Living Unrefined

{Product Review} Rootology Natural Allergy Remedy!

2013-05-14T21:27:00.000-05:00

Note: The items in this review were provided to me by Rootology for the purpose of this review. However, the opinions expressed here were in no way influenced by Rootology. This review represents my honest opinion about the products.

I got a free sample of Rootology last fall, but didn't have a need for it, since my allergies tend to flare mostly in the spring/summer. But, as soon as I started getting stuffy and icky this spring, I dug it out. I only had one dose, but was hooked immediately!

I emailed Rootology and asked if they would sponsor a giveaway for y'all. They happily said 'yes' and sent me a whole bottle to try and some samples to hand out.

I generally refuse to take OTC/Rx meds unless I'm on death's door, so the idea of a natural option that actually works is so exciting! This one's an herbal blend with some vitamin C and D mixed in (not my favorite form of VitD, but you can't win them all).

My allergies have been strange this year. My nose has been stuffy and my ears have had a lot of pressure (drainage, yum!). The past couple of years, I've just suffered through the symptoms, but within 30 minutes of taking the 2-pill dose, I'm all but cleared up! LOVE it!

I handed the sample packets out to several different people, and only one said she didn't feel a difference. One of my friends called me a few hours later to ask where I got those "magic pills" I gave her! Luckily, a 20-dose bottle costs about $15, and you can get free shipping through Amazon!

ALSO, the folks over at Rootology are giving y'all a couple of free bottles to try for yourself! I can't wait to hear if it is as amazing for you as it is for me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Homemade Beeswax Balm {multipurpose}

2013-05-09T01:24:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone visiting from Pinterest! I'm so happy that you've found my little corner of the Internet :) There's quite a bit here to explore, so please have a look around! Also, I'd love it if you would join us over on Facebook:

I was at a fancy spa last week and fell in love with a line of natural smelly-good body products that they carried: Zents. The smells were fantastic, and their balm, Concreta, was fantastically formulated. Then I flipped the cute little sample boxes over. Holy Cow! $34 for 1.25 ounces of balm! I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped...

Then I read the ingredients: beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, scented oils. Seriously. That was it.

And, just like that, a new DIY project was born.

I added cypress essential oil for its muscle relaxation properties, rose hip seed oil for its skin regeneration properties, carrot seed oil for its anti-aging and detox properties, and orange oil for an energizing scent. You really can go wild, though, and add in any essential oils for their medicinal properties or their scents!

I think I'll be making another batch with calendula oil, peppermint oil, lavender oil, and tea tree oil and use it as a healing balm (just like All Good Goop!).

Ingredients

3 ounces unrefined beeswax (3/4 cup if you get the same size product as me)

Unrefined beeswax is yellow, so your balm will be
yellow. The Zents balm must have used refined
beeswax, since their product is so white.

3 1/2 ounces unrefined shea butter (1/2 cup)

5 ounces unrefined coconut oil (3/4 cup)

1/8 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon cypress essential oil
2 teaspoons rose hip seed oil
1/2 teaspoon carrot seed oil
1 tablespoon orange oil

Directions

1. Combine the wax, shea, coconut, and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. The texture will be weird and soupy, since the coconut oil melts at 76 degrees and the beeswax doesn't melt until 140 degrees.

2. Stir the mixture until the beeswax starts to break apart. This may take a little white, because you are waiting for the mixture to come up to 140-ish. {Note: do not stick your candy thermometer in the mix, because you will NEVER be able to wash the waxy balm off of it... Still trying...}

3. When the wax starts to melt, whisk until it all makes one happy pool of clear, yellow liquid. Remove from heat. Dip a spoon into the liquid and then let it cool. Check the texture. If you want it more solid, add more beeswax and put it back on the heat until it melts. If you want it more creamy, add more coconut oil or olive oil.

4. Add it your essential oils and stir well. If the oils make the mixture re-solidify, just put it back on the heat until its all melted again.

5. Spoon or pour into jars. I found these adorable 4-ounce jars at Hobby Lobby to use as gifts {teacher appreciation week and Mother's Day!} I filled 6, so you should get about 24 ounces out of this recipe. If you need less, you can half the recipe.

I ended up spending about what I would have spent on 1.25 ounces of the fancy Zents Concretas on what will make about a lifetime supply of the exact same recipe!

A few hints to make your process a little smoother than my first go at it was:

Don't use anything that can't go in the dishwasher.
Be careful not to get the ingredients or the final product on your countertops - they are really hard to get completely cleaned off.
When you're done, stick the pan and utensils in the dishwasher and wash on hot with vinegar. Then, run it again with dishwasher soap.

Miracle Earache & Ear Infection Remedy! {Momma's Magic Drops}

2013-04-10T23:41:00.001-05:00

One of a mamma's simple pleasures is the quiet that falls over the house between the kiddos' bed times and momma's bedtime. I don't like that time to be disturbed. By anything.

Especially by the sound of a screeching toddler...

At about 11:45 last night, Little Bear (2 1/2) started screaming like a banshee. My first thought was, of course, bad dream... I ran to his room and he was sitting up in bed clutching his ear. I will concede that he's really not ever sick and has never ever had ear troubles, so he may have been more dramatic than most kids. Either way, the sound of my baby in pain induced a bit of a panic.

... Crap. An ear ache is probably not ER worthy, although his screams are pretty intense. Can I get an OTC drop that will help? What kind of artificial meds are in those drops? ...

I had to do something, but I had no idea what. There were some old homeopathic, glycerine-based ear drops in the medicine cabinet (not sure why, though), but they turned out to be entirely useless. Dude wouldn't even let me hold a warm rag on his ear to soothe it, and I was out of ideas.

As I snuggled my still-bawling little guy, I googled like a maniac. The only remedy I could find that could be made with what I had on hand was garlic and olive oil. I had no expectation of success, but I had to do something.

Apparently, both ingredients are highly antibacterial and garlic is a crazy good anti-inflammatory.

SO, to cut to the chase, Little Bear sat on a chair in the kitchen whimpering, "muh ear, muh ear. muh ear hut" while I made "Momma's Magic Drops" {Seriously, naming not fun things fun names somehow makes the idea less appalling to the little ones...}

I have no pics of the actual process, because I was beyond tired and frazzled by the time we were at this point in the night...

Put 1/4 cup unrefined olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add about 4 cloves of crushed, coarsely chopped garlic.
Let it simmer until the garlic pieces start to brown.
Remove the garlic and bring to room or body temperature.
Use a dropper and drop several drops in the affected ear.
Wait several minutes with the bad ear up to let the oil run down into the ear (we sang the ABCs three times slowly while eating chocolate).
Repeat several times a day until the ear is better.

You can store the oil in a glass container in the refrigerator. When you're ready to use them, fill up the dropper and leave it on the counter to warm up for several minutes.

No exaggeration, within seconds of the drops going in his ear, LB was calmed down. And, by the time we were done singing the ABC's, he was already starting to doze back off. He woke up this morning tired, but without even the slightest indication that his ears were hurting. SUCCESS!!!

For good measure, we still did drops this morning and then two more times during the day.

*HUGE sign of relief*

Do you have another natural DIY remedy to share? Have you tried this one? I can't say how well this will work across the board, but I will for sure try it again if/when LB has an earache again!

{Product Review} Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

2013-03-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

I'm so happy that you've found my little corner of the Internet :) There's quite a bit here to explore, so please have a look around! Also, I'd love it if you would join us over on Facebook:

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I love coconut oil. Ok, love may not be strong enough. I ADORE coconut oil! We eat it on toast instead of butter, I sub it for butter in recipes (popcorn, carrot cake, chocolate cookies, burger buns...), I use it as a hair mask, I slather it on as a moisturizer, and I've even replaced my face wash with it - but more on that later.

Tropical Traditions came across my hair treatment post (which went super viral on Pinterest!), and offered to send me a jar of their fancy coconut oil. They said I was under no obligation to review the product, write a positive review, or sponsor a product giveaway in return for receiving the free product, but they wanted me to give their coconut oil a try. Not being one to say not to freeness, I accepted :)

I didn't really expect there to be much of a difference in the Tropical Traditions coconut oil and the brands that I usually use, but it actually was a nicer product. The texture is creamier, and the smell is a bit more potent. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about it for frying eggs, but it makes a heck of a toast spread and is really nice for cosmetic uses!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA doesn't let us discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is a great website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Aloe Vera Gel Hair Mask - One-Ingredient, One-Hour to Healthy, Shiny Hair!!!

2013-03-19T17:22:00.000-05:00

I'm absolutely NOT retracting my love for my coconut oil hair mask, but I have found another new love! One of the commenters on the coconut oil mask post suggested an aloe treatment. Since aloe gel is relatively inexpensive, and since I have an obsession with trying new natural remedies, I couldn't wait to give it a go...

Step 1: Wash, condition, and towel dry your hair as usual.

Step 2: Apply a generous amount of REAL aloe gel to your hair, root to end. Don't buy the blue crap (or the clear crap next to it) in the sun-care aisle of your supermarket. Go to the natural care section and look for real aloe gel, or get it online (I found it at about half the price online!).

The good stuff!

Even this "100% Gel" version has crummy ingredients!
(Aloe Vera Gel, Triethanolamine, Tocopheryl Acetate,
Carbomer 940, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin,
Diazolidinyl Urea) - Talk about misleading marketing tactics!!

Step 3: Put a shower cap on and wait about an hour.

Step 4: Rinse hair and dry/style as usual! So shiny and clean!

For me, at least, I like the aloe better for dull or icky-feeling hair, while the coconut oil is better for dry, damaged hair. In my world, that translates to coconut oil in the winter and aloe in the summer (with a little overlap here and there).

Have you tried both? Which is your favorite?

Apples to Oranges {to raspberries to carrots to...}

2013-02-25T20:24:00.001-06:00

I was in the produce section of the grocery store this afternoon, and was faced with a perplexing dilemma... Both the organic apples AND the organic oranges were on sale! What to do?!?

I held up a 5-pound bag of each and (innocently) asked Little Bear to pick one. He hesitated and muttered, "uhm, uuuuhhhhmmm, uhm." Then, realizing the obvious hilarity of my request, giggled out loud and said, "I know, dude, it's like choosing between apples and oranges!" Hee hee hee. I'm so funny. The other Kroger shoppers gave me "really?" Looks out of the corners of their eyes, but at least I amuse myself, right?

We ended up getting both, because can one really compare apples to oranges?? {yep, still funny}

Ok, so, there is a reason for this rambling.

Didja know... A quick post-purchase, pre-refrigerator water-vinegar rinse (like 4-to-1) kills mold spores on the surface of fruits and veggies and prolongs their shelf life? {it is especially helpful for berries!}

Save the Stems & Make Broccoli Slaw!

2013-02-22T23:00:00.000-06:00

It's no secret that organic foods are more expensive than their conventional counterparts. I'm usually incredibly frugal and am certainly not easily convinced to spend more money when there are cheaper options. My food and my beauty products are two major exceptions. I invest in my health and the health of my family, even if it means spending more on groceries and body products. In the spirit of frugality, however, I am always looking for ways to stretch my dollar without compromising.

As a great way to get more use out of fresh broccoli (throwing away the stems disposes of over half of what you've paid for!) and to sneak extra veggies into unassuming dishes, I've started grating the stems and stirring them into various meals.

Broccoli stems actually have a killer nutritional profile (check out the full nutrition facts here). They are packed with vitamin C, calcium, protein, folate (important during pregnancy), iron, and tons of other vitamins and minerals. YUM!

Here we go...

Start with fresh broccoli (I realize that these pictures are overkill for such a simple how-to, but I've been working on weaning myself from the automatic settings on my SLR, and broccoli was my food model this week).

Chop off the florets (this is the part we actually like eating).

What was left after the great broccoli massacre of 2013.

Wash the florets and set aside for whatever recipe you're using them in.

Wash the stems. If you will be having broccoli again in the next week or so, you should be able to save these in an air-tight container in the fridge and combine the stems from multiple days to conserve even more time.

Use a cheese grater or a food processor with a grater attachment to grate the stems (the food processor is way faster and easier than the hand grater). I read today that you should peel broccoli stems before using them, but I had no trouble grating them with the stems intact, and I have no desire to add extra, unnecessary steps...

The grated stems can be mixed into almost anything! This time I used them raw in a cold broccoli salad, but I've also stirred them into pasta sauce, stir-fries, garden salads, etc.

I Heart Cowboy Toast

2013-02-11T21:43:00.000-06:00

I know what my loves will be having for breakfast on Valentine's Day! - cowboy toast (sometimes called toad-in-the-hole toast) with a heart-y twist :)

Ingredients

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 medium egg
1/2 tablespoon butter/oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Toast the bread to a very light brown. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the center of the toast.

2. Heat butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat.

3. Put the toast in the skillet and crack an egg in the heart-shaped hole. Add salt & pepper to the top of the egg. Cover the skillet with a lid. Cook until the yolk is at the desired level of doneness (this is absolutely a matter of preference - just keep peeking until the egg is done enough for you/your Valentine).

4. For the kids, you may want to flip the toast (with egg intact) to make sure the egg is well-done. This will ruin the heart shape slightly, but you probably don't want to risk serving them undercooked eggs!

Homemade Instant Trail Mix Oatmeal {Not your granny's recipe!}

2013-02-10T23:46:00.000-06:00

I think I've been pretty open about my dislike of oatmeal. Sure, it lowers cholesterol... Sure, it is whole grain and is a "real food." Sure, it's high in fiber and low in calories... Sure it boosts your immune system... Sure, it's gluten-free... {someone stop me...}

But, it's OATMEAL. Blech. Just not my cup 'o tea...

However, Little Bear is (for whatever reason) a huge fan.

Since we got rid of our microwave, it's pretty time-consuming to make a bowl of traditional oatmeal. It has to be simmered and whatnot, and I'm just not a morning person. Seriously. At all. Plus, the instant oatmeal packets have tons of refined sugar and artificial flavors, and the 100% oatmeal instant oatmeal is just gross. (read: no oatmeal for LB in the mornings)

Cue the homemade instant oatmeal!

This was a weekend project for Mommy and LB (along with frozen bean burritos and breakfast burritos), and was actually really easy to throw together:

Ingredients

6 cups rolled oats
3 cups dried fruit
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup nuts
1 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Directions

Toast the oats in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Lightly pulse 2 cups of the oats in a food processor (just enough to roughly chop the oats.) Pulse 2 cups of the oats slightly longer, and pulse the remaining two cups into a coarse flour.

Chop the dried fruit, either by hand or in a food processor. You can use anything, but I usually use figs, dates, and apricots. If you use a food processor, throw a handful of the oats in with the fruit to keep it from sticking together in an icky mess.

Toast the nuts until they are fragrant, but be sure not to burn them - maybe 5 minutes (the oils in nuts will make them burn pretty quickly if left unattended). I use pecans, but any nut will work.

If you want, toast the coconut, too. I love the warm toasty flavors in the morning!

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. If you didn't add oats to the food processor with the fruit, you may have to break the fruit bits apart by hand, but the oats should help keep them from sticking once they're mixed together.

Unsweetned, Shredded Coconut

Store in an airtight container.

To serve, mix approximately equal parts oatmeal mix with equal parts hot water (I use my tea kettle to heat it up). Stir and let stand until thickened. Add more water, if needed. I think about 1/3 cup of the oatmeal makes a decent breakfast serving. It's much hardier and filling than the stuff sold in packets!

I have to admit that I actually really like this oatmeal! It's not gooey and is anything but bland. Plus, it's super versatile. Literally every ingredient except the oats can be subbed or eliminated without hurting the recipe!

My best estimate is that it's about $.50 per serving if you go all organic and buy from the bulk section. I wish I had a better price estimate for you, but it's harder to estimate bulk pricing when I buy ingredients for more than one purpose (ex, LB takes dried figs/dates/apricots for snack to school and I use chia in just about everything around here..)

**UPDATE: I carefully measured out my ingredients from the organic bulk bins and and did the math. Each 1/3 cup serving came out to $.45! The price is just about the same as the Quaker junk, but this is real, wholesome food that will really give you a smart start to your day!**

What flavor combinations will you be trying??

What's on the Outside Counts, Too!

2013-01-28T11:00:00.000-06:00

Until I was pregnant with Little Bear, I never thought twice about what was in the soaps, cosmetics, lotions, or other body products that I used. The fact that everything that goes on your body eventually ends up in your body was not something that I concerned myself with - at all. I was the biggest fan of yummy-scented Bath and Body Works products, paraben-laden name-brand hair products, and tons of other stuff drenched in the "bad" ingredients that I now steer away from.

Straight from FDA website...

I thought that if the FDA allowed it to be sold, it must be (at least mostly) safe. After tons of research (online, not in a lab - I missed that calling a long time ago) and as a much wiser and more cynical person, I've learned that it's almost always better not to trust your health and well-being to someone else, including the government.

Did you know that the FDA doesn't even regulate the cosmentic industry? In fact, no one does! That's not to say that the government and the consmetic companies have bad intentions or are intentionally harmful, but I'm just not willing to give control of my health over to companies who, as they arguably should be, are out to make a dollar (or a billion). Why wouldn't they use toxic chemicals that make their products cheaper and seem more effective to consumers if it made more money for their shareholders?

I'm also not saying that it's necessary to go 100% natural and give up all of your beauty favs, but it's at least worth thinking about. Rather than undergoing a full beauty overhaul - which can be super expensive since body products and cosmetics are generally NOT cheap - I, for the most part, phased out my products one-by-one as they ran out. I kept a few guilty pleasures (ahem, Got2b Powderful Texturizer), but have switched out most of my beauty regimen for all (or mostly all) natural products. I found my new favorite brands, and haven't missed my old ones one bit! For the most part, there truly is a natural alternative that works just as good if not better than its conventional counterpart.

As a guide, I use the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database to look up products and check their toxicity rating. EWG is an independent company based out of California that does not receive any funding from any cosmetic or beauty product corporation. Along with great articles about product safety, they've rated thousands of products from 0 to 10 based on the available research (or lack of research) that's been done on the products' ingredients. This is such a great, free resource for learning more about the effects your beauty products could be having on your health.

If you're strapped for time, the EWG has put together a few quick-reference guides:

Some biggie ingredients to avoid are parabens (a common preservative), PEGs, sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate (in most soaps, but it wreaks havoc on your skin), oxybenzone (in sunscreens and other SPF products, but is linked to cancer), and phthalates (linked to male infertility, among others).

I know it seems like a lot, but your health is so worth it!

As a cautionary aside - be careful with labels that claim that a product is "organic" or "natural," because often times the actual list of ingredients only contains some organic or natural ingredients. I've been duped by misleading labels enough times to be very skeptical about products with these claims (especially from brands that also make conventional products). If you're going to try the natural body products, take the time to read the ingredient list before making your purchase!

Some of my favorite brands that I've found to be pretty trustworthy with all-good ingredients are:

Yes to
Burt's Bees
Shea Moisture
La Mellite
Bare Escentuals
Kiss My Face
Mrs. Meyers
Seventh Generation
California Baby
Yes to Baby Carrots
100% Pure

Not Everything Causes Cancer!

2013-01-26T20:49:00.002-06:00

I was at Target looking at a new cosmetic line that they are carrying that is supposed to be more natural and pure than conventional brands. I picked up a moisturizer and saw "methylparaben" on the ingredient list. I commented to the product spokeswoman that I was surprised to see a paraben preservative in a line that was advertised to be even somewhat natural with all of the research linking them to cancer. Her response was, "Yeah, but everything causes cancer these days." REALLY?

I am so tired of hearing this excuse for not making healthy choices! NO, not 'everything' causes cancer! YES, most processed, altered, "foreign,"fake foods/products probably are linked to cancer. But, I highly doubt that we'll ever see a study linking quinoa or coconut oil or organic carrots to cancer.

It's very unfortunate that the vast majority of the grocery and health products available do have ingredients that are cancer-linked. But, it's inaccurate to think that it would be impossible to make healthy choices and avoid a good bit of the risk-raising products.

Since so many of our food and health products are filled with GMOs and artificial everything, it's true that a huge majority of the available foods/products are dangerous at some level. The pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides used on conventionally grown crops, and the manmade artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors that are put in so many non-organic, processed foods, and the GMO feed, appalling farming techniques (feeding corn and chicken feces to cattle!), hormones, and antibiotics associated with modern animal production are the real problem.

It's not fair to say that "everything causes cancer" or that "there's a new study everyday saying that a food/product is unsafe." In reality, more accurate statements would be that "everything artificial causes cancer" and that "there's a new study everyday saying that an artificial food/product is unsafe. I'd hardly say that veering away from artificial, refined, and processed food and health products is far from impossible.

When the only goal of conventional food production is to make the most money while spending the least, would you really expect that the products that come out of this industry to be beneficial to your health? It's generally only after newly-invented, manmade products have been on the market for a while that researchers (and consumers) start to notice the harmful side-effects of these products. **Cue the daily reports on which products are unsafe and cancer-causing**

That's my rant for the day/week(?)... What is your take on the topic?

"Hamburger Helper" Beef Stroganoff

2013-01-24T19:45:00.000-06:00

I love taking everyday nasties (fake, processed foods), and making quick, easy substitutions. Today I ventured into the world of Hamburger Helper. I actually grew up on the stuff. We had Hamburger Helper or Tuna Helper about once or twice per week. As a kid, I hated ground beef, so I always dreaded HH nights...

Ground beef and I have made our peace, but now I have a whole list of other reasons to hate the stuff. In all reality, you might as well get fast food or a frozen meal (Stouffer's frozen lasagna is truly a better choice here). Look at the ingredients in this "American classic":

Their "wholesome family meal" advertising is total crap!

I timed my healthy version meal start-to-finish at 45 minutes, but that included measuring, tasting, remeasuring and retasting AND photographing it all. I'm willing to bet that, in a time crunch, I could go from raw beef and whole onions to the table in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion (about 1 cup, chopped)
2 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced (2 cubes)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) flour
2 cup beef stock
1 1/2 cup whole milk
10 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
1 1/2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
12 ounces whole wheat egg noodles

Directions

Finely dice the onion. This is where I am so grateful for not-so-fancy kitchen gadgets!

Heat the oil over medium heat until it is ripple-y when you swirl the pan.

Add the onions, garlic, and salt. Saute until the mix is slightly golden. {this is by far the biggest time suck of the whole recipe!}

While the onions are sauteeing, bring a big pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions. When they are done, drain them and return them to your cooking pot.

My Kroger just started carrying these whole wheat
egg noodles, and they are REALLY yummy!

When the onions are ready, add the beef and cook until all the pink is gone.

Kroger also has grass-fed beef now! Woo hoo!

Add the flour and mix well. The beef will get sticky and clumpy.

While whisking, add the broth and then the milk.

Stir in the vegetables (fresh greens would wilt in nicely, too!). Add the worchestershire sauce and parsley.

Cook until the sauce thickens. If it thickens too much, add some more broth or milk to thin it out. If it it way too watery, add some cornstarch or arrowroot powder (mix with a bit of cold water first!) to thicken it up.

Add the sauce mixture and the sour cream to the noodle pot and stir well.

Done!

Little Bear and I love mushrooms, so I sauteed some with butter, salt, and a bit of red wine to top our dishes with. Husband despises mushrooms, or I would have just mixed the sauteed shrooms in with the whole pot...

Single-Serve Garlic Cubes

2013-01-23T21:48:00.001-06:00

I'm a huge garlic fan. It goes in just about everything I cook, but I hate peeling/chopping/grating it. Plus, I'm always game for a new time-saver!

Here's how I keep my garlic fresh (in the freezer) and on-hand for instant garlicification:

I buy the big tubs of pre-peeled garlic from Costco. I've seen the same type of garlic sold in most grocery stores, too. {note: stay away from anything with more ingredients than just 'garlic,' because they probably have unnatural preservatives and a strange taste}

Fill your food processor, mini chopper, or blender with garlic cloves, and cover the cloves with unrefined olive oil. Add a little bit of salt. Turn your pulverizer of choice on and run until the mixture is smooth-ish and evenly blended.

Spoon the mix into a clean ice tray. If you can't easily spoon it, add a little more oil and blend again. {I didn't measure the oil-to-garlic ratio, so just keep adding oil until you get a texture that you're happy with} Tap the trays on the counter to settle the mixture and remove any big bubbles.

Put the filled trays in the freezer for several hours, or until the garlic is totally frozen.

Put about an inch of hot water in a pyrex-type pan (tap water hot, not boiling hot). Set your ice tray in the hot water for about 30 seconds. Turn the tray over and twist *gently.* The cubes should fall out. If they don't, put the tray back in the water for another 15/30 seconds and try again. {I twisted the tray straight out of the freezer and it completely shattered all over the kitchen, so don't do that}

Because I didn't want the cubes refreezing in a big stuck-together ball, I laid them out on a plate and put them back in the freezer to completely reharden before I stuck them in a zipper freezer bag.

When you need to add garlic to any dish, just drop a cube or two into the pan, and voila!

Reminder: Please Help Support This Blog!

2012-12-09T22:13:00.002-06:00

I have a quick (and easy) favor to ask of y'all: If you didn't already know, I make the money to help support this blog through the affiliate links that I post here. I wish I could say that I made enough to call it "income," but it pretty much just pays for my hosting and email fees.

As you're finishing up your holiday shopping, I'd be super grateful if you'd start your Amazon.com, Groupon, and Vitacost shopping at one of my posted links (any third party link in the right column of the blog is a money-generator for the blog). Even if you're not actually shopping for the item that the Amazon link takes you to, anything that is purchased after you've clicked the link should qualify as an affiliate purchase.

It's a heavy shopping time of the year & every little bit helps!

Cheers & Merry Christmas, Y'all!!

No-Cream-of-Crap-Soup Green Bean Casserole

2012-11-21T22:52:00.001-06:00

One of the biggest evils of the Thanksgiving meal is inevitably some sort of cream-of-something soup (known as cream-of-crap soup around my house). Here's a really quick and really delicious recipe to do away with the cream-of-crap in green bean casserole.

If you have another recipe that calls for a cream-of soup, just go through the recipe until you add the green beans, and you'll have a great replacement (if it's cream of celery, use celery instead of mushrooms; if it's cream of chicken, add some bouillon instead of mushrooms; if it's cheddar cheese soup, add about a cup or two of shredded cheese at the end and omit the mushrooms; etc....)

I don't have the pictures ready to upload yet, but I want to get this posted before Thanksgiving... pictures are soon to follow, though!

Here's the casserole before we bake it - I made it ahead of time
and haven't baked it yet, so there's no final picture yet!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (unrefined)
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, finely diced
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
2 pounds green beans (if frozen, thawed)

Directions

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and golden brown.

Add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes.

Stir the flour into the onion-mushroom mixture and stir over medium heat for about a minute.

Whisk in the milk and stock.

Add the salt, sage, pepper and garlic. Whisk and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.

Mix the green beans into the sauce and pour into a baking dish (or aluminum pan to save dishes!)

Bake at 350 degrees until the sides are bubbly and the top is slightly browned.

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

2012-11-14T00:39:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love marshmallows?! That's rhetorical. If you don't love marshmallows, we can't be friends anymore. Just don't tell me.

We just got a firepit for the back porch, so marshmallows were a must. I'm too cheap to spend the big bucks on the natural options (Plush Puffs are a-mazing!), and the high fructose corn syrup options were obviously a no-go. There are several icky ingredients in Kraft's Jet-Puffed marshmallows: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Modified Corn Starch, Water, Gelatin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color (Blue 1). Really, Kraft. Really? Why in the world would marshmallows need artificial food coloring??

I'd never made marshmallows before, but I was up to the challenge. I think if the world knew how easy homemade marshmallows were, Kraft would quite possibly go out of business. Husband just vehemently declared that he'll never eat a bagged marshmallow again. As we polish off our 5th (6th?) giant mallow, I know I'm going to regret the indulgence later. But, for now, yum. just yum.

Ingredients

2 envelopes plain gelatin (like Knox)
1 cup cold water
2 cups turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

Pour half of the water into a bowl. Stir in the gelatin. Don't worry about lumps, it'll take care of itself. Set aside.

After several minutes - looks like applesauce!

Combine the sugar and the rest of the water in a small sauce pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is melted. Add the gelatin and stir.

Bring the sugar-gelatin water to a boil. It'll probably take 5-10 minutes to get it to boil. You don't have to stir constantly, but don't leave the kitchen!

Boil the mixture for 7 minutes. Again, don't leave the kitchen! Boiling sugar water will get foamy and boil over really quickly. And, trust me, it's a nasty mess to clean... If it starts boiling over, reduce the heat or pick it up off the burner for a few seconds.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Beat on high/medium-high for 15 minutes. The mixture will go from a brown syrup to a white fluff. Pretty!

If you're wanting squares, pour the mixture into a wax paper lined half-sized brownie pan (1.5 Qt pyrex pan) that has been dusted heavily with powdered sugar.

The hardest part of this recipe is keeping your
brood out of the fluff until it sets!

Smooth the top and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours - longer is better if you can wait!

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and peel the wax paper back. Kitchen scissors made cutting the squares really easy (but still pretty messy).

Roll each piece in powdered sugar and knock off any excess.

Extra tip: Rig an old spice bottle with cheesecloth
to make an easy powdered sugar shaker!

You can store the marshmallows in an airtight container for up to a week (but they absolutely, positively will not remain uneaten that long!).

As an alternative to traditional squares, you can let the marshmallow fluff sit in the mixing bowl for 20 or so minutes after you're done beating it and then dollop it onto a lined, sugar-dusted cookie sheet. Top with sprinkles or extra turbanido sugar for added glitz and texture!

I put a couple of big marshmallows on a plate under the broiler for a few minutes and then topped it with chocolate chips. I scooped it on arrowroot cookies (similar to graham crackers) - oh holy moly! Best. S'mores. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Greens, greens, greens!

2012-11-08T21:25:00.001-06:00

My garden has (finally) produced enough goodies to get a decent harvest. One of my big producers right now is my Swiss Chard. I've used it for everything from salads to sandwich greens to pasta add-ins to just plain ol' greens. This recipe/preparation really does make for a super yummy side dish.

My 2-year-old was *literally* dancing in the kitchen chanting, "more bites, more bites, more bites" after he tried them. I had a darling video to post along with the recipe until I realized that dude was in his undies (as is par for the course these days) - not sure that publicly posting my toddler in his undies is the best parenting move... So, I guess you'll just have to take my word for it!

Jalapeño Spinach Artichoke Dip

2012-11-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

Costco has amazing jalapeño spinach artichoke dip.... with an amazingly icky ingredient list. *Le sigh* What's that old adage: "Give her a dip, eat junk for a day. Give her a dip recipe, eat yummy dip for life?" Yeah, something like that.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium jalapeño, chopped
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces chopped spinach (fresh or frozen will work!)
2 cups chopped artichoke hearts
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup organic mayo
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. If you're working with fresh greens, wash and chop them (I used rainbow chard from my garden, so I had extra color). If you're working with frozen greens, thaw and dry them.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeños and sauté until slightly soft. Add the herbs and spices and sauté a few more minutes.

3. Add the greens and artichokes (I also added mushrooms, but I think they made the color a little grey, so I'll be leaving them out next time). Sauté until the greens are all wilty and the artichokes are softened.

4. Combine the mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, and parmesan in a bowl and mix well.

5. While the sautéed mixture is still warm, add to the cream mixture. Stir until everything is well combined and the cream cheese lumps are all mixed in.

6. If you're serving it warm, put the dip in a serving dish and bake until the edges are bubbly. If you're serving it cold, let it chill in the fridge for several hours or (preferably) overnight.

The coloring is a little grey because of the mushrooms.

Keeping the Kitchen Stocked

2012-11-03T17:46:00.000-05:00

I'm a firm believer that a cook is only as good as her (his) pantry. The first line of defense against food apathy is your shopping cart. You are going to eat (and feed your family) what you bring home from the store - it's as simple as that!

I run a solo law practice with a 2-year-old and no hired help - trust me when I say, I understand busy! Fortunately, eating "for real" does not mean hours in the kitchen or even a meticulously crafted food schedule (because who knows what day you'll come home with literally 15 minutes to throw dinner together?!). It really comes down to appreciating your food for what it is and making a commitment to keeping it real.

Check out my pantry organizing blog here!

With that being said (or would it be typed?), here's what I always keep on hand in my pantry/refrigerator for emergency meals - rather than typing "organic" 100 times, let's just assume that everything listed is organic/non-GMO):

Canned Goods
I try to stay away from cans as much as possible (they're lined with BPA), but I keep these on hand for emergencies.

Whole beans (pinto, kidney, garbanzo - whatever you like)
Canned salmon without bones and skin
Canned tuna
Crushed tomatoes
Diced tomatoes
Tomato paste

Boxed Goods

The keys here are organic and whole-wheat.

Whole wheat crackers (Ak-mak is our favorite!)
Lower-sugar cereal (Little Bear's favorite is CF Fruit O's)
Chicken, beef & vegetable stocks
Coconut milk
Spaghetti-style whole wheat pasta
Elbow whole wheat pasta
Rotini whole wheat pasta (love jovial einkorn pasta)
Wheat-free, whole-grain pasta (love the corn/rice/quinoa/amaranth blends!)

From the Bulk Aisle

Buying in bulk saves tons of money and keeps healthy choices on hand.

Dried beans (pinto, kidney, navy, etc.)
Brown rice
Whole wheat bread crumbs (or homemade)
Quinoa
Whole-grain (with the germ) corn grits/polenta
Oats (whatever type you like, it's mostly all wholegrain)
Popcorn (for late-night munchies!)
Whole wheat pastry flour (for making roux)
Various nuts & seeds
Raisins
Chia seeds
Turbinado sugar

Bottled Ingredients

Find your favorite oils, vinegars & sweeteners and keep them stocked for quick sauces and dressings.

Unrefined olive oil
Unrefined coconut oil
Unrefined sunflower oil (I recently found this really cheap at Walmart!)
Unrefined, toasted sesame oil
Raw, local honey
Organic maple syrup
Franks red hot (or other hot sauce)
Balsamic vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Lemon/lime juice
Non GMO mayo
Peanut butter

Freezer

Frozen fruit/veggies will usually be cheaper than fresh, and they are healthier than canned. A quick sauté or broil will pull a side dish together super quickly.

Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen diced onions
Frozen fruits
Frozen spinach
Frozen whole wheat ravioli
Various types and cuts of meat, rewrapped into individual portions

Produce

It's so important to just buy what is locally in-season, but these gems are almost always available organic and tend to be pretty cheap.

Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Bananas
Apples
Carrots
Greens
Pre-peeled garlic (without added preservatives)

Dairy

Adding a touch of cream or cheese to almost any sauce makes the meal instantly seem richer and more thoughtfully prepared.

Sour cream
Half & half
Whole milk (raw or low-temp pasteurized, if you can)
Cream cheese
Greek yogurt
Several cheese choices (freeze what you aren't using right away)

Extras

Keep these little extras on hand to add quick pizzaz to any dish. Costco has a great selection of organic dried herbs & spices.

Dried basil
Dried oregano
Dried rosemary
Smoked paprika
Onion powder
Granulated garlic
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Cocoa powder
Cumin
Chili powder

Other
Just because it isn't 100% healthy, doesn't mean we don't occasionally need a quick sanity-saver!

Whole-grain tortilla chips
Cookies for Mommy (Anna's ginger thins & Late July "Oreos")
Cookies for Little Bear (Arrowroot Maple Cookies)
Chocolate bars (dark & milk - yum!)

Am I missing anything? What are your secret cooking weapons?

Minus the Microwave, Please!

2012-11-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

I had a couple of questions about why the casa de Olson decided to go sans microwave after I posted an instagram picture of my new coffee heating solution.

There isn't a simple answer, so rather than tapping out a response from my phone, I'll explain here.

I can't say that I've done extensive microwave research, but a quick "microwave safety" google search leaves little settled. There are adamant folks on both sides. I have no solid opinion about the actual safety of the microwave, but I tend to lean on the safer side of things when it comes to my food. I pretty much just figured, why risk it?

Also, when you really start to rely on real, homemade food, the microwave becomes less and less useful. I ended up deciding that I can easily throw leftovers in the oven or in a skillet for a pretty quick reheat just as easily as I could put them in the micro and nuke 'em. Without a microwave, I couldn't take the easy way out and compromise on nutrition anymore. I had to think of a real, healthy meal for my fam rather than concede to a frozen/processed alternative. Even if the microwave itself doesn't create health risks, it does superheat food and cause the nutrients to break down.

Really, it all boiled down to the fact that my kitchen isn't as big as I'd like, and with the very little mileage I was getting out of the microwave, I much preferred the extra counter space. As I said on my instagram photo, the only thing that I really missed my microwave for was reheating my coffee/tea (as most moms know, as you introduce kids into your life, the second half of your coffee gets colder and colder...). Simple problems beget simple solutions, though, - cue the coffee maker!

One Ingredient Crayon Remover!

2012-10-29T00:34:00.000-05:00

As random as this post is... it works! Little Bear took some creative license with the concept of "coloring book" and graffitied up his play room. and the kitchen. and the living room. and the master bedroom. and... yeah. I learned that you really can color on carpets if you desire.

While there was no removing the crayon from the walls (thank goodness for the can of touch-up paint that we hold on to), and the carpets came clean with one run of the shampooer, the doors and white leather sofas were not such an easy clean.

After several trials and errors, I stumbled into a magical crayon remover: almond oil!

I wish I had better pictures for you, but it was pretty dark in the house, and by the time I was able to successfully remove all of the crayon (he's an efficient little graffiti artist...), I was too apathetic to finagle with the camera settings to get a better shot. Maybe mommy needs photography lessons for Christmas, hint, hint :)

Before

After

It actually worked on all of the harder to clean, non porous surfaces, too (doors, tile, etc.)! It also did a number on the scuff marks that were all over the back of the sofas from when they were moved into the house. I was curious, so I tried different oils after I realized that the almond oil was such a good cleaner. I had zero luck with olive, coconut and vegetable oil, though. There really is something magic about the almond oil!

Do you have a stumbled-upon cleaning/housekeeping secret to share?

Carrot Cake Two Ways

2012-10-09T19:01:00.001-05:00

Back in my baking days (I owned a baking business through law school), I made this carrot cake for a fancypants Dallas steakhouse at least weekly. It wasn't a recipe that I had in my repertoire when the restaurant asked for it, so I started with something that I found online (sorry, it's been so long I'm not sure who to credit for this) and played around with it until it was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I was making this cake as payment for my office paint job (wedding singer style!), but I wanted to be able to share it with Little Bear. I know the sugar still isn't ideal, but I made some changes to health it up as much as cake can be healthed. Honestly, if you didn't know that it had been healthified, you probably couldn't even tell that it is entirely unrefined!

I'll go ahead and share the healthy and the original version here, since cake is cake and maybe just shouldn't be healthy sometimes...

Unrefined Carrot Cake (whole wheat, coconut oil, turbinado sugar)

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 1/1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar)
1 cup coconut oil, melted
1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots (300 grams by weight)
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 1/3 cup crushed pineapple

Directions

Do your prep work: grate the carrots and chop the nuts.

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla together until well combined. If you keep stirring, it will eventually all come together (the eggs act as a great little emulsifier).

Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir until just combined.

In the large bowl, combine the carrots, pecans, and pineapple. Mix well.

Add the batter to the carrot mixture and mix until the batter is homogeneous throughout.

Grease two round 8" pans. Divide batter evenly between the pans.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Alternatively, bake cupcakes for 30 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

Frost with cream cheese frosting (sorry, but there is just no way to make cream cheese frosting healthy!). I make mine with one 8 ounce block of cream cheese, one 4 ounce stick of butter, one bag of powdered sugar, and one tablespoon of vanilla extract. Let the cream cheese and butter come to just below room temperature. Beat cream cheese and butter for several minutes, pushing the sides down as needed. SLOWLY add the powdered sugar, beating well between additions.

Traditional Carrot Cake

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots (300 grams by weight)
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup crushed pineapple

Follow the same directions from above.

PERFECT Hair Mask (Yet Another Reason Why Coconut Oil Is the Best)

2012-10-03T23:30:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that I'm in love with about five single-ingredient products: coconut oil, chia seeds, bee pollen, witch hazel, and beer. Wait. Beer... what? I mean... coffee. Yeah, coffee.

Anyway, back to coconut oil. I literally use coconut oil for everything. EVERYTHING. Frying, baking, spreading, facial moisturizer, body lotion, after-sun care, nutritional supplement, hand cream, boo-boo cream (I have a 2-year-old, so give me some slack. It's boo-boo and potty and wee-wee for now, ok?). One of my favorite coconut oil uses, though, is as a hair mask. I have really fine hair. When it's healthy, it shines like crazy. But, when it's dried out, it's crunchy and frizzy. Not pretty wavy and textured, but crunchy (I know you know what I mean...).

I figured one day several months ago that if I use coconut oil for everything else, why not in my hair?! Here's how it works:

Start with an unrefined coconut oil (I'm a big Nutiva fan, and it can usually be found for pretty cheap on Amazon).

It'll be a solid in the tub, but will quickly melt in your hand.

After your shower at night, take between a teaspoon and a tablespoon-sized glob (it's a word) in your fingers, depending on the length of your hair.

Work quickly to massage it through your hair. You'll want to make sure you've covered all the way from your roots to your ends. Use extra oil, if needed.

Find a way to pull your hair up and back so it's not flopping around. I braid the bottom of my hair and then secure it to the back and top of my head with bobby pins. For some reason I always feel like Katniss Everdeen when I do this (laugh if you want, but it's the little things that get us through, right?).

Sleep with your hair this way (use a shower cap, if you are worried about greasing up your pillowcase).

In the morning, wash and condition your hair as usual. When your hair dries, it'll be super silky, shiny, and soft! For me, it lasts about a week in turbo hair mode and then starts to wear off.

Depending on your particular hair type, repeat every week to two weeks, as needed.

Let me know if you've tried this before or if you give it a go for the first time - I love to hear feedback on my favorite things (good and bad!)!

Scalloped Potatoes

2012-10-01T19:44:00.000-05:00

As soon as I got my Xtrema skillet, I was inspired to recipe-ize a new stove-to-oven recipe. I whipped up one of my very favorites: Scalloped Potatoes! I'm thinking that this one will make it onto my permanent Thanksgiving recipe list :)

Ingredients

5 slices of uncured (nitrite/nitrate free) bacon, chopped
2 cups chopped onions
2 pounds potatoes (organic really matters here!)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or white flour)
1 cup white wine (anything that's not sweet)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions

Slice the potatoes very thinly on a mandoline slicer. Set aside. I used a combination of Yukon Golds and Russets and thought the Russets ended up with a much nicer taste and texture!

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet (LOVE my Xtrema for this!) until slightly crispy. Remove the pieces of bacon and save for later.

Add the onions and sautee over medium heat in the bacon fat until soft and slightly browned. Add the onions to the bacon pieces.

Add the butter and olive oil to the remaining bacon fat. Whisk in the flour and cook (while still whisking) for about 30 seconds.

Whisk in the wine and then the milk. Add the salt, white pepper, and ground mustard. Cook for a few minutes, until slightly thickened. The mixture may look a little curdled, but it'll come back together - don't worry!

Lower the heat to medium-low, and add the grated cheese slowly. Stir in the reserved bacon and onions.

Add the potatoes into the sauce, being careful to separate each slice as it's added.

Poke the potatoes down into the sauce to make sure that they're all covered.

Put your pan directly in the oven (make sure you're using an oven save pan). Bake at 375 for about 20 or 30 minutes, until sides are bubbly and the top is browned.

Let the pan cool for about 10 minutes before digging in!

Pantry Tip!

2012-09-18T17:36:00.001-05:00

I saw these shoe organizers at the store for around 5 bucks, and thought they'd make great pantry organizers! All of my favorite bottles, jars, and spices are really easy to access, plus I cleared tons of pantry shelf space for other things!