SMALL BITES: Did You Know? Hawthorn — Recipe: Hawthorn Tea — Bonus Recipe: Walnut Cookies
What are SMALL BITES?
They’re easily digestible bits, bites of delicious recipes, and/or something intended to inform or help you. And they come to you twice a week, with maybe an Xtra Edition, now and then.
I love small bites – pieces like what you see here — anything savory or tasty. A donut, a cuppa coffee or herbal tea, or a small bite of conversation, when pressed for time, with a friend or loved one. Short, but sweet. I loved introducing a different version of small bites into my young kids’ lives – swimming, tennis, music, dancing, theatre — that they could either pick up and run with, or leave alone, as they liked.
I hope you’re enjoying these SMALL BITES! I also hope you’ll join me on my mission to seek out healthy, GMO-free food, and spread the word to friends and loved ones.
I know – it’s not officially Heart Month. But shouldn’t we look after our hearts every day of the year? With that in mind, today, you’ll learn a smidgeon about the “heart herb,” hawthorn. We’ll only talk about the berry, but the leaves and flowers are also usable. It’s a honey of an herb that can be taken long-term. Always check with your health practitioner before taking any herb, though – especially if you’re taking medication, right?
Since we’re talking about being kind to our hearts today, how about a bonus recipe for another food known for being heart-healthy, the walnut?
To your best health ever,
Natalie
P.S. If you like SMALL BITES, share them with friends and fam? I’d appreciate it!
SMALL BITES #6
- Did you know this about the heart herb?
Hawthorn, the leaves, flowers, and berries, is good for everything-heart, and that includes the circulatory system and varicose veins. In a gentle way, it helps the physical heart return to normal functioning, and gently has been known to help the emotional recover from heartache. It “nourishes and protects” the heart, says herbalist Rosalee de la Foret, “… and benefits a wide variety of heart-related problems.” It can be taken as a tincture, in food, or as a tea.
Here’s an easy tea recipe I use.
- Recipe: Hawthorn Tea…
Place 2 teaspoons of dried hawthorn berries (from a reliable, non-GMO source) into a cup. Pour freshly boiled water over the herbs, cover, and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain, and sip. Also good with a dash of raw honey.
Enjoy one or two cups a day. This flavonoid-rich herb tastes good and can be taken long-term.
3. Bonus Recipe! Walnut Cookies
Fun to know: Some people connect the shape or color of certain whole foods with the part of the body it’s known to help. Crack open a walnut, and you may see what they see: two lobes that resemble the physical appearance of the heart. A heart-healthy snack? Eat a small handful of walnuts.
Ready to try this bonus recipe?
Walnut Cookies [Adapted from Cook Right 4 Your Type, by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo with Catherine Whitney]
1 stick butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup spelt flour
Confectioner’s sugar [optional]
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter cookie sheet(s). Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add walnuts and flour. Stir to combine. Drop by teaspoonfuls, an inch apart, onto cookie sheet(s).
Bake about 25 minutes, but check after 20 minutes. You want them to be golden brown. Remove immediately with spatula to a wire rack. If you’re using confectioners’ sugar, sprinkle on cookies while still warm. Store the 25 to 30 cookies in a container with lid. A cookie monster lives in my house, and these cookies are not known to last long! They’re just plain yummy!
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