Eating local: What to ask your farmer?

I was surprised to find out how many local food options there are here. I live in a small city 86,000 people and there are 3 local farmers markets starting up in May. A farm that does organic beef and chicken (and treat their animals kindly). Right beside the beef farm is a produce farm and I must add its HUGE! There is a Cheeseworks farm close too!

The point of me telling you how many local foods/farms are around my little city is if you google 'local produce' 'farms' or a synonomous term, you too might be just as surprised as I was! 

That is just what I found doing a quick search. 

So of course now that our home is almost 100% organic foods we headed out on a search for farms that we could purchase from almost year round. Our family spent 2 days going to farms and learning how the farmers care for their animals, produce and workers. We also pet and met a whole lot of animals! All the farmers seemed so open and proud of what they were doing: Building a community of healthy natural living!

We are changing to local foods because of...

Safety: I wonder how safe or natural it is to use pesticides on foods. They spray produce during each stage of growth and in turn absorbing a toxic chemical that kills every other thing on that farm except the one growing produce. Pesticides are chemically engineered to kill everything but that one plant. There is no way that could be good for me or my family's health so we have gone organic and are purchasing many foods locally.

Environmental Impact: Buying local increases local farming which has decreased significantly within the last 20 years thanks to the large corporations and manipulation. Large companies that are Genetically Modifying foods seed spread (like normal plants do) and contaminates other natural farmers crops. Once they are found with these crops that now have the genes from the GM crops they are sewed and put out of business. The next part of environmental impact is that these foods are being picked before they are actually ripe (about 1-2 weeks) and chemicals are put on them to help them travel great distances. Pollution is also another thing to consider as many foods are put through a large corporation then travel by plane from one truck to another truck to your grocery store.

We spent about an hour talking to each farmer. We wanted to know at the very least if they were:

• local
• organic
• humanely raised
• sustainably raised
• grassfed
• pastured and/or free range
• “free” of X
• sprayed
• fertilized

Here are some questions my future hubby and I came up with to ask them.

• What do the animals eat?

Organic food, grass, including hay and alfalfa in winter (for cows), bugs, grass, outside things, as well as either local or organic grain (for chickens). Does the feed include corn and soy? If yes, are they genetically modified?

• Where do the animals live?

Regularly outside or on pasture

• Do you use any medication, antibiotics or hormones?

You do not want any of these in your foods

• How do you fertilize?

Organically, composted cow manure, sustainably, fish oil, anything that sounds like it started with the earth or an animal. It's ok if a farmer says they are not certified organic if they have full organic practices as the product will be significantly cheaper.

• How do you manage pests and disease?

“Grown inside” or chemical free” “crop rotation” or “we don’t spray” are probably some of the best answers, but “integrated pest management,” “we spray as seldomly as possible,” “zero day to harvest rated sprays,” are also on the right track.

If you want to get to know your farmer then ask these questions:

How was the growing season last year/this year?
How did you get into farming?
What crops are coming up next, seasonally? Are they growing on schedule? Any complications?
How do I store X unfamiliar food that I’m purchasing from you?
What’s your favorite way to prepare X?

Now go and Google farms in your area. You might be surprised how close some are to you! 

Happy natural healthy living! 

How to get rid of the stickiness under stickers or labels

You know that stickiness that lays behind stickers/labels that you cannot get off without scrubbing your heart out and even then its still sticky?!?!

This is my little cookies bunk bed frame that we got for free! But it came with half ripped off boys stickers...

Of course with the rest of this blog and my life I am trying to stay away from chemicals so "goo-gone" is out of the question. Plus I can save a couple dollars by NOT buying more stuff!

Baking soda to the rescue!!! Well that and coconut oil. Or any oil for that matter...
Baking soda has natural abrasives that removes the stick so the oil can loosen everything up!

Thats it! Equal parts coconut oil and baking soda, mix together and rub on sticky area. I let it sit for about 5 min then wiped it off!

This works for all things sticky, glass jars that you want to reuse or peeling stickers on your vacuum!

Happy de-stickafying!!!

Vitamix intro into our Whole Foods life

We have just discovered the Vitamix. Well not just. We picked it up the end of December... If you haven't heard of it before you can go checkout there site. It is everything they promise and MORE!

Whats in here? Banana, Kale, strawberries, blueberries, apples, coconut oil, an orange and pineapple!

We purchased this about a month ago with healthy living in mind. Hoping it would help increase our green food intake and promote our whole food beliefs. We were right!

I use it every day! Most days twice! I make a smoothy in the morning before work and after work if I work into the evenings instead of eating a big meal before bed. Or if I feel like a snack in the middle of the day I will make one then too!

Before the Vitamix it was impossible to get my future hubby to eat the full amount of servings of fruit and veggies every day. Now, a piece of cake! Well... not cake, veggies! HA-HA-HA

Don't get me wrong, I love eating fruits and veggies not blended. Its very important for your teeth and gums to eat crunchy foods to strengthen the ligament around the teeth and also to help self cleanse your teeth. (Wow, just my little burst of dental info for you) But if you aren't getting enough just eating veggies and fruit that way then this is a great boost up! I also personally believe we should be eating more then what is recommended based on Canada's food guide or the US food guide. Go check out what the healthiest people are based on diet!

This one has banana, orange, strawberries, apples, carrots, kale, blueberries, pineapple and coconut oil.

This thing (Vitamix) is unbelievable! I put in apples cut in half (seeds and stem), grapes (including the vine), entire oranges and it blends it up so fine you cannot feel a single seed, texture or anything! I make my own homemade almond flour, coconut flour, peanut butter, and ice cream now!

The other morning our little cookie asked for orange juice with breakfast so I put in a whole orange, blended it for no longer then 1 min, added water, blended again for another min and voila homemade orange juice! It does not get fresher then that! Our little girl loves strawberry banana smoothies (with kale and coconut oil). Best way to sneak in known 'super foods'.

Now we have upgrated to 'green smoothies'!! Even little one likes the green smoothies now. Don't start with green smoothies right away, start your tastebuds out with fruit and a few veggies  :)

This is not only keeping more chemicals out of our foods (by not buying things in containers or pre-made) it is also much cheaper and fun/good to know for children understanding what they are eating!

Happy healthy Vitamixing!

How to Naturally Unclog Drains

On a bottle of Draino: Only use in a well ventilated area. Meaning do not breath this stuff in as its toxic to your health. Hmm... This is not something I want to subject me or my family to. Nope, no way!

I've been growing my hair for the last 2 years and have noticed that our bathtub drains are clogging up.

It must be a mixture of shampoo, bodywash and hair. (Can't wait to start no-poo shampoo... for a later post). I used to only have to do this once a year and now its every 4 months... Two bathroom sinks and a bathtub... I used to buy Draino in the past but I couldn't bring myself to buy it until I tried a natural alternative.

And would you believe it? It's our very favourite two products in our home here! Baking soda and Vinegar! Cheap, but extremely effective, natural and non-toxic to the environment. 

How to Unclog Drains:

1. First grab a funnel or if you don't have one make one out of paper. Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down the drain. Make sure it is pushed down as far as it can go.

2. Pour 1/4 cup white vinegar down the drain and cover quickly with a plug. It fuzzes up pretty fast. 

I left it for an hour came back to it and all the hair was lifted up so I could easily grab it out. I repeated the steps and have a perfectly draining bathtub and sinks! You can use this for your kitchen sink too! I only had to do it once for my kitchen sink and do not do it as regularly.

Happy Natural, Thrifty, Healthy living friends!

Cloth Napkins vs Paper Towels

Cloth napkins vs paper towel... That is the real question.

Do you know how many paper towels are used in your house every month? Me neither... Until I counted... I buy my paper towel at Costco I think packages of 12. We used that package in 8 months... 

Whats all the hullaballoo?

Consider this, you'll probably use thousands and thousands of rolls, which is equivalent to an entire forest. Imagine a local forest that you've walked through being completely cut down just for paper towels! It isn't just trees that are being consumed, its the entire process of making them including chemicals that go into it. To increase absorbency, they've been subjected to dioxins and other ingredients (the process isn't disclosed on the roll of paper towels). They are also bleached to give them their white colour. The dangers of chlorine bleach have been well documented. Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to the effects of chlorine bleach. Finally, they can take up to a year to decompose but then again remember the chemicals that go into the process of making them? It is leaking into the water system and causing harmful effects.

For me and my family this was a no brainer and a simple fix! 

I went out and purchased some organic terry cloth and flannel for reusable cloth napkins. I purchased it with my Fabricland membership on the back isle that only cost $3 per meter and matching thread of course! 

I cut out 10" x 12" rectangles. I probably cut 30 of each. Then sewed right sides together close to the edges.

Make sure you leave a 2 inch opening to flip the fabric. 

 After flipping the fabric, tuck the opening in and iron flat.

Then top stitch along the edge. This makes a BIG difference! (I made 2 different colours so don't be confused...)

I wrapped them around a paper towel holder for the meantime but I think I would like to add snaps so they can be laid more evenly.

The man only started using them once I tucked the paper towel away. We have had them for 2 months now and we all love them! They feel so soft on our faces and are very durable. We use them for simple kitchen wipe ups and meal times. We have a whole other section of rags for cleaning the home instead of using paper towels. Our waste has gone down substantially just from not using paper towels and I must say I haven't noticed an increase in the laundry as they are quite thin.

Overall a great investment! Its Thrifty, natural, homemade, and a great present wrapped in a cloth bow!

Happy sewing and living a more environmentally conscious life!

DIY Natural Pet Stain Remover

We have a little pup. When we leave him for too long at home or if he is just extra anxious he goes to the bathroom on our carpet. First of all I cannot wait to have hardwood instead of carpet. This will solve most of our home pet problems when this gets changed over... Until then, we have carpet and a pet to clean up after!

This last one was a poop. It wasn't hard either. TMI? Sorry...

I got most of it off with a cloth... but the brown smelly colour was still there.

I know baking soda rids pups smells. I use it weekly before I vacuum the carpet. So I figured I would sprinkle some of that on. Then I remembered a grass stain that our little cookie had on her shirt. I took it off with baking soda and vinegar... just let it sit there for an hour.

I tried this on the carpet. Let it sit for 2 hours (for extra mess removal hoping with my fingers crossed) and wiped the area up. Don't let the mixture sit for longer then that as it will bleach the carpet. The smell and brown stain was gone! Phew! I can officially stop buying pet stain removers that are so costly and cannot be good to breath in due to the extra smells they add.

Pet Stain and Smell Remover:
Baking soda
Vinegar

Happy natural thrifty living!

Oil Cleansing Method

I should probably start off with I get breakouts... ALL THE TIME! I also have rosacea... My T-zone gets the worst of it... but really it happens all over my face... I used to buy any cleanser that promised to rid my face of blemishes or rosacea. Really, I tried them all. 

Have you seen the strange chemicals that are in facial cleansers? I don't even know where to begin with how many of them are toxic to your body and to the environment. Pick up your bottle and just do  a simple google search. That should be enough... 

Second thing about facial cleansers is that they can increase in price just because its for your face... Why? To make more money... 

So off I went on a search for a cheaper alternative that contains more natural properties.

Halfway through my last year of university I ran out of my facewash and decided it was time to go natural and cheap (student living and all). 

To my surprise I found Oil Cleansing Method.

Pardon, you say? Doesn't Oil + Face = Breakout!!!! Wrong!

No, this isn't true. Your face produces more oil then what is required due to drying effects. Your hair pores get clogged via dust/debris and other junk you get from daily living (or products your using in your hair/face cream) and this is what causes blemishes. (There are many other reasons for clogged pores, we are just talking about oil.)

I used the oil cleansing method for 6 months, wrote down what it was like week after week. I found out everyones skin is very different and you have to test out different ratios of the 2 oils you use that best suits your skin. 

Oil Cleansing Method:

This is a basic guide for your skin:

• Oily Skin: Try a blend of 30% Castor Oil to 70% Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
• Balanced Skin: Try a blend of 20% Castor Oil to 80% Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
• Dry Skin: Try a blend of 10% Castor Oil to 90% Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I suggest using a glass bottle with a lid. You can find them at Walmart/Dollar stores. Make sure you clean your bottle before re-filling it for the next batch.

Pour a small amount on your fingers and rub gently in a circular motion all over your face for a minute or so. Ensure the oil is completely rubbed in. Next take a facecloth and put it under a tap of running hot water (not too hot it scalds you, just enough that you can stand it). Place the facecloth on your face for a few minutes until it cools. It is suggested that you do this a few times. Gently rub the excess oil off your face. Ta da! Done. Do this every night before bed.

Here are my results:

Week 1: Awful! Incredibly greasy face. Pimples and rosacea present.

Week 3: Face is feeling refreshed and grease level has decreased significantly

Week 4: Blemishes are clearing up and staying away

Week 6: Rosacea is gone! Still blemish free and my blackheads on my nose even look like they have decreased!

Week7-6 Month: Face feels great! Only get blemishes the odd time. Rosacea is completely gone. I stopped using coverup on my face after week 7!

Now I have stopped using these 2 oils combined on my face. Not because it stopped working but because I am that lazy to go buy Castor oil and it takes some time to sit with a facecloth on your face... Did I mention I am slightly impatient? I only go when I am out... Its always sold out at the Walmart close to me and a little more expensive at the grocery stores that I shop at... So I stopped using it.

I have since switched to Coconut oil as mentioned in a previous post. I find I can rub it in every morning and rub a little in just before I hop out of the shower (after rinsing my face with water). Only once a week I find I need to use a hot facecloth to open my pores. This seems to be good for me during our cold winter.

Happy Natural Living!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

We go through laundry detergent like its going out of style.
We are out again, today, and I couldn't bring myself to buy a bottle of overly smelly detergent that costs $12 every time...
We have tried quite a few different types. At first it was the ones on sale. Then I learnt about all the toxic crap that is in the regular brands. So we tried a couple more natural ones. But they are even more expensive and some are not telling the complete truth about the bad chemicals. Just because it says natural does not mean it is!

Sooo off to Google I searched and searched. I remember bookmarking natural DIY laundry detergents a couple months ago waiting for the day that ours ran out. Hmm... Most of the detergents have Borax in them... That doesn't sound very healthy does it?? Natural of less evils? Maybe...

Grist Explains it here.

Anywhoooo I decided to go Borax free! Here is the recipe.

DIY HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT
3 cups Baking Soda        $3.25 (for a GIANT container!)
3 cups Washing Soda     $6.59 (I used 1/8 of it)
1.5 bars Dr. Bonner's Castile Soap (peppermint scent) $2.67 each

Off to the store I went for my real natural products.

I walked down the laundry detergent isle today looking for washing soda and Castile soap and had to breath shallowly... There are sooo many smells that are supposed to be "fresh" in the laundry detergent section. There are soo many harmful chemicals in the fabric softeners that get used every day not to mention its toxic to our environment. Don't use them!

I found both of them at London Drugs and always have a giant container of baking soda at home for all my cleaning and baking needs :-)

After mixing up a batch I gotta say I was dieing to try it out! Its in a sealable container that has a 1/8 cup scoop sitting in it just waiting to be used. I put smelly cloths that I cleaned up my pups pee with... I know... Gross! Grass stained and mudded up jeans and some other randoms. I washed on cold as normal (energy saving of course), put in 1/8 cup vinegar into the fabric softener section (as normal) and let my HE machine do its thing! I opened the door to clean smelling clothes. No abnormal smell of perfume, just clean smelling clothing! Oooohhhhh Happy Days!

Plus with this amount of detergent it should last our family of three 10 months!

Did you read these things?!?!
Its Cheap!
Its Healthy!
Its Natural!
Its Environmentally friendly!
It's MUCH Easier then you think to make!


Happy Natural DIY Living!

How to get rid of Dog Smell!

Yes! I have kicked the pup smell in the butt! Its Thrifty, Natural, and DIY!

We have a fully carpeted home... (I cannot wait until its all hardwood or at least snap together laminate!) Our pup started shedding and my sister has a pup too that comes over and tends to shed too... That is a whole lot of dog hair that gets vacuumed every couple days. With dog hair comes a certain smell... I love my little pup with my everything but that blasted smell I could absolutely live without!

Money does not allow me to rip out the carpet just yet so I had to think of another alternative, a natural alternative, of course!

So I went into my cupboards and used some information that I have learned over the last couple months. Baking soda is the best invention ever! Oooo and lemon! Both great things!!!!

This is all you need! Baking Soda, Shaker container, and Lemon! (you can use any scent I just prefer real lemon)

I filled the container with baking soda squeezed about half a lemon into it. Shook the heck out of the container to ensure it was completely mixed. Sprinkle the mixture all over the carpet. Let it sit for about 15 min (don't worry your little pup can sniff and lick as much as he wants... it wont hurt him) Then vacuum it up! I do this once a week while the pups are in shedding season. Sometimes more often depending if there are little ones crawling on the carpet.

SMELL BE GONE! Huzzah!

How to clean an oven naturally... after a much needed clean!

Thats right, its time to clean the oven. Its getting cold out and no one wants to go outside in the rain. Why not clean your oven? BEFORE it starts on fire... Thats right, I said fire...

My girly friend came over the other night with pizza. It was this giant pizza, with tomatoes spinach and lots of cheese! (I know, not part of my healthy choices)... anyways... I heated up the oven and we started our much needed girly chat at the table in the kitchen.

I looked over at the oven and smoke was coming out of the elements. My thought, "this cannot be good." Seconds later smoke was billowing out of the sides of the door of the oven... "Ok, definitely NOT good!" I opened the oven to see how bad the damage was and flames flew out at me! (I am skipping the ridiculous conversation my friend and I had or the amount of time we let the fire continue) I quickly closed the oven door, grabbed my giant container of baking soda (and I mean GIANT) and emptied it into the oven covering the flames. Surprisingly, it wasn't enough to put the fire out so I grabbed my extra large container of flour, and started scooping handfuls of it throwing it in the oven... Blast! What a MESS!!! Yes, we do have a fire extinguisher... but I was told it makes a real mess... I don't think it can be messier then this...

Baking soda and flour was EVERYWHERE!

The worst part, We didn't even get to put our pizza in the oven to cook... and my goodness were we both sooooooo hungry!!!

 Until I realized I have a mini oven. We sliced up the pizza and put a couple slices in there at a time... The first round. Burnt. Black on the bottom...

 Anyways... back to my oven. I told you this whole using the oven and cooking was new to me and now I realize how dirty it gets when you use it so often. The oven fire was caused from my first homemade turkey! I left it for 3 days dreading the day I will clean it up. Not only because it was a HUGE mess but I was told and researched how bad using an oven cleaner was for your health... Did you know they suggest a mask and opening all windows and doors and the use of a fan while using oven cleaner? Yikes. Oven cleaner is NOT good stuff... Good to know. It is also soooo expensive. At my grocery store it cost $20... much too much for a part-time worker! Especially when I can do the same job using non-toxic chemicals for free! Yay to being Thrifty!

So I looked up what our people of the past used to clean the ovens. Good ol' arm and hammer baking soda, white vinegar and lemon! Best inventions ever! I obviously had to pick some more up as I used my other stuff in the fire...
I first took a rag and wiped up the stuff that created the fire. Turkey grease from Thanksgiving!
Then I dusted the baking soda all over the oven.
Next I grabbed an old spray bottle and poured vinegar in it. I sprayed the vinegar all over the baking soda and let it fuzz and sit for 2 hours. This loosened up the grime I couldn't remove with the rag. 2 hours later I grabbed my scrubby that has no metals and scrubbed the heck outta the oven. It really wasn't that much work! My trusty natural cleaners did most of the work!

 I took a pic of my oven door half cleaned. I just wanted to show you how it just came off with a little elbow grease. Look how dirty this oven is...

I tackled this next... 

Yay a  clean oven door! By the way, did you know your oven door comes off of most models? I didn't until I accidentally almost pulled it off... Good to know.

 This is my cleanish oven! I know there is still grime on it but it looks worse in the picture then in real life. Promise!

And from  now on I am using this tinfoil liner I bought from the dollar store (but I am sure you could lay tinfoil down...

I put the door back on, cut the lemon in half covered them in water and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 min. The leftover grease comes off with a rag after the oven cools enough for you to wipe.
And your home is left with that scrump citrus smell!

Cinnamon? Good! Candle? Good!

I LOVE summer with all my heart, but I LOVE fall for all the colours! There are soo many holidays in fall that I love too. Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas (well this one doesn't really count as its in winter... but we don't get much snow here so winter is included in fall). My most favourite part is getting all the family together over at our house and preparing a giant turkey and ham and all the fixings.

Anyways, back to Cinnamon and Candles.

When I think of cinnamon I think of baking, egg nog, blankets snuggled on the couch and finally I think of FALL. So here is my fall gift to you!

It's cinnamon sticks tied to a candle! Yeah thats right, its that easy to create a scrump smell in your home. Now why would I go out an buy a cinnamon smelling candle you ask? Duh, this is soooo much prettier! This is my prototype as I only had a giant candle on hand. I grabbed some string I had around the house and just tied it all together.

This little glorious thing smells soooo great! It all the holidays, season, and food wrapped into one candle.

Make one for your home or wrap it up and gift one to a friend!

What you need:
Candle of almost any size
Cinnamon sticks from the baking section
String that looks pretty (you can also use an elastic band

I found when I raised the cinnamon sticks higher they let off a more profound cinnamon smell. Three days later and the candle still smells just as good as the first day.

MMmm, careful though this will make you in a better mood as cinnamon is one of the scents that is proven to be more calming.

I think I am going to make some ginger snap cookies!
What is your favourite thing about fall?

Happy Crafting!

Does your clothing Smell?

Lately my clothes have been stinking up my house. No not because I am smelly!!!! Common. My washing machine is making everything stink and it is progressively getting worse... The stink is kinda damp moldish smell... The bottom line is that my clothes stink.

I thought this new fangled front loading washer was going to save hydro, water, and cleaning products and clean itself?! Apparently not...

So I grabbed my washer manual out of my over stuffed filing cabinet and opened it to "so your clothes smell like damp mold huh?" page, I guess you are supposed to wipe down the lip of the washer after every cycle. Uh, I thought this thing was supposed to clean itself was my only response. Yes I said it out loud... I continued reading... You need to drain this little thing that opens when you turn it. Its filled with stinky water that doesn't drain. You need to do that once a week? Oh, also once a month you are supposed to run a tub clean... and you need to purchase a very expensive very specific cleaner once a month to have a clean washing machine. Pardon? All I read was time consuming and expensive. Blast.

So out I went to buy some tub cleaner thinking this is the part where my washing machine cleans itself. It cost $20 and I am supposed to do it once a week until my washer is clean and then every month... Uh oh. This might start costing... I used it anyways as I was slightly desperate and a little frustrated. I did a load of laundry and clothes still smelled! I don't know about you but some of these stinky clothing I actually like!

Nothing a little googling couldn't fix!

I started with draining that gross little plug at the bottom of the washer. They were right, freaking smelly water came out of it! So drain that thing! Next, grab that baking soda that is sitting in your fridge and mix 4 tbsp with 3 cups of warm water. Take a rag and wash the inside and around the lip of the washer. By lip I mean that rubber trap that harbours gunk. Yay homemade/natural things that does not cost a penny! Next, do an empty load on hot with vinegar in the bleach spot. Fill to the max line (about 1/4 cup). 

Now its time to de-stinkify your towels/clothing! Put any clothing in (I do not separate anything...Don't judge) In the detergent section put in whatever you use. And in the bleach section put in vinegar until you hit the max line. Wait for the load to be finished and your clothing will smell like amazing laundry soap. Not vinegar, I promise!

Stink be gone!!!!!

I now wash my clothing with vinegar once a month for a week. Vinegar? Yeah I know strange...  but there is no vinegar smell! Just great smelling clothing! I also keep my washer door open to air dry and keep the mould out. Finally I wipe the inside of the door and outside of the lip with a dry rag. This keeps everything just that much cleaner. 

Huzzah! I just saved on chemical cleaner again! I am saving the environment from this junk and saving my pocket of money! Success! I am back to loving my washing machine all over again. It looks and smells brand new again!

Make your own MILK?!

Pardon? Make your own milk? What kinda statement is that? Yeah... I know I wrote it...
I have been doing some reading and watching documentaries on milk (as I am a lover of cheese and want to ignore that they are under the same food group). The documentary that tug on my heart strings was called Food Inc. This is a must watch! Deconstructing Supper was also pretty good, but thats for another post.

Anyways back to the milk. I decided around the end of June to start drinking either Almond milk or Coconut milk. Not Soy milk as it has an abundance of hormones. Why you ask would someone stop drinking milk? My poop started to get really runny and my stomach was in knots every time I drank it. So milk is now off the list for me. (My man likes the taste of chocolate anything but not the original so he has officially switched to organic milk. :) Since I have made the switch I feel sooo much better. I don't feel bogged down, my poop went back to normal and my stomach isn't in knots anymore.

Almond and Coconut milk are both just a little bit more expensive then regular milk but for me the health benefits outweigh the cons.

Ok, so I started buying chocolate almond milk and regular coconut milk. I looked at the expiration date which didn't expire for a whole month. Is that normal? Why is it lasting in the fridge for so long? Hmm... Did you know like everything else they pile preservatives into it? This does not really sit well with me as I am trying my darndest to get rid of at least some preservatives... I know they are in everything but I am going to try...

So what do you do when you don't like something about a product that you need? Cereal duh! Research it and find out how to make it without dumb things like preservatives in it!
Did you know Almond milk naturally only lasts in the fridge for about 3 days... that is 3 weeks and 4 days shorter then what the store bought milk lasts.

Soooo I found a recipe and tweaked it a little bit to suit my taste buds of a new almond milk drinker.

So here is how you make Almond milk.
1. Take 1 cup almonds and soak them overnight.
2. Drain almond water out and put almonds in a blender with 4 cups of water. (the amount of water can be changed depending on how thick you like your almond milk.
3. Blend for about a min until the almonds are tiny chunks.
4. Over a bowl/container you want your milk to go in (I put mine in 2 Mason jars) drape a cloth over it that catches the almond chunks
5. Put almond chunks aside for later brownie/banana muffin making (yes I did both)
6. Ta-da you have almond milk!
I like to add a little bit of vanilla syrup to give it a little bit of a sweeter taste, but other wise

Almond Milk in my Mason Jar                                     Amazing Almond scraps that went into brownies   .                                                                                       and Muffins

Shake and enjoy!

Sick... Or feeling better? Throw out the drug store brands

Cough, Cough, Cough....

How the heck did I get sick?! Oh yes, my sick man kissed me... and it probably does not help that we snuggle every night. TMI? No way!

For a few days I have been congested, sneezing with my entire body (sooo much pain), and completely stuffed up. All I want to do is sleep, TV hurts my eyes right now... I really don't like taking drug store medication so I am googling natural home remedies. Besides why spend $20 on something you use once a year when you can use things that are probably already in your home?

I am going to share some home remedies that I use that makes me feel better :)
Salt water rinse
Garlic
Ginger
Showers
Sleep

My momma always told me to rinse with salt water so I am doing salt water rinses and mixing up salt and warm water and putting it in one nostril and letting it drip through the other (I can't remember what this is called if any of you know).

How Salt Water Works: When your throat is sore it contains inflammations called edemas. These edemas are filled with water and bacteria. The bacteria makes you sick. Gargling with salt water gets the salt to the back of your throat where it can attack the edemas by dehydrating them. When the salt dehydrates the edema it takes the fluid out of the edema. The bacteria can not survive without the fluid so the bacteria dies. If there is no bacteria to keep you sick you will then return to optimal health. So while the salt isn't actually doing the curing, it is taking away the very thing that allows the bacteria to stay alive. Remember Osmosis in school? Just about the same thing.

Salt Water Rinse Recipe
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 cup warm water

I am also eating a whole lot of soup piled mile high with garlic. It not only makes your breath stink it is incredibly tasty and therapeutic. So pile on the garlic sick people!

Garlic Benefits:
Fresh garlic has many active constituents including alliin, allicin, alliinase and unique sulfur compounds. Allicin and the sulfur compounds of garlic are the ingredients primarily responsible for garlic's potency as an antibiotic, anti-viral and a fungicide and for its use in treating high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, and for helping to prevent certain types of cancer, as well as its use as an immune stimulant. Allicin is a strong antibiotic agent produced when the alliin and alliinase are merged together, as happens when a fresh garlic clove is crushed or chewed.

Today my man made me some homemade ginger lemon tea. When he wasn't looking I snuck into the kitchen to see what was in the pot. Uh... Strange... ginger chunks?

Ginger Lemon Honey Tea (makes about 4 servings)
2 inches of ginger root peeled
7 cups of water
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Honey (as much or as little as you prefer)

This is just a few things that have really worked for me now that I am switching to more natural things.

Hope it helps you!

Coconut lotion

I was looking through the GIANT stash of lotions that I have underneath my bathroom sink and I realized most of these lotions are not something I would want to put on my little cookie so why the heck am I putting these on my body? Hmm... Why did I have so many? Why did I decide to stop using one and switch to the next? Initially the reasons varied. At first it was the smell was too strong or too weak, it was too greasy or felt like it was not doing anything. Then later one of my friends M told me to look on the back of the bottle and pick one ingredient that I was insure of and look it up both good and bad sides and do real research not just googling it online... If you do not like the outcome of that ingredient throw it out or find a better use for it somewhere else.

So what is my solution? Really I had no idea what my solution would be at the time. I pulled out 13 bottles of lotion that at one time or another I have used. I walked out of my bedroom, downstairs and out the door with them all. I tossed them all right into my garbage can! Apparently the ingredients didn't  sit well with me. Great. Now I don't have a lotion that I feel comfortable putting on my body and most importantly on my little cookie's body.

Blast. I should have taken a picture of all my lotions before throwing them away!

So I started scouring the web. Surely there must be something out there that I can use on me that smells great, isn't too greasy, and does not have 100 chemicals that I cannot pronounce.

Then I came across Coconut Oil. Hmm... I have heard of a few benefits of coconut oil but did not think about lathering oil all over me...

So lets check it out.

Coconut Oil Use:
Hair care
Skin care
Stress relief
Maintaining cholesterol levels
Weight loss
Increased immunity
Proper digestion and metabolism
Relief from kidney problems
Heart diseases
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Dental care
Bone strength
These benefits can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and soothing properties.

Why not try it right? 

Off to the store I went. Coombs Country Market. After searching for about 15 min I found it hiding away on a bottom shelf with no other oils in sight... Strange place to put it... It was hard... Soooo this is why we are mixing it! And its in a glass mason jar. Not oil like at all. I read the ingredients: Organic Coconut Oil. Thats it? Perfect! 

I'll let you know in a couple weeks how I like it. I'm using it as a moisturizer on my face too. Yikes. I know, oil on the face? Apparently it is supposed to be a great moisturizer. Only 1 way to tell!

How to make Coconut Oil Lotion by The Nourished Life
Only 2 things I did differently is use an electric hand mixer for 7 min and I did not use Vitamin E oil.  Make sure all the oil is being mixed (might need a spatula)
I just spooned it into a mason jar I had lying around.

Day 1: Love it. Don't use too much though as it will feel like it does not rub in properly.


Enjoy!