Try It Tuesday: Yerba Mate: Drink of the Gods!

This Try It Tuesday I want to share with you one of my favorite things on the planet, Yerba Mate!! Yerba Mate is a drink that you brew and enjoy like tea. I won't call it a tea because the name tea is reserved for the cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis (tea) plant. More accurately this could be called a tisane, which the the name given to herbs that are treated as tea. So now that you have been educated on the difference between tea and tisane, let's get back to Yerba Mate - Drink of the Gods!

This stuff is amazing. I drink it daily, and it really does a body good. It has the same amount of caffeine as coffee, but is so much better for you. Also called, the liquid vegetable, it contains 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and abundant antioxidants. With Yerba Mate, you will get the energy without the jitters. You will be hydrated instead of dehydrated, and you will be adding nutrition to your body instead of robbing it of its nutrients. The benefits of Yerba Mate go on and on. In fact, the list goes on so long that to make things effortless, I have placed the list of of benefits from this great article by Dr. Theresa Ramsey below:

Look at the multiple health benefits that Yerba mate provides.

Adrenal gland tonic Arthritis prevention and treatment Anxiety reducer Blood sugar and insulin regulation Body fat reduction Bone and teeth strengthening Cancer prevention Circulation enhancement Cirrhosis prevention Collagen and tissue growth and repair Detoxifies entire body

Digestive enzyme stimulation Digestion strengthening and tonifying Energy enhancement Gallbladder and bile stimulation Heart disease prevention Hormone balancing Hair growth strengthening Immune system strengthening Kidney support with water/sodium balance Liver function enhancement

Memory enhancement Metabolism strengthener Mood elevator Nervous system tonic Plaque prevention PMS and fibrocystic breast relief Red and White blood cell production and vitality enhancement Skin tonic, acne reduction Vision enhancement

Yes, you can get all of this from simply drinking Yerba Mate. The type I drink most often is Guayaki, they are a great company that employs many green practices, and they are a certified : organic, fair-trade, Kosher, and non-gmo. On their website you can read several myths and stories about Yerba mate, educate yourself further on Yerba Mate, and get coupons! ( I am not affiliated with them; I just think they are an amazing company!)

Below I have pasted several videos you can watch on Yerba Mate.

Check them out:





In both of these videos the people are drinking the traditional way. However, I just brew it in my tea strainer. I wet the Yerba Mate first with cold water, and then add hot (NOT boiling) water to that. If you make it incorrectly, like tea, it can become bitter. So be careful in your preparation. If you don't like the taste of it, you can dress it up, just as you would tea or coffee.


That's all for now. Gotta go finish my Yerba Mate!

Wanna try it out: Click this link to find out where I buy it.

XOXO,
Riss

Are you a Yerba Mate drinker? How do you like it? What brand do you like? Do share!

Natural Healing: Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Last Thanksgiving my good friend came for a visit, and she looked amazing. She had lost an astonishing amount of weight, and looked radiant and healthy. I had to know what she was doing. She advised me to start taking a tablespoon a day of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. It seemed funny to use oil to lose weight, so I researched it, and found out that coconut oil is truly a miracle oil. One of my references,  Eating For Beauty by David Wolfe, has a wealth of information on coconuts and coconut oil.

Once all the research was done, I went to the health food store and picked some up. The next morning, I stuck my spoon in it took out a huge glob, and swallowed it. I almost threw up! It was like swallowing a spoonful of butter. But not wanting to waste my money, and still curious about it I kept experimenting, and found more inventive ways to consume it.

Now, I cook with it instead of other oils, and it fills my home with mouth-watering aromas. Seriously, it smells so good and gives your food really good flavor. I use it on toast or other things in place of butter. I put it in my oatmeal and smoothies. I even bake with it.

How it works:
Coconut oil is a medium-chain-fatty acid, which makes it easy for the body to absorb. Quick absorption means your body can use the energy right away, thus you feel immediately more energized. 

Aside from eating it you can use it as a skin moisturizer, put it in your hair for shine, and oh did I mention it cleared up my son's thrush (a common yeast infection nursing babies get) in two days. This is because coconut oil contains lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and has antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. Lauric acid is a potent antiviral and the amount in coconut oil is second only to the amount found in breast milk, which is one of the most perfect foods on the planet.
  

The recommended daily amount is 1-4 tablespoons, using at least 3 will give you a therapeutic dose. When buying coconut oil,  make sure it is organic raw extra virgin and that it is cold pressed. Cold pressed means they did not use chemicals in the processing of the oil. 

*I just dropped by the site I get my coconut oil from, and saw that you can get a trial size, and if you don't like it, you can send it back for 100% of your money back. I am not endorsing any specific product. I just saw it and wanted to share.

~Riss

Coconut oil has thousands of uses. If you love it as I do, please share what you've used it for.