Living an authentic life takes a
lot of energy. (Of course living an inauthentic life, in opposition to your
heartfelt desires and the flow that wants to naturally happen, takes a whole
lot more energy…but that would be a different post!)
It’s a good idea to keep our
bodies as healthy as possible while we are doing our authentic work and
fulfilling our purpose here on Planet Earth. I have had bad habits over the years – thankfully they are
decreasing, rather than increasing. (Haven’t had a cigarette since the second
week of July, yeay!) Mostly I eat in a healthy manner. Note I said MOSTLY.
A lot of things have helped me maintain a healthy body…regular exercise, chiropractic work, yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture, meditation, a couple of minor surgeries. Paying attention to my breathing. I have taken fruit/veggie supplements for years, and am a fan of Juice Plus.
But I’m focusing on Kombucha tea here…for those who have not heard of it, and for those who have and want to make their own. My beloved has been making and drinking Kombucha tea for around nine years now, and hasn’t been sick the entire time!
I got my first culture from George and have been making and drinking it for almost a year now. The same is true for me, even while I have been surrounded by coughing, sneezing, sick people at the office. There have been times I felt I was coming down with something, so I took an extra dose, added some Airborne, and went back to bed for a couple hours. But I haven’t been sick enough to miss a full day of work in long enough I wanted to share the Kombucha tea recipe.
From NOURISHING TRADITIONS: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, Revised Second Edition: Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D:
Soviet cancer researchers determined to find out why, where and how this dread disease (cancer) had increased so dramatically following WW II…two districts in the region of Perm, on the Kama River…stood out like neon lights…hardly any cancer cases…How could this be?...it was soon confirmed that nary a home in the region was without the fermenting crocks of kvass or kombucha.
-Tom Valentine, Search for Health.
From George’s Recipe:
Never store Kombucha in metal; always use glass. Heat will also kill the culture, so keep everything room temperature while you are preparing the tea. After it is prepared, you put it in the frig.
-1 gallon of tea with caffeine
(six tea bags), cooled to room temperature
-1 C sugar
-Mix together until completely
dissolved (in glass gallon jar, add part of the tea, then mix in the sugar,
then add the rest of the tea and mix again)
-Add 4-6 oz. of Kombucha tea as
starter fluid
-Add a culture
-Cover with clean, dry cloth that
allows air in, secure with rubber band
-Place in warm, dry place for
approximately 14 days, undisturbed (top of frig works great)
To “harvest” and prepare for a new
batch, have a clean, dry gallon glass jar ready. After removing the culture and
setting it aside in a dish, strain (with a straining cloth—a knee-high nylon
works great) the batch you have been preparing.
The culture may be at the top or the bottom of the jar. (Don’t stick
your hand or arm into the jar to retrieve the culture because you just end up with
a big, huge mess. Been there, done that. If you can’t take the culture out
easily from the top with your fingers, just strain the liquid slowly until you
can.)
You will have cultures to give
away because one culture always forms another. You can store the cultures in an
ounce or two of prepared tea in a sturdy Ziploc bag in the frig.
A “warning”…some stringy and clumpy stuff that doesn’t look appetizing comes along with the culture. Even after you strain it and put it in your drinking jar, you may find stringy and clumpy stuff in there later on because the culture continues to grow, particularly in a good batch. It’s not going to hurt you. It’s just not very appetizing. You can pull it out with your fingers or a spoon. Or strain it again. I’ve gotten to the point I just swallow some of the smaller strands in the tea without batting an eye. The bigger clumps, not so much. J I take them out.
The tea tastes good, particularly chilled, and I love the health benefits.
Laura
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