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My passion has been Herbal medicine for many, many years now, it’s helping me in my own health journey and I have seen time and time again the amazing results achieved with simple herbs.
 
This time of the year I’m all about the Hawthorn berries, lining nearly every hedgerow in this beautiful island we live on.  Mythology connects Hawthorn to the fairy folk.  Hawthorn has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, prescribed by the Ancient Greek physician Dioscorides in the first century AD as a remedy for heart problems. Those red berries could remind you of blood cells.   
 
The beauty of herbal medicine is when you consult with a practitioner that loves the craft, it is through knowledge and intuition that they will create a formula that targets your specific needs.  Some herbs I would have often used alongside hawthorn would be – black pepper, ginger, cayenne, gingko, garlic, motherwort, nettle, cleavers etc.  But let’s get back to the hawthorn berry and what we herbalists traditionally use it to help:

• Protect against heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Studies show increase in coronary artery flow
• Supports strong healthy heart beat
• Symptoms of heart failure
• Improves hearts ability to withstand stress
• Angina
• Improves circulation
• Reduce histamine production
• Digestive health
• Physical and emotional heart strength

 
 
What is in hawthorn berries that make them such a powerhouse:

• Antioxidants
• Specifically high in high in oligomeric procyanidins (OPCs) – known for heart health benefits
• Flavones
• Enhance the availability of Vitamins A, C & E
• Quercetin

 
Remember as with all forms of medication, if you are currently on a medication regime, check first for interactions or contra-indications.  
 
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com 
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Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
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We all use spices of some form in our daily life, whether it’s hot spices in a curry or aromatic spices like cinnamon in a cinnamon bun.  Spices come from various parts of the plant – seeds, roots and fruits.  We don’t think about them too deeply normally, but here are 5 of my top tips when it comes to buying, using and storing your spices to get the best out of them.
 
Top 5 spice tips:

1. Buy whole – what I mean by that is if you have the option of buying whole or ground buy whole and grind when you need – I love a good pestle and mortar but a cheap electric coffee grinder is a fab buy for your spices.  The reason you want ot buy whole is to make sure you are getting all the goodness out of the spices and the flavour will sing.
2. Just enough – like goldilocks, you don’t want too little, or too much.  With spices don’t go too heavy.  A little nutmeg can elevate the flavour of so many dishes but a whole nutmeg and you could find yourself hallucinating
3. Store right – This will help with flavour, volatile oils, health benefits etc my rule of thumb is:

          i.Airtight container
          ii.Dry space
          iii.Away from heat
          iv.In the dark

1. Give it a good roast – certain spices are even better after roasting for 3 minutes (do not burn), this is particularly seen in Indian cooking, spices like cumin, fennel,  mustard and sesame will release more flavour from this process
2. Get brave – just add spices to your meals, any of the following:

i.1. Cumin, Caraway, Cinnamon, Bay leaves, Smoked paprika, Garlic, Star anise, Saffron,  Nutmeg, Coriander, Cayenne pepper, Cloves, Turmeric, Mustard, Cardamon, Allspice, Chili, Ginger, Black pepper, Vanilla.
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com

 
I love cooking but sometimes we make mistakes and think we have to start again.  Here are a few hacks that will help you if that happens
 
Burnt rice
Firstly don’t scrape any of the burnt rice up into the rest of the rice.  Remove what you can, place it in a bowl and cover it with a few slices of white bread.  The bread will absorb the burnt aroma leaving you with useable rice
 
Over salted soup/stews
We’ve all done it, slipped or just been heavy handed with the salt.  Simply add a peeled potato to the soup/stew and it will balance out the excess salt
 
Thicken sauces
Add a lasagne sheet to the sauce, it will absorb excess fluid, then remove the sheet before using the sauce
 
No stick cakes
It’s rotten when you bake a delicious cake and it sticks to the pan, it ruins it.  But there is a simple solution when using ceramic or metal dishes (not glass).  When you take the cake out of the oven place it on top of a damp tea towel and leave sit for a few minutes .  When you turn the cake over it should just slip out.
 
Soften raw onions
Not a mistake per say but can definitely ruin a  dish.  Sometimes raw onion can be a little too sharp.  Just place it in iced water for a few minutes and it will take the sharpness down a notch
 
 
Too sweet
Add a dash of sour – lemon juice
 
Too salty
Add a dash of lemon juice or mild vinegar
Stir in starch – quinoa, rice, pasta, couscous
Use a little Indian cooking trick “tarka” garlic, aromatic herbs and spices are sauteed separately and added at the end of cooking  to add a burst of flavour in the final step
 
Too sour
Add a little sweet – sugar, syrup, honey
 
Too spicy
Add some fat – butter, coconut milk/cream
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Rest & Reset webinars -  follow us on facebook
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
Rest & Reset
 

Here are some more kitchen hacks you wish you’d always known
 
 
Clean your wooden chopping board
Place coarse salt on the board then cut a lemon in half, rub the salt round the board with the half lemon, inner side down.
 
Still chopping board
It’s so annoying when you’re chopping board keeps moving so a quick tip is to place a damp tea towel underneath it and it won’t budge
 
Non-stick measuring cups
When you’re baking or cooking and you need to measure out liquids or sticky substances, you don’t want half of it to stick to the measuring cup.  Simply coat the inside of the cup with some oil
 
Removing the fat
Often we want to remove the excess fat from a stew/stock/sauce.  Place an ice cube on a large spoon, place on the surface of the liquid, the fat will rise to the cooler temperature and just scoop it out on the spoon. Another way is to place the ice in a muslin cloth, tie up and dip into the liquid, the fat will stick to the cloth
 
Poached eggs x12
If you are making breakfast for a gang, poached eggs can be a pain, but here is a quick hack.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) water to each cup in 12-cup muffin pan. 
3. One at a time, crack eggs into each cup. Season eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. 
4. Bake until egg whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 9 minutes. 
5. Let stand for a few minutes. 
6. Scoop out with slotted spoon, gently patting dry with paper towel.

 
 
 
 
You can follow carina at:
www.itsanaturalchoice.com
www.breaking-fads.com
Rest & Reset webinars -  follow us on facebook
Follow her journey on Facebook & Instagram:
@itsanaturalchoice
@welovebreakingfads
Rest & Reset