Headache Relief Tip

Here’s a quick headache relief tip that I received several years ago from a reader of one of my newsletters:

Chet, for a whopper of a headache I get relief by heating a wet wash cloth in the microwave until hot, then placing it on top of my head, lying down, and relaxing.

The moist heat must increase the blood circulation to the head — maybe that’s why this works so well?

Well, the next time your skull feels like it’s going to explode, try the above headache relief tip.

Oh, be careful to not get the wash cloth too hot. You don’t want to burn your hands or your head.

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Unusual Cold Remedy

Today I’m sharing the “how to” details on the simple but very powerful Pickle Juice Cold and Flu Remedy, which is just one of the 37 classic cold and flu remedies in my popular collection when you click right here. :)

With that out of the way, here are the easy details for using the…

The Pickle Juice Cold and Flu Remedy

A reader of one of my newsletters wrote me the following letter in the winter of 2003:

Chet, I haven’t had the flu, or even a cold, in 30 years because I consume two tablespoons of cold dill pickle juice each morning when I get up.

A doctor told me to do that 30 years ago. I haven’t had any problems since I started the daily ritual.

Well, this is the kind of simple, elegant, natural approach that I enjoy sharing with people, so I hope you’ll add two tablespoons of dill pickle juice to your morning routine in the near future.

While researching this home remedy on the Internet, I learned that people also use dill pickle juice for upset stomach, and, interestingly enough, hangovers. So this might be a good addition to your health routine, especially if you’re still drinking alcohol.

The Pickle Juice Cold and Flu Remedy is said to be an excellent treatment for early onset of a cold or flu, and works even better when used in combination with some of the other remedies found in How to Beat Colds and Flu with 37 Natural Remedies available here now.

Here’s to staying healthy with natural remedies this cold and flu season.

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Healthy Fried Rice

I don’t know about you, but I really like fried rice at the local Japanese steak house.

That is, I did like fried rice at the local Japanese steak house until they went out of business earlier this year.

Well, happily, my son Josh, after a lot of experimenting, has come up with a recipe for fried rice that’s actually better than what I used to enjoy at the steak house.

And here is Josh’s recipe…

Thai Basil and Vegetable Fried Rice

1 cup cooked rice, white or brown, per person (for two people, I prepare one cup of uncooked rice per directions listed here)
2 Tbs Kikkoman soy sauce (Note: both soy sauce and fish sauce are calculated for a serving of two people. Add 2 tsp extra for each additional cup of rice if serving more.)
2 Tbs fish sauce (this is like ketchup in Thai cooking, and it’s crucial for the Thai flavor)
1/2 cup yellow onion, minced
1/2 cup carrot, finely minced
2 green onion stalks, chopped in 1/2 inch lengths
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 egg, scrambled
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn roughly
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, whole
1 Tbs raw, natural sugar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Thai hot pepper, crushed to pieces or finely minced (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes — only add either ingredient if you want your rice HOT)
2 Tbs oil (many recipes I found call for vegetable oil, which is not healthy at all. I used olive oil, which worked fine, despite a few recipes warning me not to use olive oil. Coconut oil would also be good if you can find it. Actually, I plan to try coconut oil next because that will add a lot to the flavor.)
Salt and pepper, optional

Heat your wok on medium heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add both garlic and hot pepper. Stir rigourously for 1-3 seconds — things should really be sizzling — then add yellow onion and carrots. It’s important here to NOT burn or even slightly brown the garlic. Adding the onion and carrots will slow the cooking.

Add sugar. It will dissolve and mix into the ingredients almost instantly.

Continue to stir until onions shrink and turn translucent. Push everything to one side, or make an empty crater at the center of the wok.

Add additional oil if needed.

Crack egg over empty space and cook, stirring to scramble. When egg is fully cooked, mix garlic, hot pepper, onions, and carrots together.

Add rice. Pour in soy sauce and fish sauce. Stir until rice takes on the “fried” look. Add a little extra soy sauce if the rice is not brown enough.

Now add your salt and pepper, if using.

Stir constantly, paying close attention to the bottom of the wok. You don’t want the rice to stick.

Add chopped mung bean sprouts and green onion and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Turn off heat but leave wok on burner. Add remaining ingredients, the basil and cilantro. Stir well until both are fully integrated into the rice. Then remove from heat and you’re ready to serve!

I like to garnish with a little extra cilantro on top. You can also add a lime wedge and some raw, cool cucumber slices. Both additions are great if you like your Thai fried rice extra spicy.

Thanks to Josh for sharing this recipe. After going over it again to post, I’m definitely ready to make a batch soon… like maybe tonight.

If you have any insights or thoughts on making fried rice, I hope you’ll share them here.

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Raw Apple Pie

Hey, how about a simple and healthy recipe for raw apple pie this chilly Thursday morning here at CasaDay.

Raw Apple Pie Recipe

Three Granny Smith apples cut into bite-sized chunks
1 Tbs honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup apple or white grape juice

Mix everything together and serve.

Now that’s about the easiest recipe for healthy apple pie that I’ve ever seen. :)

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Meditate and Be Happy

Chet here…

As you probably already know from reading the news, meditation is one of the best ways to calm down and reconnect with what is important in your life.

As reported in a recent Reuter’s news story…

Hundreds of research studies have shown that mantras, prayer, and meditation techniques can…

  • successfully lower blood pressure
  • help decrease chronic pain and anxiety…
  • help relieve digestive ailments…
  • and ease emotional problems.

In many cases, these studies have shown that as little as twenty minutes of daily meditation can have profound effects on the body.

Well, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to join a meditation center, you don’t have to find a guru, and you don’t need a doctor’s prescription to make your life happier and more productive with daily meditation.

Not if you own my powerful Kyoto Protocol No. 3 meditation CD, which was created especially for those who have never meditated before. Check it out right now at…

http://chetday.com/kyotoprotocol03.htm

Be sure to scroll down on the above page to read a full description of the CD and just what it can do for you. :)

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Grind Your Nuts

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about nuts and how they can be utilized in healthy recipes.

Nuts, you see, are an excellent source of good protein, though you have to be careful not to eat too many if you’re on a diet because they’re also fattening.

And that’s a problem.

I mean, seriously, I can’t eat three cashews and then close the bag and put them back in the pantry.

Can you?

Many recipes call for various nuts to add flavor and crunch, and though it’s kind of fun to chop your nuts with a knife, it can also be a pain if you need them real fine to add a subtle flavoring and texture that a coarser chop just won’t provide.

I solve that problem by demolishing my nuts in a coffee grinder…

Ah, let’s rephrase that… I grind my nuts by processing them in a…

Hmmm… well, you get the point, I’m sure. (Excuse my adolescent sense of humor — I just can’t grow out of it, even at age 63.)

Happy Thanksgiving, if you’re reading this on Thanksgiving Day 2011 when I posted this.

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Meditation Retreat

You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a meditation retreat.

In fact, you don’t even have to search for a guru, hike in the mountains, or drive to the beach.

Here’s how to experience a do-it-yourself meditation retreat in the privacy of your own home or office.

First, find a comfortable place. This will be a quiet place where dogs and family won’t be bounching in and out. It’ll also be a place where you feel safe and relaxed.

Next, turn your attention to your breath. Take a deep breath. Hold. Release slowly. Repeat several times. With each exhalation, relax and let go.

Now that you’re relaxing, direct your mental attention to your legs.

As you continue to breathe, hold, release, and relax, visualize your legs digging down into the earth just like powerful roots of an ancient oak tree.

Imagine your legs extending slowly, growing down to the very center of the earth.

When you feel your legs secure in the center of the earth, gently whisper to yourself…

I am grounded to the earth… feeling vital and strong.

Now, and this is the cool part, feel the healing earth energy flow up through your legs and up into your entire body.

This energy flows in gentle, warm waves, and it fills every part of your being with inner peace, warmth, and vitality.

Breathe deeply into this healing place.

Feel peace and stillness flowing through your chest and heart.

Breathe, hold, release slowly, and let go… and know you can return to this spiritual retreat whenever you wish.

If you like this meditation retreat exercise, I know you’ll want to click here and subscribe to my free EarthRain Meditation newsletter.

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Instant Stress Relief

I collect stress tips the way some people collect matchbooks, and today I’d like to share one I learned from a fellow in England, who, alas, passed away many years ago.

Here’s the tip:

The next time you’re feeling stressed, find somewhere quiet and comfortable, close your eyes, and allow your breathing to slow and deepen for a couple of minutes.

Then picture in your mind a hamster running around inside its wheel in its cage.

Just like your racing thoughts, the hamster can’t stop running on the spot.

Visualize this hamster running for a few breaths and note how all this frantic running gets him nowhere.

Notice that you can’t even see the rungs of his wheel because he is running so quickly.

Now visualize the wheel slowing to a walking pace.

Keep your mental picture of the little critter clear and watch how he walks slower and slower until the wheel stops turning round…

Now you can see each rung in detail.

Watch mentally as the hamster is still inside his wheel, but he turns over onto his back, closes his eyes, and is now using the wheel as a hammock, rocking gently backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards.

Each time an outside thought intrudes into your head, bring your attention back to the gentle rocking of the wheel, backwards and forwards.

After a while, the rocking stops and the hamster is asleep…

And you are relaxed and stress-free!

This is an excellent way to reduce your stress level, so I hope you’ll give it a try right now and then comment below.

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Healthy Carrot Cake

There are some healthy and living carrot cake recipes that are so tasty they almost make you laugh with joy when you even think about them.

Today I have such a recipe for you, courtesy of Margaret Rosales, who shared it with me originally many years ago.

Living Carrot Cake with Lemon Cashew Frosting

Carrot Cake
1 cup soaked, raw almonds
1 1/2 cup soaked raisins (save water)
1 cup pitted dates, soaked and drained
6 cups carrot pulp
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Zest of one lemon and one orange

Lemon Cashew Frosting
2 cups soaked cashews
1 cup soaked raisins
1 cup soaked dates
juice of one lemon

In blender, place almonds, raisins, dates, and raisin water. Mix. Add to a bowl and add pulp, spices, and zest.

For frosting, blend cashews and their water with the dates and their water and lemon juice until smooth.

Line 10-inch pie pan with plastic wrap and press cake mixture into it. Turn out onto plate and remove plastic. Spread frosting over. Do the second layer the same and spread frosting over all.

Delicious!

You’re not going to find a healthy carrot cake recipe any better than this one. Try it if you don’t believe me.

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Nighttime Blood Sugar Tip

Here’s today’s blood sugar tip

To help keep your blood sugar stable during the night, just before you’re ready to crawl into the sack, eat a small snack consisting of around 200 calories. I’m personally fond of having several celery sticks with cashew butter spread down the middle.

Another option would be to eat a quarter cup of almonds or walnuts.

For a third option, eat a small apple with a quality nut butter (no added sugar) spread on a few slices. Now, that’s a tasty treat!

By having a small pre-bed snack, your blood sugar will be stable during the night.

Consequently, you’ll sleep more soundly and you’ll also wake up refreshed instead of being tired from having low blood sugar.

Before I sign off, if you have trouble dropping into dreamland at night, check out my powerful sleep-inducing CD called NightTrain.

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