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S E A S O N ' S New Years 2003 Resolutions Chai and I Variations of Chai Dietary Changes Aromatherapy 2003 Weight Loss Skin Care 2003 Making Your Own Lip Balm: Bathroom Chemistry 101 As with most of the country my focus
for the new year turns to good health. As I hit forty I am finding a In 2003 I will be doing allot of gardening in regards to these herbs, making my own essential oils, herb garden blue prints for the site, and other splendid things the garden offers. I also have smoking cessation on the list of New Years resolutions and being outdoors really does take my mind off the desire. Another great advantage to smoking cessation is oxygen to the blood and guaranteed increased libido. Not gaining weight would be a challenge, anytime one quits or reduces a smoking habit, but a structured diet along with multiple physical activities should keep weight in perspective. In the dry skin and pain management area we are finding emu oil to be a blessing, along with just wonderful for soft an supple skin as discussed in an article herein.
I wish you a daring and innovative 2003!
I have long written Chai off as a fad and opted for the fattening cappuccino at coffee shops. Christmas of 2003 I finally gave in and tried a glass of Chai. I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved it. It will remain my main alternative now to coffee. I now rank Chai with a good cup of coffee, a fine wine, or a very good beer. It has body, notes, and movement. It can be served hot, but I prefer it over ice with whipped cream on top. It tasted to me like Christmas, with notes of vanilla, nutmeg and honey but is popular year round. Best of all it is so great for the digestive system, unlike any other drink. Chai is basically black tea with many wonderful spices. It is really pronounced "Cheee" but I pronounce it "Chiii." Above is a photo of a layered Chai spice mix. Another recipe I found for Instant Chai Mix can also be requested by Mabel White subscribers, although I now prefer my concentrate recipe the best to make a weeks supply in advance.
I noticed the coffee shops simply pulled out a "Chai Concentrate" in a jug, shook it and mixed it with one part of the concentrate to one part milk mixture. Based on the above information I created my own concentrate recipe and was very careful to embody the full beneficial properties of the drink. I even checked to see if mixing tea with milk was adverse to the health and it is fine unless a person is lactose intolerant. I successfully included one part green tea to every two parts black tea in my mix for the antioxidant properties of green tea. Mabel White Subscribers can e-mail me for that great one page PDF file and I consider this recipe a very well thought out secret that beats Starbucks or any of the Chai makers.
Chai Not Only for Health but Weight Loss Now that I spent my entire holiday perfecting the concentrate, my friends hang out constantly wanting as glass. This is so important to me, because most of them do not like sweets as I do, and I was concerned they would balk at it. They did love it and they could control the sweetness. Beyond adding one part concentrate to one part milk, I add in a liquid flavored coffee creamer and I am in heaven. In doing this I am able to hit more notes of vanilla, hazelnut or chocolate cream, depending on what creamer I do opt to use. After drinking Chai I noticed I had more energy and was not as hungry. I studied appetite suppressants more and added more fennel to the spice mix. Fennel also freshens breath as does anise. I am finding my Chai Mix reduces my over all inclination to eat during the day. From a health perspective, as an alternative to the milk mixture I will
add 1 Part vanilla flavored “Boost” to one part Chai concentrate and enjoy that. Boost is a nutritional energy drink that is
high in protein and contains many essential vitamins and minerals. There are other brands like it, but Boost is
made by Mead Johnson. 1 can of
Boost a day in two Boost Chai drinks and two normal chai drinks provides me
with 32 ounces of fluids a day and approximately 480 calories along with many
vitamins and minerals. This is my best recipe for Chai and Mabel White Subscribers
may e-mail me for that PDF file "Chai Concentrate Variations of Chai: If you tire of this basic recipe, you may consider adding almond, coconut or peppermint extracts, carob powder or things of the like. Carob powder is rich in tannins that have an astringent or binding effect on the mucous membranes of the intestinal tract. Peppermint aids digestion, calms nausea, freshens the breath and even has antiseptic properties that can help relieve cold and flu conditions. From a cost standpoint each cup of this Chai would be about a dollar per serving using quality ingredients. Other Dietary Changes: I plan to recommit to supplements such as Golden Seal Root to cleanse the blood and a multivitamin program or drink that offer chelated minerals as well as vitamins. Minerals are usually worthless to the blood steam unless chelated. To incorporate more fiber into my diet I intend to eat at least two Metamucil cinnamon wafers a day, usually as a bedtime snack with 8 ounces of water. This accounts for 120 more calories into my daily routine, but tastes great and adds 6 grams of important dietary fiber to the system. I will obtain the other 600 calories or more a day from salads, fish, tofu, healing miso soup, garlic, yogurt and other blood boosters. I have a favorite yogurt, garlic and cucumber sauce I will use for many items. We all know garlic is great, but to remind you live yogurt is widely known as an outstanding source of protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin B6, B12, niacin, folic acid and potassium. Now scientists believe the live cultures in yogurt are exceptionally beneficial to health with research showing that live yogurt can stimulate the human immune system as well as killing harmful bacteria. In short, yogurt is great for the digestive tract.
"Ancient and modern lore assign many restorative traits to green tea, including the ability to: reduce indigestion, fight cancer, calm the nervous system, strengthen the immune system, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. The three flower presentation tea to the left includes edible florals."
Other lifestyle changes:
To get outside and walk at least a mile a day. In do so you get sun, (usually) oxygen,
and naturally rejuvenated. After walking the urge to drink more water is a
welcome thing. If your not already into walking, this will be one the hardest
of all resolutions, but easy over time when the habit is adopted. Walking with
the one you love is also a great and intimate way to get to know them better, makes
for good memories and is simply a healthy thing to do together in times where many
people are into ignoring each other and then wonder where the luster
went.
If I want chocolate, baked bread, or a muffin, I need just burn a candle with that scent, slather on lip gloss or facilitate the use of a bath bomb truffle! I will be making much more of essential oils in my bath products (adding just 1/2 an ounce of rosemary oil for example, fills up an entire 24 ounce bottle of bubble bath with some serious aromatherapy while bathing!) and I will be making sure to burn clean scents such as "Grass" and "McIntosh" in my tart burners through out the year. Largely ignored in the past, I will be a serious aromatherapy assault in my clothing drawers and linens with sachets. Everyone loves to go to sleep with the smell of downy or lavender around them! The Boudoir Well, they say it is 1/3 of your life and that is a very important part. This year marks more latex pillows for me (they are the best--and my kids keep snaring them) and more attention to soft cotton sheets, and blankets. If you do not have one, an egg carton cushion is also a cozy and prudent investment. This year I plan to pay much more attention to that 1/3 of life.
Emu oil became noticed when people working with the fatty substance, noticed less arthritis pain and soft hands. Emu entered the market place and was diluted way down as many good things are. Now I can get into just how great Emu Oil is. Anyone with chronic neck pain can usually identify what "Blue Stuff" is and how Wal-Mart's now carries their own version for less. They will also usually report Emu Oil absorbs easily into the skin and does help ease the sensation so pain. Because I have a friend who suffers from chronic pain, I felt I could make a better pain management system than offered by commercial products. The main idea was to add more emu oil to the formulas than the 7-12% presently available. If figured if 7% works then 20% would be even better, increasing quality and reducing over all cost. I was right. I came up with formulas for 100% Emu Cold Process Soap, a Melt and Pour Soap Recipe, a Pain Balm and a Massage Lotion. After much research I did notice Emu Oil is pricey and quality would vary. So, the Mabel White supply company now offers a high quality 100% Emu Oil in the craft supply store for those who desire to work with Emu as a medium. After working with the Emu oil to make these products for my friend, my hands were so soft and supple I turned right around and made a few formulas for myself to include a Honey-Vanilla Lip Balm, Emu Bubble Bath and Vanilla Emu Body lotion. I am going to send some Emu Oil to a good friend of mine named Lynda who I am sure will rub it all over her dry skin and glow! She recently employed simply Vaseline to achieve wonderful results combating dry skin and some wrinkles with great success. Even the Clinque counter reps asked her what she was using! Regarding cosmetics in general, if I do not make my own, I will only buy from Aveda. Back to the Emu formula's I created, Mabel White Subscribers may e-mail me for those formula PDF files. Updated note 2007: We still feel Emu Oil is awesome, but we prefer not to sell it. We did not know it comes from beautiful birds when we first wrote formulas about it. There is another side to that--such as many of us love to eat turkey--so we are still debating the ethics and would prefer to err on the side animal rights. To substitute a supple ingredient, we like a jelly made from 90% oil and 10% Candelilla wax. Candelilla is a wax from a Mexican succulent plant. It is twice as hard as beeswax. It makes for a supple formula. In the balm formula's Emu oil can be replaced with sweet almond oil or other edible oil.
January 1, 2003. We are
the first company to ever make lip balm with SoyWax™ and we have
copyrighted the concept. To date no company ever thought such a
thing and will protected the Patent with Cargill, who owns the patent on
SoyWax™ that includes cosmetic use. The most disappointing thing about
making your own lip balm is that it only takes a few minutes to prepare in the
microwave! For flavor and sweetness we use honey vanilla or any of the other myriad of flavors we carry. Beeswax has a natural frosty sheen to it which offers a natural aesthetic appeal. If we desire to make Lip Balm Sticks, we simply increase the SoyWax™ to one half of the mixture so it will stay firm as a stick. Men prefer the Lip Balm Sticks. We feel it is a competency thing with the twisting of the tube. At first we did wonder how you get the formula in in the tube and many people e-mail us and ask if we know about a machine that does it. We found there are no machines. When making a stick, you simply drop the warm oil in the tube with a dropper and it cools that way. To make the product look more uniform, you can push the product upward after it cools and cut it straight across the top since it does not dry so perfect at the top. Mabel now sells a twelve pack starter kit for $19.95 which offers all of the supplies to make your first 6 tubes and your first six pots with two different flavor oils. Mabel subscribers will be getting a kit at no charge as long as they supply their mailing address and request one this month.
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change of lifestyle and eating habits are necessary, if not
all together mandatory. Low fiber diet's such as the Atkins' high protein came
in handy a few occasions, but not for any prolonged use.
Basically, I learned at the end of this year I have to diet the honest way and say
good bye to caffeine, faux ways to obtain energy and other antagonists of the
digestive process, including too much popcorn! I am finding much solace
in many of the oriental offerings that were always there to me: Chai
(an alternative to coffee) wiser uses of spices and herbs, exercise,
meditation, Miso, and even soy and tofu products! Basically
nothing is going in my mouth anymore unless I know what it is and all about
it. The photo to the right are Chai spices layered in a unique jar.
Mabel White subscribers may 
For this new year we also explore making our
own lip balms. Taking only a few minutes to prepare we find this the most
inexpensive body care item to prepare and at the same time offering the absolute
highest in quality in any lip balm you could ever buy. We are using our very
own unique combination of SoyWax™, beeswax, and emu oil to make our lip balms.
Mabel subscribers will be mailed a complimentary lip balm making kit if they so
request it. More on lip balm making.
How Much Caffeine?
Chai has 40% the caffeine of regular coffee and is very soothing to the digestive
tract. Green tea has even less caffeine. The spices do wonders; 
The nicest thing is
that everyone walking around the project wants to grab a pot when you are
done. You can make a ton of pots and tubes with very little supplies!
There is no recipe known to the lip balm world better than ours. We first pick
out nice clear containers so you can see our finished product. We facilitate
2
parts edible oil or Sweet Almond Oil to one Part SoyWax™ and a bit of melted
Beeswax. A few broken vitamin e capsules can also be mixed into the melted
oils.