All tea varieties including white, green, black, and oolong tea are derived from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. They contain numerous compounds including polyphenols  (catechins), tocopherol, vitamin C, as well as other antioxidants. Green tea has been documented to be helpful for artherosclerosis, LDL cholesterol, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, liver disease, weight loss, neuro-degenerative diseases, and halitosis.

Making your own tea at home guarantees the perfection of your taste preferences and the absence of  artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup. A brewed tea at home ensures the use of an ideal combination of organic and local ingredients such as organic tea,  fresh-squeezed lemon juice, no sugar, and your sweetener of choice (honey, agave or stevia).

The tea with powerful health-promoting properties would be made at home with green tea, honey, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Recently, scientific research has shown that drinking  green tea with lemon juice is best to bring out its health benefits. A study from Purdue University found that most catechins are not absorbed into the bloodstream when tea is drunk by itself,  but adding lemon juice to the tea lowers the pH in the small intestine and allows a better absorption of the catechins. Green tea is up to 5 times as healthy when citrus is adedd.

Common growing practices make the crops shown on the left above and listed below the most likely to contain pesticide residues:

Try to buy these organic as much as you can!

1.Celery
2.Peaches
3.Strawberries
4.Apples
5.Blueberries (Domestic)
6.Nectarines
7.Sweet Bell Peppers
8.Spinach
9.Collard Greens/Kale
10.Cherries
11.Potatoes
12.Grapes (Imported)

These are the produce that, when grown conventionally, poses the least risk of exposure to pesticides:

1.Onions
2.Avocados
3.Sweet Corn
4.Pineapples
5.Mangos
6.Sweet Peas
7.Asparagus
8.Kiwi
9.Cabbage
10.Eggplant
11.Cantaloupe (Domestic)
12.Watermelon
13.Grapefruit
14.Sweet Potatoes
15.Honeydew Melon

Hemp foods are the highest source of easily digestible, essential fatty acids (EFAs) in the plant world better than nuts and cashews. Hemp seed oil contains 54.4% linoleic acid (Omega-6), 18.3% linolenic acid (Omega-3), 2-5% gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and 1-2% stearidonic acid. Hemp seeds, rich in vitamin E and minerals,  are 33% protein and contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids. The seeds contain eight essential amino acids the human body cannot make and two that human body cannot make in a sufficient quantity in a perfect ratio of omega-6-to-omega-3 which are necessary to maintain brain health, memory, mood, and concentration.

Hemp’s ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids close to 4 makes hemp products a wonder healthy food. This ratio of fatty acids and in particular omega 3 fatty acids  is beneficial for the prevention of heart disease and cancer. Hemp seed protein contains 65% edistin – a plant globulin which is the highest content  in any plant on earth. Human body uses globulin proteins to make antibodies that are the main entities to create a healthy immune system.

Eating raw, organic, pure hemp seeds provides the body all the essential amino acids required to maintain health and supply the specific amino acids to make immunoglobulins.

To grow your own groceries, you don’t need to be so experienced, or have a huge backyard garden. These delicious plants require very little effort:

Basil: Chop it up and freeze it in an ice-cube tray, then stir the cubes into soup or other dishes.

Blueberries: Get an older bush which is ready to start producing.

Green beans: Green beans are easy to grow and easy to prepare.

Peppers: Try the spicy ones – they dry well.

Perennial herbs: Oregano, rosemary, thyme and sage are all good, easy perennials.

Salad greens: Lettuce can last throughout the summer. Plant it in a shady area.

Strawberries: You will not get enough to make jam, but you can have some for breakfast.

Tomatoes: Beginner gardeners should start with seedlings. Use stakes for support.

Also see: Indoor Garden in your Apartment

How to Grow Edible Mushrooms in Your Home

By Anna Lynn Sibal

Mushrooms are simply delectable. They add a rich and earthy flavor to any dish you put them in. They are also very nutritious – they contain high levels of protein and potassium, but have very little fat and are low in calories. Mushrooms are delicious and are good for you.

It is just too bad, though, that fresh mushrooms can be quite pricey and the canned versions are just not as tasty or nutritious as the fresh ones. On the other hand, mushrooms can be easily cultivated at home under controlled conditions. So why not grow your own, as part of the organic living lifestyle?

Choosing Mushrooms to Grow

Of the 14,000 species of mushrooms identified by biologists, only 250 or so species are actually edible. Some of them lend easily to cultivation but others can only be found in the wild. Unless you can control the temperature and humidity in the place where you will be cultivating your mushrooms, your choice of what mushrooms to grow should depend on the climate in which you live. Some mushroom species grow best in cold weather while some like it hot and humid.

In addition, not all mushroom species are cultivated in the same way. Some mushrooms spawn best in damp sawdust, straw or sterilized wheat. Other mushrooms prefer to fruit in logs. So before you buy your mushroom kit, you should understand first the specific needs of the mushroom species you are going to grow at home.

General Guidelines for Growing Mushrooms

As mentioned above, the first step to cultivating mushrooms is buying a mushroom kit. This kit would be a packet containing straw or sawdust full of mushroom spores or mycelium. You can lay the spore packets in a pan filled with damp straw and then put the pan in a place that is damp, in total darkness, and where your mushroom spawn will not be disturbed. The ideal place for this is a basement, but you can use an unused closet or cabinet for this purpose. For the first three weeks, keep the temperature around your mushroom spawns at 70°F.

After three or four weeks, you will have observed the spawns taking root in their medium. When this happens, drop the temperature in the spawning area to 60°F. You will also need to put a layer of potting soil an inch thick over the spawn. Cover it all with a damp cloth. You need to spray the cloth with water whenever the soil begins to feel dry.

In another month or two, the spawns will have developed into small mushrooms. Just wait for them to grow bigger and continue spraying them with a little water. Your mushrooms will be ready for harvesting after two or three more months; you will know when they are ready when their caps have fully separated from their stems.

Mushrooms are remarkably easy to grow. With your own mushroom garden, you can be sure to have tasty and nutritious mushrooms in your dishes whenever you feel like eating them. You can even make money out of growing mushrooms by selling your produce to your neighbors. They will certainly appreciate the fresh mushrooms as much as you do.