What I do when Sickness strikes our house (and a recipe for delicious comforting porridge)
My teenage daughter woke up at 5:30 this morning to throw up. Nice alarm clock for a Saturday morning - NOT. By 10 A.M., she had thrown up so many times, she lost count. Poor thing. The first thing I had her do was to take some Wild Mediterranean Oregano essential oil. I make an oil blend that is gentle enough to swallow by mouth, but so potent, that we use it as a natural antibiotic at our house. In fact, our daughter has never had to take prescription antibiotics - ever. It has kept me antibiotic-free for 20 to 25 years at least (I've lost track). It has saved us probably thousands of dollars in doctors visits alone. CAUTION: Don't take oregano oil strait or you may wish you were dead - it burns the mouth and throat so bad.
Tip: Whenever anyone in our home has gotten sick, I remind the rest of us to take a little oregano oil blend as a preventative measure. It works.
My daughter soon tells me that she can't even keep any water down. I know she is absorbing some of the wild oregano anyway, and I also know it is annihilating this bug she has, it will just take a short time to see the effects.
I have her rub a combination of virgin coconut oil and a mixture of sickness fighting essential oils on the soles of her feet. I instruct her to do this at least every hour. The oils make their way into the body to help fight off the sickness. Cool, right?
I proceed to make her a strong ginger tea. Ginger is one of the best things you can take for an upset stomach and nausea. Ginger is even effective for motion sickness and morning sickness. I sweeten it with about 4 drops of sugar-free stevia glycerite. See our recipe for stevia glycerite on this blog.
I let the ginger tea steep 10 minutes and then take it to my daughter. I tell her about ginger being a perfect remedy for her stomach. She asked me, will it help? I told her, "It certainly will." She's feeling pretty miserable, I want to give her some hope. Honestly, she has been sick so infrequently, that it is a shock to her. She hasn't had all the sickness that most kids have. I have to let her know that she will live. Don't laugh.
Next, I make a pot of hot rice porridge. Rice is very easy on the stomach. I have a special recipe I use, which I will share here. I use basmati rice (brown or white) and I add a little psyllium husk to it. Psyllium is a fiber that is also soothing and detoxifying to the digestive tract. It also gives a nice creamy texture to the hot cereal. We love it for it's blood sugar regulating effects. Psyllium slows the absorption of sugars and carbohydrates, which helps to even out your blood sugar levels. That's a good thing for maintaining health.
Another important tip is to salt all of your hot cereals as you are cooking them. It takes hot cereal from flat and boring to actually tasting good. It brings out the flavors nicely. Even salting to the point of the cereal being on the savory side is delicious, and is our family's favorite way to prepare mush. We have used BioSalt for this purpose for years. It is a balanced salt, that negates water retention in the body. See our BioSalt recipe on this blog.
For my daughter's situation, I sweeten the hot porridge with wild flower honey (preferably raw), as it is healing too. I sprinkled her cereal with ground ginger and cinnamon and topped it off with a little pad of butter. I then added a little organic whole milk.
Let's cross our fingers. Will the cereal stay down?
I made cereal fort the rest of the family too. This cereal is a delicious comfort food, plus it's cold outside and this is nice and warming. The basmati rice makes this cereal special. Try it!
We nicknamed this particular recipe "Fiji Rice Mush." Mom created it while living in Fiji. It gives a nice exotic twist to mush's name, don't you think?
Fiji Rice Mush Recipe:
2 c. uncooked Basmati rice (brown or white)
2 t. finely ground psyllium husk powder
Method:
Grind the rice kernels and psyllium in a high powered blender until it becomes a fine powder.
You may find it easier to grind in 3 batches.
Store what you won't be cooking in the freezer.
To Cook the Fiji Rice Mush:
In a large saucepan, mix 1/3 c. ground rice mixture and 2 cups water. Add 1/2 t. BioSalt or sea salt.
Stir and cook until thick on medium-high heat.
Reduce heat and cook on the lowest heat for at least 10 minutes. Add more water as needed.
Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 20 to 30 minutes.
To keep hot, cover with a folded terry cloth towel.
Check for salt, and adjust is desired.
Serve with coconut milk, organic milk, or nut milk.
Note:
The psyllium husk slows the absorption of the starch in the rice. Psyllium also extends the amount of porridge made because it absorbs a lot of water. It helps your blood sugar levels not to spike and then crash, helping with weight loss. Psyllium is also good for the digestive system and helps you feel full longer.
Enjoy,
Leila
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