In Search of the Best Ever Chicken Salad Recipe: What I've Found

Chicken salad sandwich for lunch
Source: Wikimedia - public domain.

I love Chicken Salad, and unlike some of my friends, I'm not committed to a single version (with grapes vs never with grapes; only white meat; chopped vs. torn; etc.) in my dedication to Chicken Salad as one of the best sandwich fixings on the planet.  However, there are some truly horrible versions of Chicken Salad out there.  You know; you've had that muck, too. 

So, I've begun my search for the Best Ever Chicken Salad Recipe (or five).

1.  The first one that I've decided must be on the list is Ina Garten's Curried Chicken Salad.  It's high in calories, and it's got chutney in it.  This, good bread, chilled white wine.  Wonderful stuff. 

2.  Another that I've found to be addicting is this mock restaurant chicken salad recipe from Real Restaurant Recipes.  Maybe part of the reason for this is its revelation of a bit of whipped cream getting thrown in the bowl -- but this tastes exactly like the stuff that I pay way-too-much for at the Ladies Who Lunch place downtown.  You know the place, you've got one near you.  Nice little breads in linen napkins appear as soon as you set down.  Mint leaves in your iced tea.  Lots of floral prints in the decor.  Clashing scents of expensive perfumes in the ladies' room.  This chicken salad is easy to make, and tastes great after it has had a chance to set awhile in the fridge.  I want some right now, just thinking about it. 

That's it for now.  As my search continues, I'll update this post till I have five recipes to share.

pH Balance in Your Body: Should You Care About Your Internal Acid - Base Balance?

I'm hearing more and more about the pH balance of the human body and how maintaining a proper pH balance is important to your health. 

 

What is pH balance?

 

It's the balance between acid and alkaline.  Water is neutral.  When your pH balance goes wacky, then you have physical consequences.  Things like acidosis can occur.  After that, really bad things can happen: cancer, kidney disease, things like that.  Turns out, pH balance is really, really important. 

 

What's acidosis?

 

Acidosis results when your body is too acidic and therefore internally promotes the growth of bacteria, viruses, mold, and other bad things that can make you sick. 

 

Acidosis is a state where your body lacks sufficient calcium and oxygen to keep an internal balance that keeps these nasty things in check.  It's not like you don't always have bacteria, mold, etc., inside your body.  It's just that when you get out of balance, then they have an environment conducive to their growth. 

 

Not only does this mean that you can suffer from gas, bloating, headaches, and other rather minor symptoms, but as these things continue to thrive, things get more serious.  Intestinal disorders -- and get this, I learned that osteoporosis is the result of chronic acidosis.  In order to grab the calcium it needs to fight off the pH imbalance, the body will suck out calcium from its own bones and teeth to try and get a better alkaline level - and win the war against the bacterial growth.  Less bone mass, that's osteoporosis.

 

You can monitor your pH balance by buying cute color-coded gauges at your nearby health food store, or online at places like The Wolfe Clinic. 

 

How to get yourself back in a balanced pH state?

 

First of all, there's no magic pill here.  Simply put, you have to eat right - the same kind of thing that you are supposed to be doing anyway.  Avoid sugar, fast foods, caffeine.  Eat lots of raw veggies and fresh fruit.  Drink water.  (Here's a nice chart for you.)   Apple cider vinegar is supposed to be helpful, too.  Get calcium inside of you, along with water and potassium. 

For more information, check out these articles:

• Wikipedia - pH balance
• The Wolfe Clinic - pH
• MedlinePlus - respiratory acidosis
• Merck Manual - acid base balance
• Critical Care Medicine Tutorial - acid base balance

Garlic: A Natural Antibiotic That's Powerful and Respected

Over three years ago (wow, I've been blogging here a long time!), I wrote about olive leaf extract as a natural antibiotic.  However, I've discovered that as a natural antibiotic, fresh garlic works so much better for me, and I thought I'd share my discovery with you.

Here's the backstory.  Friday morning, I woke up feeling yucky and just didn't have time for it -- and didn't want to go to the doctor where I would either be told: (1) it's a virus, thanks for your office visit; or (2) it's a bacterial infection, here's some antibiotics for you.   What did my ancestors do before Doc in the Boxes?  I went online to find out, and learned about garlic.

Garlic Is a Natural Antibiotic that Has Been Used for Thousands of Years

I learned that Louis Pasteur studied the antibacterial properties of garlic.  I learned that Hippocrates dispensed it. 

Additionally, I learned that modern researchers found garlic to have (go to link for citations)"...the broadest spectrum of any antimicrobial substance that we know of — it is antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiprotozoan and antiviral.” I also found out that unlike modern medicine's antibiotics, which are failing to conquer the new "superbugs," garlic remains a powerhouse against them. 

What's in raw garlic?

Two things:  Crushed, raw garlic has (1) allicin, a powerful antibiotic and(2) phytoncide, an antifungal compound. Other stuff, too, if you want to go read those medical studies (click the links).  It has the stuff to get rid of what's ailing me, as well as having all sorts of amazing health benefits, like fighting against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  Wow. 

So, garlic sounds like something I'm willing to try before I go see a medical health care provider. 

Garlic in a Tonic - What I Did

Last spring, I wrote about tonics -- which were pretty standard stuff until Modern Medicine introduced us to pills and tablets.  Personally, I think tonics are great.  You know what's going into them, and you really do feel the benefits. 

In that March 2010 post, I shared tonic recipes for Tonic Tea and Apple Cidar Vinegar Tonic as well as lots of links to long lists of tonic recipes.  Today, I'm sharing my new Garlic Tonic recipe - and while it may not make you kissably-sweet, heck: it worked for me.  I'm amazed and thrilled about this!!!!

Here's what I put together that got me back to 100% within three days time:

Reba's Garlic Tonic

In a Magic Bullet-type blender, I put the following:

8 peeled garlic cloves
Equal amount of fresh cubed ginger ( for pain, read about this tip here)
Big squirt of organic, local raw honey
Filled it 1/3 with Bragg's Apple Cidar Vinegar (read about ACV here)
Filled the rest with water

Pulverized the stuff.  Then, I drank 2T in a cup of water or orange juice every 6 hours.  With crackers, to keep that garlic from making me nauseous. 

Friday, I felt bad.  Sore throat, sinus headache, runny nose, swollen glands in my neck, watery eyes, fever, ear popping, grumpy, tired. 

I adhered to this tonic regimen together with drinking Emerg-C four times a day (not at the same time).

Monday morning, popped up feeling FABULOUS.  No symptoms.  None. 

Cost in time and money?  Less than $10 and no lost time at a doctor's office.  Folk remedy?  Sure.  But it worked like a charm for me, and I don't have any antibiotics in my system to worry about, thankyewverymuch. 

Have a great day!!