Cannabis-enhancing plant to be marketed worldwide as new drug

When consumed, kanna decreases anxiety, suppresses the appetite, causes euphoria and enhances the effects of other psychoactive herbs.

South African Bushmen have been chewing kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) for hundreds of years to reduce stress, relieve hunger and elevate their moods. Now there are plans to market the exotic plant worldwide as a new over-the-counter drug, according to PhysOrg.com.

The first license ever issued to market kanna was given to the South African company HGH Pharmaceutical, who intend to sell it as a dietary supplement.

"We're positioning [the product] for everyday people who are having a stressful time in the office, feeling a bit of social anxiety, tension or in a low mood," said Nigel Gericke, director of research at HGH.

Though the company intends to produce their kanna product in pill form, the plant is traditionally chewed, smoked or made into a tea. When it is consumed, users are said to receive a head rush similar to the effect of smoking a cigarette, but without the risk of chemical addiction or health concerns.

At intoxicating levels, kanna taken alone can cause euphoria and sedation. Users also claim increased personal insight, as well as a grounded feeling without any perceptual dulling.

Aside from its potential health benefits and mood-altering qualities, the plant is also well known for its ability to enhance the effects of other psychoactive drugs-- particularly cannabis. Thus, its role as a potentiator for more controversial drugs could lead to road blocks in getting approval by U.S. regulators. The American company working with HGH to distribute the product in the U.S. said it did not know when exactly it could be available for consumers, though they were tentatively planning a product launch sometime in 2011.

"It's a product with huge potential," said Ben-Erik Van Wyk, a University of Johannesburg botanist. "Anyone who has chewed it and has experienced the sensation of the plant definitely knows there's something happening."

Van Wyk also said that he hopes the product can draw attention to the ancient wisdom of the San Bushmen, and raise awareness about the need to protect cultural diversity around the world. There is also great optimism that the marketing and production of the plant could boost local economies.

Pier 1 Imports Recalls Golden Tea Lights Due to Fire Hazard

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada

Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 245-4595

CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772

CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

HC Media Contact: (613) 957-2983

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Golden tea lights sold with ornament tea light holders

Units: About 370,000 tea lights in United States and 30,000 tea lights in Canada

Importer: Pier 1 Imports(r), of Fort Worth, Texas

Hazard: The flame from the tea lights can burn with a high flame, posing a fire hazard.

Injuries/Incidents: The firm has received four reports of high flames. In one of these incidents, the consumer suffered a minor burn.

Description: This recall involves all tea lights in golden tin cups sold in sets of five with either the Red Ornament Tea Light Holder (SKU 2473959) or the White Ornament Tea Light Holder (SKU 2473961). The SKU number is found on the packaging.

Sold exclusively at: Pier 1 Imports stores from September 2010 through January 2011 for between $2 and $8.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled tea lights and return them to their nearest Pier 1 Imports store to receive new tea lights.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Pier 1 Imports at (800) 245-4595 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit Pier 1 Imports' website at Pier 1 Imports

Note: Health Canada's press release is available at Health Canada Consumer Product Safety

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the recalled products, please go to: NEWS from CPSC and HC

Spiral Staircases

I would love to have a home large enough to have one or all of these spiral staircases. They have got to be the sexiest thing you can have in your home.

I found these at curbly

Bad Food + Bad Habits = Bad Health. Any Questions?

A recent report from an American Stroke Association conference tells us that strokes are rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people, a sign that the obesity epidemic may be starting to shift the age burden of the disease.

The numbers improved for people over 65. Strokes dropped 25 percent, but still represent the highest numbers at 300 per 10,000 hospitalizations. For males 15 to 34, there were about 15 stroke cases per 10,000, and for girls and women in that age group there were about 4 per 10,000.

I hesitate to present these numbers here because admittedly they look pretty small. And if people look at the numbers as small it is doubtful they will see any urgency in changing their habits.

Health professionals have been pointing out the causes of stroke for years as bad food and lack of exercise. In the past we have accepted the higher chance of stroke as a part of the aging process, brought on by years of high calorie and high cholesterol intake coupled with an increasing lack of exercise. Then we are forced to rely on medical science to correct our abuse.

Now, we discover we are falling victim to these bad habits at a much younger age. What has changed? Fifty years ago our youth ate better quality food and got more exercise. Today’s youth eat more processed foods and are less physically challenged.

How can we be aware of the causes of stroke and yet do nothing to prevent it? Certainly, the family dynamic has changed over the past fifty years. We are seeing an increase in the number of single-parent homes which results in a decline in home cooked meals and thus convenience foods are on the increase and our schools no longer push physical activity as part of their regular curriculum.

Convenience food is not inherently dangerous to our health. It’s the manner in which it is processed. A large portion of processed food comes from fast food restaurants who, despite their claims of making a healthier product, continue to serve us meat that has been so fully injected with antibiotics and growth hormones that there is no way these chemicals are not finding their way into our bodies. Vegetables found in grocery stores, if we eat them, are genetically modified to make them bigger and more resistant to the heavy use of pesticides. Then they are injected or sprayed with stabilizers to give them a longer shelf life and picked before their time to ‘ripen’ on the long trip to the grocery store. All of these factors lessen their natural ability to develop the nutrients we think we are getting.

Is the use of all of these chemicals and processes connected to our increasing waistlines and poor health? No one seems to be able to conclusively connect those dots and corporate agriculture is certainly not going out of their way to find out. It would cut into their profits.

Additional Side Effects

1 - Health costs continue to rise for everyone because not enough people are keeping themselves healthy.

2 - CAFO’s – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations – increasing in size and number because people eat meat,

• pollute adjacent streams due to the large amount of concentrated effluent,
• inject large amounts of antibiotics and pesticides into our food supply due to overcrowding at these facilities,
• support environmental degradation through growing feed which uses intensive methods which uses excessive fertilizer and pesticides.

3 - Processed food adds about three-fourths of the salt we eat, especially tomato sauce, soups, condiments and canned foods.

The bottom line is that corporate profits continue to increase, our waistlines continue to increase, environmental pollution continues to increase, our health decreases, our life-expectancy decreases.

In my opinion, this formula is a very poor substitute for quality of life. Is convenience really a good reason for this to continue?

If we expect to reverse the spread of stroke we need to grow more of our own food, eat less meat and more vegetables, and exercise more. All of this is within our power and everyone will benefit from it.

Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients:

1 cup Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda

1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1 cup Fels Naptha, shaved

1 gallon water

2 cups boiling water

This is super easy:

Fels Naptha shaved

Boil a half quart of water (2 cups). While this is heating up, shave the Fels Naptha bar until you get one cup full. This stuff will melt quicker and more uniformly if you make the pieces very small. The first batch I made I used a cheese grater but that was hard on my wrist so this time I used a knife to shave pieces off and then chopped them into finer pieces. You can put the pieces in the water and wait for it to boil but it melts better if you wait to add them to boiling water.

Next, pour one cup each Borax and Booster. Stir until it is all dissolved.

Pour this mixture into a bucket containing one gallon water. Mix it all well and pour into storage containers. I got these three from a hobby craft store for five bucks a piece. They must hold more than a quart each because they took the gallon of water plus two cups leaving only small amount.

Before each use the soap it needs to be shaken well because it tends to separate. I use a quarter to one half cup per load.

I feel I need to point out a couple things. The fragrance of the Fels Naptha is quite over powering. It is not a 'bad' smell, it is just strong. I suggest that once the package is opened it be kept in an airtight container. I use Wet Ones plastic box shown in the photo.

Also, the Borax picks up moisture fairly easily so keep it in an airtight package as well.

These products have been around for over a hundred years and are made of all natural materials. Modern laundry detergents are all based on these three natural materials plus other chemicals to do things like add a fragrance or not leave a residue in the measuring cup or add fabric softener chemicals. There is no residue left on your clothing and they come out clean every time.

The fact that these ‘new’ laundry detergents contain these chemicals is a major reason why I choose not to use them.

A little about the products:

Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda is a detergent booster and household cleaner. In production since 1874. 100% fragrance and phosphate free. It is sodium carbonate and is used for a variety of cleaning chores besides laundry.

20 Mule Team Borax is an all natural laundry booster & multi-purpose household cleaner. Removes stains on many surfaces such as tile/grout, sinks, pots & pans, fine china, mattress odors, outdoor furniture (plastic and metal), garbage pails, etc.

Fels Naptha is a heavy duty laundry bar soap used to remove stains (works especially well on oil-based stains).

Now I ask you, can you use laundry detergent to clean anything other than laundry, No, because it has been diluted so that you need to buy the corporations other chemical based products too.

Do yourself and the environment a favor and bypass the chemically laden products and use an all-natural product that you can make yourself.

Disclosures

This policy is valid from October 15, 2010

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact  unwashedcreativity@gmail.com.

This blog does not accept any form of compensation for any reviews or comments made concerning any product or service mentioned.

The owner of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites or any various other topics. I will always strive to give my honest assessment and opinion on every post. All findings, beliefs, experiences on topics posted here are mine alone and are not influenced by any other person unless otherwise noted in the post.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Whole Wheat Crepes and Cherry Compote

I woke up this morning wanting crepes. Never made them before. They turned out delicious. I used Krusteaz Wheat & Honey pancake mix and frozen cherries. When you live within a budget you make the best of what you have.

The wheat pancake mix was thinned out as much as I dared make it without it being completely watery. When I poured it onto the hot skillet, I tilted the skillet to allow the mix to spread out to form a larger thinner pancake. I was so afraid of burning the first one that I flipped it a little before its time, but after that I exercised a bit more patience and they came out remarkably well.

The compote was made by using frozen cherries, 3/4 cup water, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup lime juice (RealLime worked great). Bring to a boil, reduce heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasional. In a separate bowl I mixed together 1 tablespoon each cornstarch and orange juice. After removing the cherries from the heat and mixed the cornstarch/orange juice mixture in and placed the pan back to boil for one minute. After boiling for another minute, reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes to thicken.

This was a really great tasting breakfast. Things tend to get a bit hectic while making the cakes but they were well worth it.

I thought the compote was a tad bit too sweet so will cut back a little on the sigar next time.

The whipped cream on top was a wonderful touch. We had Cool Whip and Ready Whip so I used a little of each for comparison and found the Ready Whip much better. After all it is a real dairy product whereas Cool Whip is not.

Note: I did not get paid in anyway for mentioning any brand name mentioned here. The mix has been a favorite of our family for a very long time. The juice was easier than squeezing a bunch of limes.

Sustainable Home Design

Architect Kendricks Bangs Kellogg designed this home of gracefully arranged, gently curved concrete forms, all resting on cantilevered, shaped, concrete platforms, that span up to fifty feet and ten feet across. This home is designed for energy gains from the thermal mass.

More at materialicious

Safe Chicken Handling Practices

I was recently asked how long cooked chicken will keep in a refrigerator and remain safe to eat. I did a little digging and found the general guideline is four to seven days. And this advice is good only if it has been handled, packaged and stored properly. It will keep slightly longer if you freeze it.

The health department recommends keeping meat no longer than seven days after the purchase date. This is true if your fridge holds food at 41F. If the temperature is higher then no longer than three days.

There is no definitive method for the detection of bacteria without bacteriological and chemical tests, so the best we can do is follow these guidelines:

• Handle food in a sanitary manner - wash hands, clean and sanitize food contact surfaces, protect from cross-contamination, package and store properly.
• Keep potentially hazardous food out of the temperature danger zone (140F to 40F). Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
• Reheat leftover cooked foods thoroughly (to 165F).
• Use food within a reasonable time.
• When in doubt, throw it out.

While we are on the topic of chicken safety and storage, here are a few guidelines and information:

It is not necessary to wash raw chicken. Any bacteria which might be present are destroyed by cooking.

Many people think the pink liquid in packaged fresh chicken is blood, but it is mostly water which was absorbed by the chicken during the chilling process. Blood is removed during slaughter and only a small amount remains in the muscle tissue. An improperly bled chicken would have cherry red skin and is condemned at the plant.

Chicken is kept cold during distribution to retail stored to prevent the growth of bacteria and to increase its shelf life. Chicken should be cold to to the touch and placed in a disposable plastic bag, get one from the produce section if they are not available in the meat department.

At home, immediately place chicken in a refrigerator that maintains 40F and use within 1 or 2 days, or freeze at 0F.  If freezing for longer than two months overwrap the store package with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap, or freezer paper, or place inside a freezer bag.

Proper wrapping prevents "freezer burn", which appears as grayish brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before of after cooking the chicken.

When purchasing fully cooked rotisserie or fast food chicken, be sure it is hot at time of purchase. Use within two hours or cut into several pieces and refrigerate in shallow, covered containers. Eat within 3 to 4 days, either cold or reheated to 165F (hot and steaming).

Never defrost a chicken by leaving it on the counter. You can safely defrost frozen chicken by setting it in the refrigerator, or placing it in cold water (in a leak proof bag fully covered), or by using the microwave defrost settings.

In Celebration of St Brigid and Candlemas

Halfway point to Spring, Groundhogs Day. Yea! This is one of three celebrations taking place on this honored day, February 2^nd. The other two are religious in nature, The Christian holiday, Candlemas and the Pagan holiday, Imbolic

Photo: celtic symbol Imbolic.jpg

"Imbolc" is derived from the Gaelic “oimele” which means “ewes milk.” This major Sabbat lies opposite Lammas, and represents the very beginning of spring. This festival is for the Maiden, her renewal, and has strong roots with the festivals for the Irish goddess Brigid. The ancient Celtic goddess Brigid was honored on this day, and even after she was absorbed into the Church as St. Brigid, celebrations for her changed very little from their Pagan roots. A traditional plated St Brigid’s Cross.

“Candlemas” is from the adaptations of rites for the Virgin Mary that the European churches held at the same time of year. Candlemas is a celebration of light, the day of candles, but in many parts of the world it is thought of by both young and old as pancake day!

The plow is an integral part of Imbolc ritual, this being the earliest time of year in Europe to begin ground breaking or preparations for spring planting. Some cultural groups decorated plows or held processions around the fields. Seedlings for early spring planting can be started indoors at this time.

On the Celtic Wheel of the Year, Imbolc is celebrated on February 1st and belongs to Brighid, Brigid or Bride, a goddess who in later times became revered as a Christian saint.

Candlemas: A Pagan Festival of Lights.

In celebration of Candlemas the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In celebration of Imbolic. Imbolc is when the first spring cleaning can be done. Having hunkered down for the winter, what can go to make room for the growth of spring? Brigid has many associations with healing. Spend some time with activities for yourself and your own health, either to warm the chill of winter or to ready yourself for the coming spring.

How Candlemas/Imbolic gave birth to Groundhog Day

Like other cross-quarter days, Imbolc is associated with divination, being perceived as a time when the veils between worlds are thinner. One of the more common winter/spring divination rituals is Ground Hog Day. On February 2nd, it is said that a ground hog that comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow foretells six more weeks of winter weather. No shadow on this day and spring is right around the corner.

Most Americans are only familiar with the media glare cast on “Punxsutawney Phil” and a small Pennsylvania town each year, not realizing the more complex European roots of this rite. This practice came with German settlers, the Pennsylvania Dutch, who adapted their own hedgehog observations to a close American native.