Lavender

Did you know the sent of lavender has calming effects on the mind and body? Lavender is a natural alternative remedy for anxiety, headaches and insomnia. Research shows that lavender can actually ease stress, induce relaxation, refresh, and even invigorate. We actually purchased lavender incense from Whole Foods and not only does our house smell wonderful but being able to breathe in the instant calming and relaxation effects from this fantastic plant is truly one of natures wonderful gifts.
We all have stressful and hectic lives so try adding a little lavender to your day :)
 
Source: Lavender fanatic

5 Easy Ways to Raise a Green Eater

Getting your kids on board with your green menu is one of the easiest (and earliest) ways to teach them about a variety of environmental initiatives, from organic farming to their carbon footprint.

But figuring out where to start isn't always as easy -- which is why we turned to our friends (and childrearing experts) at Parentables to put together this list of five simple steps that will help you raise healthy, happy green eaters.

1. Start early.
How you eat while your child's still in the womb can impact his diet for the rest of his lives: Some studies have shown that women who ate a diet high in junk food while pregnant actually changed their baby's DNA so that the child was more likely to be obese, and other studies show that babies can develop a taste for certain foods, like carrots, before birth (which gives you even more incentive to choose fresh fruits and local vegetables as part of an organic pregnancy diet).

If you're a vegan or vegetarian parent planning to raise a child that doesn't eat meat, you're not alone -- celebs including Alicia SIlverstone are doing the same -- and your vegan diet can still lead to a healthy pregnancy: Just make sure you talk to your doctor to make sure you're getting the right variety of nutrients and minerals (and eating iron-rich foods to prevent anemia).

2. Teach their palates.
Kids are notoriously picky eaters, even when you aren't trying to teach them about choosing organic produce, eating humanely farmed meat, and avoiding GMOs -- they pretty much just want chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. But finding vegetarian recipes your kids will clamor for isn't as hard as it sounds: Try calzones, tempeh barbecue with broccoli, or a ricotta-banana-and-honey sandwich to give your kids a break from PB&J. Add healthy snacks -- like homemade granola bars, pumpkin bread, fruit kebabs, and kale chips -- to help them get their five-a-day without the tantrums.

3. Get them into the garden.
Once your kids are old enough to learn where their food comes from, you can get them enthused about healthy fruits and vegetables by letting them get a little dirty in your backyard plot or indoor container garden. Grow a rainbow of vibrant veggies -- blue tomatoes, purple beans, neon chard -- or choose out-of-the-ordinary decorative plants, like one that moves when you touch it or a classic Venus Fly Trap. They'll learn about healthy nutrition and the fun of gardening, and you'll have a lifetime of memories to look back on -- plus you won't need to hide veggies in their food, because they'll be excited to eat their own harvest. Don't have room to plant? Take your kids to the farmers market and let them talk to their local growers and pick out a few foods that interest them.

4. Cook at home.
Eating dinner as a family has plenty of benefits -- kids eat healthier meals and are less likely to become obese are just two of the most obvious -- but going out to eat every night can actually backtrack your family's healthy habits. Planning your meals can help you save time and money during the week (check out Kelly Rossiter's 7 Recipes series for ideas by week) and teaching your kids to help you cook -- or giving them a cookbook to study -- means more family time, less effort on your part, and a family full of people who can pitch in to feed themselves -- and your guests -- in a pinch. Bonus: when your kids can join the hands-on part of the meal, they're more likely to eat the end result.

5. Don't get them hooked on sweets.
We're not suggesting that you make your house a no-dessert zone -- a recent study even found that kids who ate candy were less likely to obese than their counterparts who avoided sweets -- but managing the quantities of added sugar, corn syrup, preservatives, and food dyes that go into your kids' diets is better for their health and the environment. One key to a healthy relationship with sweets, says Jenni Grover, is to make sure you don't treat them as a reward. Serve dessert with the meal (not after) and you can avoid teaching your kids that desserts are better than other foods (and therefore more desirable).

by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 08.26.11

Food & Health

Hurricane "Healthy" Survival 101



East Coast readers it looks like Irene is coming our way! But no need to stress that your healthy eating will fall to the way side while you are locked indoors without power. Here are some staples that I just stocked up on for a healthy hurricane weekend :)

• Raw Nuts
• Jugs of H2O
• Whole Wheat Pasta & Tomato Sauce (perfect if you have a gas stove)
• Oatmeal (you can warm water over the a fire or again using a gas stove)
• Whole Grain Bread
• Natural Peanut Butter
• Bananas
• Mary's Crackers
• Apples
• Pre-made Raw Granola Bars
• Amy Organic Soups
• Canned Corn & Black Beans makes a quick salad topper or side dish (just mix with some cumin, dash of raw sugar and a little lime/lemon juice.)
• Tuna Fish
• Dark Chocolate- Endangered Species Mint
• Grape Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Also Freeze some ice packs tonight so if the power goes out you can save some of your go to favorites in a cooler (yogurt, veggies, berries etc)

Stay safe!!

Weeds!

I know pulling weeds can be a daunting task but did you know you could eat some types? Check out this great slide show for edible weeds!

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/weeds-edible-plants-0409

Polenta Croutons

I love polenta so when I saw this recipe from Andrea Beaman I had to share.

Ingredients
Pre-cooked polenta
Coconut oil
Sea salt

 

1. Dice polenta into one-inch cubes and fry until lightly browned and crispy.
2. Drain polenta croutons on paper towels to remove excess oil.
3. Season the croutons with a pinch or two of sea salt.

 Also check out this recipe from an older post, its one of my favorites Polenta Lasagna

The Vitamin Water Deception - exposes truth behind this non-healthy beverage

If you drink vitamin water this is a must watch!

Banana Burgers

So I woke up on Sunday and had a craving to make a banana burger (weird I know)! So off I was to figure something out. Sorry I know the above photo looks anything but appetizing but I wanted to show you how it turned out.

1/2 banana mashed
3 TB dry oatmeal
1 TB almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground flax seed

Mix together then scoop onto a skillet over medium heat and cook on both sides. Then place on a toasted ezekiel english muffin with natural peanut butter and sliced banana. SUPER FILLING so I hope your hungry!
Feel free to tweak the above recipe as you wish... nutmeg, cane sugar, chia seeds etc.

Kale

Kale can be an intimidating leafy green to add to your diet but this superfood is packed with nutrients!
Here is a great video for a no cook kale recipe. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/An_Easy_Way_to_Add_Kale_to_Your_Diet_Washington_DC-127954773.html

Let me know how it turns out :)

Wheat Grass

Wheat Grass is a great addition to your daily diet!!! This little plant has shown antibiotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory affects. It is also FULL of nutrients such as calcium, amino acids, vitamins A, C, & E, iron, magnesium etc.  
Some of the Benefits are:
Promotes hemoglobin production

Promotes the rebuilding of the blood stream
Helpful in purifying the blood
Promotes the body's ability to heal wounds
Helpgul in neutralizing toxins and carcinogens in the body
Helping to purify the liver
Promotes digestion
Helpful in removing heavy metals from the body

Here is a link to grown your own http://www.happyjuicer.com/growing-wheatgrass-guide.aspx

Source: Ayurvedic Cure

Head hurt?

Forget advil!!! Next time you have a headache you can alleviate it by placing your feet in warm water and putting an ice pack around your neck. This is what is called Hot-Cold Therapy... it causes the blood to move away from the head towards the feel relieving the head of congestion and pain.

Are baby carrots bad for you?

The answer is no! Baby carrots are not bad for you so please do not believe everything you hear or read. Here is a great article from Dr. Andrew Weil regarding an Internet hoax about baby carrots-  http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400972/Baby-Carrots-Bad-for-You.html

Do you know how organic your food is?

This is a great article that I wanted to share from takepart.com that helps to easily explain how organic your food is.

If you’re hip to to the many reasons to shop organic—avoiding chemicals, promoting biodiversity, and supporting healthy farms, to name a few—then you’ve probably got your eye out for the O word when you hit the farmer’s market or grocery store. But do you know the difference between, say, something that's organic versus something that's 100 percent organic?



To be certified organic in the U.S., agricultural products must meet certain standards set by the U.S. Department o Agriculture (USDA) which include production practices, treatment, and even transportation of organic products. For example, they must be grown in safe soil and have no bioengineered genes, and they cannot have been treated with chemical additives, growth hormones, antibiotics, or sewage-sludge based fertizers. They must also be kept separate from non-organic agricultural products.


When it comes to grocery store items that contain agricultural products, however, labeling gets a little complicated.


Thanks to heavy lobbying by large-scale productions for amendments and exceptions to the use of the organic label, the word “organic” has become somewhat diluted. Amendments to the term—which have allowed those large-scale prouctions to capitalize on increasing consumer demand for organic products without meeting the full criteria—have tasked consumers with deciphering labels. Unless you know the difference, you could be getting more than you paid for.


Here’s a breakdown:

100% Organic
These are foods that are completely organic or made with 100 percent organic ingredients. This is what most consumers expect when they think organic, but not always what they get. These foods are legally permitted to use the USDA's certified organic seal (pictured left) because they have met all criteria set forth by the USDA.

Organic
Organic foods are those that contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients, with the remaining 5 percent of ingredients limited to those that appear on the USDA's National List of Allowable and Prohibited Materials (find more information about that list here.) Organic items are also legally allowed to display the USDA seal.

Made With Organic Ingredients
Foods with a “made with organic ingredients” label must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients, but are not fully organic and cannot legally display the USDA organic seal. It’s common, however, for packaging on these foods to list specific organic ingredients on the front of the package; e.g., “made with organic corn"—an advertising technique that can be confusing to consumers.

Contains Organic Ingredients
These are food items that contain less than 70 percent organic ingredients. They do not display the USDA seal but may list specific organic ingredients on the information panel of the package. However, these products cannot advertise their organic ingreients to consumers like "made with organic ingredients" items can.

Homemade Cereal

I have grown up eating cereal, it didn't matter what type we just always had cereal in the house (this was my mom's favorite food, I mean if she was on a desert island the only thing she would need is cereal.. haha!). But in my twenty's this food is now forbidden from my house. The sweet sugary snack is something I can't stop eating. Once I have a bowl, I am immediately starving a short while later and eat again. I swear an entire box can go in two days. That being said when I read I heat wellness's blog it was like we were on the same page. She posted a cold cereal recipe made with quinoa that I had to try. Since it was a clean recipe with whole grains I knew it would fill me up and leave me satisfied while still giving me the feeling of enjoying a bowl of cereal with cold (almond) milk. It turned out delicious (a little like grapenuts and there is no way you could over eat, its SO filling).

• 2 cups cooked quinoa

• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp stevia {optional}

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook quinoa as instructed on the package. Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork and add in all the ingredients.

Stir together well.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spread the quinoa mixture out evenly. Make sure the mixture is only a 1/2 inch thick at the most.

Bake for 35-45 rotating and stirring every 10 minutes. **I cooked my batch longer until crunchy

Raw Cookie Dough Balls

Ingredients
2/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup of oats
2 TB agave
1 TB maple syrup (omit syrup and use agave if you want to preserve a true Raw status)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips (to preserve raw status take 2TB raw cacoa powder and add 1TB agave (optional dash of vanilla extract) whisk and blend. Spread into a thin layer on wax paper and freeze. Take frozen chocolate off wax paper and crumble making "raw" chips)

Directions

1. Blend oats and cashews in food processor until a powder forms
2. Add agave, maple and vanilla extract to mix and blend.
3. When the dough starts to ball up and bang around from side to side it is done.
4. Add chocolate chips and blend for a few seconds or stir in by hand.
5. Transfer to a working surface and blend into small balls, I made 17 from this recipe

This is the perfect little snack when you need something sweet!

Vanilla Bean Broken Farro

I made this recipe in place of my steel cut oats over the weekend and I am addicted!! It is extremely filling and will definitely hold you over until lunch!

Ingredients
1/3 cup rounded farro
3/4 cup milk (I used original Almond milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
2 tsp sucanat (I used pure cane sugar)
1/4 cup raisins or currants (optional)

Directions

• ground farro until powdery with small pieces mixed in using a food processor
• put ground farro into a small pot with milk, water and sucanat
• bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce to a simmer
• stir occasionally for about 7-10 mins until desired thickness is reached
• stir in the vanilla in the last 1-2 mins of cook time. Add extra liquid if it gets too thick (I cooked the farro for 7 minutes then added the vanilla and cooked for an additional 2 minutes)
• Add raisins into the pot then pure into a bowl.

Topped with raw almonds, half a banana and vanilla maple almond flax butter

Source: Oh She Glows

Vanilla Bean Maple Almond Butter

This homemade almond butter is incredible!!! I made this last night and even the smell is mouthwatering.  I am already dreaming up new ways to use this spread... muffins, toast, sandwiches, oatmeal, farro, fruits and veggies etc. This recipe yields 1 1/3 cups.

• 2c raw almonds

• 1/3c whole flax seeds
• 2T + 1T maple syrup [they are added in at different times]
• 2t vanilla bean paste [or 2-3t vanilla extract]
• 1/4-1/2t salt
• 1/2T safflower oil

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 300*
2. Line baking sheet with parchment [trust me!] and toss almonds + flax seeds with 2T maple syrup.
3. Bake for 15min, stir, then bake 15min longer.
4. Let cool for a few minutes and pour into your food processor.

5. Process, until nut butter forms, about 10min and 10-15 bowl scrapes.
6. Once creamy and smooth, add salt, vanilla bean paste, and 1T maple syrup.
7. Process again for 3-5min, until it becomes creamy again. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
8. If too thick, add 1/2T oil and let process another minute or two.
9. Store in a air tight jar.

Source- Oh She Glows

Tom's Toothpaste

Tom's toothpaste is a favorite in our home! What makes this product so great?

• No animal testing or animal ingredients
• They share every ingredient. its purpose and its source at http://www.tomsofmaine.com/
• Sustainable practices are a priority in every aspect of their business
• No artificial colors, flavors, fragrance, or preservatives
• They strive to maximize recycled content and recyclability of their packaging
• 5% (12 days) of their employees time is spent volunteering. 10% of profits to human and environmental goodness.

Make your own Protein Powder

A reader mentioned they were looking for a protein powder thats not processed or full or sugar, so I was inspired to find a solution.  And lets be honest if you are new to protein powder the aisle is confusing and the tubs are expensive. So here is a great homemade protein powder (also vegan) recipe from a fellow blogger Daily Garnish.

Ingredients:

•2 cups hemp protein powder
•1 cup PB2 powder
•1 cup ground flax
•1/3 cup maca powder
•2 tbsp + 2 tsp chlorella powder
•4 tsp spirulina
•4 tsp cinnamon
•1 tsp (concentrated) stevia

 

Building the Protein Powder Base

1. First up, add the flax to the food processor and give it a few pumps. Flax tends to get clumpy, and you want to make sure it’s smooth when the rest of the ingredients are added.
2. Next, dump all the rest of the ingredients into your food processor.
3. Add the final product to a sealable tub, and DONE– you’ve just created your own super food protein powder blend!
4. The serving size for this mix is 1/4 cup, this powder recipe will yield a total of 18 quarter-cup servings, so you don’t have to do this very often!
    

This blogger also providers her favorite smoothie to add this protein powder to...

• 1 banana
• 1 cup of frozen fruit – they chose blueberries, strawberries, and mango
•  Add 1/4 cup of your new protein powerhouse blend
• A squirt of agave to sweeten
• Add one half-cup of almond milk and then top off with enough water to cover the ingredients.  Time to BLEND!
• While the mixture is blending, drop a handful of spinach into the top of the blender removing the glass piece.

 **If you are interested in other protein powders click here  

 

 

Elminate Cancer with nutrition

My mom sent me this article from Johns Hopkins, regarding ways to eliminate cancer! Its so powerful I had to share. Its incredible how hospitals are now realizing how nutrition plays a direct roll in our health and well being. Please share this with your loved ones!

Johns Hopkins Update -


This is an extremely good article. Everyone should read it.

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day
and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7.. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of
chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor
destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other
sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting
off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer
cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. Meat also contains livestock
antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all
harmful, especially to people with cancer.


d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic
buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.
A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy
life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen
therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer
cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.
2. No water bottles in freezer.
3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Please share this with your whole email list.........................

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Healthy take on Mexican Cinnamon Rice Milk

Sorry for the dark photo, I took this using my phone

So a few weeks ago I had my first sip of Mexican Cinnamon Rice Milk,  it was definitely more like a dessert that was ice cold and sweet.  Last night my husband and I needed something light but sweet after dinner so I was inspired to recreate a healthy version of this drink.

Ingredients:
2 cups of original almond milk (or homemade)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3-5 drops of liquid stevia to taste

Mix together and pour over ice in beautiful martini glasses! Serves 2

This is a great summer drink to replace hot chocolate. It would probably make an awesome smoothie as well blended with ice.