Archive for Organic

Fall Inspired Recipes with Squash

Posted by html404 on November 11, 2013
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Holidays, Home, Organic, Recipes, Shopping, Uncategorized

Thanksgiving is only a little over a couple of weeks away and I have been looking for fall inspired recipes for squash. I found a couple new ones I want to try. To facilitate this post I shopped at Mariano’s for the ingredients for our traditional recipe.

I really enjoy shopping at Mariano’s. I love that they carry a good selection of organic food. The employees make it a pleasant experience. Each time I have gone, one has helped direct me to a faster checkout. It’s very helpful. Mariano’s also has a reward card shoppers can use to earn 1% cash back on every $50 purchased from November 7 thru February 8, 2014. How’s that for a bit of holiday shopping incentive?

For my very simple recipe I purchased four organic squash, but only used two. Organic parsley, organic butter and ground cinnamon.

Those of you who have never cooked a squash, you wash the squash and cut it into halves lengthwise. Then put it face down inside a 9×12 dish.

Once cut, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the ball of the squash.

The squash seeds may be saved, dried and used to plant in your garden next spring (especially if they are organic, non-hybrid seeds!). Or the seeds may be roasted and eaten as a super nutritious snack.

All four halves would not fit in my pan so I wrapped the last half in foil and baked it along side the pan.

After the squash is baked, it is scooped out of it’s skin and put into a bowl.

Then I mash it to make sure all the clumps are pretty much out before adding the butter, cinnamon and parsley. And that’s all there is to it. Very simple, inexpensive and yummy!

Fall Inspired Recipes with Squash

Simple Squash Recipe

Print recipe

Serves	8-10
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 10 minutes
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Side Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving
Region	Canadian

This simple squash recipe is a tasty side dish for the holiday season.

Ingredients

2 Organic Butternut Squash
1 sprig Organic Parsely ((I used curly parsley, there is also flat leaf))
1/2-1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Organic Butter

Directions

Step 1
Wash squash of in warm water.
Step 2
Cut squash in half lengthwise.
Step 3
Place face down in a 9x12 baking dish. I had an extra so I wrapped it in foil because it would not fit in my pan.
Step 4
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 -60 minutes or until soft when poked with a fork.
Step 5
Spoon out squash into a bowl.
Step 6
Mash out lumps.
Step 7
Add butter and cinnamon. Cinnamon can be to taste with more or less.
Step 8
Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top and add a few leaves of parsley for garnish.
Step 9
Enjoy!

Shopping at Mariano’s

You can learn more about Mariano’s and get new ideas on a weekly basis on Mariano’s website. Consider liking #MyMariano’s on Facebook and following them on Twitter.

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6 Tips to Healthier Eating

Posted by html404 on October 29, 2013
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition, Organic, Recipes, Uncategorized

This is a featured post.

I was recently in a discussion with some other moms about how to start eat healthier. It made me think back to when we began to revamp our eating habits. It became a blog post idea so I thought I share some of the ways we changed our diet when we started to read labels and take a closer look into our pantry and refrigerator.

6 Tips to Healthier Eating

1. Read food labels. I cannot tell you how important this is. Reading labels will change your food buying habits. Learn what ingredients are bad and what ingredients are good for you to ingest.

2. Eliminate food dyes and artificial flavors from your diet. Dyes and artificial flavors are in a lot of things. So read labels and refuse to buy any food with these dyes and artificial flavors. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. We noticed a huge difference in how our children acted after we eliminated these from our diet.

People are fed by the FOOD industry, which pays no attention to health….And are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to FOOD.

~ Wendell Berry

3. Buy as much organic as your budget will allow. There is a meme out there about organic food. It went something like this, “Think organic food is expensive? Have you priced cancer lately?” Pretty much says it all. Cancer is rather rampant. Organic food is usually non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), if labeled Non-GMO. Organic food also has a lot less pesticides and insecticides used on it. Organic food can be bought in most grocery stores now. Start with a couple of products and slowly increase it over time so the slight increase is only noticeable over time.

4. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Shopping the perimeter of a grocery store generally means buying more fruit, vegetables, dairy, juice, eggs and meat. It reduces the amount of packaged convenience food you buy.

5. Substitute junk food with healthy snacks. We rarely buy potato chips any more. We buy organic tortilla chips or make popcorn on top of our stove. You can also eat your favorite veggies and fruit in place of your favorite junk food.

6. Reduce and eliminate your soda pop intake. Start drinking water. You can add lemon or lime for flavor. Have a glass or 100% juice with your breakfast. Soda pop offers no nutritional value and causes weight gain when used in excess.

There are many other tips I could share but these seemed like the easiest to start with. For recipes to aid you in your healthier eating journey visit apple crisp recipe and this blueberry muffin recipe appeals to my sweet tooth and love of blueberries!

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Fruit Sparx Candy Review

Posted by Brande on October 7, 2013
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Organic, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, Seasonal Stuff, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

Halloween is right around the corner and my daughter is already excited about all the candy. Sparx has a wonderful product! Recommended by dentist & hygienist, it is 100% Xylitol and tooth friendly! These all natural sugar free candies are also gluten free. They come in citrus, berry, & fruit flavors.

My first question was what is Xylitol? Direct from the Xlear.com site – here is the answer.

“Xylitol is a natural sweetener derived from natural sources. It is also produced in the human body as a by-product of a normal metabolism. Our xylitol is of the highest quality possible. It is a pharmaceutical grade, meaning it must be more that 99.95% pure, and is made from non-GMO (non-genetically modified organism) corn fibers. It does not contain any of the corn grain and it is tested to ensure that no corn allergens, mycotoxins, or corn proteins of any type are in the product.”

Fruit Sparx Candy Review

Sparx candies are tiny dot like goodies; they are on the hard side. I would recommend these for your older kids, just because you don’t want your younger kids swallowing a bunch of them at a time. My daughter and I shared a package and I really enjoyed them, she kind of wished they weren’t as hard to chew. You can get a great Halloween bag with all the flavors or order you favorite flavor directly from Xlear.com. They sell them in tubes and are only 1.49 each!

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Dots on Tots

Posted by 278Wife on September 27, 2013
in Baby Products, Children's Clothing, Clothing, Eco Friendly Products, Fashion, Organic, Reviews, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

Dots on Tots is a company striving to provide high quality organic cotton hats for babies and toddlers. Skin sensitivities are becoming more and more common among babies. By using organic materials, babies’ skin can be protected and parents can have peace of mind. Dots on Tots features innovative hat designs for girls and boys all made from natural, certified-organic cotton. They specialize in ear flap hats to protect babies from outdoor elements such as cold and wind, as well as providing protection from ear, nose, and throat infections.

My daughter had the pleasure of wearing Dots on Tots’ organic cotton Ear Protection flaphat. The natural, eco-friendly material was ultra soft and very lightweight. It’s perfect for Fall right now. It keeps her head nice and warm without overheating. The ear flaps fit securely over her ears, but were not too tight to where she was trying to pull them off. It has a nice velcro closure under the chin that stayed secure. She felt very comfortable in it.

We always go for walks in the stroller and my daughter tries to fall asleep, but sometimes she wakes up from the cars passing by or the dogs barking in the neighborhood. I noticed these noises did not bother her while she was wearing the hat, and she actually napped longer!

Dots on Tots also sells Noise Reduction Hats, which include special inserts for the ear flaps to reduce outside noises. These would be great for sporting events or any high crowd level attractions. Dots on Tots hats come in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors. Their materials are very soft and of high quality. What a great product and company!

Visit them at www.dotsontots.com

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Why is Organic Dairy So Important? #FightPesticides

Posted by html404 on September 17, 2013
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Home, Organic, Safety, Uncategorized

This post is part of my application to become a Stoneyfield ambassador and I will receive Stoneyfield coupons for my participation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Why is Organic Dairy So Important?

I know our family knows why organic dairy is so important but thought I’d share with you our reasons for wanting to eat and drink organic dairy to the point of owning our own cow. As you know, organic anything can be expensive, especially when buying for ten people. A huge reason for our buying a cow is so we could provide fresh milk for our family (and animals because we do share!). You also know from our Mariano’s shop, organic milk is around $7.99 per gallon at Whole Foods and Mariano’s. However, our reason for feeding her organic feed and hay is to be free of harmful pesticides (and GMOs – Genetically Modified Organisms) often used on crops. Now that we have our own pasture and hay, we know without a doubt our milk is organic, free of harmful GMOs. We have been supplementing Miss Moo with certified organic feed because when we brought her home she was underweight and want to fatten her up so she’s a good weight for her age and stage of lactation. We also know exactly what Miss Moo is fed, how she how the milk is handled and how she is cared for. We like knowing where our food comes from, and for our large family that means we are raising our own at this stage of our lives.

Don’t just take my word for it. Research it for yourself.

Resources:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/07/milk-101-whole-raw-organic-low-fat-etc/

http://www.utne.com/Environment/organic-milk-USDA-amendment.aspx#axzz2f5HSUr2e

http://www.realmilk.com/

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Wallaby Organic Kefir

Posted by html404 on August 20, 2013
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Home, Organic, Reviews, Uncategorized

What is Kefir

Kefir is an ancient beverage that is packed full of wonderfully good stuff! This is what the National Kefir Association says (I didn’t even know there was such an association for kefir!). I thought this information was interesting and I learned a few things:

The name Kefir comes from the Turkish word “keif” – meaning “good feeling” – for the sense of well-being experienced after drinking it.

Kefir is often compared to yogurt, because they have similar tastes and both contain live and active probiotic cultures, which support immunity and ease digestion. One difference between the two is that Kefir is a drink, so it can be enjoyed on the go. But the biggest difference is that Kefir contains three times the amount of probiotic cultures typically found in yogurt – Kefir usually has around 10 – which means a bigger benefit for your digestive and immune systems. Kefir is also an excellent source of protein, calcium and fiber. Plus, it’s gluten-free, 99% lactose-free and comes in many different flavors, as well as lowfat, nonfat and low-carb versions, so even the pickiest eaters can enjoy the health benefits of Kefir.

Wallaby Organic Kefir

When there is food in the house to review I have to take photos right away. I did this with this review, but what I forgot to do was take photos of the actual kefir and of someone drinking it! If I don’t do it right away, it gets eaten or gobbled up before I even get a chance. This is what happened with the Wallaby Organic Kefir….until….my older daughter found the second bottle of strawberry! So she got to be my model!

We all love yogurt and amazingly all the children love kefir too, especially Wallaby Organic Kefir. We got the strawberry and vanilla flavored, but it comes in two additional flavors of blueberry and plain. We downed it. It was thick, tasty and over all very good. There are definite advantages to training your children’s palate to healthy food. Once their taste buds get accustomed to it they will usually eat anything good set before them. There are exceptions to this of course, as we all have our own unique likes and dislikes.

When Wallaby Organic Kefir says it is creamy, they are not lying, it truly is creamy. It also contains 12 different strains of Live and Active Kefir cultures and boasts the health benefits listed above from the National Kefir Association. The organic milk comes from local farms in California.

I really do not have anything negative to say about this kefir. It was a little hard to find so don’t go by the store locator unless it specifically states the stores carry kefir. I went to Jewel, which carries Wallaby Organic Yogurt, but it did not carry the kefir. My husband went to Whole Foods for it.

Two thumbs up from us!

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Farmer Harrassment – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on August 14, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Home, Organic, Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday we received something in the mail. I knew it was something to do with our farm when it was addressed “Resident” in sloppy handwriting. You have to understand the location of our farm to get why we receive these kinds of things. We are on a very busy rural road. It was one of the pitfalls of moving here. We almost didn’t move because of how close the house is to the road and the traffic we get here.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. This is what we received:

This isn’t the first time something was dropped in the mail or mailbox but part of me wonders if it doesn’t constitute “farmer harrassment”? Have these people actually raised poultry? Have they tried a free range, no soy, organic egg? Or are they just being an overly concerned suburbanite? It baffles me the nerve of some people.

Our chickens and turkeys quite often are out of their portable coops. They have been getting braver or more curious and going closer to the road – silly things! Otherwise they are happy as they free range around the property all day. We have people telling us our eggs are some of the best they’ve tasted and we’ve been selling out of eggs for weeks. There’s a reason for that….they are not cooped up all day on a dirt floor because we have space for them to roam. They get fresh air, sunshine and all the pasture delights they can find! We haven’t seen but two ticks all year and we believe our chickens are the reason.

P.S. The FDA is trying to force free range egg producers to restrict hens from outdoor access or go out of business. Read more at Cornucopia Institute.

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Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats

Posted by html404 on August 12, 2013
in All Natural Products, Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Home, Organic, Pet Food, Uncategorized

Our 18 month old puppy, Padfoot, loves to eat. We try to eat as much organic as possible ourselves and try not to leave our pets behind in that process. All of our animals are fed organic feed, with the exception of our horse but we are not going to eat him or products produced by him. We tried him on an organic grain briefly but because of how worn down his teeth are he couldn’t chew it properly.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats

When we were invited to do a review of Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats we were very interested trying these for our pooch.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats are loaded with rich fruits and berries. When you buy a box of Be Pawsitive treats you provide a box of treats for a shelter dog too.

Customers can choose from one of three monthly subscription options for as low as $18 per month. Subscription plans are as follows: monthly plan at $24/month, $66 for three months ($22/month) or $108 for six months ($18/month). Customers can also give the treat box as a gift. For more information or to order Be Pawsitive’s monthly treat box, please visit www.bepawsitive.com. The “Buy One, Give One” campaign is part of Be Pawsitive’s company philosophy, and is available at all times.

Be Pawsitive Organic Pet Treats Review

Padfoot responded really well to the treats we received from Be Pawsitive. Our daughter used them only for training. He has been sitting when anyone comes over to him, he is coming better and listening more.

He loved the rawhide card and had so much fun with it! We think he thought it was a toy at first because he acted really fiesty and wanted to play, as you can see from his playful stance in the photo below.

We also received “power berry” dog biscuits. Not only did Padfoot love them but our cats also liked them! The ingredients are all natural and organic and almost all the ingredients except the olive oil and bananas come from the USA – yay!

Be Pawsitive organic pet treats gets two thumbs up from us!

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Back to School with KIWI Shop

Posted by html404 on August 6, 2013
in Contests, Crafts, Eco Friendly Products, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids Stuff, Organic, Reviews, Uncategorized

Back to school time! We received a fabulous back to school kit from our the KIWI shop that included eight back to school products. KIWI is a natural, organic online shop offering eco-friendly, organic products for parents, kids and the home.

Back to School with KIWI Shop

Below are the products we used and reviewed:

Wean Green 4 oz. Wean Cubes, 4-Pack, Garden – I loved these little glass cubes! Not only are they cute and colorful but great for little snacks. I wouldn’t necessarily send my children to school with them because of the glass material but from a storage stand point they are great containers to have in the cupboard. Though a little pricey.

LiceLogic Repel Conditioning Hair Spray – I don’t think all the girls have used this product yet but one of them said they did try it and liked it. We’ve never had an issue with lice but now that we have this hopefully we will continue to enjoy a lice free life!

Facial Gel Cleanser – I know one of my girls has tried this product and she says she liked it and how it made her skin feel softer. She was experiencing a bit of a pimple outbreak on her nose and forehead and she stated this Gel Cleanser was helping get rid of it.

Eco Lunchbox – made of stainless steel and very sturdy. Love this as well as the crocodile one for younger children.

Safari Bento Box, Green Crocodile – is super cute and our son loved it for his new Vegetable Crayons!

Vegetable Crayons – My almost 3 year old loved “his” organic vegetable crayons! They were easy for him to handle and fun to use. The only thing negative I noticed is the colors are not as dark as the crayon, even the dark blue and green or red for that matter.

Kids AlternaVites STRAWBERRY 30 CT – all of our children liked the AlternaVites, except for our 14 year old. They reminded her of the antibiotic she use to have to take before she went to the dentist (she use to have a heart condition). All the children who liked the AlternaVites, asked to have their vitamins. That’s always a good sign in our house….when they don’t run away when it’s time to take any sort of supplement!

Artterro Handmade Paper Bookmaking Kit – Our children enjoyed working on the bookmaking kit together. The only thing the younger children needed my help with was the book binding. This kit makes a great rainy day craft project or a 90 degree plus day.

We really love the product mix offered for back to school! It was fun for all of us to go through the products and test them out.

If you would like to win some cool back to school products from KIWI shop, please visit their giveaway to enter: http://www.kiwishoponline.com/back-to-school-giveaway

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BabyGanics

Posted by 278Wife on August 5, 2013
in All Natural Products, Cleaning, Eco Friendly Products, Health, Home, Organic, Reviews, Safety, Uncategorized

I am what you may consider a “Clean Freak.” With a toddler and an infant in the house I am always trying to clean to keep the germs away. Normally I have to wait until my kids are in another room because of the chemicals. Not anymore thanks to BabyGanics.

BabyGanics has a complete line of household and personal care products that are safe and effective to be used around babies. All of their ingredients are plant based, making them non-toxic and hypoallergenic. I had the pleasure of trying an All Purpose Cleaner from BabyGanics. I was anxious to start spraying, and I did not even have worry about where the kids were since it had no Parabens, Sulfates, Phthalates, or Toxins. I sprayed my kitchen counters and was pleasantly surprised by the smell. Some cleaners can be so overwhelmingly strong, but the BabyGanics All Purpose Cleaner in Lavender scent was light and fresh. Compared to my usual All Purpose Cleaner, I did not have to use as much of the BabyGanics cleaner to get the job done.

This cleaner was great. I cleaned my entire kitchen including counters, appliances, and highchair with my son running around. I cannot wait to use it on everything else in the house. BabyGanics sells everything from Household Cleaners to Baby Washes and Creams. Their products are made in the U.S.A., completely recycable, and never tested on animals. BabyGanics products are available online as well as many stores including Target and Walgreens. Check out their website to see all they have to offer!

www.BabyGanics.com