Salad, anyone?

Pretty, isn't it?  We really did eat that last night.  It's a mixture of dandelion leaves and blue violet leaves and flowers.  Now you think we really have gone off the deep end, but let me explain.  Some of the kids have been suffering from eczema for a long time now.  We've tried a number of things, including diet changes, expensive creams from the doctor and changing shampoo, soap and laundry detergent but nothing seems to help.  The creams from the doctor helped temporarily, but as soon as they stopped using them the rash returned.  So, lying awake in the middle of the night, I began thinking over a number of things, including what to do about this ongoing problem. I'm convinced that there must be something God has placed in creation that will heal them.  I got up and took another look in our natural healing books and came up with a new list of ways to attempt to relieve them. 

Then off I went yesterday to a nearby health food store.  It was the most poorly stocked health store I'd ever been in.  I had a long list of questions and ideas to consider and expected to come out with a number of products and a large receipt. I came out with a small package and lots of advice.  The saleslady was a gem - an interesting sort, and a walking encyclopedia of natural remedies.  She advised us to remove dairy from their diet (we've tried that before but perhaps not for long enough).  We've bought coconut, rice and almond milk in the past to use instead.  She suggested making sesame seed milk.  To do this soak 1 part sesame seeds in 4 parts water overnight.  Pour off and set aside most of the water.  Blend the rest until chopped well, then add the water back slowly while still blending.  Then pour it through a strainer, saving the pulpy stuff for using in muffins or wherever else you can think of.  So we tried that this morning.  It was pretty bitter, but with a little stevia it's actually not bad - it has an earthy, nutty sort of taste.  I can't see them wanting to drink it but it may be OK in a recipe that requires milk.  The lady also suggested consuming dandelions - the leaves, flowers and roots.  And why not?  There's an abundance of them right now. So last night we tried the leaves in a salad, throwing in some violets since they are also growing in our yard (as a side note, violet leaves contain more vitamin A than spinach and a half cup of leaves has as much vitamin C as four oranges!)  Surprisingly the dandelion leaves were not very bitter (they get more bitter the longer they've been growing) but it sort of felt like we were chewing on strings.  The violet leaves were a little tough, too, but really were not bad.  It felt weird to eat the flowers, but they tasted just fine.  We all managed to eat a respectable serving.  The kids mentioned that it was a lot of work to collect the leaves.  Gerald thinks that next time we should save time and effort by sending them out to the yard to eat it directly. :P 

 This morning we made tea from the dandelion leaves.  This went over much better.  Several of the kids love to drink tea and once they got over the idea that it was made from the stuff they had in their salad last night they tried it and didn't mind it at all.

Then at lunch time we took it a step further and tossed some leaves and flowers into the blender to make a green smoothie. I filled the blender jar about halfway with cold water, added some ice, frozen strawberries, a banana, ground flax seed, honey, a scoop of spirulina powder and a few handfuls of the leaves and flowers.  We actually use to make this sort of thing on a daily basis, using lettuce or beet leaves, but have strayed away from it in the last few years.  The kids all said, "Oh, I remember drinking this stuff." They downed it without audible complaint. :)

We're trying a new cream that is satisfaction guaranteed. We'll see.  After trying a number of creams in the past we are a little skeptical.  Another suggestion was to mix equal parts avocado with mayonaise (regular, not fat-free) and spread that on the rashy areas.  We don't have any avocadoes in the house right now but we'll give that a try, too, when we get some.

There was more advice but I think that is enough to try for the time being.

*********

I've been reading the Wambu books by Piet Prins to the boys.  Although there are some scary and sad parts, especially in the first book, they love them.  Wambu discovered that he could make fire by holding glass over dry grass on a sunny day.  That gave Warren an idea...

He was pleased to see that it worked!  In no time he had a flame and had burned several holes in the leaf.  He was sprawled out over the gravel since I warned him not to try it in an area that might start a larger fire than he intended. 

Reading well-chosen books out loud is such a great thing.  It entertains, inspires, expands vocabulary, boosts listening skills and bonds relationships as the story becomes a shared experience.  So why do we often put it aside when the schedule gets full?  I tend to treat it as an extra, when it really should be a daily exercise, even during holidays.  Over the years we have shared so many good books together, and this has been a reminder to me to make it a priority.

********* 

In church last Sunday Gavin was looking at the coin Gerald had passed down for him to put in the Sunday school collection.  He noticed the queen on it and he asked in a whisper, "Is that Jezebel?"  Thankfully, not!