Archives: January 2011

Have you heard about sprouted almonds? Apparently they are much easier to digest then plain raw almonds. Hearing this info has obviously made my ears perk up and of course I’ve gotta try it!

I’ve learned that although raw almonds are one of the best complete proteins you can eat, they can take days to break down and digest in your body.

Sprouted almonds are considered to be a live food. After soaking the almonds they will be much easier to digest and will take about 2 hours instead of several days to break down. The nutrients from the live raw almonds will go directly to your blood stream and you will feel nourished after.

This sounds like a superfood to me!

Here’s how I sprouted my almonds:

I bought 1 pound of raw almonds, (unsalted, un-roasted)

1 large mason jar or 2 small ones

Place your almonds in a large pot and soak with filtered water overnight – cover the pot.

In the morning strain the almonds and rinse. The peels should come off easily but if you’re having a hard time put the almonds back in the pot and boil water for only 1 minute or so, this should speed up the peeling process.

Once peeled, rinse the almonds again and place them into a glass container. Cover with water and set in the fridge. You must rinse and change the water everyday. The almonds should keep for about 2 weeks.

Almond Shells

Almond Shells

Sprouted Almonds

Sprouted Almonds

Almonds ready to eat!

Almonds ready to eat!

Cinnamon hot cocoa has been my new winter drink!

YUMMY

It’s super simple to make and tastes absolutely divine. Personally, I enjoy making my own hot cocoa instead of buying it in the package – but that’s just me.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this delicious concoction:

1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk or regular milk

1 cinnamon stick

In a saucepan over medium heat – pour the milk in and heat it up for 2 minutes before adding in the rest of the ingredients. Then add the cocoa stirring well to clear up the clumps, add the agave and cinnamon stick.

Keep it in the pan until nice and hot stirring occasionally to get all the flavors to blend well together.

Then carefully pour into your mug with the cinnamon stick so you can continue to get those delicious flavors – curl up on the couch with a comfy blanket and enjoy!

Being a lover of the kitchen, I’ve had one too many minor accidents including cuts and burns from knives and hot pots. Ouch! I’ve finally learned the key to taking care of a minor cooking burn – lavender oil. Yes, you heard right, lavender essential oil will really do the trick if applied everyday a few times a day.

The lavender helps dry out the burn allowing it to heal much faster then if you were just to use aloe and ice. It might hurt a pinch when you apply it, but that only means it’s working right?!

I’ve also found that it works for sun burns. After just returning from Puerto Rico this past Monday, Chad and I both had some peeling skin – but when I noticed some itchy bumps on my chest I started to worry that I had sun poisoning, shh don’t tell my Mom! (I hope she’s not reading this post! eeek… Love you Mom) – anyway, when I found the bumps I whipped out the lavender oil and I’d say it’s working quite nicely – the itching has stopped and the bumps are very minimal now.

What can I say: I’m loving these home remedies… Stay tuned for more to come!

Have you ever made hot sauce??

Me neither… but Chad, my husband, LOVES hot sauce and decided to buy every hot pepper available at Whole Foods for his recipe. As I sat in our living room the smells from the peppers started to make my eyes water. This wasn’t a problem because I knew all I had to do was open the window for some fresh air.

Then approximately 5 minutes later I heard a loud “OH NO” and saw Chad run to the bathroom to dab his eye with cold water. Oh boy… hot pepper in the eye.

I knew this would happen! Of course, me being the home remedy nerd, I began my search immediately.

Here’s what I found and let me tell you – it really worked!!

Take your salt shaker and sprinkle some sea salt directly onto your tongue – voila! – it should start working immediately. When sodium enters the body it helps the lacrimal of the eyes to flush acids and counteract the burning sensation really fast.

What a great tip to keep up your sleeve for the next time you accidentally touch your eyes while cooking with hot peppers!

Good luck!

Hey all:

I’ve found some interesting information regarding blackstrap molasses. Have you heard of it? I’m not talking about using this as a sweetener in your oatmeal – but more of as a supplement to your diet. Apparently for someone needing more iron in their diet, a.k.a. anyone anemic – this is the best way to get it naturally. You have to take the unsulphured, organic kind for it to be effective though.

Take one tablespoon first thing in the morning.

Earth Clinic says that “Regular ole molasses is the first or second boiling of cane sugar syrup while blackstrap is the third boiling of the syrup. Iron levels appear to increase 5% in the 3rd boiling.” There is an entire nutritional chart here including calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium and B6. WOW that sounds like a superfood to me…

It’s also been recommended by one of the forum writers for people with ulcerative colitis. So, of course I’m interested and gave it a try. I was skeptical because I’ve always heard that sugar causes mucus and that’s really the last thing that I need added to my diet – BUT regardless of my skepticism I decided to give it a whirl. So far so good… I’ve been feeling great and my belly is also feeling pretty good. I’ve also lowered my intake of other sugar so I’m not overloading my body with any additional mucus!

Something very important to remember is – if you add blackstrap molasses to your diet, even if you don’t have UC – be cautious of any other sugar you put into your body since you are basically starting your day off with one big gulp of sugar – and lots of other vitamins and minerals of course.

I hope this advice will take you far. Pass it on to friends – I think it’s pretty important stuff.

Take care of that temple of yours a.k.a. your body.