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Queen of Sheba, Personal Advisor™

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Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is one of the healthiest things you can add to your diet. It will give you a wide variety of benefits and I won't be able to tell you all about them here. But I can give you some of the highlights.

One of the most important things is it will change the ph of your body. This will keep you from getting many illnesses and even get rid of some you already have. Such as arthritis, inflammation, migraine headaches, soar throat including strep throat, indigestion, poison ivy, shingles, night sweats, burns, varicose veins, impetigo, ringworm, and more.

It will help your body to detox.

It will give you more energy and mental clarity.

It will help you loose weight.

It will provide Potassium and other minerals.

To get the most benefits you should take organic ACV. However, it is quite expensive, about 10 times the cost of non organic. I myself take the non organic because I still get many of the benefits.

The least amount you should take is one teaspoon 3 times per day, usually with meals. Mix it into a glass of water. I add a little Stevia to sweeten it. You can learn about Stevia at my friend's website. I take 1/4 cup per day, split into 3 times per day. I take 1 tablespoon before breakfast, 2 tablespoons before noon dinner, and 1 tablespoon before supper. I take the larger dose with my largest meal.

If you want to learn more about ACV, try to get this book from your library: Folk Medicine, A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health by D.C. Jarvis, M.D., 1958. Nov. 2009, code TM5.

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Grow your own Omega-3

Here's an easy and inexpensive way for you to get Omega-3 into your diet. Grow it yourself. It's easy to grow Purslane.

Actually, we know it as a weed but you can buy seeds for a variety that is even better. As a weed, it sends a stem out along the ground and then there are small round leaves. They are hard to pick because they are so close to the ground. But when you grow the purchased seeds, they will grow more upright and the leaves will be larger.

They have a pretty good flavor and you can add them to salads. Or lightly cook them with other vegetables but be careful or you will lose the Omega-3 from too much heat.

So don't get rid of your weeds, Eat Them. It has other good stuff in it too, like Vitamin C and antioxidants.

Other names for it are: Portulaca oleracea, Verdolaga, Pigweed, Little Hogweed, Pusley, Common Purslane. code TM4

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Homemade Yogurt-Recipe

I make my own yogurt so it is inexpensive, compared to store bought and also it doesn't contain any chemicals. You can get machines that will keep it at the exact temperature or other special techniques but I found it is very easy to make, like this:

1. Buy a container of store bought yogurt, preferably plain. Make sure the label says "Active Cultures".
2. Get a quart canning jar.
3. Place about two tablespoons yogurt into the canning jar.
4. Pour milk about 2/3 full.
5. Put on the cover and put it in your oven with a pilot light. If you don't have a gas oven, you might find another warm place such as top of refrig. or a warm closet; it will probably take a little longer this way.
6. About 24 hours later, check the yogurt. If it's not thick enough, leave it longer.
7. When it's ready, store it in your refrig.

I use whole milk but if you want to reduce the fat in your diet, use skim milk. You can add to this any fruit that you want. I sprinkle in a little salt, a few drops of vanilla, and about a teaspoon of sugar. It's great with strawberries or bananas. You can even use cocoa or Dandelion Root Coffee (see last month's tip).

I use it for baking, curries, sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, homemade ice cream, salad dressings, mayo., everything.

Start the next batch with about two tablespoons of your own yogurt, add milk and leave in oven overnight. You can keep this going for about a month. Eventually, the yogurt will "go bad" (it will get a bad smell or color). Then you have to start all over with fresh yogurt. One thing I do, to keep from having to buy another container of yogurt, is I put the unused original container in my freezer. So when I want to start a new batch I defrost it in refrig. overnight, use 2 more tablespoons, and put back in freezer.

If you leave the yogurt in a warm place for another 24 hours (48 hours total), you will get yogurt cheese or cream cheese. Flavor it with a little salt. You can strain out the liquid, which is the whey. It's very tangy and has lots of nutrients. You can add whey to recipes such as lemonade or juice mixes, or use it for baking instead of milk or water. July 2008, code TM3.

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The Queen Eats Dandelions

I know, I know, I do some odd things. But I'm really serious about this. Even in the old days, in the Bible times of Solomon, we ate dandelions -- we called them bitter herbs.

I'm eating dandelions now and I suggest you do also. They are very, very nutritious and will even help you loose weight. They have lots of fiber and minerals and they are good for our liver, kidneys, gallbladder, etc. Here's the two ways that I eat them:

First, I eat the leaves. But what I mean is I go right outside into my own back yard and I pick them. Those are what I eat. You might also be able to purchase them at your natural food store. What I did, I had to spray most of them because they were taking over the yard. But I left a small patch unsprayed and those are the ones I pick. You could also get them from a park, field, or wooded area. You probably want to be careful of picking any that are near the street because they can absorb toxic fumes from cars.

They are best when you pick them in spring, before they blossom because they are not bitter -- you can just add them to salads. However, I want to eat them all year long. So I found out that if you eat them with bread, you won't taste the bitterness. What I do is I a make a sandwich, just bread, butter or coconut oil, and dandelion greens. Because they are pretty tough, I cut them up into little pieces. It doesn't stay on the sandwich very well but it is very tasty this way. You can also steam them like greens. You should eat dandelions early in the day, otherwise you might wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

So that's how I eat them all summer long. But half the year it is too cold here where I live, even for the dandelions to live. What I read about is that I can grow them like a houseplant and then I can harvest them all winter long. So I've started some along with my houseplants. If it works, it's supposed to provide greens that are pale, so they are not quite as nutritious, but they are not bitter. I'm hoping to be able to harvest them all winter long. (Can you imagine when people come over and instead of houseplants I'm growing dandelions.)

Second, I drink dandelion root coffee. You could make your own but you should only harvest the roots in autumn, when they have lots of flavor and nutrients. Then you have to wash them really well and then roast them in the oven until brown and dry. Then grind them in a blender or coffee grinder.

This is too much work for me and I think I would have a hard time harvesting and preparing enough root to drink all year long. So I buy this from Goosefoot Acres, Inc. Their product is called Dandy BlendTM and it is fabulous! It makes a wonderful substitute for coffee because it has no caffeine. It tastes very much like coffee.

They actually make it with Dandelion root, Chicory root, Beet root, Barley, and Rye. All these are very nutritious. You can also use it in recipes such as latte', smoothies, desserts, dips, etc. It dissolves instantly so all I do is heat some water and add one teaspoon Dandy BlendTM. That one teaspoon costs about 8.8 cents. Very Affordable! It also comes with a brochure that tells how great it is and includes recipes.

Dandy BlendTM comes in these convenient sizes:

• Single Serving Samples - Individual
• Single Servings, packed 25 to a box
• Canister - 7.05 oz - 100 cups
• Canister - 14.1 oz. - 200 cups
• Zip-lock pouch - 2 lb. - 450 cups (8.8 cents/cup including shipping)

Please remember to use my code, QoS7, every time you order.

Goosefoot Acres also has a book, Dandelion Celebration: A Guide to Unexpected Cuisine, which tells you all about dandelions and includes recipes. You can purchase this book from them or at Amazon. I got it at my public library.

Just to complete telling you about dandelions, you can eat the blossoms by making fritters -- saute' with onions. You can eat the buds by canning them in a sweet sour sauce. And I use the blossoms to soak in my bathtub -- makes a detox bath. June 2008, code TM2.

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Make your own Cereal-Recipe

I make my own cold cereal and it is very, very nutritious as well as very inexpensive. I use 100% whole grain oats but you can use any grains, even corn or barley or multi-grain. And even if you don't use whole grain, it is still more nutritious than the grocery store cereals. Here's why: There are many additives in store bought cereals. Not only sugar but chemicals; just read the labels. When they cook the cereal to get it crispy, it is heated to a very high temperature; much higher than you would cook it at home. This high heat destroys nutrients and changes the protein. This is especially true for puffed cereal and shaped pieces which are extruded. Any way you cook it at home will be better.

I grind my oat berries in my super duper VitaMix blender but I think any blender would be able to grind it. Or you could purchase the oat flour but it might not really be whole grain. I haven't calculated the cost but I estimate about 50 cents per batch compared to about $3 per box of store bought.

I am providing my recipe but you don't have to follow it exactly. This is just to give you a start. While it is different from store bought it is very deliscious. If you don't have a bread making machine, just make it like you would make bread by hand. If you don't use sourdough, just use yeast. Instead of starting the night before you could start early in the morning and after the first mixing, let it sit for about 3 hours before baking.

The Queen's Homemade Sourdough Whole Grain Cereal

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1/3 cup water, or amount needed to get a good dough-a little moister than bread
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 Cups Oat Berries, grind in blender to make about 2 1/2 cups oat flour

1. Put all in bread machine in the order listed. Do this the night before. Turn on the bread machine and after it has done it's first mixing, unplug it and let it sit overnight.
2. In the morning restart the bread machine from the beginning.
3. When batter is baked, remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
4. When cooled, cut it into approximately 1/4 inch pieces. Or let the children break it into pieces. Don't worry about uneven sized pieces.
5. Put all of it into a large baking pan such as for a rectangular cake. Put it in the oven at about 300° F. for about 30 minutes then turn off the oven and leave the cereal in the oven. When cool, stir it and check if it is dry. If not dry, repeat the oven process again. If I can't get it done in one day I leave it in the oven overnight and it continues to dry.
6. Put it into your blender and process just enough to get even sized pieces. There will be some crumbs and there will also be some larger pieces. Even all crumbs is good (in case you process it too long).
7. You want the cereal very dry. Store it in a plastic container in your cupboard or if you think it might not be dry enough -- it could get moldy, so you could store it in your refrigerator.
8. When it's time to eat it, spoon about 6 heaping teaspoons into a bowl and add milk and raisins or sliced bananas and if it's not sweet enough for you, you can sprinkle on a little sugar. Let it soak a few minutes before eating.

Please let me know how your cereal turns out. Post in questions section-give code Tw1.

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