Years ago, after the FDA said not to give young children cough medicine, I remember thinking, “Oh great, now what am I suppose to use?” But little did I know that there were natural remedies that are actually MORE effective (with less side effects). What is that natural remedy? I’ll give you a hint. This anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal product is likely something your grandparents used. It’s great treating for allergies, benefiting your skin, healing wounds AND raising your immune system. Okay, that wasn’t really a hint, sorry about that, but it was an easy way to tell you some of its other benefits. Anyway, it’s…
HONEY! But not just any ole’ honey, honey…
It’s a raw honey, and in particular, Buckwheat honey. I get mine at Whole Foods…
He’s so old and over this. Can you tell? Anyone has some little ones I can borrow for blog pictures? Mine are getting too old!!
A study from Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that “children who received a small dose of buckwheat honey before bedtime slept better and coughed less than those who received either a common over-the-counter cough suppressant (dextromethorphan) or nothing at all.” See full article here.
This article actually sites a study that concluded that honey (with coffee) can be MORE effective than steroids (prednisone). What?! Now that is impressive!!
And, both the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend honey to help calm a cough. Okay, enough already, I think you get my point.
Oh by the way, NEVER EVER give kids under the age of 1 honey!
So for kids at least 1 year of age, but the studies were on kids 2 and older, use 1-2 tsp with some warm water and sip. And don’t be worried about the sugar keeping them up at night. The honey actually helps release tryptophan, the compound famous for making us sleepy after eating turkey at Thanksgiving.
For adults, add ground ginger (1/2 tsp), lemon (juice from 1/2 lemon) and a dash cayenne pepper. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Okay, maybe not. But it is very soothing and can aid in killing bacteria, relieving sore throats, and helping strengthen your immune system. The ginger can help with upset stomach and relieve aches and pains associated with colds and flu. It also is a great expectorant and will help break up mucus in the lungs as well as soothe painful sore throats. The lemon boosts immunity, alkalizes & detoxifies the body, and provides vitamin C. And the cayenne, well, it is potent and effectively treats fevers, sore throats, nausea, and other digestive issues.
I hope you all stay well this Winter season, but if you do you find your kids or yourself not up to par, I hope you will consider using raw honey. It tastes a heck of a lot better than any cough medicine out there anyway!!
Have any of you tried it before? How about the manuka honey? I would love to hear about your experience. That stuff is suppose to be pretty amazing…
Emily Crouch -Thanks for this Landria! I’ve always used raw honey for my kids and I but wondered about your recommendation for the buckwheat honey in particular vs. other kinds? I use a local raw honey from Home Town Honey. Thanks.ReplyCancel
landriav -Hi Erin! Some of the studies were actually on Buckwheat in particular. But, I’m sure any raw local honey is great!!ReplyCancel
Coleen -I knew about honey for colds, etc. but didn’t know it had to be raw honey — no wonder!! Thanks for the info!ReplyCancel
landriav -Sure Coleen! Thanks for posting! Hope you’re doing well!!ReplyCancel
mandy -It’s true! We used raw local honey for cough/sore throat and also to help with some respiratory allergies (not for asthma but that’s another story…) And the recipe above with lemon, ginger and cayenne is my own go-to in the winter time! It totally works. I’ll have to learn more about the buckwheat honey though. Something new to try this year!ReplyCancel
landriav -GREAT to hear Mandy! Thanks for sharing!! I hope you and your sweet family had a great holiday and are not needing any honey or cayenne! 🙂ReplyCancel
Erin -oh Wow!! I just came across your blog on pinterest, and realized that we went to high school together. Wonderful blog… loving all of your recipes!! 🙂 Erin (London) BagwellReplyCancel
landriav -Ha! Small world Erin!! Thank you and so nice to hear from you! 🙂ReplyCancel
Gracie -Hi Landria! We are bee keepers and this was our first year of honey supply. Needless to say, not one of us has gotten so much as a sniffle this year! The local honey (from our backyard!) has really helped our sons allergies also!:) Thank you for the great post!ReplyCancel
landriav -Hey Gracie!! Very cool to hear! Thanks for sharing!!!ReplyCancel
So, many of you asked me what we are making for Christmas this year and after 4 grocery store trips in less than 24 hours (ugh!), I think we are ready. Anyway here are a few of the things that will be on our menu:
There are so many fun and fabulous ways to cook a turkey. Fry it. Grill it. Roast it. But, I always wondered why more people don’t slow cook their turkeys. You’ve all tried the slow cooked chicken by now, right? You’ve got to try that if you haven’t. Dipping a bite of chicken in the juice, oh, it’s so good. So why wouldn’t we want the same tender, fall-off-the-bone texture for a turkey?
This past Thanksgiving we slow cooked a turkey, and it was awesome and easy to make.
Here is what you need:
15 lb turkey
fresh sage and thyme
sea salt
1 large onion
2 lemons
1/2 cup butter or ghee
1 1/2 cup white wine
Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, rinse and pat dry your turkey.
Then, chop your herbs and set aside.
Then melt your butter and add the herbs to make a herb butter.
Then, it’s time to get messy. Separate the skin from the turkey breast and spread the herb butter between the skin and the meat of the turkey breast.
Place quartered onion in the baking dish alongside the turkey breast and some inside the cavity of the turkey. Also stuff the cavity with the lemons (cut in half) and any additional herbs you might like. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired. Pour wine into the pan.
Truss the turkey and slow roast for approximately twelve hours, cover tightly with foil. Baste every 2 to 3 hours, if possible.
Increase the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting for one and one-half hours or until the skin is a rich brown and the meat has reached an internal temperature of at least 185 F. Allow the turkey to rest for 30 minutes prior to carving.
Our fear was that it wouldn’t turn out nice and brown like a traditional turkey but as you can see, it browned very nicely!
So on to my new favorite side…So I’ve never made a sweet potato casserole and I’m not sure why since I love sweet potatoes so much. Oh my goodness, this tastes more like a dessert. It is fabulous, if I do say so myself!!
Sweet Potato Casserole
Here is what you need:
Filling
4 large sweet potatoes (or pre-cut bag from Trader Joe’s 2 lbs)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp celtic salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
Topping
1 cup raw pecans, chopped (Trader Joe’s has a pre-chopped bag)
1/3 cup almond meal or flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp celtic salt
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar (for the top)
Of course I bought pre-pealed pre-cut sweet potatoes from Trader Joe’s. You can get them in the freezer section at Whole Foods too. Or you can just use 4 large sweet potatoes, peel and chop them.
Then, boil the sweet potato in a large pot of water for about 10 or so minutes until they are fork tender. Next put in a food processor with the rest of the “Filling” ingredients and blend until smooth. Move to a 9″ Pyrex glass pie or glass baking dish.
For the topping, mix in a medium bowl all of the ingredients except for the coconut palm sugar. If you don’t melt the butter, you may need to use your hands to mush it all together. I used my hands since I needed to spread the “Topping” over the “Filling” anyway . Then, dust 1 tbsp of coconut palm sugar evenly over your topping. Cook on 350 for 20-25 minutes and enjoy!
Ahh and our broccoli casserole. It’s such a favorite of ours. This year I added about 1/3 cup of almond meal to the mixture to thicken it up a bit and it was a nice change.
And for dessert: Chocolate Bark
Okay, here is one other super simple, super tasty dessert that I’ve been using all season long for holiday parties, etc.
All you need is some dark chocolate, good salt chunks, and some nuts or seeds and or dried fruit that you like.
This is what I used:
Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate 70% cacao Bar (It’s a 1 lb bar and only $5 but I only used 1/2 lb)
slivered almonds, handful
pepitas, handful
sunflower seeds, handful
dried cherries
The easiest way to melt the chocolate (I only use 1/2 lb since that is all that will fit on one cookie sheet) is to get a big metal bowl, break the chocolate apart and put it in the bowl. Next, get a pan, add hot water and bring it to a boil. Then set the metal bowl on top and stir the chocolate as it melts. Once it’s melted, lay out some parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spread it evenly (make it pretty thin). Then immediately add your nuts, seeds, dried fruit, salt, etc. asap while the chocolate is still melted. Then put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until it has hardened. Then break apart into pieces and enjoy!
So those are a few of our favorite things. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!
Pat -Merry Christmas to you guys! The broccoli casserole looks especially good, will have to give that a try. We typically roast broccoli…
Turkey looks good as well. We did a big bird earlier in the season, and did a brine soak overnight, then cooked a bit faster than yours but with a hotter browning at the end. Crisp outside, and juicy inside!
So, finally, Happy New Year to you guys!ReplyCancel
landriav -Thanks Pat! Merry Christmas to you too!!ReplyCancel
Joyce Parker -Wow! I always thought it was never suggested because of potential food poisoning since it would take so long to bring it to the correct temperature, but I do see there are plenty other sites around recommending the same thing.ReplyCancel
Rebecca Denney-How do you store these? I make a similar chocolate but they either got too melty for me or the chocolate got a little dis colored when they went from fridge to room temperature. Any ideas on that? Thank you! They look beautiful!!ReplyCancel
With the rain finally ending (at least I hope!), it’s about to start getting real cold here in Atlanta. With the holidays, and the cold, finally, I love making some fun after school treats once in awhile. And, what’s better than coming home from school all cold, throwing down the backpacks, tearing off the jackets, and enjoying some hot cocoa? Mmmm…
What I love about this, and the kids don’t even know, is that it is actually pretty good for them! The fat from the coconut milk is of course, awesome for them. But the raw cacao powder is fabulous too. With more magnesium than any other food, loads of iron, and up to 4x more antioxidants that green tea, why would you not make this?! Actually, just be sure you don’t do it too late in the day or the cacao can keep them up since it does have some caffeine in it. If yours are sensitive, this might be a better weekend treat.
Here is what you need for your Healthy (shhh) Hot Cocoa:
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or an extra tbsp if you like things sweeter)
1/2 cup of original almond milk (I used Whole Foods brand for this)
1 cup coconut milk full fat
2-4 tbsp dark chocolate chunks
The cacao can be a little tricky to mix with liquids. The cacao powder and liquids can be like oil and water and just won’t combine well, unless your liquid is hot. So, I would actually start by warming up the water first in your pot. Then add the cacao powder and stir until smooth. That part is very important!! Once those are combined, then add in the rest of your ingredients and let it come to a boil while you continue to stir. Then turn off immediately and serve. I like mine without the extra chocolate since that part can get a little chunky and sometimes it doesn’t turn out to be super smooth, but of course the kids don’t mind that at all!
Leane -Hi! This Hot Cocoa is fantastic! Yummy! Thanks for sharing it. Do you happen to know of any almond milks and coconut milks that do not contain carrageenan? It’s in many of them and is known in some studies to be a carcinogen. I see it in yogurt tubes and many many other products. Ugh.ReplyCancel
landriav -Hey Leane! Yes! I only use Whole Foods brand or Silk or sometimes one of the Trader Joe’s. I am cautious also not to use anything with carrageen in it. Thanks so much for commenting! 🙂ReplyCancel
Jordan -Just making this today since we are home celebrating the SNOW DAY! It’s delicious and I will never reveal that it’s healthy! ( :ReplyCancel
landriav -Ha, thanks for sharing Jordan!! Hope y’all had a fun day today. I think we probably have a couple of more days of this. Stay warm!!ReplyCancel
I cannot believe the holidays and holiday parties are coming up so soon!! There is so much to look forward to. But, I know there is some concern about diets during this time of year, so I have compiled some tips to keep you on track over the holidays.
Eat lots of good stuff!
First, give yourself a break. It is the holidays so allow yourself to enjoy the delicious food, and plenty of it. Go crazy on the meats, shrimp cocktails, and veggies all you want. We watched Madmen on Netflix the other night. Since Betty was doing Weight Watchers, she could only eat a half of slice of meat, 1 steamed brussel sprout (what?? ), a bite of stuffing, a spoonful of creamed spinach and a little cranberry sauce for her Thanksgiving dinner. It made me sooo sad. Scott looked at me and said, “That is killing you, isn’t it?” Umm, yes. I wanted to shout to Betty, “Eat all the meat and veggies you want!! It’s okay! Just skip the stuffing & biscuit!”.
While I really enjoy a sweet treat such as a cookie, I would so much rather have a Paleo cookie (or three), than a “traditional” cookie that would make me feel sick, hurt my stomach, and give me a huge sugar hangover. If you don’t think the party will have any fun treats that won’t make you feel bad or sick, then you know what your contribution to the party will be, right? 🙂 Just make sure you get some of your own dessert or appetizer before it’s all gone!
Always eat something beforehand
If you’re not bringing something, or you’re not sure they will have anything you can eat, or you worry you’ll be tempted to eat things that might make you feel bad later, be sure to eat ahead of time. Going to a party hungry will just set you up for lack of self control. It’s the biggest way to make sure that temptation, even after a glass of wine, won’t be as strong.
Choose your drinks wisely
One tip regarding alcohol, for every cocktail you have, also have a glass of water. Secondly, think about what you are going to drink. If you like your liquor, then go for the mixers like soda water instead of, say, tonic or Coke. Tonics and Pop can add up in sugar very quickly and you’ll end up with a worse hangover just from the sugar. Also think about choosing a drink that is a little “cleaner” like tequila, whiskey, gin, and vodka. And while wine is great, especially red, it does contain some sugar. So if you are sensitive to sugar, try not to go too crazy on the vino, as yummy as it is. For some drink recipes or greater detail on the subject, click here.
Be prepared for the tough questions
People love to share the enjoyment of food together, but sometimes it’s hard to say no because you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
If you have recently changed your diet, you might want to think ahead about how you are going to answer questions regarding not eating certain foods that were hurting you. Of course everyone’s situation is different but you might want to say something to the effect of “Unfortunately, I recently learned that gluten (or fill in the blank here) has been making me sick.”, or “My body just can’t seem to tolerate (fill in the blank here) anymore”. Blame it on your body! Just be sure to keep it simple, don’t make it a big deal, and it won’t be.
Not the time to preach
This one goes with the one above but just be sure to also keep in mind now is NOT the time to preach about eating clean whole foods or talk about how amazing you feel. Another day, another time.
OK, figure out what your body can handle, or not handle, and plan accordingly. But above all, please, enjoy the holidays and many of the good foods that goes along with it! You don’t have to “fall off the wagon” this time of year…just plan ahead!!
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
By the way, if you need a good looking, good tasting, and easy to make appetizer for one of your parties or even just for home, this app is fabulous.
All you need is:
asparagus
prosciutto
grass fed butter, or ghee
Start by rinsing your asparagus. Then cut the hard bottoms (1-2 inches). Next, cut your prosciutto in half and then wrap it diagonally around the asparagus to get the most prosciutto coverage. Heat large pan/skillet on high, add about 1 tbsp of butter or ghee and add your asparagus. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side so it gets brown, then turn it down on low for about 5-10 minutes or until desired tenderness, and enjoy!
Oh, I had a few slices of bacon left and lots of asparagus so I decided to make bacon asparagus burritos the same way. This is a good way to make an even quicker side, especially if it’s just for your family!
Oh and lastly, and while we are talking about bacon (yet again), my other favorite party appetizer is similar but with sweet potatoes, bacon and some maple. Click here for the recipe.
Crunchy sweet potato fries are probably one of my favorite veggie discoveries of all time. Sometimes though, they turn out somewhat crispy, and other times, they are super crispy. Today, I was determined to figure out just why and how to get them as crispy as possible. I finally figured it out. The whole family ate these, and we sounded like people in a movie theater munching on chips — they were that crispy! I also want to share how little prep time they require. I make them almost every morning pre-workout, and the prep time is about the same as making a pop tart, so really, no excuse!
Start by preheating your oven to 425. Then, (typically on Sunday or Monday so you’ll be set for the week), take the mandolin and a large organic sweet potato and slice the whole thing. But PLEASE be careful as I’ve now had THREE friends cut their fingers pretty badly!!
The setting I use for this mandolin is “thin” but only because I can’t find my “medium” slice pad lately.
Next, put the whole sliced potato in freezer sized ziplock bag along with about 3 tbsp of arrowroot powder. Then seal the bag up tight and shake until the potatoes are lightly covered with arrowroot powder. You may have to separate some as they can stick together and then the insides don’t get any powder on them.
Next, and this is the new tip, do NOT spray or grease on your cookie sheet. Lay flat what you want to eat that day. I usually use about 5-6 pieces for myself and can adjust if anyone else in the family wants some for breakfast. The remaining potatoes in the bag go back in the fridge, so I will have sweet potatoes ready to go for the rest of the week.
After you lay your sweet potatoes down on the cookie sheet, melt about 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil in the oven (metal bowl) that is preheating or in the microwave oven (non-metal bowl). Once that is melted, drizzle the oil over the potatoes.
Lastly cook them on 425 for 10 minutes, then flip them and cook them for another 10-15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the potato) until brown and crispy. Add cinnamon and celtic sea salt, and that’s it! So the rest of the week it’s just lay flat, drizzle coconut oil and cook. Simple as that! And did I mention how yummy they are?! Plus, they are the perfect pre-workout food since they are anti-inflammatory and will also help to nourish the adrenals during a hard workout.
Oh, and one other tidbit. We made the Cauliflower Soup today, and it was the best we’ve ever made. Instead of using ghee or butter to saute your onion and garlic, try cooking 2-3 pieces of bacon. Once the bacon is cooked, remove it, add your onions and garlic in the same pan with the bacon grease, and cook until soft, and then add in the rest of your ingredients. And when it’s ready for blending, add the bacon back in, then blend well, and taste the difference! It was awwweesome!
And lastly, and most importantly, I wanted to give a big shout out to my dad. Happy birthday!! We love you!
Dear God, please give me some of his skin genes. I have more wrinkles that he does and I’m only thirty-ish (Hush to my close friends!! Let me still use that word while I can). How is that fair??
Coleen -This recipe looks awesome — and your Dad looks super cool! Hope to see you at holiday party.ReplyCancel
landriav -Thanks Coleen!! Looking forward to seeing you at the party! 🙂ReplyCancel
Hannah -Landria,
This was wonderful! Just made myself sick eating 3 bowls of it. Everyone loved it. ThanksReplyCancel
landriav -Ha, I did the same thing Hannah the first time I made them. So glad you all loved them!! Thanks for sharing that!!!ReplyCancel
Erin -Jackson declared these “spectacular” and my picky eater, Ellie, said she loved them too. Thank you for inspiring me to figure out how to use the mandolin that I have owned for 10 years. Mine were not completely crispy – but edges were starting to burn – so took them out – kids still loved them.ReplyCancel
landriav -Wow, quite the compliment from Jackson, and Ellie. That is so great to hear Erin!! 🙂ReplyCancel
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Heat large pan/skillet on high, add about 1 tbsp of butter or ghee and add your asparagus. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side so it gets brown, then turn it down on low for about 5-10 minutes or until desired tenderness, and enjoy!.jpg "_DSC3823c2")
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Emily Crouch - Thanks for this Landria! I’ve always used raw honey for my kids and I but wondered about your recommendation for the buckwheat honey in particular vs. other kinds? I use a local raw honey from Home Town Honey. Thanks.
landriav - Hi Erin! Some of the studies were actually on Buckwheat in particular. But, I’m sure any raw local honey is great!!
Coleen - I knew about honey for colds, etc. but didn’t know it had to be raw honey — no wonder!! Thanks for the info!
landriav - Sure Coleen! Thanks for posting! Hope you’re doing well!!
mandy - It’s true! We used raw local honey for cough/sore throat and also to help with some respiratory allergies (not for asthma but that’s another story…) And the recipe above with lemon, ginger and cayenne is my own go-to in the winter time! It totally works. I’ll have to learn more about the buckwheat honey though. Something new to try this year!
landriav - GREAT to hear Mandy! Thanks for sharing!! I hope you and your sweet family had a great holiday and are not needing any honey or cayenne! 🙂
Erin - oh Wow!! I just came across your blog on pinterest, and realized that we went to high school together. Wonderful blog… loving all of your recipes!! 🙂 Erin (London) Bagwell
landriav - Ha! Small world Erin!! Thank you and so nice to hear from you! 🙂
Gracie - Hi Landria! We are bee keepers and this was our first year of honey supply. Needless to say, not one of us has gotten so much as a sniffle this year! The local honey (from our backyard!) has really helped our sons allergies also!:) Thank you for the great post!
landriav - Hey Gracie!! Very cool to hear! Thanks for sharing!!!