I was having some trouble with cyclical vomiting syndrome for a couple years and perhaps as a result of that I have holes in my teeth now which I have never had before. This year I am focusing on remineralising my teeth, so I will be posting ways to get more dietary calcium soon too. In reading about remineralising your teeth I came across some information that indicated that glycerin might actually damage your tooth enamel. Most of the herbal toothpastes that I have been using over the past couple years have glycerin in them. I have never had a filling and prior to these recent health issues, I never even had a hole in my teeth. Over the last couple years I switched to herbal toothpastes, so it is possible that the glycerin could have caused additional damage.

It seems the jury is still out about the glycerin, but I am not taking any risks, therefore I have started making my own tooth powder. I have been using it for about a month now and things are going pretty well. I combine this with oil pulling for two weeks out of every month. While on the GAPS diet when going through detoxification processes it is common to get really bad breath. The oil pulling helps a lot with this and I have also gotten in the habit of carrying a little case of fennel seeds with me wherever I go in case of emergencies.

This is quite a lovely idea for people who make their own yogurt at home–a herbal infused yogurt. It is VERY simple, yet exotic–using only milk, yogurt culture and your choice of aromatic herb(s) or spice(s). Some delightful herbs I have used are keffir lime leaves, lemon verbena, rosemary, mint, jasmine, lavender, rose, but I am sure there are many others that are fantastic as well. It is good to think about what you will be using the yogurt for, and what herbs go well with a sour flavor. Generally I strain it in to cream cheese and make it into a dip or use it to make cheesecake or other baked items, but it is also fantastic as yogurt. A nice rosemary yogurt added into a carrot and lamb stew is a very delicately delicious addition to a potentially heavy meal….

This simple, but amazingly effective traditional remedy is easily made from common household ingredients and will reduce bruising, inflammation, boils, abscesses, sprains and tension headaches.

Cut brown paper up into fat strips. The size will depend on what area needs the poultice. An ingrown nail, for example will only need very small strips, and a sprained ankle will need longer strips. Bruise whole fresh sage leaves (use around 5-10 large leaves) by pounding them lightly in a mortar and pestle or using a rolling pin to flatten them. Do your best not to break or tear the leaves.

Although my partner grumbles and complains to high heaven about the smell while I am making kimchi, he usually eats it up and wants more. I have taken out the chilis for this recipe of kimchi and added in burdock root, so it isn’t by any means an authentic Korean kimchi, but we like it. It also makes a quick salad when added to steamed broccoli and sunflower seeds, then tossed in olive oil (Recipe).

Makes about 2 quart jars (depending on size of cabbage)

Brine:

• 1 litre filtered water
• 4 T himalayan or sea salt

Vegetables:

• 1 medium napa cabbage, shredded
• 6 medium organic carrots, grated
• 1 large daikon radish, julienned
• 3 medium burdock roots, julienned

Looking through a little book by Phillip C.S. Fong written in Pidgin English, Papua New Guinea Igat Gutpela Marasin Tu, I discovered a hiccup cure. Papua New Guinea’s Pidgin is an official language, although simple and based on English, you may find you can understand it if you look at it long enough! Or just read it out loud and suddenly it will start to make sense! One tip is that you generally pronounce ‘e’ as ‘eh’. ‘Save’ for example means to know and the last e is pronounced as ‘eh’. ‘Me no save’ for example means ‘I don’t know’.

Marasin Bilong Hiccup (Medicine for hiccups)

Em is save wokim nek bilong you krai olsem HUK, HUK, HUK, na i wok long mikim yu olsem tasol. Na sapos em ino malolo long mikim yu olsem long tu o tri wik, em iken kilim yu.

(If your throat won’t stop hiccuping for two or three weeks you can die). Side note! My pidgin isn’t that great, so there is probably a better translation possible, but you can get the gist…

Rose hips can easily be made into a vitamin C rich tasty spread. I make this recipe with dates and apples to sweeten the rose hips. It is best to cook rose hips even though heat breaks down vitamin C. There is also an enzyme in rose hips that also breaks down vitamin C very quickly which is neutralized by heat. Therefore it is important to cook the rosehips long enough but not too long!

I like this method because it can take a really long time to clean rose hips individually and remove the hairs and seeds from them. Simmering them and then straining them through a moulie or sieve helps this process to go faster.

With the rise of environmental toxins, many women are having increased problems during their period. I have been drinking this tea, with slight variations for a few years now and it really helps to balance and even out a wide variety of menstrual symptoms. There are a lot of other herbs that can be used and are especially useful for women, so please get to know which herbs work best for you by experimenting a little.

I use a large, plain white Chinese tea pot that holds about 6 cups of water. I have a tendency to use a lot of the various herbs and it varies depending on how much of the herb I have and how I am feeling that day. These amounts are therefore not set in stone.

• 2 T nettles
• 1 T sage
• 1 t fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 t camomile
• 1 pinch yarrow blossoms
• 6 c water, boiled

This recipe is developed from Nina’s Basic Medical Marijuana Recipe and can be used by people on the GAPs, SCD or other low-carb, no-grain diets. This method creates a marijuana flour which can be substituted for regular wheat flour in any of your favorite recipes.

1. Using a coffee or spice grinder, process the medical marijuana until very fine, like flour. Sift the ground marijuana through a fine sieve and grind any larger particles again. Grind up as much as you need for your recipe.
2. Melt 1/4 c butter in an iron skillet or other thick-bottomed pan.
3. Add in the marijuana flour and saute on the absolutely lowest heat for at least 40 minutes. Keep stirring the mixture and do not let it burn. If necessary add more butter or add in some water to keep it from sticking. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it burn. Keep the mixture dry but don’t let it stick or it will burn.

After it is cooked allow it to cool and then use it as flour for any recipe.

My home brewed root beer turned out delicious. I highly recommend it if you can come by the ingredients. It does have a taste reminiscent of root beer soda, but you wouldn’t confuse the two. Earthier, stronger tasting but less sweet, and the fermentation adds its own flavor in there.

All the ingredients I found at various health food stores, except the birch bark, which I just gathered myself. A fine substitute for birch bark would be wintergreen leaves, which give the same flavor.

I am about to make another batch of this delicious mustard. I was surprised to find that I haven’t posted this recipe yet as it is one of my favorites. The cream cheese helps to preserve the pungency of the mustard, making a delicious condiment which is also a probiotic if made with home-made cream cheese as shown in this quick video.

Amounts are variable and according to personal taste. Warning! I like my mustard so pungent it clears out my sinuses with every taste, so you may want to start with less ground mustard and add more tasting it to decide how you like it as you go.

• 1T – 2T ground mustard (I like to use Colemans)
• 1/2 c (or more) home-made cream cheese
• 1 small handful dates (soaked in hot water and mashed)
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1t ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1t ground fenugreek seeds
• 1t apple cider vinegar
• salt

Method:
Put the mustard powder in little water and mix it around, let it sit about 5 minutes. Boil some water and pour over dates, cover and let sit about 5 minutes, then mash them up to a puree.