Health, Nutrition & Wellbeing Archives

blueberry basil pops

September 14, 2017 by tarynkae 4 Comments

I was really glad when I came up with this recipe during my frozen pop experiments. I love trying out different flavor combinations and my mom had told me about adding basil to her smoothies regularly, so I wanted to try out some basil in my frozen pops. I wondered which fruit would pair especially well with basil, and after drinking a blueberry basil flavored jun kombucha from the store, I decided to give blueberries a go with the basil. Now I will say, as much as I enjoy these blueberry basil pops, I don’t think this is a recipe that everyone will love. I don’t want that to discourage you from making them, you might be surprised by how much you fall in love with them. Or they might not be your thing. Jeff, for example, is not a huge basil fan, so these frozen pops are not his favorite out of the different kinds that I regularly make around here. If you’re wanting to please a crowd, the strawberry beet pops seem pretty popular with most people. I’m sharing this recipe for blueberry basil pops here because I love them enough that I feel someone out there will too, so this is for you basil fans!

Blueberry Basil Pops

1/4 cup basil

2 cups blueberries

2 dates (or more)

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)

………….

Directions:

This recipe makes enough for 6 frozen pops, plus a little extra (to hold you over until your pops are frozen and ready to eat.) Same as before: You’ll need a blender and popsicle molds to make this recipe. To make the pops simply blend up your ingredients, pour the mixture into the molds, and stick the molds in the freezer. It can take up to five hours for them to freeze. You’ll want to leave about one-quarter inch of room at the top of each mold because the pops will expand a little as they freeze. To remove the pops from the stainless steel molds we have, we hold them under running water until they come out easily.)

Notes on Ingredients:

Jeff grew a lot of basil in the garden for me this year to make pesto, and I’ve also been using it for this frozen pop recipe. I have several family members who grow basil in their windowsills, it’s a wonderful herb you can grow yourself even if you don’t have much garden space (or even none at all.) You can also find basil at your local farmer’s market during the summertime, or at the grocery store. I love adding greens to my smoothies and frozen pops and my favorite greens to add are herbs, like cilantro and basil. I had no idea how many health benefits basil had until I read this article.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. I added a few dates to soften these pops up a little bit, and depending on your taste preference, you can add more to soften them even more if you want to. I didn’t even notice the flavor of the dates because the flavor of the blueberries and basil is really what stands out the most. With the strawberry beet pops, the banana helps soften them up a bit, and for this recipe I chose dates instead. Recently I’ve been learning more about why dates are so good for you. (For fun, you can find two articles about dates: here and here.)

As I shared in my previous post about the strawberry beet pops, our favorite place to purchase coconut milk is from Thrive Market. It also happens to be our favorite place to buy dates. (I wrote about joining Thrive Market and also wrote about why I love the creamy coconut milk base for the pops I make in this post.) From before: If you order through my link, you can get 15% off your first order from Thrive Market. For every person who becomes a paid member through my link, our family receives $25 to spend at Thrive, which we so appreciate. When you purchase through my link it helps support my efforts here, and I thank you for it. Please know that I only promote products and companies that I believe in and Thrive Market is a company that I love.

(Oh, and one more thing I wanted to mention. We purchased some bamboo sticks awhile back for making our frozen pops and we love them. Though technically considered stirrer sticks and not popsicle sticks, we’ve found that they work great as popsicle sticks. I like that they are not splintery like so many popsicle sticks I’ve gotten in the past (especially nice when you’re serving them to kids), and they are also chemical-free. I feel with how many toxins we are exposed to in our world today, it’s a good idea to avoid exposure as much as we are able to and this is one more simple way to do that. Frozen pops just don’t sound as appealing to me with chemically treated wood in the center of them, you know? One bag of the bamboo ones last for such a long time, plus sometimes I wash the bamboo sticks after we’ve used them for our frozen pops and then save them for various craft projects. This is not an affiliate link by the way, just something I wanted to mention.)

I think if I could sum up these blueberry basil pops in one word it would be Refreshing. There’s something about the basil that gives these pops such a refreshing taste, perfect for a hot summer day. If you give this recipe a try, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! (Awesome? Strange? Wonderfully surprising? Let me know!)

Enjoy!

strawberry beet pops

August 1, 2017 by tarynkae 1 Comment

I make so many frozen pops around here and these Strawberry Beet Pops are a family favorite treat. (I’m calling them pops, Popsicle is trademarked term.) We start finding strawberries at the local farmer’s market in the springtime and right now, in the summer, it’s still strawberry season and I’ve been making these strawberry pops all the time. (You don’t need to use fresh strawberries to make them, though, frozen berries work great too!) They are perfect to cool you down on hot summer days (though we eat them year round in our home) and with the coconut milk base they are creamy, delicious, and nourishing. The coconut milk makes for a more filling snack too.

I love that the healthy fats from the coconut milk help balance all the fruit to keep the blood sugar more level, and they compliment each other beautifully. The creaminess also makes these pops like ice cream or a smoothie on a stick. And who doesn’t like that? We went down to southern Oregon to visit family last weekend and I made a version of these pops (without the beet powder that time) to share with everyone. They were a hit, much to my delight, and with the temperature as hot as it was, they were a welcome treat in the afternoon. (I get so much joy from sharing food with people and when what I make is enjoyed that is the best feeling.)

I enjoy coming up with new frozen pop recipes and have quite a few I’ve been wanting to share here, but I’ll start with these because they’re the most popular with the most people. I should start by telling you how this combination was inspired…

Our family had some strawberry beet ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop, Vanilla Jill’s. (For those of you who have been reading for awhile, you’ve certainly heard me mention Vanilla Jill’s before. They have so many flavors to choose from and we adore their coconut milk ice cream.) Throughout my life I had never been a strawberry ice cream fan because I couldn’t stand the fakey-strawberry-imitation flavor of the ones I had tried, but decided to give the one at Vanilla Jill’s a try since it was made with actual strawberries. We all agreed that it was amazing. Bracken immediately requested that I make strawberry beet pops at home, and that’s how the recipe was born.

{Oh, and those sprinkles? I bring along my favorite bee pollen, from Humble Bee Honey, whenever we go to get ice cream, so we can sprinkle some on top. It adds a slightly crunchy texture, a good nutritional boost, and our family just loves the way it tastes.}

Strawberry Beet Pops

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)
2 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp. red beet powder
1 banana

…………

You’ll need a blender and popsicle molds to make this recipe. To make the pops simply blend up your ingredients, pour the mixture into the molds, and stick the molds in the freezer. It can take up to five hours for them to freeze. You’ll want to leave about one-quarter inch of room at the top of each mold because the pops will expand a little as they freeze. To remove the pops from the stainless steel molds we have, we hold them under running water until they come out easily.

We invested in stainless steel popsicle molds years ago and we love them. They have definitely been worth the money. We recently ordered another set so that I can make more popsicles at one time (12 rather than 6), which is a better use of my efforts in the kitchen.

I should mention that when I make this recipe I always have a little extra in our blender after I’ve filled all the molds, but luckily there’s always someone nearby who wants to drink it up like a smoothie!

It’s always great to add more vegetables to your diet, so why not add a little to your pops, right? You’ll notice there is not very much beet powder, despite the name of this recipe. You are welcome to add more, depending on your preference and the preference of those eating them. When I add too much beet powder my family tends to not enjoy them as much, so I just add a little to ours. We eats beets around here like crazy, so I’m not worried that we’re not getting enough beets in our diet, so I just add the amount of beet powder that everyone enjoys.

The banana is used to sweeten these up. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries for this. (I’ve noticed that fresh berries can sometimes make the pops look a little “frothier” on the bottom and when the frozen berries are used the pops look more solid at the end where you hold onto them. That doesn’t matter, they taste the same, but I simply mention it because if I’m going to photograph pops I typically use frozen berries for the blend.)

I want to mention the coconut milk that I’ve been using to make these pops. At some point I want to try making my own coconut milk, but in the meantime we’ve been buying our coconut milk from Thrive Market. Their coconut milk has two ingredients: organic coconut extract and water. I like that it doesn’t have all the additives, the can is BPA-free, and I also appreciate how affordable it is (only $1.99 per can) because we can go through a lot of coconut milk around here.

I’ve been meaning to write about Thrive Market here for some time. Jeff and I decided to join Thrive Market over a year ago and we’ve been so glad that we did. Their mission is to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. When you pay a yearly fee and join the Thrive community, you can purchase healthy food at wholesale prices (25 to 50% off retail.) When you join, it also sponsors a free membership for a low-income family.

It can get so expensive when you want to feed your family healthy, organic food. We find so many great deals there and save so much on our grocery bills by shopping at Thrive Market! I should also mention that there is free shipping on all orders over $49, so we simply wait to place our order until it’s over $49.

If you order through my link, you can get 15% off your first order from Thrive Market. For every person who becomes a paid member through my link, our family receives $25 to spend at Thrive, which we so appreciate. I want to say that I didn’t start this blog to make money, I began this space simply because it brought me joy to write and share with you here. And now, eight years later, I’m still not blogging for the money. I make a small amount of income from this blog to help support my family, and when you purchase through my link it helps support my efforts here, and I thank you for it. Please know that I only promote products and companies that I believe in and Thrive Market is a company that I love.

I know I’ve already gone on and on about the many reasons why I love these pops, but I also want to mention just how quick and easy they are to make. The days get full and busy and I know many of us don’t get as much time in the kitchen as we would like. That’s yet another thing that makes these pops so wonderful- they are something you can make in your kitchen in minutes, and after they freeze, you have a healthy and delicious treat all ready for you. Enjoy!

trying new recipes {& fennel}

May 19, 2017 by tarynkae 4 Comments

Over the winter and even this spring I felt a bit uninspired in the kitchen and stuck in a rut, we were all tired of the same fare, and were wanting something new and different and appetizing. I wanted to freshen up our meals and get some new kitchen inspiration so I pulled a few cookbooks off the shelf and checked one out at the library. Then I set aside a Sunday to spend some extra time in the kitchen and make some new recipes. (In the beginning of April, and have been meaning to share ever since.)

The cookbook I picked up at the library was Cooking with Coconut Oil. It’s a favorite cookbook of mine and I’ve checked it out countless times. When I was at the bookstore recently, I ordered a copy for myself at last. Sometimes cookbooks just sit on the shelf unused, but I’ve gone searching for that one at the library enough times that I know it will get lots of use, so I’m glad I finally decided to buy it. It’s been on back-order and I’ve been doing my best to be patient for it to arrive.

The last recipe I made from that cookbook was a really good one! Apple and Fennel Slaw. Wow. I was blown away by how much I loved it, actually. Jeff absolutely loved it too. Bracken was a bit unsure of it in the beginning, but I think it won him over in the end. I remember talking to my grandma on the phone that day while I was making it and told her I would send her the recipe if it turned out good. Well, the verdict is in: it was good indeed, and definitely worth sharing.

I had been very curious about fennel. I might have tried it once before, but I really wasn’t sure what to do with it. When I saw fennel at the grocery store, it seemed to be glowing on that cold day and calling out to me, so I decided to bring it home and try out this recipe. The recipe called for the fennel bulb. (Do any of you like fennel? What do you do with the rest leftover after you use the bulb?) I’m glad I brought that fennel home and now know a delicious way to prepare it.

The apple and fennel were such a great pairing, but what really made that recipe incredible was the dressing, which included mayo. Jeff and I have made homemade mayonnaise before, but never liked the results. It was challenging for us to find mayo from the grocery store made with healthy fats and good ingredients until Mark (from Mark’s Daily Apple) created a mayo that not only tasted amazing, but was created with awesome ingredients. Now our favorite mayo is Primal Kitchen Mayo and it’s so delicious that it’s worth mentioning here. It’s expensive, but I can buy one jar at the nearby grocery store and it will last us awhile. (The site says to consume within 60 days of opening.) I’m grateful to have such good mayo on hand anytime we want some for a meal.

And speaking of Mark’s Daily Apple, another recipe I made that day were the Nutty Blueberry Protein Balls from Mark’s cookbook – The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. Yum! The macadamia nut and date combination made these taste like little balls of cookie dough, and the blueberries added a refreshing mix to balance it out a bit. (I only had frozen blueberries, fresh would have been better.) They were definitely sweet, almost too sweet for me, and I might try making some with less dates next time (if they can still hold together with less.) I don’t buy macadamia nuts often, but we love them and it made these treats feel extra decadent. I made some with shredded coconut on the outside and some without. Mine didn’t look quite as beautiful as the ones pictured in the cookbook, but they tasted good!

Then for Jeff’s birthday I wanted to make something different and special for breakfast. I made stuffed sweet potatoes inspired by a recipe from The Wellness Mama Cookbook. (Katie’s blog has been a great resource over the years and I’ve just started looking through her cookbook.) I baked sweet potatoes (the night before and then re-heated them the next morning) and then sliced them down the center and filled them with ground pork, onions, and spinach. Delicious!

I hadn’t made muffins in awhile and they make such great snacks. Last week I made my muffin recipe with banana, zucchini, carob, and chia seeds. This week I made the sweet potato muffins I made before, from Mediterranean Paleo Cooking. I bake two batches of muffins every time I make muffins and then freeze some extras because they freeze well and are so good to have on hand for especially busy weeks when I don’t have time for any baking. There are days when it’s challenging to find much time in the kitchen, but then we’re looking in the fridge for snacks and are in need of more choices. I do my best to make the most of the kitchen time I have and make extra when I can, for those busy days.

I love our staples, the favorite recipes we turn to again and again, but when it’s been a long winter of the same meals over and over- it’s wonderful to get some fresh meals and ideas in the kitchen, and to discover some new favorites!

What are your favorite things to make in your kitchen these days? I’m still searching for new recipes to make! Please share in the comments, so we can all enjoy some fresh inspiration in our kitchens.

cast iron pan frittata

May 13, 2017 by tarynkae 5 Comments

I love this frittata recipe because it’s delicious, easy to make, there are endless variations, and it’s a crowd pleaser. It’s also a great thing to make when you are overflowing with eggs, which has been the case with us lately. When I open up the fridge these days and see it full of eggs I say: “Frittata it is!” I’ve been meaning to share this recipe here for years and finally took pictures of two frittatas fresh out of the oven (quick, before everyone in my house started devouring them) so I could do just that.

I like to bring frittatas to picnics. I cut the frittata into slices that look like pizza slices (or pie slices) and then they become a dish that you can eat with your hands. I bring some salt and pepper along to sprinkle on the top, and you have a delicious lunch on the go! (I remember packing frittatas and bringing them with me when I was pregnant with Bracken.) They’d make a good dish to share for a potluck too. Family and friends have all loved these frittatas and I’m always happy to tell people how easy they are to make. I appreciate fresh inspirations in the kitchen, and thought you might too, so I wanted to share this recipe with you to keep in mind for those moments when you’re wondering what to make for the next meal. (I constantly remind myself to start making the plans before I’m hungry and tired.)

I have a friend named Neila who is an excellent frittata maker and she got me started. She shared a basic recipe with me which I’ve adapted a bit over the years, but I owe this recipe to her. I have a favorite memory of eating a frittata she shared. Our friend had just had a baby and Neila and I went to her house to bring her some food and help around the house. We were greeted by horses and chickens when we pulled up, and our friend was inside nursing her beautiful baby and resting in a comfortable chair. Her labor had not gone how she had planned it and she was still recovering, and needing lots of rest. Despite her exhaustion, though, she was absolutely glowing with the love of her new baby, they were pure bright love over in that corner where they were sitting.

Neila grabbed the broom and I tackled the dishes, and we loaded up the fire and got the house warmed up. Then Neila dished up some frittata and brought it to the hungry mama. (I brought another dish, which I don’t remember now. It paled in comparison.) We all ate some together and though I always loved Neila’s amazing frittatas, I think that was the time I enjoyed eating it the very most because my friend was enjoying it so very much, having that ravenous hunger that comes with nursing (which I remember clearly.)

Our friend was so grateful to have some help, since she needed to stay off her feet, and it was very challenging for her to not be able to go around the house taking care of everything like she normally did. It was a joy to be able to help her, and I remember that day fondly. When we went home from our friend’s house that day Neila had left behind the leftovers from the frittata we ate, as well as another frittata she had baked for the family to enjoy. (I think frittatas are such a good meal to bring to a family with a new baby, they’re nourishing and filling and they taste delicious hot or cold, so you can simply grab a slice out of the fridge as you’re passing by.)

I don’t really know why I shared that story here, but that time period was when I started making frittatas and sometimes when I make them it reminds me of that day.

The basic recipe that Neila shared with me went like this: in a cast iron pan, fry veggies (onions first, then whichever veggies are in season) until they turn bright. In a bowl, hand whip 8 eggs (for a 10″ pan) with a little kefir/milk. Put layer of cheese (goat cheese, cheddar cheese, etc.) over veggies if adding cheese. Pour egg mixture over the top. (They can rise, so leave a little headspace.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes minimum, 45 minutes maximum.

At that time, when she shared her recipe with me, Neila and I both had goats and she taught me how to make quick cheese, which she called farmer’s cheese. She included the goat cheese in her frittata and it was truly delicious. I added goat cheese to my frittatas as well when Jeff and I were milking goats back then.

I’ve been really liking to make my frittatas with onions, broccoli, and garlic lately. These days I make a dairy-free version, skipping the cheese and using coconut milk in place of the milk in the recipe. (Also, Jeff sometimes gets heartburn when I use the whole eggs in baking, so I often make frittatas with just the egg yolks. I know it can seem wasteful to not use the whole egg, but if it’s a matter of him being able to eat and enjoy it, than it’s worth it. Some people who aren’t able to tolerate whole eggs can handle the egg yolks just fine. That’s where all the nutrients are anyway!)

To make my frittatas, I start by sauteing an onion, usually in some coconut oil. Then I saute the broccoli until it turns bright green. I remove the pan from the heat and spread whole garlic cloves throughout the pan. (The whole cloves of garlic are so good! Sometimes Bracken tries to pick all the garlic out and eat them all.) Then I pour my egg and coconut milk mixture over the top. (In the frittatas pictured I forgot to place my garlic cloves throughout until after I had poured the mixture, so they’re sitting more on the top.)

We have a large cast iron pan and a smaller one. The large one is around 12 inches across and if I’m only using the egg yolks, I usually use about 21 egg yolks and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. For the smaller pan, which is about 8 inches across, I might use around 15 egg yolks and 1/4 cup coconut milk. (It’s not exact, just an idea.) l I know, that’s a lot of yolks! It makes for a very nutrient-dense meal and when you add vegetables too (we can all use more vegetables in our diet, right?), you can really feed your loved ones something very nourishing.

Bracken really likes it when I make a small size frittata for him. (In the picture you can see I forgot to take it out of the oven earlier than the larger one, so it got a little more brown on top. I usually bake the large size around 35-40 minutes.) If you have a smaller pan and a child in the house, they might enjoy having a frittata made for them in a smaller pan. Even if they don’t eat the whole thing themselves, just knowing that there is a frittata made specially for them will bring them joy. Whatever we can do to encourage our children to eat nutritious food and enjoy the experience, right?

I forgot to mention another wonderful thing about this recipe: since you fry everything in the cast iron pan and bake it in there too, there are hardly any dishes to clean up afterwards! You can eat and enjoy, without a big mess. (That makes Jeff and I very happy since there are more than plenty of dishes to wash around here on a daily basis.)

And there you have it… a frittata! A simple breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. It can be enjoyed anytime really. It’s good warm from the oven as well as cold from the fridge. You can add ground sausage or bacon, or leave out the meat for vegetarian friends. Cheese or no cheese. You can add all sorts of vegetables- peppers, cauliflower, and greens like chard or spinach. Mushrooms are a good addition! See what I mean? Endless possibilities!

Do you make frittatas at your house? If you haven’t, I hope this will encourage you, and if you already do- what are your favorite ingredients to add? Have fun with your frittata baking! Please leave your favorite frittata combinations in the comments for all of us to try and enjoy!

muffins for the road

February 21, 2017 by tarynkae 2 Comments

My sister made gingery sweet potato muffins, from the cookbook Mediterranean Paleo Cooking, while we were in Florida. They were delicious. Bracken and I loved them, and he asked if we could please make muffins at home just like Aunt Sam’s. Instead of the optional frosting (we didn’t have any coconut butter on hand), she made a spread for them with ghee, honey, and cinnamon. Yum! I thought it made the muffins amazing with that addition.

My sister got me that cookbook for Christmas and there are so many mouthwatering pictures in it, flipping through the pages makes me hungry. I can’t wait to look through it more and try more of the recipes. Even though I’ve been completely occupied with getting ready for our show and didn’t really have time to do any baking, I baked two batches of the gingery sweet potato muffins anyway. (Why make only 12 muffins when you might as well make more use of your time and make 24?) I figured we would need snacks for the long car ride, so it was well worth my time, right?

The combination of sweet potato and ginger is divine in my opinion, and the smell of those muffins baking in the oven was so unbelievably good. I mixed up some ghee and honey to spread on top, but Bracken insisted I include cinnamon. How could I forget? I’m not sure my (plain ol’ ma’s) muffins lived up to his aunt’s muffins because she’s a pretty cool aunt and everything she does is awesome in his opinion, but we’ve been enjoying them. And we’ve got plenty to bring with us on the road, and to have for snacks throughout the show, so that makes me happy!

…And with that, we’re hitting the road today! If this space is quiet, you’ll know where we’ll be. I’m looking forward to sharing our adventures with you when we get back.

creamy carob coco{nut} drink

January 12, 2017 by tarynkae 2 Comments

{This wraps up the snow-related posts. Wow, so many snow posts from the single day of snow we got! I guess that shows what a big deal it is when we get snow at our house. When I talked to my dad on the phone Bracken insisted that we actually got three days of snow because there was a little snow here and there left on the ground for a few days after our official snow day. I said he must be a glass half full kind of guy and grandpa said more like a full glass kind of guy. So, speaking of a full glass (or mug)… we enjoyed a warming cup of goodness on our snow day and I thought I’d share that recipe here with you today.}

I have memories when I was a kid of coming in from playing in the snow to drink a cup of hot cocoa. It felt so comforting to wrap my cold fingers around the warm mug and then to have it warm me up inside as well. On our snow day last week I thought it would be fun to surprise Bracken with a delicious drink to warm us up when we came back inside. I dug through the cupboards to see what I could come up with. Bracken and Jeff were both delighted with the surprise. Here’s a fun little recipe we came up with:

Creamy Carob Coco{nut} Drink

2 cups water
6 tbsp. roasted carob powder
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
honey to taste

Put your water and carob powder together in a pan on medium heat. Whisk from time to time, heating until it reaches a light boil. Add your vanilla, cinnamon, and then your coconut milk. Whisk every few minutes, heating to desired temperature. (Involve your eager helpers in measuring or stirring, there’s a boy here who loves to be the official “stirrer.”) Remove from heat and stir in your honey. (I like to add our honey after taking it off the stovetop because I like to keep those raw enzymes intact as much as possible.)

I made this drink two times. The first time I used two cans of coconut milk to make it extra creamy and the second time I added some water instead of the second can. It was good both ways, but your coconut milk goes so much further when you add the water. I added about 4 tsp. of honey to ours the first time I made it and it seemed nicely sweetened, but the second time that same amount wasn’t sweet enough, so you’ve got a good excuse to taste test to keep checking if you’ve added enough honey.

Oh, you can certainly make this recipe with cocoa powder rather than carob. I enjoy some chocolate from time to time, but I use carob in our kitchen and in my recipes. Carob is great if you are sensitive to caffeine and it’s naturally sweet so it lends itself well to a warm, creamy drink like this. Jeff later had the great idea of adding cordyceps to this drink and I think that would be a wonderful addition. (I wrote about cordyceps in this post.) My favorite coconut milk is from Natural Value because it only contains organic coconut and filtered water, whereas most coconut milks have all sorts of other thickeners and additives. Also, the can lining is BPA free, which is another deciding factor for me.
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I’m looking around to playing around with this recipe more, but in the meantime I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy this Creamy Carob Coco{nut} Drink to warm you up on cold days!

homegrown {lemon water}

January 4, 2017 by tarynkae 1 Comment

On Friday Bracken and I harvested lemons off the small meyer lemon tree that is living on our front porch right now. It lived in the garden all summer and Jeff brought it in when the weather grew colder. I know I’ve shared about our little lemon harvests here before, but the excitement never wears off for me that we are really harvesting our own lemons! And I couldn’t help but to think: “We’re harvesting lemons in December! How cool is that?” (If we had waited just a few more days it would have been lemons in January!)

Every time we harvest them I feel like we need to do something special with our lemons, but we didn’t do anything fancy- we just made some lemon water. That was fancy enough for us (especially after Bracken insisted we put the lemon rounds on the sides of our glasses “like they do in restaurants”) and since Bracken got a touch of that cold I had, the Vitamin C was appreciated. Fresh lemon juice in water is a favorite around here, and we enjoy it even more when we’ve grown the lemons ourselves. They smell so good! The meyer lemons have a different flavor than the lemons we usually get from the store, so the lemon water we make with them is less tart and not quite what we’re used to, but still enjoyed greatly.

Oh, and some advice from a now six-year-old? If you have any owies and you don’t want the lemon juice to get on your hands, then just use a spoon to remove the seeds. Ta-da!

P.S. We didn’t want to waste a thing with our precious lemons, so we soaked the rinds in vinegar to make spray cleaner. The directions say to let them soak for two weeks, but we soaked ours for less because I was all out of spray cleaner and we had used the last of the cleaning vinegar for soaking the lemons in. We strained the vinegar, mixed it with water, and put it in a spray bottle. I use vinegar and water in a spray bottle all the time for cleaning, but having the citrus scent is really nice, especially in the winter time. (My friend Nicole has directions at the end of her blog post here.)

cilantro in smoothies

November 18, 2016 by tarynkae 2 Comments

Oh my goodness, I discovered something wonderful this week! My family loves cilantro and we make it a point to eat it regularly, not only because we like it, but because of it’s amazing health benefits. I first read that cilantro could remove heavy metals from the body in the book Nourishing Traditions. Ever since then, I looked at cilantro in a new way and we’ve made a point to seek it out for many years. In today’s world, our bodies are bombarded with more toxins and heavy metals than ever before, so I feel it’s wise to be adding foods to the diet that help remove those things.

All that being said, I heard about adding cilantro to smoothies. We add it to our meals and we also juice it regularly, but I was unsure about adding it to smoothies, wondering how it would alter the taste. This week I finally decided to give it a try. I made the smoothie with blueberries, peaches, and bananas (along with coconut milk, coconut oil, bee pollen, spirulina, chorella, and lots of other healthy add ons.) The first time Bracken and I picked all the cilantro leaves off the stems and added a whole bundle of cilantro to the smoothie. I tentatively tried it after blending it up and I loved it! Jeff and Bracken agreed. I couldn’t really taste the cilantro, but it gave the smoothie a light and refreshing something to it.

I decided to make a second smoothie this week. I wanted to see if the first time was just a fluke, or if I made a cilantro smoothie a second time that we would still like it. The second time Bracken asked if we could please try not removing the stems, and see what happened. I cut off the bulk of the stems off the ends of each bundle (I added two bundles of cilantro the second time, but they were small bundles, equivalent to one large) and then left the rest of the stems. When we blended it up, you couldn’t tell there were any stems at all, so I was glad he wanted to try that because I’ll be using that faster and easier method in the future. And the second time? We loved the smoothie again, so I’m happy to say this new discovery, of adding cilantro to smoothies, is here to stay.

I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be able to add cilantro to our smoothies, knowing what great benefits it adds. Also, I love cilantro in our smoothies so much that I actually like the way our smoothies taste better with cilantro than without it! I never imagined that would be the case. We were without a working blender for years, so smoothies were a rare treat when we were out and about, and we missed them. (We had a cheap blender and then an old Vitamix from a garage sale and I knew how terrible the cheap blender was and didn’t want to get a new blender until we could afford a good quality one.) At the Mother Earth News Fair this year, Vitamix had a booth and they were offering an incredible deal on their blenders. We were able to send in our old Vitamix and get $100 off our purchase of a new blender, and they had such a good deal going that we simply couldn’t pass it up. (I’m not getting any compensation for writing this, and I’ve heard many people who love both their Vitamix blenders and their Blentec blenders, I’m merely saying we’ve been enjoying our new blender.)

We were all so happy to have a blender again! I’ve been making smoothies usually once a week. I’ve also used our new blender to make batches of pesto. It grinds everything up so well and I can add big chunks of ginger root to our smoothies and it will blend it into the smoothie entirely, without any little chunks remaining. Same with the cilantro stems. It’s nice to have a good tool. We had an inexpensive juicer and then a high-quality one and the difference in ease of use and everything was such a contrast to see. So, yes, we are enjoying having a good working blender and I’ve been working on a smoothie recipe to share with you all. In the meantime, I wanted to share about adding cilantro to smoothies because now that I’ve discovered how good it is, I want to tell everyone about it. I know green smoothies are pretty popular right now, and you might already be doing this, but in case you are like me and were a bit late jumping on the green smoothie bandwagon, I thought I’d invite you to join!

P.S. I’m on a green kick lately. Cilantro. Spirulina. Chorella. And I just bought barley juice powder from Mountain Rose Herbs. This week I made popsicles with bananas, coconut milk, and spirulina. (There are bubbles on the top right after pouring, when I’ve just blended it all up in the blender.) I’ve made popsicles with bananas and coconut milk before, and sometimes with berries added, but adding the spirulina was a really good addition. More refreshing. Once again, I liked the popsicles better with the spirulina than without it. It’s easy to add healthy things to the mix when you enjoy eating them so much. Now I’m thinking that making my favorite smoothie recipe and pouring it in popsicle molds is the next thing to try!

blueberry chia jam with lemon & honey

July 7, 2016 by tarynkae 5 Comments

Last year at the Mother Earth News Fair I bought some blueberry jam from the Springbank Farm booth. It was incredibly delicious (clearly I was quite a fan since I had been thinking about it for an entire year) and this year when we went to the fair for the second time, I asked Michelle if she would be willing to share her recipe here. I’m happy to be sharing her recipe with you here today!

I love that this jam has such simple ingredients and I LOVE the way it tastes! Not only delicious, this jam is so healthy with the blueberries (one of the most nutrient-dense foods), superfood chia seeds, Vitamin C rich lemon and the raw honey. I also really like the consistency, making me think that chia seeds are a perfect pairing with jam. I have another friend who makes jam with chia seeds as well and I got to try her strawberry chia jam, which I also loved. You can substitute other berries in this recipe, but I haven’t experimented with any others yet because I’m so hooked on this jam just the way it is. (We’ve been enjoying it on these muffins.)

The funny thing is that for so many years, whenever readers saw how often I was sharing blueberry picking posts, they would ask me what we did with all those blueberries and what my favorite blueberry recipes were. I had none to share because we always froze all of our blueberries and our favorite night-time treat was a little bowl of frozen blueberries. We enjoyed our nightly bowl of blueberries so much that I didn’t use them any other way, except for the rare occasion I made blueberry muffins (though we finally have a working blender again so we’ll definitely be using them up in smoothies too.) Now I do have a favorite blueberry recipe, this jam!

The recipe Michelle gave me was modified from this recipe. Michelle’s version called for: 3 cups fresh blueberries, 1/4 cup raw local honey, scant 1/4 cup chia seeds, 1/4 tsp organic lemon juice, and zest of one lemon. I modified it just a tad from there and am sharing that below.
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Blueberry Chia Jam with Lemon & Honey

-3 cups blueberries

-1/4 cup chia seeds

-1/2 tsp. lemon juice

-zest of one lemon

-3 tbsp. raw honey

Here’s what I did: I cooked the blueberries on medium heat for 5-10 minutes (it says until the berries start to burst, only some of mine did that.) Then I reduced the heat to medium-low, added the chia seeds, and cooked them for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. (Many of the blueberries were still intact, perhaps I could have turned my heat up a bit, so I just mushed the remaining berries with my stirring spatula.) In between stirring, I got my lemon juice and zest ready so that when I removed the jam from the heat they were ready to add. Lastly, I added the honey. (It made enough jam to fill a little more than one 8 oz. jelly jar and one 4 oz. jelly jar.)

A few notes:

I’ve made this recipe with fresh blueberries and also with frozen blueberries that I thawed. The recipe called for cooking the berries and honey together. I didn’t want to heat my honey because I wanted to keep all those precious enzymes intact, and didn’t want to destroy any of the benefits of raw honey with heat. I added the honey after I had removed the jam from the heat. (When I could touch the jam and not burn my finger, I knew I could add the honey and it would keep the enzymes intact.) That being said, the jam never got that hot, so it might of been fine to add it at the beginning, but I preferred to add my honey at the end. With the jam still being warm, it mixed together just fine.

I found 3 tbsp. to be a perfect amount of honey for our jam because I love it to be lightly sweetened. When the sweetness is light and subtle with the blueberries and a bit of honey, you can taste the refreshing lemon coming through. However, you might prefer your jam to be sweeter, so you can add honey to taste. (One of my dearest friends happens to be a beekeeper and her family’s business, Humble Bee Honey, is my favorite source for raw, unfiltered local honey. You can find them at the Lane County Farmer’s Market.)

I was working on writing this post the other day (and happened to be out of this jam) and while looking at these pictures, I could practically taste it. I had to go make another batch! Enjoy! & Happy Jam Making!

natural headache relief

May 26, 2016 by tarynkae 10 Comments

I have a friend who rarely gets headaches and I wish I could say the same, but monthly headaches are not unusual for me these days. On a rarer occasion my headaches can turn into a migraine and for those of you who have experienced migraines, you know how awful they are. A sweet blog reader wrote me awhile ago saying she had a migraine for the first time, and knowing I got them, wondered what kinds of things I did to help prevent them or manage them. I shared a few things with her and then recently when I had a headache that turned into a migraine, making it hard for me to function or accomplish anything that day, I thought of that list again.

My grandmother, mom, and sister have all had migraines and when we’re together and someone starts getting a headache, we all spring into action and whip out the peppermint essential oil, cold cloths, and ice for the back of the neck. From our experiences, we’ve learned some things that can help. I wanted to share a few things with you today, in case any of you would find any of these tips helpful, (and also as a reminder for myself to do things like drink more water!) Some things I’ve listed can bring relief if you already have a headache, some can help keep a headache from turning into a migraine, and some are things you can do to help prevent headaches in the future. (I’m not a doctor and I’m not giving any medical advice here, simply sharing some things I’ve found helpful. In addition to a good diet and a healthy lifestyle with plenty of sleep and regular exercise, of course.)
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-This first one won’t come as a surprise. Drink lots of water! Dehydration is at the top of the list for triggering headaches. My sister is really good about drinking plenty of water and starting that habit was huge in helping her to reduce the frequency of her headaches. I get so busy some days that I forget to drink enough. Our family has been making an effort to drink more each day and I’ve started making lemon water more regularly because Bracken will drink a lot more if I give him water with some fresh-squeezed lemon juice in it than if I just give him water. Jeff makes big batches of herbal teas and then puts them in the fridge, so he always has a cold refreshing drink on hand, and that gets him to drink more. Stop whatever it is you’re doing in the midst of your busy day, and drink some water. Your body will thank you!

-The second thing is to keep your blood sugar level even. Going too long without eating can bring a headache on. Having healthy snacks in your car is a great idea for when you are away from home and realize you’re hungry, so you can immediately get some nourishment. I like to have coconut oil throughout the day, the healthy fats keep my blood sugar level. (My sister found coconut oil really helpful for reducing migraines.) The other thing is to pay attention to what things trigger headaches for you (including foods.) For some reason, if I eat too much raw garlic or raw onions, it can give me a headache. I love them both and have found that I can put two raw garlic cloves on my meal or a small amount of raw onions, and I’m fine, but if I go over my limit my body will not be happy. (When they’re cooked I don’t have any problems.) My mom and sister have to completely avoid MSG and if they go to a restaurant and there is any MSG on their food, it can trigger a migraine for them. (This post lists foods that are common headache triggers and has lots of information on headaches as well.)

-One thing I love to do when I get a headache, is to reach for the peppermint essential oil. I hold the bottle underneath my nose and inhale deeply and slowly. I’m sure breathing deeply is helpful as well, and the smell of peppermint immediately makes me feel better. Once we were on a car ride a few hours from home when my headache started turning into a terrible migraine. I knew it was going to be awhile longer before we were home and there just so happened to be some peppermint essential oil in the car. When I held the bottle continually under my nose, it kept the nausea under control (which often comes hand in hand with my migraines) and I held onto it like a lifeline the whole way home. It truly felt like it had saved me that day! (Now I carry some with me in my purse wherever I go.) Another thing that helps with the nausea, is tea with ginger and peppermint. I already love ginger and peppermint tea, but it’s also wonderful for headaches.

-On many occasions when I’ve gotten a headache, I’ve headed to the bathtub for an epsom salt bath. The magnesium in the epsom salts seems to give me headache relief and when I take epsom salt baths regularly, it also seems to help reduce the frequency of my headaches. There are so many studies that link headaches and migraines to magnesium deficiency. I eat lots of greens and other magnesium rich foods, so you’d think I’d be fine in the magnesium department, but our soils are more depleted of magnesium these days, so it can be challenging to get enough sometimes. Another way I love to get magnesium is by rubbing magnesium oil on my feet before bed. (I haven’t been very good about remembering to do this regularly, so I’m writing about it here to help remind myself! This is the brand I would like to try. This post mentions dosages with magnesium oil, as well as other things that are helpful for preventing migraines, like raspberry leaf tea and turmeric.)

-Don’t underestimate the power of ice on the back of your neck! The ice helps relieve the tension in your neck and shoulders and it really works wonders for relieving a headache. Grab out a bag of frozen veggies or anything handy and place it there for even a few moments and you will feel better. I’ve also found that eating cold peppermint ice cream (my favorite is honey mint with coconut milk from Vanilla Jill’s) or frozen blueberries has brought some relief to a pounding head. My mom likes to place a cold washcloth over the eyes and that feels good too. Jeff has massaged the back of my neck and shoulders when I’ve had a terrible migraine and relieved the pain so much that my nausea went away and I was able to fall asleep and sleep it off (waking up headache-free in the morning.) If you can ask someone to rub your neck or shoulders, that can help a lot. With headaches and migraines, you are often extra sensitive to sound, light, and smells. (My mom and grandma avoid strongly scented aisles in the grocery store because it can trigger a migraine for them.) Going somewhere quiet and dark can help.

-You may have been wondering what that funny thing in the picture is. That, my friends, is a neti pot. And if you ever get headaches from sinus pressure, it can be your very best friend. Clearing out your sinuses can work wonders for your headache and the neti pot does just that. My sister was the one who introduced me to the neti pot. First she told me about it, then I traveled out to see her and the air on the airplane bothered my sinuses so much (it tends to do that for me) and I got so much pressure in my head, I started getting a terrible sinus headache. She brought me to the bathroom sink and gave me a demonstration on how to use the neti pot. (I’m glad she taught me how to use it properly because I had no clue.) It saved me that night and I came home and got Jeff hooked on it too. (Since then we’ve also converted some friends.) We have one of these ceramic nasal cleansing pots. There have been times that I felt a headache coming on and if I did the neti pot soon enough, I could avoid getting one. Other times the neti pot has kept a headache from turning into a migraine, when I could tell it was going in that direction. If you are near enough to visit the ocean, the ocean air can really help clear out your sinuses too. When allergies get to my mom, she loves to go to the ocean for some relief. I find that even getting out of the house and breathing some fresh air outside helps my headaches and sometimes movement and exercise (if I’m up for it at that point.)

-Lastly, I think most of us have noticed that we tend to get headaches when we are stressed. I recently learned that stress actually depletes magnesium in our body, which is one reason stress brings headaches! I can easily get stressed and overwhelmed in my life and need to take steps to unwind and relax. Making a conscious effort to breathe deeply is a good place to start when you start to feel stress tensing up all your muscles. It’s amazing how simply breathing deeply can take your body out of emergency mode, and back into a relaxed state of being. Gardening is a great stress reliever for me. Also, I absolutely love knitting and I’ve found that knitting is an essential part of my life for relieving stress. If I take a short “breather”, and knit for even a few minutes, I immediately feel a sigh of relief in my body, breathe more deeply, and then feel ready to tackle my tasks for the day with a much clearer perspective and less overwhelm. Knitting is a form of meditation for me. I have loved ones who like to meditate when they need to relax, others like to go for a walk or a hike, head to yoga class, go to the beach and look for shells, take a bath, make music, or do some journaling. Whatever it is that relaxes you, make it a regular part of your life.

I hope you’ll find some of these things helpful! These are some of the things that I’ve found to be useful, but I’m always seeking to learn more. What do you do to help relieve your headaches or to prevent them? If you have anything you’ve found that helps you, please share in the comments below, we can all help each other!