Month: October 2019

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Apple Cider – Fall’s Delicious, Variable, Healthy Beverage!

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cider & spices

Warm Apple Cider a favorite fall beverage for many of us. The natural apple flavor is often seasoned with cinnamon, cloves and other fall-type seasonings to make a cozy treat.

First, let’s answer this question: What is the difference between apple cider and apple juice? Basically, apple cider is unfiltered and contains some pulp or sediment, leaving it appear cloudy rather than clear. It also has a shelf life of 7-10 days. Beyond that, it begins to ferment and eventually would become hard cider. Outside the United States and Canada, cider generally refers to that alcoholic beverage.

Health Benefits of Cider

In addition to the taste, apple cider also can be very good for you. Apples themselves are an excellent source of antioxidants, plus have important nutrients like fiber that your body needs. They are good for battling heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The spices like cinnamon and cloves provide additional benefits, from more antioxidants to being anti-inflammatory and helping with your heart health.

Here are some variations of the traditional apple cider, with added ingredients that you can adjust according to your taste. You can use dry/powdered spices or other forms like cinnamon sticks, star anise, sliced fresh ginger, whole or grated nutmeg, whole cloves, etc. Part of the fun is experimenting with the flavors!

Cranberry Apple Cider

Cranberries are a great addition for color, taste and nutritional benefit. Add them as you warm the cider, either as whole or sliced fruit, along with your choice of spices. For another flavor variety, add cranberry juice with the balance between the two according to your taste.

Spiced Apple Cider

To make your apple cider spicier, you can add turmeric in addition to the traditional spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger). Slices of orange will add sweetness.

Dessert Apple Cider

You can also make more of a dessert apple cider by going with the same basic ingredients, but adding some brown sugar, caramel sauce, and vanilla extract to the mix. A spritz of whipped cream can be added to the top.

Creamy Hot Cider

Here’s a twist on cider: Heat your cider with the seasonings you choose (cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin or apple pie spice, etc.) Add caramel syrup to taste – about 1 tablespoon per cup – and 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream per cup. Pour into your blender and blend until it’s all combined. Enjoy with whipped cream topping if you choose.

Apple Cider Syrup

A simple apple cider syrup can bring those great flavors into your breakfast over pancakes, waffles and more.

Combine ¾ cup apple cider with ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, ½ teaspoons lemon juice, and 1/8 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan.
After bringing it to a boil, simmer uncovered on low heat until it is slightly thickened – about 25 minutes. NOTE: Cool for at least ½ hour before serving and refrigerate any unused portions.

During fall and winter, warm beverages really hit the spot. Apple cider can be enjoyed in these and other variations throughout this time of year. There are also “spiked” versions to explore if you wish!

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Fall Spices: Tasty and Good For Us Too!

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Tea & Spices

Fall and certain spices just seem to go together – we use cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in many favorite fall drinks and foods. But they offer more than great flavor – they have health benefits as well.

Spices have been used for centuries; in recent years we are rediscovering their health/healing aspects in addition to the taste enhancements. For more details of how they can boost your immune system, check out this blog post: https://carolbrusegar.com/use-healing-spices-to-boost-immune-system/ 

Here are some ways to use cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves and the health benefits they each offer.

Cinnamon

Who doesn’t love some cinnamon? Cinnamon is probably one of the more popular spices, often combined with sweet flavors for a nice treat. During the fall, it is frequently used to top lattes, made into cookies like gingerbread or snickerdoodle, and is a frequent spice to use in baked goods with pumpkin, nutmeg, and other fall flavors. Its health benefits include protecting your heart and helping to prevent diabetes. Cinnamon has a lot of antioxidants, which is always important for general wellness, and can help to reduce inflammation in the body.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg has a taste similar to cinnamon, so there is a lot of versatility when using it. It has been linked to various health benefits, including improving your cognitive function, helping to provide natural pain relief, and reducing indigestion. Some people have also noted its ability to help with insomnia.

Ginger

Ginger can be used as the actual ginger root, which you can shave or grind yourself, or you can get ground ginger to make it a little easier. Ginger is often used for cooking -add it to your Chinese food for a little spice, or add it to soup or chili. You can also make ginger tea, which is amazing for nausea and digestion. Aside from helping with your digestive system, ginger is also great for pain and loss of appetite.

Cloves

Cloves can be found in many forms, from ground cloves in the spice section of your grocery store, to using clove oil. Cloves are also anti-inflammatory, similar to cinnamon, so they help with conditions like arthritis. Ground cloves are good in many baked items. Clove oil also works as a natural antiseptic and can even provide mild numbing. Many people use clove oil on a toothache.

FALL TEAS TO USE AS NATURAL REMEDIES –  These spices can make some unique fall teas. Here are three; use your creativity to come up with more.

Fall Fruity Spice Tea

Start with any flavor tea you like, though white and black teas are ideal for this variety. Then combine the brewed tea with your flavors, like cranberry juice, apple juice, and maybe a bit of lemon or orange juice. Add to that your fall spices like cinnamon, clove, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix it all together into a delicious fall tea.

Simple Pumpkin Spice Tea

For a cup of tea that tastes even more like a pumpkin spice latte, start with a spiced tea like rooiobos, then add pumpkin pie spice, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You can also add some vanilla extract and maple syrup if you want to add in more sweetness to it. When you’re done blending your tea, you can choose to add something to make it creamy, like heavy whipping cream, along with a cinnamon stick at the very end.

Spiced Chai Tea

Chai tea naturally has all those spices you have grown to love during this time of year, and you can give it a boost by adding some of your own flavors. Get chai tea bags, brew, and then add a little extra spice, such as cinnamon and some nutmeg on top. If you like a sweeter chai tea, a bit of maple syrup or a little sugar can also be added into your spiced chai tea.

With these teas, you are getting the fall spices you crave and also the health benefits associated with the many fall spices along with the tea leaves themselves.

If you are interested in more on spices and health, check out this book.  “For each of the ten spices you’ll learn the spice’s medical and therapeutic benefits, side effects to watch out for, easy recipes for making the most of flavor and health and additional uses of spices for everything from baths to mouthwashes to insect repellent. You can have your health and eat well too!”  http://carolbrusegar.com/Ten Spices for Health and Longevity

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The Scents of Fall – Create Your Own Projects

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essential oilsAh, the scents of fall! If you are a big fan of essential oils, fall is a great time to incorporate them more into your life. Body/beauty products are a great way to start. You can make your own blends using cinnamon and ginger, or adding more woodsy scents like fir and eucalyptus. These products are easy to make yourself and have a lot of room to be customized.

Here’s an expanded list of scents for you to consider alone or in combinations this fall: Cinnamon, Lemon, Sweet Orange, Fir, Eucalyptus, Clove, Vanilla, Tea Tree, Rosemary, Peppermint, Pine, Frankincense, and Bergamot.

Try these as beginning scent combinations to achieve the essential oil blends you want:

Pumpkin Spice – For a pumpkin spice blend, try combing clove oil with nutmeg and cinnamon. This is a very basic blend of scents that tend to smell just like pumpkin spice.

Fall Air – For a blend that smells like those warm fall evening walks outdoors, try fir or eucalyptus with sweet orange and your choice of spices, like either nutmeg or clove.

Autumn Spice – Another spice combination is more heavily spiced with cinnamon, plus some sweetness added to the mix. This autumn spice can have cinnamon oil, along with clove, vanilla, and sweet orange or lemon.

Play around with the different essential oils until you come up with blends you love for the fall season. Use your blends in a diffuser so that it smells just like fall in your home every day.

In addition, try these and other DIY Bath/Body products:

Pumpkin Scrub

Who doesn’t love a good body scrub? It helps to scrub away the dead skin cells and leave behind soft, smooth skin. For a pumpkin scrub, start with white table sugar, add some coconut oil that is melted, vanilla extract, and the same amount of pumpkin pie spice. Mix it together and use it just like any other body scrub. It will smell like pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice lattes.

Apple Bath Salts

Add the scent of freshly-baked apple pie to your bath! It will be both relaxing and add some natural exfoliation. Start with Epsom salt, then add in your scents. You can combine apple and cinnamon scents on your own, or just get apple pie blends that are already mixed. To add color, you might use some powdered food coloring. Mix it all together and add to a jar for storage.

Fall Candles

Candles and fall just go together! Making your own candles with your desired essential oil scents can be especially enjoyable. You can use one scent per candle or combine any scents you choose.

Start with a good base, which can be beeswax or soy flakes. Melt the wax in a metal container and add your preferred scents – clove, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla are good basics to use alone or in combinations. Put the scented wax in a container with a wick. *

Besides using them in your own bathroom, kitchen, or living room, these make great gifts for hostesses or general gift-giving.

  •  Amazon has a great selection of candle-making supplies including kits to make the process easier.  Check out what they have here: https://amzn.to/30YqVjgcandle-making kit