I'll take my breakfast without the sand!

Sunday morning growing up meant family breakfast. I never thought much of it as a kid but we always made pancakes, waffles, muffins, and coffee cake from scratch. I was always partial to the coffee cake and for the longest time I thought OUR coffee cake was how everyone made coffee cake.

Not so much!

After being spoiled with the real, sugary goodness growing up I never like the coffee cake (or crumb cakes) that come out of a box and are just add water and an egg. Now that I'm at a point where I try to avoid processed food and still have a treat once in awhile I thought it would be interesting to check out the ingredients on a boxed coffee cake mix that doesn't compare anyways.

I looked at Krusteaz (See the ingredients here) and found some lovely additions like partially hydrogenated soybean & cottonseed oil, modified food starch, dextrose, emulsifiers, artificial flavors, and silicon dioxide. The oil is of the genetically engineered variety and carries the bad fats, modified food starch is most often made of GMO food, dextrose is an added sugar in processed food, the emulsifiers are a chemical to up the shelf life, and silicon dioxide is sand. Yes - sand. You'd be surprised how much sand you've probably eaten away from the beach all in the name of no clumps in the boxed mix.

So, since the boxed version pales in comparison to my family recipe you'll be happy to never buy it again.  Below is a nice weekend treat ... not exactly sugar free but it's okay to have a treat every once in awhile!

Coffee Cake

1 1/2 Cup of Flour (I use whole wheat, unbleached which makes me feel a tiny bit healthy!)
1 heaping tsp. of Baking Powder
3/4 Cup of Sugar
1/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1 Egg (organic free-range naturally)
1 Cup of Milk

Gooey Cinnamon Topping . . .

1 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Enough water to make a syrup (about 1/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cake ingredients in one bowl and pour into 8x8 baking pan. Mix cinnamon topping and pour the resulting syrup over the cake mix.

I usually do a zig zag pattern when I pour on the cinnamon syrup. What stays on top crisps but mainly it just sinks to the bottom as the cake bakes so when you pull it out of the oven 30-45 minutes later and cut you'll want to flip over onto the plate when serving so the gooey stuff is on top.

Here's to not so good for you but at least you made it at home weekend breakfasts!

Eating Organic and Staying Sane

It's all about the money and eating organic is no exception. I think this is especially true if you have a family and there are multiple mouths to feed every day while the cost of food continues to climb.

Prowling through Facebook this past week I came across the "Dirty Dozen" list with a blog post from the ever vigilant FoodBabe, blogger and healthy lifestyle expert, offering 75 tips for eating organic on a budget.

I read through the post and while a lot of the suggestions were good ones I couldn't take it all in at once. It's possible that having a two year old ramming his Tonka truck into me and practically knocking me over was part of the problem but only POSSIBLE. Anyway, I digress, the post made me think about the tips and I went back over it once the kiddo was down and out for the night making some notes and marking off the things I already do as well as the ones that were more of the wishful thinking variety. Here is the link to the blog I read: http://foodbabe.com/2013/05/20/how-to-eat-organic-on-a-budget/  Definitely worth a read because she provides a lot of helpful links for some of the items that might help you on your way.

Changing habits takes time so before I even get into the suggestions about how to eat more organic let me first suggest that you start with one or two a week. Slowly start to change your shopping, eating, and lifestyle habits over time instead of all at once.

And so, without further adieu, I'll commence with my thoughts:

1. Coupons, Coupons, Coupons: It seems pretty obvious but if you want to save money coupons can be a great way to invest you time. Personally, my day starts at 5:45am and revolves around getting myself and everyone else up and out the door on time, flying into work at 8am (barely), working my 8 or 9 hours, going to the sitter, driving home, dinner, bath time, reading Curious George for the eight thousandth time, laundry, packing for the next day, picking up, and finally sitting down at 10 or 11pm hoping I can stay awake long enough to fit in some homework. Couponing is just not in the cards for me BUT, if you have the time to put into it, scouring the internet and printing off the latest deals and steals for organic food brands might be a good first step. If you already coupon you're ahead of the game and just need to add a few more stops on your coupon hunt. To those of you in that category - Keep on couponing on!
2. Plan out meals according to organic foods on sale or that you have a coupon for : Had to chop this one down to the bare bones. If you are like me and don't have time to cut coupons you sure as heck don't have to time to then design a weekly menu based on the coupons.  I make an effort to at least think through my meals for the week. A lot of time we stick to basics that keeps us away from boxed and processed food anyways. For busy families, crock pots are the best thing since sliced bread, tacos are always fast and easy, pasta, and the standard meat/veggie/starch route. We try out new recipes on the weekends when there is more time to prep food and more hands to prevent daring toddlers from vaulting off the top stair.                         
3. Do for yourself: Smoothies and juices .. trail mix .. granola bars. It all sounds good in theory but time may not always be on your side. Saving up, or putting on a Christmas wish list, for things like juicers, bread makers, and a dehydrator might be good ideas. As you add that into your kitchen you can start trying your hand at trail mix (which you don't really need a recipe for), portioning out and freezing smoothie ingredients ahead of time so you can put in the blender and go and so on. Granola bars are something I would make myself ... BUT I've yet to find a simple, quick, easy recipe that also tastes good. My last attempt had 5 ingredients but received poor marks from my husband and son despite the five star review on the internet :(
4. Portion and prioritize meat and dairy: Maybe FoodBabe isn't feeding a meat and milk loving husband and son but this one seems hard to me. It is important to buy meat and dairy products organic simply because they are most likely to be polluted with pesticide, antibiotics, and growth hormones but it's difficult in our house. We make a few of our meals vegetarian which helps but milk goes fast! This is where looking to a local source might be helpful. We found that at the herb and homeopathic store downtown you could sign up for milk delivery from the local dairy. The milk is delivered every Thursday in glass bottles, is slightly cheaper than the organic store option, and supports local business. My husband likes to fish so our freezer is pretty stocked with fresh water fish like trout so that helps us as well. 
5. Speaking of the freezer: Buying a deep freezer was a key purchase in our house. We're able to stock up on organic meat and wild caught fish when it is on sale (or biting) instead of buying it on a weekly basis. We also buy butter, frozen fruit, and vegetables when they are on sale and keep them frozen until we need them. FoodBabe recommended doubling recipes and freezing. We actually already do this but it is usually extra soup or from doubling up a recipe on a day when we cook a slightly more time consuming dinner - like lasagna.  I like freezing things in portions that I'll actually need so soup we put into containers so they can be grab and go lunches or dinner
6. http://onceamonthmeals.com I'm still stuck on the freezer but this is a good resource to get some ideas. There are several different menus (whole foods, vegetarian, paleo) that you can browse a sampling of each month. The concept with the site is that with a membership you can plan out your entire month of meals and prepare everything on one massive cooking day. Being a member you can also generate a shopping list. This could be an option if you have the money for the membership and the bigger component -- TIME to cook one time each month and probably a friend or two to help you out with that effort. I usually skim through and pull off recipes to try out for the month like breakfast muffins, soups, or dinner ideas. 
7. Ain't nothing wrong with the store brand: Store brands that are labeled organic have to follow the same rules as the brand name competition but with a lower price tag. This is kind of a no brainer for me since I never have time to cut coupons for the name brands!
8. BUY LOCAL: I have the benefit of living in Amish country so there are random fruit and veggie stands all summer but ... there are also 2 farmers markets with one running on Thursdays and the other on Saturday. These are great stops for deals on produce. FoodBabe suggests going toward the end of the market as vendors are more likely to drop prices more which I had never thought of. We also have a small, best kept secret type store, that is a local greenhouse. Produce can be bought year round and is usually much fresher and half the cost of produce at grocery store. 

Well, there you have the highlights and the changes that can be made fairly quickly and easily. For me, I keep in mind that dirty dozen list from before, and we focus on filling our fridge fruit and vegetables, taking advantage of sales, sticking to meals that are easier during the week (but we do love our seasoning for flavor), and avoiding pre-packaged food. When I'm feeling feisty I'll give a granola bar recipe or something a chance but I don't always have time so like usual - I choose my battles and give myself a mental pat on the back for keeping the kitchen stocked with real food. We must be on the right track because even though our 2 year old has had (and loves) candy he was also the one who walked past all the junk food and threw a fit in the store because he wanted an apple. And later he had a peach .. a plum .. strawberries .. and leftover soup from one of those "easy" meal nights. 

Radiantly Local In Review

My first choice is to buy local and support local businesses as much as possible. There are a number of reasons for this but the biggest is that it helps the local economy and I like knowing where my money is going. It makes the decision to go local even easier when the local business in question has interests in line with my own. In this case, I recently was introduced to Radiantly You. This local company uses raw, natural, unrefined, and organic ingredients to create beauty products, hand soaps, cleaning products, and other items. Now I know there are those out there who like to make their own everything like true pioneers but I don't have any interest in filling the free time I do manage to find in my day with hunting down ingredients and turning my kitchen into a science lab all in the name of face cream.

Over the past week I've been able to try two of the products that can be purchased from Radiantly You: the Dead Sea Whipped Face Wash and the Antioxidant Face Cream.

It only took three days and I'm hooked. I have probably tried every single type of face wash that you'll see lining the shelves at stores and likewise when it comes to a face lotion. Radiantly you doesn't offer a huge selection but based on these two products I'd say that they've been devoting their time to finding just the right mix of ingredients for each product.

The face wash costs $11.50 and I'd estimate it will last for about a month, if not longer. If you break that down over 4 weeks the cost is minimal and compared to other options available in stores it is slightly more expensive but only by a few dollars. Everyone would be a little different but I've already discovered that I could stretch the 3 day sample package to 5 days and only need to use it once a day. The face lotion is an even better deal. It's competitively priced at $17.50 which is what you'll spend on a decent face lotion in all honesty. Go ahead and check Aveeno or Olay if you think it seems high. I've dropped the same amount of money on a name brand and had to buy more lotion after a month. This is especially true in the winter but with Radiantly You a little truly does go a long way. I've noticed in just a few days that my skin is holding moisture better than normal as well so I only need a very small amount.

I'm sold and excited to try more of the products. I do think that some of them are pricey and that there are other options out there. For instance, they have a tub scrub that sells for $8.50. I've no doubt it works beautifully but so does a little kitchen (or bathroom chemistry) when you use baking soda to scour/scrub and then pour white vinegar over that. On the other hand, they have items like an herbal decongestant using ingredients I can fully pronounce.

Radiantly You is a double bonus for me - Local AND chemical free but we aren't greedy in this area. Anyone can order and try for themselves through their online site.

---------> http://www.radiantlyyou.com

Fall Equals All Things Pumpkin

Stumbled across this recipe and thought it worth sharing. I'll be trying it out once we have a pumpkin handy from carving next month so check back for my review!

Back in the day, ice cream was a lot better for you and still delicious.  Fast forward to today and it is difficult to find an ice cream in the freezer section that doesn't contain artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and other fun stuff like that.  There is an entire list that I could provide but all you really need to do is check out the ingredients on your carton of butter pecan or cookies-n-cream to start seeing things like Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Mono and Di-Glycerides, and so on.  Putting it simply - if you have trouble pronouncing it and no idea what it is it isn't the best stuff to eat but . . . it just TASTES SO GOOD!

So give this recipe a try.  Only four ingredients which you can easily pronounce and only one step when it comes to directions. Even I can handle that during the monster's, I mean my son's, nap time on a Saturday.

Get the recipe here: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-pumpkin-ice-cream/

My Friend Dawn

If you aren't friends with Dawn yet and want to downsize your selection of chemical ridden cleaning products you need to let her into your life! Of course I'm not referring to a mythical person who will show up at your house while you sleep and you'll wake up to spotless counters and clean floors.  Can't help you on that one but I can open your eyes to the beauty that is Original Blue Dawn dish soap.  Don't be scared to read on ... I like tips and tricks that work, are easy to fit into a busy life, and don't require me to break into the vacation fund. 

How we began . . .  It all started with a stain on my kid's cute, little monster covered outfit. I had been so overwhelmed trying to research and find a way to go natural and not jump on board the crazy train that I hadn't quite figured things out. I went to my old stand-by - the OxyClean Stain Stick - which worked as usual but with a sad, side effect. The next time the munchkin wore the outfit his skin got irritated and bright red right where I had used the stain remover. I lost the mom of the year award right then and there but it sent me on a quest for something equally as effective but without the sting. 

I hit up Pinterest and scoured my sister's boards. I figured if anyone had something it was probably her and lo and behold I struck gold. And so, allow me to present the most miraculous stain remover that will run you less than anything else on the shelves and takes less than 5 minutes to mix up. Can you say "win-win?"

All you need is blue Dawn, peroxide, and baking soda.  Three things that most people probably have around anyways. Mix 1 part Dawn to 2 parts peroxide and add in some baking soda to make a sort of paste. I usually do 1/2 cup of the Dawn and then 1 cup of peroxide. You can actually remove most stains with just the Dawn and peroxide and then reserve the creation of a paste for the REALLY brutal stains.  Even the set in ones like the gross looking yellow stain you'll get on your white shirts. Admit it . . . you know you have some of those. Try the paste and they'll be a distant memory! 

But that's not all! Don't worry as I'm not really planning to break into a sales pitch here but blue Dawn will work for more than just the dishes.  Here's a pretty good list of different uses and several will help you knock a few household cleaning products off your list. 

1. Saving wildlife: After an oil spill because grease goes away and the skin isn't harmed or irritated. Also, BONUS ... no phosphates and biodegradable!
2. BUBBLES: (for the kids) 1/2 cup of Dawn, 1/2 gallon of warm water, and a table spoon of glycerin which you can find at Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens .. you get the idea.
3. Greasy hair help: Like when your little monster, I mean angel, finds the Vaseline or baby lotion and gets a little crazy. Wash their hair with Dawn as you would shampoo. 
4. For the ladies with a penchant for hair product: Washing your hair once a month with Dawn in place of shampoo will remove all that buildup.
5. Bugs-Be-Gone: 1 drop of Dawn in a spray bottle of water and you can use on the leaves of your houseplants to keep the bugs away.
6. No More Windex: 3 drops of dawn in 1 gallon of water and pour into a spray bottle to give you that streak free shine on a windows and glass. 
7. FLEAS: Bathe your dogs or cats (if you dare mixing cats and water) in Dawn to kill fleas. 
8. Got Pain?: Fill a ziplock bag partially full with Dawn, freeze, and use as an ice pack. It thaws out more slowly than a standard ice pack and IF it does leak you aren't going to wonder what the heck just spilled out all over you or your furniture. 
9. Shower Power: Make a shower spray cleaner by filling a spray bottle halfway with white vinegar, heat in microwave, and fill the remainder of the way with Dawn. Shake it up, spray down the shower, WALK AWAY, and when you think about it later on ... Just rinse away. 
10. ANTS: A long time nemesis . . . spray down counters with Dawn and water solution and wipe off with a clean, dry cloth. Dawn is your friend and your pet's friend, and your kid's friend .. but not a friend of the ant. 
11. Liquid Plumber: Unclog toilets with 1 cup of Dawn allowed to sit for 15 minutes and chase with a bucket of hot water.
12. Multi-Purpose Cleaner: You might have already put 2 and 2 together by now but you can mix a few drops of Dawn with water in a spray bottle and use as your counter spray, for linoleum floors, baseboards, hard surfaces, etc. 
13. De-Icer: Friends coming over for New Years or Christmas? Or maybe you would prefer to not fall and break your neck coming in the house via the sidewalk? Whichever it is, 1 teaspoon of Dawn, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 gallon of hot water dumped on icy terrain and VOILA! 

Convinced that you need a new friend yet? Or maybe you just need to build on the relationship you have with the bottle of blue Dawn you might already have in the kitchen? Either way, what started with dishes grew to stains and suddenly I was intrigued.  I don't have a lot of time to mix up new cleaning products so the more versatile the product the more I love it and in this case, the $2-$3 I spend on a bottle goes a long way!  I usually buy the value pack so a bit pricer but I don't buy stain remover, glass cleaner, insect repellent, expensive hair repair products, bathroom cleaner, or multi-purpose sprays so I think what that means is .... I WIN!

Choosing Battles

I remember the moment when everything changed and my fairly straightforward way of thinking became so much more complicated.  I had moved from Savannah, GA, home to azalea lined streets and massive oaks dripping in Spanish moss, back to the northeast where I had grown up to be with my husband.  I'd been back up above the Mason-Dixon line for about 6 months when we found ourselves expecting our first child.  Naturally, we were excited and once the first trimester had passed it felt safe to start amassing baby "stuff" a little at a time.  That moment I mentioned?  It happened in the baby section of Target.  We casually turned down an aisle and were surrounded by far too many choices.  It didn't seem possible that such a tiny person who would weigh in at a whopping 6 pounds could actually need so much just to survive each day in our care.  We slowly backed away from the baby section and being the logical people we are, made the decision to do some research first.  Little did we know how much more complicated things could get with just a tiny bit of research! Vaccinations, GMO, processed food, cloth or disposable, cleaning products, plastic toys, and so on until eternity.

Fast forwarding a bit (since I don't want to bore you to death by going into minute detail on every little decision) we realized that, like most parents, we wanted to start changing our lifestyle a bit and working toward being more natural, healthy, and holistic.  Easier said than done.  We both work full time.  In my case, I juggle full time work with an online graduate school program and the beginnings of a freelance career while still being on call 24/7 as MOM.  Our toddler is busy, our life gets crazy, and things get messy.  Navigating the last two years has become a minefield of doing some research, evaluating the options, and ultimately, deciding what worked for us.

We can't live in an impermeable bubble that will block out each and every thing that has the ability to cause cancer or hyperactivity or this or that.  Let's face it - once you start reading you'll find that few things are truly safe.  Burt's Bees is owned by Clorox and a tobacco company (Philip Morris) owns that smiling Kraft Macaroni & Cheese which falls under the whole processed foods category with toxic cheese powder slowly poisoning our kids who also happen to L-O-V-E it!  And have you heard the latest on Fall's favorite flavor?  Yes - even the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is a ticking time bomb to your health! See what I mean?  It's tough.  I've been learning as I go, making smaller, more palatable changes, and choosing my battles in trying to be as natural as possible.  I am all for natural living but for me, it is in a way that doesn't break the bank or keep me up into the wee hours of the morning mixing up a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent or better yet, off at the grocery store on a beautiful day reading every single label and cross referencing an ever expanding Mr. Yuck list for 6 hours when I could of flown through there in 2 hours and been home to hunt for bugs and frogs with the kiddo.