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/

Flu Fighter!

It's that time of year again! No, no .. not quite the deck the halls and fa la la la la time of year but, my friends, flu season is upon us. Everywhere you look you'll see the signs advertising that the flu shot is available and people everywhere are lining up. Except some .. like myself.

Perhaps slightly controversial but I don't get a flu shot nor do I have the kiddos get one. My biggest reason for this is that there just isn't enough guarantee that the flu shot will protect us from getting sick. Some swear by it and that is okay but let's face it - it is designed to protect against the maybe 10 most common types of flu for that year and there are literally thousands of strains. So, I'm always looking at natural ways to strengthen our immunity and help fight the germs without standing in line down at the nearby CVS and getting a shot of stuff I might not really want.

If you feel the same way (and it's ok if you don't) I'd like to introduce you to the Elderberry:

You can find Elderberry syrup at natural food stores or online but it is fairly pricey. If you have the extra money and not the extra time I'd recommend purchasing some as it has been proven to reduce the duration of the flu and has immunity boosting superpowers when taken at the first sign of symptoms or daily as a preventative measure.  Elderberries have anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, contain a key antioxidant for immunity, and are high in vitamins A and C.

As it turns out, with a little research, a handful of ingredients, and one hour of your time you can make your own Elderberry Syrup for significantly less than what you'd spend buying it in the store. I found two variations on Elderberry Syrup recipes. The first contains Elderberries, cinnamon, raw honey, cloves, water, and ginger root. Prep time is only 5 minutes and cooking time is an hour. Not too bad in the grand scheme of your health.

Check out the details on how to make the syrup and more info on Elderberries in general here:

http://realfoodrn.com/homemade-elderberry-syrup/

The other variation is similar with the addition of echinacea. Personally, this is the recipe I'll use since a little extra boost for immunity from the echinacea certainly isn't a bad thing. This recipe also takes about the same amount of time as the other one so you can't lose either way!

http://www.crunchybetty.com/your-natural-medicine-cabinet-elderberry-echinacea-syrup-recipe

Happy germ fighting!

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