13 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diets

I write a lot about growing your own vegetables, fruits and herbs. I grow my own for many reasons but mostly because they are cleaner and healthier for you than the stuff sold in stores. Plus it's just easier to pick what you need for dinner from the yard than to drive to the store! As a bonus, when your kids help to grow the produce, they tend to be more willing to eat it! 

I make it a point to grow at least one new thing every year and the kids are always willing to try it! In the last few years we've grown cucamelons, glass gem popcorn, 4 different colors of tomatoes, huckleberries, ground cherries, purple green beans, purple carrots, kohlrabi, white egg eggplant and more!

It makes sense to get the kids involved in growing the foods they eat. I mean, if you can get the kids to willingly eat broccoli then you don't have to try to sneak it into their diets. If they're not willing though, that's when things get a little tricky. 

We all know that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Unfortunately should and do are two very different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there, especially with picky kids or cooking from the garden. 

I mean, if you've gardened for any length of time you know all the zucchini comes in for like 2 weeks then nothing! Right? Cherry tomatoes are pretty spread out during the season, but how many days in a row can you eat those? This makes it difficult to have a varied diet without getting sick of the crop of the week. So we’ll just have to get creative. 

How to make Ginger infused honey

Recently I got the *virus that shall remain nameless* and less than a month later, I caught a common cold. I haven't been ill at all in over 2 years so I guess I was due. Some of my symptoms were barely there and others were horrible! 

During one of these illnesses, winter storm Izzy decided to dump like a foot of snow on us and I live on a farm so that compounded things!

Trekking over 2 acres back and forth from the house, feed storage and various barns and coops in a foot of snow (twice a day) while sick is not fun at all, plus it will make you super sore!

I'm a big believer in natural remedies and giving your body the support it needs to heal itself. I talked about this in 10 ways to shorten a cold naturally. 

After the cold/snow combination I needed some help recovering so I turned to some of my favorite home remedies.

I am not a doctor nor am I any other type of medical professional. This information is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

How to make your own vanilla extract

Do you know what is in vanilla flavoring? That's a question going around social media right now and the answer is pretty gross. Vanilla flavoring is different than vanilla extract though, and the extract is far better for cooking and baking!

Luckily there is an easy way to make your own vanilla extract and it only uses 2 ingredients. 

This is super simple to make, and it is a perfect gift for the foodie or baker in your life! If you get started now it'll be ready in time for the holidays.

Now this isn't going to be the cheapest recipe you make! Vanilla beans are not cheap which is why if you go in the store you will see that natural or pure extract is vastly different than vanilla flavoring in price.

Different by about $8 for a small bottle, or more. 

You can find vanilla flavorings in the dollar stores. They taste fine so I'm not trying to talk you away from buying them if that's in your price range.

However imitation vanilla flavoring is sometimes made with a secretion from a beavers anal glands. Yeah, that's as gross as it sounds!

Homemade hand sanitizer

When my daughter was little she was obsessed with glitter gel. I wouldn't let her have it because it was so full of chemicals. Then I came up with the idea of adding glitter to aloe vera gel. Aloe vera is completely skin safe and can be made without extra chemicals. Well from all my research about aloe vera I know that it is antibacterial and antiviral. So basically aloe has almost everything you need to make your own hand sanitizer. Plus it's skin safe.

Of course it's antibacterial and antiviral properties are mild compared to alcohol which damages the bacteria or viruses thus killing them. So after my daughters obsession with glitter gel wore off I started using the leftover product that we had made as hand sanitizer.

I'm way into essential oils and one of my favorite essential oils is tea tree oil. Tea tree or melaleuca oil, is known for its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Combine this essential oil with rubbing alcohol and aloe gel and you have the perfect recipe for homemade hand sanitizer. 

How to clean a mortar and pestle

Last night I realized that my mortar and pestle needed cleaned. It looks a bit sticky inside the bowl of the mortar. You see, I like my green tea pretty finely ground up. I received a big bag of large cut green tea last year and have been grinding it up daily using my mortar and pestle.

Unfortunately there were tiny pieces of dried fruit in with the tea and even though I tried to pick them out, a few pieces were ground up from time to time.

This left a sticky residue that attracted tea dust with every use. Obviously I need to clean it. Luckily it is a marble set so it was super easy to clean up, but not all mortar and pestle sets are made of the same material!

Instructions for cleaning your set are different depending on what material it's made of.

Knowing what type of material your set is made of before cleaning it is important. Wood, lava rock, granite and marble are the most common materials used in a mortar and pestle set.

Marble and granite get confused the most, but I'll explain how to tell them apart and how to clean them. 

6 Easy ways to reduce plastic use

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about this plastic free kick everybody's on. I took a look around my house and I realized everything is plastic. There's literally plastic in every room, on every surface and in every drawer. It's almost impossible to avoid plastic.

I've heard the phrase plastic is forever a lot lately. The meaning of course is that plastic doesn't break down and it doesn't deteriorate. It is not biodegradable. Once plastic is created it never goes away and that's a sobering thought. I don't want to make a big impact on the environment however I don't know how to live a different way. This is just the way that things are now. 

Plastics make life convenient and are considered disposable so they are literally in everything. You touch plastics thousands of times a day from the moment you get out of bed and step into your slippers, which probably have plastic in the soles....till the last moment of your day when you brush your teeth at night. Think about this, your toothbrush will exist longer then you will even though it's only made to be in use for 3 months. 

That's scary.

I know I need to make some changes but I also know that the harder these changes are the less likely I'll stick to them. That's just human nature. So I've been trying to make changes in my plastic use without it being painful or a giant change in my life.

At the same time, I also don't want to be wasteful! I'm seeing so many people freaking out about BPA's and all the sudden dumping every bit of plastic in their kitchen and bragging about how they threw these big garbage bags full of plastic away. 

Well where do you think it's going now? It's going in the landfill and it's still not going to rot. It's still going to be there. Why not use it till it breaks and then find a better product when it's time?

13 Reasons parsley is the healthiest food in your kitchen

There are only a few herbs that make it into my herb garden every year. Parsley is one of them. As far as cooking goes, I probably use just as much parsley as basil which is really saying a lot...cause I have a serious love affair going on with basil! Parsley though, that's one of the best herbs health wise. It has so many amazing health benefits and all you have to do is eat it! 

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is an easy to grow biennial plant. That means that it grows for 2 years. The first year parsley starts from seed. It dies back a bit but lasts through the winter then starts growing again in spring. In the second year it flowers and the flower stems can reach almost 4 feet tall! 

In the fall of its second year, it goes to seed. It dies off after going to seed. While you can eat parsley from the plant for both years of its life, it generally tastes much better the first year.

Parsley is a spice cupboard staple but can also be found fresh in almost any grocery store produce section. Many stores sell small parsley plants which is great if you're going to be using a lot of it! 

Top 10 health benefits of gardening

I love to garden. I can spend hours and hours digging, planting, weed pulling and mulching. I plant in the ground, in raised beds, in large outside containers and small windowsill planters. I grow everything from herbs and vegetables to fruits and flowers. Not only does gardening fill my kitchen with loads of fresh produce but it has other benefits too! 

There are lots of health benefits of gardening from less stress to better sleep. Spending time in your garden may be just what the doctor ordered...

I quit buying herbal supplements (here's the scary reason why)

A few years back I was diagnosed with a serious liver infection. It was winter and the herbs I wanted to treat it with were not readily available so I went to the pharmacy and bought herbal supplements. I did get some herbal teas, but mostly my regimen consisted of capsules of dandelion root and milk thistle along with a few others.

Then I saw the news report. The New York State Attorney General’s Office used a lab to test some of the herbal supplements available in stores and found that many of them didn't contain as much of the herb as they said it did.

Some had none. That's zero. Not one tiny bit of what we are paying for when we buy that bottle of ginkgo biloba or echinacea. 

Others were full of fillers like powdered rice, mustard and wheat. How does that make you feel...because I was irate!

It actually gets worse though because the report goes on to say that some of them contained no organic material at all and some even contained sand. SAND! 

Now you may be thinking you know what to buy and you wouldn't buy unknown brands so this won't be a problem, and I would have agreed with you.

Except that these were all store brands from Walmart, Walgreens, Target and GNC. These are brands most people think are safe. 

This literally makes me sick. Sadly, it would have kept me sick! I did link the article up above so you can check that out if you want all the details. More info here also.

The scary part is that because herbal supplements are not considered medicines they are not regulated by the FDA. They don't go through safety checks with any governing body, they are not held to any standards. 

As long as nobody gets hurt, herbal supplements just sort of fly under the radar. It's not like rice powder is going to hurt anybody, so they obviously can get away with an awful lot. 

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?

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 25 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:

12 Natural ways to clean the air inside your house!

It's winter in most areas and the windows and doors are shut tight to keep out the cold. Unfortunately, that keeps in lots of allergens, contaminants and irritants that we're breathing in constantly.

The more all that toxic stuff builds up, the more it tears us down and that is the last thing we need this time of year!

So how do you clean the air? I mean really clean the air, not just cover it with a blast of perfumed spray! I have a few different methods I use to keep the air inside my house naturally clean.

Here are 12 different changes you can make for cleaner air...

Making infused water with fruit and herbs!

As a gardener I am always looking for new ways to use the tons of produce and herbs I harvest in the summer. It's also really hot out there while harvesting it! I have always carried a bottle of water with me and most times I added a slice of lemon to it, just to make it more tasty. 

After all, when you have a well the water isn't what you'd call yummy so adding a little something for flavor definitely helps!

About 2 years ago a girl I know asked me for some cucumbers from the garden because she liked to add them to her water.....and my new fascination was born. Since then I have done my best to find as many water concoctions as I can and I think I've compiled a pretty good list. 

By getting an infusion water bottle I can also add herbs to my water without having them clog the bottle top. I love using herbs for both taste and medicinal qualities and this is a perfect way to use them fresh. My current favorite is cucumber & basil water, though I have many different 'recipes' I've come up with.

It's a pretty easy formula, just add fruit and herbs to a jug or bottle of water and you're good to go. Of course if you allow the water to infuse for 1-2 hours at room temperature (or 3-4 hours in the refrigerator) you'll get optimum flavor. Or you can muddle the fruit and herbs slightly with a muddler for a stronger taste. 

You can add almost any fruit, though I find some grapes don't add much flavor and bananas just get gross. 

Here are the combinations I've been using lately:
Lemon, basil
Cucumber, basil
Strawberry, lime
Peach, mint
Orange, lime
Cherry, mango
Blueberry, lemon 
Raspberry, peach 
Cantaloupe, cherry
Pomegranate, lemon 
Lemon, raspberry 
Honeydew, raspberry
Blackberry, pear
Watermelon, basil
Green apple, nectarine
Plum, lime
Kiwi, blueberry

15 Changes to make for Earth day!

Did you know that Earth day was started in 1970? Every year people all over the world celebrate Earth Day by making small changes in their lives that hopefully have a positive impact on our planet! More than a million people take part every year! If you want to take part in Earth day there are festivals and events all over the world you can attend. 

You can also take part in Earth day at home and there are lots of positive changes you can make in your home and your lifestyle. In celebration of Earth Day I have compiled a list of 15 easy changes you can make to stress the earth just a little less, and hopefully enjoy it more.

Changes to make for Earth Day

1) Place buckets under your gutter spouts or runoffs to collect rainwater for gardening. 

2) Learn to grow something you buy. Herbs are very small and can grow on windowsills, but they are super expensive for those tiny little bunches at the grocery store. Seeds are about $1.50, buy a pot from the dollar store, get soil from your yard = money saved and plants are so good for the air you breathe inside the house.

3) Buy a wide mouth reusable water bottle and ditch the disposables! A wide opening is important so you can clean it easily. You can get a baby bottle brush to clean it from the dollar store. If you must have filtered water get a Brita water bottle. They are not expensive compared to a couple cases of water!    

Health benefits of eating gelatin daily (a 3 month challenge)

I have always had a good amount of gelatin in my diet. I like it in your typical Jello form but also in my favorite candies, other desserts and even soups. It wasn't till I looked at my diet closer that I found exactly how much gelatin I usually consume, and how often.

I had seen a mention on an Instagram photo about the benefits of eating gelatin. The photo claimed it was a diet food and was good for hair, skin, nails and joints. I decided to research it.

I found so many amazing benefits that I decided to give myself a challenge. I decided that I would eat gelatin in some form every single day for 3 months and then assess my results. 

I was pretty impressed after 3 months, but my 5th month just finished and I am absolutely in love with the results!

What is gelatin?

Gelatin or gelatine (from Latin: gelatus meaning "stiff", "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), flavorless foodstuff, derived from collagen obtained from various animal by-products.

It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing.

Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen. (source: Wikipedia) According to WebMD:

Gelatin is used for weight loss and for treating osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and brittle bones (osteoporosis). Some people also use it for strengthening bones, joints, and fingernails. Gelatin is also used for improving hair quality and to shorten recovery after exercise and sports-related injury.

Why are there chemicals in fresh chicken?

Did it ever occur to you that there might be chemicals added to fresh chicken? no? Me neither! I don't always pay attention to ingredients lists in the grocery store. Especially in things that really shouldn't have much on the list. Like chicken. 

After work one day and in a hurry to get home, I stopped at the store and grabbed a few things. One of those things was chicken. For whatever reason I didn't cook it that night and 2 days later I pull it out of the refrigerator. I'm absolutely sure it's on it's last day so I look at the label and this is what I see:

7 days left! How is that even possible???? (Store and manufacturer blocked out to protect those who are only in it for the $$)  So of course I look a little closer and read this: