The Bantha Breeze aka “Granny’s Slush”

I was feeling nostalgic the past few weeks as we have been preparing for our visit to my brother and sister-in-laws for their first ever “Nerd Summer Camp” hosted by The Smuggler’s Room. My mind kept going back to my grandmother and how she always had a special drink, app, or dish for special occasions. One that we all became very fond of as we were old enough to drink was her Slush and Champagne Punch made a Christmas every year. After a few cups of slush she inevitably lost her cup and would wander around the house looking for it! It was pretty much the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

So I wanted to honor that tradition of having something special for Nerds Summer Camp and I wanted to put a “healthy” twist on it. HA HA!!! So here is my version of Granny’s Slush with a Star War’s themed name “The Bantha Breeze!”

Ingredients:

Chamomile

Mai Men Dong - Ophiopogonis Tuber - Generates Body Fluids.

Huang Qi - Astragalus Root - Tonifies Qi and Blood, Reduces Edema, Boosts the immune system.

Sheng Jiang and Gan Jiang - Warms the middle jiao, resolves toxicity, and anti-inflammatory.

Feng Mi - Honey - Tonifies Qi and the middle jiao.

Instructions:

Pour boiling water over the contents of the bag of herbs and allow to steep for 5-10 minutes. Strain the herbs and add honey to taste. You can stop here and drink as a hot tea.

For a frozen slush add cooled tea to a blender with frozen lemonade or lemonade and ice, blend until slushy!

For Granny’s Slush add cooled tea to a blender with frozen lemonade and add a shot of bourbon :)

For an added kick you can add freshly juiced ginger and lemon.

And if you really want to be fancy….. Slice some lemon and grill for 1-2 minutes on each side(until there are some nice char marks) and add to the side of the glass for a little flare!

*For small bags you’ll need 16 oz of water. For the large bags you can use 32-60 oz water.

 

Patient Raw Herbal Cooking Instructions

Cooking instructions:

1.     Place the contents of the bag in 8 cups of water in a pot and let soak for 10 minutes.

2.     Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, and then reduce the heat down to a simmer for 20 minutes.

3.     Cool for a few minutes, strain the liquid into a heat proof glass container.  Return any herbs in the strainer to the cooking pot.

4.     Add another 4 cups of water and herbs into the pot, bring everything to a boil again, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

5.     Strain the liquid into the same glass container as the first boil and stir to combine the two.

6.     Pour 1 cup for your first dose of medicinal tea and place the remaining tea in the refrigerator.

·      Drink 1 cup of tea 2x/day until the tea is completely gone.

Reheating: Measure out your one cup and slowly heat in a pot on the stove.

 

The best kind of cooking pot to use is a ceramic, glass (Pyrex), or porcelain soup pot.  Try to avoid materials like aluminum, cast iron, or pots coated with Teflon.  Stainless steel while not preferable will work if you do not have the above listed.

Chinese Herbal Medicines     

Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM) enhance the ancient practice of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Early human being’s survival depended on their knowledge of their environment, and through these experiences were taught which plants were toxic, which ones imparted strength, and which ones could sustain life.  Most importantly these people discovered which plants had special healing qualities.  These discoveries were then passed along thousands of years, which brought about the evolution of herbal formulations.  

Unlike Western Pharmaceuticals that are meant for one disease in 100 different people, CHM's allow for complete customization dependent upon a patient's true needs.  Because we believe in holistic healing, every formula is designed to relieve all symptoms a patient is suffering from, without side effects causing more or new symptoms. 

These effective formulas have been used in the treatment of:

  • Insomnia and Fatigue

  •  Loss of Appetite and Common Digestive Disorders

  •  Constipation and Diarrhea

  •  Irritable Bowel Syndrome

  • Common Cold and Influenza

  • Chronic Headaches

  • Skin Disorders

  • Fluid Retention

  • Anxiety, Depression, and Stress

  • Allergies

  • Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis

  • Premenstrual Syndrome and Painful Menstruation

  • Excessive Menstruation

  • Infertility

  • Impotence and Prostate Disorders

  • Menopause

Ways in which a patient can take CHM's.  

Raw Herbal Teas

Raw Herbs can be a fun and exciting way to take part in your healing process.  You will receive a package of raw herbs from your practitioner with a guided list of instructions on how to make your Herbal Tea.  

Raw Tea.jpg

Powdered Herbal Teas

Powdered Herbal Teas are an easy and effective way at taking your herbs.  Simply combine your powdered herbs in hot water and stir!  It's that simple!

Powdered Tea.jpg

Patent Medicines

Chinese patent medicines are extracted condensed pills called "tea-pills".  Tea-pills are generally small, spherical, and black in appearance, almost like a black pearl. They are called teapills because originally the herbs were cooked in an herbal tea and then made into a pill form. Today tea-pills are created from herbs extracted in stainless steel extractors to create either a water decoction or water-alcohol decoction, depending on the herbs used. 

There are also pressed powdered forms of patent medicines, which are exactly what they sound like.  The powdered form of an herb pressed together by a machine and held together with either honey or water.