Common Ingredients

There is a food allergy factor in my house. Soy. I'm also lactose intolerant. Often, my friends tease me about not being able to eat anything and, to some extent, they are right. If it comes pre-made in a box, a bag, or a can, I probably cannot eat it.

When my husband and I discovered this little detail, suddenly, years of seemingly random reactions to nothing were explained. Thus my quest for a soy-free life began, a hard journey, to be sure. Legally, it is not required that soy be listed as an allergen, or even in the ingredients if it is part of a mixture, such as the 'natural flavoring' that graces everything processed. One option I have is to call the company that produces whatever it is I want to eat and ask them if this or that suspicious ingredient contains soy (I keep a list of ingredients to watch for). Or I could just eat better.

Eating better means lots of fresh fruits, veggies, and meats. It also means no time spent using up my limited phone minutes and being put on hold, only to be told that the answer to my very simple questions is "that is proprietary information". The other thing about eating fresh, raw foods, is that they taste great, not to mention, they are better for you, food allergies or no.

Fruits and veggies were easy, sure. I love them. But imagine the shock of finding out that it was lurking in things like my garlic salt, butter, and peppermint oil. Again, I could call the companies, but felt that seemed silly anyway, considering I had two other options: Buy very expensive pure brands, or make my own. Expensive brands are still offering something processed. I chose to make my own.

Now, allergy concerns aside; the difference that the home made ingredients made as almost shocking. The food tasted so much better! Sure, it took some extra time one evening every two weeks, but the difference in taste and the fact that I felt great was worth spending an hour or two on Sunday evening to make these everyday ingredients. Give it a shot. The difference is worth it!

Garlic Salt:

Ingredients:
2 Cloves of garlic (A clove is one of the sections you pull from the whole head of garlic.)
2 Teaspoons salt.

How To:

1. Finely mince the garlic (You can use a food processor)
2. If you used a food processor, place minced garlic on a cutting board. The next step is actually easier to do with a knife.
3. Add the salt a little at a time and mince into the garlic with a knife until the oils from the garlic begin to be absorbed and the mixture forms little clumps.
4. You can add parsley or other herbs at this point. Mince them in just as you did the salt.
5. Store in a sealed container (baby food jars work great) and use in a week. 
6. Add this to your cooking as you would any store-bought garlic salt.

Peppermint Oil

Ingredients:
Fresh peppermint (I grow mint but fresh mint can be purchased from stores in the fresh produce section)
Olive Oil (Other oils will work if you have a preference, so long as they do not carry allot of their own flavor)

How To:

1. Measure the amount of mint that will fit in the jar you will use to create and store your oil in.  Keep in mind that the mint will be cut up. Do not tightly pack the mint since there must be room for the oil. Baby food jars work great since it is best to make the oil in small batches.
2. Wash the mint and place on a cutting board. Tear all the leaves from the stems and slice the stems into small pieces. Cut the leaves into small pieces as well. The more cuts you make, the more 'juice' you will get to bleed out of the mint. The goal is to produce small pieces, but not mice or puree them. Therefore, I would not suggest using a food processor.
3. After the mint is cut, place it into the jar. If you have left overs you can dry them for use in other things, like mint tea or baking. 
4. Add the oil to the jar, being careful not to overfill, and then screw on the lid, making sure it is tight. 
5. Place either outside (If you have good weather), or in a cupboard for one month to steep. 
6. After the month is up, run oil through a strainer or cheese cloth to extract the mind pieces.  Once the pieces have been removed, return oil to jar.
7. Use within three months.

Butter:

Ingredients:
Heavy Whipping Cream

How To:

1. The amount of cream you use depends on how much butter you want. 16oz of cream usually makes enough for a week and half at my house.
2. Pour your cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. Gradually up the settings as the cream gets thicker until you are on the 'Whip' setting.
3. Most of us have made whipped cream before, continue whipping once the cream has stiffened into whipped cream. Eventually the cream will begin to look like curds and take on a yellow tint.
4. When the curds start separating from the liquid and you have milk sitting in the bottom of the bowl, you're done with the whipping. Place a strainer over a bowl and pour the curds and milk into it, allowing the milk to be caught in the bowl while the curds remain the strainer. This is your butter.
5. Knead the butter, squeezing all the liquid from it and into the bowl with the rest of the milk. The butter will suddenly look like butter instead of funny milk curds. Once the liquid has been kneaded out, place your butting into a storage container and place in the fridge. It will keep for two weeks.
6. The left over liquid is butter milk, its great for baking. Usually I make biscuits with it the same day. However, it will keep in your fridge for up to two weeks as well.

Even if you don't want to take the time to make these ingredients on a regular basis, they are a great way to make your Christmas baking extra special. Careful though, the difference they make in your cooking can be addicting.

Happy Cooking,
MissyK

The Sick Season

It hit fast, my son just started coughing one evening, that night he woke up with a fever. By the next afternoon we were both snuggled up in the living room watching movies, coughing, sneezing, and feeling generally unwell.

The sickness plagued us for a week and, even after we were up and moving again, the coughing refused to go away. At four months, there was really nothing I could give my boy to suppress his cough. A humidifier was out of the question for the time being, we didn't need more cold wetness in the air. But what about warm steam? Running the shower hot and sitting in the bathroom with him proved helpful, though hot water eventually runs out. Our answer was rosemary.

Rosemary is medicinal and works as an air 'cleaner' when boiled and allowed to steam. It was also the only thing that stopped my little one's cough.

This is just a good practice for a sick household as it helps clear the air, but it also helped tremendously with our coughing

How To:
Boil one to two cups of water in a sauce pan.
Fresh rosemary works best but dried does the drink two.
If it is fresh, add one to two sprigs.
If dried add two table spoons.
Return to a rolling boil.
Reduce to simmer and let steam, refreshing water and rosemary as needed.


Stay Healthy,
MissyK

Home Made Happiness

Bottles, the top rack of my dishwasher is usually full of them. Even before the decision to put my son on formula (albeit with great reluctance), the dishwasher seemed to fill up faster the minute we brought him home from the hospital. Of course, when it gets fuller faster, you have to run it more. Not such a big deal. But soon enough double the dish soap is being used. Dish soap, like laundry soap, can be rather expensive. Even more frustrating is when I spend money on higher ends soaps that don't do what they claim.

My mother and I decided, it was time for yet another home made solutions: home made dish washer detergent. Its easy to make and takes about two table spoons per wash. The really nice thing is that you can make as much as you want so long as you have a container to hold it.

What you need:

2 cups of Borax Soap
2 cups of Baking Soda
1 cup non-chlorine bleach
4 small packets of sugar free lemonade Kool-Aid (you can also use 4 tablespoons of citric acid--if you can find it)
White Vinegar

Mix all the dry ingredients together, doubling the recipe if needed. Be sure the ingredients are combined very well. Store in a closed container. When you wash your dishes put one tablespoon in the open soap well and another in the closing soap well. Add some of the white vinegar to you jetdry well and and you're good to go.

May your dishes sparkle,

MissyK

Valuable Vineger

The moment I found out I was pregnant I knew I would need other options for cleaning. With a terrible mold allergy I used Tilex to clean my window seals and almost everything in my bathroom. It also got used in my mop water and even my kitchen sink if it needed something more than Ajax. As much as I liked to use home made and natural solutions, I was dependent on my chemical cleaners.

My mother-in-law suggested vinegar, along with other ingredients, to create safe cleaning products at home. My mother and I began to look into the use of home made cleaning products as well and began to discover exactly how helpful vinegar is.

Below I list three very simple but amazingly effective uses for vinegar. Natural ingredients made this a great option for house cleaning when I was pregnant, but also for creating a child-friendly environment after birth, and also helped save our household a little money in the long run.

• Home Made Dryer Sheets:

In a spray bottle (I purchased mine from Dollar Tree) combine water and white vinegar. A 1/1 ratio works best.
Spray both sides of a rag. Four to five squirts on each side works well.
Pop the rag in the dryer with your clothes. The rage works the same way as a dryer sheet, reducing static electricity and there's no need to worry about the smell; your laundry will not smell of vinegar when it comes out.

• "JetDry":

When washing your dishes in the dishwasher add white vinegar to the fill line in the JetDry well. I was very skeptical of this idea until I tried it. My dishes came out looking great and my JetDry well was clean!

• General Purpose Cleaner:

1. To Make:

Fill 1 spray bottle with Peroxide
Fill 1 spray bottle with a vinegar and water mix, using a ratio of 1/1.
The third ingredient is baking soda. I keep some set aside for cleaning in a small plastic container. The scoops that come in baby formula work great to scoop out the soda.
Do not store these ingredients mixed.

      2: To Use:
Spray the peroxide onto the surface to be cleaned (bathtub, toilet, countertop, etc.).
Spray the vinegar mixture on the same area.
Sprinkle just a little baking soda onto the wet area, the vinegar will cause it to bubble.
Wipe with a damp rage or scrub with a scratch pad depending on your needs.
If there is residue from the baking soda after the area is dry, wipe it down with a wet rag once more.


Happy Cleaning,
MissyK

Taking The Time

The baby was finally in bed, the house was somewhat clean if I avoided the kitchen and the office. I knew I needed the rest before my son woke up in three hours to eat, but relaxing was far easier said than done, especially considering the emotional tumult I seemed to be dealing with.

I wanted a few moments alone, to do something for myself. For that I felt guilty, despite the fact that everyone kept assuring me it was only natural. Besides that, how was I supposed to squeeze something else into an already full day.

I found my answer in a fifteen - twenty minute facial, a once a week routine that can be done at home and on a budget. It might not be a full spa experience but the routine feels wonderful and is something special every mother of a child any age can enjoy.


Put on some comfy clothes and tie your hair back and away from your face.

Light some candles, turn on relaxing music, or similar things that are relaxing to you.

1: Wash your face and neck, removing all cosmetics: I use Cetaphil. It is easy on my sensitive skin and costs about $10 for a large bottle.

2: Exfoliate: A great store bought option is is L'Oreal Go 360 Clean, which runs about $6. Another great option is to make your own exfoliating scrub from ingredients you probably have in your kitchen. I will list recipes at the end of this entry. Rinse with warm water.

3: Steam Bath: Breath deeply over a pot or sink full of hot water for three to five minutes. Breath deeply and relax. This step opens your pores and allows them to be flushed.

4: Mask: Using a homemade mask is easy and affordable. If you have oily skin use a simple egg white mask, if it needs moisture create a egg white and yogurt mask. Again, you'll find the recipes for both at the end of this entry. Leave your mask on until it is dry, about ten minutes. During this time be sure to sit or lay down. Allow yourself to relax. Rinse your mask off with tepid water and pat dry

5: Moisturize: As the final step gently massage a moisturizer into your skin. Use whatever you normally do that works for your skin type. I use Botanics Night Moisture Cream. It works great for my dry skin and is about $12.99 at Target.

You're done. Your skin feels great and you had a little you time before bed. My hope is that this once a week routine will give mothers at any stage a little time to feel as special as they are. The following are the recipes I referred to earlier. I chose three very simple ones that work well with my sensitive skin. If natural skin care is something you would like to look into further then check out Natural Home Remedies for Life.

• Oatmeal Facial Scrub: Combine and mix well the following ingredients: 2TBLS finely ground oatmeal, 2TBLS granulated sugar, 2TBLS brown sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1TSP nutmeg. Apply to face with your finger tips with gentle circular motions.

• Egg White Face Mask: Take 1 egg and separate the yolk from the white (I freeze the yolks for cooking). Beat the egg white till it is frothy and then apply to your face with your finger tips with gentle circular motions and let dry before rinsing.

• Egg White and Yogurt Face Mask: Take 2 eggs and separate the yolks from the whites (I freeze the yolks for cooking), and place the whites in a bowl. Add 2TBLS of plain, unflavored, yogurt. Mix well and then apply to your face with gentle circular motions. Leave on for five to ten minutes before rinsing.

Take your time, enjoy yourself, and remember it is okay to need just a few moments of quiet time.

MissyK

When I Felt A Failure

He was crying and so was I. It was all I could do to fight the urge to curl up on the bed and sob every time my son woke from a nap or got hungry. The change in mood had been so sudden and entirely unexpected. We had finally begun to get past the difficulty of the birth, the week of his time in NICU, things were finally stable; but now I felt I was falling apart. Even more, I felt I was a bad mother.

After a few days I called my mother and she confirmed my fear: I had the baby blues. A common problem but one that was fast beginning to heavily impact our lives.

Baby blues and postpartum depression are not unusual, especially if the pregnancy or birth was difficult. Experiencing it does not make any woman a bad mother, though her feelings run contrary. For any mother experiencing either of these forms of depression the best thing to do is act on it. I personally wanted to avoid drugs that would 'reset my brain', according to a doctor. There are many natural things that helped me through my own baby blues fairly quickly.

Doing each of the following daily is very important and worked wonderfully in my experience:

• Take vitamin D, especially if you live someplace that doesn't see allot of sun. Also, help your body create its own vitamin D but spending time in the sun, if your skin can handle some exposure without sunblock then that is all the better
•  Get an oil warmer. Both sage and clove scented oils invigorate and uplift. The moment I begin to feel depression settle in I light my oil warmer. I prefer clove scent and the change in my mood is almost immediate.
• Drink licorice tea, at least three cups a day. Stash produces and herbal, caffeine free, licorice spice tea that tastes good and is affordable.
• It is tempting to use the kids' nap time as a time to clean. However, if you are feeling at all run down it is better for you to nap too. The house work will still be there later and you will have more energy for your children and your home if you take time to recharge.
• Take fifteen. I usually do this at night after my son has gone to bed. Shut the bathroom door and take time to unhurriedly wash your face and brush your teeth. Pick up a scented lotion that is gentle on your skin and use it before bed. Take a hot washcloth and wash your feet as well. Going to bed after even just fifteen minutes of a little pampering will help you sleep better and add to the feeling of being refreshed.
• Get out of the house. This can be ten minutes on the front porch or a trip to the store. Call a friend to meet you for coffee. If for some reason you cannot go somewhere, ask someone to come to you. The less you feel alone the faster you'll be bidding the blues goodbye.
• Develop a schedule. This is easier said than done and not every mother works a steady schedule or stays at home. If you have a baby sitter or nanny, work out a schedule for them to follow with the kids. Established routines for nap times are especially helpful and help everyone to take that much needed break from the constant motion of life. 

The list seems long, I know, and by no means to I write it lightly. Not every solution will work for every mother, but my hope is to offer a little help when it comes to a problem many mothers face and are either unaware or afraid to admit.

Let me be perfectly clear in parting. Baby Blues or Postpartum Depression  does not make any woman a failure and both can be overcome with a little help and a lot of love.

~MissyK

The Value Of Ritz (And Other Yummy Things)

My son was fighting sleep during nap time, his slumber interrupted by sudden cries of anger at the injustice of being expected to sleep more than fifteen minutes. With every bout of angry tears I felt myself growing more frustrated with the situation. Eventually he would settle down again and fall back to sleep, only to start the process all over again just as I would begin to relax. If he didn't fall asleep soon I felt I would be in tears myself, though I could not entirely understand why I was suddenly feeling so run down after our wonderful morning of reading, cuddle time, and learning sign language. When my hands began to shake I finally understood why I was feeling so overwhelmed with the normal run around of nap time: I hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast.

It is something I am sure everyone has experienced: A person might have a perfect morning and a great afternoon but, if they have not eaten, the day can fall flat in a matter of minutes. I cannot even begin to count the times I have fought with my mother, sister, or even husband over trivial things all because I was in a bad mood due to lack of food. Many people simply forget to eat during their busy day, but it seems that, for mothers, its not so much a matter of forgetfulness as it is time.

Pre-packaged snacks are great for a quick bite when you are in a hurry or only have a few moments to sit down. They certainly get points for convenience but, when it comes to store bought snacks I have to take off points for nutrition; not to mention that these processed morsels don't stick in your belly. In the long run, if the food your eating doesn't serve as healthy fuel, you might be better off still forgetting to eat. On top of being generally unhealthy and short lived, processed foods often contain allot of allergens. The most notable are dairy, soy, peanuts, and eggs. While we never kept allot of junk food around, the discovery of  my soy allergy put an almost immediate stop to the purchase of processed or pre-packaged food of any kind. Even the healthier things like the majority of granola bars, poptarts, and crackers became things that we no longer kept in our cupboards. Our solution became home made snacks that saved my stomach and, more important to most, helped cut down our grocery bill.

The following are a few recipes using Ritz crackers/and or various other foods to make snacks. Remember, most kids love to help in the kitchen, so have them help you with creation and clean up.

Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwiches:

You can make just a few for yourself or a whole bunch for a party, the quantity is entirely up to you.
For one Sandwich:

• Take a Ritz cracker and spread peanut butter on it. Top with another Ritz cracker. 

• Melt chocolate by coarsely chopping it into smaller bits (Or use chocolate chips) and microwave on 50% power for one minute. Remove chocolate and stir. Repeat this process until the chocolate is melted enough to be used for dipping.

• Dip the Ritz Sandwiches into the melted chocolate and place on a cookie sheet or rack covered with wax paper to dry.

• Once dry, cover and store refrigerated for a great grab and go snack.

Fast Food Groups:

While this may not include the whole food pyramid its a great way to get protein and fruit in a few quick bites. Preparation can be made faster by cutting  fruit into slices and storing it in the fridge or even freezer.

• Cut the cheese of your choice, (I prefer gouda) and place on Ritz crackers. Cream cheese also works well.

• Cut any desired number of strawberries (or other fruit if desired) into slices and place strawberry slices on your cheese-covered Ritz (If the fruit was frozen be sure to thaw it first).

• Place a chocolate chip on each cracker and enjoy.

The Peanut Butter Cup:

This is probably the simplest snack to make. Allot of people seem to know about it, but forget it until its mentioned. Its a fast solution for a sweet tooth that also provides a bit of protein, travels well, and pairs great with a cup of coffee.

• In a very small bowl, about the size of a kid's travel snack cup, combine two or three tablespoons of peanut butter with a handful of chocolate chips. 

• Enjoy immediately or chill and save for later.

There will, of course, be more recipes that I will share as I find them. However, I hope this gives both mothers and those who are generally busy a few great ways to make sure they are eating. Remember, your body, like your car, cannot function without fuel.

~MissyK