which were preservatives that allowing the mayo to have a shelf life of 6-7 months! Which brings me to our first topic......
Todays topic is going to be about: PRESERVATIVES Not to long ago my husband was visiting a mexican restaurant, the owner there was stating how excited he was because the flour tortillas he uses have a shelf life of 6 months! We were so sickened at the thought of eating something that can stay on a shelf for 6 months, just like with the mayo. I started to do research on common preservatives and here is what I found:

Butylated Hydroxyanisole, more commonly known as BHA, is a phenol-based food preservative that prevents food from going rancid. It is commonly added to cereals, potato chips, chewing gum and vegetable oils. The Center for Science in the Public Interest explains that BHA causes cancer in laboratory animals. As a result of these studies, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has labeled BHA as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/288335-the-most-common-food-preservatives/#ixzz2GejUuWY5

Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are commonly used to preserve meat products. Sodium nitrite has a number of properties that make it appealing as a meat preservative. Most notably, sodium nitrite prevents that growth of bacteria that cause botulism. Sodium nitrite also preserves the red color of many meat products and adds to the flavor of foods such as bacon and hot dogs. The University of Minnesota explains that under some circumstances, nitrites can be digested to form high carcinogenic compounds known as nitrosamines. While it is theoretically possible for nitrites to form nitrosamines, nitrites have not yet been shown to cause cancers in humans and are considered to be safe in the amounts used in cured meat products. Nonetheless, the Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends that people avoid nitrate and nitrite-containing foods until more is known about their carcinogenic potential.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/288335-the-most-common-food-preservatives/#ixzz2Gesl5y4J

TBHQ: One scary and toxic preservatives. First of all it is a form of Butane! And it's in our food! The FDA only allows 0.02% of the total oils in our food to be TBHQ. Now, this doesn't sound like a whole lot, and theres a reason for that. If a person (or animal) were to comsume a high dose (between 1-4 grams) of TBHQ it could cause nausea, tinnitus, delirium, and vomiting. Studies have shown the effects on children include hyperactivity, asthma, dermatitus, and rhinitis. For more information about TBHQ http://www.naturalnews.com/031318_TBHQ_food_preservatives.html

Not to mention that it is used to bleach skin!

And these are just 3 of the many that are out there. Yes, some are natural, but just because something is natural doesn't always mean it's safe. We all need to do our research to make sure what we are putting in AND on our bodies is safe. Which brings me to our first product of discussion.......................

Our product: Amy's Healing Salve

Our specialized formula is made from natural and organic ingredients with fantastic healing properties. In 2004 I (Amy) was searching for a product that didn’t have petroleum or artificial coloring to aid in the healing of tattoo’s. Unable to find anything I decided to make my own salve, using only the finest ingredients.
Our salve is great for healing scrapes, cuts, burns, tattoo’s, chapped lips, dry skin, and diaper rash. We also use it on our daughter each time after she has a poopy diaper. We have found she doesn't get a rash this way. And we use a high quality diaper that is recomended if you don't want/or can use cloth diapers. But that will be a topic for another time!
Ingredients include: *Bees wax, *coco butter, *lavender oil, olive oil, *rosemary oil, *tea tree oil, and *vitamin E.
*Indicates organic ingredients
1 oz tins are currently available for just $10.00, which includes cost of S&H. Please submit any orders to pnptradingpost@gmail.com Please allow 24 hours for us to respond to order request.
Thank you for spending your valuable time with us today! Ed & Amy