Poco Mountain Girl

Some of you were wondering about the NORA tea I mentioned in my last post. I thought I would write a quick post explaining a little more about it.

NORA=Nettles, Oat straw, Red raspberry, Alfalfa. I’ve been making one variation or another of this for a while, but my midwife was the one who actually gave me the NORA recipe a couple of months ago. I’ve been drinking it ever since, and I really think it helps me feel better.

Here’s a little run-down on the benefits of this mixture, straight from my midwife’s manual.

NORA Tea

Nettles Leaf: Traditionally used by Native Americans during pregnancy, nettles helps reduce water retention and is high in Vitamin K, which helps control and prevent hemorrhage. It is one of the best sources of digestible plant iron and is rich in calcium, Vitamin A, and chlorophyll. In addition, nettles supports the kidneys, which is vital in pregnancy.

Oat Straw: High in calcium.

Red Raspberry Leaf: High in bioflavenoids, Vitamins B, C, and E, potassium, iron, and phosphorus. Tones and relaxes the pelvic and uterine muscles. Useful in lowering blood sugar levels. Aids in postpartum blood loss.

Alfalfa Leaf: Alfalfa is rich in calcium, trace minerals, and Vitamins E & K and carotene.

So those are the basic benefits, which I think are pretty impressive.

I buy my herbs for a song at Vitamin Cottage, and they last me a long time. I’ve heard you can also buy them at www.mountainroseherbs.com.

Here’s how I make my NORA tea:

I mix together 1 cup of red raspberry leaf and 1/3 cup each of nettles, oat straw, and alfalfa. (Actually I double or triple the recipe, but keep those proportions.)

I put them in a jar on my shelf, and when it’s time to make tea, I scoop out 1/2 cup of the mixture, put it in a quart jar, fill with boiling water, and let it steep 4 hours.

This is beside the point, but I also throw in a peppermint teabag, which makes mine NORAP, or maybe NORPA. I find it really helps the taste…the alfalfa and oat straw can get a little horsey if you don’t watch out.

After 4 hours (or longer–I’ve been know to forget about it and let it sit overnight) I pour it through a sieve into a gallon jar and add a glob of raw honey, stir it in, and fill the gallon jar with cold water. I keep it in the fridge.

I always have a big mug of it first thing in the morning, nicely warmed and topped with a squeeze of lemon. In my opinion, it’s the perfect start to a perfect day (after reading my Bible and oil swishing, of course. I’m not going into detail with the oil swishing…just Google it.)

So that’s NORA tea in a nutshell. And by the way, you don’t have to be pregnant to drink it–but if you are pregnant, your body and your baby will thank you.

(At this point, I bow and the curtain closes.)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Happy Healthy Hippie Food, Making Stuff, new baby, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.