My Natural Way to Handle Severe Seasonal Allergies

Since moving to the Midwest I have really really struggled with seasonal allergies.

And by really really struggled I mean I got pneumonia after repeatedly going to the doctor asking for a solution.  Well as you can image, finally getting pneumonia after being sick for months they put me on two allergy meds and that did finally work.  

But being the kind of person that doesn't like being on a constant supply of medications I was determined to find another way....

That was when I discovered essential oils and Native American Nutritionals 

I had read up on the different essential oil companies and after much research decided on NAN.

So Here is what works for me...

• I put a drop each of the five oils neat (immune defense, lemon, lavender, peppermint, and tea tree) on my feet morning and night, (Be sure to try the oils first with a carrier oil to be sure it doesn't cause a skin rash)
• I take two capsules of the Defense supplement and 1000mg of Vitamin C.

After starting the oils I was able to stop my allergy meds 100%, but I did notice some occasional ear itching and ear clogging

I then added the Defense supplement and I also will sometimes put lavender on my ears and peppermint behind my ears.  NEVER put the oils in your ears!

Here is a great video that demonstrates what I do.  As crazy as it seems it really has helped me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B7y4HsKgVU

I have been on this regiment for a few months and I feel that my allergy symptoms are completely under control!  It's so amazing to have something natural work!!!  That is why I had to share it.  I hope it helps others who suffer with allergies!!!

On another note I feel that the Defense supplement and immune defense oil has helped keep my immune system strong and I haven't gotten sick when others around me are sick, so.... I think its really making a difference.

Note:

Neat-pure oil without dilution of a carrier oil

The reason to apply the oils to the bottom of the feet is they have the biggest pores in the body.

Be sure your oils are pure and do your research on the essential oil companies.

Mexican Salsa

This is the Best Mexican Salsa recipe I have found as of yet...  So I thought I would share it with you.

I found the recipe looking on google
http://vespawoolf.hubpages.com/hub/The-Best-Homemade-Mexican-Salsa-Recipe

I'm going to share a simplified version...  I didn't make very many changes to the original, this is just what I like.  So I encourage you to check out the original if you would like to use any spicy peppers or your own fresh tomatoes.

Mild Mexican Salsa

Ingredients:

1 28oz can of whole tomatoes drained
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced (I use 1 1/2 tsp diced garlic from the jar)
1 small can of mild green chilies
approximately 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves ( you can use 1/8 cup dried but it's better fresh)
1 1/2 tsp salt ( I add 1 1/4 initially and then add a little extra to taste)
1-2 TB oil
a couple dashes of black pepper
a couple dashes of cayenne pepper depending on how spicy you want it.
small splash of lemon or lime juice

Directions:

1.  Blend tomatoes, chilies, and cilantro is a blender.  I like mine with texture so I don't blend it very much
2.  Heat up a large skillet to medium high heat with the two TB oil added.  Add diced onion and garlic for a very quick (5-10 sec at most!) flash in the pan.  I add my onions and garlic and stir it around a couple times and then remove from heat completely.  If you cook the onions too much it will make them sweet and the salsa wont be as good.
3.  Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir to combine.  The original recipe says to cook it down to desired thickness, but I never need to do that.  My salsa always seems to be pretty thick.
4.  Add the salt, pepper, splash of lemon, and cayenne if desired and combine.
5.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  Yum!!!

Baby Shower Gifts

The other day I was in need of a baby shower gift for a new baby girl.  I usually go to the store and pick something out...but since I am currently unemployed and have more than the usual time on my hands I decided to make something instead...

But what to make?

I'm not the best at sewing, but it is something that I want to get better at.  I found these patterns online and thought I would give them a try...

Pleated Mary Jane Baby Shoes

Stuffed Fabric Turtles

Well here is my finished products...

I did add leather to my baby shoe bottoms because I had it and have put on leather soles before.  I also added an extra felt insole because it seemed like it needed it to me.  I also made flower pins that I put on there, but they probably aren't too practical for wearing or for safety of a baby.  I just thought they were cute.  All and all I am happy with the way they turned out.  Too bad I don't have my own baby to sew for lol  

Lamb Ragout

We recently purchased a half a lamb and have quite a bit of lamb to eat so I've been looking for lamb recipes recently.  I stumbled upon this recipe at Food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/lamb-ragout-28726)  and it is really a great and basic ragout.  I made a few changes to use ingredients I had on hand.  I also boiled down the sauce a lot to make it a thicker sauce for my pasta.  It was really delicious with my homemade spaghetti pasta and some freshly grated parmesan!

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs lamb chops or other lamb meat
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
3-5 cloves minced garlic depending on your love of garlic
1 tsp dried rosemary or 2 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 cup red or white wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 14oz can broth (I used water and chicken broth concentrate)
3 T tomato paste
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes (including juice) or 4 Roma tomatoes diced
1/4 cup olives (I used the garlic stuffed olives from the jar because that was what I had)
1/2 tsp fresh oregano chopped (optional)
1/2-1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp onion powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Heat butter and oil in a pan and brown the lamb on each side.
2.  Add the garlic, rosemary, broth, tomato paste, and wine and simmer the lamb for about 1 hour.
3.  Boil water for desired pasta and cook pasta (amount depends on how much sauce to pasta ratio you like, I used fresh pasta and it ended up being two meals for two people and the pasta alone filled a medium sauce pan when cooked)
4.  When done remove lamb and cool, pick meat off the bone and remove fat.  Break lamb meat into small pieces shredding as much as possible.  Add shredded lamb back to the wine sauce in the pan.
5.  Add tomatoes, olives, oregano, parsley, and onion powder to the wine sauce in the pan and increase heat to medium high and cook down the sauce to desired thickness.  I really cooked down the sauce because I didn't want my pasta to be in liquid.
6.  Add salt and pepper to taste for the pasta sauce and then combine pasta with the ragout sauce.  Serve with shredded Parmesan.  Enjoy!

I really like that this recipe doesn't use as many tomatoes as my usual spaghetti sauce and it was just as satisfying at spaghetti.  You could also easily add mushrooms, different kinds of olives, larger pieces of garlic, or even vegetables like zucchini at the end.  My husband and I actually both liked it better that my spaghetti, so for us this recipe is a keeper!

French Apple Cake

This is a recipe from the Full Circle Farm blog and here is the link to the original http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/10/16/french-apple-cake-recipe/#s.achlcwfvyayaa and it's really a great and easy cake to make.  We liked it so much we are thinking about using it for Thanksgiving instead of an apple pie!  I made a couple adjustments to fit ingredients I had on hand of course...

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour (I used spelt)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
4 large apples pealed and cut up into 1 inch cubes (you can use any apples you want including a combination of different types)
2 large eggs
1/2-3/4 cup sugar depending on your preference for sweetness (I used 1/2 cup and it was plenty sweet with the apples I used)
3 T dark rum (I used coconut rum)
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 T (1 stick) melted

Directions:

1. Grease a 9 inch cake pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a medium bowl whisk eggs until they are foamy, add sugar, rum, and vanilla.
4. Add half of flour mixture to egg mixture and combine, then add half of melted butter, then rest of flour mixture, and then rest of melted butter, mix well.  Batter will be smooth and thick.
5. Fold in apples and mix well.
6. Pour mixture into the cake pan and even out top with a spatula.
7. Bake for 50 or 60 minutes or until top of cake is golden brown.
8.  Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  Would be delicious with some homemade vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Note:  This is such a basic recipe I feel that you could easily substitute other fruits for the apples if you wanted to.  I'm sure I will be experimenting more in the future with this recipe...

Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are definitely a classic American favorite.  This recipe is a nice twist to an all time favorite.  The original recipe came from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cherry-Chocolate-Chip-Oatmeal-Cookies-4953

I felt that the original had too much sugar and was too busy in general.  I altered a couple of ingredients to make it just a bit better.

Here is my version:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour (I use spelt)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup plus 2 T softened butter
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup oats (I used quick oats because that was what I had on hand)
1/2-1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, I felt they made the cookies too busy)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to  325 degree F and line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper
2.  Combine dry (flour, oats, salt, baking soda) ingredients in a bowl
3.  Combine wet (butter, sugar, egg, extracts) ingredients in a separate large bowl
4.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture and combine
5.  Add dried cherries, almonds, and chocolate chips if desired
6.  Drop cookie dough by spoonfuls two inches apart on the cookies sheets
7.  Bake 15-20 minutes depending on desired crispiness ( more browned on the edges will be more crispy in the end)
8.  Enjoy!

Note:  This is a good basic oatmeal cookie recipe and it seems to do well when changing up the dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate.  Experiment and have fun!  Let me know what wonderful variations you come up with.

Organic Produce

Organic produce in the mainstream consciousness is something rather new.  Pesticides and chemicals are often put on non-organic produce to get an even larger crop yield in a small space.  Its about efficiency and money.  However, we consume the chemicals and pesticides that soak into the fruits and vegetables.  Lets not even get into the EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals) and genetically modified crops and their potential effects.

Back to the point, these chemicals and pesticides are linked to a multitude of human conditions and illness.  Now whether or not you believe that these chemicals and pesticides affect us, its never a bad idea to stay on the safe side and eat organic when possible.  That is pretty much my stance.  I'm not sure that eating non organic is giving us some of these diseases, and I'm not sure that it isn't. My thinking is that eating 100% organic is wonderful and probably the best option out there.  Unfortunately it can be very expensive...  I know not what we want to hear!

As there are many things you can do (garden!) to offset the cost of organic produce there is also the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 to help you set your priorities while grocery shopping.  This list is all over the Internet (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/the-dirty-dozen-and-clean-15-of-produce/616/ or http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/), but I'm going to share it here as well for inspiration!  I like that the EWG site had a couple added to the dirty dozen because they still have a high level of pesticides but not enough to make the dirty dozen list.

Dirty Dozen

• apples
• celery
• sweet bell peppers
• peaches
• strawberries
• nectarines-imported
• grapes
• spinach
• lettuce
• cucumbers
• blueberries-domestic
• potatoes

plus: green beans and kale/greens

Clean 15

• onions
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• avocado
• cabbage
• sweet peas 
• asparagus
• mangoes
• eggplant
• kiwi
• cantaloupe-domestic
• sweet potatoes
• grapefruit
• watermelon
• mushrooms

Organic produce is the main reason I like gardening so much. I like that you know what is being put on your plants and it is often very easy to grow your garden entirely organic.  I know for us I am not able to grow all of the variety of fruits and vegetables we want.  So for me this list is very handy and makes it so we can prioritize which things need to be organic and which do not.