Get Out There & Make It Happen!

This past week I have been pretty off.  Just not myself.  I sort of felt like I was a zombie.  Sure a lot of people around me are sick and I seem to be fighting it off so far but I wanted to step it up a notch.  I also wanted to educate myself more on the topic of Adrenal Health.  Within that spectrum I was also researching BUILDING JING.

So I will be blogging more and more about these topics as I find things of interest and start implementing them in daily life.  I've always been fond of herbs and often have in depth chats with my local Herbologist.  I want to take that to the next level and start really concentrating on it more.

A great place to start is in the kitchen.

Ironically, the more I researched JING the more I noticed a certain KEYWORD.  The word that popped up was Fibromyalgia.  Over the past year I have been trying to listen to what my surroundings have been trying to tell me.  When I listen - wonderful things happen.  This topic seems to be TALKING TO ME so I want to listen.

Adrenals, Herbalism, Kidneys, Inflammation, Fibromyalgia.  

Some of the suggestions I have read about include drinking LOTS of water, tea, and tisanes!  CHECK!  This is a HUGE part of my life already!  Mineral Rich Pink Sea Salt.  I'm not much of a salt person but when I do use salt I use Black or Pink Mineral Rich Sea Salt.  Valerian Root.  This is something I have toyed with in the past and after reading more about it I now know that I must up my intake of it!  Licorice.  This is something else I have upped already in the tea and tisanes I have been drinking but I will continue to keep this in mind.  Leafy Greens.  LOVE THEM.  But you can never get TOO MANY of them!  Caffeine Free Teas and Tisanes.  I must say I start each and every day with at least 1 black tea.  I will say that I have cut back on how many of the caffeine based ones I have each day and have upped my herbal tisanes!  

Things to stay away from?  Sugar.  I don't really eat a lot of sugar.  Unless it's in natural foods like fruit.  But they are talking about store-bought and processed foods that contain sugars.

When it comes to Adrenal Vegan Foods here are some great ones that have been suggested...

Lower Sugar Fruits, Beans, Vegetables, Sprouted Grains, Nuts, Seeds, Avocados.  

Seems easy enough and I eat all of those things already!  But something I really need to be better about is BREAKFAST.  I've blogged about this before and how I struggle.  And I keep going back to that Morning Smoothie Solution.  I just need to BUCK UP and DO IT!

So stay tuned for more of this in daily life and here on my blog.  It's my way of being accountable, I guess!

Getting Into a Daily Routine

Well NOT really a DAILY Routine...but a beginning of the day routine.  I have been able to stick with my B-Complex and/or B-12 intake since Saturday so far.  Since it's winter in the snow belt I have been including a squirt of Vitamin D Spray.  All of which are part of the MyKind Organics Line...all whole food, plant based, vegan vitamins!  

My goal is to go a solid month and hopefully longer this time around.  A Morning Routine will help me with this.  I figure if I am overly pushy about giving my dog his meds - why can't I do the same for me? LOL

I have been trying to sleep differently the last several nights.  I'm usually a side sleeper and I think this is catching up with me.  I'm trying my hardest to lay on my back now.  So far - so good.

I'm still not real good about daily breakfasts.  That's something I still need to incorporate, work on, and stick with.  The last couple of months I have not been real good at eating breakfast or lunch.  I know that is really bad.  Then I pig out at dinner to make up for the rest of the day.  I will snack during the day sometimes if I have something to snack on but it's not the best in terms of healthy snack sometimes.  Because of all of this I have gained weight back.  This may or may not have anything to do with my aches and pains but it's probably best if I try and do better about it.

I've also started incorporating Chlorella back into my daily grind.  Mostly Mondays thru Fridays - because I have them on my work desk.  I will probably explain this more down the road.  In the meantime I am taking those again, too!

Herb intake!  I've upped it!  I thought about blogging about it as I drank them if I was in front of the computer which I may still do but for now - yesterday and today - I have been enjoying Brain Booster from Urbal Tea and Ginger & Lemon Myrtle from Lupicia.  

The Brain Booster from Urbal Tea includes: Gotu Kola, Peppermint, Ginko, Rosemary, Sage, Eleuthero, Parsley, Lemon Balm, Elderberry, Hibiscus, Apple, Blueberries, Currants, Cornflower, Raisins.

By doing this I am also cutting back on my caffeine.  Instead of 8 or more cups of highly caffed tea everyday I would like to stay to ONE or NONE to see what happens.

I found a way to do a little in more of the way of exercise in doors at work while in the winter months...STAIRS.  Simple enough.  I think I might tuck away a place for yoga during lunch soon, too!  I'm usually the only one in my office.  Time will tell.

I also picked up a few new bras.  I hate talking about those but I will since it's a change I am making.  I will give it a few days or weeks before reporting my findings.   

So far many of these changes are for the better.  I would like to work on attitude, inner peace, stress, anxiety, and muscle pain more, too!

I've also been feeling a salad kick coming on!  I have been eating more of them than usual but usually when I get in this mode...I will go for a month and eat HUGE salads at least once a day.  

I want to thank Christine and Hilary for their comments, encouragement, and support!  Keep on me!  I need it!

Evening Tonic for Pain

This Evening Tonic has changed my life in 2 days...or should I say NIGHTS!  Here's what I did for this Evening Tonic Recipe...

Rooibos
Chamomile Flowers
Peppermint
Valerian Extract*

I took equal parts Rooibos and Chamomile Flowers and put them in a tea infuser strainer, then added a pinch of dried peppermint leaves and 1/4 teaspoon of Valerian Extract from Ojio.

I added water to my teacup and let sit for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Not only did this help me get to sleep and stay asleep it seemed to help my pain issues.  My knee is getting much better pain-wise but now it's really tight and stiff.  This seems to help in the evenings!

According to the product description on their website...

This potent natural extract of the Valerian herb is naturally sourced and more effective as an herb of Ayurveda. 

Potent natural extract. 

Popular Ayurvedic herbal remedy for anxiety. 

Used for a millennia as a sedative and sleep aid. 

Found in herbal folk remedies around the world.

 I'm totally LOVING this product and others from Ojio and will be blogging more about them very soon!

Focusing On Pain

Make it stop!

I really did a number on myself!

So if you have followed my blog for more than a year you may remember that I have struggled with Sciatica.  I'm thankful that I have never needed surgery or even taken medication for it.  But it's back.  I'm not sure if it was something that I did or if it's just the time of the year and it getting colder, etc.  But I have been really feeling it again since Thanksgiving Day.  I'm hoping I can do things myself and at home so I don't have to visit the Chiropractor.

2nd issue I have been having the last few months is a sore thumb.  I know that sounds petty.  The last week or so it has looked crooked by the knuckle by the nail.  I don't know if I broke it or if it's arthritis but either way I'm not happy.  I've always been double jointed and very much so in that thumb.  My mom and her mom have and had horrible arthritis so I'm nervous about this.  

And the third strike came today while at work when I whacked my knee on my desk.  This isn't unusual.  I tend to do this every other week it seems BUT this was hardcore.  So much so that it brought me to my knees and tears to my eyes.

I need to do something about this so here is my plan...

YOGA.

I know that I am back and forth on YOGA but I have to be more consistent with it.  Even if I have to bring my mat to work and do it in the bathroom I am going to do it more.

Green Smoothies.

Again something I struggle with being consistent at.  I mean, REALLY, how hard is it?  It's NOT...it's just me making excuses for NOT waking up earlier enough and not having enough fresh produce...which is similar to my 'thing' with Juicing.  I seriously NEED to focus on this.

Herbs & Essential Oils

These are something I have been digging deeper and deeper into as of late and I need to step it up a notch NOW!  When it comes to pain the following are things I am going to do to combat it whether it's herbs and/or essential oils...Aloe Vera, Boswellia, Cat's Claw, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Green Tea, Thunder God Vine, Turmeric, and Willow Bark.  Of those I have already done a few of them often.  I will be bumping that up more tho.  One of those that I am not familiar with is the Thunder God Vine and will be doing more research on it very soon.

Speaking of my own personal research and development...I have been looking into many other things that I will be sharing with you very soon!

What do you do for pain management at home?

Erie Veg Society, Raw Vegan Sour Cream, Apple Blossoms, & Chihuahuas

I've been in contact with the Erie Vegan and Vegetarian Society and I really wish it didn't take me over an hour to get to Erie so that I could participate more in their upcoming events.  It's going to be especially difficult in the winter months because we live in the snow belt.  But I am super excited they are so active and have so many things going on in the next year!  One of which is their first ever VegFest!  I will let you know more about the event when I am able to!

Last week I made a tisane (herbal tea) with Apple Blossoms.  I think this is the first time I have ever had Apple Blossoms.  I will be writing more about Apple Blossoms and their potential benefits for The Raw Food World NEWS Site very soon!

I'm getting into herbs again more.  I tend to go in spurts.  Same with my love for learning about Essential Oils.  My newest point of interest is Crystals.  More on that soon, too!

This past weekend I made a Raw Vegan Sour Cream made out of Macadamia Nuts.  It was pretty good!  I took the last little bit of what I had yesterday and added it to some guacamole!

My hubby told me about a 2 year old Chihuahua that needs a home in a near by city and it breaks my heart but I don't think we can take her in at this time.  I know this will be eating at me for quite some time.  At least I know her name and can be praying for her in the meantime.

CONGRATS to Jacky!  She was the WINNER of the Garden of Life Marley Fit!  I emailed you - let me know your info and I will let GoL know!

What To Do With All That Lemon Balm

Photo Source: WikiCommons

Yesterday I blogged a little bit about my new obsession...Essential Oils.  But another thing I have been into lately is herbs and using them in body care type situations.  My mother has an INSANE amount of Lemon Balm all around her property and I grabbed a few clumps and replanted them on our Roof Top garden and now we have 4 containers of Lemon Balm.

If you are over run by Lemon Balm like we are  - perhaps there are a few things you can tinker with in this post today.

One thing you can do with it is to make a paste for acne and/or blemishes.  Take a look at this post I did for The Raw Food World RECIPE Section.  It's Lemon Balm Blemish Paste.  

Another thing you can do that is SUPER EASY is Lemon Balm Hair Rinse.

Of course you could always 'brew it up' for a nice tea/tisane, add it to your dishes for flavor and garnish, and boil it in your kitchen to naturally diminish kitchen odors.  What are some of the things YOU have done with Lemon Balm?

Vegan MoFo ~ Fave Herbs & Spices

Just a quick post today but still sticking with the Vegan MoFo prompts...today's being...my favorite herbs and spices!  This one is probably going to be non-climatic because I pretty much like them all for different reasons.  So I guess I will point out a few individual ones to keep this months posts consistent!

Basil

I LOVE the way it looks, smells, tastes, and grows!

We've had a LOT of luck with Basil - both indoors, outdoors, in a rooftop garden, and on a window sill garden!

Turmeric 

One of the healthiest things you can consume - some say!  And my favorite Turmeric to buy by far is from The Raw Food World!  Turmeric is one of the most powerful therapeutic herbs on the planet – it is highly regarded in the ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition of India and one of the most popular spices in the world. Turmeric is used in traditional Indian medicine as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral*. This Raw Wildcrafted Turmeric extract is made of pure turmeric root harvested by local farmers in the wetlands of India, low temperature dehydrated and cold water extracted to a standard of 95% Curcuminoids.

Dill

Helps Digestion.  A teaspoon a day can reduce 80 percent of bloating in only three days.  Its antibacterial oils not only kill any possible stomach bugs but also help in the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins.  Plus I love the smell and taste!

Cayenne

It has thermogentic properties that increase your blood flow and metabolism. Individuals who only use cayenne infrequently also find it reduces hunger.  I just like to give my foods a KICK every once and a while and Cayenne certainly makes that easy!  I think the BEST quality Cayenne can be found online...HERE.

Curry

And you can't go wrong with Curry!  I mean...want can't you do with curry!  Check out some of the curry flavored products you can easily find online!  And of course with fall and winter near Curry is the perfect addition to many dishes!

More Rooftop Garden Progress & NEW Patty Pan Squash is Flowering!

I have 2 quick posts today so be sure to check the post out after this one, too!  That will finish up my Warren County Fair Concert posts but something unexpected happened this past weekend...we ended up going to Crawford County Fair, too, but only for 1 day so I will start in with that tomorrow!  I still have so much to post so I will most likely be double posting most days in the meantime.

I'm also going to get back into videos, too, so here is a quick one with Rooftop Garden Progress!  I apologize in advance for it being sideways again.  I will get my act together again one of these days!  You may also notice that this video is posted to a different channel it's my 2nd account so if you want to also follow this channel it's located HERE.  I have to say with everything going on I've REALLY excited about the Patty Pan Squash potential!!!  Check it out!

Kitchen Garden Update & Fruit Finds of the Weekend

Check out this photo of the progress of my herbs that I'm trying to grow in my kitchen! 

At first - the Basil was the one to sprout and I was afraid the Chives and Parsley weren't going to do anything BUT then the Parsley REALLY took off and there are a few sprouts for the chives now, too! 
As of this morning the Parsley is in first place!  Not that it's a race but I LOVE seeing the progress of each one!

Speaking of progress in the Kitchen Garden Department...here is the Celery I have been attempting.  I ended up cutting it right after I took the photo.  I had been removing the not-so-good parts from the bottom for a while not and it looked like it was at it's peak of growing.  So I grabbed it and gnawed on it.  It was a more intense flavor of celery and I really want to do more of this soon!  I think next time I will try and transplant it...but I will keep you posted on that - if I do it or not.  I really thought it would get taller but - again - it was only my first time trying it.

Now...on to some Fun Fruit Finds for the weekend! 

First up...OPAL APPLES.  I was drawn to these because of the unusual YELLOW color as well as their enormous size!  They are bigger than a good sized grapefruit!  THEN...I saw the name and could help but think of my blogging buddy OPAL. 

What a wonderful surprise to come across these apples!  We bought TWO of them to try.  Last night hubby and I had them for "snack" and neither one of us was able to eat the whole thing!  While reading up on these apples they are one (of the few) apples that never turn brown.  So after cutting them up I covered the slices and took them out the of frig this morning to bring with me for a snack today and this is what they looked like!  They stood up to the claim of NOT turning brown!  How COOL is that!  (No Lemon Juice needed)  I have to say I DO like these apples!  They might be my 3rd favorite at the moment!  I still like the Pink Ladies and Kiku Apples better than the Opal as far as flavor and personal preference is concerned.  But I wanted to mention them on my blog here because it was an interesting find for me...I don't see a lot of the produce that they may see in California, for example.  I know the variety of many produce items is stronger out there!  Oh!  By the way...I purchased these apples at Wegman's.

Another great Fruit Find of the weekend were these grapes!    I couldn't find too much info about them, really.  I see that some of the Wholefood Markets have sold them on occasion.  I ended up getting them at Sam Club.  I think they were like $6 or so for 3 pounds!  It was CRAZY!  It has Gioia as the brand/name and they are Extremely Sweet Pinkish Green Color Grapes that are supposed to be seedless.  Eventho I have only had a few handfuls so far - I have found about half of them to have seeds and the other half of them to be seedless.  I think they might be similar to these grapes but they look a tad different.  Each grape seems like half is a pale and fading green that morphs into a pale and fading pink.  They are really interesting!  At first I thought they might be the Cotton Candy Grapes that Christine blogged about a while back but they aren't.  They don't fit the taste profile.  These grapes taste more like a cross between an orange, grapefruit, and grape.  So...if anyone has seen or ate these grapes before let me know your thoughts and if you can find them online - I wasn't able to find a website for them, specifically.  Since this post was a little long winded I think I will stop there but I do have a lot more to blog about from the weekend so swing by again soon!

In My Kitchen ~ April

I thought I would get a JUMP START on the IN MY KITCHEN ~ April Edition!  A few items of interest in my kitchen for this upcoming month are highlighted in this post!  Let me know what you think of them - if you have used or done and thing with any of the items listed or if you have any questions.  Questions help me think of future posts - so I ALWAYS welcome them!

First up...

Dried items!  If you visited my blog last week you saw that I accepted Opal's Dehydrator Challenge.  I REALLY enjoyed that adventure and her and I have been trying to put together a weekly blogging Linky to get more people to BUST OUT their dehydrator!  Let us know if this is something that would interest you!  We would LOVE more participants!  One of the many things I hope to do with my Excalibur Dehydrator this month is to dry more fruit and herbs to use in my teas and tonics.  I would like to start off with citrus!  Another item in my kitchen as of late is TEA.  Well, I always have tea with or around me - pretty much throughout the day and evening.  One of the companies I have been into lately is Pelican Tea.  WHY?  Because it stands out in the sense they use peppers and spices to add a HOT KICK to their tea flavors and blends.  I think this really sets them apart from many/most other tea companies!  They have some really interesting flavors and I hope to review some of them over at Sororitea Sisters soon!

Another item in my kitchen is the 'growing of the herbs' attempts.  I will say that I am somewhat disappointed in the Chives and Parsley.  I don't think they are going to sprout.  That's ok...I won't give up...I will be trying to resprout another batch soon!

On a more positive note...

The Basil has sprouted!  YAY!  I LOVE Basil!  I hope it continues to grow!  I started it from seed but I will most likely be getting a starter plant at some point, too, but I know I will use it!  I use a lot of Basil!  I will probably be getting more starter plants for herbs as well.

I have been buying more Dates lately, too!  That is one thing you will find in my frig most of the times any more.  I get them from my local herb lady.  I have been using them in my Vitamix when I made Salad Dressings and Smoothies.  I have also been using them in my Breakfast Bars when I try and make them in my Dehydrator.  A little bit goes a long way and I appreciate them much more now that I am older.  I'm NOT saying I didn't like them when I was younger it just wasn't something we had a lot of fresh in the house growing up..so maybe it's like my 2nd Childhood when it comes to dates?

These little gems may have been in previous posts but I cannot get enough of them!  RED Lentils!  They are my FAVORITE Lentil, after all.

Lentils are one of the worlds HEALTHIEST Foods!  They are a Fiber ALL-STAR!  They are Heart Healthy!  They are an energy booster!  They help stabilize blood sugar!  They are a good source of Iron, Vitamins B1 & B6, Protein, and Magnesium...among others.

I have been getting into my NuNaturals Products again and will be having a giveaway in the near future of some of their products!  If you would like to receive updates on when that is going to happen in addition to any new posts on my blog - sign up for my email alerts. 

On of the many NuNaturals Products I'm intrigued with is this one.  Oat Fiber.

It's a way to add more fiber to your diet.  I don't think I have a problem with that but I'm interested in this product as a whole and also interested in possible passing a bit of this on to my mom and dad as my father is trying to increase his fiber intake.  

NuGrain™ Oat Fiber is naturally produced from food-grade oat hulls through a proprietary process. This is a chemical-free process, turning organic hulls into various organic fibers. Oat fiber has many uses in baked goods, adding to smoothies, porridge, smoothies, and other recipes where you want to boost the fiber content of the foods your eat.

Substitute 3 tablespoons NuGrains™ Oat Fiber for every 8 servings per recipe. For example if recipe yields 24 cookies and serving size is 3 cookies, then substitute 3 tablespoons for flour in your recipe.

What's in YOUR Kitchen for April!?  Let me know in comments!

What's Growing In My Kitchen & Produce Nook

I have a lot to be thankful for and a lot of things to blog about.  I will try and pair 'like subjects' in each post but there will be a couple per day so I can try and catch up from when I was away.

I enjoyed my time off - we took Monday and Tuesday as vacation days.  My husband's Birthday was March 10th and mine was the 16th.  We decided to take his Fiat on some day trips.  It worked out well and we were able to hit up a bunch of places that we had been wanting to go but more importantly we were able to get out of town without having to get a place to stay because we came home each of the two nights.  More on where we went in various upcoming posts but I will tell you that we hit-up 3 states...New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. 

But for this specific post I will tell you about a few things that I have been working on in my kitchen in the way of Produce and Window Sill growing.    As you can see in this first photo I chopped off the bottom of my celery and am trying to regrow it in my kitchen.  I've talked to someone who has done this many times as well as chatted online with some people who have tried it with success, too!  Some have done it in just water - making sure that the water is FRESH...and others have started it in their kitchen and then transplanted it in a container or in the ground after it started sprouting from the middle.  So I'm going to try this! 

Another thing I started in my kitchen recently was herbs.  I've done this in the past but this time around I found these neat tins with holes in the bottom that sit on a try so the water can drain but also soak from the bottom.  I'm doing Basil, Chives, and Parsley.  Both of these attempts - the Celery and the Herbs - are on the Window Sill in my Kitchen.

Also in my kitchen - but ALWAYS in my kitchen - are fresh fruit and veggies.  This is a look at what I currently have.  Multi-Colored Sweet Mini Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, 2 or 3 different kinds of Apples, Bananas, Mandarins.  I have my greens in the frig along with some bigger yellow and orange sweet peppers, a large cucumber, and a few others.

Last night - the Bananas were ripe - so I cut them up and put them in the freezer.  This is the only way I can tolerate Bananas.  LESS is MORE.  1 or 2 chunks at a time in smoothies.  I recently finished some sprouts in the kitchen and hope to start some more tonight.  What are some of the things you have going or growing in your kitchen these days!?

Medjool Dates filled with Almond Butter

I had a few Medjool Dates with Raw Almond Butter in the middle of them today!  FOR LUNCH!  I am completely satisfied and full!  They were so easy to make!  I was lucky enough my local herb store sells them.  I also got a smaller bulk-like amount of the raw almond butter instead of the larger tub so that was only $2.19.  The Dates (I only ate about a quarter of them) were $4.70...I have plenty left!  I figured...if you get lunch downtown it will be between 6 and 12 bucks.  This less than $7 and at this rate will provide me with lunches for at least 3 to 4 days!  Check out Raw Is Sexy's blog post about these babies!  It's - in a nutshell - what I did!