Articles in the Guest Posts Category

Hi, y’all!

I’m so glad that you enjoyed my last post, on emotional eating, food labels, and judgments. It’s nice to know that you can relate, and that you appreciate my (raw) honesty – and it’s soooooooooooooo nice to have it off my chest once and for all!

Remember, we need to be KIND to ourselves so we can achieve ultimate health. Take my hand and let’s skip along together.

Good News!

I wanted to share with you that Zeenat Syal has allowed me the fantabulous opportunity to share a bit about my story of healing (including tips for you!) – thank you, Z!

Here’s my guest post, in case you want to read it:

Healing Your Heart, Holistically 

Zeenat (and I!) would love it if you share your thoughts and suggestions about my story on my guest post over there (if you have time, of course)!

And… here’s a sneak peek at Zeenat’s beautiful blog…

Zeenat is a beautiful lady. She shares her heart so openly and honestly, and is one of my favorite bloggers – and people! You can see by this glimpse of her blog, that she emanates peace, inspiration, hope, serenity, love, and healing…

You  might even remember Zeenat wrote a beautiful, informative guest post for us a while back: Onions–A Pungent Surprise of Natural Healing 

Do check that out, too. Zeenat is a Practicing Counseling Psychologist & Naturopath with degrees in Motivational and Counseling Psychology. She also holds degrees in various fields of Holistic and Naturopathic Medicine. <— Full of wisdom, she is!

Thanks for letting me share! Big hugs to everyone, and I hope your day is fantabulous!!!

If this is your first time visiting, be sure to enter my latest contest for E3Live products (a value of over $200!) and check out my chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls. They’re easy (and fun!) to make.

And now I have a special surprise for you: We have a talented and inspiring guest today!

Zeenat Syal is sharing her wisdom of the healing benefits of raw onion. You know how I love the healing benefits of raw foods!

Take it away, Zeenat!

Onions – A Pungent Surprise of Natural Healing

The onion, a pungent edible of the lily family, is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables. It is considered food of exceptional value for flavoring and seasoning.

The onion is a biennial herb, usually grown as an annual. All its parts produce a strong odor when crushed. It has a superficial root system, a very short flattened stem at the base of the plant, which increases in diameter as growth continues. Leaves are long, linear and hollow. A bulb is formed by thickening of the leaf bases when the plant reaches a certain stage of growth.

The onion is believed to have originated in Central Asia, possibly in the Iran-Pakistan region. It has been cultivated since ancient times in the Middle East and India. It was a popular food in ancient Egypt, where it is depicted on the tombs as early as 3200 BC and has been found in mummies. Almost all religions in their holy scriptures have mentioned onions in some way or the other.

Onion is now cultivated in most parts of the world, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Philippines, China, Egypt, West and East Africa, tropical South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Food Value:

Onion which derived its name from the Latin Onio and French Oignon, has been described by some one as the dynamite of all natural foods. Compared with other fresh vegetables, it is relatively high in food value, moderate in protein content and is rich in calcium and riboflavin. There is considerable variation in composition between different varieties and it also varies with the stage of maturity and the length of storage.

The odor in onion is due to organic sulphur compounds, and is produced only when they are cut or injured, by enzyme action on a water-soluble amino acid. Heating, freezing and drying prevent the enzyme action. That is why cooking produces a different odor, flavor and pungency. The pungent flavor is appreciated by many people in many countries. The strong odor lingers for a considerable amount of time after consumption. It is said to be due to small particles retained is the mouth which cannot always be removed by brushing.

Onion is one of the vegetables which has the best keeping quality. The dried cured bulbs may be kept for several months without deterioration and can stand rough handling.

Natural Benefits and Curative Properties:

Onion is highly valued for its therapeutic properties. It has been used as a food remedy from time immemorial. The physicians of ancient Egypt prescribed onions in various diseases. They are stimulant, diuretic, expectorant and rubefacient.

The white onion is preferable to the red and yellow varieties. Onions should be taken with meals preferably raw as fried or cooked onions are comparatively difficult to digest. For therapeutic purposes, it is advisable to use onion juice instead of the whole onion as it is an all round medicine. Onion being stimulating and irritating food, its consumption in excess should be avoided.

Several parts of the plant have a place in traditional medicines. The seeds of onion relieve dental worms and urinary diseases. The stalks of onion are a source of Vitamin A, thiamin and ascorbic acid. They are used in both tender and mature stages.

*Onions*

Food Value                                                     Minerals and Vitamins

Moisture                                    86.6%              Calcium                                     47mg

Protien                                        1.2%                Phosphorous                              50mg

Fat                                              0.1%                  Iron                                           0.7mg

Fibre                                            0.6%               Vitamin C                                   11mg

Minerals                                       0.4%             Small amount if Vitamin B Complex

Carbohydrates                            11.1%

______

100%               Calorific Value: 51

*Values 100 gms edible portion.

Respiratory Diseases:

Onion possesses expectorant properties. It liquefies phlegm and prevents its further formation. It has been used for centuries in cold, cough, bronchitis and influenza.

Tooth Disorders:

Onion also possesses bactericidal properties. Hence, consuming one raw onion everyday, chewing thoroughly, can protect you from a host of tooth disorders. Chewing raw onions for three minutes is sufficient to kill all the germs in the mouth. Toothache is often allayed by placing a small piece of onion on the bad tooth or gum.

Anemia:

Onions are noted for their easily assimilable iron content. They are therefore, beneficial in the treatment of anemia.

Heart Disease:

Onion is an excellent preventive food item against heart-attack. Its beneficial because of the composition of the essential oils, calcium, iron, phosphorous and vitamins. The onions are very valuable in heart diseases as they correct thrombosis and also reduce blood cholesterol.

Skin Disorders:

Onion is irritating to the skin and stimulates the circulation of blood in the mucous membranes. Warts also sometimes disappear if rubbed with cut onions. Roasted or otherwise, onions are applied as a poultice to boils, bruises, wounds, etc., to bring the boils to maturity by its heaty sensation.

Ear Disorders:

Onions juice dipped in cotton wool and put into the ear is a popular Russian remedy for ringing sound in the ears. Dropped hot in the ear, it relieves earache.

Urinary System Disorders:

Onions are highly beneficial in the treatment of urinary system disorders. Regular intake of onion juice will bring about considerable amount of relief to patients suffering from burning sensation as well as to patients suffering from urine retention.

Bleeding Piles:

Onions are a very valuable treatment in bleeding piles. Onion juice mixed with a pinch of sugar taken twice daily by the patient will bring relief in a few days.

Uses:

The onion can be used in innumerable ways. The immature and mature bulbs are eaten raw or they may be cooked and eaten as a vegetable. They are used in soups, salads, sauces and for seasoning many foods. They may also be fried. Onion oil, produced by steaming distillation, is used to a limited extent for flavoring foods.There has been an increasing demand, in recent years, for dehydrated onion products. The onions are sliced and dried. They are used for flavoring food and in canned meat products, sausages, canned and dried soups and ketchups. Dried onion flakes can be reconstituted by cooking in water. Chopped and dried green onions are a kind culinary herb for culinary purposes.

Zeenat Merchant Syal is a Practicing Counseling Psychologist & Naturopath with degrees in Motivational and Counseling Psychology. She also holds degrees in various fields of Holistic and Naturopathic Medicine. Her Blog “Positive Provocations” focuses on Positive Thinking through Healing the Mind, Body, Heart &Soul-Trying to heal the world one blog post at a time-Spreading Positivity, Motivations, Inspiration, Love & Happiness.

Thank you so much, Zeenat!

Okay, y’all. Get busy adding those onions to your meals and enjoying their natural healing benefits!

And be sure to stop by Zeenat’s blog. She’s so inspiring and knowledgeable. Her posts are a joy to read and I know you’ll be glad you took the time to visit her!

(Onion) photo credit: Vic Lic

Note from Raw Juice Girl: In case you’re just tuning in, I wanted to bring you up-to-date by sharing (as I did in my last post) that I’m now the proud, new owner of a 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator. I’m beyond ecstatic; I’m overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, and so much more! So, I asked around to see if anyone had any favorite dehydrator recipes to share with me and I started getting emails. Then I started thinking: guest posts! The following guest post is one of those emails and I asked the author of that email, Mysti, if she’d be okay with sharing with you all what she shared with me. She said yes! Now, instead of keeping her awesome recipes to myself–you get to enjoy them, too! And, how very special that she’s the author of the first guest post to ever appear here on Healing with (Raw) Juices!  (And for those of you who are 100% raw and/or Vegan, honey is listed as one ingredient on the granola bars. You could use agave or raw honey there. While Mysti isn’t a raw foodist or even a vegetarian, I commend her for eating a high amount of veggies and fruit and always finding creative ways to bring healthy sustenance to her family’s table.)

Guest Post By Mysti Guymon-Reutlinger

I jumped last year to buy a dehydrator.  I absolutely love it!  I don’t think I could imagine my life without it, truthfully.

I have one of the pickiest eaters in the world.  It’s not his fault, but the foods that once brought terror into our lives with allergic reactions limited his diet early on and now that he has outgrown those allergies, we struggle to incorporate anything outside of his toddler years “norm.”  Having struggled so much, I looked high and low to find ways to bring more healthy foods into our oldest son’s diet and the dehydrator I bought last year has been vital in that process.

Fruit Roll Ups purchased from the store are filled with sugars and preservatives.  Making your own roll ups takes a bit of practice, but once mastered adds a new way to enjoy the goodness of fresh fruits (and vegetables!) in a not-so-healthy way.

My favorite recipes are:

Tropical Rolls

• 4 C Bananas
• 1 Orange, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 C Pineapple chunks
• Fruit Roll Sheets or Parchment/Wax paper
• Oil

Puree fruits together in a blender until smooth, but thick.  Take the fruit roll sheets or wax paper and lightly dust with oil for ease of removing once dry.  Spread the fruit puree about 1/4 inch thick on the sheets and dry at 120-135 degrees F for 4-8 hours, until moisture is removed.

Apple Strawberry Rolls

• 2 C Strawberries
• 2 C Applesauce
• Fruit Roll Sheets or Parchment/Wax paper
• Oil

Puree fruits together in a blender until smooth, but thick.  Take the fruit roll sheets or wax paper and lightly dust with oil for ease of removing once dry.  Spread the fruit puree about 1/4 inch thick on the sheets and dry at 120-135 degrees F for 4-8 hours, until moisture is removed.

We love granola and granola bars in our house.  You can get quite creative with combinations of items that you have on hand or readily available.  The basics are covered below.

Granola/Granola bars

• 5 C Rolled oats
• 2 C dried fruit (apples, raisins, dates, bananas, etc)
• 1 C crushed nuts
• 1/2 C wheat germ
• 1/2 C flax or sesame seeds
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 3/4 C butter (melted)
• 1/2 C honey or agave
• 1/4-1/3 C Olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Solid dehydrator sheets or wax paper

Combine all the ingredients, mixing well.  Spread onto dehydrator sheets and dry at 130-150 degrees F for 3-5 hours, until crunchy.

If you would prefer granola bars, form into shape before placing in dehydrator.

As with everything that you dehydrate, you must remember to store in air-tight containers.  We prefer to use vacuum sealed bags personally.  Anything kept at room temperature will keep for two-four weeks.  If frozen, it will keep for up to six months.

Playing with your dehydrator is fun, exciting and an amazing experiment!!  You will find combinations of foods that serve yourself and your family better than others.  It’s all about preference!

Mysti Guymon-Reutlinger is a wife, mother, and amazingly creative (and healthy!) chef for her family and friends. She’s also a freelance writer with an edge on parenting, health and inspiration.  You can find her on the web at www.lifesapprobation.com or email her at mysti2009 at gmail dot com.

Thank you, Mysti, for sharing your dehydrated creations with us! I recommend you visit Mysti’s blog there. I’m a HUGE fan. Mysti shares her life so openly and honestly. And sometimes she shares recipes with special stories about why they’re a part of her family’s meal time. I personally compare her site to Chicken Soup for the Soul stories–it’s aweosme!

Do you have favorite dehydrator recipes you’d like to share? They don’t have to be 100% raw to qualify for a guest post, but I’d like to focus on creations using veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, superfoods, etc. Contact me for guest posts similar to this one. Unless I’m totally bombarded, I’ll try to respond soon and let you know if your post qualifies. If approved, I’ll contact you requesting a short bio, a bio photo, and link to your blog/website if you have one.

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!