Today is the birthday of the Dalai Lama. He is now 70 years of age.

To celebrate I post an article about Tibetan Monks' diet.

It is taken from a report written by Peter Kelder and Colonel Bradford, an Englishman who spent some time in a Tibetan Lamasery and was taught the Five Rites by the Tibetan monks,

and it was provided by Chet Day in his newsletter Health & Beyond Weekly (An Eclectic Natural Health Newsletter. Wednesday, July 6 2005)

Here it is.

A Tibetan Monk Diet
By Peter Kelder and Colonel Bradford
from The Five Rites at http://chetday.com/fiverites.php

.... after the tenth week Colonel Bradford no longer
attended each weekly meeting. However, he still kept up his
interest in the "Himalaya Club," and from time to time
would speak on various subjects which would aid them in
their work.

Sometimes the members requested him to advise them on some
particular subject. For instance, we discussed among our
selves one night the tremendously important part that food
played in our lives. How the right food would make us more
alive and vigorous while the wrong food would make us
sluggish and dull.

None of us knew much about the subject, however, so we
requested the Colonel to advise us at our next meeting as
to the Lamas' policy regarding food.

"In the Himalayan Lamasery where I was a neophyte," said
the Colonel, in addressing us the following week, "there
are no problems concerning the right foods, nor in getting
sufficient food. Each of the Lamas does his share of the
work in producing what is needed. Furthermore, all the work
is done by the most primitive means. Even the soil is
spaded by hand. Of course, the Lamas could use horses and
plows if they so desired, but direct contact with the soil,
handling it and working with it, seems to add something to
man's existence. Personally, it made me feel very strongly
that I was a part of the Universal. Not merely working with
it or working for it but rather that the Universal and I
were one.

"Now it is true that the Lamas are vegetarians, but not
strictly so. They do use eggs, butter, and cheese in
quantities sufficient to serve certain functions of the
brain, body, and nervous system. But aside from this they
do not need meat, for all who are strong and virile, and
who practice Rite Number Six have no need of meat, fish, or
fowl.

"Most of those who join the ranks of the Lamas are men of
the world who know little about proper food and diet. Yet
they are only in the Grand Retreat in the Himalayas a very
short while when they begin to show wonderful signs of
physical improvement, due no doubt to the diet in the
Lamasery.

"No Lama is choosy about his meals. He can't be because
there is little to choose from. A Lama diet consists of
good, wholesome food but as a rule it consists of but one
article of food to a meal that in itself is a secret of
health.

"When one eats just one kind of food at a time there can be
no clashing of foods in the stomach. Foods clash in the
stomach because starches will not mix with proteins. For
example, bread, which is starchy, when eaten with meats,
eggs, or cheese, which are protein, sets up a reaction in
the stomach which often causes not only immediate physical
pain, but which contributes as well to a short life and a
not particularly merry one.

"Many times in the Lamasery dining hall I have set down to
the table along with the Lamas and eaten a meal consisting
solely of bread. At other times I have had nothing but
fresh vegetables and fresh fruits, while at still another
meal I ate nothing but cooked vegetables and cooked fruits.
At first I greatly missed the large variety of foods to
which I had been accustomed; but after a short while I
could eat and enjoy a meal consisting of nothing but dark
bread or some one particular fruit. Sometimes it would be a
feast of one vegetable.

"The point I wish to bring out to you gentlemen is not that
you should resign yourselves to a diet of one kind of food
to a meal but that you should keep starches, fruits, and
vegetables separate from meats, fish, and fowl at your
meals.

"It is permissible to make a meal of just meat. In fact,
you could have several kinds of meats to a meal. You can
have butter, eggs, and cheese with the meat meal, and dark
bread, and, if you wish, coffee, or tea, but you must not
end up with anything sweet or starchy. No pies or cakes or
puddings.

"Then again, your meal can be strictly starches. Then you
can indulge in all the sweet fruits, all the bread, butter,
pies, cakes, puddings, and fresh or cooked vegetables you
like with out feeling any ill effects. But keep these meals
separate.

"Butter seems to be a neutral. It can be used with either a
starchy meal or with a meat meal. Milk, however, agrees
better with starch meals. Coffee and tea should always be
taken black, never with cream, although a small amount of
sweetening will do no harm."

Note from Chet: If you liked what you just read, you'll
love "Supercharge Your Energy with Five Secret Tibetan
Rejuvenation Rites." Details at
http://chetday.com/fiverites.php

Growing and Harvesting Rose Hips
by Jackie Carroll

Roses can do more than grace our landscapes and floral designs. Like its cousins the apple, pear, peach and cherry, roses produce a fruit. Rose Hips are a valuable source of vitamin C, containing as much as 20 times more vitamin C than oranges. They are also an excellent antioxidant.

Growing Roses for Hips

When growing roses for hips, you'll want to select a variety that produces a reasonably large fruit that is high in vitamin C. Look for disease and insect resistant roses that won't require the use of chemical sprays.

Rugosas are an excellent choice for quality hips, and they are also a beautiful addition to the landscape, whether used as a dense hedge or a specimen plant. The flowers have a delightful fragrance and you'll be tempted to cut armloads to bring indoors, but try to resist the temptation. Remember, the more flowers you cut, the fewer hips you will have.

Harvesting and Preparing Rose Hips

Rose hips ripen after they are touched by the first fall frost. The color of rose hips varies, but in general, orange hips are not quite ripe, and deep red hips are overripe. Overripe hips are sweet, but have lost much of their vitamin C.

Rose hips will have the most nutritional value when used immediately after harvesting. To prepare rose hips for tea, cut off the bloom stem, cut the hip in half, and scrape out the seeds and hairy pith. This can be very tedious with tiny hips, so you may want to save the smallest hips for jellies. Rose hips used for jellies don't need to be seeded or scraped. A half and half mixture of rose hip juice and apple juice makes a tasty jelly.

Rose Hip Marmalade
Use a glass or enamel pan for this recipe.

1. Clean rose hips as described above for tea, and soak in cold water for two hours.

2. Simmer in water for two hours.

3. Strain and reserve liquid for jellies or other recipes.

4. Measure the mash, and add 1 cup of brown sugar for each cup of mash.

5. Boil down to a thick consistency.

6.Pour into sterilized jars and seal

About the Author:

Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a leading internet destination for gardening information and ideas.

Visit GardenGuides.com

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Jackie Carroll

Good night!

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BlackRaspberry and Vanilla


I confess I'm a soap fan. I love the feel of a solid soap bar developping all this soft smooth lather foam - and when it's made of natural ingredients, i.e. not drying out my skin, and has this unbeatable scent that comes from natural oils I prefer it by far to any (commercial) shower gels, liquid soaps or body shampoos.

I will do a longer review on this subject soon - for today I wanted to give you this link I stumbled over at blog.explosion:

Handmade soap!
Handmade by Lisa Cato from Texas, mother of little Emily (2 years old), she does her soaping while Emily is napping. How more fundamental can one get!

Here is Lisa's "Soap Philosophy":

"Changing the way you feel about soap."
Welcome to Mariposa Bath and Body. We make a variety of bath and body products such as our handcrafted soaps, body mousse, whipped shea butter, and many more. Mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly, and just as the caterpillar goes through a miraculous change in it's chrysalis, so will your thoughts about using our soaps on your skin. When you try a bar of our soap in your bath, you'll find that the lather is rich and luxurious. You've probably been told not to use soap because it will dry out your skin, but the handcrafted soaps that we make have the finest oils, butters, and other ingredients that will leave your skin soft and smelling wonderful. Unlike commercial soaps, our soaps have no harsh ingredients that will dry your skin out. All of my bath and body products are made by me in my home so you can be assured that you will get a quality product.

Her "newest soap":

Newest Soap
The newest soap that I have to offer is called BlackRaspberry and Vanilla. This soap smells like blackraspberries on top of homemade vanilla ice cream. It's so yummy smelling!

MariposaBath