Misc. & Etc. {Holistic Living}

While I’m editing thru another slew of Italy photos, I thought I’d share a few holistic health and wellness tidbits you might find beneficial.  Several of these have the potential to be life-changing.  No kidding!

Shaving with honey.  I will never go back to life as before.  I know it sounds odd at first, but I assure you it’s wonderful.  My dealings with gluten intolerance have caused me insanely itchy legs for years and no store bought soap or cream has ever helped topically.  This does.  Growing up in a family of honey enthusiasts thanks to generations of bee keeping, you’d think it would have occurred to me before.  I’m fairly confident we’ve used honey as a remedy for just about everything under the sun.  So when I came across this fantastic post about shaving with honey, I was quick to give it a try.  Love, love.  Never going back.  Not to mention I’m actually saving money.

Oil of Oregano.  There are days when I feel like I couldn’t survive on this planet without this single product in my arsenal.  I’m not being dramatic.  Entirely serious.  We use it for everything health related, have for years.  It's antiviral, antifungal, antimicrobial, and antibacterial.  I will use this a thousand times over antibiotics and in my experience, it works faster.  (without wreaking the havoc antibiotics do on your system as a whole)  Recently I discovered a new brand that blows all others away.  So incredibly potent, and major bonus, significantly cheaper than anything else I’ve come across.  It ships directly from Greece.  Get it now before the rest of the world discovers it and they sell out and jack the price up.  If you're unfamiliar with the endless benefits of this amazing oil, click here. And here. And here.  

Fermented Cod Liver Oil.  This is a relatively new addition to our supplement regimen, but it’s quickly risen to the top of our ‘cannot live without’ list.  Take note it's fermented, that's what sets it apart.  It’s awful to get down, but well worth the 3 seconds of misery.  So many incredible benefits including immunity.  Click here for the brand we use.  Speaking of building immunity, in addition to daily oil of oregano and cod liver oil we’re also entering the no refined sugar zone thru cold season, and doubling up on good probiotic supplements, vitamin D & C, and lots of probiotic rich foods and beverages like kombucha, yogurt, and kefir.  All great things to consider if you want to avoid bugs this season! 

Freezer Cooking.  Once we enter the shorter, darker days of winter I find it increasingly difficult to cook dinner.  What is usually such a joy becomes frustrating and exhausting.  I’m sure it’s in part to having a toddler who thinks dark equates to bedtime and whines to be held and go ‘nigh nighhht’ beginning at 5pm.  Makes chopping vegetables super difficult and takes 4 times as long.  So!  Freezer cooking it is.  Makes dinner a snap.  This past weekend involved amazing Zuppa Toscana, a huge batch of spicy chili, Josh’s family Brunswick Stew recipe, several quarts of homemade chicken stock, and a huge batch of pizza dough.  All of these are wonderfully delicious and filling but they also freeze amazingly well, precisely the reason I share them with you.  Give one a try—I think you’ll love them!

In other random news, Josh put up my long awaited clothesline in the back, not that I’ll use it anytime soon with winter fully upon us, AND I planted a slew of hostas and ferns and rosebushes… juuuust in time for freezing temps. Being timely is so not my strength.  If any of it survives I’ll be thrilled!  Maybe the gazillion leaves that have fallen will serve to insulate.  Cross your fingers. 

How are you surviving winter?  Any healthy tips to share?  Talk to me.

Decadent Authentic Chai

If you love chai, this is a must.  Autumn in a cup, rich and creamy, sweet and spicy, utterly decadent.  I've been a chai obsession-ist for years and years, but this new love affair takes the obsession to an entirely new level.   Even my husband cannot resist the siren call, and he's a coffee guy, like, always.  Offer him this in lieu?  He cannot and will not refuse.  

I've tried a thousand different tea bags and loose leaves and flavors, powders and syrups and even pre-mixed cartons. They all pale in comparison.  This is like flying to India, ordering a cup from a buzzing roadside stall offering nothing else, and being warmly enveloped by the tantalizing aroma as a bearded Indian man ladles a steaming concoction of creamy spices into a cup and passes them to your eager hands.  

It's that delicious.  I'm not kidding. 

I've done a little reading and apparently our western chai is more or less a joke to anyone who really understands the art of this long celebrated drink.  The term 'watered-down' came up time and again.  Authentic chai is nothing that can be purchased in tiny tea bag form.  It's a rich combination of spices brewed with black tea and milk or cream, spiked heavily with sugar, and consumed blissfully as if you owe it to the chai to indulge with abandon...

And they all said amen. 

With Fall officially upon us, you need to make this.  You must.   It will make the season for you.  I'm still working on perfecting the ratios to my own preferences taste-wise, but it would be a huge disservice to wait until we return from Europe to share this with you.  Below is my own personal concoction, but feel free to tweak according to your own preferences.  Per usual I suggest using fresh spices and organic ingredients where possible for better overall taste and nutrition.  (Old spices from the back of the pantry will not serve you well here.  They loose flavor.)

Authentic chai begins with incredibly rich masala.  I began with this recipe.  Again, feel free to increase/decrease amounts to your liking. 

 Chai Masala

1 c black pepper, finely ground* 

3/4 c (heaping) ginger powder, finely ground

1/4 c (heaping) cinnamon powder, finely ground

1/4 c (heaping) cardamom, finely ground

2 tsp clove powder, finely ground

2 tsp nutmeg powder, finely ground

In addition I occasionally add a pinch of ground anise.  Some recipes call for it, others don't, entirely up to you.  If you can't find/don't have finely ground versions of the above, simply grinding whole spices in a clean coffee grinder works great!  Mix them together in a mason jar and store in a cool dry space avoiding too much sunlight.  

*I make one huge variation to the above.  I keep the ground pepper stored entirely separate from the rest.  I love the spice in chai but find the ginger already provides a nice bite, so I store the pepper in a different jar and add it pinch by pinch just as you would sweetener.  It's particularly nice when serving guests, allowing them/you to turn the sweet and spicy levels up and down to their preferences.

Now for the fun part!   

Authentic Indian Chai

1/2 c whole milk or cream 

1/2 c water

2 tsp sugar (or honey, stevia, etc) 

1 regular black tea bag (or 1 tsp loose leaves)

1/4 tsp masala (Same goes here for the spice index.  Perhaps start with 1/8 tsp and move up from there depending on how rich you like it.)  

Directions: 

Stir all the ingredients (except tea) together in a small saucepan over medium heat, being careful not to scald the milk.  Allow it to come to a low boil, then immediately cover and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat (still covered), add tea and allow to steep for another 5-10 minutes.  Strain thru a fine mesh sieve or sifter, and indulge immediately.  And by all means, please add a slash of vanilla if you so desire.  Please and thank you.

Cheers to this glorious season, friends!  Enjoy ;-) 

Chocolate Covered Apricots

These.  Are.  Addicting. 

I literally cannot stop eating them.  They appear these unassuming little gems, nothing fancy, nothing to concern yourself with, but I assure you they are entirely problematic. 

They’ll call to you from the fridge in the quiet of afternoon, the dead of night, even early morning as you reach past them for an egg to make breakfast, casually attempting to ignore their allure.  Chewy, sweet, decadent.  There’s just no way around it.  Addiction waiting to happen.

I read about them in a vegan cookbook.  They sounded like a fun little treat to keep on hand.  Ah, if only it were so simple.  There’s no such thing as ‘keeping on hand’.  There’s simply devouring.  I try so hard to pace myself.  Futile.  I feel like King Solomon lamenting throughout Ecclessiates, “Meaningless!  It’s all meaningless!”

There’s no recipe, per se.  Simply take a bag of dried apricots and a dump them into a pan of perfectly melted chocolate.  I use organic semi-sweet chocolate chips, but any melting chocolate will do.  Add pat of coconut oil to the pan to make the chocolate smoother.  Toss them to coat, um, liberally.  Then fish them out one at a time (I use a wooden skewer, a fork would be fine, too) and lay them on a parchment covered plate or baking sheet.  Stick them in the fridge for an hour or so until they harden, and that’s that.   You've just created perfection.

Make them, love them, repeat.  You’ll thank me.  Or blame for the rest of your life.  Same thing.

*while you’re making these, you might want to try this, too.  Slice a couple of bananas in half and stick them on popcicyle sticks.  Dip them in the chocolate and roll them in crushed pistachios.  (or cocoa nibs, crushed pecans, coconut, go crazy!) Let them harden in the fridge with the apricot jewels.  Yum.

A Trip to the Blueberry Farm

If you've never visited a seasonal pick-you-own farm, you're missing out.  Despite that we have blueberry bushes in our own backyard and free rein in my dad's stunning garden every summer, I'm still thrilled by the idea of picking my own produce.  It's so gratifying, not to mention a beautiful destination for an afternoon getaway.  

This particular farm is located just outside of Commerce, TX.  We've stopped by the last two weekends to check out their mini farmer's market and visit with my parents who've been setting up to sell dad's cutting boards and whatnot. Thanks to no labor costs you can pick a gallon of blueberries for $20.  Wow.  Want to try your hand at making jam or preserves??  Here's your motivation!  There are a number of different varieties to choose from, which I found amazing in itself.    

They also sell fresh eggs, homemade bread (made with wheat berries ground fresh on the farm, olive oil, sea salt, and local honey), muffins, jams, cookies, honey, etc.  People were raving about the chicken salad sandwiches they were whipping up Saturday!  Made with huge chunks of pasture raised chicken from our all time favorite chicken farmer who happens to live a mile down the road, and served on soft, freshly baked homemade bread.  Mmm.  Josh and Ev scarfed one down without apology.

Pick-your-own (also called u-pick) farms have been gaining popularity in recent years thanks to the farm-to-table movement and general nostalgia for a return to farm life.  I think it's fantastic.  For one, where better to have a gorgeous picnic?  (one of my many love languages, you know)  And second, the more we become interested in where our food comes from, the better.  The more we learn, the more we appreciate, the better we care for ourselves and this glorious Earth we've been charged to steward.

From raw milk dairies to grass fed cattle ranches and pasture raised chickens, we're always looking for new farms to check out.  We love exploring backroads and making friends with our local farmers.  They're some of the best people around, hands down.  I was raised by an entire community of them.  Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Click here to locate U-pick farms in your area. 

How to Reuse Eggshells

Did you know you can reuse eggshells in dozens and dozens of different ways?  My mom has a flock of pastured chickens and she's done this for years.  She sterilizes them in the oven, crushes them up and feeds them to her hens as a calcium supplement.  It helps give their eggs harder shells in addition to a number of other health benefits.  

For awhile we saved ours for her, but began using them ourselves in recent months after becoming homeowners.  We easily go thru a couple of dozen a week and there's no reason to throw them out when you realize how valuable they can be.  These are a handful of our favorite uses:

•  in compost.  We have a huge compost bin on the backside of our property and adding used eggshell adds valuable mineral content, especially if your intention is to use the rich composted soil in your garden beds and flower pots.
• as a soil supplement.  If you don't compost but still want the benefits, simply sow the crushed shell directly into the ground or toss with potting soil when planting for a great mineral boost.  (we add our used coffee grounds as well)
• pest deterrent.  Sprinkle crushed up shell around the base of plants to keep keep slugs, snails, and other plant eating worms at bay.  Though we don't have this issue in the city, I've heard it helps repel deer as well.  
• added to bird feed.  In the same way it's good for chickens it also great for wild birds.  (don't forget to sterilize! 20-30 minutes in a 250 degree over spread out on a cookie sheet will do the trick)  It's particularly helpful for their digestion and in Springtime when they're laying eggs.  I simply mix it in with my regular feed.
• to make homemade stock.  In the same way I once tossed egg shells, I also tossed chicken carcasses until realizing how simple it is to make stock.  Simply put the carcass and bones in a crock pot, add egg shells along with whatever herbs and vegetable tidbits you have on hand, cover with water and let it go for several hours. Strain and freeze (or use right away) when finished.  So simple.  It's great to have on hand to use as an incredibly healthy base for soups and stews, among other things.  The shell adds calcium and minerals.  (side note: ladies, want to rid yourself of cellulite?  Eat more bone broth, no kidding.)
• a few uses we haven't tried yet but want to include: DIY sidewalk chalk (genius!), as tiny planters to get seedlings started (also genius!), to make coffee less bitter by adding it to the grounds during brewing, and as an added supplement to dog food.  Aren't those fantastic?!  I will never throw an egg shell away again, especially the crazy healthy pasture-raised variety I call my mother's. ;-)  They're too valuable!  It should be noted, I would not personally recommend reusing standard conventional eggs.  For a number of reasons, primarily health related.  See The Story of an Egg or Fowl Play for more.  

If those weren't enough, here are dozens more uses for your perusal: 

30 plus Things to Do with Eggshells (laundry whitener!? blade sharpener?!  amazing.) 

Crafts Using Eggshells for Kids 

5 Ways to Use Eggshells in Your Garden (more in depth regarding gardening)  

Do you recycle/reuse eggshell?  

Simple Strawberry Sauce

This sauce is delightful in every way.  It tastes like summer in a jar, pairs wonderfully with just about anything you can dream up, and is so simple to make it almost makes itself.  I'm not kidding.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

• 2 pints of ripe strawberries
• 1/2 cup of sugar

Slice/dice/chunk up the strawberries, whichever texture you prefer.  Pour half a cup of sugar over top and toss to coat. Walk away for 10 minutes to unload the dishwasher or scroll thru instagram, you know, whatever you do to kill 10 minutes.  And come back to a wonderfully delightful sauce!  It could not be any more simple.

If you really want to complicate it, slice open a vanilla bean and add the caviar.  Yum!  You can also add a splash of lemon juice if you like, or even puree the entire mixture if you want to go that far.  I adore it in the simplest form, but feel free to go crazy!  If you want a thicker version just mix in a bit of corn starch.

We absolutely love it with greek yogurt.   It isn't too sweet the way straight honey can be or not sweet enough the way fruit alone can be.  It's the perfect marriage.  I also spooned it over gluten free pancakes for a decadent breakfast in bed this weekend.  It's like strawberry shortcake, for breakfast, but you don't feel guilty in the least.  And let's not even talk about how perfect it is poured over vanilla ice cream.  Perfect, I tell you.

Slather it on toast or biscuits, pour it over pound cake or cheesecake or even rice pudding.  The variations are endless. Simply store in a mason jar in the fridge and enjoy!