One of the biggest changes to my family's diet has been the addition of more living foods. In a lot of reading that I have done, I have found that the qualities of living foods are an essential part of human diet (if we hope to have and maintain good health for generations). In my quest to provide various types of living food, I have found many great resources. One of these resources is a company (called Cultures for Health) that distributes various types of living cultures from kefir grains to yoghurt cultures to kombucha cultures and sourdough starters. Below is a link to check out their many great products. I encourage everyone to seek out a way to put more live (and "enzymatic") food into their diet.
http://www.culturesforhealth.com?a_aid=505d29d828299
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
FAVORITE FOODS
The question this week is:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
It can be a complete entree or an ingredient that just makes everything you eat better. Mine is anything dairy-- especially raw milk and butter! Mmmmm! Nothing yummier than fresh milk, cream and butter from a grass-fed cow. Now you will hear me get on my soap box about raw milk, cream, butter and various other "taboo" foods, but give what I say a try and you'll be certain (as I am) that a lot of nutrition advice out there is very misguided. However, this week will be more about the taste, texture and comfort of food. So, let your mouth water and let's talk about TASTY! I am not just a nutrition fanatic-- I'm also a CULINARY ARTIST! While I would never advise anyone to eat a lot of carbs, I myself have a sweet tooth--- so don't be afraid to share your "food weaknesses". Everyone has them.
Please leave a comment below. (Even if all it says is "ice cream" or whatever your favorite food is.) I love hearing from you.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
It can be a complete entree or an ingredient that just makes everything you eat better. Mine is anything dairy-- especially raw milk and butter! Mmmmm! Nothing yummier than fresh milk, cream and butter from a grass-fed cow. Now you will hear me get on my soap box about raw milk, cream, butter and various other "taboo" foods, but give what I say a try and you'll be certain (as I am) that a lot of nutrition advice out there is very misguided. However, this week will be more about the taste, texture and comfort of food. So, let your mouth water and let's talk about TASTY! I am not just a nutrition fanatic-- I'm also a CULINARY ARTIST! While I would never advise anyone to eat a lot of carbs, I myself have a sweet tooth--- so don't be afraid to share your "food weaknesses". Everyone has them.
Please leave a comment below. (Even if all it says is "ice cream" or whatever your favorite food is.) I love hearing from you.
NO MORE STRESS- WE'RE MOVING ON!
Ok, so we can only discuss stress so long before it becomes stressful. Since this is my blog and I have the freedom to do pretty much whatever I want--- I want to talk about food (and nutrition). The topic of food and nutrition have been a pretty big part of my life lately. I hope to make it a much bigger part of all of your lives. Some of you will learn things you never knew, some of you will be intrigued and do some of your own further research on the topic, some of you will skim the information and not think too much of it, and some of you will decide to disagree with me--- all of these are just fine. I am just hoping that you will bear with me as I stand on one of my "soap boxes" for a bit. I also do hope that you will open your mind to what I have to offer in this area. I may not have a degree in the field (yet, anyway), but if you knew how much research I have done on the subject you might petition for any reputable university to grant me a degree on the subject.
Over the next several weeks (and possibly months) I will be putting up posts related to food and nutrition. Don't forget to check out the "Super Food" and "Super Funny" pages as well. I'd also love to hear feedback on what you like (and what you don't like) here on my blog. While I am not just doing this blog to please other people, I do want it to be pleasing enough that I can share it with many other people. Thanks so much for being a part of my world.
Over the next several weeks (and possibly months) I will be putting up posts related to food and nutrition. Don't forget to check out the "Super Food" and "Super Funny" pages as well. I'd also love to hear feedback on what you like (and what you don't like) here on my blog. While I am not just doing this blog to please other people, I do want it to be pleasing enough that I can share it with many other people. Thanks so much for being a part of my world.
Friday, September 21, 2012
BEST STRESS RELIEF TIPS I'VE HEARD IN A WHILE-
I don't know how many of you are familiar with energy therapy or Carol Tuttle (a well known energy therapist), but I have been studying it a bit lately and it is what has worked the best for managing my bipolar and depression symptoms. We've done some gemstone therapy along with EFT and other energy techniques, but I just stumbled upon this clip (from Carol Tuttle) that has really helped me realize what I need to do more to properly relieve and effectively deal with stress on a regular basis. If you are not familiar with Carol's work, I highly recommend reading her book "Remembering Wholeness" first. Then I recommend moving onto her energy profiling materials. She actually offers a lot of free information and assistance, so many of you may be able to catch on to things without much (if any) of an initial investment. However, getting her books will help anyone a lot. I realize some of you may feel a little resistant to it at first, but give it a chance. I promise it isn't freaky like some people might be worried about. Anyway, I am either going to post the link or see if I can have a way for you to view the clip I mentioned right here on the page.
First, here is a link to check out Carol Tuttle products (which I highly recommend):
http://www.caroltuttle.com/
First, here is a link to check out Carol Tuttle products (which I highly recommend):
http://www.caroltuttle.com/
Thursday, September 20, 2012
STRESS & FOOD
Ok, so today is another survey. I guess I am just a very curious person-- but that's a healthy stress. (I assume, anyway.) I love asking questions and I love when people take the time to answer them honestly. Thanks!
1. Do you eat more, less or the same when you are more stressed?
2. What foods are you most likely to eat when under stress?
3. Are there any foods that seem to relieve stress for you?
4. What foods might make you more stressed?
Monday, September 17, 2012
TOPIC OF THE WEEK: STRESS MANAGEMENT
After last week's final post, I decided to address the issue of stress management. Now, I don't necessarily intend to give a whole lot of advice in this area (I'm really not an expert, if you couldn't tell), but I feel it is an important issue to address. I am going to kick things off with a survey. Take a minute and post a comment in response with your answers numbered to correspond with the following questions:
1. On a scale from 1-10 (1 being "pretty much all good" and 10 being "mostly negative"), how would you rate most of the stress you have in your life?
2. How often do you take a vacation?
3. What do you usually do to relieve stress?
4. Do you think you deal with stress in a healthy way?
Thanks for checking this out. You are all awesome.
1. On a scale from 1-10 (1 being "pretty much all good" and 10 being "mostly negative"), how would you rate most of the stress you have in your life?
2. How often do you take a vacation?
3. What do you usually do to relieve stress?
4. Do you think you deal with stress in a healthy way?
Thanks for checking this out. You are all awesome.
Friday, September 14, 2012
DISHWASHING TIPS
* Cutting knives stay sharp longer if you hand wash them.
* Wash your cast iron with salt. It keeps it seasoned, but is sanitary. You only need a teaspoon or two; simply moisten the pan, sprinkle on the salt, scrub, and rinse clean. If the pan is really dirty, you can also use baking soda.
* Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your dishwasher to help rinse dishes. (I know a lot of people already know this, but I posted it for those that don't know about this yet. Doing this has helped a lot, especially with our glass dishes.)
* Instead of thoroughly rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, simply wash them twice (one wash immediately after the first). You will actually save water and time. Make sure that you have any heat dry setting off (so that your dishwasher doesn't dry the food permanently onto the dishes) and turn on the second cycle right after the final rinse on the first cycle. You only need soap for one of the cycles, but it may be a good idea to add a splash of vinegar to the other cycle. If some of your dishes still aren't clean, they are probably easier to just hand wash anyway. If a lot of your dishes do not get clean enough after two cycles, you need to fire your dishwasher-- it is making way too much work for you and costing you too much money. (After all, isn't a dishwasher useless if it doesn't wash the dishes for you?!) If you have to fire your dishwasher, but can't get a new one right away, use it as drying rack when you don't have time to towel dry.
* Cook burned food off a pan with vinegar. It is the same idea as using a wine reduction in cooking. The acid in the vinegar (or you can use cola) will help separate heavily burned food from a pan, especially when it is heated. Restaurants use vinegar to degrease by pouring vinegar on a hot griddle. However, I recommend a milder approach (due to the fumes, their method can make it hard to breath) by putting the vinegar in before heating.
* Let your little ones "prewash" the dishes! I have learned that when I wash the dishes by myself, it can take a while. This is especially true if the dishes have piled up at all or if anything has "crusties" on it. My kids are young enough that they still like to be helpful, but it used to stress me out to have them wash dishes because I felt it only made a mess and I had to "rewash" the dishes anyway. But, one day I realized that their "washing" was a great way to get the dishes rinsed off enough to make my turn easier. So, now I throw a towel or two on the floor, remove all the knives and easily broken dishes to a different corner of the kitchen, give each kid a sponge or scrubber of their choosing and let them have at it. It gives them great practice and makes it faster for when I get to "finishing" them.
Hope these tips help! Let me know what you think.
* Wash your cast iron with salt. It keeps it seasoned, but is sanitary. You only need a teaspoon or two; simply moisten the pan, sprinkle on the salt, scrub, and rinse clean. If the pan is really dirty, you can also use baking soda.
* Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your dishwasher to help rinse dishes. (I know a lot of people already know this, but I posted it for those that don't know about this yet. Doing this has helped a lot, especially with our glass dishes.)
* Instead of thoroughly rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, simply wash them twice (one wash immediately after the first). You will actually save water and time. Make sure that you have any heat dry setting off (so that your dishwasher doesn't dry the food permanently onto the dishes) and turn on the second cycle right after the final rinse on the first cycle. You only need soap for one of the cycles, but it may be a good idea to add a splash of vinegar to the other cycle. If some of your dishes still aren't clean, they are probably easier to just hand wash anyway. If a lot of your dishes do not get clean enough after two cycles, you need to fire your dishwasher-- it is making way too much work for you and costing you too much money. (After all, isn't a dishwasher useless if it doesn't wash the dishes for you?!) If you have to fire your dishwasher, but can't get a new one right away, use it as drying rack when you don't have time to towel dry.
* Cook burned food off a pan with vinegar. It is the same idea as using a wine reduction in cooking. The acid in the vinegar (or you can use cola) will help separate heavily burned food from a pan, especially when it is heated. Restaurants use vinegar to degrease by pouring vinegar on a hot griddle. However, I recommend a milder approach (due to the fumes, their method can make it hard to breath) by putting the vinegar in before heating.
* Let your little ones "prewash" the dishes! I have learned that when I wash the dishes by myself, it can take a while. This is especially true if the dishes have piled up at all or if anything has "crusties" on it. My kids are young enough that they still like to be helpful, but it used to stress me out to have them wash dishes because I felt it only made a mess and I had to "rewash" the dishes anyway. But, one day I realized that their "washing" was a great way to get the dishes rinsed off enough to make my turn easier. So, now I throw a towel or two on the floor, remove all the knives and easily broken dishes to a different corner of the kitchen, give each kid a sponge or scrubber of their choosing and let them have at it. It gives them great practice and makes it faster for when I get to "finishing" them.
Hope these tips help! Let me know what you think.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
LAUNDRY TIPS
These are just a few things that have made doing laundry a lot easier for us.
1. Safety pin socks together before putting them in the dirty hamper. This way there is virtually no risk they will get separated while doing laundry, which we all know makes for a lot of "odd socks". I got so sick of socks being lost, I even put a safety pin on one sock in every pair of socks (for the whole family) and we wear them with the safety pins on them (since our socks are typically concealed by our pants). While my husband and son have expressed they don't like the pins all that much, they have no excuse for not pinning their socks together.
2. Treat stains right away. Now, I realize that most stain removers recommend that you treat the stain shortly before washing, but I don't know who has the time to go through an entire load to treat stains and then wait the recommended 3-5 before washing. I used to do it that way and I was so exhausted and irritable just from doing laundry. I also despised my kids too much every time they got their clothes dirty (ridiculous, I know). Since then, I have learned that if you have a good stain remover, it shouldn't really matter too much when you use it. I will post more stain removal tips and recipes later. This tip is more for the sake of time. I have found that treating stains either shortly after they appear on clothing or in the evening when changing into pajamas is a great way to make sure they get treated without having to be tedious when actually washing the clothes.
3. Do laundry your way. Some people feel it is more efficient to have a specific day that they do all their laundry, while others may do better pacing themselves throughout the week by doing a load or two each day (or every other day for smaller households). I am of the opinion that each person needs to find their own style. This may require some experimenting and open-mindedness. I used to think that a laundry day would suit me, but I have since learned that random loads are more effective for me. Whereas, my husband is usually more efficient having a laundry day to do most or all the laundry in one day. If you do not have your own washer/dryer, you may not have much of a choice, but if you are close enough to where you do your laundry you may want to try each style out a few times to see which one leaves you less stressed.
4. Don't fold (or iron) your clothes. Some of you may have just had a heart attack. I get it. I used to think that clothes should never be put away unless they were "ready", which either meant folded or ironed. My husband introduced me to the idea of putting away clothes once they were clean, even if that meant they didn't get folded or ironed. I resisted initially, but have come to realize that it was much more efficient to get them put away than to wait until I had time to fold and iron all of them. When he was gone for over 5 months for military training, I went back to my old ways for a little bit. One day, I realized that the clothes got more wrinkly, and even dirty again (without being worn), when I left them in the baskets (or in piles) waiting to be taken care of. Once I gave myself permission to just put them away, it relieved a lot of stress, helped my house be less cluttered, and I realized that it was easier to iron certain clothes as I used them versus all at once. Plus, if you hang stuff up, the wrinkles often work themselves out by the time you wear that article of clothing anyway, so I just started hanging more things up. Which brings me to:
5. Hang it! I have found that (where ever and whenever possible) it is much easier and more practical to hang most of my clothes than to keep them in drawers. While growing up, we had much more dresser space than closet space, so most of our clothes had to be folded and put in drawers. We really only had space to hand dresses, skirts, and other "Sunday" clothes. As a teenager and young adult, I noticed some of my friends kept a lot of their casual clothes in their closets (hung up). I just thought it was different, but had no idea it could be better. Now as an independent adult, I have learned that it can be much easier to hang most of my clothes. I really only use my drawers for clothes that don't wrinkle easily (or that it doesn't matter): underwear, socks, jeans, and pj's. Life is so much easier now.
Well, I will post more laundry tips as I remember them. I hope these are helpful. Perhaps I am the only one that did not know these earlier in life. At least they are here for my reference.
1. Safety pin socks together before putting them in the dirty hamper. This way there is virtually no risk they will get separated while doing laundry, which we all know makes for a lot of "odd socks". I got so sick of socks being lost, I even put a safety pin on one sock in every pair of socks (for the whole family) and we wear them with the safety pins on them (since our socks are typically concealed by our pants). While my husband and son have expressed they don't like the pins all that much, they have no excuse for not pinning their socks together.
2. Treat stains right away. Now, I realize that most stain removers recommend that you treat the stain shortly before washing, but I don't know who has the time to go through an entire load to treat stains and then wait the recommended 3-5 before washing. I used to do it that way and I was so exhausted and irritable just from doing laundry. I also despised my kids too much every time they got their clothes dirty (ridiculous, I know). Since then, I have learned that if you have a good stain remover, it shouldn't really matter too much when you use it. I will post more stain removal tips and recipes later. This tip is more for the sake of time. I have found that treating stains either shortly after they appear on clothing or in the evening when changing into pajamas is a great way to make sure they get treated without having to be tedious when actually washing the clothes.
3. Do laundry your way. Some people feel it is more efficient to have a specific day that they do all their laundry, while others may do better pacing themselves throughout the week by doing a load or two each day (or every other day for smaller households). I am of the opinion that each person needs to find their own style. This may require some experimenting and open-mindedness. I used to think that a laundry day would suit me, but I have since learned that random loads are more effective for me. Whereas, my husband is usually more efficient having a laundry day to do most or all the laundry in one day. If you do not have your own washer/dryer, you may not have much of a choice, but if you are close enough to where you do your laundry you may want to try each style out a few times to see which one leaves you less stressed.
4. Don't fold (or iron) your clothes. Some of you may have just had a heart attack. I get it. I used to think that clothes should never be put away unless they were "ready", which either meant folded or ironed. My husband introduced me to the idea of putting away clothes once they were clean, even if that meant they didn't get folded or ironed. I resisted initially, but have come to realize that it was much more efficient to get them put away than to wait until I had time to fold and iron all of them. When he was gone for over 5 months for military training, I went back to my old ways for a little bit. One day, I realized that the clothes got more wrinkly, and even dirty again (without being worn), when I left them in the baskets (or in piles) waiting to be taken care of. Once I gave myself permission to just put them away, it relieved a lot of stress, helped my house be less cluttered, and I realized that it was easier to iron certain clothes as I used them versus all at once. Plus, if you hang stuff up, the wrinkles often work themselves out by the time you wear that article of clothing anyway, so I just started hanging more things up. Which brings me to:
5. Hang it! I have found that (where ever and whenever possible) it is much easier and more practical to hang most of my clothes than to keep them in drawers. While growing up, we had much more dresser space than closet space, so most of our clothes had to be folded and put in drawers. We really only had space to hand dresses, skirts, and other "Sunday" clothes. As a teenager and young adult, I noticed some of my friends kept a lot of their casual clothes in their closets (hung up). I just thought it was different, but had no idea it could be better. Now as an independent adult, I have learned that it can be much easier to hang most of my clothes. I really only use my drawers for clothes that don't wrinkle easily (or that it doesn't matter): underwear, socks, jeans, and pj's. Life is so much easier now.
Well, I will post more laundry tips as I remember them. I hope these are helpful. Perhaps I am the only one that did not know these earlier in life. At least they are here for my reference.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Topic of the Week: Housekeeping
This week we will be discussing housekeeping. I have a few of my own housekeeping tips, but I welcome each of you to take a quick moment and post any you have. Housekeeping is a pretty big topic, so we will come back to it in future weeks. In order to keep my blog interesting, I am going to switch the topic each week. I will post at least one tip each day. I'd love to hear any feedback on the tips I give and how they work for each of you.
Here is my first TIP OF THE DAY:
TIMESAVER TIDYING
1. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes & go to the room or area you would like to tidy up.
2. Start the timer and clean on "super speed" until the timer goes off.
3. When the timer goes off, stop cleaning. You may move to a different area, task or room, but only allow yourself to work on each room or large area for the short allotted time.
* You could finish your cleaning for the day in as little as 15-20 minutes!
* This is great for those that especially despise cleaning the house.
* Involve your spouse or kids-- they are much more likely to help if they are promised that it will only be for 15-20 minutes (or less) total. Just make sure you keep the promise!
* Each household member could do this at different times of the day to make it more convenient for busy families.
* DO NOT set a timer for longer than 10 minutes for adults and 5 minutes for kids (or anyone that hates cleaning)! You want to keep cleaning a positive, fun, quick and easy thing!
* Make sure everyone knows that the time limit standard only works if they are quickly cleaning the entire time. Do not let yourself get distracted. If you find you get distracted during a certain time limit, shorten it-- you will have more confidence and feel less tied down.
* Try it out for a few days or a week and leave a comment on how things went!
Here is my first TIP OF THE DAY:
TIMESAVER TIDYING
1. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes & go to the room or area you would like to tidy up.
2. Start the timer and clean on "super speed" until the timer goes off.
3. When the timer goes off, stop cleaning. You may move to a different area, task or room, but only allow yourself to work on each room or large area for the short allotted time.
* You could finish your cleaning for the day in as little as 15-20 minutes!
* This is great for those that especially despise cleaning the house.
* Involve your spouse or kids-- they are much more likely to help if they are promised that it will only be for 15-20 minutes (or less) total. Just make sure you keep the promise!
* Each household member could do this at different times of the day to make it more convenient for busy families.
* DO NOT set a timer for longer than 10 minutes for adults and 5 minutes for kids (or anyone that hates cleaning)! You want to keep cleaning a positive, fun, quick and easy thing!
* Make sure everyone knows that the time limit standard only works if they are quickly cleaning the entire time. Do not let yourself get distracted. If you find you get distracted during a certain time limit, shorten it-- you will have more confidence and feel less tied down.
* Try it out for a few days or a week and leave a comment on how things went!
First Day of Blogging
Hi, Everyone. This is my very first day blogging. I know, it is 2012! So, I am fairly behind the times for my generation. I just hope I get this right by at least making my blog interesting. Maybe someone will even look at it one day and read an entire post. Either way, here is my outlet. The best part is, now I don't have to keep track of a journal. I guess there is no turning back now.... I'm a blogger!
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