Increasing My Recipe Repertoire

Additional herbs as well as vegetables, I am going to add to my recipe repertoire are cardamom, carrot, radishes, and tomatoes.

Both my family and I are going to enjoy all this preventative care, especially since it all revolves around food.

Herbs and Vegetables that can be medicinally beneficial- cardamom

Cardamom has many uses. If indigestion is what ails you, mixing cardamom with some ginger and cloves is my recommendation of choice. How about if you have a nagging headache that just seems to be lingering on the outer edges, not increasing in its intensity, but not wavering either, usually brought about by said indigestion? Try cardamom tea. That has been known to help. What about hiccups? Hiccups can be such an annoyance. Drinking cardamom tea or coffee can help rid oneself of the hiccups. Bake a cake or bread and use cardamom seasoning... not only will give your culinary efforts a different flair, but you will be practicing preventative
medicine... for both your family and you.

Herbs and Vegetables that can be medicinally beneficial- carrot

Carrots are so versatile. They can be enjoyed raw, cooked, juiced, or baked. Carrots can be made into jams, syrup, and even marmalade. Carrots are so good for us... why did I always try to pick them out of stews and hide them in my napkin whilst growing up? (It never worked... I always was caught....) Okay, so cooked carrots are not my friend... I will seldom do that to my children ( and me, since they are still not my favorite, but I do enjoy them more now and no longer try to discard them)... but raw... that is another story. Raw carrots are a mainstay in our home.

Carrots maintain acidic and alkaline properties in our systems thereby producing energy for our eyes, skins, bones, and heart. It can also act as a blood purifier.

Do you recall those Bugs Bunny cartoons... do you still watch them with your children? Remember how he was always eating a carrot? It was not because rabbits like carrots or that they only eat carrots, it was because he needed the extra energy and good health to stay ahead of Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck. Not only was he quicker physically than these two, he was intellectually quicker as well... which proved useful. So encourage yourself and your family to enjoy carrots.

Herbs and Vegetables that can be medicinally beneficial- radish

I am making a radish salad tonight for diner. Why? Because radish salad sprinkled with lemon juice can remove blood impurities and help alleviate itching. I may not be rich or a snob. Nevertheless, I do like the idea of having pure blood... and the itching? The kids itch and then they scratch... at the dinner table... enough said.
Radish can also be aid in being effective at maintaining healthy eyesight and helping with menstrual cramps.

Herbs and Vegetables that can be medicinally beneficial- tomatoes

Tomatoes, or as Ramona in the Beverley Cleary books called them, Tommy toes, are yummy.

Tomatoes are another powerhouse like the carrot. They can be enjoyed cooked, raw, juiced, and baked. I am making a tomato cake for dessert this weekend. It is really quite delicious. Raw tomatoes can help prevent against night blindness... if this is true, yeah as I really do have difficulty driving at night the older I become. Tomato juice can help with improving one's skin tone. Sprayed by a skunk? This has happened to me as I caught one in a feral cat trap once, and not the cat I was hoping to trap. A shower with tomato juice enabled me to get to work on time.

Tomatoes are also an aid in healthy teeth and gums as it can act of a tonic and detoxifier in our mouths.

Not to mention, tomato soup cannot be any easier to make than... ordering a pizza. Enjoy a grilled cheese and tomato soup night... we do.