Christmas cookies for the mind

Christmas cookies

Christmas biscuits for the mind: The nerve biscuits of St. Hildegard

Advent time is baking time and the time for great Christmas recipes. In addition to cinnamon stars and vanilla crisps, you can stock up on the cold season „happy-making“ Create nerve biscuits that are prepared according to an old recipe of St. Hildegard von Bingen.

Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179) was clergyman, healer and visionary from Rheinhessen, whose writings are today summarized in the Wiesbadener Riesenkodex. Among other things, she wrote a medical-naturopathic work, whose findings and procedures are now used again in the natural healing practice. In keeping with her holistic approach, Hildegard also turned to emotional complaints she encountered with her nerves. To these nerve-strengthening and joyful remedies („Antimelancholika“) of Hildegard medicine include the nerve biscuits, also known as energy biscuits, about which Hildegard had to say the following:

„These cookies banish all the bitterness of your heart and calm your mind and open your heart and your five senses, making your mood cheerful and purifying your sensory organs and reducing all the harmful juices (noxi, mali, infirmi humores) in you and giving your blood a good juices composition , make you powerful, strong and glad.“ (W. Strehlow „The nutritional therapy of Hildegard von Bingen“; P. 412ff)

Effect and side effect of nerve biscuits
The nerve-strengthening effect is probably mainly due to the psychoactive nutmeg powder. In Hildegard medicine, nutmeg is considered a universal nerve agent, which is able to increase concentration, acuity and strength, cleanses the blood and generally detoxifies. Also in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine Muskat u.a. as one of the best tonal tonics used for calming the mind and promoting sleep in nervous disorders. The sweet almonds contained in the recipe are also considered to be an excellent food for the nerves due to their protein content, while cloves are said to have a stimulating, energizing effect.

Danger: Nutmeg may have hallucinogenic effects in large quantities (from 3-5 nuts), leading to poisoning, miscarriage and premature birth. Especially in pregnancy and in children is to pay attention to a low dosage.

The dose makes the poison
In small quantities, however, the consumption of the spice drug, which tastes very intense anyway, is harmless. Already Paracelsus drew attention to the importance of the correct dosage: „All thing is poison, only the dose makes´s, whether thing are not poison!“ (P. Pukownik 1997)

Taking into account the described effect in case of overdose and for the development of the desired effect, the consumption of 4-5 biscuits (children up to 3 biscuits) is recommended daily when prepared according to the following recipe (Strehlow 2005).

The recipe
Ingredients:
1.5 kg of Dinkelfein flour 45 g of cinnamon
375 g butter 45 g nutmeg
300 g cane sugar 10 g cloves
300 g of ground sweet almonds ½ TL salt
4 eggs of water or milk as needed

Preparation:
Spelled flour and spice powder are kneaded together with butter, sugar, almonds, eggs, salt and water into a dough and allowed to stand for about 30 minutes. Then the dough is rolled 2-3 mm thick and gouged out to cookie. Lay out a baking sheet with baking paper and bake the biscuits at 180 to 200 ° C for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool and store in a closable box. (09.12.2009, Dipl.Päd. J. Viñals Stein, non-medical practitioner)

Literature:
W. Strehlow: „The nutritional therapy of Hildegard von Bingen“, Munich 2005
W. Strehlow: „Hildegard medicine from A-Z“, Munich 2005
V. Lad: „The Aryuweda Plant Medicine“, Winpferd 2000
P. Pukovnik: „The Hildegard Health Garden“, Suedwest Verlag 1997