Food allergies make life a constant and literal pain when trying to eat. Cooking for family gatherings becomes a culinary event every time!
How do you feed everyone while honouring the specific needs and diets? Very care fully.
Then there is the cost of “allergy free” foods… a loaf of gluten free bread can be up to $10.50 a loaf! When you read the ingredients there is no precious metals or gems listed on the package, not even a trace of anything expensive. Why the cost?
It’s no wonder I stopped eating bread! One reason was the cost the other is I also have to find it without the addition of cornstarch or corn flour or corn anything. Corn is actually my worst and as I have discovered, corn is in almost everything. Think of knives in the belly.
You can make gluten free bread and baked goods but to be honest- cardboard and fall apart are the couple words I have for that, I’ve tried! My favourite item to make is tortilla wraps. I can make a decent gluten free wrap.
As I browse the gluten free isle and see the insane prices asked for- I usually sigh and walk away. I am not hurting for food- one look at me tells you I’m being well fed!
But once in a while something else would be nice this is where baby food comes in.
I found that the baby food isle has some decent gluten free snacks and the prices are wonderful. So I’ve been eating various baby food puffies as snacks. Different flavours, naturally flavoured - why not? Just saying- check out the baby food isle because I sure do!
My favourite book besides the Bible is Health Through Gods Pharmacy by Maria Treben. It’s all about herbs and how to use them. The premise is that God gave us incredible healing plants all around us if we would learn their benefits. It is why I am a forager and use herbs in my creams, balms and teas.
The book talks about many herbs but my favourite item for the first aid cupboard is Maria’s Swedish Bitters. It is a liquid blend of 11 herbs. It can be used internally (most famous for) and externally. Basically it’s good for anything that ails you.
Now a couple things, it comes in an alcohol and non-alcoholic version. Get the alcohol version, but be warned it’s 39% proof and packs a punch! People with an alcoholic tendencies should not drink it. And it’s not even that it tastes “good”. Think of mixing Vicks Vapo Rub with whiskey and you’ve got a great visual. I have been known to take a swig instead a making a tea as the book describes. It’s not easy to get it down.
When drawing medicinal properties out of plants you can use a few different things: water, oil, alcohol. Alcohol is the one that draws the most, that’s why it’s used for tinctures and bitters and why it works the best. It’s the only version I buy.
But the uses of Swedish Bitters externally are so amazing and you can absorb them into your body through your skin so drinking it doesn’t have to be an option.
Swedish bitters will stain clothing, bedding, your skin and its alcohol base can make it harsh on sensitive skin. They recommend putting a cream layer on before the bitters. I never do and it hasn’t bothered my skin- even my face. But others have found it has.
To use it, moisten a gauze pad and place it on the affected part or in the case of stomach troubles or flu, on the abdomen then wrap the area in plastic wrap. (Okay I will say it, do not do this on your face). A bandaid could work or let it dry on your face before going to bed. My kids have all been wrapped in plastic wrap for various ailments complete with Swedish Bitters. The plastic wrap keeps the area warm and prevents stains.
So why after all those warnings would you use it? Because it’s medicine in a bottle. Swedish Bitters moves things.
One of my boy’s friends years ago came over with a freshly acquired black eye. The eye was swollen shut. I had him sit with Swedish Bitters gauze and hold it on his eye. 15 minutes and his eye was half open. Half an hour and the eye was open. You could still see he had a black eye but the swelling had gone down immensely.
I had a terrible sprained ankle and wrapped it up with plastic wrap over a soaked gauze pad and I could walk around pain free and the swelling went down quickly.
After a bike accident I had a bruise covering half my thigh- yup a Swedish Bitters wrap ensued.
Acne, bug bites, flu, bruises, burns, slivers, bruises, infections, even arthritis nodules on your fingers will shrink overnight. There is not much I won’t use Swedish Bitters on. There are 5 full pages of uses for the Bitters to be used on in the book.
You will find Swedish Bitters at a health food store or purchase it online. The traditional version is “Maria’s Swedish Bitters” by Flora. There are other versions but this is the one I’ve go back to it has been used since the 15th century so it stands the test of time.
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