Friday, April 15, 2011
Indian Chai Tea sooooo yummy!!! and good for you!
just boil, remove from heat,
go to www.culinaryherbalism.com for more info! :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
New, Safe, Homemade Cleaning Solution - Vinegar, Borax and Tea Tree Oil
I have been experimenting with natural cleaning products of late as more and more people have been blogging about them. I love the Borax and Washing soda for my laundry but I don't think I like it as much for general household cleaning as I like using vinegar, Borax and Tea Tree Oil. :)
I used about 1/4c Vinegar, 2 Tblsp Borax and 40 drops of Tea Tree Oil.
I put some HOT water in a bowl, dissolved the Borax as best I could and then poured this into the spray bottle, added the Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil, then filled it with water. Shook well.
It worked great!
I used it on my stove top - I actually took it apart and sprayed it in places I normally don't clean because they're hidden and walked away for less than a minute, when I came back and wiped, EVERYTHING came up. No effort on my part at all, it just wiped away!
The stuff that had been there forever that Bleach, Soft Scrub, other stuff, and no amount of elbow grease could get rid of, this mixture cleaned it right up. That's probably why I never went under there, I was so frustrated I couldn't clean it before! :)
Now, I don't know if it was that it was Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, the Borax, the combination, or if just regular vinegar would have done it, but whatever it was, it worked and I am so happy! :)
The next time I make it I am just going to use regular vinegar, water, and squeeze citrus juice and put the rind in, and Tea Tree Oil. I also read you only need a few tablespoons of vinegar. So, that is what I will do next. I'll likely eventually post about it! :)
Note: I wish I was more patient and diligent tho to see to it that the Borax was all dissolved as it can clog up the spray bottle... be sure the Borax has completely dissolved in the hot water before you pour it in the spray bottle! :)
Be blessed in your Spring Cleaning! :)
I used about 1/4c Vinegar, 2 Tblsp Borax and 40 drops of Tea Tree Oil.
I put some HOT water in a bowl, dissolved the Borax as best I could and then poured this into the spray bottle, added the Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil, then filled it with water. Shook well.
It worked great!
I used it on my stove top - I actually took it apart and sprayed it in places I normally don't clean because they're hidden and walked away for less than a minute, when I came back and wiped, EVERYTHING came up. No effort on my part at all, it just wiped away!
The stuff that had been there forever that Bleach, Soft Scrub, other stuff, and no amount of elbow grease could get rid of, this mixture cleaned it right up. That's probably why I never went under there, I was so frustrated I couldn't clean it before! :)
Now, I don't know if it was that it was Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, the Borax, the combination, or if just regular vinegar would have done it, but whatever it was, it worked and I am so happy! :)
The next time I make it I am just going to use regular vinegar, water, and squeeze citrus juice and put the rind in, and Tea Tree Oil. I also read you only need a few tablespoons of vinegar. So, that is what I will do next. I'll likely eventually post about it! :)
Note: I wish I was more patient and diligent tho to see to it that the Borax was all dissolved as it can clog up the spray bottle... be sure the Borax has completely dissolved in the hot water before you pour it in the spray bottle! :)
Be blessed in your Spring Cleaning! :)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Whole Wheat Molasses Bread
I finally found a whole wheat sandwich bread I can make, that cooks all the way through and tastes great!! I used 2 cups of white flour - just to get rid of it. Next time I intend to grind up some oatmeal and use 2 cups of that instead to stretch out my whole wheat flour.
Here is where I got the recipe: http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/search/label/Breads
Version 1 using 100% whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 TBSP dry active yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses*
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 - 8 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, molasses, salt and 5 cups of the flour until well combined. Allow to rest 20 minutes. Then, knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is just barely not sticky, and knead for about 10 minutes. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with a towel to let it rise until double (about an hour). Turn on the oven to 375, punch down and form into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Allow to rise for ONLY 10-11 minutes, then bake for 32-35 minutes.
*If you are avoiding molasses or don't have any on hand, you can substitute an extra 1/4 cup of honey for the molasses.
Version 2 using a mixture of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour
2 3/4 cup warm water
4 tsp. dry active yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses*
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups all purpose flour
6 – 6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, molasses, salt and 5 cups of the flour until well combined. Allow to rest 20 minutes. Then, knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is just barely not sticky, and knead for about 10 minutes. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with a towel to let it rise until double (about an hour). Turn on the oven to 375, punch down and form into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Allow to rise for ONLY 9-10 minutes, then bake for 32-35 minutes.
*If you are avoiding molasses or don't have any on hand, you can substitute an extra 1/4 cup of honey for the molasses.
Here is where I got the recipe: http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/search/label/Breads
Version 1 using 100% whole wheat flour
2 3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 TBSP dry active yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses*
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 - 8 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, molasses, salt and 5 cups of the flour until well combined. Allow to rest 20 minutes. Then, knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is just barely not sticky, and knead for about 10 minutes. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with a towel to let it rise until double (about an hour). Turn on the oven to 375, punch down and form into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Allow to rise for ONLY 10-11 minutes, then bake for 32-35 minutes.
*If you are avoiding molasses or don't have any on hand, you can substitute an extra 1/4 cup of honey for the molasses.
Version 2 using a mixture of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour
2 3/4 cup warm water
4 tsp. dry active yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses*
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups all purpose flour
6 – 6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil, honey, molasses, salt and 5 cups of the flour until well combined. Allow to rest 20 minutes. Then, knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is just barely not sticky, and knead for about 10 minutes. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with a towel to let it rise until double (about an hour). Turn on the oven to 375, punch down and form into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Allow to rise for ONLY 9-10 minutes, then bake for 32-35 minutes.
*If you are avoiding molasses or don't have any on hand, you can substitute an extra 1/4 cup of honey for the molasses.
Update on the homemade Dog Food
Noah still loves the stuff! I finally decided to reduce the recipe tho since the last one lasted a week and a half, I want him to eat fresher food than that! :)
So, here we are:
1 c oatmeal
1/4 c oat bran
2 eggs
2 c veggies (I used a frozen medley of sorts)
1/4 c flax seed
1 stalk of red kale or purple or whatever :)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
I was going to use a 1/4 c of sunflower seeds again, but these ones were salted, so I didn't.
This time too I put everything thru the food processor since he doesn't chew, he's still (after 3 or 4 weeks) so excited about getting real food that he doesn't chew!
I made this on Sunday 3/6, will need to make some more today or tomorrow.
Still cheaper, healthier than anything you can buy in the store and Noah is so happy with it!!
Let me know how you like it if you try it! :)
So, here we are:
1 c oatmeal
1/4 c oat bran
2 eggs
2 c veggies (I used a frozen medley of sorts)
1/4 c flax seed
1 stalk of red kale or purple or whatever :)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
I was going to use a 1/4 c of sunflower seeds again, but these ones were salted, so I didn't.
This time too I put everything thru the food processor since he doesn't chew, he's still (after 3 or 4 weeks) so excited about getting real food that he doesn't chew!
I made this on Sunday 3/6, will need to make some more today or tomorrow.
Still cheaper, healthier than anything you can buy in the store and Noah is so happy with it!!
Let me know how you like it if you try it! :)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Homemade Almond Nut Milk - Simple, easy, inexpensive, healthy! :)
I've heard of people making nut milk before but I thought it would be a time consuming, tricky process that I couldn't be bothered with. Was I wrong! It was simple, it tastes great and it saves so much money! Next, I will use it to make yogurt in my crock pot. :) Another, easy, inexpensive, healthy treat! :) I'll post that recipe later.
Nut Milk:
Take a cup of your favourite nuts, soak them overnite.
Put those nuts in the blender with 4 and 1/2 cups of water (according to raw-food-living.com, “The soak water will contain the enzyme inhibitors which is very acidic to the body so make sure to rinse your nuts and seeds well.” ) and blend til smooth.
Run the nuts/milk combo thru a nut bag or cheesecloth into a container. I didn't have either so I used a coffee filter and a sieve, but got impatient with waiting so, dumped the filter and ran it thru the sieve.
I then returned the milk back to the blender, reserving the nuts to use in my latest dog food recipe, found on this site, and added to the blender 1tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of agave syrup. Blended. Tastes great!!!
Will invest in a nut bag or cheesecloth though because it was kinda grainy at the bottom, but worth it! :) Going out to buy more nuts! :)
I would say this might have cost me a $1 to make. Awesome!
It worked great!!
Nut Milk:
Take a cup of your favourite nuts, soak them overnite.
Put those nuts in the blender with 4 and 1/2 cups of water (according to raw-food-living.com, “The soak water will contain the enzyme inhibitors which is very acidic to the body so make sure to rinse your nuts and seeds well.” ) and blend til smooth.
Run the nuts/milk combo thru a nut bag or cheesecloth into a container. I didn't have either so I used a coffee filter and a sieve, but got impatient with waiting so, dumped the filter and ran it thru the sieve.
I then returned the milk back to the blender, reserving the nuts to use in my latest dog food recipe, found on this site, and added to the blender 1tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of agave syrup. Blended. Tastes great!!!
Will invest in a nut bag or cheesecloth though because it was kinda grainy at the bottom, but worth it! :) Going out to buy more nuts! :)
I would say this might have cost me a $1 to make. Awesome!
It worked great!!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Update on Homemade Dog food - New Recipe!!! :)
So, the food I made last week that cost me about $2 to make lasted me a week. This was giving Noah about half a cup twice per day. He is a 12 pound dog. He loved it!!!
The first day I mixed 1/2 cup of the new food with 1/4 cup of his dry dog food, he ate it all. Later that evening I gave him another 1/4 cup of his dry food with the new food and he pulled the little bits of dry food out as he ate the new food. After some stern, "eat your foods" he ate it. He did get a little more than a cup a day the first few days as we used up his dry food.
That didn't work so well the next day. So, I just didn't give him any new food til he ate the old food. He was so happy when all the dry food was gone, so was I because I wasn't going to force it down his throat and I really wanted him to consume both at the same time because his tummy doesn't handle it too well. Larger dogs don't seem to have this issue so much, at least in my experience.
In any case, the transition was fine! So, I made a new recipe today and of course, Noah loves it! I am not worried so much about transition because the basic ingredients are the same. Oatmeal, eggs and turnip greens. I just changed from carrot to lima beans (because that's what I had). And added a bit of almond meal, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and chicken, and switched up the spices a bit.
So here is the recipe (probably cost me about $2 also):
3c cooked oatmeal (not quick oats)
2 eggs scrambled in 1/2 tsp EVOO
1 c frozen lima beans (steamed)
2 c chicken soup broth
1/4 c carrots (from the soup)
1/4 c celery (from the soup)
1/4 c chicken (from the soup)
1 c almond pulp (left over from making almond milk - will add recipe here, turned out great!)
1 c oat bran
1/2 c flax seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 c sunflower seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
I put everything but the oatmeal in the blender or food processor because Noah apparently doesn't chew. He had to chew dry food, but anyway... I suspect this is because he's so excited about getting people food that he just wolfs it down, or he's afraid that it will get taken away in short order is what usually happens if people food falls within his reach. I'm hoping this will change soon once he gets used to the idea because I think it's good for him to actually chew stuff!
So, will let you know how this week goes! Still a little nervous about all this as I'm not a dietitian, or a veterinarian, but I do understand about healthy eating and have researched a lot and combined that with intuition and just plain common sense.
Let me know your experiences and how you like it!
The first day I mixed 1/2 cup of the new food with 1/4 cup of his dry dog food, he ate it all. Later that evening I gave him another 1/4 cup of his dry food with the new food and he pulled the little bits of dry food out as he ate the new food. After some stern, "eat your foods" he ate it. He did get a little more than a cup a day the first few days as we used up his dry food.
That didn't work so well the next day. So, I just didn't give him any new food til he ate the old food. He was so happy when all the dry food was gone, so was I because I wasn't going to force it down his throat and I really wanted him to consume both at the same time because his tummy doesn't handle it too well. Larger dogs don't seem to have this issue so much, at least in my experience.
In any case, the transition was fine! So, I made a new recipe today and of course, Noah loves it! I am not worried so much about transition because the basic ingredients are the same. Oatmeal, eggs and turnip greens. I just changed from carrot to lima beans (because that's what I had). And added a bit of almond meal, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and chicken, and switched up the spices a bit.
So here is the recipe (probably cost me about $2 also):
3c cooked oatmeal (not quick oats)
2 eggs scrambled in 1/2 tsp EVOO
1 c frozen lima beans (steamed)
2 c chicken soup broth
1/4 c carrots (from the soup)
1/4 c celery (from the soup)
1/4 c chicken (from the soup)
1 c almond pulp (left over from making almond milk - will add recipe here, turned out great!)
1 c oat bran
1/2 c flax seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 c sunflower seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
I put everything but the oatmeal in the blender or food processor because Noah apparently doesn't chew. He had to chew dry food, but anyway... I suspect this is because he's so excited about getting people food that he just wolfs it down, or he's afraid that it will get taken away in short order is what usually happens if people food falls within his reach. I'm hoping this will change soon once he gets used to the idea because I think it's good for him to actually chew stuff!
So, will let you know how this week goes! Still a little nervous about all this as I'm not a dietitian, or a veterinarian, but I do understand about healthy eating and have researched a lot and combined that with intuition and just plain common sense.
Let me know your experiences and how you like it!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
All purpose household cleaner - SAFE, Non-toxic
Buy a spray bottle and mark the ingredients on the bottle as you go so you know how much to use next time without looking up this recipe!
Mix well to dissolve crystals then add 2 tblsp White Vinegar
When water cools; Add 20 drops of peppermint essential oil for scent if desired.
Read below (searched to find something to support tea tree oil):
2 c HOT water
1/2 tsp Borax
1/2 tsp Washing Soda
Mix well to dissolve crystals then add 2 tblsp White Vinegar
When water cools; Add 20 drops of peppermint essential oil for scent if desired.
Add 20 drops of tea tree essential oil as a disinfectant.
Read below (searched to find something to support tea tree oil):
I just now found this site - looks great!
http://www.natural-healthy-home-cleaning-tips.com/natural_home_cleaning_tea_tree_oil.htm
Tea Tree oil is one of the most popular of the essential oils. It is one of the strongest natural antiseptics, commonly referred to as the "Universal Antiseptic." This quality makes it one of the most worthwhile ingredients in homemade cleaning recipes. Tea Tree oil is also well tolerated having no known allergic reactions.
The time has come for us to reject the chemical-laden, air-polluting, health destroying, hazardous, commercial household cleaning products. There is something wrong when big corporations are using, "Trade Secrets," which means they are free to put harmful chemicals in the products that we use everyday in our homes. Manufacturers are not required to list them on the label. There are some companies that provide us with many excellent eco-friendly, nontoxic-cleaning products, but it is more economical and satisfying to make our own. You may notice that once you start using natural, safe cleaning products, you will not want to go back to using chemicals. The change is so pleasant to our bodies physiologically, and so soothing emotionally that we can't go back to harsh chemicals.
Clinical studies have documented the value of Tea Tree oil, which date back to the original work conducted in 1923 by Dr. A. R. Penfold, an Australian government chemist. He found that Tea Tree leaves contained an essential oil, which showed antiseptic and bacterial properties 13 times stronger than carbolic acid, the accepted standard of the time. In 1930, Mr. E. M. Humphrey published an article entitled "A New Australian Germicide." He identified that Tea Tree oil's disinfectant action on the typhoid bacilli was sixty times greater than that of ordinary hand soap. So important was Tea Tree in the 1940's that it was standard issue in first aid kits for army and navy personnel.
Tea Tree oil turns out to be one of the most useful of all essential oils, especially as an antiseptic. The antiseptic, germicidal, antifungal, antibacterial immune-boosting qualities of Tea Tree oil make it applicable to a wide range of health conditions. In addition, the antiseptic benefits of the oil allow its use as a natural cleaner and disinfectant within the household environment.
Tea tree oil has many uses for housekeeping. You can prove to yourself how well it works to kill mold and mildew with this simple test: Put 2 teaspoons of Australian tea tree oil in a spray bottle with two cups of water. Spray the mixture on something musty. Let the smell dissipate (it will take a few days). The smell of mold and must will be gone, too, never to return as long as the source of moisture has been
removed.
You can make your own cleaning supplies with antibacterial properties that nature provides. You'll feel a whole lot brighter and energetic after a few hours with essential oils than you will after breathing the fumes of toxic chemicals.
***********
Happy Cleaning! :)
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