Update on Soap Nuts

I had to make an unplanned trip to Florida to be with my dad for some medical issues so I have been unable to give my soap nuts a try, but I found a great deal for today only if you were interested in trying them too! Click here to get over 100+ loads worth of natural soap nuts for $12+ shipping. This site also has some great tips on how to extend their life after the laundry to use has a natural household cleaner. Check it out if you're interested.

Review still to come when I get home. . .

Homemade Deodorant

Just a warning about this post. You may learn more about my armpits than you care to know. One of the first changes we made to our morning routine was to change our deodorant. I had always heard that antiperspirant was bad to use and that deodorant was better, but I couldn't get the deodorant to work. Honestly, sometimes the clinical strength antiperspirant didn't even work. I was very hesitant to try homemade deodorant, but we did, and we love it.

Antiperspirant actually blocks your pores and keeps you from sweating which can also block the toxins from escaping your body through your sweat. The aluminum in antiperspirant and commercial deodorant is thought to increase chances of breast cancer and is also linked to Alzheimer's and brain disorders! If you do choose to purchase a natural store bought deodorant instead, make sure it is paraben (parabens have been found in high concentrations in breast tumors), fragrance, and aluminum free!

The recipe:
5-6 Tbls Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder
1/4 cup Baking Soda
A few drops Tea Tree Oil
A few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional for scent)

It's much easier to watch someone put this together than for me to explain it so I'm going have you watch this video.

Now to explain the ingredients a little better. The coconut oil smells wonderful and makes the powders go on smoother. If you get the organic, extra virgin oil, you can use it to bake with too. I also use just the coconut oil for a lotion. The arrowroot powder is a thickening agent and helps absorb moisture. The baking soda helps get rid of the odor, and the tea tree oil is an antibacterial agent. Bacteria is what can cause some of the odor of the underarms.

I will be honest and admit that while I love this deodorant and it worked well preventing stinky underarms, I do have sensitive armpits and this irritated my skin. I've heard that you can reduce the baking soda amount, because that is the irritant so give that a try if you have problems similar to me. Also, coconut oil melts at 76 degrees. We find that during the summer in our house it just gets nice and soft to apply, but when traveling, it's always melted when we arrive at our destination and we normally have oil to clean up. So I would recommend using a natural store bought alternative when traveling. I use the Kiss My Face brand and find that it works well too. My husband, however, loves the homemade and has no complaints about it.

So how do you apply it? Once it's all made up, put it in a shallow jar or dish and then apply it with your fingers. I know that may sounds gross, but your armpits should be clean when you get out of the shower or you may be doing something wrong. The oil also helps to keep your hands soft.

I know it sounds weird and it's just a little bit of work, but it's worth a try to improve your health!

Soap Nuts

I got really excited about a package that came in the mail today. I didn't get a new pair of shoes or a new book, but rather laundry detergent. Yes, I am excited about laundry detergent! I am trying something new that I have read good reviews for and I'm looking forward to trying it for myself.

Soap Nuts

So what is so bad about laundry detergent? It supposed to be something that you "clean" with right? Well commercial laundry detergents are comprised of synthetic chemicals that can cause all sorts of problems such as rashes, allergies, and sinus problems- just to name a few. Those chemicals do not all come out in the rinse cycle, and what does is harming the environment. The rest of it remains in our clothes that we wear day in and day out. That's a lot of chemicals that your skin is being exposed to.

Enter Soap Nuts. Soap nuts are actually berries that come from the Chinese Soapberry Tree and they are naturally harvested. The fruit ripens on the tree, falls to the ground where it is picked up and then dried in the sun. Then they are ready for use! These soap nuts contain a natural substance called saponin that is released when they come in contact with water. Even better is that saponin has anti-microbial properties and they are certified organic.

I ordered mine from Yoreganics, which I found to be the cheapest that I could find. My order came promptly and with a personalized handwritten note thanking me for my order! I haven't even put them in my washer yet and I'm already hooked. I'll follow this up with a review so you can know for sure if they really work.

For more information, visit http://www.buysoapnuts.com/index.html

What's for Dinner: Beef and Peas

Often when I'm cooking, I think about how our meals have changed. When I was giving our diet a makeover, I found meal planning to be extremely difficult. I thought I would share some of our recipes so that you might avoid the same struggle. The problem I ran into the most is that many cookbooks called for processed items. I thought that I knew how to cook but I really just knew how to open cans and combine them to make a meal. Some of our recipes we just don't make any more and some we have tweaked to make healthier. I haven't found just one source to get my recipes from, instead, I look through my cookbooks, online, and read some blogs that post healthier recipes. It's been a slow process but I'm happy to share what I have found. I hope you enjoy the ongoing "What's for Dinner" series!

Tonight's recipe comes from Taste of Home's Dinner on a Dime cookbook. The original recipe is called Ground Beef n' Biscuits, but in our house it is simply known as Beef and Peas. The original recipe calls for canned biscuits, but we're going to make our own! It's not hard so give it a try, and since you're doing it, go ahead and and double the recipe and have biscuits for breakfast a few mornings this week with no extra effort (or dishes)!

Homemade Biscuits (not doubled)

2 cups flour (half wheat half unbleached white)
3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut butter into mixture using a pastry blender. Stir in the milk with a fork until ingredients are just mixed. Transfer the dough to a large, flat surface and roll it out to about 1" thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Avoid using a drinking glass if possible because you want the air to have a way to escape or your biscuits will be flat. Bake at 425 degrees on a greased cookie sheet for 13-15 minutes. You can also just bake the extras with the Beef and Peas at a lower temperature for longer.


Beef and Peas
Servings: 6 / Oven: 350 degrees

1 lb ground beef (local grass fed, please)
1/2 cup chopped onion (we like onion so we add a little more)
2 tbls flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp pepper
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (we cheat and buy canned tomatoes for our budget's sake occasionally until we have a nice garden with more tomatoes than we know what to do with, but for now, we use Muir Glen Organics)
1 1o oz package frozen peas (fresh is fine too)
6 homemade biscuits, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat, drain.

Stir in flour, salt, oregano, and pepper until blended.

Add tomato sauce and peas; simmer for 5 minutes.


Transfer into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Place 6 biscuits on top of mixture and sprinkle with cheese. In order for the biscuits to cook more thoroughly, do not allow them to touch each other and make sure the casserole mixture you're putting them on is warm.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let me know if you try this and what you think!

Homemade Pizza

Just because we cook from scratch and eat healthy foods doesn't mean we have to give up delicious favorites; we have pizza night once a week! We have been having weekly pizzas for a while now, but the recipes have slowly changed and we have finally settled on a pizza that is healthy and delicious! The recipes for both sauce and crust are found below. Use your favorite toppings or whatever is left over in your fridge. It's great to get everyone together in the kitchen to make their pizzas!

Lets start with the pizza crust. Don't plan this on a night when you have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. This crust isn't very time intensive but needs to be started early so the dough can rise. I know that you can freeze dough but I have never tried it- let me know if you have!

We used to buy canned pizza sauce until about two weeks ago when I discovered the best pizza sauce ever! I have no idea where I found the recipe (somewhere on the internet) but I will share it with you. My house smelled like Olive Garden for the rest of the night and we went back to the store a few days later and bought all the Roma tomatoes they had to make sauce and freeze it.
Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust at allrecipes.com

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
  

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust.** Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

My notes:
*We still use white flour but try to find recipes that are at least half and half white and wheat. I love that this is more wheat than white but the crust isn't dense like most wheat crusts are. Don't buy any flour that says enriched. For white flour we like the King Arthur Brand because it is unbleached and unbromated. You don't have to shop a health food store to get it either, they sell it at Walmart.
** We normally split the dough into 6 balls. For our family of two, we each make a personal size pizza because our taste are very different, as well as two calzones each to have for lunch the coming week. To make the calzones, roll dough into more of an oval than a circle and dress it like a pizza on one end. Fold the other end over and seal the seems. I usually leave the calzones in the oven for 5-10 minutes longer.

Pizza Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
7 Roma Tomatoes, cored and diced
1 tbls Basil
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 oz can tomato paste

In saucepan, heat olive oil. Stir in garlic and cook until just lightly browned (This is where it starts to smell really good in your house and you can't keep your family out of the kitchen)! Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Simmer until juices have started to evaporate slightly, about 10 minutes.
Blend in tomato paste and cook 3 minutes more. Cool slightly before using on pizzas. I found that this makes enough for two pizza nights so stick 1/2 in the freezer and have it ready for the next pizza night.

Enjoy!!

First Steps

Today I would like to share with you some of the first changes that our family made. I wouldn't suggest doing everything overnight. Take it one step at a time and you will be surprised how quickly things around your house will change. So what is most important to change first? I'm sure everyone would have different priorities based on their situation but here are the steps that we took.

1. Purge your pantry and refrigerator of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and products with an ingredient list that are a paragraph long. Prior to our lifestyle change, I had been an avid couponer. I bought whatever products I could get for rock bottom prices and then created our meals around that. Needless to say, our food stockpile consisted mostly of processed food. If you don't keep very many things on hand, you could phase things out, but we had so many things that I decided just to purge. For items that I had multiples of, I would keep just one. We ended up taking two rather large boxes of food to the food pantry nearby, and then began to slowly restock our pantry with healthier items. I wish I could give you a simple list of the items that contained HFCS but sadly it has made its way into so many food products. HFCS turns into fat much quicker than other sugars and can deceive your body into thinking it needs more sugar than it really does. While some information about HFCS right now will say that it's no different than sugar and has the same calories, sugar isn't all that great for you either. So limit your sugar too. We'll talk about the best sugar options available soon. I don't want to overwhelm you all in one day; we must take baby steps. Know the ingredients of what you're consuming and if you can't pronounce an ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

2. Increase your whole food consumption. Buy mostly plants. This is a great time of year to begin this. Visit your local farmer's market to get delicious, fresh, nutrient filled fruits and vegetables. If you want to think ahead for the winter, buy a little extra each time and freeze it. The Environmental Working Group has posted the 2010 Dirty Dozen List showing what produce is the most important to buy organic based on testing for pesticide levels. Don't overwhelm yourself with buying everything organic. Start with the most important.

3. Stop using air fresheners and fragrance items. Fragrances are often created with phthalates which are chemicals and are probable carcinogens! Your house doesn't need Febreze to be clean and you don't need perfume to smell nice, just take a shower. Do you know how synthetic (imitation) fragrances work? They attach to your nose hairs and numb your nose to that smell. That is why you don't smell your perfume after a while. Indoor air is actually more toxic than outdoor. So open the windows whenever possible and stop adding more chemicals to the air that you breathe. Houseplants are a great way to clean the air in your house, just make sure that they are safe for your pets. There are many other culprits that contribute to "dirty" air, but these are the easiest changes to make first.

I will continue this list in the coming days. Up next: Making your own homemade cleaners.

Where to Begin

I feel like I have gotten ahead of myself. I've blogged about a few things as they have come to mind but I think of something to write about almost every time that I am cleaning my house or cooking a meal because I have made changes in so many areas. I feel like I need to start from the beginning before I start throwing all sorts of information at you. I'll back up to when I started and we'll work through this together. First, let me help you with some steps you can take. You don't have to change everything over night.

1. Research You will never know what changes to make and what is best for your family if you don't do some research. If this is a really interesting topic for you, like it is for me, there is more information out there than you will ever be able to get through. But for others, you want to make a change but don't have a whole lot of time to spend researching. There is nothing wrong with either way. If you're looking for the simple route, limit the information you let yourself take in. Find a few blogs (there are tons out there!) and see if you can get any useful information from them. If you want to, read through a few books over time. I would love to share some of the books I've been reading. I will be doing reviews of them just like In Defense of Food so you can learn more about them that way.

2. Share the load Don't do it alone. These health/environment/money saving changes are so popular right now. Start talking to your friends and tell them what your interested in learning. Maybe someone else has the same interest! Don't feel like you have to find all of your own information. We chose our dog food based on what a friend fed her dog. She is an avid animal lover and health nut and had done her research and could tell me all about it and where to buy it. All it took was a conversation with her, not days of research. We also bought a juicer based on the research that my parents did. I didn't have to go and find all of the information for myself. Find people you trust and make this something fun to do together.

3. Ban the worst things first With some basic knowledge and a little bit of reading you will quickly learn what changes need to be made first. Something that MIGHT cause minor irritation is much less important than things that contain formaldehyde (aerosol cans), a KNOWN human carcinogen (cancer causing). My next post will be a list of some of the changes that we made first so be watching for that.

4. Replace as you run out Once you get rid of the things that you can't stand to have in your house for another day, take a deep breath (preferably outside where the air is cleaner) and slow things down. As you run out of cleaners, toiletry products, and food items, replace with a healthier choice. When you run out of flour, buy whole wheat flour or unbleached, unbromated white flour. When you run out of deodorant, make your own! (Yes, it works!) This means that you just have to research things one at a time and little by little. It makes the task much less daunting. Again, I’ll be making some suggestions along these lines in future posts.

I have a feeling that our lifestyle will continue to change slowly for the rest of our lives as we discover and experiment with new things. Don't get overwhelmed with it. Just do what you can do and know that each little change you make is making an impact on your health. Don't worry about what has already been done, but think about what it will mean for your health to not use that in the future. God made our bodies remarkable and able to heal themselves. Stop putting the bad in and your body will have less to fight. Take time to focus on the positive changes you have made and it will keep you from getting overwhelmed.

Book Review: In Defense of Food

I would like to expound a little on my previous post about Michael Pollan's Book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

Before jumping into the book, you might ask yourself: "Is this a book that I want to read?" Some people are like I used to be and scared to take the plunge. I now believe that it's best to have all of the information and then make the choices you deem right for your family. You can find people much more extreme about the food they eat than I am, but I have found a balance for my own family. People that we stay with when we travel sometimes worry about what to feed us, but we always reassure them that we eat whatever they do. We do not do this to burden anyone else. We simply chose to make a change in the way we eat at home, which is a majority of the time. So don't be scared, just be informed and make the changes that are best and conceivable for your family.

The premise of this book is very simple: "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." The main thing that I like about Pollan's book is that he takes a large amount of information and food cycles and presents it in a way that is very clear to understand. He follows the trends of nutritionism and eating habits which helps to see how we have been so easily deceived. Nutritionism is simply buying a product based on one nutrient, such as a sugary cereal that advertises more fiber instead of focusing on the countless whole food products that offer an array of natural nutrients that our bodies are able to recognize. Have you ever noticed the constant change in margarine? Whatever the "hot topic" nutrient happens to be at the time, it has it, such as omega 3's. This is just one example of a food that is chemically altered to increase sales. Whole foods have the same nutrients all the time, no matter what the fad.

Pollan also focuses on what he calls the Western Diet, which is the way American's eat. All the fast "food" and processed "food like products" that we consume are having a negative effect on our health. Diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are plaguing our nation. Not to say that our country is the only one suffering from these diseases, but as the Western Diet infiltrates other countries, studies have shown that the rates of the health problems also rise.

One thing that I like is that it is not about what "diet" you choose, it's about the lifestyle changes you make to consume real food. So it fits into everyone's taste. You don't have to adhere to a traditional cultural diet such as the Mediterranean diet or eat like the French do. They are all healthier than we are, and God created our bodies wonderfully. Our bodies can quickly begin to undo all of the damage we have previously done when we begin to remove processed products from our diet.

Another thing that I like about this book is that it's not just a book of what to do and what not to do. It helps you to understand that what you eat has an impact on your health. This book ends with simple rules for how to change your diet, such as, "Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize." This makes it very easy to take what you have learned while reading the book and put it into practice.

This book helped me understand better what I was putting into my body and also helped me to recognize how blinded I have been by advertising and marketing.

I hope that this review of The Eater's Manifesto helps you and your family make informed decisions about the food you eat. This book is what spurred my husband and I to begin eating better.

Cosmetics

I've got a list of ideas to share here with you soon but while I'm working on those posts I wanted to share this video that I found: The Story of Cosmetics. I recently ran out of face wash so I am using this time to try some homemade recipes. I'll let you know how it goes. I've got a book review and a "where to begin" post coming soon!