Febuary!!!

Febuary is the month of...Spice and herbs! Spices are amazing
because they add a great flavour to any plain food. You
do want to make sure to buy organic, hand-picked spices,
not factory fake artificial flavours. Same with herbs, they
are great when you grow them yourself, even! Basil is great on
paninis, in spagetti, or in high-end lemonade or iced tea in the summer!
Lavender is good for calming and lifting sprits. Experiement with
herbs by sprinkling various dried or fresh herbs in your bath. The
hot steam will smell sweet, and you'll smell great also! Here are a few
of my favourite bath tub recipes:
FRESH SUMMER TEA BATH
A handful of fresh basil
a few sprigs of spearmint
Some lemon zest
one tea spoon of sea salt
COZY SWEET FRAGRANCE BATH
a handful(or more) of dried lavender
a sprinkle of fresh(or dried)rosemary
some orange zest
a sprinkle of coriander

I hope you have fun creating your own tub-concoctions!

Pretzels!

January, it's the month of Pretzels!
Here's a true, I swear, pinky promise fact....
never eat a pretzel from a NYC street vendor.
They lay them on the ground at 5:00 AM because
there isn't enough space in the carts at first. Unless
you want to eat NYC sidewalk germs, you should make
home made pretzels, unless your like me. I never have time
to slowly make the dough, so buy Crate and Barell's natural
pretzel mix. It's not ultra-salty, and with some Dijon
Mustard, it's a great snack, plus, you get to roll out
the dough your self, and shape it into pretzels,or other
creative shapes! Have fun creating pretzel masterpieces!

Candy, candy, candy

December, the month of.....you guessed it,
RICE! Nope, I'm just kidding. It's the month
of ORGANIC candy! You can buy any ol' candy for
cheap, but your pretty much paying for high-fructose
corn syrup, colorant, and fake flavor. Instead, buy
yummy candy made with real sugar, honey, or agava syrup,
and flavored and colored with fruit and veggie juice.
I suggest jolly beans, yummy earth organic lollipops,
ginger people ginger chews, or even homemade candy!
The choices are endless, but remember, just because
candy's organic, doesn't mean it's healthy. Have fun
cooking and baking!

Tomatoes!

November: it's the month of tomatoes!
Most people, (including moi) hate tomatoes,
but even I have a few exceptions.
Tomatoes are one of the most healthy
fruits on the planet, so gobble up!
Tomatoes are great on juicy burgers, or
dipping in hummus, but you have to watch
out. Tomatoes are often "enlarged" with pesticides
and grossness. For the yummiest tomatoes, you
should grow them in your own garden! If you
don't use fertilizer, and instead, use water and
sunlight, they will turn into the juicy,
natural tomatoes that you'd expect from organic
fruit. The only time I eat tomatoes are in the summer,
sitting on oujr deck, eating garden tomatoes, and
letting the juice drip down your chin. Hope you
can grow your own tomatoes!

Colds n' the flu

Now that summer is almost over,
Cold and flu season is going to start
in a few months. Instead of taking strong
medications, you should try to fight it off
naturally. Here are a few tips and tricks:
-Take vitamin C powder, found at any natural market
-use VICKS vapor rub on the back of our neck and under your nose.
-Use ecaulyptus, mint, or lavender essencial oils to get rid of headaches.
-Instead of strong medications, use herb infused medicine found at only Whole Foods
market, in small blue tubes.
-Get fresh air, and plenty of RICOLLA cough and throught drops!
-Strech out every hour or so instead of staying in bed all day
-Hot baths always get rid of stomach aches and the steam is good for colds!
Hope this really helps, but if your cold or flu gets horrid, Tylenol or Advil won't kill you....

Don't be fooled!

Now, because of the sudden "craze" with eating natural and organic,
Big name brands have started to add natural ingredients to their products,
like soap and shampoo, but don't be fooled! If the brand says that they have
natural ingredients in their products, such as mint, or shea butter, check the
ingredients and how far down (or up) they are on the list. If it's number 10, or
over, than the product is tricking you! Also, if it does have cocoa butter, but also
has a preservative, or unknown chemical, then the natural product kind of cancels
out! Last, if the brand is called "Cody's Organics" or something similar, but isn't certified organic, then check the ingredients. If nothing is organic or natural, or if there are preservatives, chemicals, etc. in there, definetly don't use it!

Hope this helps!

summer weather!

It's finally getting warmer, here in bellevue!
Here are some tips to stay natural when protecting
your self in the sun!!

1. Hydrate your self with simple H2o! It has been
proven that water hydrates better than soda or sweetend juice. Gulp up!

2. When choosing a sunscreen, try to avoid big name brands, which
usually have chemicals that can actually raise the risk of skin cancer! Not prevent it. Try a natural choice you know and trust, special brands are sold at natural food markets.But remember, if the SPF is 60 or over, try not to use it.

3. When choosing sunglasses, (yes, sunglasses can be natural too)
look for one that actually protects your eyes from HV lights, they usually
have stickers saying they do.

4. Lastly, wearing a swimsuit with a SPF of 25 or more is safe for outdoor swimming,
where sunscreen can come off, even when it's water proof! Re appy sunscreen after swimming, if you know you're not going for another swim for a while.

Hope this helps! Stay safe, but remember to have fun too!