Monday-Eggplant Parmesan and salad

Tuesday- Skillet Steak over salad with baked sweet potato

Wednesday- Potato Cheese Soup with spinach salad

Thursday- Christmas Eve- In my husband’s Italian tradition, we eat fish on Christmas Eve- Grilled Salmon, rice pilaf, garden salad, lobster bisque, grilled asparagus

Friday- Christmas is at our house this year, so in an attempt to satisfy all family, I am cooking a strange mix of foods: Ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, tossed salad, Sicilian Spaghetti and meatballs, Garlic Bread. Also making Wassail, another family tradition (see recipe below). I will also make a sausage, egg, cheese and mushroom breakfast casserole for brunch.

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Ham Bone Soup with carrots, celery, beans, broccoli, spinach, and herbs.

How to Make Herbal Wassail

Wassail is a traditional German drink that my family has made each Christmas for as long as I can remember. This year, I found a way to incorporate herbs into the recipe for some added health benefits.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon apple cider
  
• 1 quart freshly brewed tea made with Red Raspberry leaf (3 parts), Alfalfa (2 parts), Nettle (1 part), and Dandelion (1 part)
  
• 2 cups pineapple juice
• 2 cups cranberry juice
  
• 8 cinnamon sticks
  
• 3 organic oranges, cloved
  

To Make:

1. Peel oranges, section, and put 1 clove in the middle of each section.
2. Mix juices and tea in large pot. (Or reduce quantities and put in crock pot)
3. Put cinnamon sticks and oranges in the mixture.
4. Simmer in large pot for one hour and serve. Can also be kept in crock pot all day.

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Why switch to natural laundry soap you ask? Conventional laundry detergent is loaded with chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, phenols and more. Many brands contain things like petroleum distillates, which are linked to cancer and lung disease. Fragrances in these detergents are made of a mix of harmful chemicals.

Luckily, making your own laundry soap is an easy and fast process! You only need three basic ingredients:

• Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer Brand available at most stores)
• Borax (20 Mule Team Borax available at most grocery stores)
• Bar Soap (Dr. Bronner’s, Fels-Naptha, Ivory, or other natural, unscented bar soap)

All of these things should be available at your local grocery store on the laundry aisle. You can also add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to help freshen clothes.

Wonder what’s in these ingredients? Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water. It is an ingredient in most of the natural soaps available now (Seventh Generation, etc) but it is much more inexpensive to make yourself.

Washing Soda, sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or found as natural deposits.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are free trade and made with vegetable castille soap and pure organic oils.

To Make the laundry detergent:

1. Grate the bar soap or mix in food processor until finely ground. Use the soap of your choice. I personally use Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap because of its exceptional quality, and because it is available in several different natural scents like lavender, tea tree, peppermint, almond and others.
2. In a large bowl, mix 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts Borax and 1 part grated soap. (Add a few teaspoons of baking soda if desired).
3. Store in closed container. I keep mine in quart or half gallon mason jars. If you are using a big enough container, you can skip step 2 and just put all ingredients in storage container or jar and shake.
4. Use 1/8 to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

This recipe is also a great way to save money on laundry. By my calculations, I am saving over half on my laundry bill by switching:

On this recipe, I spent:

• One 55 ounce box Washing Soda- $3.49
• One 76 ounce box of Borax – $4.99
• One Bar Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap- $2.99

With the amount this mixture I use (1/4 cup) per load of laundry, this recipe works out to $0.09 cents per load of laundry. This saves me almost $0.15 per load over using Arm and Hammer or Tide.

Happy Washing and have a healthy week!!

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How to Make Almond Milk:

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw organic almonds
• 4 cups pure filtered water
• vanilla bean (optional)
• dates, honey or stevia (optional)

Instructions

1. Soak almonds for at least 12 hours in pure water with 1/2 tsp sea salt. This is an important step as it breaks down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and cultures beneficial enzymes in the almonds. (side note: soaking nuts should be done before eating them as well. Soak nuts in salt water for 12 hours, rinse them, and dry in oven on lowest heat.)
2. Rinse almonds well. Mix almonds with pure water in blender or Vitamix.
3. Blend several minutes until smooth and creamy. (Warning: mixture will expand some, so make sure your blender is not full before starting it)
4. Strain mixture into a large bowl through a sprout bag, cheese cloth or kitchen towel.
5. Put mixture back into blender with vanilla, soaked dates, or other sweetener.
6. Pour into glass jar or pitcher and store in fridge for up to one week.

Note: Save the pulp of the almonds, put on cookie sheet and dehydrate in oven on lowest heat until completely dry. Run through blender or food processor to make almond flour, which can be used in recipes in place of flour.

Have a healthy weekend!

Click here for more recipes.

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Tile Grout Cleaner- Mix 1 part water and 3 parts baking soda mixed into a paste. Apply to grout and let sit, scrub with toothbrush, remove with sponge.

Cookware- Use sea salt or course salt mixed with a little lemon juice and scrub. Also, try baking soda and water made into a paste.

Fabric Softener- Mix 1 part baking soda, 1 part vinegar, and 2 parts water together. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup during the final rinse cycle.

Toilet Cleaner-Use undiluted white vinegar, pour around the top of the toilet bowl, scrub until clean.

Click here for more natural living ideas.

Have a healthy week!

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Ingredients for Crust:

• 2 cups plus extra flour
• 1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp (just a pinch) of garlic powder
• 1 package instant dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 1 tsp white sugar

Other Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium sized ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Pound of Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1-2 stalks fresh basil, finely chopped

Helpful Tools:

• Pizza Stone
• Rolling Pin

To Make:

Mix 3/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp sugar, and package of instant dry yeast in a small bowl and leave to proof.

Mix flour, olive oil, salt and herbs/spices in  a bowl until well mixed. Add yeast mixture once it has proofed. Mix well and add flour until elastic consistency.

Put on cutting board and leave in warm place covered with towel for 1 hour.

Thinly slice tomatoes, put in bowl and season with Italian Seasoning, sea salt, Parmesan Cheese and garlic powder. Set aside.

Thinly slice Mozzarella Cheese. Set aside.

When dough has risen for 1 hour, roll into pizza crust and put on pizza stone (can use regular pizza pan, but it doesn’t work as well).

Bake at 425 for about 5 minutes until slightly browned. Turn dough over, cover with thinly sliced tomatoes (make sure to drain juice off), mozzarella cheese, and drizzle with olive oil.

Return to oven and bake for an additional 8-12 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is done.

Remove. Top with chopped basil.

Enjoy and have a healthy week!

Here are some healthier recipes…

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For this recipe, you will need:

• Rubbing Alcohol
• Vegetable Glycerin (optional)
• Aloe Vera Gel
• Grapefruit Seed Extract
• Cinnamon Essential Oil
• Tea Tree Essential Oil
• Distilled Water (or Colloidal Silver/Ionic silver if available)
• Other Essential Oils if you like the smell

Ingredients

To make, mix 1/4 cup aloe vera gel, 1/2 teaspoon glycerine, and 1 teaspoon of rubbing alcohol in a small bowl. Add 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract (A Natural antibiotic and antiseptic), 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil and 10 drops of tea tree oil along with any other oils you want to add for scent (lemongrass, orange, lavendar and peppermint are good choices).

Mix the ingredients together

Mix will and add distilled water (or Colloidal/Ionic silver) to thin to desired consistency and add any other oils to desired smell.

Use a small funnel or medicine dropper to transfer hand sanitizer into spray or pump type bottles.

Use as you would any other type of hand sanitizer.

Here are some of my other natural remedies.

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3. At Home Flu Prevention and Treatment

I have found in my work as a nutritional consultant, a definite link between diet and susceptibility to the flu. In fact, for the last year, those who have followed my strict nutritional program, are yet to get sick at all, and I have had people come to me in the middle of a bout with the flu and recover very quickly just by changing diet and adding a few supplements. Of course, any advice is strictly for general information and does not take into account any personal details or medications, so check with your doctor before taking any of these recommendations if in doubt. I just wanted to pass on my experience in case it can be of help.

In most cases, the flu can be treated with nutritional changes and simple things most people have around the house:

• Immediately remove all sugars and carbs from diet. This is perhaps the most important step because these can deplete the immune system and feed illness. Remove any processed foods and anything with grains or sugars until all symptoms disappear.
• Hydrate! Start drinking 8 oz water per hour, preferably by sipping slowly on water throughout the entire day. Herbal teas can also be substituted for this water every couple hours as the heat will stimulate the immune response.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: (make sure its organic and says “with the mother”) As horrible as this sounds, it has an alkalizing effect on the body and will also help fight yeasts and bacteria in the body. For acute illness, I take 1 tsp in 8 oz water every 1-2 hours and gargle with it.
• Vitamin C as ascorbic acid- Not everyone has this around the house, though I recommend it if you don’t. The cheapest form is a powdered form which can be added to any liquid to take. Take 500 mg every couple of hours until symptoms dissipate or until bowel tolerance is reached. (Bowel tolerance is the point at which you get loose stools or diarrhea) If you reach bowel tolerance, cut the dose in half and keep taking it.
• Hot bath with white vinegar in it- This will pull toxins out of the body. This is not recommended with a high grade fever, but for a low grade fever, it will raise the body temperature slightly, pull toxins out of the body and help the body fight the illness. Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar into a bath as hot as is bearable.
• Hot ginger tea. If you have fresh ginger root available, boil a few slices in water for about 5 minutes. Strain into a tea cup and add lemon and honey to help with digestive problems, respiratory problems and chills.

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

Another thing I do to help fight the flu or any illness is my homemade chicken soup, which my kids call “sick buster soup.” It is also good for winter dinners:

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken or a few chicken legs or a few chicken breasts
• 3-4 ribs of celery
• 3-4 large carrots
• 2 medium onions
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 1 package frozen spinach or 1 bag fresh
• 1 head broccoli or 1 bag frozen
• 1 package sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
• any other vegetables you have around and want to add
• 5-6 eggs, beaten in a bowl
• turmeric
• curry
• oregano
• basil
• cayenne pepper
• parsley
• sea salt
• pepper
• garlic powder (optional)
• Other herbs to taste (rosemary, thyme,etc.)

Boil chicken in large pot until cooked. (note: if using chicken breast instead of whole chicken, chicken broth can be used in place of water). Remove from water and chop into small pieces. Add chopped celery, carrots, onions, garlic cloves to boiling water. Add turmeric, curry, oregano, basil, cayenne, parsley, sea salt, pepper and garlic or herbs to the boiling water. I add 1-2 TBSP of each except cayenne, which I add about 1/2 tsp or to taste. Boil until vegetables are cooked. add spinach, mushrooms and broccoli. While stirring, add beaten eggs slowly so that they distribute (it will look similar to egg drop soup). Boil 2 minutes until eggs cooked, remove from heat and serve.

Here are some other natural remedies.

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