Eat better with herbs and spices

When I first started preparing more whole, natural foods, I was afraid that everything was going to be boring without adding pre-seasoned gravy or using prepackaged dressings, pestos, or other jars of this and that.

However, there are many excellent resources proving to me that it IS possible to make simple foods that are completely natural and taste special too! 

Experimenting with herbs and spices can be a fun way to find more healthy foods that you like.

The BBC’s “goodfood” pages also have a lot to say about The Healing Power of Herbs and how to use them.

Top 10 Herbs and Spices – an ABC News video with Diane Henderiks, Chef and Culinary Nutritionist, provides information and tips along with some quick examples. (~ 7 min.)

Learn more about the traditional uses and properties of herbs:

Herbs & Natural Foods for Health

Healing with Soups

Eating lots of soups may keep you well during cold and flu season!  And some can help to heal you if something does settle in.

I first learned about the healing power of soups when I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona in 1978. After days of traveling, limited nutrition, and very little sleep, I found myself with a severe case of flu.

A neighbor directed me to an unusual doctor. He was an M.D. from the Phillipines, who believed strongly in food as medicine. He introduced himself, and asked abruptly, “Do you have insurance?”  When I shook my head, he said sternly, “Then you can’t afford to be sick in Arizona!”  After examining me, and deducing that I did indeed have the flu, he wrote me an unusual prescription.

He said, “You can get these items at any grocery store. Go and get them right now!”

Here is the shopping list and recipe he gave me, as nearly as I can remember:

• A package of chicken backs
• A bulb of garlic
• An onion
• A piece of fresh ginger
• Some black pepper
• Some brown rice

Chop up the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Put them in a large pot with the chicken backs, and add the brown rice and pepper.  Fill the pot to the top with water and bring it to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, lower the heat to simmer until the chicken falls from the bones. Keep it on the stove simmering and keep eating until it’s all gone.  You should be feeling better soon.

I did exactly as he said, and was amazed that I  had mostly recovered  by the time the soup was gone.  I’ve used this recipe with similar results, numerous times since.

Check out these additional healing soup recipes and resources:

• The Healing Properties of Homemade Broths, Stocks, and Soups
• Immunity-boosting chicken soup
• 3 Healing Soups