Healthy Smoothies

Smoothies are such a great treat during the summer, but can be enjoyed almost anytime of year.  I like to incorporate fruits in my smoothies during the hot summer months and warmer vegetable flavors during the fall months.  Smoothies are really simple to make too, with just a blender you can create some of the best tasting and filling drinks you never thought you could. Here are some of my favorite smoothies to blend up and share with my kiddo.

• Apple Veggie Smoothie

4 carrots

2 apples

1/2 cucumber

1 stalk celery

1/2 cup Swiss chard

1 cup ice cubes

Blend together until smooth.

•Cinnamon Pumpkin Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen pumpkin

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

1 cinnamon stick

Blend until smooth.

• Vanilla Cantaloupe Smoothie

1/2 cantaloupe

1 cup milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

Blend until smooth.

To learn more about healthy, fruit smoothies and the benefits they provide, 

please visit Thoughts Unveiled here

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Add door sweeps to the bottom of exterior doors on around doors that lose heat throughout the winter.  This will help conserve the heat inside the home and in the long run save you a lot of money.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Goodbye Sunflowers

It's come to the end of the season for my precious, lovely sunflowers   It's been such a treat to see them all grow on the side of my house the way they did.  I had someone tell me earlier in the season that they wouldn't have a sunflower head on them, well I am here to say, I was quite pleased to see that they all produced a bright yellow, very full sunflower, and looked lovely!

Although this year was sort of an experiment with them to see if I could actually grow sunflowers where the sun doesn't shine on my house very much, I think it went quite well and I am looking forward to doing it again!

Eco-Tip:  Turn off your oven 10 minutes before the cooking time is up on cooking food inside the oven.  The food will continue to cook and you will save about 10 minutes in wasted energy with your oven, as well.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Spark of Loves This Week: Swings, Park, Sign, Cream, Image, and Certificate

This Video.

Because musical swings would allow you to be a kid again and let's face it, that's what life is all about right?  Having fun!

This Picture.

Because it's a view of the wonderful Crater Lake here in Oregon on such a beautiful day.  This picture was taken on my flight back from Arkansas with Skylar on September 1st, 2012.

This Church Sign.

Because even though it's on a church sign, it's the truth.

This Hand Cream.

Because for one, I have always loved Burt's Bees, but this hand cream smells like fresh picked from the tree bananas.  It also is great on dry patches that need extra moisture.  

This Image.

Because its always been one of my favorite pictures of all time.  It came out of an old issue of Cookie Magazine, which is no longer in publication, unfortunately.  It's such a fun and adventurous picture that makes me want to jump right into the picture and become part of it.

Random Photo of the Week:

This gift certificate I got from Jeff for Mother's Day last year before Kona Koast went out of business.  I sure do miss that place. :-(

Eco-Tip:  Always buy Fair Trade when possible.  Fair Trade goods will always guarantee that the farmer or maker a fair share of the actual profits when sold.  For this and other green tips visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

How to bring a bit of fun to an outlet

I am all about being different when it comes to something neat and clever for the home.  From my pebble stone foot board to my parasol paper lantern, I love all things worth making a conversation piece over.  With  the recent mustache craze of different things, I thought bringing mustaches to everyday items you look at would be just the right addition, especially in a kid's room.

How cute are these?  The black mustache was made with just a simple Sharpie, black marker and the black one was made by coloring in the white part completely and using a white paint pen for the face.

Mine aren't the best, but here are some that are done a bit better, if you're looking for a more professional look to them.

These are too cute.  These mustache outlet-stashes are from a company called Creative Outlets Shop found on Etsy.  They are about $5 per sheet and come in so many fun styles. 

Or you could go with something like this from Slightly Smitten Kitten Designs.

And here's one for a French outlet, ha!  Just in case you happen to be taking a trip to France here soon and want a laugh or two while you're there.  

These mustache outlet covers are super adorable and very unique for sure.  You can go with one that you purchase, or make one for yourself like I did.  You can even do them for light switches and outdoor light covers. The possibilities are really endless and think what you could turn a surge protector into.  

Let's face it, electrical outlets are super emotional, right?

Photo Credit:  Lost at E Minor

Eco-Tip:  Use oxygen or hydrogen-based bleaches instead of the traditional chlorine bleach products currently on the market.  Chlorine bleach is very harmful when released into the environment and can cause breathing complications over time with use.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

The holidays are coming and one of my greatest traditions is making Rosemary Mashed Potatoes.  I like to start everything from scratch, and use what I've grown in my garden throughout the season.  I also like to keep the process simple, but also appreciate how things were done before there was modern appliances.  If I could melt the butter and boil the potatoes over a campfire, I think I would.

What you'll need:

6-8 Large Brown Potatoes (garden grown)

2 cups Whole Milk

3 tbs. Real Butter

Rosemary Seasoning (garden grown)

3 tsp. Sea Salt

2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1.  Peel, and dice the potatoes and add to a stock pot along with the 3 tsp. of Sea Salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.  Allow to boil 20-30 minutes, or until soft.

2.  Drain the potatoes being careful not to mash them when straining.  And add them to a food mill placed over a large bowl.  Make sure the bowl has a wider rim than the food ricer, or you will have a big potato mess.

3.  Begin ricing the potatoes through the food mill as shown above.  Use the dowel (if yours is this model) and turn along the edge of the mill.  If yours is a hand crank like HERE or HERE, then crank around till the all the potatoes are riced.  This process goes pretty quickly and is actually a lot of fun. 

  

This is a great way for kids to help in the kitchen as well and with the prep of the mashed potatoes.

4.  While your ricing your potatoes  take 2 cups of milk, butter and a bit more sea salt (to taste) and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once your potatoes have been riced they should look similar to the ones in the above picture.  You may need larger bowls depending on how many potatoes you used.  

  

5.  Add both bowls of the riced potatoes to a larger bowl and slowly begin to add your milk mixture.  

7.  Add in some chives (optional) and some ground, black pepper.  Next comes the Rosemary!  This is the best part of the entire dish so add as little or as much as you want.  

These are always a welcome side dish in our home and we love to have them with only the best main dishes.......

Like TURKEY!

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Always keep a promise no matter what.  Although this may not be a green tip, it could most certainly be incorporated into a green action such as, "I promise I will recycle at least one thing every day this coming week."  So always keep a promise, even if it doesn't include a green action.  Keeping promises just overall makes you a good person, and being a good person is a very GOOD thing.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

Try the organic approach

It's a lot easier to go organic than you might think.  Organic foods, especially fruits and vegetables are becoming a household name with every passing year and are becoming more and more abundant in your local stores, even.

When you make the switch to organic you need to think of ways you would have them flow into your normal eating routine rather than shoving them in and "trying" to make it work. 

Start with in-season fruits, such as bananas and oranges, or even grapes along side your normal breakfast meal.  Or, start out small with organic coffee or tea, even.  Small changes with your routine will allow for bigger changes into full on organic meals that will come later.

Organic foods may seem like they are priced higher but, overall they pay a farmer a fair pay once sold to the store, especially if you stick to a co-op or a farmers' market.  And, overall, buying local is a lot better than a huge market chain. 

Look for foods with the USDA Organic logo, similar to the one below, will make sure the organic food conforms to the USDA Organic Food and Production Act.  USDA Organic labels on your organic foods insures a chain of integrity when it comes to the food manufacturer. 

One more thing to keep in mind is avoiding the "Dirty Dozen."

The Dirty Dozen is a list of twelve foods that could contain high amounts of pesticides in the growing process of the food.  It's mostly fruits and vegetables but, pesticide-free foods is a great way to start you on your organic food transformation. 

This photo is copyrighted, please do not copy.

The USDA label requirements on all organic products follow basic labeling of only four categories:

• Product Label Claim:

1.  100% Organic

2. "Organic"

3.  "Made with organic ingredients only specified on the label"

4.  None (Nothing noted as organic)

• Label Parameters:

1.  100% Organic Ingredients

2.  At least 95% organic ingredients

3.  At least 70-95% Organic ingredients

4.  Less than 70% Organic Ingredients

Seems complicated to keep track of but, once you get used to reading the labels and being aware of what you  need to look for, it will become more routine.

Buying organic is a great way to start the change for yourself, your family, and the environment.  Don't just look to the labels, go with the soil the product is grown in, as well.  It's important that organic starts from the ground to your plate. 

Eco-Tip:  Use both sides of paper.  If a quick note is something you need to jot down quickly, once that note is done, use the other side for another quick note.  Paper waste is a huge problem, so don't add to the issue, use up as much space on a piece of paper as you can before tossing it.  And when you do toss it, toss it in to be recycled.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.