Category Archives: Monday Musings

Monday Musings …6th February 2023…Natural Antibiotic…Honey…Leftovers with John Rieber plus Sunday in the Park with George…

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Welcome to Monday Musings where my muse pinpoints anything exciting or unusual I have read, seen or experienced during the last week it could be anything that piques my interest…

Natural Antibiotics that work…Honey.

The benefits of honey have been known for thousands of years…honey is prevalent in medicine for its antimicrobial and wound-healing properties. Herbalists who prefer natural to pharmaceutical therapies still look to it as one of nature’s best natural antibiotics.

But as is often the case all honey is not equal…to get the best antimicrobial effects of honey, always choose honey that is raw and organic. Manuka is also a good choice…I consider myself very lucky as everyone knows how I love fresh honey from the comb and I get a pretty regular supply…I use it on small wounds hubby is always getting scratches etc when he’s gardening and out comes my honey it keeps the wound moist and acts as a barrier to infection…to keep our immune systems healthy I give hubby a spoonful of honey with cinnamon each morning and I’m sure it is that that keeps him free from colds and sore throats…I prefer mine with apple cider vinegar I just add a little hot water to the apple cider vinegar and stir in a spoonful of honey…

I also use honey in my recipes as a sugar replacement… honey can be replaced in most recipes for baked goods although it can affect the texture it will be moister and denser… are you saving calories ..tsp for tsp sugar and honey are comparable…depending on the bees and the plants honey will vary in its concentration of antioxidants and other health-promoting nutrients…

However honey has a deeper sweetness than table sugar so if you are using less you are likely to consume fewer calories from the sugar…

It was Groundhog Day last Thursday how cute is this…?

I have also been reliably informed that winter may last another 6 weeks …

I’m seeing and hearing lots of recipes for the Super Bowl…12 February when the Philadelphia Eagles V Kansas City Chiefs takes place…I hope all of you NFL fans have a great time and enjoy the game and the food…

Phoenix City officials are asking that you Recycle Right so that the cleanup can become more efficient!

Because invariably there will be waste and a lot of it…

My chosen song this week is from “Sunday in the Park with George”

Not only is Jake Gyllenhaal easy on the eye he loves food…he knows how to spatchcock a bird and make creme brulee…

Talking about food...I know I always do…this man always surprises me with quirky food or with the recipes he makes…I also hate waste…without any more ado, I give you…John Rieber and his “leftover adventure!”

Well done John on using up your leftovers…

https://biteeatrepeat.com/2023/02/03/how-did-i-cook-14-styrofoam-containers-of-food-heres-my-leftover-adventure/

Thank you for joining me today as always I look forward to your comments…I hope to see you on Wednesday for my “Green Kitchen “…x

Monday Musings…30th January 2023…Update on WHO virtual meeting 23/1/2023 on Trans Fats, Battery Storage, Killer Fungi and a Natural Antibiotic…The Chilli Pepper

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Welcome to Monday Musings where my muse pinpoints anything exciting or unusual I have read, seen or experienced during the last week it could be anything that piques my interest…

Natural Antibiotics that work…Chilli Peppers…

You just know that I believe in chillies being good for your health …I eat chillies every single day however it’s just not me…In fact, research is underway to look at the potential of chilli pepper extracts in food instead of artificial preservatives. Food scientists and humans, in general, will benefit from scientific evidence that chilli peppers have antimicrobial properties that can act even against antibiotic-resistant food-borne pathogens…

The use of chilli peppers by humans dates back to prehistoric times. Preserved peppers found in South America prove that local people ate chillies as long ago as 2500 BCE…

The chilli pepper is a member of the Solanaceae family and is closely related to tomatoes, eggplant, tobacco, petunia, and potato plants.

While they have high concentrations of several nutrients such as vitamin C, these little fruits have already shown a high degree of activity affecting the digestive, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Some of the bacteria against which chilli peppers have proved to be useful in the laboratory are Bacillus subtilis, E. coli, Salmonella, cholera, and Staphylococcus.

Last week on 23rd January 2023 a Virtual High-Level Event was held by WHO (World Health Organisation)…The Fourth Progress Report on Global Trans Fat Elimination…An update!

The fourth progress report describes the current global, regional and national situations and progress made over the past year in countries; and discusses challenges and opportunities for future action. This year’s report shows that policies limiting the use of industrial trans fat have been implemented in 60 countries for almost 3.4 billion people around the world, accounting for 43% of the world’s population. Of these, 43 countries have implemented best-practice policies to eliminate industrial trans fat. Member States have made steady progress; however, with less than one year remaining until the target year of 2023, many more member states still need to act.

I have attached the link to the update plus a video…

Andrea(Meeks) is like me she needs to know-smile- This is about battery Storage...On a  global scale, the concern is cost, so finding cheaper, safer forms of large-scale storage is critical if we want to transition away from fossil fuels.

I used to love horror films like the day of the Triffid and the like and as I have grown older they scare me more and more and I don’t watch them any more…I do however like and admire Sir David Attenborough and this video is worse than any horror film as it could become a reality if it passes from animals to humans…

I think that’s enough of scary things and this is a song from another of my favourite musicals…

Thank you for joining me today as always I appreciate your comments and your shares…xx

Monday Musings…16th January 2023…Fitness Update…Natural Antibiotics…Spammers…and great news on the one Horned Rhino

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Welcome to Monday Musings where my muse pinpoints anything exciting or unusual I have read during the last week, or seen or experienced it could be anything…Firstly though I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and encouragement as well as a caution on my venture into jogging…I know at my age I need to exercise and then she stumps her foot on the bed base…ouch, I have a lovely bruise on my middle toe and a twinge in my left knee not much but anyway I erred on the side of caution and took sedate walks for a few days thus yesterday was the first day I ventured out in my trainers and gear to tackle the park circuit all went well and it actually freed my knee up so my daughter was correct it was probably just because its early days and today it was fine so back on track…not only am I upping my fitness or trying-smile- I am looking closer at the food we eat… no surprises there then x

Natural Antibiotics that work…

Pharmaceutical antibiotics are one of the world’s greatest inventions…however, they are often over-prescribed and people get immune to them. They are great for bacterial infections and even for treating some parasites but because of misuse and overuse people build up resistance to them…Plus and this scares me the most antibiotics in the water systems…Antibiotics are not just flowing into the water through wastewater systems. They are also entering through discharge from pharmaceutical companies, healthcare facilities, and even human waste…

Intake of antibiotics from the environment by food and drinking water may disturb the microbiome, especially the gut microbiota in the human body. More importantly, antibiotic residues in the environment have the potential to produce antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), which pose serious public health risks …it seems to me that every rabbit hole I go down raises another issue…That is scary!

Antibiotics cannot treat viruses or fungal infections…most of us know they cannot treat the common cold and that is where nature steps in there are time-old remedies that my mother and grandmother used that work…so if you have any tried and tested natural recipes then please share with us so that when we can we can avoid taking antibiotics unless of course, it is absolutely necessary and sometimes it is a necessity…

There was good news for rhinos…

No rhinos were poached last year in the world’s largest reserve for the greater one-horned rhino, Indian police said this week. 

It was the first year since 1977 that no rhinos were killed in Kaziranga national park, a wildlife-filled haven in India’s Assam state.

The news is a win for conservationists who have been working hard to protect the animals. Local police said that 58 poachers were arrested last year, Reuters reported. 

The global population of the one-horned rhino has soared from 200 to more than 4,000 since the turn of the 20th century, according to the International Rhino Foundation…now that is good news…

Garlic is a natural antibiotic …and one of my favourite cooking ingredients I always use more than a recipe states, I pickle it, and make a garlic and ginger paste, not only does garlic have germ-killing capabilities it contains many vitamins, minerals and nutrients…that little clove is also virtually calorie free a 3-gram clove of garlic provides almost no calories. You’ll only add four calories to your total intake if you consume the whole clove…

Garlic is one of these commonly recommended natural wormers…it can help kill those intestinal parasites…

Garlic is safe to consume however before taking the supplements consult your doctor especially if you are on any other prescribed medications… best to be safe than sorry,

Garlic is a commonly used food and flavouring agent. When used as a food product, garlic is not likely to produce health benefits or side effects…However, although you get the most benefit from raw garlic,”  if you choose to cook it, don’t heat it above 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Higher temperatures kill the allicin, so add garlic to your recipes when you’re almost done cooking.”

It is the fresh garlic and aged garlic extract that are rich in antioxidants and can help neutralize harmful compounds known as free radicals…

I swear by garlic and am sure that garlic keeps me free from colds…and helps keep my immune system healthy.

Spam..no, not the fritters which I dislike almost as much as the human spammers…I have just checked and have been spam free…Hooray! for 2 whole days…so far I have just been through the list of spam and closed comments on those posts plus I am closing comments on new posts after 28 days…If they come back with a vengeance I will just repeat the same again but tis working so far…I just need now to figure out how to stop spammers using my “contact me” but that’s a small price to pay if it keeps all the others away…

Thank you for joining me today as always I look forward to your comments I hope you all have a great week xx

Monday Musings…9th January 2023…Hot Chocolate…After 40 years I jogged again!

Welcome to Monday Musings where my muse pinpoints anything exciting or unusual we have read during the last week, it could be anything…I love chocolate… chocolate anything really…O mean who doesn’t?… I love hot chocolate no marshmallows though…I love it with churros and I do love chocolate mint creams…

What I didn’t know was what the largest cup of hot chocolate was to find out and discover some other facts about “Hot Chocolate please click the highlighted link below…

https://culturadealgibeira.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/funny-facts-about-hot-chocolate/

The latest news around the world “Spare” will be released tomorrow…if you didn’t know it is Prince Harry’s story…I for one, unless I am given a free copy, will NOT be spending my hard-earned cash on that book…it does beg the question though… who is telling the truth???

I have lived long enough to know that the media and social media cannot be trusted to tell the truth and will we ever know we weren’t there…and the book is only one side of the story…

Thinking about chocolate …a tune for you…

Yesterday I jogged during my early morning walk for the first time in 40 years…today I did a tad more spurred on by seeing my son a way ahead of me he takes a different route sometimes(longer) than mine…Thinking initially I could catch up and tap him on the shoulder he has his music on so if I called he wouldn’t hear.

I decided to do more spurts of jogging and although I got close I didn’t get to tap him on the shoulder however it was my best day yet I knew I had exercised and my stats showed me how well I had done I was double chuffed and old age can catch me up I decided and it won’t be easy as I ain’t standing still-  In December I completed 154.32km after deciding I would up my game and let the sands of time chase me🤣…

Today I did better and did 6.38km and upped my game got my heart rate up and jogged a bit further…I am not jogging the whole route just in bursts but reduced my time and increased my heart rate so I am happy…

Time for breakfast of fresh papaya, passionfruit, pineapple, fresh coconut flesh and live natural yoghurt and coconut juice to drink….ideal for me as it is not cold if it’s cold where you are then here’s a lovely recipe for a homemade Protein hot chocolate just right for keeping you warm after your workout.

Have you upped your exercise lately or thinking about it? Do you have any tips? Please share and we can motivate each other…

Thank you for joining me today I hope you are all well and happy and hope you have a great week ahead…as always I look forward to your comments x

Monday Musings…5th December 2022…Stained Glass Sushi, a Christmas Mushroom and those Naughty Yule Lads…

Good Morning…and welcome to Monday Musings… a place where my inner child comes out sometimes and also where anything which has wowed or dismayed me has happened over the last week…it is also only 22 sleeps (or 21 days, 7 hours, 59 minutes, 54 seconds) until Christmas Day….that means that although Monday Musings is about random things I may sneak in some Christmas snippets…

I love sushi and I love stained glass windows I can walk around a church for hours looking at the beautiful stained glass…This video shows how stained glass sushi is made by a sushi master…

I love Christmas, the Christmas Carols, making the mince pies and sausage rolls, I love the traditions the quirky ones especially..what I don’t like is the commercialism..this post I found is about the Christmas ornaments you know the ones we bring out year after year and which always have their own little story…

Please head over and read the stories behind the other Christmas ornaments they are equally delightful…

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/59688663/posts/14490

One of my favourite Christmas stories is “The Yule Lads” …I trot them out every year and this year is no different…

The 13 Trolls of Christmas… aka ” The Yule Lads”!

I hope all your Christmas plans are going well and you are having a productive week…as always I appreciate your visit and look for ward to your comments x

Monday Musings…28th November 2022…How to save money on UK supermarket food deliveries, delicious bacon wrapped maple glazed turkey and homemade Turkish Delight!

Good Morning…and welcome to Monday Musings… a place where my inner child comes out sometimes and also where anything which has wowed or dismayed me has happened over the last week…

With food prices rising around the world…most of us are looking to cut costs wherever we can…I also think that in the aftermath of covid many people have realised that online shopping is the way to go…personally, as I walk everywhere I only carry what goes in my tote bag and isn’t too heavy…bulk buys and heavier items I purchase on-line and it does have its benefits as it’s not so easy to impulse buy I find…this link has all the info you would like to compare costs on UK supermarket FOOD deliveries…

https://afternoontea4two.com/2021/12/27/how-to-save-money-on-supermarket-food-deliveries/

I am still finding it difficult to get my head around the fact that this year is coming to end and Christmas will soon be upon us…and yes without a doubt it’s still early for a Christmas tree especially if its a real one as if you aren’t super fastidious with watering it won’t last and I think its a super idea to rent a tree that will delivered and picked up and replanted I think it’s a great idea and the way go and it seems more and more tree suppliers are offering this service…Just pop an enquiry into google or whoever your favourite search provider is and find a local supplier…

Thanksgiving is over for those who celebrate and some in style… I have come across some delicious recipes not forgetting that we have Christmas to come…This post is from John who blogs at Bite! Eat! !Repeat! and John has some wonderful recipes that we could make for our Christmas  Dinner…what’s not to love about a bacon-wrapped Maple syrup glazed turkey or a delicious potato pie…please head over and have a peruse and take your appetite with you…

https://biteeatrepeat.com/2022/11/22/my-bacon-wrapped-maple-glazed-thanksgiving-turkey-recipe-my-52-in-22-cooking-challenge-has-potato-pie-white-castle-stuffing-too/

Finally, something I love and is always my Christmas treat...but something I have never attempted to make myself is Turkish Delight…

Achetez les délices turcs à la rose - Grand Bazaar Istanbul Achat en ligne

If you think that looks delicious then please click the highlighted link below for the recipe…

https://viewfromtheback.com/2022/11/26/the-musette-rose-turkish-delight/

Thank you for joining today for Monday Musings as always I look forward to your comments x