For Sir-Voor: Healing Spices

[Sequoia]

Hi Sir-Voor,

My daughter, who manages a hospital-based holistic clinic in a nearby city, was home for the weekend and brought a new book with her called Healing Spices by Bharat B. Aggarwal, Ph.D.

Dr. Aggarwal, who was born and raised in India, is now a Professor in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The book looks very good...I just ordered a copy for myself. There's a wealth of information on the healing powers of spices and herbs, and there are recipes too.

Just thought you might be interested.

[justacowgirl]

Well... I am

Thanks Sequoia

[justacowgirl]

$4.99 paperback on Ebay $10.00/14.99 hardback

[Sir-Voor]

Thanks for the recommendation

The reviews at Amazon look good, it looks to cover 50 spices.
And that is an impressive amount of spices; I will have to get a copy of the book.

Speaking of spices I just ordered more spices from Penzeys.com Friday, to restock and try some new.
To give you an idea on much you can save over getting it at a grocery store, this is what I got.
And the quality over grocery store spices is WOW!

Basil California .4 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $3.25
Basil French .7 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $3.35
Onions White Minced 1 lb. bag - $7.90
Celery Flakes .7 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $3.75
Garlic Powder Granulated 1 lb. bag - $10.20
Garlic Powder Granulated 2.9 oz. 1/2 cup jar -$4.35
Garlic Minced 2.6 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $4.55
Onions White Powder 2.4 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $3.59
Oregano Broken Leaf Turkish .5 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $3.09
Oregano Mexican .4 oz. 1/2 cup jar - $2.99
Turmeric 0.9 oz. 1/4 cup jar - $2.29
SUBTOTAL : $49.31
SHIPPING : $8.95
SALES TAX : $0.58
ORDER TOTAL : $58.84

P.S. Their China cinnamon and paprika’s are fantastic.

[Sequoia]

Sir-Voor, do you know if the spices you get from Penzeys are irradiated or not?

I try to buy non-irradiated herbs & spices whenever possible. Organic, too.

[hunterd]

i just looked on my nook, healing spices by bharat b. aggerwal and deborah yost is available for 15.99

dave

[Sequoia]

i just looked on my nook, healing spices by bharat b. aggerwal and deborah yost is available for 15.99

dave

That's more than the hardback I bought, by $2.00.

If you prefer the Nook, though, I guess it's worth it.

[Sir-Voor]

Sir-Voor, do you know if the spices you get from Penzeys are irradiated or not?

I try to buy non-irradiated herbs & spices whenever possible. Organic, too.

Good question, I don’t know YET.

I have emailed the Penzey’s media inquires to see if I can find out, and recommended that they add non-irradiated and organic listing.

With a lot of the spices being dried/dehydrated my guess is that they are not irradiated, I think irradiation is mainly use to lengthen the self life of fresh foods.

[Sequoia]

With a lot of the spices being dried/dehydrated my guess is that they are not irradiated, I think irradiation is mainly use to lengthen the self life of fresh foods.

No, sadly, irradiation of herbs & spices has become commonplace. Herbs & spices were among the first foods allowed to be irradiated, and are treated at higher levels of radiation than many other foods.

Manufacturers are not required to state whether or not herbs & spices are irradiated, so few do.

[Bob698]

I'm a huge fan of basil.
Trust me, there is nothing better than fresh basil (maybe fresh oregano, but basil is more of a "staple" spice).
The flavor is a little more muted than the freeze-dried stuff but its also so much better when fresh.
Do yourself a favor and grow your own, basil will grow indoors just fine in a medium sized pot and is VERY hearty (minimal hassles outside of watering).
Just be careful, I've had basil plants take over the kitchen. My tallest was over eight feet tall, they can get downright motivated.
Check your local "up scale" grocery. Many will carry fresh basil plants. As long as the plants still have roots you can plant them.

[justacowgirl]

No, sadly, irradiation of herbs & spices has become commonplace. Herbs & spices were among the first foods allowed to be irradiated, and are treated at higher levels of radiation than many other foods.

Manufacturers are not required to state whether or not herbs & spices are irradiated, so few do.

Sequoia you are quite right..I would be extremely cautious of any dried spices/herbs.

Sir Voor...you can buy the fresh of everything that you named on your list..organic and dry your own. It is simply a matter of hanging it up; or chopping it up and drying. You don't need a dehydrator for anything and the quality would be significantly better.

A friend just gave me celery from his root cellar and I dried it last week. It was wonderful. You can buy organic celery and do it yourself!

The price you are paying for onions is very extravagant.

If you would try fresh garlic you would never use the dried/processed stuff.

Just some thoughts

J

[Sir-Voor]

I agree when it comes to flavor, fresh is best!
Most of the time, some plants just grow with better flavor in other weather climates and soil. (Like paprika.)

But for me, right now it is time, convenience, and desire to try lots of spices that is my goal.

My MS has hindered my ability to maintain my house and farm for 9 years, in 2010 I got my health back and now I have a ton of much needed maintenance to do and some projects I have been longing to do after that.
Plus I have dogs and garlic and onion are Poisonous to them, so that would require me to safe guard the plants from them.

So fresh spices and herb is just not going to happen now, and I’m sure other MSers have their reasons also.

So I post about penzeys because for those like me in the fresh not an option boat, it is a great cost savings place and good way to see what you like and don’t like.

So no need to sell me on fresh, I know the advantages of it.
But I also know the advantages of online spice buying over grocery stores. And the need to use spices, any kind of spices is better then none.

[justacowgirl]

Very reasonable for you.

I feed my dogs a fresh diet with their kibble including fresh garlic. The research that I have read and including shows the amounts you would need to feed them for it to be toxic are quite large over an extended amount of time. (percentage of bodyweight) for a healthy adult dog. The same toxicity could be found in any vegetable/herb containing amounts of vitamin K. Rape, Kale, alliums etc in large amounts over an extended period of time.

I would like people to not be afraid to feed their dog a fresh diet. I is very healthfull and economical for people. Especially with the astounding cost of high quality pet kibble and canned foods.

I own a boarding kennel. I encourage people to feed a fresh diet including vegetables and herbs in a addition to a high quality kibble. I hate for people to be afraid of everything they feed their dogs and resort to store bought dog food.

Just (dog) food for thought! Always nice to have diversified opinions.