Invasive Weeds You Can, and Should, Be Eating – Easy Foraging

If you’re a gardener, the single most time-consuming thing you probably do for your greens is to weed them. Unless you have a killer raised bed setup, the odds are good that your wimpy garden plants won’t be able to withstand the onslaught of weeds perfectly optimized to thrive in the conditions you’ve created.

Watching your kale get overrun by chokeweed is enough to make the most seasoned gardener despair, but what if the way you are thinking about these garden nuisances is actually completely wrong?

Weeds aren’t always bad. Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously proclaimed that weeds were simply misunderstood, as “…a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered”. Though it might be hard for you to match his candor, the truth is that there’s a lot to like about common weeds that few of us are aware of.

As it turns out, weeds have far more benefits for our health than you can imagine.

Garden Weeds: Even Healthier Than Your Vegetables?

It takes a tremendous amount of effort to get garden plants to produce food. No matter how carefully you try to coax your tender plants to thrive, the odds are good that without some significant effort on your part, the close-growing weeds will soon take them over. While it’s easy to hate weeds for their effortless abilities to overwhelm your hard work, the truth is that the scrappiness of weeds is part of what makes them so special.

To understand this, keep in mind that every garden plant once started as a weed that was carefully grown over centuries until it came to resemble the plant that it is today. Fruits got bigger, inedible seeds got smaller, and unpleasant bitterness in leaves slowly became reduced. However, as the traits humans enjoyed best slowly became more prominent, the biggest benefits of these plants – their nutritional content – was slowly weeded out.

Wild plants don’t get the benefit of careful gardening to keep them alive, so they’ve adapted to defend themselves. For this reason, weeds are often full of phytonutrients, essentially an “arsenal of chemicals” that helps them fend off diseases and predators. While the bitter taste they produce often keeps the hungry away, these chemicals are full of health benefits for humans that help them fight off diseases like heart disease, dementia, and even cancer. Filled with vitamins and mineral levels that regular vegetables can’t compete with, garden weeds are truly more nutritious than supermarket greens. If you want the easiest, most efficient way to fill your diet with foods as close to nature as possible, chomping on wild weeds is a great place to start.

Types of Edible Weeds

The complete list of edible weeds is far too vast for any web article, but this list of common weeds from around the world should get you started.

Clover

You’ll find yourself lucky in a patch of clover even when four leafed varieties are nowhere to be found. Red clover is full of the phytoestrogen genistein, a substance that has been studied to treat colon and prostate cancers. While you might have to compete with the honeybees for your supply, raw clover can be chopped into salads or sauteed with other greens. However, there is some concern for pregnant women. Studies have shown that the large amounts of the phytoestrogens in clover may increase your risk of breast cancer and possibly birth defects.

Lambs Quarters (Goosefoot)

Young, tender, and very versatile, lambs quarters can be used as a substitute for spinach in any recipe. This is great news for salad lovers, as lambs quarters peak right when spinach is winding down for the summer. Loaded with vitamins A, C, and K and full of calcium and protein, you are actually better off eating this wild spinach over the cultivated variety. If you are filled with patience, the seeds from lambs quarters can also be collected and cooked as a quinoa-like grain filled with 16% protein.

Dandelions

Though you might cringe at the sight of their sunny-hued flowers blanketing your lawn, dandelions are actually nutritious and surprisingly delicious when used well. In fact, European settlers first brought the dandelion to the U.S. for use as a salad green. One cup of raw dandelion greens contains well over your daily needs of vitamin A and vitamin K.  The best ways to eat dandelions tends to be raw in salads or dried into herbal teas. For those feeling a little more adventurous, the yellow flowers can be breaded and fried for a tasty snack.

Catnip

Not simply a treat for cats, catnip actually has some fascinating health benefits for humans, too. Native to Europe, catnip easily grows around the world and makes for a great herbal tea that encourages relaxation. The mild mint flavor is tasty when snacked on raw or sauteed with other greens

Plantain

Though it has little resemblance to the tropical fruit with the same name, plantain weeds grow all over the world and make for a stellar medicinal plant that can be used topically to soothe skin ailments like rashes or burns. Even better, the younger leaves are tasty in salads and can be steamed, boiled, or sauteed. If you take the time to harvest the seeds, they can be ground into a nutritious flour that’s great for baking.

Bamboo

Though bamboo’s versatility has been put to use on everything from flooring to kitchen cutting boards, few people are aware that this fibrous plant is also edible. Often described as tasting like corn, bamboo shoots can be harvested when they are less than two weeks old and added to your favorite stir fry. Simply peel off the outer leaves and cut the tender middle into one-eighth inch slices before boiling them in an uncovered pan for twenty minutes. After the bitterness has been boiled out, you can eat bamboo any way you choose.

Garlic Mustard

Though it’s highly invasive throughout much of the world, garlic mustard originally came from Europe. The flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots of garlic plants make them great for weight loss and controlling cholesterol levels, and their faint garlic scent makes them a tasty addition to any dish. You can harvest garlic mustard all season long, but the tastiest roots need to be collected in the early spring.

Green Amaranth

Similar to lambs quarters but with a more mild taste, green amaranth is also known as redroot, pigweed, and wild beet. Because of the detergent-like qualities of the saponon on raw leaves, green amaranth is best cooked before eating to eliminate the strange aftertaste. For this reason, it’s often best to serve green amaranth with a stronger tasting vegetable to offset its mild flavor.

Watercress

There’s no avoiding the high price tag of watercress in classy grocery stores, but you can harvest it yourself for free. This weed can be found throughout the U.S. Adding it to your salads is a foolproof way to boost up your daily antioxidants.

Kudzu

While “the weed that ate the south” is a symbol of despair for millions in America, this voracious plant is actually edible itself. Simple to make into jams and jellies and tasty when the flowers are pickled, there’s a lot of ways to experiment with this tricky vine. Commonly used as a digestive aid in China, you can also chop up a cup of kudzu leaves and boil them for thirty minutes before drinking the health-infused creation.

Mallow (Cheeseweed)

Common to see in yards around the world, mallow is a blessing for adventurous eaters to enjoy. Both the leaves and seed pods are edible and can be enjoyed steamed, boiled, or raw as a salad green. Mallow is full of vitamins and minerals that make it useful as an herbal medicine, especially when used as an anti-inflammatory, diuretic, or laxative.

Purslane

If you only choose to eat one weed from your garden bed, purslane should be the one. This succulent looking plant grows close to the ground and in between the cracks of the sidewalk. If you find some, you’re in luck. This juicy, lemon-tasting green is filled with omega-3 fatty acids. It is tasty eaten raw, cooked or blended in a smoothie. Because every part of the plant can be eaten, you won’t have to worry about shoving it all in your mouth at once. As an extra benefit, purslane consistently produces a bumper crop of edible seeds, which can be used for baking. All you need to do is dry out the seeds for several weeks on a sheet of plastic before winnowing out the tiny, black seeds.

In Summary

The benefits of spending your summer days wrist deep in garden dirt cannot be underestimated, but there’s a lot you can do to enjoy fresh grown produce without the effort. Garden weeds are equipped to thrive where your vegetables suffer, and most of them actually contain more vitamins and minerals than conventionally grown produce. If you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of these long-valued “famine foods”, give your garden weeds a try and see how they make you feel. You might be amazed at the results.

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Elderberries for Winter Health – With Elderberry Syrup Recipe

With wintertime comes cold and flu season and a general strain on the immune system. Our bodies work harder to regulate temperature in the cold, our immune systems are taxed, and we spend more time indoors in close quarters, exposing ourselves to a variety of illnesses. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to lend your immune system a helping hand, and one of my favorites is the elderberry.

The berries and flowers of black elderberry not only have immune boosting properties, they are highly nutritious and make an excellent cold and flu remedy. This is a good plant to become familiar with for your winter health, whether it’s found in the wild or the vitamin aisle of your grocery store. It will quickly become one of your go-to natural remedies. They are aptly named Elder, with an extensive record of their use in cultures throughout history. Evidence of use has been found in Stone Age archeological sites. Sambucus nigra, the plant’s scientific name, appears in the writing of the ancient Greeks.

Elderberry as Medicine

Elderberry can be taken as a natural medicine in many forms, including tinctures, syrups, extracts, and lozenges. The berries can be used as a dietary supplement in the form of jam, syrup, and a variety of beverages. It is important to note that unless fully cooked, the berries contain compounds that can be toxic, so never eat them raw.

Elderberries are very nutritious, with high levels of phosphorous, potassium, antioxidants, and vitamin C. They contain anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties and offer overall support for the immune system.

Taking elderberry daily is an excellent preventative measure during cold and flu season, and taking elderberry as a treatment will shorten the duration of the flu and relieve the swelling of nasal passages accompanying a head cold.

The diaphoretic properties of elderberry induce sweating and assist in breaking fevers. Hot spiced elderberry wine was a common winter beverage in London, which is not surprising as hot elderberry broths are a traditional preparation for winter wellness. Topically, elderberry can be used as a poultice to reduce inflammation. This plant is truly a natural medicine chest.

Wildcrafting Elderberry

If you live in an area where black elderberry grows wild, you can gather the berries when they are ripe in the fall. It works best to take garden pruners and clip off the sprays of berries at the base into a bucket or basket. Pulling the berries off the stems takes some effort, but if you get a few people working together it turns the work into fun. I have actually had friends bring their elderberry harvest to a party, and by the end of the evening, everyone was joining in to help them. Once off the stems, you can freeze the berries in quart freezer bags to use throughout the year.

I like to simmer elderberries down into a syrup to take by the spoonful as a cold season supplement or to pour on pancakes. You can also preserve elderberry syrup, jam, or jelly in glass jars using basic canning instructions. I am a big fan of the Pomona’s Pectin recipes because they allow for alternative sweeteners in varying amounts. Additionally, elderberries make a delicious wine, and can be brewed in a tea with ginger for making a winter kombucha.

Growing Elderberry

Elderberries are fairly easy to grow in your backyard from seeds or starts, and they make an attractive landscape plant that is beneficial for wildlife. (Don’t worry, there will be plenty of berries to share!) You can plant whole berries in pots after harvesting in the fall, and with consistent watering, they will sprout into starts that can be planted early in the spring. They also propagate well from cuttings.

Native plant nurseries have them available as potted starts in many areas, and they should be able to give information about successful planting tips for your USDA zone.

Elderberries generally like well-drained soil and plenty of water in the first couple of years to get established. They can be planted as a hedge or single shrub, and under the right conditions, they can grow into small trees. Another benefit of growing elderberry in your yard is that bees and pollinators love the flowers. You really can’t go wrong with native plants.

A Simple Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Of the many forms to incorporate elderberries in my winter health regimen, syrup is by far my favorite. There is just something comforting about rich, purple elderberry syrup on a cold day or when you are feeling under the weather.

You can purchase these syrups already made as dietary supplements, or you can make your own. If you don’t have access to fresh elderberries, many bulk herb companies sell them dried.

Local honey lends a little sweetness to the tart flavor with the added benefit of antibacterial properties for your immune system. This tried-and-true recipe is very simple and stores well with refrigeration.

Ingredients:

    • 1 cup black elderberries
    • 2 cups water
    • up to 1 cup raw honey

Put fresh, frozen, or dried black elderberries in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. If you are using dried, you may want to slightly increase water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes. Strain berry pulp through a sieve or cheesecloth and discard. Stir honey into the remaining liquid, once cooled to around 100°F.

You can keep the syrup in the refrigerator up to 3 months, or can it in small jars following instructions in a canning guide. Take as a daily immune boosting supplement or enjoy on pancakes as a delicious and healthy treat!

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Personal Care Recipes With Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been used since ancient times for its remarkable effects on skin and hair. It is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which is the reason coconut oil is used as a major ingredient in many cosmetic soaps and creams and even used in preparation of many dishes and salads in Asian countries.

Coconut oil is a natural and safe alternative to chemical-laden products.

Natural Homemade Hair Conditioner

Coconut oil is the best alternative to your chemical based conditioner. It will make your hair soft and shinier.

Ingredients

  • 1 – 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 2 – 4 drops of essential oils (rosemary, sage, peppermint, vanilla, geranium, lavender, eucalyptus or grapefruit)
  • Something to cover your hair

Instructions

  • Heat a small amount of coconut oil until it liquefies and then add essential oils and mix the two.
  • Apply the oil directly onto your scalp and gently massage.
  • Comb the hair to make sure the oil is evenly distributed throughout the hair. Cover your hair for some time with a shower cap.

Chemical Free Face Moisturizer Recipe

Coconut oil has moisture-retention property and that’s why it can work as a natural moisturizer. Moreover, applying it will also keep your skin soft and smooth and well-hydrated.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons of shea butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil
  • 2 – 4 drops of essential oils

Instructions

  • Heat coconut oil.
  • Add shea butter
  • Add vitamin E oil and essential oil
  • Mix

You can apply this mixture to your skin to enjoy the benefits of coconut oil.

Coconut Oil Lip Balm Recipe

Although applying unrefined coconut oil to your lips is good enough to keep the moisturized, the following is a simple way to make a lip balm using coconut oil.

Ingredients

  • 1 – 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon of beeswax
  • 1 – 2 drops of essential oils

Instructions

  • Warm your coconut oil till it turns liquid and then add beeswax to it. Allow the beeswax to melt and then add few drops of your favorite essential oil.
  • You can store this on-the-go lip balm in small containers and carry them wherever you go.

Homemade Toothpaste with Coconut Oil

Coconut oil’s anti-microbial property makes it efficient enough to buzz off the bacteria and germs in your teeth.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil
  • 4 – 6 tablespoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of powdered stevia
  • 15 – 20 drops of essential oils

Instructions

  • Heat the coconut oil to make it soft but don’t allow it to turn into liquid.
  • Now add baking soda, essential oil, and stevia.
  • Mash all the ingredients together and then whip it till it turns light and creamy.
  • You can store this mixture in a jar and use it as your daily toothpaste.

Coconut Oil Salt Scrub Recipe

For keeping skin soft and smooth, nothing quite compares to a warm bath and this coconut oil salt scrub!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup of Epsom salt
  • 1/2 cup of dead sea salt
  • 15 – 20 drops of essential oils

Instructions

  • Heat the coconut oil till becomes liquid and the add salts and essential oils to it.
  • Mix well all the ingredients and then store it in a glass jar.
  • You can use this once a week and then soak yourself into warm water to make sure the body gets nourishment due to these ingredients.
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Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

This is more than a detox article. This is a lifestyle article. If you want to be disease free, vibrant, and truly healthy, it’s time to develop continuous detoxification habits that you do daily.

A very thorough detox can be expensive and challenging to complete. Some people who are very sick, or otherwise very toxic, need this kind of detoxification protocol, but most don’t, and most cannot afford to spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on supplements. The good news is that with the right habits, anyone can detoxify all the time without doing a “detox” that takes up all of your time, energy, and money.

The trick to detoxifying without fasting is to eat foods that help you to detoxify the body, and to drink plenty of water. Even better than water, here’s a recipe to kick off your detoxification protocol.

Reated: How To Heal Your Gut

Cranberry Lemonade Recipe

  • Glass gallon jar
  • Safe, clean, spring water or distilled water
  • 1 cup of unsweetened, organic cranberry juice, not from concentrate
  • 3 organic fresh lemons
  • A citrus juicer
  • Liquid stevia
  • Liquid cayenne

Fill the jar to about 85% capacity with spring water (or distilled water). Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into the water. Add cranberry juice. Add stevia to taste and then add cayenne to taste. The amount of cayenne used is up to you, but the more the better.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

If you don’t have access to a good source for spring water, use other clean, drinking water that does not contain fluoride. If you don’t have access to organic lemons, use conventional. Fresh is best. If there are no fresh lemons, use organic bottled lemon juice. If you can’t get cranberry juice that is not from concentrate, get the reconstituted kind (just don’t get any kind of cranberry juice that has any other ingredients like sweeteners or other juices). If you can’t stand cayenne, don’t use it. No glass jar? Use plastic.

Since it’s cranberry season again, if you have a blender, try whole cranberries instead of juicing them. You can also throw in some of the organic lemon peels, as much as you can stand to taste. (Only organic. Don’t use peels from conventional lemons.) It’s pretty sour, but it has lots of benefits.

If you have powdered cayenne and/or powdered stevia, I recommend using a blender to mix some of the liquid with the powders so they don’t settle later.

The lemon juice will help flush the liver. The cranberry juice will help flush the kidneys. If you drink a lot of it, every day, you will feel an amazing difference in your health and vitality. This recipe is a far better choice for most people than the Master Cleanse.

Salad Recipe That Detoxifies

Produce detoxifies. Fresh, whole, raw vegetables, herbs, and fruits pull toxins from the body, repopulate healthy, beneficial gut bacteria, and give the body the nutrients it needs including enzymes and other phytonutrients that are almost non-existent in most modern diets.

Try to eat a huge salad every day with lots of greens, plenty of other colors, garlic, cilantro, ginger, and more. Check out this salad recipe.

The Salad Base

  • Spinach
  • Arugula (I prefer baby arugula, mature arugula tastes funky)
  • Collard Greens (they’re very bitter; use sparingly)
  • Lettuce (mix it up, try an organic spring mix)
  • Kale
  • Beet greens (the tops of beets)
  • Red cabbage (thinly shred like a slaw or a little thicker, depending on the texture you prefer)
  • Rainbow chard

Shredded, Grated

  • Carrots
  • Zucchini
  • Beetroot
  • Diakon (or other radish)

Chopped or Diced

Extras

  • Pomegranate seeds
  • Olives
  • Raisins or dried cranberries
  • Sesame seeds
  • Ground papaya seeds and/or ground pepper
  • Avocado
  • Eggs (try soft boiled)
  • Beans (black, pinto, kidney, green, garbanzo, etc.)
  • Garlic
  • Turmeric
  • Chia seeds

It’s not an exact recipe, and it doesn’t have to be. Mix it up. Try new things. My salads generally have about 15 ingredients. Make them big; make them diverse. Just imagine you’re in nature, not modern society, and all you have to eat is nothing but a wide variety of the best, whole, fresh, healthy vegetables and herbs. This is what a big salad a day can do for you: it’s life changing.

I throw in chick peas or a three-bean salad combination. If you’re not vegan, try a sheep feta cheese with this salad, and throw on some eggs. It’s good with meat, too, like chicken or steak.

Don’t ruin it with a crappy salad dressing! All this salad needs is a little balsamic vinegar (apple cider is better, but I don’t like the taste as much in my salads), or some fresh lemon juice or something. It doesn’t take much.

Daily Habits for Constant Detoxification

  • Breathe in deeply, fully and properly
  • Eat a big salad every day (I make seven every Sunday)
  • Drink lots of cranberry lemonade every day
  • Bodyweight squats every day.

That last one is more important than you may think. We expel more toxins through our skin and breathing than we do through bowel movements and urination. Get up, sweat, get your heart rate going, and breathe! I recommend bodyweight squats because it’s an important movement in nature (we used to squat a lot!), and it helps detoxify the body as you do them. Practice good form of course, and build up slowly. Start with 20, take a day off, but get up to 100 a day.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Imagine that. 100 squats, a big huge salad, and a gallon (or so) of cranberry lemonade every day. If you can do it, you will reverse and set back disease for many years and feel amazing. When you are detoxifying, stick with the salads, squats, and lemonade. When you’re not, just fill in the rest of your diet with unprocessed, whole foods (organic whenever possible) and you’ll be healthier than anyone you know.

That’s pretty much my secret to good health. I make an 11 cup salad every day, I drink a gallon of cranberry lemonade every day, and I do squats. Sometimes I juice, but it’s done with lots of turmeric and ginger, and it’s not very sweet. I do enjoy an ultra healthy smoothie, and I put in lots of “superfoods” (I kinda hate that phrase, but, oh well), with Total Nutrition Formula.

When I need to go through a serious detox, I typically throw in SF722, Blood Detox, and some probiotics.

If you’re suffering from serious illness, or you know it’s coming soon if you don’t change your habits, this protocol will bring you to another level in health, but at some point you may want to do a more serious protocol that targets all of the elimination organs, and seriously address your gut health.

If you’d like to see some more recipes (and if you want to make your own tinctures and teas for your detox):
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5 Cost-Effective Ways To Home Container Gardening – DIY

Container gardening allows you to anyone to garden at home without the need of a big, spacious area. You can set up your garden on your patio, balcony, deck, porch or inside your home, anywhere you like as long as there is enough air and sunshine for your plants. Container gardening not only maximizes your space, it offers cost-effective solutions to growing organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices right on your own doorstep.

Here are five ways to save money as you create a container garden.

Big Cans and Plastic Bottles

How much do garden pots, containers, and planters cost today? Depending on their size, style, and material, they can range from $5 to $100 each. But you don’t really need to spend money for your plants to have their own shelter. Your cans or tins at home, big or small, are a great alternative. Baby formula cans, food cans, and all sort of metal containers are perfect. Of course, you will use large cans for big and tall plants (ex. tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and fruit trees) and small containers for smaller types (ex. basil, parsley, rosemary, mint, and onion).

When it comes to plastic bottles, you need to cut them in two for horizontal hanging garden and just take off one side for a vertical hanging garden. The best seedlings to transfer to these plastic containers are spinach, lettuce, and other leafy vegetables.

Note: Do not forget to create holes on the back base of the cans and plastic bottles to avoid water clogging and for the plant’s roots to breathe well. Use a nail and a hammer to make a few holes, about 10 to 15, just enough to cover the base.

Animal Manure

Animal manure is a great source of nutrients and organic matter to improve the quality of soil, and of course, to increase plant production. Just to highlight, the manure from grass-eating animals like cows, goats, horses, and buffalos, contain almost all of the nutrients that your plants need including nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, iron, and calcium.

Note: Make sure to dry the manure before putting to your potted plants. Otherwise, flying insects will feast on it.

Compost Pit

Aside from animal manure, compost is also a great fertilizer for your plants. And, you don’t have to source other materials so you can create one. All you need are dried leaves, wood ashes, fruit and vegetable peels, kitchen leftovers, and other biodegradable waste.

Get a large can. Put the compost ingredients alternately with the soil as the base. Leave this compost for 3 to 6 months for moderate to full decomposition. When decomposed, you can use the compost as a fertilizer. And, unlike animal manure, you can just go ahead and spread it around the plant’s base.

Note: Always provide adequate moisture to the compost so that the microbes will continue to break down the particles. In order to determine the level of moisture, get a long and thin stick, push it towards the can’s base, and then, pull it off quickly. Feel the compost soil on the stick and see if it is moist enough.

Human Urine

Like animal manure, human urine is full of nutrients promoting plant growth. It has nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. And, if ever you wonder if it’s actually safe to store your urine in a chamber pot, especially at night as you wake up and pee — it is. Human urine is free from any health risks unlike human feces, which can carry E. coli and salmonella. In fact, the International Space Station astronauts drink urine after a purification process.

Note: Human urine has a pungent smell, so before you start using your chamber pot, make sure that you put water to it, 2 to 3 inches high. The water will help neutralize the bad smell. And, after dispensing the urine to the plants, clean your chamber pot using a laundry washing powder and bleach. This will effectively remove the urine stains left on the chamber pot.

Recyclable Plastic Wrap or Paper

To protect vegetables and fruits from scratches or insect bites, wrapping is very important as soon as they appear. Food wrappers and old newspapers are perfect wrapping materials. Just use a stapler to close the wrap’s opening.

Note: If you use food plastic wrappers, clean them using soap and water, and then let them dry beforehand.

So, who says you need to spend money in order to start or maintain a container garden at home?

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35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to Household

It wasn’t that long ago when we were told saturated fats were bad for us, that they clogged the arteries. Well, new studies have shown that was a myth; coconut oil is good for your health. Common sense should have told us this a long time ago. After all, societies that eat a lot of coconut are populated with some of the healthiest people on the planet.

Now that we are no longer afraid to include it in our diet, we have found we can eat the meat, drink the water, turn it into milk, and squeeze out the oil. Every part is a great source of nutrition. But that’s not the only benefit.

Coconut oil is also antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. It has a world of uses. Here are a few:

Coconut Oil and Body Care

  1. Oil pulling. Swish a tablespoon or so of coconut oil through your mouth for 15-20 minutes the first thing in the morning. This is a great practice for oral health and many claim other health benefits as well (oral health recipes).
  2. Brush your teeth with it. Use it plain, add a few drops of essential oil (peppermint, cinnamon, tea tree, oregano), or make your own DIY toothpaste.
  3. Use as a carrier oil. Most of the essential oils are too strong to use full strength. They should be diluted with a carrier oil and coconut oil works very well for this purpose. Just add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice to a tablespoon of coconut oil and rub it on your skin (essential oils for infections).
  4. Use as a moisturizer. Plain coconut oil is great for the skin. It is said to lighten dark spots and help prevent stretch marks.
  5. Make-up remover. Removes all make-up, including eye make-up.
  6. Diaper cream. Use on baby’s butt!
  7. Hair conditioner. Rub it into dry hair and leave it in for a few hours (shampoo conspiracy).
  8. Use as a shave cream.
  9. Use as a deodorant (deodorant recipe).

Coconut Oil and Health Care

  1. Nail fungus. Add 5 drops of tea tree oil to 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Rub into nails (kill fungal infections).
  2. Personal lubricant. Does not disrupt natural vaginal balance.
  3. Cracked heels. But remember this can be a sign of diabetes. Check your blood sugar and change your diet!
  4. Use after the burn cools off.
  5. Bug bites. Stops the itching and promotes healing.
  6. Chapped lips. Instant moisture. And it tastes good!
  7. Use on abrasions. Helps skin heal faster. (Also for perineum post birth).
  8. Stops the burning and itching.
  9. Prevents and may help reverse Alzheimer’s.
  10. Kills topical yeast infections.
  11. Kills lice.
  12. Soothes eczema and psoriasis.
  13. Helps to heal acne.

Pet Care With Coconut Oil

  1. Dry or cracked paws
  2. Dry noses.
  3. Hot spots.
  4. Rashes
  5. Cuts or abrasions.
  6. Helps prevent parasitic infections.
  7. Kills yeast and fungal infections.
  8. Glossy coat.
  9. Better digestion (dog food recipe).

Note: For dogs, one teaspoon per 10 lbs. of weight (or one tablespoon per 30 lbs.). Start with ¼ of the amount and work up to the full amount over a 3-4 week period. Mix it into food.

Household Uses for Coconut Oil

  1. Season cast iron pots and pans.
  2. Polish metals.
  3. Polish furniture.
  4. Use on scuffed leather.

There are many more health benefits from eating coconut oil. But remember to always choose organic virgin coconut oil.

It’s great for cooking and it takes very little to sauté a stir-fry. But you can add coconut oil to smoothies, use it instead of butter or margarine, replace other oils in recipes, or just eat a spoonful. Yes, it’s that good for you!

Check out Fight Cavities And Gingivitis Naturally With Homemade DIY Oral Health for a coconut oil based toothpaste and more info about oil pulling. And let us know int he comments below what you use coconut oil for. Enjoy!

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Five DIY Organic Shampoo Recipes for Beautiful Hair

Shampoo is the most common hair care product we buy, but the harsh chemical compounds present in commercial shampoos cause too much harm to our tresses and make them dull, dry, and unhealthy. Going organic can save your hair from this turmoil and DIY recipes can be easy on your wallet. So, here are 5 simple DIY organic shampoo recipes that can give you beautiful, attractive hair:

Organic Coconut and Lemon Shampoo Recipe

This simple, easy and inexpensive shampoo can nourish both your hair and scalp to give you gorgeous locks.

Ingredients:

  • Liquid castile soap – 1 cup
  • Organic coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Lemongrass essential oil – 20 drops

Directions:

  1. Pour liquid castile soap into a mixing bowl.
  2. Add organic coconut oil and stir well.
  3. Add lemongrass essential oil to the opaque mixture.
  4. Mix everything once again.

Organic Shea Butter Shampoo Recipe

If your hair is extremely dry and severely damaged, this shampoo can restore its natural moisture and put it into good health.

Ingredients:

  • Liquid castile soap – 200 ml.
  • Organic shea butter – 15 ml.
  • Lavender essential oil – 8 to 10 drops
  • Sodium bicarbonate – 1(1/2) teaspoons
  • Distilled water – 50 ml.

Directions:

  1. Melt solid shea butter by placing it over boiling water. Let it cool to room temperature.
  2. Mix water with sodium bicarbonate to make a solution.
  3. Pour this solution into liquid castile soap. Stir for a few seconds. Avoid forming too much foam.
  4. Add melted shea butter.
  5. Add lavender essential oil to the bowl.
  6. Blend everything together.

Organic Chamomile Shampoo Recipe

You can opt for this organic chamomile shampoo to turn your curly, frizzy and dry locks into soft, smooth and manageable ones.

Ingredients:

  • Solid castile soap – 2 tablespoons
  • Organic chamomile tea – 1 cup
  • Chamomile essential oil – 4 to 5 drops
  • Pure glycerin – 1 tablespoon

Directions:

  1. Grate a solid bar of castile soap from one side.
  2. Brew a cup of strong chamomile tea and pour it into the grated castile soap.
  3. Add glycerin.
  4. Add chamomile essential oil.
  5. Blend everything well.

Organic Vegetable Oil and ACV Shampoo Recipe

Say ‘bye bye’ to dandruff and improve the overall appearance of your hair significantly with this super effective organic shampoo.

Ingredients:

  • Liquid castile soap – 4 tablespoons
  • Organic vegetable oil – 2 teaspoons
  • Organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) – 4 tablespoons
  • Coconut flakes – 4 tablespoons
  • Fresh thyme – 4 tablespoons
  • Fresh rosemary – 4 tablespoons
  • Distilled water – 2 cups

Directions:

  1. Bring distilled water to a boil.
  2. Add coconut flakes, fresh thyme and fresh rosemary to it. Stir well and boil for 30 more minutes.
  3. Strain the mixture and add liquid castile soap to it.
  4. Pour vegetable oil and ACV into it.
  5. Mix everything well.

Organic Green Tea Shampoo Recipe

The antioxidant properties of green tea can make your tresses look healthy and beautiful by preventing grey hair and reducing hair fall.

Ingredients:

  • Liquid castile soap – 1 cup
  • Organic green tea leaves – a handful
  • Organic olive oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Organic raw honey – 1 teaspoon
  • Distilled water – 1 cup

Directions:

  1. Boil fresh green tea leaves in distilled water and brew for 30 minutes.
  2. Add liquid castile soap.
  3. Add olive oil and honey.
  4. Combine everything well.
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