Herbal Waters

 Back in September when I started drinking Turkish coffee, I fell in love with the coffee and the cardamom that was in it. After I heard some of the benefits of the spice, I started making a tea with it. Then I started cold-steeping it in my daily drinking water. 

I'm supposed to drink  64 ounces of water a day at a minimum. With my kidney health so fragile from the sarcoidosis, I actually should be chugging down more like a minimum of 90-96 ounces. And I do that about once or twice a week - that is if I don't need to stray more than 5 minutes away from a bathroom. My 2 kidneys need the water but my 1 bladder can be cranky...

Adding the cardamom made drinking a lot of water not so much of a chore. For one thing, it has a nice and smooth natural sweetness. Water is much less boring with a little cardamom. I liked it so much I decided to go try some other additions to my water.

In the past few weeks, I have tried adding peppermint, spearmint, cumin, and rosemary. Sometimes I will mix a couple or three of them together, but I actually like each of them solo - except for the cumin. Cumin is probably amazing when cooked into foods - the way garlic is - but the scent and flavor of it steeped in water is really not pleasant at all. It's one of those especially, um, "aromatic" spices that you either love to smell or just can't take at all without gagging. The only way I can do the cumin is by adding one of the mints, some rosemary, or - and this is what I usually do - drown out the funky smell and taste with a strong juice like pineapple. Or at least, mostly drown it out. I think it would take something like Everclear to completely deaden my taste buds to the taste.

NOTE: Going forward, remember that I am NOT offering up medical, health or any other kind of professional advice at all. I am only going to be telling you about my personal experience with these beverages.

Other than for amping up the taste of water, here are some other reasons I like using the herbs and spices that I've chosen:

Cumin - this has helped with my anxiety and sleep. I was able to step down from 3 tabs throughout the day of an anti-anxiety med to just 1 (or sometimes 2, depending on circumstances and how much cumin I can gag down). I have never taken prescribed sleeping medication and don't want to have to start. I don't need another pill added to my routine. I have and still occasionally do use magnesium oil as a topical to help with my insomnia. With the cumin, I have another weapon in that ongoing war.

The seeds look so innocent, don't they?

Peppermint - honestly, I just love the taste of this. It doesn't have to be a strong steep to add a lot of "freshness" to my store-bought spring water. And I always drink spring water because I'm not sure that anything short of an exorcism would help filter out the grossness from our disgusting tap water! I don't even like using it on my plants and for that, I do filter it. Oh, Alaska, how I miss your sweet, sweet tap water.

I have heard that peppermint can help with gas and bloating. I don't know. I do know that I love what it does for my breath in between brushing and, who knows, it might even be beneficial for my overall dental health. I'm so near to having to have all my teeth yanked and replaced... I am down for anything that will help in the meantime.

Spearmint - While peppermint is stronger-flavored and "harder" on the tastebuds - if that makes sense - spearmint seems to be sweeter and "softer" tasting. I really like mixing the two and sometimes I will add a couple drops of lemon or lime juice. I believe spearmint has the same kind of supposed benefits as peppermint. I'm going to have to check on that. When I got the brand I did, it was because of the good price on such a huge amount. After I started using it, I read somewhere that Egyptian spearmint is supposed to be some of the best. Again, I don't know that for sure. I do know that the 1 pound bag is enough for me to share with my neighbors and still have plenty to last for months to come.

The bag is ginormous!

Rosemary - I initially got this because, like most natural hair chicks, I've always heard rosemary is good for hair and skin health. (I do have some of it steeping in olive oil and will check on it in a couple more weeks.) It is also mentioned by some to be good for immune health and regulating blood sugar levels. To be honest, though, this is so much tastier as a tea than I ever expected. For me, the scent is very relaxing and soothing. The taste is really mellow and soft. I like to mix in some of the mints with this.

Cardamom - This, of course, was my first love. I just love the way it smells and there are supposed to be many benefits to drinking the water (called elachi water). It is also one of the spices that are good for the immune system, digestive health, and oral health - so I've heard it said but it's another thing I need to check out. I still use it in my coffee on a regular basis and I love to cold steep whole pods in water to drink every day. It's a pain in the rooty-tooty to separate the seeds from the pods but worth it. Buying the pods is much more affordable than buying the seeds alone. I also find that I like using the pods in my drinking water while I will grind the seeds for brewing with my coffee.

A lot of work to
extract the seeds

There are a couple of things I have not yet tried but want to. I am really interested in steeping lavender, rose, and someone mentioned fennel seeds to me. Not so sure about that because I've heard the taste is similar to black licorice. I still might give it a go. And I kind of want to try hibiscus but I have never been crazy about the packaged hibiscus teas so I'm not sure about that one either. 

I am sure that I have mentioned on the blog more than once how I love adding roasted chicory root to my coffee. It's not something I have learned to drink as a tea (or as a coffee substitute) but, I did want to add it to this list. I was into chicory long before I ever heard of cardamom. If you ever buy coffee that you think is missing something, try adding a very small amount of roasted chicory root granules to it. The brand I have used for the past few years is pretty good and I like that it's a really "clean" product - free of anything icky or chemical-like. I would suggest grinding the granules up as fine as you can before adding them to drip coffee. And a big plus is how cheap it is. 

Now that I am so into herbal water, I'm a little sad that I didn't get here sooner. A couple of summers back, I bought a bunch of herb plants for cheap from the local mercantile. My favorites were lemon balm and chocolate mint. I don't have any problem finding lemon balm but have not been able to find the chocolate mint anywhere. I just know that would make an amazing steep. I might have to just get some seeds to grow the mint inside year-round - if I can keep the plant alive.

By the way, I actually still have an old 2nd edition of Back to Eden from sometime in the early '90s. It used to be the go-to book on herbs-as-medicine for Christians and other people who liked to use natural remedies but wanted to stay away from anything New-Age-y or pagan. I remember my mom and her friends talking about having heard of it back when they were young housewives - and my mom was born in 1932 so... It's one of the few actual books I own in this age of digital media. Glad I lugged it around for all those years during my formerly nomadic life. When I found a link for it on Amazon for other copies, the prices are just ridiculous, probably only because it's a hard-to-find book and Amazon's algorithms noticed. I wish I did have the original, just because. Mine copy is an amazing source and I am just sorry I haven't used it more in all the time I've had it.

My maternal grandmother and her friends were very used to using natural remedies. My mom grew up with her mom using a lot of herbs and things because people then and there didn't run to the doctor for everything. I'm not sure there were a lot of doctors to run go see, tell you the truth. But when Mama married into the military and left the country life, she got used to relying on "modern" medicine. Of course, she did still use a lot of what she remembered from her mother when it came to things like treating sore throats and constipation. When I was young and very anemic, Mama would make me eat liver that she cooked in cast iron and I won't even talk about the times my paternal grandma had us kids lined up before school to give us doses of cod liver or castor oil... Good times.

Anyway.

Now, I didn't mention that what I love most about my herbal waters is that I don't need to add any sweeteners to them. For some reason, when I was drinking hot teas all the time, I had to have some honey or a bit of sugar in them. With the water, I can just chug happily along.

After weeks of really getting into and staying consistent with the herbal waters, I went ahead and got a cheap set of bottles.

I needed something to store the different flavors and these jars are great for carrying to appointments. The colored sleeves work well for condensation (and safety of the glass) but also are great for sort of color-coding the different drinks. I caution that if you get something like this, make sure you don't put hot liquids in the bottles. I'm not sure how safe that would be.

Another thing I want to point out - that was mentioned by one of my neighbors. Instead of steeping the herbs with hot water, it's better to do a longer steep with cold water. She is somewhere in her early nineties and told me that the heat often destroys the "good stuff" in the herbs. I usually trust the wisdom of the older generations. 

Anyway.

I still steep large batches in my old raggedy mason jars! The cute bottles are great for when everything is all steeped and ready to add to my water. Or for when I am doing a small-batch steep of that disgusting cumin...

So I am checking with my other neighbors about other herbs and spices to use in a beverage. If I run across anything good, I will share it here.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I hope the last parts of this post are decently written. I got tired of editing so I stopped partway through! LOL

I'd Laugh But It Hurts

 I think I have already shared here a joke I once heard about aging. The comedian reminded us all that if we got hurt when we were younger, it was due to playing rough sports or having a vehicle accident. The minute we get past 40 though, we can get hurt by just getting out of bed in the morning. I was laughing until it actually happened to me. And this is why I have not posted here in a good minute or two...

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (another symptom of geezerhood) and, as soon as I stood up, I felt a sharp pain in the middle of my back. I felt as if I had cracked a bone or something. I hobbled on to use the bathroom and, before I went back to bed, I took a couple of acetaminophens.

When I got out of bed for the day, my back felt better but was still a little bit sore. Weird, right? During the rest of the day, my back had mood swings. I could function normally for a couple of hours then I'd have pain if I turned a certain way or bent over in the slightest.

I've had this happen before and, usually, taking aspirin and being careful not to twist and turn a lot would take care of the problem. After a couple of days, I'd be good as new. Not this time.

I've been using a heating pad and avoiding sitting in chairs. I will lay on the bed and use the computer and eat standing up. There are times when I can move around almost like normal - the other day, I even walked to the store a couple blocks away - and then, out of nowhere, I can't even roll off the bed without wanting to sob. And I am not kidding about the sobbing part. The last time my back hurt like this, I took a couple of Motrin and felt awesome - until I remembered that I am not supposed to take Motrin, Ibuprofen, etc. Do you know how limited the OTC pain reliver options are when you cut out Motrin? I think I am down to asprin, acetaminophen, and sugar pills.

I already had an upcoming appointment for a checkup with my GP. My back, which had been in Sore Mode all morning, was suddenly all better by the time I got to my afternoon appointment. 

My doctor, who is wonderful at monitoring my general care, tries to keep a sharp eye out for anything to do with the sarcoidosis. Even though my back was miraculously better at the moment, she warned me to let her know if it flared up again. Apparently, sarc can affect the muscles and bones - okay let me look up the word my doctor used: musculoskeletal. Don't ask me to pronounce it. 

Here's the thing, I am aware that all my doctors have shown concern about possible problems with my joints. Somehow, though, because I have neurosarcoidosis, I worried about my nervous system more than I did about anything else. 

Well, yeehaw.

Honestly, I think now that my back pain might be from all the crazy stuff I did when I was younger: dancing like a madwoman, running and jumping and leaping like a superhero - you know, the stuff you do when you have energy and good muscles and undamaged cartilage. I can't wait to see what happens down the road to all these gal who spend so much time twerking. If they only had half a clue...

Anyway. I did get myself a back brace-type belt to use for when I have to sit. It seems to help a bit, although it's not the most comfortable thing to wear. It sure doesn't look this comfortable on me as it does on the guy in the product photo:

My doctor says that if the pain persists, I might need muscle relaxants and physical therapy. Ugh. I told her that I would hold off for now. I dread taking another pill and I really dread trekking out to P.T....I will give the back belt a try and see if it helps. 

Instead of a prescription or other narcotic type pain reliever, I am drinking a little cumin water every day. It may be an old wives tale but, for me, the cumin water helps relax me and it seems to help with the pain. If I make the cumin water extra strong, it will knock me into an instant nap. For real. That stuff is like a date rape drug.

The thing about cumin is that it has a very strong odor. VERY strong. I can't describe it well, but it smells like sweat and dirt combined. To help with the smell, I will add rosemary water or mint water. If I make the water extra strong for a bedtime drink, I really can't deal with the smell. In that case, I will add a hit of pineapple juice and just slam down the entire 4 to 8 ounces.

My back is behaving for the most part. As long as I keep the belt on and don't sit wrong, I might be okay. In the meantime, I have cut back on the cumin water - which is, I forgot to mention, a traditional Indian beverage that they call Jeera water. I want the Jeera water to be at its most effective when I need it so I don't want to build up a tolerance. 

I will be back to blogging here pretty soon. I'm pretty sure my next topic will be about how much I love making and drinking these herbal waters.

Peace

--Free