Coffee and My Calamitous Affair, Revisited
Dandelion Coffee jar on my front porch in Northern NY, USA
In August of 2014 I wrote a post on Coffee and my calamitous affair with it. Refresh your memory here: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/blog/2014/7/19/my-calamitous-love-affair-with-coffee
Moving forward a few months and seasons:
April 19th, 2015: My calamitous affair with coffee has continued, on & off. Who can resist the smell, the taste, the sensation in the mouth, throat, and belly? Ah, so tasty, warm, and soothing (well, soothing until the caffeine hits my system exactly 15.2 seconds after the first sip!).
I have tried many, many coffee substitutes and I have to say all may have been tasty in one aspect or another but all have never, ever, replicated the coffee experience (caffeine jitters aside, of course!). One has to enjoy them on a different level and not be thinking of them as coffee or you will be utterly disappointed.
On our family trip to Jamaica, April 2015, I find the most amazing, tasty, and coffee like drink ever: Sunburst's Products Dandelion Coffee. I picked up a jar at the Kingston Airport as we were preparing to depart Jamaica. I had no idea what I was buying as I obviously had not tried it. My thought was this: "If this stuff is even remotely tasty, it will help with my detox off the Blue Mountain coffee that I drank every morning at 6 AM. Seriously, despite my calamitous relationship with coffee - caffeine, what person in their right mind is going to say no to Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee? When in Jamaica, do as the Jamaicans do! (Thank You Mr. White at Great Huts Ecological Resort in Boston Bay, Jamaica. What a great man he is, greeting me every 6 AM with a "Good Morning Miss Paula, the coffee is ready. Where is Eli? I bet Jake is still sleeping!" All words said with the kindest twinkle in his eye. Mr. White was the person, while off work duty, he jumped to fix me up with a local remedy poultice to soothe my bee stung foot. Hugs to Mr. White for making awesome Blue Mountain coffee every AM and your sincere Jamaican kindness!)
So now I am home and must detox from coffee OR:
- put up with caffeine side effects every day
- suffer the caffeine withdrawal headache for a day or two
I opt for the wean down off coffee detox plan:
- 1st morning: 3/4 coffee, 1/4 dandelion coffee
- 2nd morning: a 1/2 & 1/2 blend
- 3rd morning: 3/4 dandelion and 1/4 coffee
- 4th morning: 100% dandelion coffee in my cup
Here is what I found upon brewing the dandelion coffee:
- smelled awesome, very coffee like
- looks dark and rich, how I prefer my coffee
- let's taste the stuff! I was not disappointed but pleasantly surprised! Dandelion Coffee is by far the best "substitute" I have ever tasted. I think, if I was given a cup and not told that it was not real coffee, I would not know and believe I was drinking coffee! I would soon be curious as to why the caffeine effects were not quickly kicking in.
When my current jar gets low, I will be ordering more and hoping the product becomes easy to find here in the USA. http://www.sunburstproducts.com/our-products/
Got Seasonal Allergies Healing Hint:
If seasonal plant and pollen allergies tend to drag you down, try this:
- 1/4 tsp. of raw, local honey every AM & PM. The honey must be cold extracted from the comb to preserve the properties that will ease your allergy symptoms. If the comb was heated up, as this makes it so much easier to extract the sticky honey, the heat cooks the enzymes, nutrients, and immune healing factors that help to ease seasonal allergies. Sometimes the challenge with this is stopping at 1/4 tsp. Think of it as mind-body-soul healing medicine where truly more is not always better!
- Stinging nettles. Most healers recommend freeze dried nettles in capsule form (You can find Ecclectic Institute's freeze dried nettles at Nature's Storehouse, Canton, NY). If you have stinging nettles around you, consider yourself fortunate, and indulge in your healing wild garden's bounty. Please be considerate of the plant and leave plenty for re-growth and to prevent soil depletion. With your nettles: make tea, make pesto, gently stir fry or steam.
My quart size bottle of medicine! This jar lasts a very long time. Local, raw honey is widely available in Northern, NY. Check farm stands, the Potsdam Food Coop, Nature's Storehouse in Canton, Martin's Farm Stand, and Garden Share's Local Food Guide for more local sources.
Burdock Root
Ah, burdock, that annoying plant that sticks those prickly balls on clothing after a romp in the woods and fields. This plant, that creates burr seeds, is a healing blessing, despite those barbed 'lil balls!
As a kid, I fell into a large clump of burdock plants while romping in the fields. Those burrs make an amazing mess in long hair! Surprisingly, as an adult, I do not avoid them.
Burdock can be utilized in a number of herbal remedies to aid in digestion. The root is bitter, stimulating the liver, and therefor aids in digestion, enhances absorption of nutrients, and supports your whole digestive tract and colon with the elimination of wastes.
Burdock root, along with dandelion and nettle, are amazing, healing herbs to use in liver conditions. The liver plays a huge role in removing toxins from your blood, producing bile to digest dietary fats, metabolizing hormones to maintain hormone balance in your body, stores excess carbohydrates, in addition to many, many other functions.
Nourish your liver and heal many "dis - ease" symptoms. Nourishing the liver is useful in: skin conditions, liver conditions (obviously), hormone imbalances, allergies, infertility, headaches, migraines, digestive problems, chronic gas, constipation....
Need help with herbs for healing? Give me a call. As an herbalist, I love to help with herbal healing! pyoumell@gmail.com
Why do I tell you this? I love burdock. It makes a yummy tea, it is fun in soups and stews, and I just added a pile of it (grated) to my next batch of fermented veggies. I am curious to see what burdock will add to the final fermented product's flavor!
The brown grated veggies on the top are burdock.
This is a pile of burdock roots, graciously given to me by Dan Kent of Kent Family Growers. He knows I love burdock! I have used over half of my burdock gift already. My liver is feeling ready for spring and pollen season!
On fermented veggies: I asked Steve, of The Cheese Maker, if cheese cultures could be used in enhancing the fermentation of veggies. This kind man did a 'lil research and got right back to me.
Our conversation via emails:
Me: Can any of the cultures you sell be used as a sauerkraut starter? Thanks, Paula
Steve: I'll also do a little research and let you know what I find out.
Me: Thanks!
Steve: Hi Paula: Some research I found on Wikipedia and other scientific sites show that some of the same species of bacteria that make cheese are similar to those that make sauerkraut, though the sub species are different. I'm not a biologist, so I do not know how this will affect the flavor of the kraut. Only way is to make a small batch and see how it turns out. As long as the pH is similar in the end product, it is at least safe to eat. The below link is a culture which has similar bacteria, though not sub species. If you make a test batch, let me know what you find out.
Nourishing the Liver
Simple Liver Nourishment “Cleanse”
Liver Nourishment is important. We hear much about doing liver cleanses but is the liver really dirty? I am certain I would prefer to think of my liver in a more positive and health giving way. This amazing, large organ does much to filter my blood, digest my food, and contributes to way too many bodily processes to write them all here.
Liver cleansing / nourishing has benefits for your health and longevity. A healthy liver helps to maintain balance in the female reproductive tract and helps to keep female hormones balanced (All body hormones!). Think of it as nourishing your liver, fortifying it with the nutrients it needs to do its blood filtering, digestive, and many other jobs well.
I will share with you a very simple way to nourish the liver as it goes about its non-stop job of filtering your blood. Spending a few days focusing on nourishing this important organ is a good way to prevent disease and heal your body. Love your liver with whole foods, liver specific herbs, and relaxation. While relaxing, visualize your liver as being healthy, clean, vibrant tissue!
Raw food fast for 3 days: Eat local, seasonal berries and fruit in the AM. Add raw nuts and seeds to this fruit to up the fat and protein content of your diet and keep your appetite satiated.
At lunch and your PM meal: eat raw vegetable salads and raw nuts and seeds.
Get motivated and sprout some raw nuts and seeds or whole grains to add to your liver nourishing diet.
Try raw, fermented veggies as a fun, “extra” food while nourishing the liver.
Enjoy raw avocado as healthy fat and satiating food.
Life Stage Consideration: when we move into older years, feel your body out. Are you feeling dry frequently? A harsh “liver cleanse” is not recommended in older years, think menopausal years including the years of transitioning from having periods to not. In these years, our bodies are drying out. We need to nourish and keep things juicy, no harsh detoxes, but learn to sweetly nourish your liver and whole body health. With Love 💕, of course.
Holistic Love Caution for Your Blood Sugar & Beta Cells: If you are pre-diabetic, diabetic, or have any metabolic syndrome – blood sugar issue, keep your intake of fruit at a conservative level and eat more vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
If you have diabetic tendencies, do not do a “juice or herbal tea only” liver cleanse.
Raw root veggie and cabbage slaws are great in fall and winter for the raw, seasonal veggies. Want a recipe? Email me: pyoumell@gmail.com
AM or PM nourishing liver flush: Drink this tasty little beverage before eating any food; just mix together and drink it up! Or you can drink it just before going to bed.
juice of 1 whole lemon, (I know, lemons are not local… work with me here!)
1-2 tsp olive oil
pinch of unrefined sea salt
You can use this simple liver flush in the PM and/or the AM. I have clients who drink it in the AM because they drink their Essiac detox tea at night.
Detox Liver Nourishing Infusion: Purchase an ounce of each of these herbs: cut burdock root, cut dandelion root, nettle leaf, dandelion leaf, red clover blossom.
Every evening heat 1 quart of water. When the water is simmering, turn to very low heat and simmer 1 Tbsp. each of the burdock and dandelion roots for 10 minutes. Be gentle, not a rolling boil, but a very gentle simmer to preserve the nutrients. Always simmer and steep with the cover on the pot.
Have 1 Tbsp. each of the dandelion, nettle, and red clover ready to use. After the ten minutes, shut off the heat and add the herbs to the pot, stir to get the herbs wet, and then cover the pot. Let it sit over night to steep and create a medicinal infusion. In the AM, strain the herbal infusion into a quart canning jar. Press the wet herb mash very well to get all liquid out of the herbs. Drink 3-4 cups over the course of the day. Sip slowly while relaxing and meditating on your liver and vibrant cellular health. (As opposed to standing at the kitchen counter and guzzling down 8 ounces of this medicinal tea infusion.)
Relaxing habits when doing a liver nourishing cleanse: Drink plenty of fluids throughout your day; get much good, restful sleep; always eat in a calm environment (without screens) and chew very slowly and thoroughly; yoga; massage; relaxing by the fire or under a favorite tree (this is a seasonally dependent behavior!) while reading a good book…the point is for you to nurture the whole you and make your liver feel at peace and loved. Get outside and move your body. This increases circulation to your liver and every body cell for better delivery of nutrition and oxygen and better removal of waste products. You get a good dose of fresh air and natural light while outside! And remember, as my son Eli said when he was only 8 years old: “Just lift the corner of the clouds and the sun is always shining." You do get natural light, for better mood and sleep, even on cloudy days!
When to nourish the liver: Ideally, nourish your liver 4 times a year: at or around the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. I recommend doing the winter liver nourishment after the December holidays, for obvious reasons! (Spring is a good time to start to get a step ahead of seasonal allergies.)
Milk thistle is a good herb to take for liver nourishing and rebuilding. It can be added to the above liver nourishment herb infusion. Using milk thistle in capsules, tinctures, and infusion form are also good options as a single herb or as a combination herbal formula with turmeric and perhaps ginger…
Taking milk thistle for a couple of weeks after a three day nourishing cleanse can help to nourish and rebuild the liver. You can make milk thistle into a medicinal infusion mixing with stinging nettles. Again, simmer the milk thistle seeds, very gently for 10 minutes, shut off heat and add the nettle leaves. Let the infusion “tea” sit over night to brew and steep.
Love your liver; nourish your liver.
Nettles and Red Clover
Dandelion root, flowers, and leaves
Burdock root and plant