Check out these handy and healing herbs that will do wonders for your first aid kit: Calendula A calendula succus can be used to cleanse minor wounds and cuts. A succus is a low-alcohol tincture. Calendula salve or gel is typically sold in health food stores to help heal scrapes. Calendula can help treat blisters that have burst. Apply a couple drops of calendula tincture a couple times a day, covering the blister each time with some type of sterile dressing. Treat cuts with calendula by washing the area of skin that is cut with soap and water, and then applying a few drops of calendula tincture directly on the cut. Make sure not to swab off. Reapply the calendula tincture every couple of hours. Treat a scrape with calendula by cleaning the scrape first with soap and water. Then, apply some calendula salve on the scrape and cover it with a bandage. Calendula is good for treating burns. Apply calendula gel right on the burn at a minimum of three times a day for 2 or 3 days. Aloe When you purchase an aloe plant, the process for extracting the aloe is very simple. Cut off one of the leaves from the plant, break it open, and ...

Congress passed a law recently that requires officials to put nutritional standards in place for all foods that are sold in schools, including vending machines.  The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 looks like it will help boost the already growing $26.5 billion organic food industry.  Schools, office buildings, and fitness clubs will soon be outfitted with vending machines that are stocked with granola bars, organic yogurt, fresh fruit, and gluten-free snacks. These healthy snack vending machines will be replacing vending machines of the 1970’s that were chocked full of sugar, soda, hydrogenated oils, trans-fats and high-fructose corn syrup. There is a big demand for natural vending machines, as people are seeking out more and more chemical-free foods that don’t contain artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors. Healthy U Snacks is a company that supplies natural vending machines. They started distributing natural vending machines in Chicago in 2009. The Organic Trade Association says that 1/3 of consumers now buys organic products on a monthly basis. The new healthy and organic vending sector is comprised of mostly small, locally owned businesses. Industry players expect a high rate of growth for the natural vending sector in the coming years, similar to the growth that the ...

Fruits Fruits battle the germs that you are exposed to during the wintertime, giving you all the more reason to shore up on your fruit consumption and make sure you are eating the recommended fruits and veggies everyday. The vitamins in fruits help you maintain a high immune level, which helps you battle colds before they even begin. Fruits reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and numerous other serious diseases. Bananas are one of the top food sources of vitamin B6. Bananas aid in reducing depression, stress, fatigue, and insomnia. Reducing these ailments will help keep your immune system strong. Bananas have a lot of magnesium, which keeps bones strong, and they have a lot of potassium, which helps prevent high blood pressure and heart disease. Papayas are great fighters of colds because they have lots of vitamin C. Papayas have beta-carotene and vitamins C and E, which help reduce inflammation throughout the body. The reduction of inflammation lessens the effects of asthma. A single apple has the antioxidant effect that is equal to 1,500mg of vitamin C. Apples are full of protective flavonoids, which are thought to prevent cancer and heart disease. Cranberries are rich in antioxidants, and actually contain more than most ...

Ketchup is one of the most popular condiments. It’s made up of tomato concentrate, corn syrup, vinegar, salt, spice, herb extracts, and garlic powder. Some brands of ketchup include different ingredients like cloves, onion, cinnamon, allspice, and other vegetables. Heinz now offers organic ketchup on the market. A study that was conducted by the Agricultural Research Service in Albany, California discovered that organic ketchups contained more lycopenes than traditional brands. Lycopenes are believed to help prevent cancer. Another type of ketchup, Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Ketchup, is sweetened with the birch tree extract xylitol. One drawback of ketchup is that it has a high amount of sodium. One tablespoon of ketchup can contain up to 190 milligrams of sodium. Fortunately, there are low sodium options on the market from Hunt’s and other brands, and organic brands typically have less sodium. Ketchup is a versatile product. Check out some different way to use ketchup: Copper Shining You can use ketchup to shine the copper on your cooking pans, knickknacks or architectural detailing. Take some ketchup and massage it over the copper. The acid in the ketchup will dissolve the tarnish away. For difficult to get rid of spots, add a dash of table salt ...

Composting is a great way to create quality fertilizer while reducing landfill waste. Composting is cheap, easy, requires no experience and you don’t even need a yard in order to do it. Dryer Lint Save your lint from the dryer and instead use it as compost in your garden. Grass and Lawn Clippings One option is to leave grass clippings from the lawn mower in the lawn where they will be utilized by the soil once they decompose. Grass clippings can also be composted, but should be added in very thin layers or thoroughly mixed in with other compost ingredients because they can get slimy and matted down, which stops air from getting in the pile. Fresh grass clippings are high in nitrogen, which makes them a green compost ingredient. Hair Both people and animals shed lots of hair that can be used as compost. When you clean out your brush, use it as compost instead of throwing it in the trash. Nail Clippings Nail clippings are protein and thus great as compost. Hay The greener the hay, the more nitrogen it contains. Make sure that any hay you compost is well hydrated. Urine Urine may be trickier to use but does the job. Used Facial Tissue Not only are tissues compostable, but whatever ...