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health – Page 5 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Tag: health

  • Good Girl Moonshine

    Good Girl Moonshine

    If you’ve got a hankerin’ for a strong drink or are trying to kick a soda habit, Good Girl Moonshine is a great homemade drink alternative to alcohol or pop! It is healthy and detoxifying, and a very healthy habit to consume regularly. Also, this time of year, it’s a great option for beating colds or flus, or, since it’s still sizzling in many states, the heat too!

    This is my own personal version of a recipe found on Trim Healthy Mama,  so feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own.

    The crucial ingredients here are the apple cider vinegar and ginger. Apple cider vinegar is one of the healthiest ingredients you can add to your diet. It boasts a multitude of health benefits, too many to list here! Perhaps most ideal for a sickness-beating/healthy habit forming drink, it boosts the immune system, healthy digestion and assists with weight loss. Ginger does much of the same, killing germs and viruses and promoting healthy circulation.

    I have added turmeric, green tea and raw honey. Turmeric is another incredible herb with powerful anti-inflammatory properties and can sooth sore muscles and headaches. Green tea is an incredible antioxidant, and raw honey has great antibiotic properties.

    Recipe:

    • 1 cup green tea or herbal tea of choice (hot or cold)
    • 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
    • ginger to taste
    • turmeric to taste
    • raw honey to taste

    Brew tea hot or cold, and once it is fully steeped, add the rest of the ingredients and blend. You can make a large pitcher and drink over a few days, just make sure to mix again before serving. Enjoy!

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  • A Seasonal Guide to the Farmer’s Market (Infographic)

    A Seasonal Guide to the Farmer’s Market (Infographic)

    I recently came across this infographic on how to find seasonal produce at your farmer’s market. I thought it was particularly useful this time of year as the season is changing and it can be hard to know what’s seasonal and what’s not.

    It was originally posted on Popsugar.com, and I thought the cool grid format made it easy to quickly check whether or not produce is in season. This is handy for a farmer’s market, because while plenty of actual famers sell the produce they have actually grown, these days farmer’s markets are growing in popularity and some people will show up with cheap, imported produce they have bought in bulk and sell at a marked-up price.

    Imported produce is not only less nutritious because it has spent time on a boat or refrigerated airplane, meaning that more time passes between harvest and market, but it can also be difficult to know if it is actually organic and it is almost always subject to harsh irradiation, meaning most of the nutrients are killed.

    Save this handy guide on your phone or print it out to bring to you next time you go to the farmer’s market so you can be an informed shopper!

    seasonal-produce

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  • How to Make Elderberry Syrup

    How to Make Elderberry Syrup

    Elderberries are a favorite for natural health enthusiasts, for their healing and soothing properties for colds and flus. Elderberry syrup is a popular way to consume it, and is far healthier that over-the-counter cough syrup full of chemicals, sugar, and drugs.

    They contain a high amount of vitamins A, B and C, which support the immune system and help fight off sickness. If taken before getting sick, they can help prevent an infection from spreading throughout the body, and if taken after getting sick they can help prevent the infection from spreading into the respiratory tract, making the sickness much worse.

    You can find elderberry syrup at your local health food store, but it can often be quite pricey. Making your own is a great alternative, it’s easy and far more affordable!

    What You Need:
    • ⅔ cup dried black elderberries
    • 2 Tablespoons fresh or dried ginger root
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon cloves or clove powder
    • 1 cup raw honey or maple syrup
    • mason jar or bottle
    • strainer
    Instructions:
    1. Put all the ingredients except the honey in a medium saucepan with about 3.5 cups filtered water
    2. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it should have reduced to about half.
    3. Remove from heat, and gently mash the elderberries
    4. Strain
    5. Let the mixture cool
    6. Once it is fully cool, and the honey and stir well
    7. Pour into a jar or bottle

    Keep your freshly made elderberry syrup in the fridge and take as needed. It can be taken daily as an immune-boosting supplement or when trying to prevent or heal sickness, although when you are sick, you will probably want to take or administer one does every 2-3 hours. A typical dose is .5-1 tbs for adults and .5-1 tsp for children.

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  • Fire Cider Recipe

    Fire Cider Recipe

    Fire cider is a great recipe for health through the winter and warding off colds and flus. You can take regularly or whenever you are sick, as a remedy. It’s an old folk recipe that has many variations, this is just one of course. If you know anyone who makes it, ask them how they do it!

    It takes a month to properly ferment, but once it is complete you can take it by the spoonful as needed or add to juice or even as a flavoring to chicken or rice dishes. It lasts a long time so make a big batch once or twice a year and see how many different ways you can incorporate it into your cooking or health routine. Those who make it generally rave about it so give it a try and see how you like it.

    Ingredients: 

    • 1/2 cup grated ginger root
    • 1/2 cup grated horseradish
    • 3 tbs grated turmeric root or 1 tbs powdered turmeric
    • zest and juice from 1 lemon
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 large hot peppers, chopped
    • 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
    • 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 tbs dried rosemary
    • 2-3 cayenne peppers or 1 tbs cayenne powder
    • apple cider vinegar
    • raw honey

    Recipe:

    Note: you will probably want to wear gloves while preparing this, and have your kitchen well-ventilated! If you are sensitive to onions and peppers, you might even want to consider covering your face and breathing carefully while you chop the onion and peppers.

    1. Prepare all your ingredients, carefully, and place them in a quart-sized jar.
    2. Cover with the apple cider vinegar. Stir all the ingredients vigorously.
    3. Place a piece of thin cloth over the top, and secure the lid over it.
    4. After a month, strain out the pulp and pour into a bottle or jar. Make sure to arefully squeeze all the juice out of the pulp.
    5. Once in your bottle or jar, stir in the honey. Add as much or as little as you like to get the desired sweetness
    6. Keep in  your cupboard and use as desired!

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  • DIY Vapor Rub Recipe

    DIY Vapor Rub Recipe

    Cold and flu season are no fun, especially if you are experiencing bad congestion that makes it difficult to sleep, breathe and go about your daily business. Vick’s is the classic remedy for terrible congestion, but it’s actually petrolium-based, which is pretty much as bad as it sounds. Who wants to add carcongens to an over-the-counter cold remedy?

    This natrual and homemade alternative is not only much safer and healtier, it also smells even better and is more effecive. Also, if you make the initial purchase of these basic ingredients, the essential oils will probably last for years of many recipes. A little bit of this healing rub goes a long way, too!

    Here’s how you make it:

    Ingredients: 

    1/2 cup olive, coconut or almond oil

    2 tablespoons beeswax (pellets are easiest to measure and use)

    20 drops eucalyptus essential oil

    20 drops peppermint essential oil

    30 drops camphor essential oil

    Small jar with lid (an old baby food container or something similar works really well)

     

    How to Make It: 

    1. Fill a shallow, small skillet with about half an inch of water and place on the stove.
    2. Measure out your oil and beeswax into your jar. Put the lid aside for now
    3. Place the jar in the skillet and put your stove to low
    4. Keep an eye on it as the water heats up; the beeswax will begin to melt
    5. Once the oil-beeswax mixture is totally melted, carefully remove the jar from the skillet
    6. Add all of your essential oils to the jar and blend, using a popsickle stick or some other disposable utensile, as beeswax can be very hard to clean off regular metal spoons or forks
    7. Place the lid on the container and set the jar aside to cool
    8. Once it has cooled, it’s ready to use!

    How to Use:

    You can keep your jar of vapor rub in the cabinet just as you would any other balm or ointment. It will last virtually indefinitately. When you are sick, apply a modest amount to chest, back and feet. It can cause a bit of a hot/cold sensation though, so you might want to try just a little bit at first to see how much you can handle and then apply more accordingly.

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  • Food That Magically Re-Grows Itself

    Food That Magically Re-Grows Itself

    I recently found this awesome infographic on Pinterest that depicts several foods that can regrow themselves, no garden needed! It’s from WholeFoods.com. Most of these you can do on your counter, windowsill or on your porch, and it’s a great way to re-use scraps from vegetables (which, if you’re shopping at Whole Foods, will probably have cost a lot!)

    This is also a fun idea for winter. As your garden dies out, you can grow celery or what have you on your countertop! Not to mention, this would be a great little science project for kids, especially homeschoolers. Why should the learning and gardening stop because the weather gets cold?

    Enjoy!

    food-that-regrows

     

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  • How to Make Bone Broth (Video)

    How to Make Bone Broth (Video)

    This time of year is perfect for bone broth. It’s finally cool enough to have something cooking in your kitchen for a long period of time, and odds are, if you raise animals and are slaughtering some for the winter, you’ll have lots of extra bones lying around. Bone broth is a great way to use up these bones, and it’s incredibly nutritious as well. As flu and cold season rolls around, you’ll be glad to have a nice supply of hearty,  nutritious broth to help you heal. But it’s healthy on a daily basis too, and you can use as a base for other hearty winter dishes like soups, stews, casseroles and sauces.

    This helpful video details how to make it, it’s quite simple!

     

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  • Nutritional Supplements for Off-Grid Homesteaders

    Nutritional Supplements for Off-Grid Homesteaders

    Most people associate homesteading with healthy living.  This isn’t without cause, most homesteaders have a higher level of physical activity than those living a typical modern sedentary life, fresh and air and sun, and a more direct relationship to their food.  But homesteaders, especially off-grid homesteaders, will be functioning off of limited resources, and this will sometimes include their access to nutrient-rich foods.  When your homestead is not able to supply your nutritional needs your body is going to suffer, if your body suffers, your output suffers, and if your output suffers it will inevitably follow that your homestead will suffer.  This is a list of a few supplements to consider for your nutritional needs to keep you healthy and your output high, so you can keep your homestead growing.

     

    Daily Multivitamin

    It wouldn’t be a homestead if it didn’t have a garden, but your garden might not be supplying all your nutritional needs.  Even a well-established garden with a well-rounded crop selection will still slow it’s production in the winter.  And even those who preserve a lot of their garden’s produce will still not be eating the same amount of vegetables in the winter that they did in the summer.  A simple daily multivitamin can fill in the gaps for you, and when stored properly will last.

    Green Powder

    For all the reasons discussed above, you might not be able to get your body’s required level of fresh greens.  And while daily multivitamins can supply you with vitamins and minerals, there is more to food than its sum of FDA daily recommended nutrients.  Powdered greens can last you throughout the year, because your body doesn’t need less greens during the winter.

    Protein Powder

    Protein powders are not just for weight lifters; everyone needs protein in their diet.  If you are not getting enough protein your muscles will waste, you will lack energy you need to work, and you will have an increased risk for infection.  For times when your protein needs are not being met by your homesteads food supply, a protein powder is a quick solution that lasts without refrigeration.

     

    Your homestead will only be as productive as the work you put into it.  Likewise, the amount of and quality of work you are able to put into your homestead will only be as much your body can handle.  Keep your body functioning at its optimal level so that you can get the most out of your homestead and the most out of life.

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