Henbit

Henbit ~ Lamium amplexicaule
aka; henbit dead-nettle, common henbit, greater henbit

You'll find this beauty popping up in yards and fields from March throughout the summer months, and year round in areas where the winters are not harsh. 

Family - mint
Genus - Lamium 

Medicinal Properties:

Antimicrobial - helps the body resist pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses

Antiviral - treating viral infections 

Anti - rheumatic - aides in the inflammation associated with arthritis

Diaphoretic - inducing perspiration
febrifuge - fever reducer

Parts used: leaves and flowers 

Medicinally, Henbit is best used internally as a tea. It is anti-  
rheumatic and anti-inflammatory, so it’s great for relieving chronic pain, soreness, and stiffness. As a diaphoretic and febrifuge, it’s great for breaking fevers and alleviating their unpleasantness. It helps balance the digestive system – it’s a gentle laxative, but also helps treat diarrhea and indigestion. Finally, it can help with menstrual cramps and excessive bleeding. For this reason, women who are pregnant should probably avoid it. Otherwise, it’s safe, although you should still follow our rule of 6-8 ounces of tea until you figure out how you react to it. It is a laxative, after all. Reference

I'll be making an infused oil with the fresh, but wilted, leaves and flowers. The oils will be made into salves which will be applied topically for skin issues; cuts, minor burns, scratches, insect bites. 

I have also used the fresh plant successfully as a poultice - grind or chop the fresh or dried plant, add a small amount of water until it forms a paste. Apply the paste onto the area, cover with a moist cloth. Wrap a dry cloth around that and secure into place. I usually leave on for 1 - 3 hours then change if necessary.  

As with most backyard herbal plants, this one is also edible. The leaves and flowers are very nutritious and can be added in salads and or cooked with other greens. Yum. 

Reference 

Reference

Reference

Coconut Milk

I have had several inquiries about making coconut milk, so I thought I would share a short post on how mine turned out. 

I thought the cashew milk was creamy and soooo delicious. But, coconut milk, omgosh. I may never look back to the others again. 🥰

For this particular batch I used a young coconut. The young coconuts are harvested from the tree before they have time to age and drop like the mature brown husked coconuts.
The young coconuts contain more coconut water and less coconut meat versus the mature coconut. Also, the meat is much softer and is said to have less flavor. I opted to use a young coconut as that was all I could find in the local grocery store. It was a little tricky figuring out how to cut into the coconut. I finally went to Youtube and searched for a video. Definitely glad I did that.   👌

I was able to get two cups of coconut water in which I saved for drinking plain. Yum. I was able to scrape out 1 and 1/3 cups of coconut meat. I ended up using just 1 cup for making the milk. Also, with the young coconut there was no pulp left after blending so I didn't have to strain the mixture before using.

Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut meat
2 cups of water
dates - optional
cocoa or cacao powder - optional 
vanilla - optional

Add ingredients to blender. Mix for 2 minutes, pour into a container and refrigerate. After chilling the milk does thicken. You can add more water to thin it to your preference, if desired. This milk was sooo flavorful. I can only imagine how more flavorful it would be if using a mature coconut. 💓

Banana Milk

Have you ever made banana milk? It's really good! There are many variations as to how to make it. With water, with milk, with a plant based milk. I've always made mine with cold water from the refrigerator. 

You can drink the banana milk as is or pour over cereal and or oatmeal. You could also add other frozen fruits and or nuts.

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana
1 cup of water -  or liquid of your choice
dates - optional
fresh or frozen fruit - optional
vanilla - optional 
cocoa or cacao for a chocolate milk 

Add ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth.
 
For the photo above, I added one peeled, sliced, frozen banana, 1/2 cup of peeled, chopped, frozen mango and a handful of fresh blueberries, you could use frozen if you prefer, to my mixer. I added about 1/2 cold water and blended until thick, smooth and creamy. I like the little specs the blueberries created in this one. Yum!  

For this one I added 1/2 cup each of frozen blueberries, frozen mulberries, pineapple and one chopped, frozen banana. I added just enough pineapple juice and water so the mixer could blend to a thick consistency.
Delicious!

Cashew Milk

Back in the kitchen making more plant based milk. Today it's cashew milk. This milk is sooo rich and creamy, has a slight nutty flavor, and is easy to make! 💓

If you prefer to discard your water after soaking your cashews and prefer to use fresh water for the remainder of the recipe, do not soak in coconut water. .

Start by soaking 1 cup of raw cashews in 4 cups of water, or coconut water, at least 4 hours or over night. If soaking over night I place the container in the refrigerator. If soaking for 4 hours I leave the container at room temperature.

Why soak first?

The longer they soak the creamier the milk will be. Also, soaking breaks down the phytic acid that is in cashews, all nuts actually. Phytic acid binds to the minerals in the gastrointestinal tract, this action makes it difficult for those minerals to be absorbed into the intestinal wall. Soaking = better digestion and better nutrient absorption. 

About straining:

If you use a high powdered blender the cashews are more likely to be pulverized, therefore your milk will not necessarily need to be strained before using. This of course depends on your personal preference. I use a NutriBullet, which is not high powdered enough so I do 2 strainings before using. You can keep the cashew pulp and use in recipes.👌

All plant and nut based milks are very versatile so feel free to let your creativity flow; cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, cacao, bananas, berries, mango. etc. etc. 

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews
4 cups of water or coconut water 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - optional
2-3 raw pitted dates - optional

After soaking - strain, keep the water, unless you prefer to use new, then rinse the cashews with cool water. Combine your ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. If needed, strain and squeeze through a nut milk bag or a dampened clean dish cloth. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 - 5 days. Add over cereal, add in coffee, makes a great base for chia pudding and or smoothies, or drink plain, Delicious!   

Anyone who has an existing condition of kidney stones might also need to avoid cashews or carefully monitor their nut
consumption in general because cashews naturally contain gastric and intestinal soluble oxalates that can make kidney problems worse. ~Dr. Axe

Oat Milk

Have you tried making oat milk? I just love how easy it is
to make this tasty, dairy free, milk alternative. I've been experimenting with different ingredients. So far my favorites are blueberry, chocolate and vanilla. Yum. 

There are several online places that state to soak the oats for several minutes before blending, then some sites that say that soaking will make your milk slimy. I have tried both ways and do find the soaked oats to be a little slimy, so I chose to not soak. 

After trying different ways of straining, I have found that using a clean dishcloth works the best. I do however use a strainer for that first straining as that gets the biggest amount of blended oatmeal out making the next 2 strainings easier.


Ingredients: 

1 cup of old fashioned oats
4 cups of water
dish cloth
high speed blender
fine mesh strainer
small bowl
dates for sweetener - optional
vanilla - optional
fresh fruit - optional
spices - optional
cacao or cocoa - optional
 
Add 1 cup of old fashioned oats, 4 cups of water and any other  
ingredients to your blender and blend for 30 to 45 seconds, strain 
through a fine mesh strainer. 

oats, frozen blueberries, cacao

Next, wet the dishcloth with water, squeeze as much water out as you can. Lay the cloth across the top of a small bowl. Slowly pour the oat milk into the enter of the cloth, gather the ends and squeeze out the liquid into the bowl. Repeat until all the milk has been strained. Rinse the cloth good and repeat the straining one more time.

Refrigerate until chilled then enjoy. Drink it plain, pour over cereal, add to your coffee. I use it for making chia pudding. Yum. So many possibilities. 


The milk does separate as it sits in the refrigerator. That doesn't change the flavor at all. Just give it a good shake and you're good to go. Should be used within 3 days.

cacao, blueberry, cinnamon vanilla, oat milks