Tortilla chips are surprisingly easy to make at home. One day I bought a package of fresh corn tortillas to use in a recipe, however so many tortillas come in the package, that I had a lot left over. I decided then to experiment and make my own tortilla chips. Luckily it was a success!

Here’s how to make homemade corn tortilla chips:

Quarter the corn tortillas. Pour about three inches of vegetable oil in a large sautee pan, wok, or dutch oven. Over medium high to high heat, fry the tortilla chips in batches so they don’t crowd the pan. Using metal tongs, flip the tortilla chips continuously to move them around as they fry. It should take about seven minutes per batch. When they turn golden brown, remove them from the oil with the tongs. Place them in a large bowl lined with a paper towel (to soak up the extra oil) and sprinkle each batch with sea salt as you go. It’s as simple as that.

However, if I don’t have the time or patience to fry my own tortilla chips, I look for ones in the store that are organic, like the Wild Oats tortilla chips. I’m pretty picky about my tortilla chips. Corn is a whole-grain, and although they are a fried food (unless on the package it indicates that they are baked), they are a special treat that I really enjoy. If you buy ones in the store look for ones that are low in saturated fat and contain no trans fat.

Strangely enough, plain low-fat cottage cheese makes an excellent dip for tortilla chips. Cottage cheese is a high protein food and is very filling. You can even mix a few dashes of Wild Oats hot chipotle sauce or jalapeno hot sauce into the cottage cheese for some zing! Or, of course there’s salsa, and Wild Oats makes a variety of different kinds of super tasty salsas in all spice levels. Salsa is a very healthy choice as a dip because it’s usually fat-free and is made with tomatoes, which contain cancer fighting antioxidants.

Here are three more positively necessary natural ingredients you need in your kitchen “medicine” chest this winter to help keep you and your family healthy this winter.

And read to the end for tips on how to combine them (along with the three I talked about last week) into some delicious hot brews.

Lemon: How it can help

Who doesn’t love lemon? (Especially fellow-blogger Sabrina!) But lemons are a lot more valuable health-wise than they’re given credit for. Of course they contain a good amount of vitamin C, but they also have strong antibacterial properties, can help support your liver, and are strong immune boosters.

Turmeric: How it can help

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the good news about turmeric’s many health benefits. But what you may not know is how you can make a tea out of it. (See Aisleagh’s post here on how to make a lemon, ginger and turmeric tea). Turmeric is widely recognized as an anti-inflammatory and an amazing antioxidant. It’s good for your brain, heart and lots of other parts of you as well!

Ginger, both powdered and fresh: How it can help

Ginger is a healing herb that’s been used for centuries, especially in Chinese medicine. It’s even recommended by mainstream doctors as a cold and flu symptom fighter. Aside from helping nausea and motion sickness, ginger can help boost your immune system, counteract the aches and pains that come along with the flu and even work on headache pain! (Note: while ginger is a natural remedy, it’s a very powerful one, and shouldn’t be used by anyone taking blood thinners.)

Okay, so how can you combine these amazing ingredients?

Raw honey, of course, goes in just about any hot beverage, even “plain” old tea. If you’re simmering any of the herbs listed, add your honey at the end when you pour the tea into your cup.

Coconut milk makes a delicious hot drink mixed with turmeric and ginger. Take a cup of coconut milk and heat it slowly on the stove. While it’s warming add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, and a ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder. Mix the ingredients well as its heating and add a tablespoon of raw honey when the brew is in your cup.

Coconut oil goes great mixed into a hot cup of black tea. I know it sounds odd, but it’s quite delicious and a great way to get more coconut into your diet. Start out using a half a teaspoon and be sure to mix it up well.

Ginger, either fresh or powdered, makes a wonderful tea. You can blend ginger with turmeric and cinnamon, a combo that’s probably on the top of the list at the Healthy Hall of Fame. (There is a Healthy Hall of Fame, right?)

To make this tea out of fresh ginger, simply peel a few “stalks” and simmer with two cups of water, two cinnamon sticks and a ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder for about 20 minutes. Strain and enjoy with some raw honey. If you’re using powdered ginger, around a ½ a teaspoon will do.

And of course lemon – with the exception of the coconut milk drink, lemon is a welcome and healthful addition to just about every kind of tea you can make.

Bundled up on our wintery way, we have begun taking note of the amazing mushrooms that have been popping up, even at this late date in the woods where we wander, and the trees that are so starkly gorgeous now that the leaves are down. But it was my daughter that pointed out the Juniper berries most recently, snuggled down against the evergreen branches.

“They’re edible.” She told me.

I guess I knew that, but had never given it much thought. A terror of accidental poisoning has always made me shy of berries in the woods. Still, there is something compelling about a fruit that is both frightful and useful at the same time. It made me want to do some investigating. And here is what I found out:

First of all, if you are plagued by witches, Juniper is your go to botanical. Simply plant one by the front door and witches may not enter.

If you are Scottish you probably already know that Juniper incense can ward off the evil eye.

Tibetans use it to remove demons.

If you happen to be already free of the evil eye, witches and or demons, Juniper berries may be of interest for their medicinal and culinary properties.

The main food use of juniper berries is as a seasoning and can be used to enhance almost any stew using either domestic or wild meat. Poultry, lamb, veal, rabbit, moose, venison and wild boar have all been treated with lively results, since the pungent black fruit blends easily with other herbs and spices, like basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, bay, allspice, garlic and onion. The leaves can be used to add a smoky flavor to grilled fish. Juniper berries are also used throughout the Northern hemisphere to brighten up and season pâtés and sauces. Goulash and Sauerkraut often feature a juniper taste, as do many home cured meats like, salt pork, beef and ham. Juniper not only flavors, but cuts the gaminess of wild meats. It’s no surprise that it has been widely used by native Tribes in cooking as well as for medicinal purposes. Traditionally gathered in early Fall the berries are dried for winter use, or made into mush and used for cakes, roasted, and ground to use as a coffee like substitute.

The Cree Indians called juniper Ka-Ka-Kau-mini and made a poultice for wounds out of the inner bark. J. horizontalis the low growing variety that is common in much of North America and the Yukon is called sik-si-nou-koo (black round objects) by the Blackfoot. Some Indian tribes believed Juniper was an effective method of birth control. A daily tea of five berries could be brewed and then imbibed to prevent conception. The Blackfoot made a liniment of Juniper root and poplar leaves to relieve backache. Juniper Tea was also used to treat sore throats and colds. The Inupiat used berries and twigs tea for respiratory aliments. Many tribes use Juniper “incense” made from bundles of burning needles to cleanse a house and drive out disease.

Juniper is well known by today’s herbalists as an excellent diuretic, and for cleansing the kidneys and bladder as well as for urinary tract infections. It is also known to be effective for dissolving kidney stones.

Note: The oil of juniper can be irritating to the kidneys. It is not recommended for anyone with weak kidneys. Or without the advice of a physician.

In tea form, it stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and is known to relieve indigestion. In this application it has the added benefit of reducing gas and flatulence.

Juniper oil, has been used as an external treatment for stiff joints, but should never be applied without being diluted and mixed with a carrier as its volatile nature can cause blistering.

Juniper’s detoxifying properties are used in the treatment inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and gout, and according to studies, inhibits the formation of inflammatory prostaglandins.

And of course there is Gin. All gin uses juniper as its main ingredient and has an entire history as a distillery ingredient beginning in the 14^th century and gaining momentum ever since.

The main chemical compounds in Juniper are sugars, pinene, limonene, tannins, and antioxidant flavonoids, making its extracts both aromatic and potent.

So next time you are wandering amid the evergreens that fill the winter woods, if you note some small, dark mysterious berries, consider Juniper and its place in human life and culture. As I heard someone say recently, we are not in nature – we are nature.

Juniper’s active ingredients Web MD

http://www.anniesremedy.com

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com

https://www.botanical.com

wikipedia.org/Juniper_berry

http://davesgarden.com

juniperus-communis

Juniper-Berries-In-German-Cooking

The study of telomeres is a popular one among the anti-aging research and medical community.  So much good scientific information regarding telomeres and health is coming out all the time.  I want to share some of that info with you in the future.  So, today I will go over the basics of telomeres … and why you should care!

Let’s start with the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine  … it went to 3 scientists for their discovery of “How chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” Wow,  2009, that is pretty recent!!  Telomeres were first identified decades earlier but for a long time no one knew what they actually did.  The scientists who received the Noble Prize spent over 30 years doing research on telomeres to figure it out.  In the process of all that work, they also stumbled upon an enzyme responsible for making healthy telomeres and naming that enzyme telomerase.

What are telomeres?  Basically, they are the protective end caps of our chromosomes that essentially keep our chromosomes from fraying when an old cell is dying off and being replaced by its daughter cell.

Here’s the basic biology lesson  –
We are made up of many different organ systems.  The organ systems are made up of different organs  …  that are made up of different tissues … each designed for specific structures and functions.  Tissues are made of cells that are joined together to do the job of that tissue or organ.  Cells are made up of smaller components called organelles, and one of those organelles is the nucleus.  Even though our various cells can have hundreds of very different functions, they all contain the exact same “blueprint” in the nucleus.  That blueprint is DNA.  DNA is made up of 2 chromosomes into which all of our genes are packed, half from mom and half from dad.  The chromosomes, and all the genetic information they contain are made up of varying combinations of nucleotides.  Here is where the telomere comes in … the end of every human chromosome has the exact same repeating sequences of nucleotides.  Every time a cell becomes old it is triggered to replace itself with a new daughter cell.  The new cell has everything the same as the old cell … except the telomere has shortened.  When the telomere becomes too short the ability of the cell to replicate itself stops.  When that cell dies, there is no replacement.  That equals aging!

Our genetic material, our DNA cannot be changed by lifestyle choices … except for telomeres!  Even though telomeres are genetic material (sequences of nucleotides), the length of telomeres are affected by dietary and lifestyle choices!  With telomeres ….. long is good, short is not  … and the choices you make can make a difference!

If we would do things to keep our telomeres long, we would have cells that can replace themselves for a longer time.  Cell replacement = cell youth!

Here are a couple of examples about telomere length that link back to some previous blog topics:

●  I recently blogged about the exercise hormone, Irisin.  A study from 2014 entitled “Plasma irisin levels predict telomere length in healthy adults” showed that irisin released by exercising increased telomere length.

●  I had a series of blogs on the incredibile health benefits of the sunshine vitamin, Vit D.  A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found longer telomere lengths in women with higher Vit D levels (only women were in the study).

The list of information about telomeres is growing very quickly.  It is a hot medical and research topic. Watch what happens over the next 10 years in the global conversations about telomeres!!    If our cells can stay healthy and maintain healthy telomeres, we will age more slowly.  And, yes, the lifestyle choices we make really do matter.  Gosh, I feel younger already!

There’s a crabapple tree right outside my kitchen window. How it got there, I don’t have a clue. It sprouted a few years back, and I just let it grow.

That seemed like a big mistake this fall. After all, we have two apple trees that provide more fruit each year than our family can handle. This year, we sent several sacks over to a friend for cider-making. But we don’t eat the crabapples. So the fruit falls to the ground, rots, and gets tracked into our kitchen whenever someone—including our dog—comes in from the back yard.

Yup, that thing definitely has to go.

Then, last night brought six inches of snow, along with some near-zero temperatures to the Front Range of Colorado. When I poured my first cup of coffee this morning and gazed out the kitchen window, it looked as if the crab-apple tree was in motion. Dozens of birds were perched on the branches, enjoying a feast from the tiny fruit still on the tree. There were robins and sparrows, some blackbirds, even a woodpecker, and some others I couldn’t identify.

Okay, so maybe I won’t pull out the chainsaw quite yet.