Best Pumpkin Bread :)

I found this recipe about 3 years ago and I've never tried another :) It's sooooo delish and I make it a little different, but follow this recipe as a guide:
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Here are the ingredients and my changes in CAPS:
Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil - I USE COCONUT OIL
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar - I USE 1.5 cup WHITE SUGAR & 1 CUP BROWN
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour- I USE WHOLE WHEAT
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon- I USE 3 TSP
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
I ADD 2 TBSP of FLAX

It makes 3 loaves... Yesterday I added craisins to 1 loaf, but I'm not crazy about it. My girls like it though. Also, since there are 3 loaves I normally freeze one for a week or 2 :)

You have to make this! It's delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENJOY!

Update on ear infection / ruptured eardrum

All weekend I was worried sick that I had done the wrong thing canceling our appt on Friday :( So this morning I went ahead and brought her in to get it checked out. Our pedi entered and laughed that this was a "sick" visit based on all the squealing and giggling my girls were doing.

She checked out her ear and did say there was some dried blood in it and she could not get a good look at her ear drum, but that most likely it was a ruptured eardrum. Although she was surprised she wasn't in more pain that she was and that I didn't see A LOT of fluid leaking out. Either way, she said since she is acting fine, no fever, eating etc than she will be OK. She also said 99% of the time the rupture heals on it's own. :) Yay!

We will be going back in a week or so for a few vaccinations so she wants to see her ear then and make sure it's ok. If the dried blood is still blocked her eardrum then she wants to refer us to an ENT to get her ear cleaned out.

Glad to have some peace of mind here!!!!!

1st ear infection

I am so happy to say my kids have never needed a "sick" visit to the doctor. Of course they've had illnesses, but I am certainly not one to rush into the pediatricians office for every fever, cold, rash etc. That's just not me and I have such a high belief that our bodies are meant to fight infection without medicine.

My 3 year old daughter started a preschool program and in the past few weeks she has certainly picked up coughs, runny noses, and a fever. Poor baby :( I've been using my favorite homeopathic remedies for all of her symptoms. Two days ago, she all of the sudden started crying and was extremely upset wanted to be held. She told me her ear hurt and she certainly had a fever. I have an otoscope which I love... I looked into her ear and it definitely did not look good :( That whole day she was lethargic, no appetite, complained her ear hurt, and had a fever around 101 or 102. I gave her belladonna, aconitum, pulsatilla, and chamomile. I also did give her some motrin before bedtime to help with the pain. On Thursday she was back to her normal self... no fever, no lethargy, great appetite. Today is Friday and she's completely normal and says her ear feels better. HOWEVER, she has brownish wax coming from her ear... not pouring out, but I can visibly see it and clean it with a Qtip. I do suspect a ruptured eardrum from everything I have researched, so I called our pediatrician. She did not seem overly alarmed, but did want me to bring her in today to take a look. Against her recommendation, I cancelled the appt this morning. She is acting fine and says it doesn't hurt anymore. From the reading I've done, in almost ALL cases ruptured eardrums will heal themselves without antibiotics and if she isn't showing signs of infection (fever, lethargy, no appetite) then most likely her body is doing just what it's supposed to do! The only thing I cannot seem to find a definite answer on is whether or not I can continue using the ear oil so I'm holding off on that right now. Today I've given her 2 doses of belladonna, pulsatilla, aconitum, chamomile, and allium cepa. I'm making sure she eats a healthy diet (low sugar & low dairy) and drinks plenty of water... she does not like the zinc tablets and I really wish she did... it's a mix of zinc, echinachea & olive leaf. Maybe I could crush it into her food?

Anyway, I'm curious to see how her body does in the next 2 days... if she still has brown wax on Monday we will be headed into the pediatrician. Please know that I am doing what I think is best for my child... if she were acting sick with a continued fever I would have certainly brought her into the doctor today.

Shrimp pasta with a little bit of everything :)

I've really been trying hard to stay away from the grocery store as much as I can :) We spend so much... so much $$ on food! However, we do eat very healthy so it's hard not to eat fresh and go often.

Today I was all set to throw a whole chicken in the crockpot, but when I took it out of the packaging it smelled bad! So now I have to take it back and get another. So I decided to go with shrimp for dinner... my go to for any meal I'm not prepared for. I always have a bag of wild shrimp in the freezer ready for easy dinner.

Shrimp pasta (serves 3)
Ingredients:
-18 shrimp (no shells)
-2 cups of broccoli cut up
-4 garlic cloves minced
-1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes in oil
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
-crushed red pepper
- 1/3 package thin whole wheat spaghetti

-Cook spaghetti as directed on package
-Sauté broccoli & garlic over med high heat in 1 tbsp olive oil until it starts to get tender
-Add Shrimp, sundried tomatoes, and capers and sauté for about 3 minutes stirring a lot
-Add cherry tomatoes and spinach and stir
-Add lemon, white wine, butter and approx 2 tbsp olive oil and stir together. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper
-Simmer and stir on med or med low heat for approx 5 minutes.
-Pour shrimp sauce over pasta and top with parmesan cheese and extra red pepper for more spice.

I thought this was really yummy and the presentation was beautiful.

Shrimp Italian Spinach Salad

We eat TONS of salad here at our house.... even my almost 3 year old loves our salads. I usually have a salad for lunch and we probably have a salad at least 2x a week for dinner as our meal and always have a side salad with dinner. We seriously just LOVE salad! My husband raves about my dressings and my different concoctions :) So I thought I'd start sharing my salad recipes. It's really just about experimenting and definitely making your own salad dressing makes it so wonderful!

Shrimp Italian Spinach Salad

-spinach
-cherry tomatoes
-fresh mozzarella balls
-hearts of palm
-cucumber
-avocado
-fresh basil
-sauteed large shrimp (sprinkle with olive oil, salt pepper, garlic powder (I like a lot), and crushed red pepper-- sautee in olive oil for 2 mins on each side)

Dressing-- I used my leftover dressing from another salad, but it was delish :) These ingredients are MORE than enough for one salad.... I always make my salad in big portions so I have it for a few days.
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-salt & pepper
-fresh minced garlic
-1 tbsp honey dijon mustard

SHAKLEE !!!!

My best friend has been a distributor for Shaklee for a few months now (check out her website ) and has RAVED about the cleaning products as well as the nutritional supps, vitamins etc. I decided to give the Get Clean Starter kit a try. It's AMAZING! It's $99 (member price) and that includes:


Basic H2® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate, 16 oz. (1)
Germ Off Disinfecting Wipes, 35 Wipes (1)
Nature Bright® Laundry Booster and Stain Remover, 32 oz. (1)
Dish Wash Concentrate, 16 oz. (1)
Dish Washer Automatic Concentrate, 32 oz. (1)
Fresh Laundry Concentrate HE Compatible, Regular Scent 32 oz. (Liquid) (1)
Soft Fabric Dryer Sheets, 80 sheets (1)
Dish Washer Automatic Concentrate Dispenser (empty) (1)
Nature Bright® Dispenser (empty) (1)
Including all the accessories you need to get really clean:

Organizer Caddy (1)
Spray Bottles (3)
Windows and Mirrors
All-Purpose
Degreasing
Dropper Pipette (1)
1/4 oz. Dispenser Pump for 32 oz. Bottle (1)
Laundry Measuring cup (1)
Dual Measuring Spoon (1)
Cleaning Accessories (4)
Super Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
Super Microfiber Window Cloth
Super Microfiber Dish Sponge
Miracle Scrubber Pad

Here are my findings so far from the Shaklee products:
1. I've been using a WIDE array of natural cleaning products for 3 years now (vinegar, baking soda, 7th gen, Mrs. Meyers, olive oil, etc etc). I received my Shaklee kit and it is SO easy and it's all so simple! There are 3 spray bottles and 1 solution that goes into the 3 bottles mixed with water. The all purpose spray is water mixed with 1/4 teaspoon of the solution, the mirror/glass spray is water mixed with a few drops of the solution, and the degreaser spray is water mixed with 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of the solution. You're ready to go! Clean your whole house with these 3 bottles! AND I hardly used any of the solution so it is going to last a LONG time.

2. It cleaned my back glass door sooooo fast & good! With a slobbery dog & 2 toddlers you can only imagine how dirty my door was! 3 seconds and it was sparkling clean!

3. I've struggled to find a good & NATURAL stainless steel cleaner for a long time. I finally found that using vinegar & water w/ a shamwow was the way to go. NOT anymore! The Shaklee all purpose with the shaklee cloth works the best I have found..... people have even commented on how clean my stainless is! Not kidding :)!

4. I can tell it's going to last so long! I've only refilled the all purpose cleaner 2x and the other 2 cleaners are only 1/4 used so far!


Please check out Jill's shaklee site and her blog where she talks a lot about the shaklee and organizing your home :) Let me know if you have any questions about Shaklee. It's seriously awesome!

Back & better than ever!!!

Haha... I just thought that would be a good post title! I really want to get to blogging on this blog! Other things have taken priority, but I want to get back to sharing ideas of being a healthy, natural & organic family!!!! So there... I'm back!

Tilex Mildew... ewwwwww!

I've used all natural cleaners for about 2 years now, but I still have the random bottle of Tilex Mildew cleaner in my cabinet. Today I noticed some mold growing in our showers, so I decided to grab the Tilex and give it a cleaning. For about 2 hours after cleaning, I had such a horrible burning in my throat and just felt crappy! I couldn't believe it!!! I was so mad at myself for using it and threw it all away. Now on to find some mildew cleaning remedies!!! Any suggestions?

Healthforce Nutritionals

Ok, it's been TOO long since I posted!!! I may be catching up in the next few days with some blog posts!!!

A friend recommended a green powder from Healthforce Nutritionals for my dog since he's been having seizures and has been very depressed & lethargic. Perhaps his diet is lacking something. I bought the Vitamineral Green product and we've been loving it! I give Duke a tbsp in his food and I put it in our families smoothies instead of using spinach or kale. I also love it mixed with water. At first with the water it was weird tasting, but you start to actually like the taste and I crave it! My 1.5 yr old chugs my vitamineral water like it's juice! Kinda strange! They do sell it on amazon and it's cheaper than buying it from their website.

Here's the description of the Vitamineral Green powder:
Vitamineral™ Green is a superior, nutritionally dense therapeutic green superfood powder. Vitamineral™ Green nutritionally supports blood sugar, detoxification, the immune system, liver, kidneys, blood, bones, colon, regularity, circulation, and longevity*

And look at the what's in it!

From the Land
• Nettle Leaf • Shavegrass (Horsetail) • Alfalfa Leaf Juice • Dandelion Leaf Juice • Barley Grass Juice • Oat Grass Juice • Barley Grass • Wheat Grass • American Basil • Holy Basil/Tulsi • Moringa Leaf • Yacon Leaf • Nopal Cactus • Chickweed • Ginger Root • Broccoli Juice • Kale Juice • Spinach Juice • Parsley Juice • Carob Pod • Amla Berry

From the Waters
• Spirulina • Chlorella

From the Oceans (Mineralization)
• Icelandic Kelp • Dulse • Nori • Alaria • Bladderwrack

Enzymes (optimum absorption +)
• Protease • Amylase • Lipase • Cellulase • Bromelain • Papain • Alpha-Galactosidase

Probiotics:
HealthForce™ NSO Blend:

• Atherobactor agilis • A. citreus • A. globiformis • A. leuteus • A. simplex • Aceinetobactor calcoacetius • Azotobacter calcoaceticus • Az. chroococcum • Az. paspali • AZosirillum brasiliense • Azo. lipoferum • Bacillus brevis • B. marcerans • B. pumilus • Brev stationis • Kurthia zipffi • Phanerochaete chrysosporium • Streptomyces fradiae • S. cellulosae • S. griseoflavus

HealthForce™ Lactobacillus Blend:

• Lactobacillus plantarum • Lactobacillus bulgaricus • Lactobacillius paracasei • Lactobacillus rhamnosus • Lactobacillus salivarius • Streptococcus thermophilus

Energetics

• Shilajit + • Magnetic • Homeopathic • Energetic & Vibrational energies

So far we are loving this stuff and it's so great that we are getting such great stuff in our diet!

Rear facing is just safer :)

In the US, the requirements for Rear facing carseats is 1 year and 20lbs, but there have been talks of them changing it to 2 years rear facing.
Article of possible change

There is no doubt that rear facing is safer. Here a few links about the safety of rear facing as long as possible.
Carseat.se
Benefits of Rear Facing
CPSafety Article

In Sweden, the rear facing requirement is 4 years old. Since Sweden changed the law so that all children have to be rear facing until they are 4 years old, there has been a zero death rate in that age group in a frontal collision (the most common type of collision).

Both of my girls are still rear facing and are perfectly comfortable. Plus, they know no other way, so for the short trips we take around town I want them to be as safe as possible. It's certainly something to think about for those who have little ones who are approaching 1 yr / 20lbs. Just research it yourself and make the decision that makes you comfortable!

Happy & safe driving to all!!!!

Homeopathic remedies I've been trying

Wow... it's been a LONG while since we've posted. Sorry about that! Based on the news feed we do have some READERS :) Don't be shy, leave a comment!

So I've really been experimenting with some homeopathic remedies in our family. Here are few that I've tried and what I thought about them.

Hyland's Aconitum
Recommended for coughing (croup specifically). While we were on Xmas vacation my 1 year old came down with a dry cough. I really liked the results of the aconitum at night. She hardly coughed at all.

Hyland's pulsatilla
Recommended for "clinginess" in cranky or sick toddlers or babies. UMMM , Wow. It works. I'm totally sold on it. It worked GREAT with my 1 year teething w/ her molars and works great for my 2 year old emotional one.

Hyland's chamomille
Recommended as a calming aid and also for teething babies. I sure do miss Hyland's teething tablets, but the chamomille seems to work pretty well for teething and for mood. I like it :)

Hyland's Allium Cepa
Recommended for sinuses & runny nose-- Tried it on my husband and my daughter... did not notice any change when they took it.

Hyland's Sinus
Used it this week when my 2 yr old was getting a cold. It never turned into a full blown cold and the "snot" was very minimal. I like this stuff.

Glad to see we have some readers! Please leave some comments :)