Author Archives: Debbie

Herbal Jello

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herbal jello As the snow melts from the ground and Spring Peepers are calling a mate, it starts to be difficult to rise our stuffy heads out of bed. It seems as if we are just about through with the flu/cold season and now have entered the allergy season. Symptoms are similar but different. It is now time to bring out our allergy support ~ Goldenrod.

Over the years, I have collected various ways to take Goldenrod. The fact is, each individual has their own needs and idiosyncrasies, therefore, it’s important to have as many tools in your herbal toolbox. Several years ago, I developed this recipe after talking with a parent at Mathew’s school. Her daughter suffered from numerous allergies that range from seasonal to food. Unfortunately, it had not only limited her daughter’s options but the girl became scared to try most new things in fear that she may have an allergic reaction. Of course, I shared my Goldenrod experiences with the mom. She was rather excited to try something new with her daughter. She did warn me though that her daughter was a very picky eater and may not try the Goldenrod.

Since the girl was very particular about what she ate or consumed, first I gave them dried Goldenrod to make tea. I wanted to start slowly.  Unfortunately, she had never drunk tea before and was not going to start with Goldenrod. I had read about herbal jello in James Green’s “The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook,” and it seemed worth a try. Even though I have never made jello before, I took his recipe and adapted it.

Mathew and I were so amazed how easy it was to make jello. I decided not to use the official Jell-o brand jello since I was able find a healthier version in the local health food store. It has less additives and ingredients. Less is always better in my book. Moreover, I didn’t want anything unnecessary in the jello; remember the girl had a lot of food allergies.  I put the jello in a pan large enough that I could make each jello square equivalent to a half dose of goldenrod. This would allow for multiple doses throughout the day, if needed.

Goldenrod Herbal Jello recipe

1oz. Goldenrod tincture

1 box of jello

2 cups boiling water

Mix all the ingredients together in a 6 x 8 rectangular glass dish. Put into your refrigerator until it sets, this may take a couple of hours. If you cut the jello into 1 inch squares, you should get 48 squares. Then cover and refrigerate them. I took a couple of squares out and left them uncovered in the refrigerator. The uncovered jello would get gummy – kind of like a gummy bear.

Mathew is a great guinea pig and my chief taster. He decided that it didn’t taste bad but was able to detect a little goldenrod after-taste. He preferred the jello to the gummy jello. Unfortunately, the girl did not feel comfortable trying the goldenrod jello. So we will never know if Goldenrod would help her allergies. Nonetheless, it was a great exercise and I have another herbal tool available to share. I did discover that for myself, a Goldenrod herbal jello square lasted longer than straight Goldenrod tincture. Therefore, I needed less Goldenrod throughout the day to solve my allergy problems. I suspect digestion played a critical role as it allowed the Goldenrod to be released more slowly into my system.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Ponderings from the past

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Before the advent of Facebook and email, people shared interesting quotes and cartoons via the mail (aka snail mail) or on refrigerators or bulletin boards in homes and offices. It was very exciting when the copy man came to fix the copier at work ~ he always had something new to share, usually about the hassles of working with idiots. I have always been a big fan of sharing what I believed to be thought provoking quotes or funny cartoons, posting them in my room and then my office when I joined the workforce. When I changed jobs, I would put them into a folder to post again or simply to keep. Recently, I went through my old folder. It was fascinating to reread these quotes and passages that I gathered over 30 years, and to realize that most of them still stir emotions inside me to this day; others are simply reminders to cherish life. What I found rather amazing is that some of the stuff from the 80s is still circulating, but now on Facebook. Enjoy some of my favorites.

By Christian D. Larson; I’ve had this one since High School, circa early 1980s. An important one to revisit from time to time.

And then there is the An Eschatological Laundry List by Sheldon Kopp

  1. This is it.
  2. There are no hidden meanings.
  3. You can’t get there from here, and besides there is no place to go.
  4. We are already dying, and we’ll be dead a long time.
  5. Nothing lasts!
  6. There is no way of getting all you want.
  7. You can’t have anything unless you let go of it.
  8. You only get to keep what you give away.
  9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
  10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there’s no compensation for misfortune.
  11. You have the responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
  12. It’s a random universe to which we bring meaning.
  13. You really don’t control anything.
  14. You can’t make anyone love you.
  15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
  16. Everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable.
  17. There are no great men.
  18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
  19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends. (yes, you too, and most certainly myself.)
  20. All evil is potentially vitality in need of transformation.
  21. All of you is worth something if you will only own it.
  22. Progress is an illusion.
  23. Evil can be displaced but never eradicated, as all solutions breed new problems.
  24. Yet it is necessary to keep struggling toward solution.
  25. Childhood is a nightmare.
  26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no-one-else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up.
  27. Each of us is ultimately alone.
  28. The most important things each human must do for himself.
  29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
  30. We have only ourselves, and one another. That may not be much, but that’s all there is.
  31. How strange, that so often, it all seems worth it.
  32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge.
  33. All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.
  34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.
  35. No excuses will be accepted.
  36. You can run, but you can’t hide.
  37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.
  38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
  39. The only victory lies is in surrender to oneself.
  40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
  41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.
  42. What do you know for sure…anyway?
  43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again.