Greetings one and all,
It has been over a year since I posted . This summer, I decided that I wanted my house to be more green. It began when I was researching ways to rid my home of ants naturally. Well for a week my home smelled either like a pickle factory (vinegar) or apple pie (cinnamon). Well unfortunately I still have ants but not as many. While during the ant research, I discovered several ways to clean my home using just five products: borax (20 mile tean Borax), baking soda, vinegar, water, and essential oil.
I began in my bathroom where I have hard water stains (soap scum) in my shower. One recipe simply said to mix equal parts of vinegar with water and spray your shower and wait 15 minutes then wipe down. Well it didn't work for me right away. I guess the build up was too much. I then got a small bowl and filled with baking soda and proceeded to clean the shower again. I sprayed with the vinegar/ water solution then I dipped my sponge in the baking soda and bgan to scrub in a circular motion. My shower door was white when I was done. Once I rinse the shower down to my amazement the door was clear. I absolutely love the vinegar/ water solution and baking soda. After every shower, I spray it with the vinegar/ water solution. To keep my bathrrom from smelling like a pickle factory, I put a few drops of peppermint oil in the solution which leaves a more fragrant smell.
How I made my vinegar cleaning solution;
1 cup of warm vinegar
2cups tap water
essential oil of choice 5-10 drops
Give a quick shake to mix and clean
The good thing about is I know longer worry about exposing my family to harmful chemicals. My sons suffer from asthma and I do not have to worry about my cleaning products triggering an asthma attack.
Fortunately, I kept most of my old cleaning products bottles (I cleaned with store bought "natural products) so I just cleaned the bottles out with hot water and baking soda and let soak over night. To create shaker bottles, I turned to my spice cabinet and removed all the empty spice containers and cleaned in the dishwasher.
I'm currently working a way to clan my oven. If you have an oven cleaning recipe please feel free to post.
Until next time
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Everybody walk your body..
I have been walking for five nights now. Its been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit so I'm going to continue to walk until its second nature. I walk for about 2.5 miles and it takes me 40 minutes. I enjoy walking so much that this morning (August 7) I walked to my neighborhood farmer's market. This particular farmer's market is quite small but I was able to get some really good stuff. I tried and purchased pickled squash and it was delicious taste similar to a pickle. I will go back in two weeks to sample the pickled zucchini. I also purchased some mango salsa really good. At another vendor, I picked up 3 varities of hummus and some pita bread and of course I got me some grapes, strawberries, cauliflower, and lettuce. Once my outing was done, I peacefully walked back home and just in time because the weather was really heating up.
Once home I made me a green smoothie. I have been using spinach in every smoothie and decided it was time for a change. I used mustard greens this time. I don't measure my ingredients but I'll tell you what I used and you can add or take away what you like.
Ingredients:
1 apricot
1 peach
1 banana
1-2 handfuls of mustard greens
1/2 cup water
ice cubes
I put the water into the blender first then I put in the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Now that Ih ave my wonderful Blendtec blender I just press the smoothie button and 30 seconds later, I had a beautiful smoothie. When I took my first sip, it was bitter but after a few sips, I could know longer taste the bitterness. I was sad when my delicious creation came to an end but there is always tomorrow. My daughter (15) ask me to make her a smoothie but to omit the banana and use for fruit then veggies. If it means getting her to eat more fruit and veggies, I will make her smoothie the way she likes it. Overtime she will get to a 50 -50 ratio. For my sons, I willhave to put in more fruit then veggies because they aren't to thrilled with the green color however, I will create some funny names for the concoction like alien slime to get them interested. My husband said absolutely no. He wants only fruit smoothies but I will find away to slip in a litle greens.
For dinner, I made the family fish tacos which were a hit. I topped them with the mango salsa from the farmer's market and a side of beans. Everyone was happy. At 8:00, my husband and I will be going on our nightly power walk.
Once home I made me a green smoothie. I have been using spinach in every smoothie and decided it was time for a change. I used mustard greens this time. I don't measure my ingredients but I'll tell you what I used and you can add or take away what you like.
Ingredients:
1 apricot
1 peach
1 banana
1-2 handfuls of mustard greens
1/2 cup water
ice cubes
I put the water into the blender first then I put in the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Now that Ih ave my wonderful Blendtec blender I just press the smoothie button and 30 seconds later, I had a beautiful smoothie. When I took my first sip, it was bitter but after a few sips, I could know longer taste the bitterness. I was sad when my delicious creation came to an end but there is always tomorrow. My daughter (15) ask me to make her a smoothie but to omit the banana and use for fruit then veggies. If it means getting her to eat more fruit and veggies, I will make her smoothie the way she likes it. Overtime she will get to a 50 -50 ratio. For my sons, I willhave to put in more fruit then veggies because they aren't to thrilled with the green color however, I will create some funny names for the concoction like alien slime to get them interested. My husband said absolutely no. He wants only fruit smoothies but I will find away to slip in a litle greens.
For dinner, I made the family fish tacos which were a hit. I topped them with the mango salsa from the farmer's market and a side of beans. Everyone was happy. At 8:00, my husband and I will be going on our nightly power walk.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Watermelon- banana smoothie
Had some watermelon that was not realy sweet No one was eating it. didn't want to throw it out so I made a smoothie.
Ingredients:
1-2 cups watermelon
1 banana
1-2 handfulls of baby greens (I used baby spinach and arugula already on hand)
Since watermelon consist of a lot of water you may not need to add more
I put in a few ice cubes because I like my smoothies cold.
I blend my fruit first then add the greens. I'm not using a high powered blender yet.
Pour into cup and enjoy I know I am.
Ingredients:
1-2 cups watermelon
1 banana
1-2 handfulls of baby greens (I used baby spinach and arugula already on hand)
Since watermelon consist of a lot of water you may not need to add more
I put in a few ice cubes because I like my smoothies cold.
I blend my fruit first then add the greens. I'm not using a high powered blender yet.
Pour into cup and enjoy I know I am.
First smoothie
The first green smoothie I ever made consisted of 1 banana, a handfull of baby spinach, and water to help everything blend. To my surprise, I liked the drink. I could taste the banana and very little spinach. I then began to search for more green smoothie recipes. I was under the impression that I needed someone else to tell me how to make the smoothies. Well my research has paid off. I now put almost any thing on hand in my smoothies.
I'm still experimenting on what to put into a smoothie and visit other websites often that have simple recipes. I very rarely add sweetners or dates to my smoothies. Fortunately, I have been selecting ripe fruit but recently I purchased some kiwifruit that was not ripe and rather tart. I had to add a sprinkle of raw cane sugar to my smootie. I did not want it to be sweet just enjoyable. I will be investing in agave nectar and raw honey because I want my children to enjoy the smoothies as well.
I'm getting ready to make a smoothie with watermelon that I purchased that just was not sweet enough for my family to enjoy. I do not want to waste the watermelon so I will put it in a smoothie. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I'm still experimenting on what to put into a smoothie and visit other websites often that have simple recipes. I very rarely add sweetners or dates to my smoothies. Fortunately, I have been selecting ripe fruit but recently I purchased some kiwifruit that was not ripe and rather tart. I had to add a sprinkle of raw cane sugar to my smootie. I did not want it to be sweet just enjoyable. I will be investing in agave nectar and raw honey because I want my children to enjoy the smoothies as well.
I'm getting ready to make a smoothie with watermelon that I purchased that just was not sweet enough for my family to enjoy. I do not want to waste the watermelon so I will put it in a smoothie. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Lifestyle change
So I decided to make a positive change in my lifestyle. After having my 2 sons, I gained 40lbs. majority came with my oldest son. When I was pregnant with my oldest son, my mother passed away. Instead of crying I turned to food. Food became my crutch. Whenever I would think of my mother, I would trun to food. My favorite was a chocolate shake from Baskin Robbins.
After having my son, my once size 3 133lbs was replaced with a size 12. I didn't care because I felt as if life was not the same. My best friend was gone for good. I missed our phone calls and just being together. Up until then I had know idea what a food addiction was. I was truly addicted and needed help.
I decided to join a medically supervised weight loss program through my hospital. I did not like people asking me if I was pregnant. A good friend whom had lost her mother also became my confidant and talked to me about getting myself togethet. I program was excellent. I learned techniques to deal with my addiction. I began drinking more water, eating or shall I say snacking less, and exercising. After 20weeks on the program, I lost 20lbs and was elated. A month later, I was pregnant with my second son. I could no longer survive off of 1000 calories or less a day and had to eat more if I wanted a healthy baby. I tried to make healthy choices and limit my snacking. I continued to workout but informed the lady of my condition. 23 weeks into my pregnancy my water broke and I was hospitalized until I delivered my son. My son was born at 25weeks 5 days and he was 2lbs 5 oz. Once again depression takes over and I began eating uncontrollably again. I wasn't able to take my baby home with me. Food became my baby. I ate to relieve the pain of not having my baby with me. I didn't want to alarm my family so I just ate instead of talking about my feelings. Being a size 3 was the furthest from my mine.
I continued on this downward spiral until I saw a picture of myself and I looked horrible. My stomach was huge I looked maybe five months pregnant. Disgusted, I pulled out my notebook that I obtained from the weight loss program and began following the guidelines. Several of my co-workers and I started walking during lunch time. I was feeling great. My jeans began to fit loose and I was in a size 8. However, all things came to and end once summer vacation began. I no longer had my walking buddies with me and my old jeans began to fit again.
Upset with myself, I decided that I had to make a drastic change not only for myself but for my 3 children. I purchased an elliptical machine and began eating salads everyday for lunch. Jeans started getting loose again. I was determined to stay motivated this summer so I adopted a motivation buddy. Between the two of us we started researching and looking into detox programs and making healthier choices. Oh I forgot to mention for lent I decided to give up chicken and turkey (I gave up pork and beef 19 and 18 yrs ago). I felt so good. Together my cousin (motivation buddy) and I started detoxing and making better choices. We both completed a 7 day diva detox. At the end of the program, I lost 10lbs.
Now I have a green smoothies everyday for breakfast, either a large green or fruit salad for lunch, and a modest dinner. I still feel myself releasing weight and I need a belt for my jeans now. My children are even eating healthier. I keep my refrigerator stock with fruit and vegetables. If my children want a snack, I have a cabinet full of healthy snacks. My children even like drinking green smoothies with me.
After having my son, my once size 3 133lbs was replaced with a size 12. I didn't care because I felt as if life was not the same. My best friend was gone for good. I missed our phone calls and just being together. Up until then I had know idea what a food addiction was. I was truly addicted and needed help.
I decided to join a medically supervised weight loss program through my hospital. I did not like people asking me if I was pregnant. A good friend whom had lost her mother also became my confidant and talked to me about getting myself togethet. I program was excellent. I learned techniques to deal with my addiction. I began drinking more water, eating or shall I say snacking less, and exercising. After 20weeks on the program, I lost 20lbs and was elated. A month later, I was pregnant with my second son. I could no longer survive off of 1000 calories or less a day and had to eat more if I wanted a healthy baby. I tried to make healthy choices and limit my snacking. I continued to workout but informed the lady of my condition. 23 weeks into my pregnancy my water broke and I was hospitalized until I delivered my son. My son was born at 25weeks 5 days and he was 2lbs 5 oz. Once again depression takes over and I began eating uncontrollably again. I wasn't able to take my baby home with me. Food became my baby. I ate to relieve the pain of not having my baby with me. I didn't want to alarm my family so I just ate instead of talking about my feelings. Being a size 3 was the furthest from my mine.
I continued on this downward spiral until I saw a picture of myself and I looked horrible. My stomach was huge I looked maybe five months pregnant. Disgusted, I pulled out my notebook that I obtained from the weight loss program and began following the guidelines. Several of my co-workers and I started walking during lunch time. I was feeling great. My jeans began to fit loose and I was in a size 8. However, all things came to and end once summer vacation began. I no longer had my walking buddies with me and my old jeans began to fit again.
Upset with myself, I decided that I had to make a drastic change not only for myself but for my 3 children. I purchased an elliptical machine and began eating salads everyday for lunch. Jeans started getting loose again. I was determined to stay motivated this summer so I adopted a motivation buddy. Between the two of us we started researching and looking into detox programs and making healthier choices. Oh I forgot to mention for lent I decided to give up chicken and turkey (I gave up pork and beef 19 and 18 yrs ago). I felt so good. Together my cousin (motivation buddy) and I started detoxing and making better choices. We both completed a 7 day diva detox. At the end of the program, I lost 10lbs.
Now I have a green smoothies everyday for breakfast, either a large green or fruit salad for lunch, and a modest dinner. I still feel myself releasing weight and I need a belt for my jeans now. My children are even eating healthier. I keep my refrigerator stock with fruit and vegetables. If my children want a snack, I have a cabinet full of healthy snacks. My children even like drinking green smoothies with me.
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