Autumn Eats

Looky looky what I found at Target! I tried it, not bad. I think I will make a pumpkin pie and add this to it. I will give you guys the recipe if it turns out good.

Here is my pumpkin right before it went in the oven for an hour and a half. Fresh pumpkin is so worth the time. It's so much healthier for you fresh as opposed to the canned stuff. I am not sure what I am going to do with this cooked pumpkin yet.

Two organic apples, two large leaves of organic rainbow chard and two tablespoons of chia seeds all blended in the Blendtec.

Dinner last night was oatmeal. The following is what I added to it:

Steal Cut Oats

Almond Milk

Brown Sugar 

Golden Raisins

Dried Elderberries

Vegan Chocolate Chips

Chia Seeds

Maca Powder

It was soooo good. It was like dessert for dinner!

This was dinner tonight. I tried my hand at some African Yam Soup.

African Yam Soup

2 yams- peeled and cubed

1 can chopped organic tomatoes with juice 

1 stick celery

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 thai pepper

1 anaheim pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp organic peanut butter

2 cups water

Olive oil

1 bay leaf

Turmeric- to taste

Cumin- to taste

Allspice- to taste

Black pepper

Sea salt

I threw this all in the crock pot on high for about an hour. You can let it cook for 1-2 hours and then just eat as is or you can do what I did and puree it. I pureed it in my Blendtec on the soup setting. Garnish with whatever herbs you like. I used cilantro and basil.

Beer Hair Rinse

Equal parts 

Water & flat beer

Half as much

Apple cider vinegar

(ex: 1 oz water, 1 oz vinegar and about 2 tsp vinegar)

5 drops or so of 

Rosemary essential oil

Mix together everything and put in spray bottle. Spray in hair after shampooing to remove build-up in hair. This is good if you have some extra flat beer lying around. This is hippy to the max!

Lastly, my boy Sonic wanted to show off his new winter sweater. He was giving me a weird look here because I was taking a million pictures of him :) Goodnight all!

Tinctures & Soaps

Good evening all my friends. Today, I wanted to show you a few things I made recently. We haven't had internet for a while since we moved into our new placed and just recently got it back. That is why I have been MIA.

This was just a plain ol' Castile soap bar that I grated down with a knife (a cheese grater works great as well.) This is the base for my laundry soap.

Gentle Lavender Laundry Soap

1 part soap bar

1 part baking soda (aluminum-free)

to 1 1/2 parts borax

a few drops essential oil lavander

a few drops essential oil tea tree oil (optional, I use it for the antibacterial properties) 

You can also add 1 part washing soda, but I don't because I have a hard time finding it where I live.

Combine all ingredients. Use 2-3 Tbsp for a large load of laundry. I suggest washing with warm or hot water when using this laundry soap so that everything dissolves well and works to its full potential. 

My elderberry tincture cooking away.

Elderberries, for those who do not know, are tasty little flu fighters. They have been used for everything from allergies, constipation and common cold to emphysema, rheumatism and fever. 

Elderberry Tincture

1/2 cup dry elderberries

1 cup or maybe a little more water (enough to cover elderberries)

1-2 Tbsp vegetable glycerin (make sure it is food grade and add more if you want it sweeter)

Bring elderberries and water to boil and then turn it to low and let it simmer for a couple hours. Then add glycerin once cool. Keep refrigerated and this tincture lasts about 3 months. This recipe is good for children. Below is the recipe for adults. The adult recipe is more potent and lasts for years. 

1/4 lb. dried elderberries

16 oz. Everclear

Blend this mixture together and let it sit for 2 weeks in a dark closed jar. After two weeks, strain. You can add either one part honey or maple syrup to one part mixture to sweeten. This recipe will last for years if kept in a dark place (like a closet just like any other alcohol.) 


I also made a headache tincture the same way, but with equal parts peppermint and lavender herbs. Peppermint is suppose to be good for tension headaches. I get tension headaches all the time, so I am trying this tincture out to see if it helps with these type of headaches. Lavender is also good for headaches because of its soothing properties. Aside from making a lavender/peppermint tincture for your headache, there are other ways you can use these herbs to help ease your headache. You can rub either peppermint or lavender oil on your head and temples or you can make a steam treatment. If you would like to read about how to do steam inhalation, you can check out THIS website.

 Simple Soap Recipe

2 quarts water

2 cups Castile soap (grated)

2 Tbsp vegetable glycerin

2-3 Tbsp dried chamomile 

5-10 drops lavender essential oil

5-8 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix all ingredients except oils in large pot over low heat, stirring occasionally until all grated soap is melted. You can pour this into soap molds and it will hold up as a bar soap. If you want a more liquid soap, then add more water and strain the chamomile before mixture cools. Add essential oils last. 

I like to put chamomile in my soaps because it is soothing and gentle on my skin. I have very sensitive skin, so I have to be careful. Lavender is also a gentle and calming oil. Tea tree oil is antibacterial.

Happy late Halloween! 

These were my brother, husband and my pumpkins we carved :)

Happy Autumn All!

Hello my dear friends. I have missed you all! Everything has been so crazy over here in Gretna, Nebraska, but it should start to calm down within the next week. We will be moving into our new home tomorrow! Hip hip HORRAY! So thanks for still coming around my site even though I have been so bad about updating and commenting. 

Let me start by saying, Happy Harvest! That just sounds fitting seeing as where I live now, corn is being harvested on all sides of me. I absolutely LOVE Fall. I have always loved it, even when in the islands. This is my first Fall living in a place with the actual "Fall Season". It is so amazing to watch the leaves change colors and fall to the ground, as well as seeing squirrels out running around collecting acorns. (We don't have squirrels in Hawaii so bare with me.)

You know what this time of year calls for don't you? APPLE CIDER! And it's actually cold here, so it's even funner to drink! I used my normal Apple Cider recipe, which you can find HERE. Everyone said they loved it. I always buy a big thing of organic apple juice to make it and I honestly think organic apple juice is so much better than normal apple juice. 

A huge bin of baby pumpkins at the pumpkin patch here. I work with kids and we got to go on a field trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. It was so fun!

More pumpkins...I love pumpkins...so very much.

Just a shot from my car of the pretty sun going down.

Strawesome Review

Strawesome is an awesome company that makes reusable, stylish glass straws. I don't know about you all, but  I have been trying to eliminate plastic from my daily life more and more now days. Once I discovered Strawesome, I knew I had to check them out!

The lovely Daedra from Strawesome was kind enough to send me a sample 8 inch straw along with a straw cleaner. Coincidentally, I won a drawing for another Strawesome straw around the same time! How lucky could I be? For those of you who have not heard of Strawesome yet, here are a few facts. These straws are hand made from borosilicate glass. They are also guarenteed not to break! If your straw breaks, it will be replaced. Nothing better than satisfaction guaranteed! This is also great news for those of you with kids and little hands that might drop things:) Strawesome straws are sold in sizes 6 inch all the way up to 12 inch.

Why else should I buy a glass straw, you say?

• Limit you and your families exposure to plastic and the toxins it contains.
• These straws are hypo-allergenic.
• Microwave and dishwasher safe!
• These straws will encourage your kids to drink more smoothies & water, because they are just so fun to drink with!

These are my two straws that I received. One is an 8 inch and one a 10 inch. They are so awesome for smoothies. I normally drink smoothies daily, so these are perfect for me. Plus, most of my smoothies are pretty thick because of all the things I add to them including spinach, kale, avocado, bananas, chia seeds, etc. I have come up with a whole new "smoothie system" because of Strawesome. I have a mason jar, which I cut a hole on top just big enough for my straw. Then I just fill the jar up and seal! I don't know if it is just me, but I think the smoothies taste better through a glass straw. I have always preferred glass to plastic. One last thing I have to show you guys is the straw cleaner. 

This will only run you $2 and it is totally worth it. You don't necessarily need it if you use a dishwasher, but I do not and this comes in so handy. Just in case you have anything stuck in your straw that you need to wash out, this is a lifesaver. You HAVE to get this with whatever straw you purchase. Thanks so much Strawesome for allowing me the opportunity to review and talk about this great product. 

Please check out her site STRAWESOME for all the styles you could want! As always, I was not paid for this review and these items were donated to me.

Old Market

Organic Red Swiss Chard & Apple Juice

Yummy apricots for a snack

I loved this horse and carriage ride! It looked just like cinderella's! I didn't ride but I did ask if I could pet the horses. Normally I get mad at this kind of situation and think that the animals are not being treated properly, but these guys seemed to be ok. It was cool weather and they had hay and water at their resting stop so that made me happy.

Everyone must think I am such a weirdo here. I was freezing and it was in the 50's. Everyone else was wearing skirts it seemed like!

Tofu Stroganoff

As always, I am not sure the exact measurements, but these are the ingredients I used:

Tofu

Mushrooms

Vegetable Stock

Onion

Garlic

Sour Supreme

Earth Balance

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

Fresh Peanut Butter Cups

SO GOOD!

Not totally pretty but hey, this was my first attempt. I have been seeing a lot of people making these lately like my blogger friend River- Wing It Vegan. Here is my version with the ingredients I had available.

1/4 cup Earth Balance

3/4 cup natural (no sugar) peanut butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cook together in a sauce pan until sugar is melted.

Pour into sprayed cupcake pan.

In separate pan:

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup coconut milk (or almond, soy)

Cook in sauce pan until melted. 

Pour over peanut butter.

Put in freezer until solid

Edward & Sons Review

This one is LONG past due, sorry Edward & Sons!

Edward & Sons were kind enough to send me a box of goodies! They sent me organic sliced peaches, miso-cup, organic croutons, quick gravy, coconut milk, two gluten free crackers- brown rice snaps & exotic rice toast. What I love about this company is that they have such a wide variety of products to chose from. I enjoyed their organic canned peaches in a peach cobbler that I made and the organic croutons on a few different salads. You guys all know how I feel about things being organic too, so that always makes me happy to see that label on products. My mother in law was happy to know that they carried gluten free options for her as she is gluten free. If you go to THIS page it will tell you which of their products are vegan, dairy-free, corn-free, egg-free, etc. 

I LOVE their organic coconut flakes! I make an awesome raw dessert with their coconut flakes. You can check out the recipe HERE. They also make organic coconut flour which I would love to try! 

Check out their website and products HERE.

Thanks again Edward & Sons!

*As always, I was not paid for this review and Edward & Sons sent me these products for free to sample.*

CSN Winner

Just a quick post to say who won the CSN award.....drumrollllllllll....Emily from Muffin Topped you won!!! I put all your names is order of your comments 1-16 and put your numbers into random.org and number 2 won! Congrats! Hopefully I can do another contest for you guys all soon.