My kids have been drinking SoBe beverages for years, but I rarely did - until lately. Since I started working again, I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking SoBe Green Tea.

This comes after a year when I pretty much abstained from all caffeine containing products, and all herb teas. I drank mainly water - either spring water or distilled.

Being at work, I needed an occasional pick-me-up kind of drink, and I shy away from the soda machine and am not much of a fan of the iced tea, which we make with Lipton tea bags. The SoBe Green Tea is practically the only drink in the place that I really like.

I usually take a bottle of water with me to work, then I see the green tea, and put my water bottle in the fridge. The herbs in the tea are exactly what I need. It contains ginseng, guarana, ginko biloba, and echinacea.

Let’s take a look at what each of these herbs do:

Ginseng is known for stimulating brain activity and energizing the entire body.

Guarana grows in Brazil and Venezuela. The seeds are crushed and dried, then used to make a stimulating drink containing three times as much caffeine as coffee. Besides all the usual and well-known effects of caffeine, the herb reduces the appetite. It has been used for hangovers and for menstrual headaches.

Ginko Biloba promotes a healthy memory and mental functioning.

Echinacea is a blood purifier and aids digestion. It is also good for skin conditions and for chasing away the common cold.

Even the green tea itself is beneficial for its disease preventing antioxidants.

I believe this drink is just about perfect for staying awake, alert, and useful at work. Lately I’ve noticed my supervisor is also drinking it, and getting as much from it as I am.

One problem: our supply is running low and there are no more deliveries scheduled in the near future!

[Note: As always, I am not being paid for this recommendation. I don't do pay-per-post postings.]

Clary Sage is the common name for salvia sclarea. I’ve used it to relieve depression and stress.

It can be used as a scent in soap or put in bath water. Other ways to use it would be to put a droplet of the oil on the edge of a pillowcase before resting, or on a small strip of cloth to fasten to the front of your fan during the summertime.

Clary Sage essential oil is created by steam distillation of the leaves and flowering tops.

Other possible uses are for high blood pressure, muscular aches and pains, skin inflammations including acne, dandruff and hair loss, labor pains, cramps, and asthma.

Here’s a recipe for herbal sunburn relief:

Simmer a handful of comfrey root with a handful of crushed marshmallow root in 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of white wine - for twenty minutes. Strain, and apply to burns or sunburns when cool.

Keep an eye on it and keep the heat very low.

I got this recipe from Jeanne Rose’s original herbal, Herbs and Things. I bought my copy in 1972 right after it was published, at a health food store in San Francisco’s Sunset District. A few months later I registered in a class about herbs at Heliotrope University in San Francisco, and Jeanne Rose was the teacher! The classes took place in her kitchen, so I got to see her room full of herbs and her herb garden, and drank herb tea with her. I was twenty at the time, and pregnant with my first child, Joshua, who is now a musician living in San Francisco.

I’m amazed I have a first edition of this book, and now the 19th edition is being sold!

Anyhow, I recommend Jeanne Rose’s book and will probably share recipes and information from it again in the future, though I also use other herbals and the internet for reference material these days.

For Mother’s Day this year, my oldest daughter sent me a dream catcher and a bar of Madagascar Vanilla Cherokee Soap from Cherokee County, Georgia. I hung the dream catcher up above my bed and set the soap aside. It sat here on my computer table for a few weeks, and then when I ran out of Dr. Bonner’s soap, which I can buy locally, I asked Bob to bring me some soap from my desk, and he brought this bar of Cherokee Soap into the bathroom for me.

I’m rather picky about soaps because I like soaps made without animal ingredients. I was delighted to see that this soap is made with vegetable ingredients such as olive oil, soy oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and castor oil. It also contains cocoa butter and shea butter, and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans.

The scent is heavenly and the soap lathers just like the Dr. Bonner soaps do. It’s a great gift and I’m very likely to buy more soap through the online store at Cherokee Soap. The only complaint I have is that there’s no affiliate program so I can’t make any money off this recommendation. But take a look at the site; if you love elegant soaps, you’ll be impressed.

Organic Cinnamon

I don’t know if it works, yet… but I found this cinnamon and honey idea on a news site from India along with a list of other healthy cinnamon and honey ideas. It is from Ayurvedic and Yunani medicine.

The article says that to lose weight, we should make a tea of honey and cinnamon. The author suggested that we boil honey and cinnamon in the water, but I am more inclined to add them to boiled water rather than boil them. Then drink one cup in the morning, about half an hour before breakfast on an empty stomach… and drink one more cup of this tea at night. I’ve tried it a few times and the tea tastes great. I would drink it more often!

Anyhow, the article goes on to claim that if consumed regularly this honey and cinnamon tea will reduce weight by not allowing fat to accumulate in the body even if a person eats a high calorie diet. I hope this is true, and will try it for the next month. I’ll let you know if I lose any weight this way.

I’ll be posting more about honey and cinnamon cures in the future. I like easy and quick home remedies that can be found in my country kitchen pantry.