Samovar Tea Lounge, a San Fransisco tea house, has created a 16-part video series called “Passage to Peace: Exploring Tea Culture Today”.

Press the image below to watch the trailer for this online series, which aims to show the connection between drinking tea and inner peace.

Indian herbs, including Amaranthus paniculatus (cultiv.), Coccinia indica, and Coriandrum sativum (coriander) may soon be replacing chemical preservatives in many foods. The herbs have high quantities of antioxidants which are known to retard spoilage and “aging” in both foods and human beings as well. Most plants produce some antioxidants, but these herbs appear to have much higher levels and chemicals such as ascorbic acid, flavonoids, phenolics and tannin.

Tests have shown that the high levels of antioxidants in these herbs have a positive effect in people’s bodies and though not completely proven, can be utilized by people who are interested in a “natural” manner to preserve foods as well as to prevent aging.

One of these herbs, known to Westerners as Coriander and to Asians and Middle Easterners as “Cusbara” is very commonly used in households as a food enhancer and a cooking herb. Although the plant’s pungent, almost bitter, taste is not agreeable with many westerners, people living in the Mediterranean regions love it and use the plant in their foods almost every day.

Synthetic antioxidants used in many foods include butylhydroxytoluene (BHY) and Butylhydroxyanisole (BHA), both of which are very common. By using the Indian ideas of utilizing less synthetic and more natural vitamins, the end result may enable foods to be preserved in a healthier manner by using these herbs. Oxidation is a big factor in what causes food products to spoil so quickly. The Amaranthus plant contains high levels of beta carotene, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and folates, all of which are excellent anti-oxidants.

The demand for natural antioxidants has resulted in a global market for natural antioxidants that now reaches nearly $ 70 million. Indian herbs have been known to have many curative properties, and high antioxidant levels are just some of the many attributes of Indian herbs. These herbs are found in both fresh and dried versions, and those wishing to preserve food items simply have to add certain amounts of these herbs to the foods. In addition to preserving food, many of these herbs, including Coriander and Amaranthus are used extensively in salads to add a unique, zesty flavor.

Source: Natural News; Picture by Gernot Katzer

Mexican salads and sauces are not only very popular but also beneficial to your health. Take guacamole salad for example, which is made from avocados, lemon juice, garlic, red and green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and a number of spices, including cumin. Avocados have long been considered as very healthy and contain lutein (a carotenoid antioxidant), vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats. Avocados are also beneficial in preventing conditions such as prostate and breast cancer.

Lemon juice and virgin olive oil are also ingredients that provide vitamin C, alkalizes (good for keeping both kidneys free of kidney stones and the gall bladder free of gall stones), and helps against some forms of cancer. Olive oil is considered as one of the best salad and cooking oils due to having Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid.

Ingredients in salsa sauce, such as tomatoes, peppers, and garlic are all very beneficial to you health. Tomatoes are high in anti-oxidants as well as vitamins A, C, and K. Tomatoes help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and also help prevent cancer of the colon and prostate gland.

Garlic has many beneficial properties of a powerful antioxidant called Allicin, and helps clean the liver as well as lowering blood cholesterol.

Red and green peppers contain an antioxidant called Capsaicin, which helps to reduce cholesterol, prevents formation of blood clots and strokes, while increasing a person’s metabolic rate. Peppers are also high in vitamin C and help prevent and fight cancers of the stomach, thyroid and prostate.

Cumin is an oriental spice that is often found in both salsa and guacamole salads. Cumin in itself is an antioxidant that is helpful in digestion and against some forms of cancer, especially liver cancer.

Onion is also used in both preparations and it contains antioxidants and the flavonoid Quercetin, as well as vitamins C and E, along with the mineral potassium and dietary fibres. Onions have many health uses including relieving congestion and preventing heart attacks by clearing the bloodstream of arterial plaque.

Last but not least, use sea salt instead of regular table salt as it is tastier as well as purer.

So next time you prepare a dinner or some party snacks involving guacamole and salsa sauce, you’ll get more from them than just good taste. Go easy on the taco chips, though.

Picture by: Big Oven

Ginger is the edible part of the plant Zingiber officinale. Many people mistakenly think that ginger is a root, but we’re actually talking about a rhizome. Ginger is commonly known as a popular spice, which has many culinary uses in various cuisines across the world. Ginger is indispensable product in Asian and oriental cuisine. Ginger has been used by Chinese medicine for centuries. Ginger assists in digestion by enhancing production of digestive fluids. Ginger thus helps to treat dyspepsia, general stomach aches and diarrhea. Ginger can also relieve nausea in pregnant women or sea sickness.

Other therapeutic properties attributed to Ginger are: detoxification of body chemicals, stimulating blood circle, and relieving respiratory diseases such as asthma. The good news is the ginger is not only healthy but also easy to get and relatively cheap. Ginger serves as a very useful product in the any kitchen: it can be cooked as an ingredient in numerous dishes, such as fish, meat or even cookies. Fresh ginger can be added to salads. You can also use ginger in beverages : to make a ginger tea, jusr put a slice of fresh ginger root in hot water, and add honey and sliced lemon.

Have you ever walked by a vacant lot and wondered what types of plants were growing there. Many of these plants, referred to most people as common weeds, are actually edible and can add an interesting addition to your green salad or can be cooked and eaten like spinach. Swiss Chard, and other greens. Natural foods and plants expert Ewell Givens once said that he could exist for two weeks on the “weeds” that grow in the average vacant lot. Just to give you an idea what can be found growing in the average vacant lot, here are just a few of these plants and what one can do with them.

1. Several varieties of grasses, including Bermuda (both regular and African), wild oats and wheat, and that demon of many lawns, crab grass. Though most folk wouldn’t think of eating the same plants that cows and other hoofed animals seem to love, there are tender parts that can be either cooked or eaten raw in salads.

2. Common dandelions are often found in vacant lots as well in many yards. The Greens can be cooked if soaked a bit first in salt water to remove the bitter taste. The flowers can be made into dandelion wine, once a popular drink of our great-grandparents.

3. Thistles are actually cousins to the artichoke and their roots and parts of the flowers are edible.

4. Sheep shower is another common plant that has a sour taste and the leaves and flowers can either be eaten raw or boiled like spinach.

5. White Man’s foot or broadleaved plantain is a very common weed found all over the U.S.A. It was named White Man’s foot by Native Americans as it appears to have been brought over from Europe by immigrants who used the plant as a medicine to cure a variety of ailments ranging from epilepsy to ulcers.

6. Milkweeds, are called that name due to the milky white sap in the plant’s stems. Though non-edible, the flowers are an important source of pollen for bees to gather for making honey.

In addition to the above a number of plants such as wild cabbage and wild onion can be found in vacant lots, as well as several varieties of flowers including wild poppies, marigolds, and of course goldenrods and rag weeds, those plants which cause many people to be miserable in the fall when the plants’ pollen and seeds are blown everywhere.

American writer and early environmentalist Henry David Thoreau also described many of these plants and the animals which relied on them for food in his book about Walden Pond. Even he appreciated the value of simple plants that most people often take for granted.

Want to clean your house with worry of harming our environment? Then try organic and bio-degradable housecleaners instead of harsher commercial products. More and more ‘earth friendly’ cleaning compounds are appearing in both specialty shops and organic products stores these days. Though more costly (in America, organic and ‘natural’ soaps and cleaning compounds cost at least 50% more than standard brands like “Mr. Clean” and Ajax), people concerned about the effects of commercial detergents, bleaches, window cleaning fluids, and even furniture polish, are willing to pay the price, in order to help the environment. The ‘green’ products, alleged to contain these bio-degradable and environmentally friendly ingredients, note plant-derived essential oils and other similar compounds which can be disposed in the normal manner (i.e. in the garbage or down the drain or toilet) without worrying whether they will pollute the soil or water supplies.

The only problem at present, as noted by a spokesman for the American based Organic Consumers Association, is that these products have not yet been certified by U.S. Government regulatory bodies, such as the FDA and Federal Trade Commission.

Labels of many organic cleaning products, though claiming to contain ‘all natural’ and organic ingredients, still have not been officially proven to be so. If the products are noted to be “bio-degradable” for example; and without such ingredients as phosphates, chlorine bleach, and other similar ingredients, they still lack certification by an official government body to back up these claims.

A number of standard ingredients, such as phosphates for example, are actually natural, since they come directly from the ground and are not altered in their chemical composition. Many standard Israeli cleaning compounds, as well as soaps and detergents, contain phosphates and other similar compounds. Natural cleaning products are less available in Israel, though some of the older brands, utilizing ‘natural’ basic ingredients, like sand and soda ash, have been around for years.

With an annual American market of more $100 million per year for organic soap and cleaning products; more and more of them will eventually be sold in Israel as well. Families who still have grandmothers around, can testify that you can make your own ‘organic’ cleaning products, and be assured of what they contain. Some of these old favorites include using vinegar instead of window cleaner or drain cleaning products. Vinegar, in fact, has been used by women as a vaginal douche since time immemorial. Baking soda, also a favorite “old wives” cleaning product, has a variety of uses; from brushing teeth, to cleaning the sink and bathtub.

Even organic cleaners are not completely ‘friendly’ however; and one still has to be cautious when using – especially when small children are in the home.

Find out more about Organic Foods, Organic Teas, and Organic Herbal Supplements.