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I had a migraine on Saturday (it happens fairly frequently for me unfortunately) which means that I was not feeling well at all. For me, a migraine often comes with nausea, pain, vertigo, and sensitivity to light and sound. Since I am attempting to back off of medications and look for more natural alternatives I decided to brew up a batch of tea for the nausea once the pain began to recede (I haven't found anything non-medication to help with the pain yet so there was some pain medication involved in that bit). Since a natural anti-nausea aide can be useful for others as well I decided to share a recipe for ginger tea today. Ginger root can be found with other root vegetables in your local market. INGREDIENTS:
Optional:
PROCEDURE: 1. Put the kettle on to boil with at least 2 C of filtered water. 2. Peel a small piece of fresh ginger with a peeler, the back of a spoon or a small paring knife. 3. Grate ginger. You will need 1 Tbsp of ginger for this recipe.
NOTE: Do not sub ground or dried ginger in this recipe 4. Place ginger in large cup or teapot. I have soup cups that I use for my ginger tea personally as I like to drink it throughout the day... even after it is cold. You can use a tea infuser if you would like if you do not want bits of ginger in the bottom of the cup once it has finished brewing. NOTE: If you are using the mint or cinnamon stick(s) place these in as well.
5. Pour boiling water over the ginger.  6. Brew for about 10 minutes. 7. Add honey and stir well. You can sub stevia or simply leave out the honey if you so choose but if you have a cold and are coughing the honey will help. Citrus will also help cut through mucus. For that reason you may want to add lemon juice to your tea if you have a cold. 
Mayo is a pretty simple and quick condiment to make with the right tools. I have heard of people doing this by hand (ow...) as well as in food processors and with mixers. It seems the best way to make mayo is with an immersion blender and the second best way is with a food processor from what I have heard from others who have attempted this, and similar, recipes. Using an immersion, or stick, blender I have yet to have a batch fail to come out properly but the key is in the super slow drizzle of the oil.
Let's start with the basics of mayo making... you need eggs, an acid, an oil, a bit of salt, mustard, and possibly spices. Some people use egg whites with lemon juice and olive oil while others use apple cider vinegar with whole eggs and avocado oil... it all depends on what flavor you want to come out with in the end. If I want an aioli for instance I am going to use the lemon juice option and toss in some garlic at the end. On the other hand, if I want a good herb mayo spread I'm going to go with the apple cider vinegar and stick with a less flavorful mustard so that the flavors of the herbs I add really stand out. Not only are there many different combinations to make mayo but it is a pretty useful thing to have. It can be used as a spread, in casseroles, in tuna (or egg) salad, in dips and other appetizers, in sauces, as the base of creamy salad dressings... you'll be surprised how many uses for mayo there are when you start looking! My basic mayo recipe is as follows: INGREDIENTS: 1 C Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (not EVOO) 1 Large Egg Yolk 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (I prefer Dusseldorf mustard but they didn't have any at the market... sad day...) Salt to taste PROCEDURE: 1. Mix everything except the oil together in a bowl. *It is best to use eggs that are at room temperature as they tend to emulsify better I have found.
2. Use the immersion/stick blender to whip up the mixture as you SLOWLY drizzle in the olive oil. The key here is slow and steady.
3. Put the mayo into an airtight container and refrigerate.
If you lacto-ferment it then it will last about 2 weeks in the fridge. If you do not then it tends to last about a week. It is also really easy to scale up or down this recipe depending on how much you wish to make. If you don't know how to lacto-ferment your condiments it is a really simple process that I will cover in a few days... so come back and check it out!
What do you use mayo in? What additional spices do you add to it to give it that extra kick of awesome (I've heard of a spicy mayo that sound pretty amazing)? The blender I have is the first one below and I love it but the price has gone up a bit so I also added one that is a little more cost effective.
Bone broth is one of the easiest, most versatile and healthy recipes in the Paleo arsenal. It has a plethora of minerals and proteins that your body needs to run optimally and it tastes great too! As I have joint issues it is very important for me to get a lot of gelatin (and other joint supporting nutrition) into my diet so I LOVE using bone broth in my dishes. Personally, I use it as the base of many of my soups but it can also be used to de-glaze pans when making sauces, roast or saute vegetables, add flavor to a variety of main and side dishes or even drink it alone if you are so inclined. My recipes for bone broth is both super simple and works in the crock pot... which means that I do next to no work to get this fabulous broth! I don't often go through enough meat in any one month to have enough bones using only my leftover ones unfortunately but lucky for me there is an Asian market about 10 minutes away that stocks bones by the pound so I can make bone broth whenever I run out.
A tip for freezing: freeze it in ice trays or other shallow dishes for easy thawing later. I have found that ice trays are perfect as they are pre-measured and small enough to thaw single serving portions fast but I can always grab my bag of broth cubes and make stew quickly as well. Here's the recipe: INGREDIENTS:
PROCEDURE:
2. Add the chicken bones to the crock pot.
3. Fill the crock pot the rest of the way with water.
4. Add vinegar
5. Place top on crock and turn the crock pot on low temperature
6. Walk away for 24-36 hours
7. Strain the broth through a fine mesh to remove veg and bones
8. Cool the broth
9. Remove layer of fat that solidifies on top of the, now gelled, broth if using non-grass fed/pastured animal bones
10. Measure out the broth as desired. You can typically keep it in the fridge for about 5 days or freeze part of it if you won't be using it all right away
*I have an adverse reaction when I chop celery (instant migraine) so I purchase my celery pre-chopped but this isn't necessary nor necessarily optimal.
Your broth may vary in color from batch to batch depending on the bones you are using, the amount of remaining flesh, whether you roast your bones before using them for broth (good for beef bones especially), and the additional ingredients you add such as veg and herbs. Beef broth, pictured in cubes above, tends to be darker than chicken or fish for instance. Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and here are some quick links for the non-perishable ingredients and tools on Amazon should you wish to order online:
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