Dandelions for breakfast!

You read that right!  We had Dandelions for Breakfast!  Really, it was more like brunch... as we had to wait for the dandelions to open their faces to the sun before picking them!

Note:  Dandelions are a natural diuretic, and encourage the body

to release excess water. EXCESSIVE consumption of dandelions

may have a laxative effect! Everything in moderation please!

Did you know that the entire dandelion plant is edible? Not only that, it's actually rather tasty. Dandelions are best eaten in the spring, when plants are tender. The leaves are excellent added to a salad of fresh greens, the roots can be made into tea and of course, the flowers are edible too!

I have to thank my junior high science teacher for introducing me to fried dandelions. He spent the whole day one spring taking each of his classes out to pick dandelion flower heads and batter dipping them, frying and eating! This is how I first learned of the diuretic effect of dandelions, as my poor teacher forgot and ate dandelions every class period and ended up spending a lot of time in the bathroom that evening! This is why we made a small batch ourselves today!

How to make Fried Dandelions:
Make up a batch of your favorite batter.  We used Pakura batter, as it is usually made with lentil or chick pea flour, making it safe for Kevin's allergies.

I halved the batter recipe since I wasn't planning to cook up much, and we still had a lot of batter left over. The nice thing about pakura batter is that you can pretty much batter up anything and fry it. That's what they do in India! So don't throw away leftover batter, just fry up your fresh veggies too.

Set up your oil to heat while you go pick the flowers.

Picking the flowers was Kevin's job. Because that's ALL he's done since the dandelions showed up, is bring me fistfuls of dandelion bouquets every day! Several times a day!  :)

Kevin then suggested we put chives in the batter. What an excellent idea! Our chives grow like crazy, so we have a ton!

Having a very special helper on hand to do the important jobs is very important!

Pluck the stems from the dandelion flowers, then dip them in the batter. Pakura batter is thicker than most batters so I had to kind of work the batter into the flower to get it to stay on the flower. That's okay though, as I love the smell of the pakura spices on my fingers! Put the dipped flowers into the pan to fry!

Fry till brown on all sides. Remove from pan to drain on a plate with a towel.

Garnish with a fresh Dandelion and serve! It was not enough for Kevin that we were eating flowers... we had to have a picnic on our porch too!

Our neighbors (some of whom have PRISTINE lawns) may not like the fact I let our yard have "weeds". But I don't think of them as weeds. I think of everything in my yard as having a purpose... it's either edible or compost-able or just pretty to me even if it is a "weed" to someone else.

But if you don't want dandelions in your yard, this is one good way to be green and get rid of them! Just pull them up out of your yard and USE the whole plant, flower to root! DON'T SPRAY!

Are you interested in other uses for dandelion (I fondly remember dandelion wine when my mom took me to the Amana Colonies). Check out Herbal Roots 'zine, an e-zine devoted to teaching (kids and adults) the medicinal (and more) uses of common plants. The 'zine is great! it's got activites, puzzles and recipes and much more!  Here is a link to buy the back issue devoted to Dandelions.

PS: Kevin did like the fried dandelions however the pakura spices were a little overwhelming for him, so next time I use the batter I need to add more flour or less spices! :)

Happy flower eating!

Our Singulair experience

People who know me well know that I'm not a drug-taker. Modern medicine is great, and some drugs are life-savers and we need them. Most drugs these days however, are just band-aids and do not address the real problems that cause poor health. Sometimes though I've chosen to take a drug to improve my quality of life. I've taken Singulair for instance, for bronchoconstriction caused by asthma.  I had good results from it, and minimal, if any, side effects. It prevented coughing fits that would be so bad I would end up whooping for air or worse, puking.

So when Kevin turned 3, that winter was harsh for him. His allergies make him more susceptible to colds and sinus infections, and that year he suffered from cold after cold, and I shared each one with him. Finally, after the 5th or 6th round debilitating colds (in 3 months), I spoke to his pediatrician about it, and asked what we could do. She recommended Singulair. She said she'd had excellent results with few side effects. Because I'd taken it myself, and had looked at info about it before, and I trust Kevin's doctor, I agreed that we should try Singulair with Kevin. (I also went back on Singulair at that time)

He showed quick improvement after a few weeks. Allergy symptoms were reduced a LOT. While he was on Singulair he had maybe, 1 or 2 colds in a year. The severity of the cold was reduced significantly as well, so that we did not have to use a nebulizer/albuterol so he could breath better. I sang the praises of Singulair, and recommended it to a few mama friends who had kids with similar issues.

Here is where I have to say I cannot in good conscience recommend it any longer. Not that I'm going to go ballistic about it! :)  I'm here to offer a warning, a reminder to other parents to do your research, to know what to watch for.

Kevin had been taking Singulair about 7 or 8 months when I came across a reference to Singulair side effects in young children at Mercola.com. (Disclaimer: Dr. Mercola is considered by some to be over-the-top in some of his ideas, but I credit his dietary recommendations for being the primary reason I was able to get pregnant and have Kevin. I do, however, take Mercola's recommendations with the idea that I need to verify his claims with other references, which is what we should do for all of our medical research) Mercola's website references an article that claimed Singulair caused a side effect of aggression in children.

This statement struck me, because I had seen an increase in Kevin's temper. It would flash hot and burn longer than it had in the past. I did a little research. Here and here are a few sites to get you started, always do your own research if you are concerned! Anyway, I was now more informed.... but were Kevin's tempers a result of Singulair use or just the usual Terrible 3's? And winter was approaching, the worst season for him. Should I take him off the drug or wait and see if the tempers got better or worse?

Being a parent sucks when you have to make decisions that effect your child... what is best for them.  Peer pressure from other mamas on either side of issues are the worst source of stress and guilt for me. I hate having to worry about stuff like this! But in the end, we can only do our best to make decisions, right?

So, I left him on the Singulair for the winter. I thought, a few more months and maybe I'd know more. But I was pretty certain the aggression was not Kevin, but the Singulair. I planned to take him off after February, when the winter cold season was mostly over. By the end of January the decision was taken out of my hands! (providence perhaps?)  When I went to refill his prescription, I found out that our insurance no longer covered Singulair and because it does not yet have a generic, the price was well out of our affordability. So we finished out the rest of his bottle and he no longer takes it.

This is where it got creepy for me. By January, he was having beyond thunderdome moments of rage if I denied him something. Uncontrollable anger, he would lash out at whatever was nearest, kicking or throwing. I tried the recommendations for Attachment Parenting discipline, I tried other new discipline recommendations, I even fell back on the non-productive methods like harsh punishments like throwing out the toys he threw or kicked. Nothing worked. He seemed completely unable to manage his anger or aggression. And this was the age where I am supposed to teach him about emotions and how to own them and cope with them. But I could barely cope with them myself, some days. Few others saw these episodes... on bad days we would just stay home. And you know, kids always behave the worst with the ones that are closest to them.

So, now two full months have gone by, and what do I have to say about Kevin's temper now that he is Singulair-free?

I have my angel back.

Oh, he's still a kid and has his naughty moments, still gets mad at me. But all those parenting methods work again. I can talk him through anger, I can redirect him, I can distract him from the temptation to be naughty.

Gone are the intense rage, throwing, kicking, hitting, breaking. It's like night and day to my eyes. I can hardly believe my eyes at the difference in behavior!  Unfortunately, those months taught us all some bad habits we need to unlearn. But now I have the strength and resolve to do what needs done, since I'm not spending all my energy coping with mini-Mr. Hyde!

Could I have known this would happen to us? No. I'm sure Drugs.com had the same reports of increased aggression as a side effect before I started Kevin on the Singulair, but even if I had read about the side effect, I probably would have still put him on it. We read the side effects listings but usually don't think it will happen, right? Side effects can be rare, right?  Not always.

The moral here is to PAY ATTENTION. KNOW your kid. I KNEW something wasn't right with Kevin, so when providence put the right info in front of my eyes, I knew to start really paying attention. Do your research so the knowledge is in the back of your mind and when you see something out of whack, you know where to look for the culprit.

And then, forgive yourself.

That's the hardest part for me right now. I'm wracked with guilt again. I know in my head I made what I thought would be the best decision with the knowledge I had at the time. But after the fact I am always miserable with hindsight. I'll get over it of course. And this blog post is part of my therapy... get my experience out there so other mamas might know what to look for, and do their own research.

Be safe friends.

"I wouldn't waste my time on guilt."  ~God  (Grass by Sherri Tepper)