Herbal Chews

 Herbal Chews

Jo Francks MH

This past winter I have been experimenting with different herbal ideas to have available for travel or easy ways for kids to take their herbal supplements. One of the things I came up with is herbal chews. They are made with dehydrated fruit powder and concentrated herbal teas. It is a process to make these fun little bites but it is very rewarding.

Start by dehydrating the fruit you would like to use. I started with bananas because I had some that were just at the right stage of ripeness for dehydrating. I have used apples and other fruit as well. Dry the fruit until it is brittle. When it is cool blend it into a fine powder. Store this in an airtight container until you are ready to make your amazing herbal chews. Select the herbs you would like to use for the recipe. I first used echinacea. I made a decoction from echinacea roots using 2 tablespoons of the cut and dried root and 2 cups distilled water. Let the herb sit in the water for a couple of hours to soften then bring the water to a low simmer while covered. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes then remove from heat and let steep for an hour. Strain the liquid, return it to your pot, and on low heat with the lid off simmer the liquid down to ½ cup. This is what Dr. Christopher called a 7 power tea because it is ¼ the volume of what you started with which in this case was 2 cups.

When you have your herbal decoction complete you are now ready to make the herbal chews. Start with ¼ cup of the fruit powder and slowly add the herbal liquid stirring well as you go. Add enough liquid until it is a consistency to drop on the dehydrator tray in dollops using a teaspoon. You may use all the liquid or have some leftover. Add more powder if you have extra liquid. If you run out of your decoction you may add some water until you get the right consistency.  Drop the mixture by small spoonfuls on a solid dehydrator tray and dry them at around 105 degrees. This is a very small batch and will only make a few chews so feel free to double or triple the recipe. Once they are dry store them in an airtight container. They will keep for many months or longer.

Have fun experimenting with different herbs and fruits. I have made some with apple powder and concentrated ginger tea with some cinnamon to use for motion sickness while traveling. There are so many possibilities. It’s fun and exciting to get your kids involved in this. Kids love the chews and they don’t even have to know it’s good for them. 

Some other possibilities would be to use herbs for sleep and nervousness such as valerian, chamomile, or passionflower. Immunity herbs could include echinacea, elderflowers, and berries, calendula, or even garlic. For nutritional support, you could add rose hips, alfalfa, spirulina powder, or Jurassic Green powder. Hawthorn berries could be used for heart chews. There are so many possibilities.

Celery Juice

 Celery Juice

Jo Francks MH

There have been many books written on the benefits of juicing. Celery juice has become a superfood in the last few years. I looked through many of the books I have on juicing and learned a lot about the reasons why there is such a buzz around celery juice. Let’s start with one of the first books on juicing I was aware of.

N. W. Walker D. SC. in his book Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices praises raw celery juice for it’s high sodium content. He says, “The greatest value of raw celery lies in the fact that it contains an exceptionally high percentage of vital organic sodium. It is one of the chemical properties of sodium to maintain calcium in solution.” The organic sodium is needed to get rid of the inorganic calcium in the body from eating too much processed starches and sugar. Sodium is also involved in the elimination of carbon dioxide from the system. Dr. Walker states that combining different juices creates exceptional healing formulas. “When combined with other juices, the proportion of the elements in each individual juice is changed to correspond to the sum total of the similar elements in the other juices. Thus we get a totally different formula when juices are combined than when we have in any one of the juices individually.” Dr. Walker suggests using a combination of carrot and celery juices to help rebuild the nerve sheath and to overcome nervous afflictions. 

John Heinerman in the Encyclopedia of Healing Juices states that celery juice is good for blood poisoning. The high amount of mineral salts in celery make it very alkaline. The bacteria responsible for blood poisoning thrives better in acidic conditions than they do in an alkaline environment. The presence of celery in the body helps to dilute their potential harm. 

For eczema and psoriasis the author suggests using a mixture of celery, Swiss chard, and cucumber juices diluted with a little carrot juice.

The Juicing Book by Stephen Blauer teaches us that celery juice has a calming effect on the nervous system and that the sodium in celery juice helps the body utilize calcium more efficiently.

Jay Kordich is the man that played a big role in creating a juicing revolution with his juicing infomercials. In his book, The Juiceman’s Power of Juicing, he says that one of the best juices you can drink is made with one rib of celery combined with two apples to provide the proper sodium potassium ratio. He says that celery is a powerhouse of life-giving nutrition and is the best juice for anyone who works out because of its rich source of organic sodium. “When we sweat we lose a lot of valuable body fluids. How best to replace them in a matter of minutes? Drink celery juice - leaves and all!”

Anthony William, author of the Medical Medium book series, most recently has brought celery juice to a higher level. In his book, Celery Juice, The Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time, he recommends drinking 16 ounces of celery juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and wait 15-30 minutes before consuming any other food or liquid. The sodium cluster salts in the celery juice are said to help cleanse the liver, improve digestion, and help kill off pathogens. His suggestion is to drink the celery juice each morning for a month and notice the changes it makes in the body. He recommends drinking celery juice for many different ailments from fatty liver to eczema and psoriasis. 

Celery is more than an ingredient on a relish tray at Thanksgiving dinner. It is a medicinal powerhouse when juiced, giving the body nutrition and healing. 

Juice Recipe for Eczema and Psoriasis

4 medium sized carrots washed but not peeled

2 stalks celery

1 small unpeeled cucumber 

Small bunch Swiss chard

Wash all ingredients well and juice each one separately and set aside in different containers. Then combine everything together in a blender for one minute. Drink separately from meals.

Recipe from Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Healing Juices by John Heinerman

Black Walnut

 Black Walnut

Jo Francks MH

As I was recently raking up black walnuts that had fallen off the tree this fall I was thinking of all the different ways I have used the black walnut hulls through the years. This tree has been a huge blessing to me and my family. Each year I make up a fresh batch of black walnut tincture from the fresh hulls. I’ve used it on cold sores, athletes foot, skin disorders, and many other things. I am reminded each time I make a batch of tincture of the confidence Dr. Christopher had in the black walnut hulls when he was serving in the army. He was able to heal the horrible case of impetigo on a soldier's head with a crude batch of black walnut hull tincture made with rubbing alcohol.

This was the only time Dr. Christopher used rubbing alcohol for making a tincture because that is all he had available. David Christopher recommends using black walnut tincture to help get rid of Lyme disease. Black walnut is also used in the Candida protocol to kill the fungus in the intestines. It is also used to expel worms from the bowels. Making your own medicine is very rewarding, easy, and satisfying. 

To make black walnut tincture you can use dried balck walnut hulls or fresh ones. When making tincture from the fresh hulls wear gloves to protect your hands from turning brown. With a knife, remove the fleshy hull from the outside of the shell and chop it up. Add it to a jar and cover with 100 proof vodka as you go until the jar is full. Add the lid and shake for at least 2 weeks every day. 

Making tincture with the dried black walnut hulls is quite a bit easier. Use cut herb and fill your jar about half full with the herb and add 80 or 100 proof vodka to the top of the jar. Add the lid and shake every day for at least 2 weeks. Strain the tincture through a muslin cloth and bottle your tincture.

Black Walnut hulls can be used as a dye as well. It will stain whatever it comes in contact with. I have taken a fresh hull and rubbed it on a grey spot on my hair to stain it a nice amber color. Adding water to the powder to make a paste will do the same thing. It will also stain your skin so be careful. Because of the high tannin content it is used to tan hides and color fabric. What are some of your favorite ways to use black walnut?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knfpDm249A4&t=5s

Raw Apple Pie

 Raw Apple Pie

1 apple peeled and cored

1 cup dates

1 orange peeled and seeded

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Puree apple and orange in a blender. Add the dates and cinnamon. Blend until smooth.

Slice 4 or 5 Granny Smith apples or another tart apple very thin. Use a mandoline slicer for best results. In a large bowl mix the sliced apples with the pureed mixture.

Crust:

1 cup coconut

1 cup pecans

1 cup pitted dates

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbs. almond butter

Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until finely ground. Press the mixture into a pie plated.

Pour the apple mixture into the crust. Top with round apple slices with a walnut or pecan in the middle.

Dry Skin

 Dry Skin

Jo Francks MH

As the seasons change and the temperatures drop it seems to take the moisture right out of the air and out of our skin. The skin is the largest eliminative channel of the body. Dr. Christopher called it an extra kidney and an extra set of lungs for breathing. The health of the skin can help determine the health of the rest of the body. Proper elimination, nutrition, hydration, and exercise play a significant role in the health of our skin.

It is also important to consider what you are putting on your skin. The use of inorganic, unnatural, and heavily perfumed products can clog the pores as well as be absorbed into the bloodstream. Synthetic, tight clothing prevents the skin from breathing and eliminating toxins which can cause a buildup of toxins in the blood. 

To help your skin be the best it can be consider doing some regular cleansing programs to detoxify the body from the inside. Wear natural fiber clothing such as cotton, silk, wool, or hemp. Do dry skin brushing. Eat a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and drink plenty of pure water.

 

I love making natural skincare products and recently made a nice skin cream that feels wonderful on the skin. The main ingredient is grapeseed oil. I chose this oil for its antiaging and moisturizing properties. If you’ve never made your own lotion, this is an easy recipe with few ingredients which are readily available. The grapeseed oil can be substituted for olive oil if desired. 

Here is the recipe for Dry Skin Cream

Dry Skin Cream

This recipe requires the use of a scale that measures in grams and a hand blender.

200 grams grapeseed oil

25 grams coconut oil

37 grams beeswax

222 grams distilled water

5 grams borax

7 grams vegetable glycerin

Melt the oils and beeswax to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine water, borax and glycerin and heat to 160 degrees.

Slowly pour the water mixture into the oil mixture. Use a hand blender while pouring to emulsify.

Let cool and keep coming back and blending to prevent it from separating. 

Store what you aren’t using in the fridge. There are no preservatives in this cream. It is nice on the skin. 

Note: grapeseed oil can be replaced with your choice of liquid oil such as olive, avocado, almond, etc. These can be herbal oils you have extracted to add healing qualities.   

Fennel

 Fennel

Jo Francks MH

This is probably my favorite time of year as an herbalist. There are so many herbs ready to harvest. One in particular I have been watching and tending all summer is fennel. I have enjoyed the fragrance of the fennel plant each time I enter the garden. I nibbled on the feathery leaves, and when the flower buds came out, they were a very tasty treat.

I especially like the ideas I get about what I can do with the plants when I can spend time with them. I took the flower buds of the fennel and made a tincture that I will be using as a flavoring and for medicinal purposes. Fennel has a flavor similar to licorice and anise. It has carminative and antispasmodic properties so it can help expel gas and ease cramping in the digestive tract.

Fennel is often used for colic in babies and is part of Dr. Christopher’s Catnip and Fennel tincture. Fennel is also good for the eyes. Once while watching my daughter’s soccer game she got scratched in the eye and the coach called out “Does anyone have some Visine?” I went to my car to get my herbal eyewash and eyecup but remembered I had given my eyewash formula away. I had some catnip and fennel tincture in my bag and decided to use it in the eyecup. The fennel helps with eye problems and the catnip is soothing. I put a few drops of the tincture in the eyecup with some water. When my daughter washed her eye with this it helped take the pain away and soothed the eye. She was grateful I had given my eyewash formula away with the cayenne in it and said she liked the catnip and fennel better. 

The bulb and stem of fennel are often sold as a vegetable and can be juiced and used for headaches. Fennel is easy to grow and there are many varieties. It’s such a great time of year to harvest so many plants and flowers. Don’t forget to save some of the seeds to plant next year.

Recipe for Immunity

Recipe for Immunity

1 cup fresh echinacea root chopped (or ½ cup dried)

1 TBS dried elderberries

3 small sprigs fresh chocolate mint leaves (or any mint) chopped

2 small sprigs fresh thyme leaves chopped

¼ cup distilled water (approximately)

Vegetable glycerin

Dropper bottle

In a pint jar add all the herbs. Add water so it comes up about an inch. Add vegetable glycerin to fill the jar to the top so all herbs are covered. Secure the lid tightly. Shake daily for 2 weeks. 

Strain and save the liquid and compost the herbs. Fill a dropper bottle with the glycerite and use 1 or 2 droppers 3 times a day for the prevention of illness. If you have symptoms of an illness, take more often. 

Recipe by Jo Francks