Power Food of The Month - Garlic

[suzanne sanders]

Garlic Allium sativum

Garlic has been used in cooking throughout the world for thousands of years. It is a delicious antimicrobial and warming herb for the immune system. Raw garlic works on contact to help kill germs, particularly those that target the throat, lungs, or digestive system. We eat it liberally I use it every day in my cooking, but did you know that garlic has been used for a super long time for healing? Garlic has a long history of use, including the most famous, it was used as a substitute for penicillin during World War 2, when Russian troops had very few pharmaceutical antibiotics. Garlic proved to be so effective at preventing wound infections, that the herb became known as the Russian Penicillin. It is used for digestive, and respiratory conditions (colds, flus, sinus), earaches, ring worm, athletes’ foot, yeast infections, fungal issues, for people with lymes disease, it is said to be a cure for every ailment, except bad breath. Garlic is also a powerful rejuvenating herb, strengthening along with detoxifying.

Garlic can be used in many recipes. It is considered hot, spicy, warming, and drying. Mince a clove or seven and add it to soups, salads, salad dressings, butter, ghee, olive oil, vinegar, honey, dips, pastas, spreads, and vegetables. Heck I have seen and tasted it when it was put in chocolate!

Before I move on to sharing recipes with garlic, let us look at its herbal healing powers, it’s medicinal qualities...

Actions: It has an affinity to aid the lungs, kidney, spleen, stomach, and large intestine

Increase internal heat, circulatory stimulant, antibacterial, anticoagulant (blood thinner), aromatic, decongestant diuretic, diaphoretic, alterative, digestant, carminative, expectorant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, parasiticide anti-influenza, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, and hypotensive.

Used For (To Name a Few): treatment of all lung ailments(it acts as an expectorant to expel phlegm from the lungs), colds, flus, coughs, bronchitis, pneumonia, infections, fevers, sore throats, ear aches, high or low blood pressure, indigestion, circulation, arthritis, rheumatism, pains, worms, dysentery, fungus, candida, vaginal infections and leukorrhea.

Medicinal Preps: tincture, syrup, vinegar, honey, oil, juice, bolus, douche, paste, enema, salve, food, first aid and plaster

As always and with anything, for some garlic can be hot, spicy and too stimulating. When using it as a food there is no need to make it to strong and if you make it to strong, most children will not like it.

Remember with all things, more is not necessarily better, gentle and slow is the way to go, being consistent is the key and having a variety of organic wholistic foods is what keeps you healthy.

So take the junk food out of your life, eat a variety of organic veggies and organic whole foods with garlic added to them and if you or someone in your family gets sick, then you can increase the amount of garlic that is needed for that moment in time.

A Fun Experiment:

Garlic is absorbed by the body quickly. Take a clove of garlic and rub it on your feet. You most likely will taste or smell it on the skin within seconds. When placed on the feet, garlic can have a beneficial effect on the lungs.

Garlic Avocado Guacamole

2 to 4 garlic cloves minced

3 large avocados - halve the avocado remove seed and scoop out fruit

½ sweet or red onion minced

1 ½ of a red bell pepper or 1 orange or 1 red sweet pepper chopped (no green peppers)

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large ripe beautiful juicy tomato (not roma)

½ cup chopped cilantro

¼ teaspoon of coriander seed powder

Dash of white pepper

Sea salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor

Blend until smooth

Enjoy with tacos, burritos on rice, on meat, on crackers, with sliced veggies, on a salad or chips

Garlic Honey – Recipe #1

¼ cup honey

3 cloves garlic, crush with the bottom of a cup. It just needs to be a little bit smooshed

Combine the honey and garlic in a small bowl.

Cover and refrigerate or let stand at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.

Alternatively, you can warm the honey and garlic in a small non-aluminum saucepan. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.

Either way you choose after honey is infused, remove, and discard the garlic.

Garlic Honey – Recipe #2

½ cup chopped garlic (or fresh herb of choice)

2 cups honey

In a saucepan on medium low heat, stir together all ingredients. As the honey becomes watery, turn the heat to low. Bring to a slow boil, uncovered. Once it comes to a boil or begins to froth, turn it off and cover.

Let cool.

Heat at least once more, following the same steps. For a stronger herbal flavor, heat several times

After the last heating, pour honey through a fine mesh strainer and into a glass container.

Store in a cool dark and dry place or in the refrigerator.

Will last up to one year

Garlic Honey for Sinus Congestion or Infection for Children Two Years of Age and Older

Dosage 1 teaspoon straight or in a cup of warm water or herbal tea or bonebroth, 2 to 3 times a day

¼ cup honey

1 clove garlic, smooshed with the bottom of a cup

Follow directions above Garlic Honey Recipe #1

Garlic Ear Oil for Earaches -Childerns Ear Oil: Recipe by Stephen Buhaner, from his book Herbal Antivirals

YOU WILL NEED TO ORDER OR PURCHASE AN AMBER TINTURE TYPE BOTTLE (to store garlic ear oil)

Most childhood ear infections can be treated successfully with herbs. You will also find that the more you change your child’s diet by eliminating foods that their bodies cannot tolerate, such as dairy, earaches will become a thing of the past.

Also, Stephen mentions in his book ‘children are most susceptible to ear infections from antibiotic resistant strains’. When a child has become more susceptible to ear infections from antibiotic resistant strains, you need to work on their immune system, with herbs, lifestyle, and diet changes. By doing this you will make their immune system strong so they can fight off the infections or become resistant to getting the infection.

Ingredients: Please by organic when possible.

Do not use aluminum or copper cookware

5 cloves garlic

4 ounces olive oil

20 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Mince garlic

Place in a small baking dish with the olive oil

Cook over super low heat overnight. Double boiler is the best way to do this or create your own version of a double boiler

Strain using cheese cloth, press and squeeze well

Add eucalyptus essential oil to garlic oil and mix well

Place in amber tincture type bottle for storage and store in a cool dark place

Label product: name, ingredients, date and instructions on how to use

To Use:

Hold glass under hot water for 1 minute or put glass in a bowl of warm water for 1 minute

Make sure it is baby bottle warm

Dry off bottle

Place 2 drops in each ear every half hour or as often as needed for 2 to 7 days.

Winter Wellness Bone Broth

7 cups bone broth

2 16 ounce cans of kidney beans

3 carrots shredded

4 stalks celery diced

1 medium to large onion diced

7 cloves of garlic

2 fresh burdock roots peeled and chopped

4 ounces or more of shitake, maitake or oyster mushrooms. Or a little of each

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

White pepper to season

3 tablespoons of olive oil, ghee or coconut oil

1 bag of frozen spinach

1 bunch of cilantro or basil finely chopped

1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

For the meat heaters 1 pound of meat of choice – optional – Try buffalo

In a soup pot saute the onion, celery and meat in oil

Then add:

Bone broth, carrots, garlic, burdock, mushrooms, turmeric, white pepper, spinach, kidney beans

Simmer until vegetables are tender.

Add chopped basil or cilantro and chopped parsley

Simmer another 5 minutes

Ready to eat and enjoy

If you have picky eaters, try blending all the chucky items into a puree. If they just see the meat and beans, they might try it. Sprinkle with a little organic raw cheese on top and serve with sourdough bread with garlic butter.

Garlic Tincture Garlic Vinegar

https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/guide-tinctures-extracts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H3M_i--EDU

Fire Cider

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU8U0bDmXks

Oxymel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJmNn1fgd2U

https://apothecary.bearrootsforest.ca/turmeric-ginger-oxymel

Pesto

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/kale-pesto-pasta/

Garlic Butter or Ghee

½ pound of butter or ghee

3 cloves of garlic, minced super tiny

1 teaspoon lemon juice or a few gratings of lemon zest

Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Cream the butter or ghee

Then blend in the minced garlic, lemon, sea salt and pepper

Shape as desired and chill or freeze up to 6 months

Popcorn Garlic Herb Blend

¼ cup ground cumin powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons dried oregano

1 cup nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon of sea salt

¼ teaspoon of white or black pepper

Mix all together and store in jar

Always label your jars

Enjoy on buttered organic popcorn!

Roasted Garlic:

You will need a small corning ware dish with a lid or a dish that is used for roasted garlic

If you are roasting chopped up veggies, meat or potatoes you can also place the garlic bulb in the same dish. If you do this you need to drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil on top of the garlic bulb.

I personally don’t use foil to roast anything, it is made from aluminum which is toxic to the human body.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut tips off the pointy end of a head of garlic (do not separate the cloves)

Place in the middle of the dish, drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil over the bulb, cover with lid

Heat about 30 to 40 minutes

Garlic should be a golden color and soft

Remove from oven, it will be hot so be careful

Squeeze the heads at the bottom to pop out the roasted garlic cloves

Garlic Dipping Oil – Use with a lovely baked loaf of bread

3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

¼ sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

A dash of White Balsamic vinegar – optional but super yummy