All posts by Parkinsons Recovery

How to Make Fermented Papaya

Fermented Papaya

Papayas are ripe when they can be pressed slightly and they “give” like a peach.

Wash papaya well with dish soap and water and then rinse very well. Dry with a paper towel and place on a large clean plate or cutting board.

Slice off about a 2″ ring …Peel off skin and discard, then scoop out seeds and save in a bowl .  (The seeds are a great medicine dry & grind -use in place of pepper)

Cut away any bad spots that are not a pretty orange color (black,white pinkish)

Use a fork to mash the papaya if it is ripe enough, or you can use a blender or food processor to make it really smooth.

Place the mash in a clean glass bowl or cassarole and add :

1 teaspoon each of Cinnamon and Turmeric Spices. Stir well.

Smooth the top..Try to remove air bubles and then cover surface with plastic wrap…and starting at the center..try to smooth air bubbles out to the sides.
The papaya must be air tight or will mold (and you will have to throw it out.)  Cover again with a second piece of plastic wrap and seal up the sides and over the top to completely seal out air.

Place the container on the kitchen counter. Label with the day you started it.

Depending on the ripeness of the papaya, it will take from 5 to 7 days to ferment The hotter the kitchen and the more ripe the papaya is..makes it ferment faster.

In the winter my kitchen can be a lot cooler and it has taken 8 days to ferment.

You will notice it making tiny bubbles and the plastic will begin to puff up because of the gas released (it is predigesting and making wonderful enzymes for you). Carefully remove the plastic and remove any places with mold or discoloration that have started. It should be a beautiful orange color.  I have had to remove the whole first inch sometimes…and I am very careful.

Taste…if you would like to add sweetener or more cinnamon…do it now.
I usually add a Tablespoon or 2 of Agave syrup and 1/2 teas salt and extra cinnamon

Place this in the refrigerator in a glass container with a sealed lid or one you can place plastic wrap on and then the lid to seal it well. I use a TBS of this on my cereal in the morning.    But usually I will dry it in the dehydrator …it keeps longer and takes up less space.

Place unbleached parchment on dryer trays.  Add about 3 TBS ground flax seed or a teaspoon of Guar Gum or Xanthum Gum to give it a thicker consistency, mix well and let stand 10 minutes. Mix again and drop by Tablespoon blobs on trays. Dry for approx 14 hrs or until they feel dry …I flip them over and dry another hr. Time depends on the dehydrator..Some you need to shift trays every couple hrs because they dry faster near the heat source.

THE DRIED PAPAYA can then be ground into powder by a coffee grinder and place in a little jar in the fridge.  I like it this way best…1 teaspoon on my cereal in the morning….but the fresh liquid is ok too… just takes up a lot more space in the fridge.

Aunt Bean

 

Growing Fava Beans in a Pot

growing Fava beans

Can you give pointers for planting fava beans in a gallon container?

Reply: Plant a bean that has already begun to sprout 2 inches under soil level (with a short tail … point the tail down slightly. It will become the root and a second shoot will come out right beside it & head upward and get leaves . Leave room at the top of the pot to fill more soil in around it for support and cooler root temperature, and room for some mulch I would leave maybe 6 inch at top of pot empty for now. You also have to have room for water so that it doesn’t run over the top when it rains  and wash a lot of your soil away….

LOTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANTING FAVA BEANS IN A POT.

Also make sure it has drainage holes in the bottom if using a bucket…drill large holes in it for drainage. Hope that helps.

Have a blessed day.

Aunt Bean

Sprouting Fava Beans

eating fava bean sprouts

After sprouting the fava beans ….do you eat just the “tail” or the whole bean and tail?

Reply: We eat the whole steamed sprouted bean (first peel, then rinse well, then place in steamer basket /cover with a lid and start timing with the steam starts coming out of lid.  Depending on how you find you like them…test at 6 min (more l-dopa is lost the longer they cook/) not able to chew..do 7 min/ or up to 8 min

Blessings,

Aunt Bean

Fava Beans Q&A

fava bean tincture, growing Fava beans

Below are Aunt Bean’s answers to Edward’s questions about growing fava beans.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

1. How much l-dopa in sprouted fava beans?

Answer:  Approximately 2 mg l-dopa.

2. Frozen sprouted fava beans: How to eat?

Answer: They will thaw in your mouth. I steam them 6 to 8 minutes to make them chewable before freezing. Put out on a plate. They would thaw quickly if you don’t want to suck on a frozen one.  We eat fava sprout balls directly from the freezer and just let them thaw in our mouths…yummy!

3. Can I grow sprouts of fava beans in a large flower pot.?

Answer: “Large” can mean many things  (gallon/ 2 gallon/tree size?)  A gallon pot would be fine for 1 plant..they need sun and mulch to keep their roots cool. They are a cool weather plant and can stand temperatures to 26 degrees in ground. In pots you may have to bring them inside if it is below 30 degrees.

4. How many leaves from a plant of fava beans does it take to make the tincture?

Answer: That depends how big or small your glass jar is in which you are going to shake the tops and brandy in for a month. I don’t generally just use leaves, but prefer the unopened leaves and flowers that form after a while at the top of the plant. Right now I am experimenting with a whole plant tincture and will report on this as soon as possible. I am still looking for a chemist that will test things for me around  here. Then will post on blog.

5. How long does the tincture last after you have made it?

Answer: I have had it up to a year before using it.

Hope this helps…off to the garden………

Blessings,     

Aunt Bean

What is Going on with Fava Beans at Bean Acres?

farm update

Yesterday 2 rows of very late fava beans were planted…just for the tops for tincture. Also planted 24 fava beans in the greenhouse to see if they can tolerate the heat if watered and mulched well. I know I will have to invest in shade cloth for part of the greenhouse but , it is full of exciting possibilities for the winter months.
I am in the middle of an experiment …a totally kitchen experiment…that I hope will work for an l-dopa supplement.  Will let you know the outcome in a couple of weeks…whether it is worth repeating or not.

We have 2 new additions at Bean Acres…..charming little bunnies, growing quickly named Thumper and Cocoanut (my 11 yr old grand daughter named this one). They are precious and draw visits from all ages – especially children.

It was great to be able to clean the pen and ground below and have fertilizer to put in the holes I dug for hardy Kiwi yesterday. They will be happier for it too. Dad helped me put up treated 4×4’s for posts and plastic trellises for the kiwis and a wonderful arbor at the entrance to the garden for my 2 chocolate vines…it looks so pretty & invites people into the garden.  The fig tree is covered with medium sized and tiny figs.  It is huge and beautiful. I planted a baby tree from it below the house yesterday and hope to get another one to try inside the greenhouse. 

We have put up lots of corn, green beans, rhubarb and strawberries from harvests and the sweet peppers will start maturing soon. Also getting some lima beans now   and okra…which I love to eat raw as I work and GRAZE. We have had a lot of deer in the garden, but they seem to just nibble tops off the sweet potato vines and go on.

OH, there are a couple MONSTER VINES in the garden this year. You would have to see them to believe it. They are bushel basket gourds. I grew four vines last year and they didn’t want to come up and really didn’t go very far, fruit barely reaching half their usual size (bushel basket size) before frost. These last 2 seeds I started in the greenhouse to see if they might get a better start and put them in a different location.

I think these 2 plants could cover a city block by frost!  I keep tearing off  (breaking them completely off the plant) vines that are trying to vine up and around blueberry bushes, little cherry trees, row of tomatoes and my asparagus and it doesn’t seem to hurt the rest of the gourd plant at all. So, I guess I’ll just keep it in check, protecting the other plantings from being DEVOURED by the monster!!!

Guess I should take a picture now and at frost or no one will believe me how far they have gone already…and they are covered with apple size gourds right now, and a few softball size ones.  I hope they will be marketable for baskets and planters and  to people that like to paint gourds……Bean Acres.could use a cash crop!!

Keep SMILING ….for when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you       ……………
HUGS from Aunt Bean

Papaya

Fermented Papaya, Papaya Chips

Papaya has enzymes that help the l-dopa work better and longer. Aunt Bean reports:

I still don’t understand why taking fermented papaya in my breakfast helps me function normally at night on my trip to the bathroom, but it does!! So, whatever it is doing….it’s great and I plan to continue making it. Night time trips were horrible…a person could get hurt!!

Aunt Bean offers a step by step demonstration of how she prepares papaya at her home in this video.

Why go to all the trouble? Papaya offers her sustained relief from her own Parkinson’s symptoms as you will discover from watching the video below.The voices you hear in the background are people who attended Aunt Bean’s Fava Bean Festival in June, 2012.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Pioneers of Recovery
http://www.pioneersofrecovery.com

[flashvideo filename=videos/papaya.flv image=videos/papaya.jpg /]

Fava Beans Sprout Balls

Uncategorized

I have a quick question on the instructions you posted for making sprout balls.

I’ve taken the 2 cups of fava beans and covered with filtered water for 24 hours. Now it says to “rinse & drain for 3 days”. Should water be added back with each rinse & drain cycle or should the beans set with no water while waiting for the next days rinse & drain?

Sorry to be a pain, but lets blame that on the PD !!  🙂

Thanks

 

Response:

I am so glad that a few people are trying to take charge of their lives and making an effort to reduce side effects from medications. When sprouting any seeds…. soak, then rinse beans until the water is clear (sometimes takes several rinses).  Then, drain beans completely. If you can’t get all the water off in the bowl you are using, gently pour beans into a colander after rinsing to drain so they are not standing in a puddle of old water for hours.  Then rinse again mid day & drain. Repeat again at night before going to bed.
In three days or before  you will start to see sprouting. It is so exciting for me …. even though I’ve done it over and over hundreds of times. After 3 full days of rinsing & draining they are ready to PEEL/ RINSE/ STEAM & eat or freeze or make the wonderful little Sprout  Balls.

Feel free to taste as you mix the ingredients and add whatever you enjoy. My girlfriend adds a lot more molasses. You might like date sugar or whatever…play with the taste.    We eat them frozen. Just pop in your mouth and let melt..yummy !

God bless!

Aunt Bean

 

 

Mucuna as a Natural Dopamine Supplement

fava bean tincture, mucuna beans

The mucuna I have been taking is not helping. Comments?

“I have grown fava and mucuna here at the farm. My bean of choice is fava personally. Mucuna is powerful and gives extra strength and energy when needed desperately. Fava is like a gentle support that works and you hardly know you’ve taken anything.. I’m just functional.

I usually take tincture upon rising and didn’t yet this morning. Holding my right hand over the mouse..I have a slight tremor (my right hand is not usually the one that is effected…PD is already on both sides, but as long as I take tincture when I feel my neck pain coming on or my left arm stop swinging…I have NO Symptoms. It’s great.

If the mucuna you tried didn’t work, may I suggest trying the mucuna from Swansons Health products in capsules. 800-437-4148. They are in Fargo, ND.

My friend takes 2 in AM/Lunch/supper She is taking tincture thru the day also….but has had PD awhile.

How long have you been diagnosed? If l-dopa doesn’t help, your symptoms may be from another cause.

Check out the book Natural Therapies for Parkinsons Disease by Dr. Laurie K Mischley. You may find what you are looking for there.

God Bless

Aunt Bean

Storms at the Farm

farm update

Boy did we have storms Friday nite.  Water came in torrents and we had a river flowing in front of the house and down thru the lower garden…carpeting in the upper garden paths washed down and rolled up and piled up. Where the yard dips off and the lower garden starts,
there was a little spot of white water.

If I could have gotten to the barn and got my kayak…could have rode all the way to the road. All roads were flooded. It was really something.  Lots of clean up and repair to do in garden, but GOD IS GOOD..

It didn’t take the house/barn or scare the poor little rabbits to death (would have me if I’d been a tiny little bunny in a metal cage /with a metal roof and lightning everywhere!!

By Saturday night, it was dry enough to pick beans again. It’s all good. 

God Bless

Aunt Bean