If you’ve read my green smoothie inspiration you’ll know our recent adventure into the world of green smoothies has begun with a splash. And true to our kitchen creative nature we had to do some tinkering with the basic green smoothie recipe from the video.

We’ve discovered the fun and versatility of making green smoothies, and to my surprise we now have kids who can’t wait to eat their green leafy vegetables – who would have thunk.

So here it is folks, drum roll please… our first green smoothie recipe dubbed by our 4 year old…

The Smoothie You Can Chew

1 Mango (minus what you sample while cutting – so probably a half mango)
1 Banana
3 Strawberries
3 Broccoli florets
Handful of fresh Spinach leaves
2-3 Green Kale leaves
1-2 basil leaves
1 Tbsp Flax seed
Splash of Pomegranate Kefir
10-12 ounces of water or to desired thickness

Blend that baby up and enjoy some vibrant green goodness – Don’t worry you don’t really need to chew it.

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Today I was blasted with a Green inspiration (just the thought of green sends warm flashes of Spring coursing through the room – I just wish some would flow outside where it is a not so springy 17 Degrees Fahrenheit). I was introduced to Victoria Boutenko and her series of books on Green Smoothie recipes thanks to a fellow natural health blogger and her recent post Drink Your Greens. She shared a video (see the video below) of Victoria talking about the wonders of green smoothies and a little taste test of a banana, mango, pear kale smoothie – a very vibrant green smoothie recipe that I look forward to trying since we just picked up some nice juicy mangoes.

After watching the video the green smoothie monster grabbed me by the hand and forced me to look up some of Victoria Boutenko’s green smoothie recipe books. The video mentions Green for Life which is her highly lauded 2005 release. I also discovered her recent 2009 book Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health which includes 72 pages of green smoothie recipes submitted from all over the world. It is rather inspiring to hear the great reviews these books get and the stories of increased health and wellness from introducing green smoothies into their diets. I immediately reserved both books at the library, but if you aren’t the waiting kind they are both for sale at Amazon.

Now I’m off to get some kale to go with that nice juicy mango… (and hey some of that Green inspiration must have spread outside after all… it’s now a balmy 24 Degrees outside)

Update: I’m still waiting on those books from the library, but in the mean time we’ve been experimenting with some green smoothie recipes of our own – and I’ve been blown away! The kids actually LOVE these! I’ll get a post up on one of our favorite recipes soon, but first I have to make our morning smoothie…

This post shared on Fight Back Friday and Real Food Wednesday

Are you looking for an easy way to get a jump on a cold winter morning? Here’s a simple to make powerful cold fighting natural remedy that helps boost metabolism, brain activity, and the immune system all in one shot – plus it has plenty of other mighty fine heath benefits.

Simply make a mug of hot lemon water and spice it up with cinnamon and fresh ginger! Kapow – instant superfood celebration.

Lemon is widely known for its high Vitamin C content and digestion aiding effects but the real powerhouse here is the cinnamon and ginger and the combination of all three.

In traditional Chinese remedies cinnamon is praised for its warming qualities (sounds pretty good on a cold winter morning) and has been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger. Cinnamon’s scent has also been shown to boost brain activity so when you add a touch of cinnamon in your morning tea make sure you give it a big whiff to help get those cobwebs out of the brain and perhaps help you remember where you put your keys.

When consumed with high carb foods cinnamon can help lessen carbs impact on your blood sugar levels because cinnamon reduces blood sugar as well as cholesterol and triglycerides. It also has anti-microbial properties that help stop the growth of bacteria and can be effective in preventing candida overgrowth.

Ginger completes the digestive three way tag team because it is an intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Ginger is also an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) so you don’t have to ride the toot toot train all the way to work. Ginger was shown to be far superior to Dramamine the motion sickness drug and is well known to be very useful in reducing the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Ginger contains very potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. Ginger extracts have been shown to have both antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects on cells and is especially effective in inducing cell death in ovarian cancer cells.

Ginger is not only warming on a cold day with its spicy kick, but helps promote healthy sweating, which is helpful when you have a cold or the flu. So if you are doing a winter detox adding a little ginger in the morning will really help the detoxification process. A good sweat may do a lot more than simply assist detoxification as German researchers have found that sweat contains a potent germ-fighting agent called dermicidin. Dermicidin is manufactured in the body’s sweat glands, secreted into the sweat, and transported to the skin’s surface where it provides protection against invading microorganisms, bacteria and infections.

Now after all that appetizing talk of sweating and digestion why not lose yourself in a spicy sweet hot mug of lemon ginger cinnamon tea.

This Post Shared on Real Food Wednesday

Ok so you’ve got your Valentine e-cards all ready to send, your Valentine flowers are on order, you’ve even got your Valentine theme ipod case all wrapped up for your sweetie or teeny bopper but what about a little love for yourself. (what do you mean you bought the valentine theme ipod case for you – naughty naughty)

Well if you are looking for a little something to relax and enjoy now that you have all these things checked off your to-do list try Yoplait YoPlus yogurt. We’ve tried a couple flavors so far and they are mighty tasty. Plus as you might infer from the “Plus” they have a little extra that other yogurts don’t always have. Yoplait YoPlus is loaded with antioxidant vitamins A and E, fiber and probiotics for digestive health, and calcium and vitamin D for bone health. Let me touch on a couple of those ingredients if I may.

First off the vitamin D is very important not only for bone health but it is great for cold and flu season because higher vitamin D levels are known to be naturally immune boosting. Vitamin C and zinc get the celebrity treatment when it comes to cold and flu season but vitamin D may actually be more effective in fighting off the sniffles and sneezes.

Second the probiotics in Yoplait YoPlus are basically the good bacteria the body needs to regulate digestion and keep the bad bacteria from causing any number of health problems. It is also good to note that YoPlus has the prebiotic fiber inulin from chicory root extract which is necessary to help keep good-for-you types of bacteria strong and effective.

If you are looking for creative and healthy Valentine ideas or just a fun Valentine’s day activity for kids try this fun and easy yogurt shaped frozen treat recipe. This homemade Valentine treat idea comes from the February issue of “Your Big Backyard” magazine.

What you’ll need:
1. Your favorite yogurt – like Yoplait Yo-Plus for example
2. Several heart shaped cookie cutters

Here’s the fun part:
1. Place the cookie cutters on a plate or baking pan
2. Fill each heart shaped cookie cutter with yogurt
2b. make sure you sample some yogurt (what’s kitchen fun without some free taste testing – plus you’ll need the extra nutrients in the yogurt to help fend off the barrage of “is it ready yet” every 2 minutes)
3. Place your heart shaped creations in the ‘ol freezer for a couple hours
4. Lift off the cookie cutters and have some tasty healthy Valentine treats – yum yum

This Post Shared on Real Food Wednesday

I was looking through an old article today titled “The Most Toxic Places in Your Home” and number seven was “Your Cat’s Litter Box”. The author of the article was preparing for the arrival of her new baby girl in a few months and was going through her home looking for toxic areas to de-toxify. We all know about the danger of changing cat litter while pregnant (Cat feces can carry a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, an infection that can cause miscarriage, congenital defects, or other problems to developing babies – personally I think it was made up just so the husband would have to change the cat litter) but there is a danger in the cat litter as well that effects all of us.

Cat litter can contain crystalline silica a known carcinogen, basically if your cat litter says go to the ER if swallowed – you probably should not have it in your house. I personally don’t go around eating cat litter but the dust from cat litter is just as toxic.

There are plenty of more natural cat litters available including cat litter made from corn, wheat, alfalfa, cedar, newspaper and my personal favorite pine. Actually we’ve only tried a few alternative cat litters, but once we tried Feline Pine we’ve pretty much stuck with it since it has been the best cat litter we’ve used. We tried Yesterday’s News cat litter, a newspaper based cat litter but it just didn’t handle the smell as well as the Feline Pine.

Why Feline Pine is the best cat litter:
1) Pleasant pine smell really hides the smell of cat urine.
2) Turns from pellets to sawdust (time to change the box).
3) Easy to scoop, but it helps to have a scoop with large enough holes for the pellets
4) Safe for kitties and cats of all ages, no more allergies or asthma, dust free and chemical free (so it is safe for you too)
5) Biodegradable, all natural and environmentally friendly (the pellets are even flushable)
6) More affordable than many cat litters we’ve tried, plus it lasts a long time before it needs to be changed.

Cons:
1) Some cats take awhile to adjust to it. Our two older cats took to it right away, but other cat owners have said that their cats wouldn’t use it. According to a review by a litter box rehabilitation specialist you should go slow and hang on to your old litter box until the cat has fully transitioned to the new Feline Pine cat litter. She also recommends using the Feline Pine litter box or any sifting litter box should work.
2) Some complain about the sawdust or pellets tracking, although we haven’t had a big problem with that – a few pellets make their way out of the box but an occasional hand vac or sweep takes care of that.

What natural cat litter have you tried? Please share your opinion below. we’d love to hear from you.

As I sit here with my hot mug of Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls tea laced with a bit of oolong I longingly look outside and wonder what it would feel like to bask in the warmth of a natural hot spring right about now. I suppose I shouldn’t complain it is a balmy 31 degrees out, but there is a bit of a nip in the air and i can see a faint whiff of the seasonal cold bug flitting through the air.

My thoughts turn to a past article on the many benefits of lemon that sits atop my blog fodder pile and my attention is peaked by the mention of bourbon. Bourbon and lemon the natural cold and flu fighting wonders of the world. And let’s not leave out honey – our poor honey who is feeling left out of the celebration (and shame on us to forget about our honey so close to Valentines Day).

It is an age old natural remedy the use of lemon, honey and bourbon to fight off sore throats and stuffy noses – in fact Mr. Hot Toddy as he is so affectionately called by some, has been with us since the nineteenth century in India and the UK – a fine place to enjoy the herbal delights of such a concoction as the cold wind whips over the cobblestone streets and the gas lamps belch their sputtering coal powered flame.

But alas, today in my comparatively warm home I enjoy my tea and wonder if perhaps something stronger might fight off the cold a bit better. But alas again since my first alas was the former I am without the natural cold fighting comfort of bourbon, but perhaps if you are lucky (yet unlucky enough to be besotted with the lover called the common cold) to have a bit of bourbon you might try an evening dance with Mr. Hot Toddy.

Natural Bourbon Cough Cold and Flu Elixir
2 ounces bourbon whiskey
1/2 lemon, juiced (about 2 ounces)
2-4 ounces water (optional)
1 tablespoon honey or heck lay it on thick and shoot for a bit more

The mixture is up to you really depending on how intimate you want to get with Mr. Bourbon, basically mix up lemon, honey, water and bourbon to taste – heat that baby to a nice warm glow and enjoy before bed.

For me I have a date with more tea – if you’ve enjoyed a dance with Mr. Hot Toddy please share your stories below (and please keep them to a respectful smolder there may be children peeking over your shoulder)

This post shared on Real Food Wednesday

Thieves oil or more properly an essential oil blend coined Thieves (since it is a registered trademark of Young Living Essential Oils™ who sells a wide range of Thieves oil products) has been found by a Weber State University study to have a 99.96% success rate against airborne bacteria. That’s a pretty huge claim to make, but many people swear by their Thieves oil recipes and concoctions.

The basic Thieves oil recipe consists of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus and Rosemary. All of these essential oils have powerful healing properties. Cinnamon and clove make a viral infection less likely to occur by fitting the cell receptor sites normally reserved for viruses – just like a puzzle piece – or I suppose more like a wad of chewing gum and the underside of a park bench. I know from experience that clove oil is exceptional at fighting off colds after trying a natural toothpaste that includes clove and other bacteria fighting ingredients.

Many people already know about lemon’s antiseptic properties since it is used in cleaning products everywhere. According to Jean Valnet, MD, the vaporized essence of lemon can kill meningococcus bacteria in 15 minutes, typhoid bacilli in one hour, Staphylococcus aureus in two hours, and Pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. Even a 0.2% solution of lemon oil can kill diphtheria bacteria in 20 minutes and inactivate tuberculosis. (as stated in the book Essential Oils Desk Reference
) Wow! Once you get past the tongue twisting barrage of scientific terms there lemon seems like a miracle cure.

Rosemary helps protect against and destroy bad bacteria, yeasts and fungi – and we’re not talking the fungi from your monster Angus beef, onion and Shiitake burger, more like the fungi crawling between your toes after a fast paced game of basketball. (sorry to those of you who just enjoyed a Shiitake burger, didn’t mean to ruin your fine meal – although you know if you have a bit of bad breath from the onion a bit of Thieves oil might just clear that up)

And let’s not leave out Eucalyptus since it is quite the little gamer itself. We all know about the stimulating aroma of Eucalyptus and its known properties for helping relieve cold and flu symptoms, but it is also adept as an antibacterial and helps stimulate the immune system, It acts as an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and even analgesic. (that last really isn’t as dirty as it sounds – it just means pain killer – man get your mind out of the gutter).

When you slip all these powerhouse essential oils into a bottle and give it a catchy name like Thieves Oil (with a sordid myth based potentially on the truth) you have a natural remedy winner on your hands. There are a billion and one uses for Thieves oil from use as a household cleaner, mold destroyer, cold fighter, hand sanitizer and even treating or preventing the common flu or H1N1 Swine Flu. Since Thieves oil is safe for ingestion a few drops can be added to your toothbrush to fight bacteria in the mouth and on the toothbrush itself.

You can make up an easy Thieves oil recipe your self by mixing 1-tablespoon each of Clove Oil and Lemon Oil, 2 1/2-teaspoons of Cinnamon Oil and 2-teaspoons of Rosemary Oil and Eucalyptus Oil with a cup of Jojoba oil or other carrier oil.

If you aren’t a DIY apothecary type you can always find plenty of good deals on pre-made Thieves Oil at your local natural health store or patiently look for a good sale on ebay.

Today must have been the day of the coconut because as chance would have it I discovered a good article on the healing properties of coconut oil and soon after a new highly reviewed shredded organic coconut made by Let’s Do Organic. (Certified USDA organic; vegetarian/vegan; sulfite-free, unsweetened, 100%-natural, finely shredded dehydrated coconut – yum yum!) Which led me to the idea for the first Natural Health Goodies recipe… how to make coconut milk.

I’ve been using coconut oil for a couple years now after hearing about all the health benefits of the healthy fats in coconut oil. As you may know one could fill pages on why coconut oil is the best oil for cooking, baking, skin care and most importantly your health – perhaps I will at a later date (if you say pretty please). But there are still health benefits to raw foods like coconut meat and coconut milk and what better way to enjoy these benefits than to make your own coconut milk for baking or just plain drinking.

Preparing Coconut Milk from Desiccated coconut.
(Try Let’s Do Organic’s Shredded, Unsweetened Coconut)

• Put equal parts of unsweetened desiccated coconut and hot water by weight into a blender (ie.. 8oz coconut to 1 cup of hot water).
• Blend for about 30 seconds and allow the mixture to cool a bit.
• If desired, you can strain and press it through cheesecloth or a fine sieve when it has cooled down. This is not necessary for most recipes, unless you require a silky smooth texture for the end product.
• Discard the squeezed coconut meat or you can also soak the coconut in warm water and run it through the cheese cloth again to make “thin” coconut milk which is good for soups and general cooking.
• Refrigerate the milk and use within 1 or 2 days.
• To make a thick coconut cream from dessicated coconut: Use 4 parts coconut to one part water.

If you like doing things the old fashioned way you can also make coconut milk from a fresh or store bought coconut.

Making Coconut Milk from Fresh Young Coconuts or Mature Brown Coconuts

• Pierce the eyes of a fresh young coconut, drain the liquid inside (This liquid, often called coconut milk is not the same as coconut milk used for baking or drinking, although this coconut water is delightfully delicious all on its own so drink away – or better yet add it to the mixture before blending)
• Cut the top off the young coconut or whack, crack and pound the shell of a mature coconut with a hammer (whatever works) so that the shell breaks into several pieces.
• Remove all the coconut meat from the shell, peel off the brown skin and cut the meat into very small cubes.
• Place the coconut meat in a blender, add hot water to cover all of the coconut and blend until finely grated.
• Place a sieve covered with cheese cloth over a bowl and pour the coconut meat and water into the sieve squeezing the coconut meat to extract as much liquid as possible into the bowl.
• Discard the squeezed coconut and refrigerate the coconut milk that has been extracted into the bowl. Refrigerate the milk and use within 1 or 2 days.

This Post Shared on Real Food Wednesday

“The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves.” – W.C. Fields

You gotta hand it to those lazy people to come up with a new gourmet popcorn recipe no one would have thought of… While it wouldn’t have occurred to me to put popcorn in pancakes until I read that quote by W.C. Fields we did enjoy a nice batch of organic popcorn last night with a movie.

I stopped at Coborn’s grocery for the first time the other day and found their natural and organic foods section – and just had to try the Natural Flavor organic popcorn made by Full Circle. I also had to keep true to my usual kitchen creativeness and spruce up the batch for a little impromptu gourmet popcorn a-la hot organic butter and a homemade secret garlic herb seasoning mix (just toss your favorite herbs, some garlic granules, and sea salt in a grinder and dash away – ok the secret is out).

It was the yummiest batch of popcorn I have had in awhile and my secret seasoning mix can’t take all the credit because the Full Circle organic popcorn was light, fluffy and dangerously delicious all on its own.

Full Circle makes four types of organic microwave popcorn including Organic Light Butter Microwave Popcorn, Organic No Salt/No Butter Microwave Popcorn, Organic Butter Microwave Popcorn and Organic Natural Flavor Microwave Popcorn. I’m sure the other flavors are scrumptious as well – I guess I’ll just have to try them – I know it will be a huge sacrifice but what is a natural health blogger to do?

“Full Circle Microwave Popcorn is produced with only certified USDA organic ingredients by certified organic growers and processors. It is produced on land farmed without the use of chemicals, synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers using sustainable farming methods.”

This post shared on Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday

Let’s face it Flu season is here and the heart of flu season is fast approaching, so are we protected from H1N1? That may depend believe it or not on whether you have had your seasonal flu shot – and the answer isn’t what you would expect.

Research done in four Canadian studies involving 2000 people shows those that have had their seasonal flu shot are actually at more of a risk to get H1N1 than those with no flu shot at all. I was surprised by that as well until I started reading more about how the seasonal flu vaccine works.

It turns out that repeated vaccines actually weaken your immune system putting you at more risk to get subsequent infections. And even more of a slap in the face is the fact that flu shots don’t even work against the virus they are targeting.

Here’s the basics – the flu shot is a weakened version of the strain of flu they are targeting. It is given to us in the hopes that our immune system will be able to generate antibodies that will fight off this low dose virus so when the real deal comes along our immune systems will be ready. The problem with that is it trains the immune system to be lazy – it has only had practice fighting off the weak version of the virus so when the big bopper comes along it isn’t ready – think of it like a runner training to run a 5k and then he decides to do a marathon on the day of the race – not gonna happen.

Another critical factor is that the strain of the flu virus we get in a flu shot is more than often the wrong strain and thus worthless. The strain of flu virus is determined every year in January or February based on active flu viruses in Asia with the assumption that when it hits the US the following year they’ll have a vaccine for it. Problem is viruses mutate (they would make great horror movie monsters) thus the strain of flu in the US nearly a year later is most likely different if not always different than that found in Asia.

I can tell you from my own personal experience the few times I’ve had the flu shot have been years where I’ve actually gotten the flu!

Well then, what should we do to avoid the flu and H1N1? It turns out that a healthy dose of vitamin D and other immune boosting nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, and omega-3 oils is the key. People with adequate levels of vitamin D rarely get sick from seasonal flu. Can you guess why the drug companies and vaccine manufacturers would rather you not simply spend some time in the sun (exposure to the sun allows the body to produce its own vitamin D) or drink some good ‘ol fashioned fresh squeezed OJ? I can think of billions and they all have former presidents on them…

Read more at NaturalNews.com: “Evidence emerges that seasonal flu vaccine increases risk of H1N1 swine flu“