Sandy's Sustainable Living Blog

Raw Food Part 1: In Search of the Perfect Green Smoothie

2013-03-24T07:57:00.002-07:00


Smoothie before blending: Top to bottom: fresh papaya, raspberries, spinach, ice, orange juice and raw honey...	.

The GREEN smoothie after! It tasted great!

In a continuing quest to live a healthy, natural, and pain-free life; I made a decision to eat raw food for two meals per day. In the research I have conducted (which I will attempt to cite in a later blog), raw food has enzymes, fiber, vitamins, and other benefits that cooked food does not possess. An additional benefit is that it cuts back on inflammation.

To that end, I needed something EASY for breakfast...smoothies fit the bill. Groupon had a BIG BOSS promotion so I purchased one and my daily smoothie adventure began! One thing about drinking smoothies each day that I have noticed is that I feel much, MUCH better when I am drinking them, and not-so-good when I don't. Let me give you a few guidelines when making smoothies (your ingredients, of course, should be organic when possible):

Use something thick: Smoothies need body. 1/2 Banana or a few slices of papaya works well. 1 T Peanut butter is nice too.

Use a handful of something green: Spinach is my favorite, you cannot taste it, and it provides iron, fiber, and all kinds of other benefits. In summer I also use swiss chard, which has a lot of vitamin A. Kale works, and just about any other green.

Use something wet: You will not be able to blend it otherwise. Orange juice is fantastic, because the vitamin C helps the iron in your greens to work. You can also use green tea, raw cow or goat milk, soy or almond or rice milk, or any other unsweetened juice--cherry is nice.

Use something frozen: The best option here is frozen berries--blackberries or blueberries are excellent. You can use strawberries too, it helps to have them chopped. Super-important that berries are organic, because they are particularly prone to contamination.

Options are good: Some options--wheatgrass, spirulina, raw local honey, raw apple cider vinegar, vitamin E or D oil, ground flaxseed, cocoa powder, etc. Only use a small amount of certain additives so as to not alter the taste. I know from experience that too much spirulina is NOT a good thing taste-wise! (shudder!)

So...here is my go-to morning smoothie recipe:

1/2 c orange juice
1/2 banana
1 c baby spinach
1 c frozen berries
1 T raw apple cider vinegar
1 T raw local honey
1 t wheatgrass
Blend 1 minute. Drink!
I take it with a ginseng, vitamin D and C in winter, probiotic, and elderberry if I feel as if I am coming down with something. Keeps me going until lunch!

Do you ever drink smoothies? If so, what do you drink? I would love to find out!

Organic Cooking Tips for Winter

2012-12-27T08:26:00.000-08:00

We are most of the way through the holiday season at this point, but winter is just beginning. My chickens are still laying luscious rich eggs (blog coming soon!) and comfort food is in full swing. So...how to cook and bake at this time of year while keeping things healthy and organic? It is far simpler than you may think!

A few tips and tricks to de-stress your winter cooking while staying healthy:

Keep a bottle of organic olive oil next to the stove at all times. This will keep the basis of your stove-top cooking healthy and organic...you can also fill a small sprayer with olive oil to spritz salads and pans for stick-free cooking.
Purchase pre-washed baby greens, and always have them on hand. Olivia's organics are my favorite! Add them to salads, frittatas or omelets, sandwiches, and smoothies. Super-healthy way to eat greens every day.
Use raw organic apple cider vinegar, and raw local honey. You can use them in dressings and in smoothies to tang things up and keep your body healthy.
Purchase organic flour and organic evaporated cane juice in place of sugar in bulk. It is very reasonably priced, and lasts a long time. You can purchase enough for months and it will keep just fine! If there is a food co-operative in your area you can purchase it locally, or through an online grocery.
Add at least 1/3 spelt flour to recipes calling for white flour. You will not notice a texture difference and you will be adding a bit of fiber and whole grain.
Organic herbs and spices are fantastic, so is vanilla.
Find a friend with chickens or a local organic farm, and buy fresh eggs. Totally worth it, and not much more than grocery store eggs!
Eat less meat, and purchase hormone-free. Our local store has "smart meat"...a bit pricey, but worth the extra cost.
Roasted vegetables are delicious, inexpensive, and can make a meal by themselves...try them! Just drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Turn a few times. Cook until tender (20-40 minutes depending on the veggie). They carmelize a little and taste incredible! Try it with cabbage, fresh brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, beets, squash pieces, or turnips. You will not be disappointed.
When switching out white rice for brown, check cooking times.

Finally...Let the kids cook! They love it, and are able to do far more than you think. My 7-year-old nephew made artisan bread his first time cooking, and my grandchildren regularly make bread, cookies, and rice with just a bit of supervision from their parents or myself. It keeps them off the electronics and producing something they can be proud of.

My oldest granddaughter showing the youngest how to make oatmeal cookies.

No need to modify recipes when you cook. Just replace most or all of your ingredients with organic. So far, my best result has been organic Christmas cookies...I made old-fashioned ginger snaps and Italian snow balls. My favorite ingredient was pasture butter from Organic Valley, which I used in both recipes. They were incredible!

What are you doing this year to make your diet more healthy and organic?

Organic Food-on-a-budget Update!

2012-11-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Organic herbs and spices...found for a reasonable price at Target!

Just wanted to give you a few tips for organic shopping as we head into the holidays--for a full rundown, read my previous Organic Food On a Budget blog, it has an abundance of great tips for purchasing organics for the same price (or less!) than grocery-store food.

On my latest foray, I spent most of my time at Ocean State Job Lot. For readers who are not local, this is a regional chain which purchases surplus items and overages. With the current economy, apparently organics are sometimes overpurchased, a wonderful situation for organic bargain hunters! Bob's Red Mill was abundant--I found arrowroot flour, steel cut oats, organic white flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and much much more! Organic olive oil was very reasonable, as was high quality organic spaghetti sauce and fruit snacks. I skipped the fruit snacks, but if you have children it is important to consider purchasing chemical-free snacks with no artificial colors or flavors...and no high fructose corn syrup. (Conventional fruit snacks are kind of scary.)

Next, I visited Target, and...be still my heart!!!! They have a line which I had not yet discovered: Archer Farms. Watch for their organic spices, in an adorable glass bottle. If you cannot get to the co-op for $.50 spices in a plastic bag, these are a great alternative. They were about $2.50 each, and would make a great addition to an organic gift basket. I indulged here...check out my picture. Archer Farms also carries some lovely organic snacks--corn and potato chips, etc. which taste great, although I did not see a GMO-free label. I did not see many organics in the produce or frozen food section, although there were a few nice brands like Kashi.

Target also carries Burt's Bees, Dr. Bronner, J.R. Watkins, Method, and Mrs. Meyers cleaners and personal products...so a great selection there. Recently I discovered that I love J.R. Watkins kitchen spray and diswashing liquid. The packaging is so cute that I re-use it...yes, I am a packaging geek! Ah, well.

Finally, I visited the local grocer. Alas, either the fresh organic produce seems to be drying up locally (I am in Connecticut), or folks are not asking for it. Olivia's Organics is always in stock, fulfilling my spinach smoothie/greens requirement (yay)...so I suppose I will make it through the winter. Also, there is a local farm which freezes their produce, so I will be visiting them this winter as well. Local sourcing is critical...but not cheap! Since I am working full time now and the co-op is a little distance away, I have not been there in a while. That still seems to be my best source for fresh organic produce, but a little bit unattainable.

So there is the update...a bit scattered, but there it is. Hope it helps! How is your organic shopping experience recently?

All Natural Cleaning Stuff...without spending so much money!

2012-09-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

A previous blog compares two wonderful cleaning products...Mrs. Meyers and Method. They are expensive. I am unemployed. Refusing to cave in to chemical yuckiness and after feedback from friends who do not even buy commercial cleaners, I decided sometime back to try noncommercial cleaners.

I am hooked. First a disclaimer. There is ONE ingredient here which is all-natural, Borax, but some people really do not like it one little bit. More on that later. Now for the good stuff...

First, I figured out a decent stock of cleaning products to MAKE everything I need. Here's the list:

Borax
Super Washing Soda
Baking Soda
White Vinegar
Citric Acid (or you can do what I did, and get unsweetened lemon kool-aid)
Essential Oil of your choice (I used Rosemary and Mint)

...and here's a picture:

Clockwise from back left: Borax, Super Washing Soda, White vinegar, baking soda, Shepherd's Harvest Stain Stick, Rosemary and Peppermint essential oils, a shaker container with the finished basic mixture--
I use this all the time, and wish you could smell it!

Next, I make what I call my "basic mixture"...

4 parts Borax
2 parts Super Washing Soda
1 part Baking Soda
a little essential oil (a few drops works just fine)

This mixture forms the basis for everything else, and has some great uses on its own. Here are a few:

-Sprinkle on the rug before you vaccuum to make the rug smell fresh.
-Use to keep bugs away--Borax is a natural bug repellent!
-Scrub sinks, tubs, and toilets with it

To make a spray, dissolve about 1/2 cup in 16 oz white vinegar. This makes a terrific disinfecting cleaner for the bathroom and kitchen. You will not smell the vinegar!

For dishwasher detergent, add a packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid to a cup of mixture. Fill the rinse dispenser of your diswasher with white vinegar. Since I have a terrible dishwasher, it didn't work very well in mine, and I am still perfecting this recipe...I ended up breaking down and buying Seventh Generation, which works a little better.

For laundry detergent, grate 1/3 bar of laundry soap (I use a home made stain stick soap...you can buy mine in the Shepherd's Harvest Store or use a bar of goat milk soap) into a pan. Pour 6 cups of boiling water over the soap, and heat it on a low setting until the soap is melted. Add 1 cup of the basic mixture and stir until it is dissolved. Pour 4 cups of hot water in a large bucket, add the soap mixture, and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups warm water and stir well. Let the entire mixture sit for 24 hours. It will gel, and end up looking like a gloppy "egg noodle soup," but it works very well! Use the rest of your laundry soap as a stain stick. You may add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance if you like.

For windows, mix vinegar with a few drops of essential oil...lemon works well for cutting grease. Works like a charm.

And now...drum roll please...I promised you some good information about Borax. The very best source-of-all-sources I could find was from my favorite blogger, Crunchy Betty. Here are her very well documented thoughts on Borax: http://www.crunchybetty.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-borax-is-it-safe-or-not

Sooo...I am pretty happy with all my new spiffy cleaning "inventions" and am spending literally a FRACTION of what I previously spent on cleaning products! My home smells terrific--all minty and stuff--and I feel pretty good about using more natural ingredients in my cleaning routine.

Let me know if you try it...off to make some soap. The clean-up will be nice this time!

How to turn a Shampoo Bar into Liquid Shampoo

2012-08-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Shampoo Bars Curing in a box in the Shepherd's Harvest Workshop!

When I started my little home-based Shepherd's Harvest business, I decided follow the following principles: The products had to be the highest quality possible, all natural, and affordable. When possible, organic and fair trade is the order of the day, but the balance between organic and affordable can be pretty delicate! I should mention that in soap and shampoo bars, the lye I use is not "technically" natural, it is "nature identical" but natural lye is pretty difficult to work with because it is not very uniform, the lye used in the shampoo bars is precisely measured so that it "saponifies" or chemically combines completely. There is also an occasional "fragrance" which is produces specifically for cold-processed soap (I prefer essential oils) or an "iron oxide" color (no FD&C colors, ever)...but I am super-picky about what goes into the soaps and other things...but I digress...

When I started looking at how to make shampoo, I realized that shampoo bars were the best option because they did not require the addition of water. What is wrong with water? As soon as you add water, you end up needing some sort of preservative...so much for being natural!

Yet, when I started using the shampoo bars, I found that they were a little difficult to use on my super thick hair because the bar kept getting wound up in the strands of longer hair. It is not too difficult to move the hair aside and just scrub the bar on my scalp, so that was what I did for a while. It was worth it, because it smells so nice and lathers so well!

But then it occured to me that I could turn my shampoo bar into liquid! I devised a method, tried it, and it worked like a charm. For the last several months I have been turning my shampoo bars into liquid shampoo, and loving it!

Here is my method, it is pretty simple:

Grate 1 shampoo bar, place in a stainless or bowl. Separately boil 16 oz of water, then pour it over the shampoo bar gratings. Heat the mixture on a very low setting on the stove, stirring until the shampoo gratings are completely melted. Turn the mixture off, cover, and let sit for several hours. The mixture will be at "gel stage" and will create its own heat for a long period of time. Stir occasionally until it eventually cools, and pour into your shampoo bottle. If you like your shampoo thinner, add water; if you like it thicker, let it sit in an open bowl for a few days longer so that the water evaporates.

Voila! All natural liquid shampoo, no preservatives, no yucky stuff. Given the choice, do you prefer solid or liquid shampoo? Have you ever tried a shampoo bar? If so...what did you think? I would love to hear your feedback!

Make-your-own Dish Soap!

2012-07-30T18:56:00.002-07:00

I hate washing dishes. Hate it. But I love making soap! Today, when it was time to wash the dishes, I noticed I was out of dish soap. What to do? I really don't like using anything but Shepherd's Harvest soap these days, but since Shepherd's Harvest (a.k.a. me) does not make a dishwashing liquid, mine has been store-bought. An idea occured to me...there was a jar full of soap shavings from the last batch of lavender goat milk soap which smelled just wonderful, and goat milk soap is great for the hands. It also lathered really well, which is a great feature for dish soap. So I set to work making dish soap from the shavings, and it worked wonderfully! There was a bit of "soaper's" knowledge of glycerine and such that helped quite a bit, so I thought I would pass along my method. Here it is:

Equipment and ingredients:
Blender, food processor
Stainless Steel bowl
Wire whisk
Jar
About 2 cups of Soap shavings
Distilled water
Essential oil if desired (if soap is unscented, otherwise should be the same as soap scent)

Procedure:
Process the soap shavings in the blender or food processor a small amount at a time until you have a fine crumbly texture. Place the soap "crumbs" in the stainless bowl on stove burner. Microwave about 4 cups of distilled water to the boiling point, then pour it over the crumbled soap in the bowl. Turn the stove on a low setting. Stir until all soap is melted and the mixture is warm and a little darker and more transparent than the original soap. The temperature should be around 150 degrees or so, in order for the soap to gel properly. This will fully mix the water and soap and prevent separation later.

Remove the liquid soap from the heat, cool, and add 1/4 teaspoon of essential oil if desired. Pour into a squirt bottle using a funnel. Store remainder in a Mason Jar as a refill, or use as hand soap.

Enjoy!

Soap, Soap, and More Soap!

2012-07-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Good morning...I missed you! For the last several weeks we have had 5 children, 5 adults, and 3 large dogs living in the house; and I have been working full time as a substitute teacher. Busy? I think so! But there is nothing in the world like the happy sounds of five little ones every morning to brighten your day...5 breakfasts to prepare, 5 heads to brush, all those little shoes to sort...it was the best! Our oldest daughter was staying with us as she was preparing to move to Hawaii with her husband who is in the military, and our younger daughter has lived with us with her two girls. We also gained a son-in-law from Peru, who loves to do yard work, and is VERY good at it. Truly we are blessed! But now our daughter has moved, the girls are visiting their father for a few weeks, and it is so quiet and still...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShepherdsHarvest

...that I am making soap. A LOT of soap. What does this grammy do to avoid being sad? Pray and make soap! A few days before they left, I picked up several containers of goat milk, ordered some fragrances and colors, and am now performing soap experiments...like a black-and-white striped coconut soap, and a green pine-scented soap, and lavender, and unscented, and...the list goes on. Hope someone wants to buy this mess in about a month! It smells lovely in the workshop though. Oh, and there is also all-natural insect repellent (made a ton of that), all-natural deodorant (2 scents!), and shampoo bars.
I redesigned the labels. And the packaging.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/102338990/go-bug-someone-else-all-natural-insect

The moral of the story is this: it has been a rough week, but living a sustainable life does not mean living a perfect life. Disappointments come. Channel your time and energy into something positive. Pray and work hard, and you will never regret your actions. As you work hard, you have time to think about the disappointments and sorrows, but because you are working you have an outlet to express all of those feelings. It keeps you balanced and gives you an opportunity to pour it all out to God, as well as think it through logically. Whatever you do, just don't sit around and allow yourself to be depressed...when things are REALLY bad, I allow 1 day MAXIMUM. Then, back to work. Everyone moves forward, how will you do it?
Grace and Peace...

~Sandy

I'll be back!

2012-05-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed...I have not blogged in a week or so. Sometimes, in order to keep balance in life, it becomes necessary to rearrange things. Occasionally things...even things we love (like, in this case, blogging) must be put on hold in order to take care of practical things.

So I will be taking a slight--approximately a month--hiatus. It seems that after a month of unemployment (April 1 to May 1), a school decided to hire me until the end of the school year to teach honors math...very exciting. The pay is not great, but it is nice to be teaching again, and there are four "preps" involved...in other words, I am teaching four different subjects within mathematics--normally a teacher teaches three subjects within their content area, so this is an extra challenge. Wonderful, exciting, and will pay the mortgage for the month of August...but sadly, not enough time to blog until mid June...so it might be spotty in the blogosphere for me.

In the meantime, there are about 26 blogs I wrote that you can check out...on lots of topics! Check out http://sustainablesandy.blogspot.com/2012/04/organic-foodon-budget.html?showComment=1337214288281#c6748673076443088948 my blog about shopping for organic food on a budget, or any of the tabs above which have information about heirloom veggies, nontoxic cleaning products, and other (hopefully helpful) topics.

And I will try to check in from time to time until mid-June. Talk to me...I am on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/ShepherdsHarvest. A sustainable life sometimes means you sacrifice the good for the practical. It is only for a season...a short one! I'll be back. Soon!

What are you fishing for?

2012-05-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

~Mark 1:17 (the Bible)

Several weeks ago, I met with a friend of mine for lunch. I had just left a job that had been draining me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and I was completely exhausted. My friend asked me the following question: "If you could do whatever it is you want to do with your life right now, what would it be?"

The quote at the beginning speaks of Jesus passion for reaching people with the good news that He would save people from having to pay an eternal penalty for their sins. He was single minded in his pursuit of the hearts, minds, and souls of the men and women who chose to follow Him. Do you think He was successful? He had obstacles! Adopted by a carpenter who married a pregnant woman, in an era where the very thought of questionable parentage made a man unclean by birth. Raised in Egypt, Galilee, and Nazareth...often he was in a strange land. Yet, God gave Him the vision He needed to accomplish His task here on earth. And it was accomplished. In spectacular fashion, as the entire human race can now attest. Virtually every human being either loves or hates Him, receives or denies Him...there is very little middle ground. Vision, action, results.

If you could do whatever it is you want to do with your life right now, what would it be?

Think about that question. What is the VERY FIRST thing that comes to mind? Are you doing it? If so, congratulations! If not, why not? Chances are, the first thing that came to mind is a goal or dream you have thought about, but perhaps were afraid to turn into reality. Is it a reasonable goal? Is it something that lines up with your deeply held values? Think about and make a list of the obstacles which are getting in the way of your dream. It cannot hurt to make a list, right? My advice is to pray as you go through this process.

Develop a vision.

Which obstacles can be overcome with a few simple steps? Circle them. Write down a step to take to overcome the obstacle. Think about it--once you have overcome those, what is going to stop you from overcoming some of the larger ones? Some barriers look impossible to overcome...I am too old/too young, I cannot possibly afford to _____, I cannot ______; you fill in the blank. Remember, where there is a will there is a way. Too young? Wait a while and learn all you can in the meantime. Too old? Grandma Moses started painting when she was 80. Can't afford it? If it is a worthy dream, scale back your lifestyle and save your pennies, then start your endeavor on a small scale. Now, there may be some exceptions having to do with external restraints--for instance, if your dream is to join the military and you are 80 years old...you would not make the age requirement due to the military's rules! Learn to differentiate between self-made obstacles and external restraints, remembering that God can overcome all obstacles!

Take action.

Start taking those steps that you listed to overcome the obstacles. Pray and act. Act and pray. If you read through the accounts of Jesus' ministry you will see that is exactly what He did throughout His time on earth. You will find that as you start the process of fulfilling a vision, each step becomes more exciting and invigorating.

See Results

The first set of results is the actual steps you take as you remove obstacles which are in the way of reaching a goal. How encouraging! Keep going...

The second result is actually reaching the goal. What happens then? You celebrate, then set the next goal! Because once you have set and reached a goal, you realize that it is worth working hard to achieve your dreams.

As a teenage mom, I didn't think I had much of a future. Over time, I realized that I could set goals and achieve my dreams despite many obstacles--developing vision, taking action, and seeing results. So far I have been very blessed to have graduated high school, which many teen parents never do, then continued on to an undergraduate and graduate degrees in college. Currently I am taking steps to start a business. Will it succeed? I have no idea, but I have to try! God knows.

What are you fishing for?

All Natural Freshness...an alternative to chemical antiperspirants

2012-05-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

When I was a child in the 60's, I remember the commercial for antiperspirant, and the tag line at the end..."with aluminum chlorohydrate for freshness!" At the time, no one knew the hidden dangers of aluminum. Contact dermatitis, neurotoxicity, breast cancer, renal dysfunction, and the everpresent...armpit stains. That's right, the chemicals in antiperspirants react with body fluids to cause...armpit stains. And yes, there are also documented links to all of the other maladies listed--some stronger than others.

Antiperspirants basically work by blocking the sweat glands so that you cannot excrete sweat. Eventually through the natural sloughing of skin these "plugs" are released from the pores. The other effect is that the sweat glands contract slightly due to the astringent effect of the aluminum, further preventing sweat from reaching the skin.

So, what to do? We all want to smell fresh! There are alternatives.

Crystals

Crystal deodorants are literally rocks that you moisten and apply to your underarm after showering. The mineral salts inhibit the bacteria that cause body odor. They are odorless and can last up to a year. Because they are odorless and do not leave residue, you can apply them to other parts of your body in addition to under your arm--the chest, feet, and inner thighs are not uncommon areas for use.

All Natural Stick or Spray

These are simply all-natural versions of the products you purchase in the grocery store, health food store, or Co-op. Tom's of Maine, Jason, Aubrey, Bubble and Bee, and Lavanilla all have all-natural aluminum free deodorants. I have used several of these brands over the years and the best advice I can give is to try different brands until you find the one which suits your body chemistry and lifestyle. Some seem to work better than others.

Creme Deodorant

Creme deodorant is packaged in a small jar or tin. To apply rub a small amount on a pad, piece of cotton, or your fingers, then apply under your arms. Creme deodorant is commercially available, or you can make it yourself.

Home Made Deodorants

Speaking of "make it yourself"...there are several options in this department! There seem to be two keys to maximizing the, er, effectiveness (shall we say) of the product: reducing bacteria and a pleasing fragrance. Reducing bacteria can be accomplished through the use of minerals, essential oils, or alcohol (ethyl or isopropyl). Fragrance is generally an essential oil--a few drops in a containerful should do the trick. There are various options for "carriers" such as liquids, waxes, and creams depending upon your preference for a spray, stick, or creme deodorant.

One very simple method for home made deodorant which is considered effective by some is to simply mix a few drops of essential oil into several ounces of rubbing alcohol, then pour into a spray bottle. One key here is that if you shave under your arms, you might want to keep in mind it will sting for a few seconds! Give it a try.

Concerned about aluminum and other nonorganics on your body? Try an all-natural or home made solution! Let me know how they work.

Keep Moving!

2012-04-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. For the last few weeks, I have been secretly working out. And it feels pretty good. Actually, since my diagnosis of fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome around five years ago, I have hated exercise and would prefer to curl up with a good book or the computer.

But this year is different. A half century birthday and the realization that life is short. The idea that exercise is linked with health. A daughter's wedding in a month. The perfect storm of motivational, ah, stuff. To top it off, the marrying daughter (daughter #2) just lost about a hundred pounds and looks terrific. Daughter #1 with three kids just moved in for 9 weeks and happens to be working toward a black belt, just received a 4.0 in her Bachelor's program in Nutrition Science, and is interested in becoming a Fitness Instructor. What a great time to start, with all of this motivation and encouragement and assistance in the house!

So...off I go. Started with some weight lifting assistance from daughter #1 and her husband, and some fitness walks. Continued with a free week-long membership at a local health club, but it was a little expensive for the year (sadly) so the next step was to look for a goal. Daughter #1 recommended a program called the "Couch to 5K" which takes couch potatoes (like me) and trains them (us) in 9 weeks to run a 5K race...I love the idea! I used to run when I was in my 30's and it was pretty nice. Don't know if I can still do it, but I am willing to try. Honestly, I don't even care about speed, just getting moving and losing some more weight would be pretty nice. To sweeten the deal, a local race will be held on July 21, so maybe I will join! The race raises funds for a worthy cause, and is run in memory of a friend's grandson who died suddenly just a few years ago, so it is very meaningful. It really is the only race I am interested in running...I am not much of a competitor by nature!

How do you keep moving? What is your motivation? It would be great to hear some inspirational stories and support others out there who are doing the same thing!

A New Venture...a personal journey

2012-04-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

Shepherd's Harvest Goats Milk Soap, all packaged up and ready to go!

Bees Wax rolled candles...I thought they came out kind of spiffy!

A few months ago I made a decision. The reasons were difficult and complicated, but the bottom line was that I needed to leave my job. In our current economy, it felt as if I was being terribly irresponsible--a loser, even. Imagine my surprise, then, when several coworkers immediately offered to act as references should I apply for another position elsewhere! The reason they gave was that the position I was in was so difficult that they did not expect that anyone would be able to do that job, and last. So now I am out of work, with no unemployment to fall back on, in a rough economy...sink or swim time!

A good friend asked me a few weeks ago, "If you could do anything at all that you wanted to do right now, what would it be?" My answer? Make Shepherd's Harvest a viable business. But I wonder...in this economy...

So, I have decided to try. Still looking for a job, hoping for some temporary work, but at the same time I am making some all-natural products in hopes that people will want them, at a reasonable price. This blog will occasionally chronicle my progress, sometimes giving some successes and failures (let's be real here!), but mostly you will see the same encouragement--recipes, organic and sustainable information, etc.--you have seen over the last several weeks.

Sooooo...off I go! Yesterday I made candles, and the day before that I made a lot of soap. A family member is making handmade dish cloths. I ordered ingredients to make all-natural deodorant which I think I can offer for a very reasonable price--aluminum is in regular antiperspirant and is not good for you. All natural lip balm is also a possibility....we'll see. Can you help out? There is a poll on the side bar of the blog, a little market research if you will. Let me know what you would be interested in purchasing, if you were to purchase all-natural products.

If you would like to know more about Shepherd's Harvest, there is a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdsHarvest.

What new venture have you been thinking about? Let me know if you are thinking about trying something new!

Heirloom vs. Organic...what does it all mean?

2012-04-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

This morning I am taking a family member to a medical appointment, so this is a "re-run" of an earlier blog...one of my favorites, that took some research. If you already read it, I'll have something new Friday. Otherwise, enjoy and be sure to comment if you have any questions!

Heirloom vs. Organic...what does it all mean?

A Really, Really Basic Primer

As an organic veggie gardener, for the last few years I have jumped on the "heirloom" bandwagon. Here's the thing...it is confusing. REALLY confusing! There are organic seeds which are hybrid but not heirloom, nonorganic heirloom, organic hybrids, nonorganic hybrid, open pollinated...oh my!!!!

So I did a little research, and wanted to put together a primer of sorts with a few terms, boiled down to simple and reasonable definitions for simple and reasonable people (like me!). The fact is, there are several definitions, so these are the sort of "consensus" definitions:

Open Pollinated

The basic principle of open pollination is simple...if you grow a seed, gather the seeds from the mature fruit or vegetable and replant them, you will grow exactly the same fruit or vegetable the following year. Brandywine tomatoes are a great example of an open pollinated plant. Sounds simple, right? It is--except for bees. They like to complicate things by buzzing around and cross pollinating and making new varieties! Ah, well. Unfortunately there are also man-made plants which do not open pollinate, because their seeds are sterile (see hybrid).

Heirloom

Heirloom fruits and vegetables generally meet 3 criteria:

They are old. Age varies by definition, but one generally agreed-upon definition is that the breed is older than 1951. Some are ancient, and no one is quite sure when they came about. Spelt is a good example of an "old" grain, it is older than wheat!
They are open-pollinated.
They have pleasing taste and texture...kind of like those great-tasting veggies and fruits grandma ate!

Hybrid

Hybrids are generally bred for a particular quality by a nursery or individual. Qualities may include size, disease resistance, color, production quality or quantity, or taste. Often the seeds are "sterile," that is, they will not germinate, because they are mutations.

Organic

Not chemically treated in any way--soil or leaves. Most states have an organic certification process which is quite rigorous and expensive. (Having worked on an organic raw dairy farm, I was quite aware of the process, but I digress!)

Hope that helps! Please comment back if you have any questions. Are there any other terms you are confused about?

Nontoxic, non-chemical homemade bug spray!

2012-04-23T06:23:00.002-07:00

It is pouring out this morning. It rained yesterday too. Seeing the rain makes me glad, because we have had a drought lately and I was beginning to wonder about the garden and the lawn, and how we would water things this year if there was no break in the weather. Last year at around this time, there was a flood that blocked off our street for a few hours as the water washed up over the bridge in the road, and a drought seems inappropriate here in April!

It is also warm. Warmth and rain tend to breed mosquitoes. Typically, Americans use any of several commercially available brands to repel mosquitoes, spraying chemicals on their skin. The most effective commercially available chemical is DEET, or N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide. DEET was developed by the military for jungle warfare during World War II to protect troops against malaria, and the bottom line is that DEET is toxic--to humans, animals, and the environment. (For information on the toxicity of DEET, see the following link: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/DEET.pdf.) To evaluate the use of DEET or other insect repellents, it is important to weight the risk of diseases and reactions to insect bites against the toxic effects of the substances you apply to your skin. In our area, West Nile Virus/Eastern Equine Encephalitis are possible diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, so repellent is important for those of us who love the outdoors.

BUT...did you know that there are natural repellents you can use to keep away mosquitoes? Several essential oils have been used to repel mosquitoes, black flies, and other insects. Some documentation is available, but as with other natural remedies, there are not a lot of wealthy chemical companies jumping on the research bandwagon...so it ends up being a bit spotty and not as scientific as I would like. (If nothing else, I will always tell you the truth about this stuff!)

SO...what works? Here is a rundown, and a possible recipe:

Tea Tree Oil--I have personally used Tea Tree with great success.

Pros--extremely effective in repelling all kinds of insects. I rubbed the essential oil directly on my skin.
Cons--also repels people! It smells a bit like gasoline, and can be very off-putting if 100% form is used. My husband had an asthma attack from the strong scent. Not cool.

Lemongrass (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/med-aro/factsheets/LEMONGRASS.html)--Have not used this, but read that it works well in the far east against malarial mosquitos when applied directly from the base of the plant. Essential oil would be the best method elsewhere, as the plant can only be grown where it is warm.

Pros--smells wonderful.
Cons--don't know of any, not sure how well it works because I have not used it!

Peppermint Oil (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/524811.stm)

Pros--"studies have shown" (see above link) that peppermint oil not only repels, but kills larvae of malarial mosquitoes.
Cons--possible irritant--always "spot test" your skin and "sniff test" to ensure that you will not have a reaction.

Catnip

Pros--has been found to be more effective than DEET in repelling mosquitoes (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010828075659.htm), can be used in a low dose.
Cons--may attract neighborhood cats! Seriously, I don't know enough about this one to evaluate any negative effects...careful of sensitivity to skin, as with the others.

These were the top four that I found. Some others I have seen include rosemary, cedarwood, sage, lavender, vanilla, cider vinegar, witch hazel and ethyl alcohol (like vodka!).

To make Bug Repellent, simply choose an essential oil (or a combination), and combine it with a carrier, pour into a spray bottle, and spray it on your skin. Possible carriers include witch hazel, ethyl alcohol, and oils--olive, vegetable, or mineral. You should use 1 part of essential oil to 10-20 parts of carrier oil. I am going to try this one, this summer.

Bug Repellent Recipe

1/2 oz each of 2 essential oils (for a total of 1 oz essential oil)
10 oz witch hazel

Pour into an appropriate size spray bottle, and shake. Use as needed.

So...where to purchase essential oils? Here is a source! They have organic essential oils, and their prices are pretty reasonable. They are a sponsor, and I have visited their store and checked them out, and love their products:

Organic, safe, bug spray. That, along with taking a few measures such as planting insect-repelling plants (like marigolds) and eliminating standing water will help us to keep away the pests and enjoy the outdoors. Bring on the summer!

Recipe...Citrus Beet Salad with Greens and Feta

2012-04-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

Citrus Beet Salad with Greens and Feta is shown on the right. This was the lovely spread at Mom's house at Easter Dinner!

Last summer, some friends who run an organic farm had an overabundance (and I mean OVERABUNDANCE) of beets, and every time I visited their farm, they offered me the opportunity to poach as many beets as I could pick from their garden. I was thrilled...sort of. As a child, I hated beets. They were cold slippery red things that came out of a can, with a sort of nondescript horrible texture that I could not seem to slip past my tongue down my throat. In short, they made me gag.

So, what to do with all these...beets? After enlisting the help of several beet-literate friends and trying several recipes, I am now a beet convert! Truth be told, I actually LOOK for fresh beets at the co-op when I do my shopping now....I have come a long way!

Do you have weird memories of beets, too? Take my advice, they are worth trying as an adult, but eat them fresh, roasted. You will not regret it! I like the idea of using the entire beet, greens and all, in a recipe. The greens are nutritious and taste wonderful.

So here is an original recipe, which can be eaten hot or cold. You can take it to a picnic or eat it over baby greens for lunch. It is super-versatile, and tastes absolutely delicious. Prepare it ahead of time, and eat it all week. Enjoy!

Citrus Beet Salad with Greens and Feta

Serves 8

Ingredients:

8 medium or 12 small fresh beets with greens

3 T olive oil

3/4 c water

3/4 c orange juice

2T balsamic vinegar

1T honey

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 c feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub beets, chop off tops and bottoms, and cut into 1" cubes. Place in a single layer with 1 1/2 T olive oil and water and roast for 45 minutes or until tender. While the beets are roasting, wash greens and chop. Heat remaining 1 1/2 T olive oil in a wok or large frying pan, and stir fry greens until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Immediately remove from heat. When the beets are finished roasting, drain liquid, and pour beets into a bowl with honey, orange juice and balsamic vinegar and toss well. Toss occasionally, marinating for at least 1 hour. Drain most of the liquid, toss with greens, sprinkle feta on top and serve. You can either reheat, serve at room temperature, or chill and eat as a salad.

Nutrition Facts

8 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 168.4

Total Fat 9.3 g

Saturated Fat 3.5 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g

Monounsaturated Fat4.6 g

Cholesterol 16.7 mg

Sodium 317.5 mg

Potassium 493.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate 17.7 g

Dietary Fiber 3.7 g

Sugars 12.6 g

Protein 4.9 g

Vitamin A 8.9 %

Vitamin B-12 5.3 %

Vitamin B-6 9.0 %

Vitamin C 25.2 %

Vitamin D 0.0 %

Vitamin E 5.6 %

Calcium 12.0 %

Copper 5.9 %

Folate 36.3 %

Iron 7.2 %

Magnesium 9.4 %

Manganese 21.8 %

Niacin 3.4 %

Pantothenic Acid 4.3 %

Phosphorus 11.7 %

Riboflavin 13.2 %

Selenium 5.4 %

Thiamin 6.5 %

Zinc 6.7 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Raw, Local Honey...Does it work as a "cure" for allergies?

2012-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sniffle. Sniffle. Sneeze. Cough.

Allergies can be miserable. If you are like me, you love spring and fall, but not what they do to your sinuses. Several years ago, someone told me that if you take 1 teaspoon of raw, unfiltered, local honey per day; your allergies will be cured. I was skeptical. At the time I was on my third oral medication in addition to a steroidal nasal spray, steroid inhaler, and emergency inhaler for allergies...needless to say, I was willing to try anything!

So, I tried it. No magic there. After a few weeks, I noticed that the allergies were a tiny bit better...so I stopped using the steroid inhaler. By the end of the summer, most of my symptoms were gone, but that was pretty normal. I stopped using the oral medication and the nasal spray.

Fall came around. The allergies started up again, but just a little milder this time. I decided to eschew the oral medicine and only used the nasal spray. It worked. The following spring, When the allergy symptoms began, I started taking honey, and they vanished completely! It seemed to be a cumulative effect, over a long period of time.

But the bottom line, at least for me, was that I THREW AWAY THREE MEDICATIONS. Yay! The key, I am told, is that the honey should be raw and unfiltered, so that the pollen and enzymes are still intact in the honey; and that it be local, so that local allergens are present in the "processed" product.

Is this scientific? No. Not many studies have been performed on the use of local honey as a remedy for allergies. Most large-scale studies are expensive. Drug companies have money, and probably are not interested in spending it on "home" remedies!

The best way to know whether this works for you is to try it. Some cautions:

If you are highly allergic to pollen or bees, check with your doctor FIRST.
Children under the age of 1 should NEVER have honey. In up to 13% of honey samples, a small amount of Clostridium botulinum was found. This can cause infant botulism, a rare but sometimes fatal reaction. DO NOT take chances with this! In our family, we do not give honey to children under 2, even though it is technically safe to do so.

PAY ATTENTION to the cautionary notes before you try raw honey. Our family has found it effective in alleviating allergies...my son-in-law, my daughter, my husband, and I all have found relief using local honey.

If you have tried local honey, please comment! What was your dosage, what were the results, and how quickly (or slowly) did it work?

Organic Food...on a budget.

2012-04-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, when I realized the connection between my fibromyalgia and the food I was eating, stuff I was putting on my body and chemicals I was using to clean my house--I decided to "go organic" as much as possible. The biggest problem was the cost...it can be huge! What to do? Over time, I came up with some tips for buying organic foods on a budget. With a little effort, you can eat reasonably for close to the same amount that you would spend on conventional food.

Here are some ideas I found to be very helpful...

Lifestyle changes:

Eat less meat. Organic meat is EXPENSIVE...no two ways about it. If you eat less, you enjoy it more and spend less.
Reduce your consumption of packaged food. Packaged organics can get a little pricey. They also use a lot of sodium, which is not good for you. If you make food ahead (see my recipe for kale chips) you will have far more control over what you take into your body.

Where to shop:

My first stop is (I am on the east coast of the USA) a store called OCEAN STATE JOB LOT, which purchases surplus food and other items ("lots") and resells them for a huge discount. Often you can find organic packaged foods at stores of this type. Some of my recent finds are Bob's Red Mill organic bread flour, organic olive oil, Newman's Own organic snacks (chips, and my favorite Newman-O's), and a whole lot of canned beans and soups.
Farmer's Markets--NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) and other organic organizations often list farmer's markets on their state chapter websites. Best place to find super fresh, farm picked produce.
Find an alternative or natural foods co-operative in your area. In Wakefield, RI, I belonged to the Alternative Food Cooperative and shopped there for around 25 years! Here in CT, I belong to the Willimantic Food Co-op, which has an incredible selection of organic produce...yum! Want to know where to find a co-op near you? Try this link: http://www.coopdirectory.org/directory.htm. It will take you to a directory of co-ops all over the United States.
Trader Joe's--All I can say is...if you have one near you, it is a fantastic place to find great prices on organic and sustainably produced food! I miss the RI Trader Joe's...it was one of my favorite places to shop.
The grocery store. Look for sales and compare prices. Some organic companies are beginning to compete. This is good news in a large grocery store!
Your local health food store...occasionally, if you are a regular customer, small health food stores will allow you to order goods when they place their regular order--so if you like a particular shampoo or hair color, ask if they can order it for you. This way they will not need to stock it.

What to buy:

Produce--prioritize your organics so that produce is at the top of the list. Raw, unprocessed foods are the most likely to retain pesticides and nonorganic compounds--so make produce your TOP organic priority.
Other food items should be your second priority, because you are ingesting them. If you can purchase SOME organic food, it is better than none--do not think that just because you are not eating ALL organics, you are not helping your body!
Shampoos, soaps, and cleaning products do not necessarily need to be organic, but watch for non-toxic cleaners like Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, and Method (see Method vs. Mrs. Meyers...some of my favorite non-toxic cleaners!) For shampoo and conditioner, try a few different brands until you find the one you like--I always avoid products with sulfates. For soap, of course I use my homemade goat's milk soap (see blog part 1, 2, and 3 for instructions), but you can often purchase a good cold process or liquid soap which is non-toxic.

How to purchase:

Herbs--always buy your herbs in the bulk section of a co-op, if possible. You will save a ton! Here's why: You only purchase a tiny amount, in a small plastic bag...and that is all you pay for. You purchase by weight. Nothing is wasted, and you don't end up pulling a 20-year-old bottle of cumin out of the cupboard. Totally worth it!
ALWAYS look at the "specials" and "clearance" items on endcaps of health food stores and co-ops...they are often a treasure trove of bargains! I have purchased elderberry syrup for a coworker to help with her cold, as well as other vitamins and supplements, tea, and kitchen gadgets. This is my favorite section of the store!
Only purchase what you know you will eat. Common sense, I know, but seriously...you don't want your food to go to waste!

These were just a few tips and tricks I have picked up over the years...at a later time I will give a few ideas about how to shop for bulk products, green bags, etc., but that is enough for now. Too much information at once can be overwhelming!!!!!

Have a great week. Where will you shop for your organic and sustainable food?

Making Soap...Part 3...An Easy Way and Supplies!

2012-04-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

Some soap that I packaged Wednesday this week--Christmas Spice, Baby Lavender, and Sage Lemongrass!

If you have been reading along and are interested in making soap and have children or do not want to be bothered with lye and the danger involved, there is another option...melt and pour. All you do is purchase a "melt and pour" base of your choice, melt it in the microwave or a slow cooker or on the stove, add fragrance, and mold. Voila! Soap made simple!

There you have it...anyone, literally, can make soap.

Now...you ask...Where and how can I purchase supplies to make soap?

There are many, many sources; and the whole process can be somewhat confusing when you are new to the process (and even if you are not!). Here are some Internet sources and links (in the interest of full disclosure, I will let you know that I am an affiliate with some of the suppliers, and your purchases help support this blog!):

Melt-and-Pour, Oils, and Fragrance:

For reasonably-priced supplies, including a few fragrances and melt and pour bases, try Candlewic (I have an order being shipped from this company at this very moment!): Candlewic.com - Popular melt and pour bases, essential oils, natural additives, soap dyes, and molds.

Another source for wonderfully rich ingredients is From Nature with Love

Goat's Milk:

There are a few possible sources for goat's milk: a local farm or farmers market, OR you can try a health food store. If you are able to find "past sale date" goat's milk, that will work just fine as long as it is not sour or rancid.

Lye (Sodium Hydroxide):

I have purchased lye from Tractor Supply Company--they carry Roebic 100% lye.Another great source is a soap supply company called Brambleberry. They have excellent ingredients and lots of great resources for soap making! By the way, I still have some soap for sale, if you are interested, feel free to contact me at sustainablesandy@mail.com and I will let you know more about pricing and payment. As I gear up for the farmer's market season, I am more than happy to share what I have so that I can purchase more supplies, and I do ship my soaps! ...so will you try your hand at soaping? If so, what kind of soap will you try making? Melt-and-pour, or old-fashioned cold process?

Making Soap...Part 2

2012-04-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I told you about various ingredients involved in the "cold press" process of soap-making. Today, I will give you a recipe!

Before you begin, make sure you have the following items on hand:

Food Scale
Stick blender (this is the type with a covered blade so it does not splash)
2 large, deep metal (preferably stainless) pots--stock pots work well
2 metal utensils for scooping and stirring
Rubber gloves
Goggles

A Simple Goat's Milk Soap Recipe

40 oz Olive Oil (not extra virgin, pomace is fine.)

12 oz. coconut or palm oil

17 oz. frozen goat’s milk

7.1 oz lye

Pour lye into frozen milk and stir until dissolved.

Melt oils until coconut is just melted.

Take temp of the lye and the oils, and do not mix until they are within 10º of each other...they should be approximately 100 - 110º

Mix with stick blender until it reaches trace.

When comes to trace, add fragrance.

Pour into 4 lb. lined box

Tomorrow...part 3! Where to find all of the supplies. I am working on that one...was hoping to have it together today, but no such luck. Tomorrow I promise: supplies, where to find them online, and simple clickable links to find everything!

Have a great day!

Sustainable Lifestyle...Making Soap

2012-04-12T05:44:00.003-07:00


Finished soap with the soap mold, hand made by a friend.

A while back, I started getting together with an artist friend and making goat’s milk soap. She has goats, and I had been wanting to make soap for a while, and it was a wonderful learning experience! Since I picked up the last of our soap, and some molds so I can make more, it reminded me that it is a great process to familiarize oneself with, so I wanted to tell you about it.

We used a process which is centuries old, called “cold process” to make the soap. It sounded a little scary at first, because it involves a chemical called sodium hydroxide, also known as lye. Lye causes severe burns if it comes in contact with skin…definitely NOT nice stuff! BUT…necessary for a process called saponification…that is they process by which soap hardens into a substance which lathers when you rub it on your skin or a washcloth with water. Lye originated when folks noticed a yellowish substance which formed when ash came into contact with water, it sudsed and hardened a bit when dry. Old-fashioned soap-making methods used water and a lot of ash to make lye, but the amount of sodium hydroxide was imprecise and sometimes the soap burned the skin or would not saponify properly. Now, pure lye is available, so it can be measured very precisely and the exact amount needed can be used. This prevents burning of the skin, and ensures exactly the amount needed is used for saponification.

OK, now that we have spoken a bit about the chemistry of soap, what else is used? Oil, oil, and more oil! Oils which are solid at room temperature are melted and mixed, and other oils are liquid at room temperature. Different oils contain properties which have varying effects on the skin and soap properties. Olive oil and shea butter are great skin softeners, palm oil helps soap last longer (makes it harder), and a small amount of tea tree oil can help with healing from skin conditions and ward off mosquitoes. Other oils have different properties for softening or conditioning skin, hardening or softening soap, and treating various skin conditioners…the right blend is a matter of economics (some are expensive), practicality (what is available), and personal needs and desires.

Two more ingredients remain for cold process soap—liquid and fragrance.

The liquid is used to dissolve the lye, and it is absolutely critical that it be right—otherwise there can be an explosion and chemical burns. Powdered or chunk lye is added to liquid—not the other way around. Ever. The liquid can be water, but we use goat’s milk. Often goat’s milk soap is dark brown—ours is sort of a light caramel color…this is because we keep the goat’s milk nearly frozen so that it does not burn when the lye is added. The chemical reaction heats the liquid—so gloves, goggles, and long sleeves are used.

Next, the mixed and measured oils are added to the lye mixture and mixed…and mixed…and mixed…until the whole thing looks like pudding.

Then fragrance is added…my favorite part! We have found some wonderful (and strange) fragrances for soaps! Sage Lemongrass and Christmas Spice are my favorites. Once we were sent a “rice” scent as a free sample…it was weird! Flowery scents are not my favorites, but some folks like them, and I just found a scent called “energy” that I love!

Finally, the soap mixture is poured into a mold, covered, and left until it is just hard enough to slice into bars. Once it is sliced, it must cure for at approximately two weeks.

Some soap with our original packaging, at Christmas time!

Interested in making soap? Later today or tomorrow I will post further information, with recipes and suppliers…stay tuned!

"Try them, you'll like them" Kale Chips!

2012-04-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

YAAAAYYYY!!!! Kale chips! Grammy made kale chips! Believe it or not, this was ACTUALLY the scene in my house when I made these the night before Easter. My grandchildren LOVE these. I like them better than just about any other snack food, and find them extremely satisfying. We had company that night, and the kids visiting liked them. Packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Potassium, these are super-nutritious snacks. The only negative is that they are high in sodium, but if you reduce the Tamari and/or substitute low sodium soy sauce, you can reduce the amount of sodium in the recipe.

All I can say is...like the old Alka-Selzer commercial, "Try it, you'll like it!" (but without the heartburn!).

Oriental Kale Chips

These chips are an original recipe, and have a wonderful oriental smoky flavor which is very addicting! The plus is that kale is a super nutritious food which contains tons of antioxidants—it is one of my favorite go-to foods for snacking…just try them! (Of course, I use organic ingredients!)

2 bunches of Kale

1 T Dark Sesame Oil

3 T Tamari Sauce

1 T Balsamic Vinegar

½ c (or more) Sesame Seeds

(Optional: add some Red Thai Curry for a little heat)

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Oil 2-4 large baking sheets. Wash and dry kale. Cut stems off kale. Mix together Sesame oil, tamari sauce, Balsamic, and sesame seeds in a very large bowl. Sesame seeds should make a paste, add more seeds if mixture is not “pasty” enough. Mash kale leaves into sesame mixture so that the sesame seeds coat the leaves, then lay leaves in a single layer on the baking sheets. Bake for 20-40 minutes, flipping the leaves every 10 minutes, until dry and crisp, be careful not to burn them. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Nutrition Information

10 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 67.4

Total Fat 5.1 g

Saturated Fat 0.7 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.2 g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g

Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Sodium 311.4 mg

Potassium 134.1 mg

Total Carbohydrate 4.2 g

Dietary Fiber 1.7 g

Sugars 0.5 g

Protein 2.6 g

Vitamin A 106.3 %

Vitamin B-12 0.0 %

Vitamin B-6 6.1 %

Vitamin C 26.7 %

Vitamin D 0.0 %

Vitamin E 2.7 %

Calcium 9.9 %

Copper 18.1 %

Folate 3.3 %

Iron 8.5 %

Magnesium 8.6 %

Manganese 18.3 %

Niacin 3.7 %

Pantothenic Acid 0.4 %

Phosphorus 6.3 %

Riboflavin 3.1 %

Selenium 1.1 %

Thiamin 5.4 %

Zinc 4.5 %

Sustainable Marriage

2012-04-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

My grandparents, Kathryn and William. I remember celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. This is their wedding picture!

My parents...just celebrated their 50th anniversary in October.

My husband, Ernie, and I, in our wedding attire! We recently celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary.

In our family, sustainable marriage is a tradition. Ernie and I are blessed to be part of a line of strong and faithful marriages which is generations long. Ern's maternal grandparents and my maternal grandparents lived to see their 50th wedding anniversaries. My parents just celebrated theirs, and Ern's parents have been married 54 years. We have been married 33 years. One of our daughters celebrates 12 years this month. But we never take this for granted, for we understand how rare this is. We have seen the toll divorce takes on a family, literally every day. Our own grandchildren feel this pain, and we ache for them.

So what makes a marriage last? It takes TWO people, working together. If both have the same goal, it makes all the difference in the world. Shared goals...such as raising children, pleasing each other, pleasing God, and working on projects as a couple go a long way toward giving marriage purpose and vitality; particularly when two people have very different personalities! What else helps? Read on...

Several years ago, Ernie and I attended a “Sweetheart Dinner” around Valentine’s Day at our church. It was for couples from all walks of life, all stages of relationship. At each Sweetheart Dinner there was a speaker. This particular year, the speaker asked us to break into groups and write aspects of marriage on poster paper.

Our group was assigned a topic that had to do with “Enduring” or lasting relationships. Our task was to write a list of important ways in which couples keep a relationship precious and enduring over the long haul. Ernie and I looked around us…we had been married for 27 years, and were by FAR the youngest marriage in the group…what a great opportunity for learning!

The advice was amazingly simple:

Say I love you to each other every day.
Kiss
Pray together
Hug a lot
Never go to bed angry
Always kiss each other good night
Kiss each other good morning, too!

There were several others, but those six pieces of advice were the most repeated and prioritized items on the list. Pay attention to them, and if you are married, live by them. The couples in our group (other than us) had been married between 35 and 55 years! And they were all in love, deeply in love. It was inspiring.

It has been over six years since that dinner. One of the couples in our group is in heaven now, Everett and Gloria. They were the couple who offered the advice to “kiss each other in the morning, too!”

Over our bed now hangs a sign, “Kiss me in the morning too.” We never forgot that advice.

“Love never fails.” This Scripture from 1 Corinthians in the Bible is read at many weddings. True love is from God, and this is the love that verse is speaking about. Human love often fails—UNLESS it is nurtured, encouraged, and given time and effort. These are the things which make a sustainable marriage.

May your most precious earthly relationship endure. That is my prayer, and encouragement for you today. Are you following the “enduring” advice listed above?

Composting...Where Do I Begin?

2012-04-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Our family has started composting many times…we have been successful, and other times failed miserably. Sometimes success means you learn from your failures, and move on! So…our most spectacular failure happened after we moved into our current home. I wanted a compost pile. When we last owned a home, we had a very successful garden and compost pile, and the thought of duplicating those efforts was pretty exciting! Simple, right? Wrong. What we ended up with, as they say, was a failure to communicate. There were people in my home (I never mention guilty parties by name here) who were not quite on board with how compost works, and what we ended up with was a HUGE pile of dog poop, dry leaves and sticks…all in a large yellow-painted metal frame. Oops!

So, last year I decided to start all over again. Across the street there was a yard sale, where they were giving away old pallets. I collected several pallets and power washed them, and Ernie and I tied them together to make a large, 4-sided container. Next, I researched compost…what can and cannot be composted…made a sign, and attached it to the compost pile so that everyone in our home would know what can and cannot be composted. The concept is good! We are moving slowly in the right direction.

Here is what our compost bin looks like, with the front section open:

It should also be mentioned that there are many commercial compost bins which speed up the composting process. They tend to be expensive (mine was free), but I am told they speed up the composting process. My suggestion if you are interested in trying one is to go to Job Lot first—they almost always have them at much lower prices than hardware and garden stores.

So, what can and cannot be composted? First, you want to make sure you know just how much of a “purist” you are in terms of how organic your compost is. In our case, we use organic lawn care, so anything from the lawn is ok (leaves, grass clippings). Most of my produce is organic, so we go ahead and throw household produce in, even though some of it may not necessarily be organic—the amounts of chemicals and pesticides are so small as to be negligible or broken down in the heating process by the time the composting process is complete, so we don’t worry about the fact that some of what goes in may not be purely organic. Most of it is.

The “basics” of composting are as follows (this is the totally nonscientific version): You need some green matter (vegetable cuttings or grass clippings), some brown or dry matter (dryer lint, paper, or fall leaves), and oxygen. A good combination produces heat, which breaks down the raw material and turns it into soil. Some types of composting involve worms, which digest the raw material and eliminate it in the form of nitrogen-rich manure. For the outdoor, pallet-type compost “bin” we were using, heat composting is the primary process; although worms tend to be located at the bottom of the pile.

When composting, always try to add some green and dry matter at the same time, and turn your pile with a pitchfork every few weeks. If you build a pallet container for your compost, it might be helpful to keep one side open or make it easy to untie so that you can swing it open to turn the compost to oxygenate it.

That’s it. Keep an eye on it, and when it is ready, use it. I have spoken to some people who like to have two piles going—one actively being filled and one which is being used for soil. It seems to be a well-thought-out solution, particularly for folks who have large amounts of land.

Our Compost sign is located below…how do you compost? Just starting out? Been doing it for years? Comments are welcome!

IN THE COMPOST?

YES	NO
Cow or horse poop	Pet poop (e.g., dog or cat poop, soiled cat litter) Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
Toilet paper or paper towel rolls
Clean paper
Coffee grounds and filters
Cotton or Wool rags (not polyester or other cloth)
Dryer lint
Eggshells	Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Wood Stove ashes (Wood only, not plastic or other yucky stuff)	Coal or charcoal ash Might contain substances harmful to plants
Fruits and vegetables	Fats, grease, lard, or oils Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies Meat or fish bones and scraps Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Grass clippings Yard Trimmings	Black walnut tree leaves or twigs Release substances that might be harmful to plants Diseased or insect-ridden plants Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides Might kill beneficial composting organisms
Hair and fur
Hay and straw
Houseplants
Leaves
Nutshells
Sawdust
Shredded Newspaper
Teabags
Wood Chips

Don't Miss It...

2012-04-08T05:32:00.003-07:00

And then as they looked closer, they saw that the stone, which was a very large one, had been rolled back. So they went into the tomb and saw a young man in a white robe sitting on the right-hand side, and they were simply astonished. But he said to them, “There is no need to be astonished. He has risen; he is not here. Look, here is the place where they laid him. But now go and tell his disciples, and Peter, that he will be in Galilee before you. You will see him there just as he told you.”

~Mark 16:6-7 (J.B. Phillips New Testament Bible)

What always struck me is that this passage says, "go and tell his disciples, and Peter..." Peter missed it. Jesus rose from the dead, and he missed it. He was not even considered a disciple when it happened. He had denied Jesus the night before he was brutally tortured and killed, even verbally abusing a young girl who innocently asked him if he knew Jesus! (Mark 14:66-72) Later, Jesus Himself gently restored Peter, reminding him three times to "feed my sheep" (John 21:17).

Sometimes I miss out. I choose good things, but not the best. Maybe not even good things...

A few days ago, this page spoke of a carpenter I met a long time ago who changed my life forever. Thankfully, I now know that even when I don't make perfect choices, there is a Perfect One who forgives me. Every time. The thing is, I don't deserve it. But you know what? I don't want to miss a thing. How about you?

Have loving and blessed Resurrection Day...

Chickie Deviled Eggs

2012-04-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Wondering what to do with all those leftover hardboiled eggs? Here's an idea, and it is pretty simple!

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
2 1/2 T Mayonnaise--reduced fat with olive oil
1 T Dijon Mustard
1/4 t sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
black peppercorns
1 small carrot

Directions:
Peel and cut the top and bottom off each hard boiled egg, and carefully scoop out the yolk. Set each egg large-side down. Mash the yolks with the other ingredients together with a fork and whip with the fork until smooth. Spoon the yolk into a Ziploc or other small sandwich bag, and cut a small hole in the corner. Squeeze the mixture into each egg, leaving a small amount peeking out of the top for the head of the chick. Place the top cut piece on the chick heads, then place peppercorns on the eyes and trim carrot into tiny wedges for beaks and feet.

Nutrition Facts

6 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 91.3

Total Fat 7.0 g

Saturated Fat 1.6 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g

Monounsaturated Fat2.8 g

Cholesterol 214.1 mg

Sodium 161.6 mg

Potassium 63.0 mg

Total Carbohydrate 1.4 g

Dietary Fiber 0.0 g

Sugars 0.4 g

Protein 6.3 g

Vitamin A 5.6 %

Vitamin B-12 9.3 %

Vitamin B-6 3.0 %

Vitamin C 0.0 %

Vitamin D 0.0 %

Vitamin E 2.6 %

Calcium 2.5 %

Copper 0.3 %

Folate 5.5 %

Iron 3.3 %

Magnesium 1.3 %

Manganese 0.7 %

Niacin 0.2 %

Pantothenic Acid 7.0 %

Phosphorus 8.6 %

Riboflavin 15.1 %

Selenium 22.0 %

Thiamin 2.2 %

Zinc 3.5 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.