Mountain Warrior Kung Fu Academy

Understanding Kung Fu for life, health and self defense

Weekly Wellness Ideas

For those of you who are not signed up for Sue's Weekly Wellness Box, you can still use all the wonderful information she put together.

This weeks wellness goodies are: honeysuckle, therapeutic tea, heart warming tea, the wild food is yellow dock/ nettle, collard greens, basil, kale, spinach, radish, carrots, onions, mustard greens, comfrey, fennel, garlic scallions, celery salad and a bouquet of flowers.

Honeysuckle Fun

Honeysuckle Information:
Japanese honeysuckle is edible and medicinal. High in Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium, the leaves can be parboiled and eaten as a vegetable. The edible buds and flowers, made into a syrup or puddings. The entire plant has been used as an alternative medicine for thousands of years in Asia. The active constituents include calcium, elaidic-acid, hcn, inositol, linoleic-acid, lonicerin, luteolin, magnesium, myristic-acid, potassium, tannin, and zink. It is alterative, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge, and is also used to reduce blood pressure. The stems are used internally in the treatment of acute rheumatoid arthritis, mumps and hepatitis. The stems are harvested in the autumn and winter, and are dried for later herb use. The stems and flowers are used together a medicinal infusion in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia) and dysentery. An infusion of the flower buds is used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments including syphillitic skin diseases and tumors, bacterial dysentery, colds, and enteritis. Experimentally, the flower extracts have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels and are antibacterial, antiviral and tuberculostatic. Externally, the flowers are applied as a medicinal wash to skin inflammations, infectious rashes and sores.

Medicinal Actions
Honeysuckle is cooling and is frequently utilized as a remedy for cold/flu, fevers, sore throats, infections (both viral and bacterial), and other symptoms of acute heat and toxicity.

That is especially true in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where the flowerbuds are commonly formulated with Forsythia as a classic combination in the treatment of childhood eruptive diseases and other viral infections manifesting with heat signs.

In Western usage, Honeysuckle is considered to be anti-inflammatory, anti-infective (anti-viral and anti-bacterial), relaxant nervine, expectorant, anti-spasmodic, relaxant diaphoretic, diuretic and vulnerary.

Taken as a whole, this indications make Honeysuckle a fantastic remedy for infection, fever, cold/flu and accompanying symptoms.

Making an infused honey is simple and the resulting medicine is both tasty and effective. It can be used internally or externally, and is just the thing for a sore throat, minor to moderate burn or feverish, restless little one.

Recipe:

Fill jar with fresh Honeysuckle flowers, making sure the jar is full without air pockets but without greatly packing the flowers down. If using dried flowers, only fill the jar about 1/2-3/4 of the way full.

Fill jar with honey (if honey is partially crystalized or very thick, warm gently in a double boiler before pouring).

Stir to distribute honey evenly.

Top off with honey and stir again.

Allow to sit for about 4 weeks in a dark, cool place.

You can warm the honey and strain out the flowers/flower buds, but you can also leave the flowers in if you don’t mind the texture and use the honey that way.The Weekly Wellness Tea:

Heart-Warming Tea: Empty bag in 3 cups of boiling spring or filtered water, simmer for 2 - 5 minutes. Strain and enjoy outside as the sun is going down.

Ingredients: Rose petals,calendula, hawthorn leaf, stevia, valerian root, rose hips and damania.

Therapeutic Tea: 1 cup fresh herbs to 2 cups spring or filtered water boiling water. Simmer 2 to 5 minutes. If you want to have stronger healing properties from the herbs then make as an infusion. Go outside and listen to the bird songs.

Ingredients: Blackberry leaves, raspberry leaves, lemon balm and peppermint

Information on blackberry leaves:

Since ancient times, the leaves of the blackberry plant have been used curatively, especially throughout Europe and Asia. For example, two thousand years ago, the roman army doctor Galenos had his soldiers chew blackberry leaves to strengthen gums and build up physical resistance; today, we know it was the vitamin C and tannins in the leaves that he was counting on to boost immunity and heal wounds. Blackberry leaves have high levels of tannins and vitamin C, and they are made into a tea that has proved beneficial as a remedy for diarrhea, a gargle for throat inflammations and a compress for wounds and rashes. The tea also helps regulate both heavy and light menstrual flow and is a gastrointestinal soother. It's a tea you can drink daily-it has no side effects. Sweeten its bitter taste with honey, or mix the leaves with other herbs for healing tea blends.

Wild Harvest Of The Week: Yellow dock and Nettle

Yellow Dock: Is a leafy green that can be used anywhere you’d use cooked spinach. It has a slightly stronger flavor.

First order of business is to give the leaves a thorough wash . Do this like you would salad leaves, by swishing them around in a large quantity of water, then gently lifting them from the top of the water, letting all dirt remain in the bottom of the wash.

Once you have clean leaves, you are ready to cook with dock. This is a leaf which is best cooked because, like spinach, it has a high oxalic acid content. Use the delicious lemony sorrel-like leaves of dock in any number of dishes, from stewed greens, to sauces, to egg dishes. It can also be fun to stuff dock leaves, if they are large enough to do so.

For First Aid: The cooling and astringent leaves can be used topically to reduce swelling from irritations. Use them on cold sores as well as stinging nettle rashes.

Nettle: It is a vitamin factory, rich in iron, calcium, potassium, silicon,magnesium, manganese, zinc, and chromium as well s a host of other vitamins and minerals.

Yellow Dock and Nettle Strudel

3 cups onion, diced fine

4 cloves of garlic chopped

2 tsp caraway seeds

3 tsp dill weed

1 tsp sea salt and pepper

4 to 8 cups finely chopped yellow dock/nettle mixture

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 cup cream cheese

1 1/2 cup raw cheese

2 eggs

1/2 lb filo- You could also make this like an lasagna and use lasagna pasta instead.

Butter or olive oil

Always use organic ingredients as much as possible

Saute the onion, garlic, caraway, dill, salt, pepper, yellow dock and nettle in olive oil unit soft. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, mix yellow dock/nettle saute mixture, rice cheeses, and eggs.

Skip this next step if you are going to layer your mixture with lasagna pasta

Assembly begins by thawing the filo dough.

Remove filo from package and lay on a flat dry surface. Cover with wax paper or foil and follow recipe instructions.
Re-roll any unused filo sheets and seal in a plastic bag.
Dough can be refrozen up to 3 months or stored in the refrigerator 2 weeks.
Be sure to keep dough moist when putting recipes together; to ensure crispness, do not use overly moist fillings.
While traditional dishes call for brushing each filo leaf with melted butter, try a light coating of safflower, olive, or other cooking oil on every second layer. You can also use most cooking sprays with excellent results.

You could make individual strudels or layer the filo dough in a 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish

Use two to three sheets of filo down between layers in a 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish. Layer it like you would a lasagna. Brush each layer with melted butter or olive oil and spoon the yellow dock/nettle mixture in-between your layers.

Here are some more recipe ideas that you can do with your yellow dock/ nettle mixture. Just use the yellow dock/nettle mixture as a substitute for the cooked greens that are in the recipe.

http://rosesprodigalgarden.org/recipes/nettlesrecipes.html

http://foragedfoodie.blogspot.com/2013/05/superfood-mac-cheese-reci...

http://rosesprodigalgarden.org/recipes/yellowdockrecipes.html

http://laughinglemonpie.com/recipe-dock-au-gratin/

Most health food stores carry this brand of organic filo:

http://www.fillofactory.com/fillo-recipes

Fennel Frond Pesto

Makes 4 servings, plus leftover pesto

Preparation time: 30 minutes

1/3 cup pistachios, toasted

2 to 4 garlic scallions finely chopped or 2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 cup raw cheese

1 teaspoon sea salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups lightly packed fennel fronds

optional: 4-5 mint leaves, torn

about ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

1 pound penne pasta

1 cup frozen peas

Put the pistachios, garlic, cheese, salt, and pepper in a food processor/blender. Pulse a few times to grind slightly.

Add fennel and mint, if using, to the food processor/blender. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is reduced to a paste and has a spreadable, but not greasy consistency. Taste and add salt if necessary. Squeeze in a little bit of lemon juice to taste.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water generously and cook the pasta until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, set up a colander in the sink and put the frozen peas in it. (If you have fresh peas, by all means use them. You can add them to the boiling water in the last few minutes of cooking the pasta.

When the pasta is done, drain the pasta in the colander. Return the pasta, along with the peas, into the pot. Stir in the pesto until pasta is lightly coated and flavorful. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, to taste.

You can use this pesto on crackers, bread, meat or a starch.

Need a new recipe for your radishes?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Radishes-with-...

This one looks yummy. The only thing I would change is omit the green chilies and use 1 big organic red pepper. Never eat green peppers.....

http://giniann.wordpress.com/2006/12/23/radish-curry-saute-with-oni...

One More Greens Recipe: Use organic broth with this recipe

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/sauteed-greens-white-beans-a...

Fun Facts About Your Greens: Share the knowledge :)

Collards, Mustard, and Kale all belong to the Brassica family and are considered SUPER FOODS because of their antioxidant qualities.

Collards are a good source of protein, potassium, are high in fiber, and provide vitamins A,C,E,K and B6.

Mustard is especially known to protect against hay fever, sinusitus, and asthma.

Kale is loaded with organosulfur compounds (that may lessen the occurrance of some cancers), and has phytonutrients that help the liver to neutralize potentially cancerous substances.