Are you nutty for coconut oil?

If this isn't a staple in your house then I'm sorry to tell you that you are missing out! My love affair with coconut oil, like most things, began when we had our first kiddo. I've always had sensitive skin and babies of course do. Around that same time the world was finding out (with horror) that Johnson & Johnson was owning up to some not so safe chemicals in their products .. like formaldehyde in their "no more tears" shampoo. You can read more about that and the effort to change thanks to consumer pressure here. 

So - in looking for alternatives that were non-toxic I stumbled across many articles, posts, and references to coconut oil. For a long time I assumed it was good to keep around for a healthier stir-fry and had no idea of all the ways I could use it. 

Currently, I use it to wash my face, as a facial moisturizer, eye cream, as lotion for my kids (age 2 and 2 months), and at every diaper change in place of other creams. I also use it as a carrier oil. Remember my previous post this month on Thieves oil? (If you don't well shame on you! Go read it!) I digress though, I mix a drop or two of thieves in with a tablespoon of coconut oil and use as a chest rub for the kids and even myself. Since moms don't ever get sick this rarely is needed on me though ;)

So, go ahead and pick up a jar next time you go grocery shopping. A little goes a long way and you can really use it for a LOT of things. I'm just touching on the few things I always use mine for but there are so many many more! 

For instance, here are 21 Recipes for Skin Care Products using coconut oil. 

And from Wellness Mama .. Here are 101 Ways to Use Coconut Oil

Go nuts!

How much arsenic do YOU eat?

They look good don't they? Who doesn't love rice as a side dish? Think about it - for most of us it was probably the first food we were introduced to. Well, buckle up loyal readers because I've got to be the bearer of bad news. It has been confirmed in lab tests on hundreds of foods, including hot cereals and rice pasta, that there is a disturbing amount of inorganic arsenic in the rice we are eating. Maybe it goes without saying but eating arsenic probably isn't the healthiest thing you should be doing seeing as arsenic shares a lovely link with several types of cancer. 

Find more about the study recently done by Consumer Reports HERE.

Scary stuff but fear not! All is not lost and there are some alternatives that can leave you not missing the rice in your life quite as much. 

I had actually come across this information when the monster, I mean my perfectly angelic son, was an infant. We hadn't yet gotten to the cereal stage yet but when I read this I was at a loss. I was reading reports stating not to feed your children more than 1/4 cup a MONTH. If you have kids you probably already know that rice cereal is a major staple multiple times each day ... in a month!!!

(It's okay, Elliette! We know what to do!)

With our first child, Caleb, we made sure to buy organic cereal as our first step. But, just to be safe we went ahead and skipped rice cereal all together and waited until Caleb was 6 months old to introduce cereal. When we did - we started with oatmeal cereal or ground up and cooked quinoa with some of Caleb's milk and fruit. 

Now, if you don't have kids and you eat rice quinoa could also be a good option to take the place of arsenic rice. The cooking process is similar and quinoa is also a grain BUT it is also extremely healthy. You can read about some of the many health benefits HERE. There are plenty of recipes floating around the world wide web for quinoa and once you get the hang of cooking it and the smaller, grainier texture I think there is a good chance you won't even miss the rice!

Another option is couscous. This is a mediterranean food and cooks up incredibly fast! I'm not going to lie - I buy the already seasoned in a box variety sometimes because - let's face it - easy wins some days. You can also buy couscous in bulk. It literally takes 5 minutes to cook and you can season with whatever suits your fancy. I sometimes throw in beans or sautéed veggies. There are a lot of recipes out there for couscous as well but for me it is a fun side dish item to experiment with. And it is fast ... without arsenic!

The Legend of Thieves

THIEVES! No not that kind .. well, not anymore! Thieves is another essential oil that you may want to consider adding to your medicine cabinet. As you know, I'm not HUGE into using oils (yet!) but I have a few that I've had handy for a few years now and Thieves is one of them. 

Thieves is a blend of lemon, rosemary, cloves, eucalyptus, and cinnamon. The legend goes that during the time in history when the feared Black Plague (Bubonic Plague) was decimating populations in Europe there was a merry band of four thieves who managed to plunder the riches of the dead and dying without ever getting sick. Upon their capture in France they were offered a lighter sentence in exchange for the secret in avoiding illness. The recipe for thieves is based on historical accounts and records of the story. So .. being plagued by illness in our house this past week it was time to break out my bottle and put it to use. 

Like most essential oils, Thieves is antimicrobial, anti fungal, antiviral, and anti parasitic. When illness darkens our door I have three ways that I use it.

1. Drop 10-15 drops into a diffuser or vaporizer in the unhealthy family member's room. This is usually my son but my husband seems to get sick every time he comes in contact with a germ. Luckily, having our room smell spicy and remind me of holidays and Christmas trees isn't such a bad thing!
2. Mix a few drops into coconut oil and use as a chest rub.
3. 1 drop in with a tablespoon of water, gargle, and swallow to attack a sore throat.

If it worked for the BLACK PLAGUE it has to be worth a try, right! I've found it to work well in the ways I use it but not surprisingly a little research pulled up even more ways to use this versatile oil around the house, in the air, and topically. 

You can find some here: https://aromatherapy4u.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/50-ways-to-use-thieves-essential-oil/

And to give you some ideas on the types of use: 

Time to Dust Off Ye Ole' Crockpot

The cupboards are bare and it is long past time we head to the grocery store this weekend. One thing I've been diligently searching around for are crock pot recipes since once the prep work is done you plug in, turn on, and walk away until later when your food is all done. Honestly, whoever came up with the idea of a crock pot was a genius ... and probably lived a busy life!

That said - it is also fall and what could be better than throwing together some homemade applesauce?? My son loves it and making it at home has the added benefit of making more for less without the high fructose corn syrup. Plus it is EASY which is a must for basically everything I do cooking wise.

You will need: 

• A crockpot (obviously)
• 8-10 medium size apples (pick your favorite! I recommend Honeycrisp!)
• A splash of apple cider (or water or apple juice ... )
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Cloves, nutmeg, apple pie spice, vanilla .... (all optional based on taste!)

Now, to put it all together you will need to peel, core, and chunk up your apples. Once done, place all of the apple in your crockpot. It isn't necessary but if you are concerned about sticking you can spray the inside of the crockpot before adding the apples. 

Next, splash in your apple cider or water. I generally start with about a 1/4 cup of either cider or water and add more if it seems needed once things are cooking away. Add in 1/2 cup of brown sugar followed by your seasoning of choice. Usually I just sprinkle in some cinnamon. As with the cider (or water) you can add more to get the taste you want later on. I've also experimented with vanilla extract and cinnamon ... apple pie spice ... cloves. Set the crockpot to low and cook for about 6 hours. Your house will smell amazing and your refrigerator will be well stocked with a delicious treat. It's also pretty tasty on vanilla ice cream when it is still warm from cooking. Just throwing that last part out there for you!

Applesauce is incredibly easy to make and you can season to suit your taste. It's also one snack / treat I don't mind my son eating and he loves it as well!

Cleaning Green with Oils

I've spent a week overwhelming myself with essential oil information. There are so many types of oils and so many ways to use each one that I decided to take a step back and a page out of one of my friend's book. Oils are something I intend to start using as we continue moving toward a toxin free lifestyle so I'm going to start where my friend started ... cleaning!

As I started researching I have to admit being pretty shocked to learn that there are no federal regulations for the chemicals used in household products. The theory behind this is that exposure is limited but when you start thinking about all the various cleaning products stocking your shelves it is pretty scary to think that you are exposed all the time and to potentially harmful combinations of chemicals. Some of the most common chemicals found in cleaning products are known skin irritants, neurotoxins, endocrine blockers, and can have the amazing side effect of actually encouraging the growth of drug resistant strains of bacteria. AHH!! 

So .. who is ready to consider some alternatives? I know I am and essential oils added to cleaning product recipes you can quickly and easily make at home are a great place to start! Essential oils tend to be high in antibacterial, anti fungal, and antiviral properties so they not only leave the house smelling nice in a natural, aromatherapy kind of way but they also enhance the cleaning power of a recipe and get rid of all the nasty stuff in your house. 

Commonly used oils for cleaning that you might want to consider starting out with include lime, sweet orange, rosemary, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, thyme, lemon, peppermint, lavender, and grapefruit. Guess it's no wonder many products lining the store shelves boast citrus power, eh? 

It's not hard to start making these recipes and replacing anything you can buy at the store with something you made at home for less. Searching around the internet will unearth plenty of recipes and if you are on Pinterest you are likely to strike gold with the pins you'll find! Think pins like this one ... 

Here is a good place to go to start dipping your toes into the natural cleaning water: 

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/all-natural-cleaning-solutions/essential-oils

And here is a good place if you are more interested in diving into the deep end (don't worry - the recipes are still easy to pull off for those of us with a crazy life like mine!): 

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2013/06/homemade-all-natural-cleaning-recipes.html

Essential Oils .. Knowledge is Power

I'm no stranger to natural medicine and homeopathy thanks to an aunt who has long sought out remedies over traditional medicine. While at times it seemed weird to me when I was a child it now has become a more appealing option to try before going to the doctor with ever ailment. With that said, it is really no surprise that a few years ago I started hearing about essential oils and people using them for medicinal purposes primarily through diffusion (think aromatherapy) and topically.

Color me INTRIGUED! 

This week I put the question out to land of social media on Facebook asking people where a good starting point was for a "newbie". Even though I've started dabbling I don't know enough to jump in and as I've learned - it really isn't something to dabble in unless you know what you are doing. For myself, I've used oils in a diffuser to help alleviate congestion, lavender oil on bee stings and to relieve fever, and peppermint to combat a persistent headache. A common oil that many I know many to use is lavender oil. Uses range from calming, sleep aid, bee stings and insect bites, minor burns, cuts, eczema, nausea, nosebleeds, dry skin, hay fever, fever, and cold sores. Still intrigued .. and it sounds good to me!

I was curious about where to start and one follower provided a link to a helpful article outlining what essential oils are:

Derived from botanical substances such as bark, flower, leaves, etc., essential oils often contain a natural chemical constitution known to have antibacterial, antiviral, antibiotic, and antiseptic properties. 

Sounds great so far, right? 

True, except that if you continue reading you'll find out that most respected sources recommend not ingesting oils unless you are doing so under the supervision of someone trained in using essential oils. Here is a link to the article and if you are still interested you should definitely read it before continuing on this mission to learn more about using essential oils with me. 

http://www.nourishingherbalist.com/ingesting-essential-oils-safe-or-not-so-much/

Clearly, I need to know more but this response from a follower has me hungry for more information!

Do it for your mini germ factories!

Ah kids ... they touch EVERYTHING. 

They will eat food off the floor or better yet - the sidewalk. 

They will not hesitate to throw themselves bodily down in the middle of an aisle and roll around while you're just trying to pick up the milk and eggs and get the heck home. 

Let's face it - we love them but the concept of washing hands and sanitizing to avoid germs is lost on them during cold and flu season. 

The good news is that thanks to the world of social media I not only stumbled across recipes for Elderberry Syrup to ward off cold and flu but a genius way of protecting my not so germ conscious child. So, brought to you by the wellness mama (I really would like to meet this lady!) ... 

Here is her recipe for gummy bears. See my earlier post for Elderberry Syrup recipes that you'll need. This is just another step beyond the syrup and if your kids are like mine - fruit snacks are rarely turned away. Might as well make them healthy!

Flu Busting Gummy Bears

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Flu busting homemade gummy bears combine the immune boost from elderberry syrup with the gut benefits of gelatin.

Author: Wellness Mama

Recipe type: Natural Remedy

Serves: 6+

Ingredients

• 1 cup elderberry syrup (here is the recipe)
• ½ cup hot water (not boiling)
• ¼ cup Gelatin powder (I use this one)
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil for greasing pan
• Glass container or silicon molds (My kids like the dinosaur molds and gingerbread molds the best)

Instructions

1. Grease molds or glass pan with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
2. Place ¼ cup of cooled elderberry syrup in a 2 cup measuring cup and add gelatin powder.
3. Quickly whisk together to temper the gelatin powder.
4. Add the ½ cup of hot (not boiling) water and stir quickly until smooth.
5. Add the rest of the elderberry syrup and stir or whisk until completely smooth.
6. Pour in to molds and put in fridge for 2 hours or until completely firm.
7. Pop out of molds and store in air tight container with parchment paper between layers.
8. Take daily as needed to avoid flu or take every few hours to help beat the flu faster.
9. Will last up to a week in the fridge in an air tight container.

http://wellnessmama.com/4599/flu-busting-gummy-bears/