Red Veined Sorrel: A salad and a cure

I really like odd varieties of plants. I don't know what it  is about the more uncommon plants that attract me, but I looked around at my garden and house plants today and realized that I have quite a few. So I would like to talk about some of them starting with a stunning plant called Bloody Dock.

Red veined sorrel AKA bloody dock plant

This is one of the easiest plants to grow and like many of my favorite plants, I have been growing it for years. It grows well both indoors and out, so you should be able to grow it no matter what zone you're in. 

13 tips to stay healthy and stress free this holiday season

I just got done reading my 437th "Healthy Holidays" article and I want to scream! Not only was that a tremendous waste of time but I didn't learn a darn thing. NOT ONE THING! "Why?" you ask innocently, and I'll tell you: because they weren't about "Healthy" at all. They were about skinny! 

Every single post was about how to avoid eating extra cookies and appetizers. Fitting in gym time around holiday events. Hiding your weight loss shake in a reusable plastic cup so no one will try to give you a calorie laden drink at a party. Excuses to use when treats are brought in to work. Blah blah blah...

Are you kidding me?

Stress free holidays

I'm pretty upset about this. It feels to me that the majority of people believe that healthy and skinny are the same thing. Well, they are not! You can be overweight and healthy, but you can also be skinny and unhealthy. These are not exclusive! Furthermore, a few cookies over the holidays are not going to kill you. 

Certain other practices though, are very unhealthy! Like spreading germs and running yourself ragged. That is what we are talking about avoiding in this post....

How to have a healthy, stress free holiday season

I lost 20 lbs. in 2015 and kept it off so I am no stranger to the little tricks you can use to keep on an eating plan or fit in a gym visit, but it's the holidays here folks! This is once a year and what a year we've had! Relax and enjoy yourself. Have a cookie or two. Drink some eggnog or have an appetizer. Toast with some champagne. 

We all know not to go crazy, but live a little. 

Come January everyone will be at the gym and it'll be like a big party, so you'll be right back to the grind in no time. Live a little, but do your best to take care of yourself too. Taking care of yourself is not about watching what you eat as much as it is about everything else you do during your day to stay healthy. 

Here are my 13 favorite stay healthy tips for this holiday season:

How to store dried herbs

If you're anything like me you've spent the better part of the summer growing, harvesting and drying your own herbs. Growing your own herbs is a very cost effective way to stock your spice cabinet or herbal apothecary and drying them is simple enough that anyone can do it

Now that you took the time to dehydrate all those fresh herbs, how do you store herbs so that they last the longest and are the most potent? 

how to store herbs

How to store dried herbs properly


There are 5 things that cause herbs to deteriorate:
  • Air
  • Heat
  • Sunlight
  • Moisture
  • Time

To minimize the deterioration cause by the first 4 on the list, store your dried herbs in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. I like to store my dried herbs in glass and I use canning jars. I love that they come in all different sizes since some herbs I use a lot of and others I only use sparingly. 

I store them in a cabinet down in my family room where it stays pretty cool year round. 

disclosure

Unfortunately because kitchens tend to get hot when cooking/baking they are probably the worst place to store dried herbs, especially if you keep dried herbs on the counter or in an herb display rack. If you can't store your herbs in a cabinet, try the tinted Ball jars to help keep light out.