MARIA'S HEALTHY CORNER
I received this recipe from a friend and it is one I will be making this year to stay healthy the natural way if any flu or cold comes into our home and I wanted to share it with you.
LEGAL: If you make and use this natural tonic, you do so at your own risk.
A NATURAL HEALTH TONIC
INGREDIENTS:
1 white onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 entire head of garlic, peeled
4 red hot chile peppers, stems removed, chopped
4" horseradish root, peeled and chopped
4" ginger root, peeled and chopped
Approximately 1 quart unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (Braggs is good)
Put all ingredients in a blender, cover with un-pasteurized apple cider vinegar. Puree. Bottle in a glass container and store in a cupboard at room temperature. Take two tablespoons morning and night at the first sign of a cold or flu.
WARNING: Hot chiles, such as jalapenos, habaneros, and serranos, contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes. Avoid direct contact with these peppers. When working with fresh chiles, wear rubber gloves or disposable plastic gloves, or cover your hands with small plastic bags. If your bare hands touch the peppers, wash your hands and nails well with soap and hot water. If you get some of the oils in your eyes, flush them immediately with cool water. Oils from chiles can transfer to knives and cutting surfaces, so wash tools and surfaces with hot, soapy water after using to prevent the oils from transferring to other foods.
When making a batch, use a whole head of cloves of garlic. The garlic is in proportion to the onion, not the peppers, ginger, or horseradish. put all ingredients in the blender, add vinegar until it's about one to two inches above the ingredients, and slowly start to chop, blend and puree. continue adding vinegar until it is about two inches below the top of the blender. If you add too much vinegar at first, it splashes out; and if you add too little, the whole mess freezes up in a solid clogging mass.
Transfer the batch to a quart jar, add un-pasteurized vinegar, if it doesn't reach the top. After putting the lid on the jar, gently shake the mixture by turning the jar upside down and right side up again. Un-pasteurized vinegar is available in health food stores.
Variations of the tonic involve the intensity of the red peppers. In the winter, it is sometimes hard to get red peppers because they haven't ripened in the sun. The grocery store will still call them red peppers, but they will be green. In that case, add about 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne.
If you can't find horseradish in the store, substitute about 1/4 cup of prepared horseradish, though fresh is better. Most large supermarkets these days will carry horseradish root.
This tonic is extremely powerful because all the ingredients are fresh. Its power should not be underestimated. The tonic stimulates maximum blood circulation, while putting the best de-toxifying natural ingredients into the blood. This formula is not just for the sniffles, it may even help turn around deadly infections like some of the new mutated killer viruses that defy conventional antibiotics. (However, never use this natural tonic in place of medical care without consulting your physician first.)
The dosage is 1/2 to 1 ounce or 1-2 tablespoon, two or more times daily, as desired. Swish in your mouth and swallow. Don't dilute with water. Because the tonic is composed entirely of natural foods - unlike prescription drugs - it is non- toxic. You may wish to make up plenty as it does not need refrigeration and should last indefinitely without any special storage conditions.
Ingredient properties:
Garlic cloves - anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitical
White onion (or hottest onions available) - similar properties to garlic
Ginger root - increases circulation to the extremities
Horseradish root - increases blood flow to the head
Cayenne peppers (or the hottest peppers available) - a great blood stimulant
If you want other natural cold and flu remedies, I recommend the 2005-2006 version of the special report, How to Beat Colds and Flu with 37 Natural Remedies, at http://natural-cold-flu-relief.com.
May you all enjoy a healthy winter season.
