Thursday, October 11, 2012

Natural Homemade Easy Oatmeal



Why should you make your own oatmeal for breakfast?
  1. It is heart healthy and helps lower cholesterol
  2. You can control what ingredients go in
  3. You can control the sugar and sodium content
  4. There are no unnecessary chemical additives
  5. Lower sugar than pre-made oatmeals
  6. Gluten-free
  7. vegan
  8. low glycemic index
  9. It takes almost the same amount of time as pre-made and is much healthier
  10. It tastes better than store bought oatmeal!

This is a super easy recipe for Apples and cinnamon oatmeal



First things first, you need to decide if you want apple or a different flavor. Regardless, purchase your dried fruit, the ingredients should say apple, dried blueberries. It should only have one ingredient! It should not have added sugar, or salt, or phosphates, or sulfur, or any other junk!!! Dice your dried apple (or other fruit) you decide how much fruit you want.



Rolled oats calls for 1 cup liquid to 1/2 cup of oats, but read your oat package.
Pour 1 cup organic rice milk into a small pot and heat on medium high heat, until it starts to boil.

Measure 1/2 cup of oats, (I plan on using steel cut oats once these run out)

                                           
 
Once your rice milk begins boiling...

Add your oats and stir, and after about a minute...


Then add a couple dashes of cinnamon and your dried fruit. Stir.



Almost done...


Add a small drizzle (to taste) of maple agave syrup or
  • maple syrup
  • raw agave syrup
  • raw honey
  • raw unprocessed sugar
  • stevia
DO NOT RUIN YOUR OATMEAL WITH SPLENDA OR OTHER FAKE CANCER CAUSING GARBAGE!


After about 5-6 min of total cooking your oatmeal is done! It's creamy, has the perfect amount of sweetness, delicious and healthy!!
Other great ideas for oatmeal are: ground flax seeds, chia seeds, dried wild blueberries, dried apricots, dried strawberries, chopped pecans/walnuts










Saturday, September 29, 2012

making your own deodorant



This may sound crazy, time consuming, and not worth the trouble, but I guarantee once you try it you'll never go back!
I found this recipe from girl on bike's blog, and it's really great. But I did add to it...
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=335263.0

Her recipe calls for
*1/4 cup baking soda
*1/3 cup cornstarch
*10 drops or 1/4 tsp tea tree, lavender, &/or your favorite scented oil
(tea tree works best because of it's antibacterial properties)
*1 tbsp+ coconut oil

I also added sea salt, and a little witch hazel. Both of these will control odor because they have antibacterial properties., And the salt will help keep you dryer.

Also, I added a little bit more of every ingredient to get a good consistency, and I ended up with 2 deodorant bars. I melted everything on the stove, whisking. It was so separated and gooey and wet that I added more dry ingredients. At the time I didn't know it would harden so much, but regardless it came out perfect!!

To do the deodorant, I would wait until one of your deodorant sticks run out, (save the empty container) but have a spare, because this homemade deodorant takes about a week to harden and "set." Take your empty deodorant container, screw it all the way down, and tightly pack in the new deodorant mush.(I've also used toilet paper rolls as deodorant containers.


Once it hardens, it works just like any other deodorant. It smells like heavenly tea tree coconut.

This deodorant is all natural, but if you want non-gmo I would recommend using organic or certified non-gmo cornstarch.

*****tip-- if you find your deodorant won't set and harden properly try storing it in the fridge.


*******WARNING: IF PIECES OF DEODORANT FALL OFF, DO NOT LET HUMANS OR ANIMALS INGEST. THIS DEODORANT IS ALL NATURAL BUT TEA TREE OIL CAN BE FATAL IF INGESTED

picking cosmetics that don't cause cancer

Now, like I mentioned earlier, living a holistic lifestyle doesn't happen over night, you WILL drive yourself crazy.
I recommend researching ingredients, and once you eat mostly natural and organic, only then, take it once step further.
At one time I thought, why would I care what I put on my skin, it's not like I'm eating it, how much does it really matter?
Well parabens for example, are used in deodorants, lotions, many cosmetics...If you test someone with breast cancer for parabens, you will see there is a very high amount of parabens in the tissue affected by the cancer. So parabens have been linked to causing cancer. Nicotine patches work so well because your skin absorbs everything! Lotion, body spray, you name it!

So things to look out for,

  • Aluminum chloride
  • Aluminum zirconium tricholorohydrex glycine
  • Aluminum chlorohydrate
  • Aluminum hydroxybromide
 These are all antiperspirant ingredients, which are proven to cause cancer. Do some research.


  • Any kind or Paraben!
  • Diethanolamine (DEA), Triethanolamine (TEA)
  • Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea
  • PVP/VA Copolymer
  • Stearalkonium Chloride
  • 1,4 Dioxane
  • Formaldehyde
  • Phthalates/Fragrance: DHP, DBP5, DEHP, and dibutyl phthalate
  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
  • Triclosan
  • Phenoxyethano
  • artificial color
  • Petrolatum, propyl glycol and mineral oil - This is a derivative oil, like gas in your car... It clogs your pores, and can cause other organ problems. -Not the worst of the wost, but definietly not good.

So, what should I use?!  You can search for safe chemical free, non toxic cosmetics, and you can shop at health food stores, or buy homemade stuff. Lables and ads are deceiving, unfortunately even whole foods and trader joe's carry products that contain toxic ingredients. That's why you need to be careful to read every ingredient, and search what you haven't heard of.

sources:  

Cleaning naturally, good for you, and the environment


Why you should care about what you clean with?


  • Not everyone uses gloves when cleaning, so toxic chemicals even from clorox wipes, seep into your skin.
  • Chemicals go into landfills, and seep out going into our water supply.
  • And, the chemicals are not good for our earth, or anything on it, (except big business' wallet)
  • And finally, It is cheaper to make your own! And simple!


Now, save yourself the trouble, don't throw everything away you were using, you might as well finish it, since its all going to the same place anyway, the landfill.
Let's talk sanitizing wipes. You can keep your old wipe containers, buy a baby wipe container, or use...


I know some people hate the smell of vinegar... So... Pick a citrus that you like to use. Grapefruits, oranges, limes, lemons, clementines. Eat it juice it, whatever. Save all of the peels! cut them into cubes. And put them in a 1 gallon container (I use an old bpa-free apple juice bottle). Pour in vinegar to fill. You should have at least a cup of chopped peels for this. Let it sit, in a cool dry place for a few weeks. And wa-lah! beautiful smelling citrus vinegar! Just strain out peels, and use.

So now,

  1. cut a roll of heavy duty paper towels in half, tube and all. Or.. better yet, cut some crappy clothes into 4x4 squares and throw them in the wash after you use them!
  2. In a bowl stir together, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, and 1 cup vinegar or citrus vinegar.You can also add a few drops of witch hazel and/or tea tree oil.
  3. squish your half roll into a container, and evenly pour sanitizing mixture over top. 
  4. Gently pull tube from center, and pull one wipe up from center. And your done! 
**Use good paper towels, because thin ones will dissolve. If they start to get dry, close lid tightly, and flip upside for a second.

You can use this in spray bottles for cleaning all surfaces also.
You can make baby wipes, and other wipes, this is a video on how this woman makes her wipes...
http://livewellnetwork.com/Deals/episodes/DIY-Wipes/8707415
Although, she uses junk in her wipes. If your going to make your own wipes, get good, natural products to use.

Forget draino, if you have a clogged sink, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda on your drain, 1 cup vinegar, and then about a half gallon of BOILING water.
ta-dah, no more clogged drain!



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Taking the first steps to a natural lifestyle

There is an overwhelming of information nowadays about how everything you eat and use is harmful to your body. Now, don't go crazy, just sit relax, breathe. Pick something easy.
Let us start with one ingredient, or two. High fructose corn syrup, and.. splenda / sucralose
High Fructose Corn Syrup 

Now, let's look at why this is bad for your health.

  • High fructose corn syrup can lead to insulin resistance
  • Scientists have clearly linked the rising High fructose Corn syrup consumption to the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome
  • High fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn (GMO), GMO's  can lead to birth defects, allergies, infertility, immune and organic problems. To learn more about GMO, go to mercola.com and search GMO.
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • Elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL
  • Depletion of vitamins and minerals
  • Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis and even gout
Why doesn't your body like High Fructose Corn syrup?
The corn industry tells us it is completely natural and the same as sugar, and is fine in moderation....
Go on google, search: How is high fructose corn syrup made?
It is poison mutated slop. I don't see any natural high fructose corn syrup dripping out of the trees.. Because it is not natural. It is mutated GMO corn syrup with more fructose than sugar, making it sweeter. Unprocessed sugar that comes from the sugar cane is natural, your body doesn't break down "HFCS" the same way as sugar. It is safe in Moderation? Go in your pantry, read your ketchup, your bbq sauce, your salad dressing, your sodas, your cookies... go in your freezer, read your pre made meals, your ice cream.... high fructose corn syrup is in virtually everything. So unless you were already avoiding it, or make everything from scratch, IT IS NOT IN MODERATION!!!


and even worse than HFCS, is Splenda or sucralose.

http://products.mercola.com/sweet-deception/
This is a video from Dr. Mercola, I get most of my information from him. He has a great website, and this video talks about artificial sweeteners, it is 15 min long.


Now how to avoid it, the best way is to look at the ingredients before purchasing products. This can be time consuming, I would recommend shopping at Trader joe's they don't use it in their products..
Now don't go throwing everything away, simply when you run out of ketchup, buy the one without high fructose corn syrup, many products even advertise 'no high fructose corn syrup," but be careful, it way contain worse ingredients.

So, slowly but surely, do your research, if you see a weird word, sucralose, maltodextrin, fructose, monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrate, food coloring  BHA, BHT, TBHQ.... Take out your phone.... And google it!!!!! you will learn th terrible truth about how the FDA wants us to be sick...
The chemical companies sell their products, the food company sells their products, we eat them, we get sick, pay the dr, take pills made from the chemical companies.... It's all a cycle. They want us to be unhealthy because it makes so much money.

After you weed out 1 ingredient, keep educating yourself about other harmful ingredients.
Then slowly start learning about organic, and why natural free range meats are better for your health...
Then think about how you prepare your food. If you are using the microwave you are zapping away most of its nutrients.
Again, here is a great article from dr. mercola all about the microwave!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx

gasp! Oh but How will I heat my food??
100s of years ago there were no microwaves and we did just fine.
The next quickest way to heat your food is in a pan on the stove.
Or you could bake it in the oven.
I haven't use the microwave for 3 years. I haven't had any problems heating my food.
Any questions, leave a comment :)
Ah yes, and instead of believing everything I say, go on sweetsurprise.com, and splenda's website and compare what mercola and the company say about the products!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Curry Chicken, and benefits of curry

Curry chicken with coconut almond satay sauce, grilled asparagus and fresh lime


I'm sure many of you already know or have heard about curry, and how healthy it is. But what's so good about it?
  • Antibacterial and detoxifying properties
  • Anti- inflammatory- Helps with joint pain, and joint stiffness
  • Improves blood circulation
  • Aids digestion
  • Boosts you immune system, helps fight disease, including cancer

So curry is some pretty powerful stuff, but cooking with it can be a little intimidating.
Over the years I noticed many people get turned off when I say I'm making curry chicken or Indian food. But, unless you absolutely hate curry, you'll love my curry chicken!
**This marinade would also work well with tofu or possibly cauliflower, if you don't eat meat.

Curry Chicken and Coconut Almond Satay Sauce

First things first, you need to make your marinade



Start with a heaping tablespoon of garlic powder. I eyeball everything, so just do what looks good.







Next, add the curry. I used to only use spice islands curry, because it is sooo good. But you pay the price, it is very expensive. So now I do some cheap curry and some expensive curry.
Approx 1/3 teaspoon of good curry powder
Approx 1 teaspoon Curry powder
(again, I don't really measure)




Add a pinch of cumin, and about 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Now be careful with the salt, many curries have a lot of salt already, and you can always add more later.








For a little kick, add a small pinch of red pepper flakes. (optional)














Now, whisk it all together. It should look something like this, If you want less curry flavor add more garlic powder and it will be a lighter color.







Beautiful Limes! Make sure you roll it on your table pressing down, before you cut it. This gets the juices flowing.
If your lime is small you will probably need all of it's lime juice. But if it's a large lime, squeeze 1 half in, and a little squeeze of the other half.




whisk, and it should make a thick paste.













While whisking, slowly pour in good olive oil, before it gets to the perfect consistency, smell it- If it smells like pure olive oil squeeze in some more lime!
After whisking, it should look like a thick liquid.








Now for the chicken.
If you are one of those people who care about getting organic and care very much about GMO, but don't buy organic meat, think about it.. All that chicken eats is GMO corn and GMO soy, so you're trying so hard to avoid GMO produce when your eating GMO chicken!
But that's not why I buy this chicken, I prefer my chicken to walk around for some of it's life, unlike the conventional chickens who can't stretch a wing.
As far as taste, I think they taste a little fresher, but the meat is much more soft and tender.
If you get breasts cut them into strips, if you get tenders all you need to do is trim away any white on your meat. White=not meat. White things are either fat, skin, or tendons, and none of those I enjoy biting into.
If You are vegan or vegetarian, use extra firm or firm tofu. Press and drain all the water out of your tofu. Slice into cubes or strips, and marinate in the curry for a few days.


Marinate the chicken a few hours or overnight.











Personally, I like to grill this. Either a grill pan, or on the grill, but our grill was out of propane. So I baked it. suh.
400 degrees for about 30 min, (flipping half way)
Or until temperature reaches 165.
On the grill on med- high heat it should only take about 3 min per side.



So while your grilling or baking, You can start your sauce.

  • 1 can (14-15 oz) of light coconut milk
  • About 3 Tablespoons of almond butter  (you can use peanut butter, or do half and half, I use almond butter because it's healthier)
  • juice of 1 large lime
  • About 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
I taste this as I'm cooking it, and add more of whatever it needs.
Simmer the sauce on low heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes.











I served it with
 a lime, the sauce on the side for dipping,
 saffron basamati brown rice with lentils,
 and string beans & peppers cooked with garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes.

                                          with a side a garlic lime grilled asparagus

Friday, August 3, 2012

Harvest Grains with veggies

This recipe is great because you can eat it hot, cold, or room temp. Make a big batch and layer for a quick lunch for work.


  • In a medium pot Bring 3.5 cups of low sodium organic free range chicken broth to a boil. (organic vegetable broth can be substituted)

I use organic free range chicken broth, not beacause it is organic but because it is free range. Commercial chicken broths come from chickens fed GMO garbage food, and are crammed so close together they can barley move.

  • once it comes to a boil add sea salt, 1 cup quinoa, and 1 cup Harvest Grains. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Most quinoa needs to be rinsed and drained in a fine mesh sieve. I buy a big bag at costco that comes pre rinsed. Harvest grains can be found at trader joe's, it is a blend of israeli couscous red and white quinoa, orzo, split garbanzo beans...

  • In a frying pan heat olive/ grapeseed/ sunflower oil, on medium low heat. Add your cleaned veggies, cut about the same size. Starting with the toughest ones first. Season with sea salt and lemon pepper.
I used Organic baby broccoli, asparagus, and garlic. The broccoli has thick stems, so I cook that for a few minutes, then I add the asparagus and chopped garlic.

  • Cook veggies until green and tender, approx 5-7 minutes






  • Your grains will appear fluffy and slightly moist when ready. If they are too watery cook for a few minutes longer, uncovered and stirring.



  • To plate: scoop grains into a dish or bowl, 
  • top with cooked veggies (don't leave out that garlic!! I used 5 cloves!)
  • Then take some mache (lambs lettuce) and place atop.
mache can be found at trader joe's, you can also use baby kale, baby swiss chard, baby dandelion greens, spinach, or omit the greens. I chose mache because for 3 oz it has 2 grams of protein, only 20 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 120% vitamin a, 50% vitamin c, 10% iron, and 8% calcium. That's a hell of a lot better than romaine lettuce. Mache is very mild and works great in tacos, sandwiches, salads, try using in place of lettuce when possible.
  • sprinkle with chia seeds 
Chia seeds can be found at a number of stores; health food stores or vitamin stores would be your best bet. 1 tablespoon of chia seeds is 6g of fiber, 2.9g omega 3, and 3g of protein. Add to muffins, breads, smoothies, salads, or really anything really.
  • dig in






wonderful leftover lunch>>>>>>>>>>
If you are going to include your greens in the jar, make sure everything is cooled before putting them in