Beautiful, beneficial lemon balm

Lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) is a lovely little herb in the mint family with countless culinary, medicinal and home uses.

Andrew Chevallier, author of Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine claims lemon balm was traditionally used to lift the spirits, heal wounds, relieve palpation, relax the heart and treat toothache. Additional medicinal uses include healing cold sores, treating anxiety, depression, tension, overactive thyroid, chicken pox, shingles, flu, anxious nausea, and stomach ache.

Wikipedia adds: Lemon balm contains eugenol, which kills bacteria and has been shown to calm muscles and numb tissues. It also contains tannins that contribute to its antiviral effects, as well as terpenes that add to its soothing effects. Traditionally this herb has been used as a sedative, and as an antispasmodic.

According to a guide published by The Herb Society of America, "Lemon balm had historic use as an attractor of honeybees. Research has shown that the plant contains several compounds found in the worker honeybee’s Nasonov gland, which helps bees communicate about food sources and hive location. Both contain citral and geraniol, and honeybee pheromone contains nerolic acid, which is similar to the nerol found in Melissa officinalis."

Oh, yeah, and you can crunch it up and rub it on your skin to repel mosquitoes. Holy smokes! That's one beneficial herb, and we haven't even scratched the surface of its lovely cooking aspects!

I have used a lemon balm infused chapstick to ward off cold sores for years, but never really appreciated how easy to grow, harvest and use this lovely herb was. At the food swap a few weeks ago I brought home a small bunch of the fresh herb and made it into pesto by blending 2 cloves of garlic with about 1/4 cup of lemon balm leaves, a pinch of salt and about a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Served on bread or grilled meat, it was divine! Not only was it delicious, but it actually cured a cold sore I had brewing.

A few days ago, my friend JD gave me a gallon baggy full of fresh lemon balm, so with my new-found confidence with integrating it into my cooking, I made up this marinade, which I used on pork tenderloin and barbecued. Here's what I did:

Lemon Balm Meat Marinade

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh lemon balm
• 2 large cloves garlic pressed
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp white wine
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Mix ingredients in a ziplock bag, add meat & marinate 2-4 hours in refrigerator, turning occasionally.  Barbecue over medium heat until meat is fully cooked.

The pork was fork-tender and melt-in-your-mouth juicy...a difficult feat for pork. The citrus-y, herb-y, minty flavor would suit Greek cooking perfectly, but I simply served it with fresh baked French bread, fresh salad greens from my garden and some steamed broccoli, also from the garden.

I hope you plant, harvest and use this easy brilliant herb. I know I will continue to experiment with it and of course, will share what I learn as I go!

Something's wrong with the emergency back up dog

After Baxter's passing, I became acutely aware of a growing problem in my house: an inordinate amount of food had begun accumulating beneath my daughter's booster chair. I never realized that Baxter had been managing the mess for all of these years, but the lack of a canine vacuum cleaner made clear the vacancy he had left.

Enter Fern.

Fern is our 10 year old chocolate Labrador who lived indoors along side Baxter until 5 years ago when her incessant counter surfing got her banished to the outside kennel. It's not that we don't have patience for some food-driven behavior, its just that I had a colicky newborn baby, was suffering from postpardum depression and was struggling with breast feeding at the time that Fern was at her worst. Needless to say, my patience for having to re-sterilize things the dog had drug off the counter was at an all time low.

In her incarceration, Fern had become fat, smelly, and her nervous twitch of compulsively licking people grew to an irritating new level. But now, with my kids both past the point of requiring their food implements sterilized, and the recent loss of our indoor canine companion, it seemed an appropriate time to let Fern back into the house.

I spent a whole day brushing the 14 pounds of extra winter coat and dandruff off of her, and followed it up with a bath. Next, I went to the feed store and bought her some "light" dog food to help take off some of the weight she'd gained in her kennel years. Finally, I sewed her a brand new, fluffy, fleecy dog bed and placed it at the foot of our bed.

The first night was lovely. I think the dog believed her presence in the house was due to some oversight on our part, which, once discovered would result in her being thrown back in the kennel. She was very, very quiet, minded every command, and went to great lengths to blend in and be inconspicuous. When I introduced her to her new dog bed at bedtime, she hastily flopped down and didn't move a muscle until the Hubby's alarm rang the next morning.

The next morning the kids and I took her on a walk to the park. Her rotund, waddling, brown body was huffing and puffing after 5 minutes of aerobic exercise, but I felt satisfied that we were on track with our new house dog.

That evening before bed, I noticed Fern needing to make a few extra potty breaks. Then, starting at 2 AM and then each hour after throughout the night, Fern waddled over to my side of the bed, nosed my arm and whined for me to let her out. Finally, at 6 in the morning, I was exhausted. When she came in to ask to be let out, I rolled over and saw that the alarm would ring in 15 minutes, so I ignored her request..."she can wait 15 minutes," I thought to myself.

She couldn't.

6:15 AM, the hubby shuffled into the kitchen where a very antsy Fern was waiting, tail between her legs and ears back. There on the mudroom floor was an epic puddle of diarrhea. Further investigation throughout the house revealed several more pools, along with some vomit. Oh, the aroma of early morning sick...not much to compare it with...

Hearing the cussing, I got up, cleaned the spots throughout the house, and rallied the troops for another day at the park. Fern joined us and everything seemed fine...until that night. The same routine: 5 trips outside and her discomfort was clear. The next morning, we loaded her in the car and did some garage sale shopping. About 1 hour in, the faucet in Fern's rear end let loose, all over my back seat. Back to the kennel she went...at least for the rest of the day.

The Hubby wanted to let Fern in at night, and I relented, but told him that he was on dog duty that night. As with the last several days, Fern whined, I woke up, only this time, I rolled over and woke the Hubby up to let her out. I'm not sure how that saved me any more sleep than just getting up and handling it myself, but at least I didn't need to stand at the door whisper-yelling at her to come in at ungodly hours of the night and morning.

So here we are, day 6, and the dog's bowels have still not acclimated to the indoor lifestyle. It's clear that the new food needs to go, but it's hard to believe that we're having to force feed the most food-obsessed dog in the universe rice to get her basic nutrition.

Maybe we should have just gotten a new puppy.

Cold Wars: Fighting bugs without drugs

We don't get sick that often. Unlike most families whose kids are in school or daycare or other germ infested locations, our kids simply aren't bringing home as many bugs and I am eternally grateful for this fact. But, everyone gets sick sometimes. We used to pack everyone up at the first sign of fever or green snot and head straight to the doctor, but after a few trips, I began to realize that they had no more effective ways to combat colds than I did. And their ways (antibiotics or narcotic cough syrup) usually had added risks along with them.

I discovered a number of ways to relieve and heal colds naturally when I was pregnant and unable to take any over the counter or prescription meds, and now, I employ the tools I learned to fight most of the bugs that come in our door.

General wellness and prevention:
Wash up: Most germs are spread with our hands, so I insist that the kids wash theirs often. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm convinced that omitting this step in busy preschool rooms contributes heavily to perpetually sick kids.

Vitamins: There’s still some debate about the real benefits of supplemental vitamins, but I believe they can’t hurt and can only help, so my kids get them every day, especially when they’ve been exposed to loads of germs like the grocery store or playgroups with other kids. I give them 500 mg of Vitamin C daily, a basic chewable multivitamin, and, during the winter when we’re locked indoors or when they are fighting off a cold, Vitamin D. Vitamin D is one you CAN give to much of, so I don’t just go giving it willy-nilly. When I think the kids are fighting a bug, I add Wish Garden's Kick-It Immune tincture for a little enhanced immune support.

When the cold bug strikes:
Sinus rinses:  I use the NeilMed sinus rinse bottle and pH balanced saline solution, mixed with a splash of Alkalol.

 Water temperature should be the same as your body temp...check using your wrist, not your finger.

 Keep your head down over the sink, align the nozzle with your nostril and squeeze GENTLY. Water should come out the other nostril, along with all the gunky stuff in your sinuses. This is such an effective way to get the boogies out of toddlers that I do one with a sick kid every 2-4 hours in the beginning. I started doing sinus rinses with Boy when he was 2 years old, and with Little Sister when she was 12 months old. Now, both kids are pros.

Controlling coughs: If the sinus bug starts working its way into an upper respiratory infection with a bunch of coughing, especially at night, I add Eldertussin Elderberry Syryp. This stuff is the best symptom treatment I've come across as it's loaded with immune boosting goodies, along with cough suppressant. I try to NEVER run out of Eldertussin. I add King Bio cough spray for immediate relief. At night and naptimes, I fill up the humidifier and keep it running in the sickie's room too and this helps cut down on the coughing.

Viruses: If we know we're dealing with a virus, the best antiviral in the world is honey, and specifically Manuka Honey from New Zeland. This stuff is so awesome, it's been shown to CURE the herpes virus. In addition, Melissa, aka Lemon Balm and colloidal silver are great antivirals too.

 Homeopathic treatments: When the bug is accompanied with fever and body aches I go for a homeopathic flu tabs. Homeopathics, unlike herbs are safe to take for toddlers, pregnant and nursing moms, making them awesome way to battle bugs without drugs. They are relatively inexpensive and come in varieties addressing a plethora of really specific symptoms. The ones I keep on hand are Post-nasal drip, dry cough, cough, sinus...oh, and of course Arnica Montana for muscle aches & bruising, but that's another post for another day.

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, but these tricks and tools have helped our family fight off infections and shorten the duration of colds. Do the research on your own, and then give natural remedies a shot next time a cold bug rears its ugly head in your house...you may be surprised!