Just a few things that make me go..Awwhhh, life is great!
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Here's a review of some of the healthy staples that reside in our kitchen...my favorites!  My mom introduced me to this salt, and I've been hooked ever since. I traded in my ordinary table salt for this mineral-rich version. From the back label..."Unlike most table salts, RealSalt is not bleached, kiln dried, heated, or altered with chemicals or pollutants. It also has a full complement of beneficial trace minerals, with nothing added." I read a book called "Sugar Blues" by William Duffy (thanks to your mom, Joanna!) and it mentioned that many varieties of table salt sneak in dextrose (sugar!) and other goodies to keep the salt from clumping...watch out! Now aren't you curious about yours...go check! But you'll have to watch out for the RealSalt at my house too....I have been known to mix in kelp granules for an extra nutritional boost! Next time you come over I'll bet you won't be able to tell... =)  This highly saturated fat has had such a poor and incorrect reputation for years, but unrefined (extra) virgin "coconut oil is rich in lauric acid (also present in mother's milk) which has strong antifungal and antimicrobial properties. It builds the immune system and protects against viruses, yeasts, parasites, and other pathogens in the gut. Research has shown that coconut oil, like butter, promotes normal brain development, is less likely to cause weight gain than polyunsaturated oils, contributes to strong bones and has anticarcinogenic effects." (excerpts taken from Nourishing Traditions)  One of my pet peeves (I know, I'm quirky) is trying to find a boullion that doesn't have MSG, hydrolized or isolated soy protein, or dextrose (to name a few...). So when I found this brand, I was rather excited. This fun little jar is used nearly every day at our house. It adds just that little dab of depth to many a Rollins 'recipe' (my hubby makes fun of me because I hardly use one) It's kind of spendy, but I found mine for a great deal and bought a few. If you can find it, but the organic one, because the others have additional unnecessary additives. Another super brand for boullion is "Rapunzel"...  RAW HONEY! On my trip to Wyoming, I found a reasonable source for raw honey and brought this baby home with me (they made me check it as baggage!). It's so raw that there are "flecks of bee" in it! =) Why raw? It isn't cooked at all and thus retains a high enzyme content (enzymes are deactivated at 118' wet heat, and 150' dry heat). When I purchased this honey, the lady said she has people calling all the time requesting raw because their naturopath prescribed it for their allergies! I scoop out a small amount into a jam jar for the shelf, and keep the rest tucked away in the pantry. This was a great deal buying directly from the source...but here's another fabulous raw honey product (my mom served this to me with fresh lemon juice as a tea...SO good and therapeutic! Thanks, ma!)  This is the brand "Rapunzel"...and this is unrefined and unbleached sugar. It's filtered, dried, and sieve ground- thus not separated from the molasses at all. So if you're going to use sugar, this is the most natural way to go, as all the nutrients aren't stripped from it! Don't get me started on sugar...it's one of those things that we (ok, I) try to avoid, but is virtually impossible and somewhat impractical as a wife (of a sweet toothed man) and mama to completely eliminate it from our diet. SO we use this, natural sugars (honey, maple syrup, agave, stevia, etc.), and yes, on occasion, I bake with evaporated cane juice* (sugar, but less refined) for my family (husband). =) Oh yeah...and we also use *ecj in our homemade ice cream...and granita...and....=) I'd love to hear what your favorite staples are... Here's some fun things to check out...  We invited ourselves to go fishing with Brent on Friday...we dropped him off at Pass Lake, and then went on our own adventure. We landed at Rosario Beach, just minutes from Brent's Lake, and we were the only ones there for quite a while. I spent most of the time keeping Gracie from eating all the rocks and pulled many from her mouth. It was fun just being near the water and spending time outside together!   Yesterday our boy was sick and it lasted through this morning....but my dear hubby let me sleep in as late as I wanted and go off shopping all morning. So after I grocery shopped my socks off (which is actually fun for me) (Havilah, I missed you at Costco!) I came home motivated to tackle a few kitchen projects that I've been wanting to do for awhile.    4. We're about to make nachos...how's that for healthy! I told you one of my weakness is chips....but the chips we're having tonight (after the kids are in bed) are Organic Blue Corn Baked Tortilla Chips from Trader Joe's....that's a mouthful! "After baking, the chips are sprayed with a small amount of expeller pressed oil, then salted..." That makes me feel a bit better about indulging in a treat. We'll mix up some meat, black beans, spices, salsa, and cheddar....then a few dollops of "Nancy's organic, cultured sour cream".... More photos of the kiddos for you Camee....and I did pass on loves from Mrs. Parker as we walked by your house yesterday...and Josiah said, "When Mrs. Parker comes back from Arizona on an airplane she will play with me!"  Gracie's version of a smoothie....     What a morning....I was so tired (from little 3am interruptions) and just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep for one more hour....(I'm up with Brent at 6, and he's gone by 6:35)...five minutes after I'm snuggled up with the still warm pillows from Brent's side of the bed....I hear the doors open and the pit pat of little feet in those one piece jammies.... So I just found out from my most faithful blog visitor that one cannot view the 'my kids' page.....sorry about these ongoing technical difficulties! So here's a few recent pics...     Here's what's new at our house... This is a photo of our living room...tonight....with a new bookshelf from IKEA! Thank you Uncle Sam....I had fun filling the shelves.... I seem to go in bursts with this blog thing...I've noticed that my blogging patterns seem to correlate fairly closely to my moods....needless to say, this has been a long and low week for me. Last Thursday I injured my back pretty bad....Brent took off work on Monday to take care of the kids. Brent can tell when it's bad if I'm submitting to taking drugs to feel better...I'm one to tough it out rather than to yield to ingesting synthetic....(ok, I won't get started down that trail...) =)  |  Lisa ArchivesAugust 2010  CategoriesAll |
