The Power of a Salad

I'm amazed at how full you can get by eating a healthy salad. I've never been a big salad eater. When I was young, I hated lettuce! I could eat any other vegetable... but not lettuce! As I got older, I realized it was not salad I hated, it was the type of lettuce I was always given. Iceberg is the main type of lettuce that most people use. Interestingly enough, it's the lettuce with the least amount of taste and nutrients. So...I decided to give salad another try...this time with a different lettuce, and I really liked it! Sense then, I've discovered lots of different varieties of lettuce I really like. It's the taste and texture of the lettuce that makes all the difference.
* Here are some ideas to make salad a healthy part of your day:
-Start with a good lettuce and/or spinach. I love the spring mixes. A good rule of thumb is, the darker green the lettuce is, the healthier it is for you.
-Use small containers to keep toppings for your salad in so they're ready when you need them. I love the take and toss ones. They're small and I can stack them on top of each other in the fridge. Fill them with nuts(plain nuts are so good for you! The fat in them is a good kind of fat your body needs.), seeds(sunflower, sesame, hemp), beans (like pinto, black, kidney or white...think Cafe Rio but healthier), Small tomato's, sprouts, craisins, grapes...what ever you like to top your salad with that's healthy. You can save money by buying in bulk at your local health food store. Using toppings will give your salad more flavor and it will help you to use less dressing.
-Now for the Dressing...hummm... the healthiest and cheapest ones are homemade. You can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for a month or longer depending on what the ingredients are, then you'll have some ready when you need it. Making your own dressing is not really that hard, you just need a blender and a few ingredients. The most important ingredient in a dressing, whether it's store bought or homemade, is the type of oil used. Olive oil is going to be your healthiest and least fattening. What ever you use, use your dressing sparingly.
-The last idea I had is for those who work. I came across a great container that will keep your salad fresh on the go! Now you can take your salad to work and have a healthy lunch everyday. The container is called, Stay Fit by EZ-Freeze. What I love about it is, it has a built in gel pack you put in the freezer the night before so you can keep your food cold throughout the day. There are different container sizes with compartments for salad toppings, sandwiches and other leftovers. I found these at Wal-Mart in the Tupperware section.
My husband and I have enjoyed eating salad lately. He takes his to work with him most days. Most importantly, It's helped us to loose some weight and feel better about our health.

What are your favorite things to put on your salad?

New Favorite Recipe Site

I have loved the Dehydrate2store website as well. I'm also creating quite a beautiful selection of dried foods. Who knew that food storage could be so lovely?

This week I'm on to drying spinach, broccoli, and some more carrots. I've had my dehydrator for a couple years now but didn't realize what an important appliance it was until now. I'm using it almost every day, getting my food storage built up with foods I never thought would be a part of my food storage collection.

I found a great site I wanted to share with everyone which I have a new favorite recipe from it's 101cookbooks.com . It's a recipe collection, full of natural and healthy recipes from a woman named Heidi Swanson. Here's my favorite Quinoa recipe thus far.

Look at all the healthy benefits of Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"):

"Quinoa's protein content is very high (12%–18%).Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights." (Taken from wikipedia)

Quinoa has such a light nutty flavor and should be (easily) eaten more often! ... Not to mention that it is a great food storage product.

-Claudia

Dehydrating

Lately, I have been a dehydrating queen. I have always loved to make dehydrated apples and bananas but I just recently came across a wonderful website that's all about dehydrating. I am so grateful for people like this who take the time to share their talents on line. Even though she is in Pennsylvania I can still learn from her all the way across the country. (The Internet isn't all bad.)

There are so many things you can dehydrate and it is wonderful for your food storage. Also, if you purchase a dehydrator that lets you control the temperature, you can make raw foods for your long term food storage. I love this because enzymes are so important for our health and you cant get enzymes in canned food. Check out her website it's Dehydrate2store.com and happy dehydrating!

I CAN MAKE THAT!

Why is it that we have become so accustomed to buying everything we eat already made. What ever happened to homemade? Are we to busy? Are we lazy? I sometimes wonder, if we were to get into the habit of making things from scratch again, we would learn to do it fast and it would not take up so much of our time. It's when we do it once in a blue moon that it takes us forever because we are out of practice.
One of my biggest pet peeves is not being able to pronounce the ingredients on packages, this is a big motivator for me to make it my self so I know exactly what goes into what I'm making.
Health issues are another big reason to make your own stuff. Manufactures of food products like to put ingredients like MSG, Soy products (Soy is good only in moderation but it is in everything!) and high fructose corn syrup just to name a few in their food as fillers and flavor enhancers. You can find all kinds of health claims on these and other products stating they can cause all kinds of reactions and illnesses from diabetes to A.D.D. to cancer.
So what do we do? Do we not eat these things? I like to try to make things from scratch that we eat a lot of. For example, in our family we like bread. So once a month, I make whole wheat bread and I make enough to last us a month(leave one loaf out and freeze the rest). Pancakes, waffles and muffins are another good freezer item. Just double or triple the batch when you make them. Another item we have had fun with this summer is homemade popsicles which are so easy and yummy (recipe follows below). I have a daughter that is sensitive to high sugar content, (it makes her so hyper) and store bought popsicles are loaded with sugar.
In the end, I think it is worth your time to make some things from scratch, you'll get into good eating habits and teach your kids some valuable cooking lessons along the way. Your body will thank you for it, but be careful to not become so extreme that when you do have to eat at McDonald's (once in a while) it won't wreck your day!

Homemade Popsicles

ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 banana
10 strawberries frozen or not
sweetener (I use agave) to taste, I'm sure if you use white sugar it's still going to be better than what you get in a Popsicle in the store.

Directions: put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into Popsicle molds or small paper cups. I use crafting sticks because they come in a big bag at Walmart, and freeze until solid. I have been making some almost everyday, transferring them to baggies when frozen and then all of them into a gallon freezer bag to store. That way I have enough when the kids want them. Try out your own combinations with fruit or another favorite is chocolate coconut with nuts.

1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup almonds
grind to powder in blender
1/3 cup cold pressed coconut oil (it's so good for you)
3 T agave
3 T alkaline free coco powder

Same directions as above. Makes about 8

Ear Infections

Questions come up all the time about what to do when your child has an earache. It can be miserable for both the parent and child. What you need to understand is that an ear infection is rarely if ever life threatening although the child might make you think so. With a little research and some common knowledge, more often than not, you can take care of earaches at home. Here is an e-mail I recently received through Mama Source (an online resource for moms) about this very subject.

Question:
I have a 3 year old daughter who is getting ready to go see another E.N.T. about possibly getting tubes put back into her ears.We have had to go to the doctor 6 times in the last 3 weeks, and had an infection each week. We had to go through the shots of the antibiotic-Rosefin(sp?). She was on Augmentin and is now on Omnicef-and is still miserable after 3 days of medicine. Our appointment is next Thursday, and we are wondering if getting tubes again is a good option. It just seems like there should be something else that can be done. When the tubes were in the first time, it was wonderful-not one problem. They have only been out for 3 months out now, and we've had an infection at least once a month. My grandma said to talk to the E.N.T. about a tonsillectomy-she said that's what they used to do when the tubes didn't work. I just don't know where to go or what to do/expect. Someone please help me here.

From: Trista R

This was my response to her:

I am a mother of 5 (almost 6) children, 10 and younger. We have had a lot of experience with earaches. When my oldest was little, every time she got sick with anything, we took her to the doctor and got an antibiotic. But as soon as she finished the meds she was on, it seemed like she got the same thing back again or got sick in some other way. It was a bad cycle. As I had more children, I started to think about more options. I started studying nutrition and how foods that we eat would effect the overall well being of a child. I started studying herbs and how they assist the body to become well again. And most importantly, I studied antibiotics and the effects they have on a body. What I found is that when you take just one round of antibiotics, it may get rid of the infection, but it also gets rid of all the good bacteria your body needs to fight off future infections. Then the crazy cycle starts of getting sick, getting better. 2 weeks later getting sick... over and over.
First, my advice would be to give her tons of yogurt! Yogurt helps to replenish the good bacteria but you have to eat it everyday for at least 30 days(just from one round of meds). Next, see if you cant break the cycle on your own without meds. Try seeing if her immune system will take care of the ear infection first and use something like ear drops. I have had good luck with garlic and mullein oil (kids ear clear oil bought at Good Earth). Also, you could try an immune booster like Echinacea drops for kids (at Good Earth also). My kids like heating pads or bean bag to lay on. Playing in a hot steamy bathroom for 15 min. at a time during the earaches to get the mucus loosened up and flowing works well also.
Also, sometimes kids get earaches because they might have a food sensitivity. Milk, cheese and sugar are especially bad because they actually cause more mucus. When my kids are sick, I lay low on the dairy and give tons of fruit and veggies to help their bodies get feeling better. I know earaches can be miserable for the child, but if you can be patient for a few days (It takes my kids 3-4 days) they will begin to feel better and their bodies will be stronger the next time another infection comes around.
Sorry, I'm sure this is way more than you wanted to know. Good luck! I wouldn't do the tonsil thing just yet. I had my tonsils out when I was 7 and I still get just as sick. As an adult I still get earaches and sore throats. Tonsils to have and important roll in our bodies to help with infections.(one more thing to research)

Shanda B

How would you respond to this question? What do you do for earaches?

Could Garlic Really Be That Good For You?

I've always loved the taste of garlic. Garlic bread, pastas with garlic, even pizza's with garlic on them are great. But, a few years ago, I began to wonder if this wonderful vegetable/herb was worth more that just a great addition to Italian food. So, I did some research on this "bulb of a plant" and here's what I came up with.

Health Benefits and Uses

Garlic's health benefits and medicinal properties have long been known (1). Garlic has long been considered an herbal "wonder drug", with a reputation in folklore for preventing everything from the common cold and flu to the Plague! It has been used extensively in herbal medicine (phytotherapy, sometimes spelt phitotherapy). Raw garlic is used by some to treat the symptoms of acne and there is some evidence that it can assist in managing high cholesterol levels.

In general, a stronger tasting clove of garlic has more sulphur content and hence the more medicinal value it's likely to have. Some people have suggested that organically grown garlic tends to have a higher sulphur level and hence greater benefit to health. In my experience it certainly tastes better, so I buy organic whenever possible whether or not it's best for my health.

Modern science has shown that garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic , albeit broad-spectrum rather than targeted. The body does not appear to build up resistance to the garlic, so its positive health benefits continue over time.

Healthy Antioxidant

Studies(2) have shown that garlic can have a powerful antioxidant effect. Antioxidants can help to protect the body against damaging "free radicals".

Side-Effects

Raw garlic is very strong, so eating too much could produce problems, for example irritation of or even damage to the digestive tract.

There are a few people who are allergic to garlic. Symptoms of garlic allergy include skin rash, temperature and headaches. Also, garlic could potentially disrupt anti-coagulants, so it's best avoided before surgery. As with any medicine, always check with your doctor first and tell your doctor if you are using it.

What Is Allicin? (for the chemistry of Allicin click here)

Allicin is the most powerful medicinal compound derived from garlic and provides the greatest reputed health benefits. Allicin does not occur in "ordinary" garlic, it is produced when garlic is finely chopped or crushed. The finer the chopping and the more intensive the crushing, the more allicin is generated and the stronger the medicinal effect.

Allicin starts to degrade immediately after it is produced, so its medical effectiveness decreases over time. Cooking speeds up this degradation and microwaving appears to destroy allicin totally and eliminate any health benefits.

So for the most powerful medicinal effect, crush a little raw garlic and combine with the cooked food shortly before serving. Remember too that raw, crushed garlic also has the most powerful flavor so don't add to much.

Garlic's antibiotic properties have been more extensively studied than some of its other reputed health benefits. Louis Pasteur examined garlic's use as an antibacterial back in the nineteenth century and showed how it killed bacteria under laboratory conditions. Numerous modern studies confirm that garlic has definite antibiotic properties and is effective against many bacteria, fungi and viruses. According to Wright State University (1), garlic is approximately one per cent as potent an antibiotic as penicillin.

Researchers have compared the effectiveness of garlic with that of commercial prescription antibiotics. The result is often that garlic can be more effective as a broad spectrum antibiotic. However if a particular bacterium or virus is being treated, a more specifically targeted antibiotic if available could be a more effective treatment than garlic.

One significant advantage of garlic is that the body does not seem to build up a resistance to it as it does to many modern antibiotics.

information taken from www.garlic-central.com

My own opinion:

-I grow my own garlic. This ensures the freshness of it and I know exactly where it came from. It is very easy to grow.
-As far as if it really works medicinally- First, you have to understand that every-body is different. It might be really effective on some but won't do a thing for someone else. For me, I find garlic effective if I take it right when I feel a sickness coming on. It shortens the life of the illness or takes it away completely. On the other hand, if I am well into my cold/flu and I start to take garlic, I haven't seen it work as well, but it does seem to break up my sinuses. I also think garlic is a great way to combat viruses when there isn't a lot of other options as far as medicines to take.
-As far as how much to take: Me, I chop up 1 clove 2-3 times a day and swallow it with water. (like a bunch of little pills), I only have to do it for about 3 days before the symptoms are gone. My children take a 1/2 of a clove 3 times a day mixed with honey on a spoon. We recently took care of a bad sore throat this way and felt better in about 2 days .
-Why not just take a antibiotic? I like to reserve this powerful medicine for the "really bad stuff." I want to try and assist the bodies immune system to take care of itself with a more natural approach first. The more antibiotics you take, the more you will weaken your bodies ability to fight off a future sickness on its own the next time one comes around.

Try your own experiment next time your sick and see if Garlic works for you!

-Shanda

Granola

We love granola in our home! We use it as a topping for yogurt, a dip for bananas, cereal, or just as a snack.

Everyone knows we need fiber in our diet to keep our bowels and intestines healthy and fully functioning - granola helps with just that!

Here's our favorite recipe:

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup (non-sweetened) coconut
1 cup cranberries
1/2 golden flax seeds
1/4 hemp seeds

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup water

Blend dry ingredients together. In a seperate bowl blend liquid ingredients with whisk (or such) until ingredients blend together. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir. Dehydrate at 155 for a couple hours or until desired crispiness. Or you can place in oven at 170 for an hour or two as well.

Claudia