"Are you all right, Mum?" asked my young son quietly, when he emerged from his own room looking concerned and began gently stroking my back. All the while, I could only continue to stand bent over the bathroom sink. I had unfortunately woken him, with all the usual ghastly sounds one can make when in such a predicament. The involuntary unblocking of breathing passages of clogged up mucus had sadly woken more than just myself, on this cold and blustery day.
Tears caught at the corner of my eyes, as I tried to pull myself together to reply and reassure his sweet and worried face. His mama was trying to breathe, and involuntarily going through the motions of vomiting up mucus had been unfortunately part of the course her sick and weary body had taken this very day.
As I sought to go back to bed, tired and weary from trying to seek relief at the bathroom sink, my son soon came through with a cup of lemon & ginger tea he had kindly gone off to brew for me. One of the numerous and many perks of homeschooling is having my beloved children often volunteer to make us all a pot of tea. Today the gesture was extra sweet for its underlying care & kindness.
Today, I got to thinking about how sickness can so often rob us of a financial breakthrough. Having just recently forked out close to $100.00 to go to the doctor's, and then pay for meds to allegedly make the breakthrough needed with this persistent sinus infection and bronchitis, I am feeling the financial pinch yet again, and am caught with being still under the weather.
This time of year, with winter ills often turning up, our need to take care of our health can prove to be extra paramount within a household. Winter can prove to be an expensive season with not only extra heating being required, but the ills of winter can bite into our budget should medical intervention be repeatedly required.
As I still battle my way through not feeling great, I have been researching online alternatives to conventional medicines and conventional prescription antibiotics. It was interesting to find out about natural antibiotics such as garlic, oil of oregano, manuka honey, ginger, echinacea, colloidal silver to name just a few. If these could be incorporated more into our day to day lifestyle, perhaps they might tip the balance health-wise not just for myself currently, but for our household overall.
I decided to prepare a lamb curry for our main meal, and it has been interesting to discover just how benefical some of the spices can be on the health front. Turmeric, for instance is considered to be very beneficial, with its ability to fight viral infections, bacteria and even fungi. A compound within Turmeric called Curcumin is even been tested to see if it will help fight cancer. Who knew that spices could have such significant health benefits? I sure didn't!
As I read and research more & more alternatives to revamp our food menu plan, it has become clearer and clearer that revamping our household food menu may not only help achieve The $1,000 Plan, it may also make a significant difference on the health front also! How fantastic that will be!
A good curry, (not necessarily one with lots of cream, though!) can, according to recent research shared online, help protect you from heart disease, Alzheimers and even ease arthritis. All due to the presence of turmeric, cardamon, coriander and even basil at times in the make up of curry powder.
Like all things though, curry powder needs to be taken in moderation, as there can be side affects for some, such as those on blood thinners and with gall bladder issues. It is always best to do a little research to see what would indeed work best for you.
With the current need to address my own ill-health, we may well have a little more curry over these winter months, and making them from scratch will likely also help on the financial goal front also.
Here is the recipe for Curry Paste, which I made to use when preparing the Lamb Curry and the Stir Fry vegetables today. Perhaps you might like to look at making your own made-from-scratch version also.
Curry Paste
The following curry paste was made from ingredients I had onhand in the fridge and pantry.
Ingredients:
3 Tbspns Coriander Seeds
2 Tbspns Cumin Seeds
1 Tbspn Mustard Seeds
1 tspn Black Peppercorns
1 tspn Ground Turmeric
1 tspn Ground Cinnamon
1 tspn Paprika
2 tspn Chilli Powder
1 tspn Himalayan Sea Salt
2 Tbspns Crushed Ginger
3 tspns Garlic Granules
1 tspn Organic Tomato Puree
4 tspn Apple Cider Vinegar
Method:
1. Mix together the Coriander, Cumin and Mustard Seeds plus the Peppercorns. Cook them in a frying pan for about 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Once the Mustard Seeds start popping and the seeds all start to look golden brown, remove the pan from the heat. Tip the seeds into a bowl and put to one side.
2. In a separate bowl mix together the Ground Turmeric, Ground Cinnamon, Paprika and Chilli Powder.
3. Combine the spices and the seeds and grind them altogether in a coffee or spice grinder until well combined.
4.Add the Himalayan Sea Salt to the ground mixture.
5. Put the combined mixture into a small bowl. Add the Crushed Ginger, Garlic Granules, Tomato Puree and the Apple Cider Vinegar. Mix together gently with a spoon until a paste is formed.
6. The prepared curry paste can be used immediately, or you can put it into a jar and add enough Olive Oil to cover it. (I actually mixed the Olive Oil through the remaining Curry Paste, and then placed the sealed jar in the fridge for the rest of the Curry Paste to be available to use over the next few days). It can be kept in the fridge for up to one week.*
*You could choose to spoon portions of the curry paste into ice cube trays and freeze it, to be used at a later date also.
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