Turmeric and Ginger– Essential Ingredients in Delicious Sore Throat Remedy

I woke up with a sore throat. Not so good. But, not so bad — after a cup of this ancient Ayurvedic remedy that tastes delicious and makes me feel better instantly!

INGREDIENTS, per 1 cup

3 tablespoons half & half (from grass-fed cows)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh (peeled) ginger
1/4 teaspoon (dried ground) turmeric
1 teaspoon honey, preferably local

STEPS

Put all of the ingredients into a cup or mug.
Add boiling water.
Stir, sip and enjoy!

When you’re finished drinking, you will see that there’s ginger and turmeric left in your cup. If you pour boiling water into your cup, you’ll get a flavorful ginger drink!

NUTRITION NOTES

• Turmeric. Learn about the health benefits of turmeric — and when it might not be good for you, too.
• Ginger. Learn about the health benefits of ginger — and when it might not be good for you, too.

MORE RECIPES WITH TURMERIC

On my Pinterest board, Turmeric in Recipes, you can find hundreds of recipes that include turmeric:

Enjoy and be healthy!
~Leni

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Why I blog (written for the WordPress Blogging 101 course)

Sometimes, like today, when nobody but me seems interested in my latest blog post, I wonder why I bother to blog. But, of course, I know why I blog. I love the field of food/nutrition, and if I weren’t blogging I would be missing the joy of delving deeply into new research, creating recipes, crafting a post, taking photos — and finally pushing “publish” on WordPress.

Another reason I blog is so that I can keep track of my recipes in case I  want to make them again or share them with someone who asks for the recipe — or with my daughter when she’s finally interested in food/nutrition!

Before I started to blog, I kept my recipes in binders, and when that became too cumbersome, in folders. I find that a blog is is a more practical way to store recipes because the search feature at least gives me a chance to find my recipes. Note to self: The search only works if you use tags and categories — and remember them too!

Blogging also allows me to feel connected to readers from around the world — some of them old friends, family I know well, family I have yet to meet, and people I have never met who live just about anywhere on earth. Seeing the flags of all the countries my readers come from makes me feel that maybe my little bog is helping to make this little world of ours more connected and more human.

So I guess I really blog to feel more connected and more human.

~Leni

Dandelion greens + sauerkraut + dill + kefir make a great smoothie!

This green smoothie is not sweet but tastes great.  It’s loaded with probiotics (good-for-you bacteria) thanks to the  kefir and sauerkraut, and it’s chock full of prebiotic fiber (food for the probiotics) courtesy of the dandelion greens.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups cut dandelion greens
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut (from refrigerated section or homemade)
• 1 cup low-fat kefir
• 1 tablespoon (or more) fresh chopped dill

STEPS and SERVING SUGGESTIONS

• Just whiz all the ingredients in a high-speed blender! Serve and enjoy! Or pour into a glass bottle and store in refrigerator for up to a few days.
• Serve as an drink or soup. To get the swirled effect (shown in photo), pour some of the green smoothie into a bowl and then slowly pour in kefir, while using the blade of a knife to swirl the kefir into the green smoothie.

RECIPE NOTES + NUTRITION NUGGETS

• Does the smoothie taste a bit too bitter to you? Then use more kefir and choose a brand that tastes less tangy. Here’s a pic of my favorite not very tangy kefir.
• Yogurt or Kefir — Which makes your good gut bugs (probiotic bacteria) happier? Kefir — because it contains more probiotic bacteria — and more different strains of probiotic bacteria. The more diverse the microbiome in your gut, the more healthy your gut microbiome will be. And the healthier it is, the healthier you are!
• Do all sauerkrauts contains probiotics? No! Only those that do not contain preservatives and have not been pasteurized. Look for probiotic-rich sauerkraut, in the refrigerated section of the store or at the farmer’s market. But beware: Some refrigerated sauerkrauts have been pasteurized. Like this one!

• Can probiotics/prebiotics affect how you feel? Yes! New research says social anxiety might not be in your head, but in your gut!

Enjoy and be healthy!
~Leni