Mint Green Tea Lemonade - Weekend Recipe

I wanted to give a refreshing beverage you could enjoy at anytime this holiday weekend and I found it in this combo!  This cooling beverage is not too sweet and offers a uniquely refreshing blend of fresh seasonal flavors.

Mint Green Tea Lemonade

1/2 cup packed fresh mint
1 cup sugar
2 cups water, divided
1 cup fresh lemon juice (yes you have to squeeze some!)
8 cups iced green tea (or other iced tea)

Directions:

Combine mint leaves, sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan, then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Turn off heat and let cool.  Once cool, remove mint leaves and combine with lemon juice.  In a large pitcher, combine iced tea and remaining 1 cup water, then pour the lemon mixture into it.  Serve chilled or over ice, with mint leaves for garnish.

This is my 400th post!  For those who read to the end of a post this is your reward.  Email me your address at marcialautanen@gmail.com and I will send you a package of Sun Tea so you can enjoy a cool beverage!

Cleaning Sprays - Spring Cleaning Occasional Series #5

Okay it is time for quick cleaning so we can get outside and enjoy the spring weather.  Here are three great liquid cleaners you can use to wash the windows so you can see the garden, clean the kitchen and bath so you can enjoy the garden and swab out the toilet so you can enjoy the smell of the garden!

courtesty of Hattatt

Window Cleaner

It seems like an old wives tale to clean your windows with newspaper, but it works.  For shiny windows, use sheets of newspaper (black and white only) to scrub and shine.  Be careful, though, the newspaper ink may darken your hands, but it shines the windows without streaking.

Juice from one fresh lemon

2 cups water or club soda

1/2 teaspoon peppermint essential oil

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Mix all ingredients and pour into plastic spray bottle. Shake well before using.

Cleaning Spray

This recipe came from Sandy Maine of SunFeather Soap Company.  She is an author of several books on cleaning and is someone I met in my Yahoo Herb group.

1 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

1 teaspoon borax

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups hot water

1/4 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

1/4 teaspoon lavender essential oil

3 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and stir until dry ingredients dissolve. Pour into spray bottle for use

and long-term storage. 

To use: Spray as needed on any surface except glass. Scrub and rinse with a clean, damp cloth.

Toilet Bowl Spray Cleaner

1/4 teaspoon sodium lauryl sulfoacetate*

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon orange essential oil

1 teaspoon grapefruit essential oil

½ teaspoon tea tree oil

2 cups water

Mix all dry ingredients in a 4-cup bowl. Then combine the vinegar, water, and essential oils in a glass  measuring cup.  Slowly pour the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Be careful it will foam up. Let this mixture rest for 10 minutes before pouring into a spray bottle to use.

To use: Spritz in and around the toilet bowl and swab out with a brush.  Will kill germs and leave a fresh scent.

* Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a powdered granulated material derived from coconut and palm oils and is a versatile ingredient to use in powdered bubble baths, cream and paste shampoos, cleansing creams and bath bombs due to its excellent foaming agent. Especially great as a soap replacement for sensitive skin.

You can order this product from a place called Ingredients to Die For that has all the makings for cleaning, soaps, and cosmetics.

Comforting Herbal Teas

I got caught out in a monsoon about a week ago.  My clothing was soaked to the skin and the wind whipped my wet clothing giving me a chill.  And this was before the train and bus ride that drops me a mile from my house.  I knew I was going to need to be proactive or the weather was going to take me down, so when I arrived home I brewed a batch of herbal tea and took a warm shower.  I can gladly say now that the immunity boost I got from the vitamin C in the rose hips of my tea, along with the anti bacterial properties of the thyme and sage have kept me from getting even a sniffle since that incident.

As a result I thought it might be good to share with you a few ideas for using a comforting cup of tea to help you recover, or even avoid, a few of winters sniffles.

Colds and Flu symptoms can often be held back with a combination of lemon and ginger.  This unique tea mixture I have made with just a touch of brandy or whiskey too to aid in sleeping.

Ginger and Lemon Tea

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed if you can)
2 to 4 slices of ginger root (about 1/4 inch thick) or 1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbls. Honey

Bring water to boil, bruise the ginger root and drop it into the boiling water.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min.  Remove from heat ans strain into a heat resistant cup.  Add lemon juice and honey.  If you want to clear your sinuses add a 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper and if you want to aid relaxation add a snifter of brandy or whiskey.  Stir and sip while covered with a warm blanket.

If you suffer from coughs or a dry scratchy throat, a bit of peppermint will help with this and add to is some germ fighting sage and thyme and you will have perfect treatment for a fever or a cough.

Peppermint Anti-Cold Tea

1 tsp.dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried peppermint
1 cup bolling water

Boil the water and pour over herbs.  You can place them in a tea ball or the corner of a coffee filter so you don;t have to strain them.  Cover and let step for 8 to 10 minutes.  You can sweeten with honey (not sugar).  Drink up to 2 cups for 3 to 4 days to relieve symptoms.

With the lowering of the barometric pressure as storm fronts move through many people experience headaches. I developed my Headache Tea which I sell at the Backyard Patch for just such headaches which I tend to have regularly in the fall and winter. Here is a link if you want to try some yourself.  Those headaches will effect my sleep as well and although I have developed a Dreamtime and a Rest Easy mint Tea which I sell.  You might try this remedy if you want to make your own:

Snoozing Enhancer Tea

1 tsp. dried chamomile
1 tsp. dried lemon balm
1 tsp. dried lavender flowers

Boil the water and pour over herbs.  You can place them in a tea ball or the corner of a coffee filter so you don't have to strain them.  Cover and let steep for 6 to 8 minutes. Best when sipped before bed time.

Hope you enjoy these teas and if you want to see our entire line of teas, both herbal and those with herbs we've combined with green tea or black tea, just click into our website here.

Peppermint Oil, part 2

Peppermint Oil (part 2)

1. Mint essential oil added to animal shampoo is a natural flea and tick repellent. Note: All mint oils should be kept away from eyes.
2. Invaded by ants...spray mint or place a drop of oil on infested area and see how quickly your problems disappear!
3. For beekeepers, marking hives with mint oil may assist the bees to return to hives.
4. Douse a cotton ball in mint oil and place in mole hole. It’s worth a try to say good-bye to moles.
5. For a fresh house, especially around Christmas time, simmer a few drops of essential oil in hot water on stove top. Be sure to use an older pot that you will not be using to cook with again.
6. Mice are not fond of peppermint oil. If you want to keep mice away during the winter months, saturate cotton balls with oil and place in any areas where mice tend to enter, leave or congregate.
7. Place spearmint or peppermint oil in a small dish and soak a cotton ball in the oil. Place the cotton ball in a closet or musty room to keep it smelling fresh and reduce aerial bacteria.  You can hang the ball in a muslin bag in your closet.
8. Add a few drops of mint oil to 1/2 cup of baking soda for a sweet smelling deodorizer for your refrigerator.
9. Peppermint is an excellent mild antiseptic and bacteria fighter.  Mix 10-15 drops of mint oil with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil and 12 ounces of water. Pour into a bottle with a spray pump. Spray in air ducts and around the house to kill bacteria and deodorize room.

Using Peppermint Leaves:

1. Throw dried mint leaves on an open fire to fill the room with perfume. Place dried mint leaves, dried mandarin orange peels and 2-3 drops of mint oil in a small box. Throw a pinch on a fire as it dies down. The room will smell sweet in the morning and there will be no smell of old soot in the afternoon.’
2. For the digestive system, peppermint is effective for a range of ailments, as it stimulates the gall bladder and the secretion of bile. Taken as a tea it is used for colic, cramps, dyspepsia, spastic colon, flatulence and nausea and can relieve pain in cases of toothache, aching feet, rheumatism, neuralgia, muscular pains and painful periods.
3. Peppermint oil should not be used directly on the skin, blending it with a carrier oil works, or you can make a tea with the leaves and use that resulting liquid on your skin as the strength will be enough to treat the ailment but not as concentrated as the essential oil.   A tea can be used in all the following ways:
1. On the skin, peppermint tea is used to relieve skin irritation and itchiness and also helps to reduce skin redness, where inflammation is present. It is used for dermatitis, acne, ringworm, scabies and pruritus and also relieves itching, sunburn and inflammation of the skin, while at the same time having a cooling action.
2. Headaches.  Peppermint may ease headaches and migraines. Drink the tea at onset of a headache or apply to temple area in circular motion and across the forehead. For migraines, wet hair and put 4-5 teaspoons of tea into your hand and massage into the scalp.
3. Sinus Problems.  Peppermint leaves are very useful in reducing sinus congestion when added to a bowl of steaming or boiling water. A rub made with carrier oil and essential oil can be applied to chest, back of neck area, and behind ears. A few drops of oil in a vaporizer at night will help ease congestion as well.
4. Digestive System.  Peppermint leaves can help relax the muscles of the digestive tract to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Beyond drinking a tea after meals, you can add one drop of peppermint oil to a sugar cube for an emergency fix to relieve intestinal cramps.
5. Relieve menstrual or abdominal cramps by drinking an 8 ounce glass of water infused with peppermint.  This can be an iced tea made by steeping a tsp. of peppermint leaves or stirring up 1 to 2 drops of oil into the water.  If you make regular tea you can also stir it with a toothpick dipped in peppermint oil.  Peppermint is also said to relieve Hot Flashes!
6. A Peppermint tea is also effective at reliving a sore throat.  Blend peppermint leaves with horehound and/or  for additional benefits.
7. Relieve congestion by placing mint leaves in a warm compress and lay on your chest.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Keep all oils out of the reach of children. Pregnant women should consult a physician before using any essential oil, but especially peppermint oil. Avoid all contact with eyes. Some people may be allergic to mint oil. This information is in no way intended as a substitute for medical consultation by a health care professional.

If you love the scent of Peppermint we at the Backyard Patch have made a wonderful bath soak with oil of peppermint that is only available in the winter.  To see this and our other bath salts, visit our e-store http://stores.ebay.com/backyardpatchherbs

By Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh

Yesterday I began this post with a list of 10 great uses for peppermint oil.  I am continuing that list today with 10 more uses for peppermint, including how to use the leaves in addition to the oil.  (To read yesterday's post too, click here.)

Just remember never apply essential directly to the skin always blend it with a carrier.

Peppermint Oil, part 1

Peppermint Oil

By Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh

There are many essential oils that are used in bath items and aromatherapy blends.  The two most popular in my repituar are Lavender & Peppermint.  Now much has been written on Lavender and its uses for relaxation and stress reduction, but not as much is known about Peppermint, so I thought I would share some of my research with you.

Overview of Uses of Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint oil is excellent for mental fatigue and depression, refreshing the spirit and stimulating mental agility and improving concentration. It helps for apathy, shock, headache, migraine, nervous stress, vertigo and faintness and in general respiratory disorders, as well as dry coughs, sinus congestion, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and cholera. Peppermint Oil is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal which gives it loads of medicinal uses!

Peppermint oil’s many, many uses (to be continued): 

1. On muggy days add 2-3 drops of peppermint oil to 2 teaspoons sea salt and add to a warm bath to help your body cool down.
2. Add 1-2 drops in shaving lotion for a close shave and fewer skin abrasions.
3. Massage 1-2 drops of oil into a teaspoon of carrier oil of your choice into your scalp. The scent creates a soothing and calming effect. The mint oil stimulates blood supply to hair follicles and promotes the healing of skin abrasions on the scalp.
4. Peppermint oil can dry oily skin and acne. Add 1-3 drops of peppermint oil to body wash or soap.  Or add it to witch hazel and apply by cotton swab directly to blemish or boil every 2 hours or as needed.
5. Add a few drops of mint oil to the water of a humidifier or vaporizer to keep it smelling fresh and kill germs.
6. Reduce swollen eyes in the morning by adding 1-2 drops of mint oil to 1/2 to 1 ounce of skin lotion; apply to cheekbone area.
7. For staying awake and alert, apply mint oil (1 to 2 drops peppermint essential oil in 1 teaspoon carrier oil) to tip of each nostril and temple area.
8. Peppermint oil is soothing to sore muscles when added to a hot bath. Mix 4 drops oil to sea salt or carrier oil. The carrier oil will help disperse the essential oil through the water for an even affect.
9. Use this to soothe arthritis pain as well.  In addition to a bath, you can mix 4-5 drops of oil into 1 ounce of lotion and/or massage carrier oil to rub into angry joints.
10. Treat your feet by applying peppermint oil mixed with a carrier oil to relieve swollen feet and help reduce and assist in healing blisters, cuts, or athlete's foot by killing bacteria.

There are 10 more wonderful tips for using Peppermint oil and some suggestions about what to do with peppermint leaves too, coming tomorrow.  Stop back!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Keep all oils out of the reach of children. Pregnant women should consult a physician before using any essential oil, but especially peppermint oil. Avoid all contact with eyes. Some people may be allergic to mint oil. This information is in no way intended as a substitute for medical consultation by a health care professional.

If you love the scent of Peppermint we at the Backyard Patch have made a special fizzing bath salt this season scented with peppermint oil.  Fuzzy Santa Salts are available online here!

Benefits of Herbal Tea

Whether you want to shed some few pounds or simply desire to have good heath, herbal tea is definitely good for you. Herbal tea is a great substitute if you find drinking mineral water plain. My husband has taken to drinking tea every night and as a result says he feels so much better.  I’ll give you a progress report after another month or so of this.  The important thing to remember with herb tea is you need to drink five glasses every day to relish all the benefits. Here are top reasons why you should drink herbal tea.

1. Great for weight loss

Herbal tea has been known to help in losing weight. This is a popular topic, reason being that teas can actually help in weight loss as they increase the body’s metabolism thus improving your blood circulation, cholesterol level and ultimately enhances cardiovascular health. Green tea has an antioxidant referred to as catechins, recent studies show that they significantly help to reduce fat.  Remember Green Tea, like black tea has caffeine.

2. Prevents Cancer

People who drink herbal tea are less susceptible to lung cancer and other common diseases. Believe it or not, research indicates that herbal tea helps to treat stroke, heart ailments and even certain cancers.  Lemon Grass is a good herb for canser as are any that help with nausea.

3. Cures stomach ailments

If you suffer from frequent stomach ailments, try drinking at least a cup of tea every day after your meals. Herbal tea reduces the acids in the stomach and therefore digestion takes place ably. There are specific herbs that are especially good for stomach disorders, like catnip, ginger, peppermint, thyme. 

4. Enhances the immune system
According to recent scientific studies, herbal teal strengthens the body’s immune system to ensure you are not prone to flu and other lung diseases. With a strong immune system, your body now has the ability to repair and regenerate the damage cells rapidly.  A number of herbs work with your body to improve immunity in a number of different ways.  You can increase Vitamin C with rose hips, add anti-viral properties with thyme, and use violets to gently stimulate the immune system.

5. Reduces stress

When your work and lifestyle seems stressful, drink one cup of tea. It is relaxing and therefore very effective at minimizing stress levels.  Certain herbs with also enhance this stress reduction ability, including lavender and chamomile.

On the other hand, herbal tea has been known to interfere with medication. For instance, it prevents proper absorption of iron in the gut.  Rosemary can if overused raist the blood pressure. Herbal tea can also become habit forming.  However, the Backyard Patch can help you with this habit!

Backyard Patch Tea

I began to blend teas back in the late 80s when all you could buy in stores was peppermint or chamomile tea.  I found both rather boring and realized that mixtures of herbs, like those I cooked with, would provide better flavors.  Unable to find all the herbs I wanted to use, like apple mint, pineapple sage and flavored thymes, I planted my first herb garden.  It was a desire for herbal tea that started it all.

Since then, I have designed more than 25 different herbal teas.  All are combined first with taste in mind and medicinal benefits second, because nothing that tastes awful can be taken long enough to cure anything.  All of my teas are available in our E-stores -- eBay Store or Etsy store. 

Check out all my teas at this link:   
. 

This year I designed two new teas: Holiday Comfort and Joy with several herbs including hibiscus and lemon balm.  It makes a beautiful red tea you can serve hot or iced and the raspberry leaf and lavender in it will give your immune system a boost to help ride out winter colds.  The other tea, Christmas Tidings, is a black loose-leaf tea blended with citrus and spices.  This unique recipe was adapted from one created during coffee shortages in World War II.   My seasonal tea blends are at this link.

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.  ~Bernard-Paul Heroux


* Disclaimer: Information within this site is for educational purposes only. Statements about the product efficacy have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The products mentioned within are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. As always, please consult your Medical Doctor for any medical advice or treatment.