Grow Your Own Drugs

Week 6-click here

This week’s recipes

In the final episode in the series, James shows how vegetables can be used to make natural remedies.

Artichokes are used to make a tasty snack which could make a great addition to a low cholesterol diet.

Sticking plasters that could help relieve aching muscles are made from chillies, and garlic is used to make a footbath and a preparation that could help treat athlete’s foot.

As a beauty treat, James shows how cucumbers can be used to make a soothing eye gel.

These recipes are taken from the book Grow Your Own Drugs, published by HarperCollins.

Artichoke and hawthorn bar for healthy cholesterol

4 artichokes
1 litre water
475 g hawthorn berries (if using dried hawthorn berries, first cover them with water for 24 hours to rehydrate them)
225 g sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Juice of 1 lime

1. 1. Chop the artichokes, place in a saucepan, cover with the water and boil for 10 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat, then leave to steep for 20 minutes. Strain into a bowl.
2. 2. Heat the oven to 100C.
3. 3. Place the artichoke infusion, hawthorn berries, sugar and cinnamon stick in a pan, and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is soft. Take out the cinnamon stick and blend in a liquidizer with the lime juice, then pour into greased, lined baking trays to a thickness of about 1 cm.
4. 4. Dry in the heated oven for 2-3 hours.(Check after 2 hours; you want it to be chewy, but not too tough.) Leave to cool, then slice into bite-sized pieces.

USE: Chew on a piece of fruit bar whenever you like.

NB If high blood cholesterol is suspected, you must see a doctor. This recipe may be used in addition to, not as a substitute for, proper medical treatment. If you are on other heart medication you shouldn’t eat hawthorn berries. The remedy is not suitable if you are diabetic.

STORAGE: Keep in greaseproof paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Chilli plasters for muscle sprains

200 g orange Scotch Bonnet chillies
4 tbsp mustard powder
200 g coconut oil, non-fractionated
6 tsp beeswax
4 packs Melolin wound dressing pads, 10 x 10 cm
4 packs adhesive wound dressing, 12 x 12 cm

1. 1. Wash and finely slice the chillies. Combine the chillies and mustard powder with the coconut oil in a saucepan. Cover to keep in the vapour and gently heat for 2 minutes. Leave to cool with the lid on.
2. 2. Put the chilli mix into muslin over a sieve and squeeze out the oil into a bowl below. Place the oil back into the saucepan and return to the heat.
3. 3. Add the beeswax to the oil and heat very gently until dissolved; this will take less than 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. 4. Soak the dressing pads in the oil mixture while it’s still hot. When they are saturated, remove the pads and leave to stand for 10 minutes on greaseproof paper, or until set.
5. 5. Once set and dry, the pads can be layered on top of each other, wrapped in clingfilm and stored in the refrigerator until needed.

USE: Place a pad on an adhesive wound dressing, then apply to the affected area. Keep the area warm (by covering with a blanket, for example) and leave on for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

STORAGE: Keeps for 1 year in the refrigerator.

Garlic vinegar footbath

2 bulbs garlic
Cider vinegar (or whatever you have)
20 heads fresh lavender
Sage leaves

1. 1. Drop the garlic into a jug and cover with vinegar, using roughly twice as much vinegar as garlic.
2. 2. Crush the sage leaves with a pestle and mortar, and add them along with the lavender heads to the jug.
3. 3. Pour your mixture into an airtight container, making sure you have enough vinegar to totally cover the other ingredients.
4. 4. Infuse the mixture for between 2 weeks and a month. Simply add 5 tablespoons to a hot footbath and soak your foot when required.

USE: Dilute 5 tblsp of the mixture in a washing up bowl (size) of hot water, and soak the feet for at least 10 minutes each day for 3 times a week for 2 weeks.

STORAGE: Keep in a sealable container or jar in a dry, cool place for up to 6 months

Garlic talcum powder for athlete’s foot

4 tbsp dried sage leaves
4 tbsp dried garlic (commercially prepared is fine)
7 tbsp (70 g) cornflour
7 tbsp (70 g) bicarbonate of soda
24 drops tea tree oil

1. 1. Grind the dried sage in a mortar and pestle, then place in a medium-sized bowl. Add the dried garlic. Sprinkle over the cornflour and bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
2. 2. Add in the tea tree oil and stir until well distributed. Place the powder into a salt or sugar shaker for use.

USE: Dust on liberally 3 times daily, until symptoms disappear (usually a few weeks). Continue using for 1 week after all signs of infection are gone, as previously dormant fungal spores can cause reinfection.

STORAGE: Keep in a dry, dark place and use within 1 year.

Cucumber Eye Gel

1 small cucumber, chopped
1 aloe vera leaf
1 sachet vegetable gelatine
50 ml distilled extract of witch hazel BP
1 white tea teabag
3 drops peppermint essential oil

1. 1. Roughly chop the cucumber. Peel and slice the aloe leaf to extract its gel. Put the cucumber and aloe gel into a blender and process until smooth. Strain the mix through a sieve to extract the juice. Measure out 100 ml of the strained juice and set aside.
2. 2. Add the witch hazel to a pan, whisk in the gelatine and add the teabag. Gently heat the mixture until it just starts to thicken. As the mixture cools, take out the teabag, then whisk in the cucumber and aloe juice mixture and the peppermint oil.
3. 3. Bottle up the gel in a sterilized, airtight pump dispenser.

USE: Apply to the eye area before bed, then wash off in the morning.

STORAGE: Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

the treatment has made my stye go!!

thankyou

ashleigh

1. Boil some hot water.
2. Put a teabag in a cup.
3. Pour boiled water over the tea bag and let it steep.
4. Let the tea bag cool down until it is easily handled.
5. Place the tea bag on the eye with the stye.
6. Enjoy your tea and let the teabag sit on the closed eye until you get sick of it.
7. Repeat as necessary.
8. Never attempt to squeeze a stye, they are basically a pimple containing bacteria that will (in time) form a head and release the fluid themselves, the warmth of the teabag ecourages this to happen and the acid in the teabag helps dry out the area reducing redness and swelling.
9. Always wash your hands before and after, stye’s are contagious and can be spread to other parts of the eye lid. Two styes are not better than one!
10. If the tea bag is too hot when applied to your eye, it may make things worse. Or, more accurately stated, if the tea bag is too hot when applied to your eye, it will burn you severely and make you wish that all you had was a stye.

See Grow Your Own Drugs Here

You can get the book  Grow Your Own Drugs by clicking here

This week James turns his attention to roots. He shows how marshmallow and liquorice roots can be easily grown in the garden and how they can be combined to make a soothing syrup to relieve the discomfort of a cough. Valerian is used to create a delicious hot chocolate, which could help to relieve stress.

A homemade tincture is made from echinacea, which is used to make spicy ice-lollies that could help fight a cold. And ginger is made into some tasty treats, which could help people with travel sickness.

Marshmallow and liquorice cough syrup

If using dried marshmallow root:
4 tbsp dried marshmallow root, chopped roughly
2 dried liquorice roots, broken up into small pieces
3 heads/bunches fresh elderberries
1 tsp cloves
Peel of 1 mandarin
1 tsp aniseed seeds
1 sprig fresh eucalyptus leaves
500 ml water
100 ml honey
Juice of 1 lime
5 tbsp glycerine

If using fresh marshmallow root:
8 tbsp fresh marshmallow root, chopped roughly
4 dried liquorice roots, broken up into small pieces
Other ingredients as above

1. 1. Put the marshmallow, liquorice, elderberries, cloves, mandarin peel, aniseed and eucalyptus leaves into a pan with the water. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-fifth. Remove the liquorice and eucalyptus leaves and discard.
2. 2. Blend the mixture in a liquidizer until smooth. Pour back into the pan and add the honey, lime juice and glycerine, then stir and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. 3. Pour into sterilized, clear 250 ml bottles.

USE: Take 2 tbsp, 3 times a day for no more than 5 days.

STORAGE: Keep refrigerated. Use within 2 weeks.

Valerian hot chocolate for anxiety

Makes 3 cups:
3 tbsp fresh valerian root
3 tbsp fresh lemon balm leaves
3 tsp fresh lavender flowers
6 leaves and 3 heads from fresh passion flowers
Peel of 1 1/2 oranges
900 ml full-fat milk
50 g dark chocolate (minimum 50% cocoa solids)
Dash of vanilla extract

1. 1. Chop the top and bottom from the fresh valerian root. Add the valerian, lemon balm, lavender, passion flowers, orange peel, and milk to a pan and gently heat for 5-10 minutes. Strain.
2. 2. Pour the infused milk back into the pan, then add the dark chocolate and vanilla extract and stir until melted. Drink at once.
   1. 1. Peel the fresh ginger root and thinly slice.
   2. 2. Put the ginger in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover with water, adding more to allow for evaporation. Bring to the boil and partly cover with a lid. Boil gently for 1 hour, or until the ginger is almost cooked but slightly al dente; the time will vary slightly depending on the freshness of ginger.
   3. 3. Drain the ginger and weigh it. Put it back in the saucepan with an equal amount of golden caster sugar. Add 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon for 20 minutes, or until it starts to go gloopy and the ginger becomes transparent.
   4. 4. Reduce the heat and keep stirring until it starts to crystallize and easily piles up in the middle of the pan.
   5. 5. Meanwhile take a large, deep, baking tray and sprinkle caster sugar on it. Tip the ginger into the baking tray and shuffle it round in the caster sugar. Separate any clumps of ginger pieces. Place in a sterilized jar.
   1. 1. Wash and chop the echinacea root, then put in a jar and pour over the vodka to cover completely. Leave for 2-4 weeks.
   2. 2. Wash and slice the chillis. Peel and thinly slice the ginger.
   3. 3. Combine the chillis, ginger, honey, gelatine and cranberry juice in a saucepan, then stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Sieve into a bowl.
   4. 4. When the drained liquid is cool, stir in the lemon juice and Echinacea Tincture. Pour into ice lolly moulds and freeze.

USE: You can drink up to 3 cups a day for 2 weeks at a time.

NB. Valerian can cause drowsiness so check with your doctor if you’re taking anti-depressants or sleeping pills.

Crystallized ginger for nausea

Makes about 250 g:
350 g fresh ginger root
Golden caster sugar, to match weight of cooked ginger, plus extra for sprinkling.
USE: Chew on a piece of crystallized ginger when you feel nauseous.

STORAGE: Keeps in a cool place for 3-6 months.

Echinacea ice lollies

To make the tincture:
20 g fresh echinacea root
80 ml vodka

For the ice lollies:
2 medium-sized red chillis
8 cm root ginger
240 ml honey
1 sachet animal gelatine
800 ml cranberry juice
Juice of 2 large lemons
80 ml Echinacea Tincture (see above)
NB. Contains alcohol so not suitable for children.

Use: Take during colds and infection – 1 a day for up to 2 weeks. Each lolly contains one typical dose of Echinacea.

STORAGE: The lollies keep in the freezer for 3 months

I have found this terrific website that has a lot of interesting books; well worth a look .   Click here

I have had a number of enquiries about where to obtain the dried herbs, flowers, tinctures and oils mentioned in the series. You can get all of these things online, but I found one myself which looks very interesting:

http://herbmoonhollow.com/shop/

I really know little about them except that they answered my emails very quickly. The website looks good though. If anyone has any recommendation please  send them to me as a comment.

HERBS -Part 4 here

This week’s recipes

This week, James Wong explores how herbs can be used to help treat a range of minor everyday ailments.

Using lemon balm, he creates a lip salve which might help when cold sores strike. He also shows how plantain leaves can be used to make a cream to help soothe insect bites and stings.

For those keen to have fresh breath, James shows how to make a spray using thyme. And for a beauty treat, he uses peppermint and other common garden herbs to whip up a fragrant homemade body scrub.

These recipes are taken from the book ‘Grow Your Own Drugs’, published by HarperCollins.

Lemon balm lip salve for cold sores

21 tbsp (approx. 50 g) fresh lemon balm leaves
3 tbsp wheatgerm oil
115 ml olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp beeswax
5 drops tea tree oil

1. 1. Wash and strip the lemon balm leaves and chop finely. In a pan over a slow heat, stir and crush one third of the lemon balm leaves with the wheatgerm and olive oil for 10 minutes, or until it starts to bubble. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
2. 2. Strain the oil through a muslin-lined sieve or colander into a bowl, squeezing the leaves to get out all remaining juice. Throw away the squeezed leaves.
3. 3. Repeat this process twice more with the remaining 2 batches of lemon balm leaves, using the same oil.
4. 4. Place the oil in the pan on a gentle heat and add the honey and beeswax. Stir until melted, then take off the heat and stir in the tea tree oil.
5. 5. Pour the salve into small sterilized jars, where it will set solid within 10 minutes.

USE: Apply to cold sores whenever needed.

STORAGE Keeps for up to 1 year.

Plantain cream for bites and stings

4 tbsp fresh chopped plantain leaves
150 ml boiling water
2 tbsp olive oil or sunflower oil
2 tbsp almond oil
1 tsp beeswax
2 tsp emulsifying wax
2 tsp glycerine
1 tsp vitamin C powder

1. 1. Wash and chop the plantain leaves. Divide into two – put one half in a bowl and the other half in a pan. Cover the plantain in the bowl with the water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
2. 2. In the pan, add the olive (or sunflower) and almond oils to the plantain and heat gently to simmering point. Don’t allow to boil – if it starts boiling, take off the heat immediately. Once at simmering point, remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes to cool.
3. 3. Drain the infusion, taking out the plantain leaves. Set the liquid to one side.
4. 4. Drain the infused oil into another pan, extracting the plantain leaves. Heat the oil again. Add the beeswax and emulsifying wax and melt, stirring – you are aiming for a foamy consistency.
5. 5. Add 16 tbsp infused water to the pan and whisk to achieve a consistency like salad dressing. Add the glycerine and vitamin C powder.
6. 6. Pour into sterilized glass pots and seal.

USE: Apply to affected area as often as needed.

STORAGE: Keeps for 3 months in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Thyme breath spray

10 tbsp (approx. 25 g) fresh thyme leaves
10 tbsp (approx. 30 g) fresh mint leaves
5 fresh eucalyptus leaves
3 tsp aniseed
3 tsp cloves
200 ml vodka
Rind of 1 lemon
1 tbsp artificial sweetener to taste, if desired
4 tbsp glycerine

1. 1. Strip the thyme, mint and eucalypytus leaves from their stems and chop. Place in a blender and whiz. Add the aniseed and cloves to the blender and whiz again.
2. 2. Place in a dark bottle with the vodka, lemon and artificial sweetener (if using) and leave for 10 days to 1 month to macerate.
3. 3. Strain through muslin. Add the glycerine, then stir and pour into a 50 ml spray bottle (with a yield of up to 1 ml per spray).

USE: Spray 1 ml into the mouth when needed

NB This contains alcohol, so be careful not to overuse, especially if driving.

STORAGE Keeps for up to 1 year.

Herbal body scrub

50 g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
50 g fresh eucalyptus leaves, finely chopped
50 g fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
Peel of 2 lemons
300 ml olive oil
400 g sea salt (fine-grained)
4 tsp vitamin C powder
Extra eucalyptus leaves and slices of lemon peel, to decorate

1. 1. Place the chopped herbs, black pepper and lemon peel in a pan, then add the olive oil. Place on a medium heat and stir, then leave for 2 minutes with the lid on. Place the paste in a piece of muslin over a sieve and squeeze out all the oil into a bowl below.
2. 2. Mix the sea salt and vitamin C powder in a bowl. Add most of the oil (reserving a little to seal the jar) and stir well. Place the mixture in a sterilized Kilner jar and press down well. Decorate the top with a few eucalyptus leaves and slices of lemon rind. Pour a layer of the remaining oil on top of the salt scrub to keep it airtight.

USE: Apply to wet skin in the bath or shower, when needed. Scrub, then rinse off well with warm water.

STORAGE: Keeps for 6 months, or 1 year in the refrigerator.

If you want to check what sort of shape you’re in, the Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator is a useful guide. AND IT’S FREE.

It will tell you if you’re a healthy weight for your height. Just enter your height and weight in the BMI Calculator, click on Imperial or Metric, then click to calculate.

But remember this information is only a guide and it’s aimed at healthy adults. It isn’t suitable for children, young people or older people.

Whatever the results show, the most important thing to remember is that you need to make sure you’re eating a healthy balanced diet and keeping physically active.

Do you have a lot of ‘must have’ items in your kitchen.

Such as bread makers, sandwich maker,ice cream maker, fondu sets, steamer, slow cooker, perculator etc.  Ok, you may use some of them-we always use a steamer for our veggies, but these  ‘must haves’ soon fall into the ‘non-used category’ prettyquickly. One of these items in my kitchen was a Juice Maker. When I first got it I started ‘juicing’ fruit and veg to make delicious drinks – I so I thought!  But if the truth was known they tasted pretty awful and the juicer sooner became redundant.

That is until I found The Juice Suggester  which makes it easy for anyone to enjoy over 100 different healthy drinks, using leftovers which you would normally throw away. Plenty of recipes to use and the Juicer has now been revived-and I love it!

For more for some free recipes click here The Juice Suggester (wait for it to load)

Programme 3 is  available here, (you may have to click link in box) 

You can get the book from here

Ginkgo tea for memory
Neem lotion for headlice
Horse Chestnut tincture
Horse Chestnut gel for varicose veins
Pine deodorant

James Wong turns his attention to natural tree remedies this week.

Find out how to use ginkgo leaf to make a tea which could help improve memory function and how to make a lotion to tackle headlice using Neem and tea tree oil.

James also demonstrates how a soothing gel for varicose veins can be made from conkers, and how to make a natural deodorant from pine resin.

These recipes are taken from the book ‘Grow Your Own Drugs’, published by HarperCollins.

Ginkgo tea for memory

2 tsp dried/5 fresh ginkgo leaves per cup
1 drinking cup freshly boiled water

1. Add the ginkgo leaves to the cup of freshly boiled water and steep for 10 minutes. Strain, and drink immediately.

USE: Drink this tea once or twice a day.

Gingko disclaimer:
Ginkgo is not recommended if you’re on any other medication, you are pregnant or breast feeding.

Neem lotion for headlice

Makes enough for 5-10 doses

20 tbsp (approx. 100 g) fresh rosemary leaves
20 tbsp (approx. 25 g) fresh lavender flowers
200 ml neem oil
200 ml almond oil
6 garlic cloves,minced
2 tbsp tea tree oil

1. 1. Strip the rosemary leaves and lavender flowers from their sprigs.
2. 2. Combine the neem and almond oil together in a measuring jug.
3. 3. Crush half the rosemary and lavender in a mortar and pestle with a little of the oil, to help ease the crushing process. Place the mashed-up herbs in a saucepan. Repeat with the second half of the rosemary and lavender, again adding a little oil for crushing.
4. 4. Place the crushed herbs, neem and almond oil in the pan, and add the chopped garlic. Heat gently for about 20 minutes.
5. 5. Strain through a sieve lined with muslin. Add the tea tree oil to the reserved oil, stir, then filter into a sterilized 500 ml bottle.

USE: If using immediately, apply to dry hair, making sure that the hair is completely covered and that the oil penetrates to the scalp. Cover with a towel and leave on for at least 1 hour, or overnight if possible. Then wash off with two applications of shampoo. Apply conditioner, and comb through with a nit comb. Use the next application 7 days later, to deal with any nits that may hatch during that time. Comb through with the nit comb every 3 days.

STORAGE: Keeps for 6 months.

Horse Chestnut tincture

20 conkers
500 ml vodka

1. 1. Blend the conkers and vodka in a liquidizer until smooth.
2. 2. Place in a sterilized bottle and keep in a cool dark place for 10 days to 1 month, shaking every day or so. Strain before using.

STORAGE: Keeps for up to 1 year.

NB This tincture is only to be used to make the Horse Chestnut Gel (see below), and must not be taken internally.

Horse Chestnut gel for varicose veins

3 sachets vegetable gelatine
150 ml water
150 ml Horse Chestnut Tincture
5 drops lavender oil

1. 1. Add the vegetable gelatine to 150 ml cold water in a pan and whisk until dissolved. Heat for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly. As the mix starts to thicken, slowly pour in the Horse Chestnut Tincture a little at a time. Add the lavender oil.
2. 2. Pour into a 250 ml sterilized bottle.

USE: Try a 24-hour patch test before using (horse chestnut can irritate). Apply to affectedareas twice daily, or as often as required.

STORAGE The gel keeps for 3 months in the refrigerator.

Pine deodorant

1/2 tsp pine resin
250 ml vodka (or just enough to cover the ingredients)
rind of 2 lemons, finely chopped
rind of 2 oranges, finely chopped
10 fresh bay leaves, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh pine needles, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp glycerine
100 ml orange blossom water

1. 1. Crush the pine resin in a pestle and mortar until you have a very fine powder. Pour over 1 tbsp of vodka and stir to dissolve. The mixture should form a thin paste. Add the chopped lemon and orange rind to the mortar and stir with a spoon to remove the last traces of sticky resin from the sides.
2. 2. Place the resin mixture along with the bay leaves, pine needles and thyme in a Kilner jar. Add enough vodka to cover, then seal and leave in a dark place for 2 weeks to 1 month.
3. 3. When ready, strain off the herbs through a muslin-lined sieve into a jug, and stir in the glycerine and orange blossom water. Pour into a 100 ml glass spray bottle.

USE: Do a 24-hour test on a small patch of skin before using. Shake well and apply every morning to underarms, feet, etc.

STORAGE: Keeps for up to 1 year in a cool,dry place.