A berry smoothie that’s loaded with antioxidants is great for your skin – and a delicious way to start your day!
Did you know that a berry banana smoothie is really great for your skin?
Berries are full of antioxidants and vitamin C which help protect skin from free radicals which can cause skin cancer. Vitamin C also increases elastin and collagen and keeps your skin hydrated.
Blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries contain fatty acids that can improve the smoothness of your skin and decrease inflammation. And bananas have vitamins A, C, and E, which heal and protect skin and slow the aging process.
You know what they say – a berry smoothie a day will keep the dermatologist away! (Is that a saying? No? Well, it really should be).
You need to make this smoothie – it tastes amazing and is so good for you! If you don’t need to be dairy free, you can use regular milk or water if you prefer.
This berry smoothie is:
loaded with skin-smoothing antioxidants
perfect for breakfast or a snack
vegan, gluten free, and dairy free
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What’s your favorite way to enjoy berries? What smoothies have you been drinking lately?
Bend Soap Milk Scrub (homemade soft scrub) Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
I love having a homemade all-purpose cleaner readily available, but sometimes you need something with more oomph, you know what I mean?
The house we’re renting has white laminate counter tops. They’re so porous that if a slice of beet falls off your cutting board, you must stop you’re doing right that moment and clean it up, otherwise you’ll have an unsightly red mark on the counter forever.
Oddly enough, we had this same type of counters in our rented townhouse in California too. That’s actually how I learned the hard way about cleaning up beets ASAP (carrots too, and pretty much anything else that isn’t white).
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I used to rely on Soft Scrub to get me out of those stained-counter jams.
This was pre-real food days of course, back when our kitchen was filled with boxed cake mixes and “just add this” for an instant dinner. Not only did I not know about the dangerous ingredients in many common household cleansers, but I hadn’t developed a bleach alternative recipe OR my heavy duty citrus infused vinegar cleanser either.
However, despite the fact that I have both of these homemade cleaners on hand (and the ingredients to easily make more if I need to), I still tend to think of over-the-counter cleaning products first.
The good news though, is that it’s getting easier to think twice and consider whether or not what I’ve already made will work, OR if it’s possible to make a new cleaner that will get the job done just as good, if not better, than the chemical-filled store-bought cleaners.
Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
I made carrot cake this past weekend and got shredded carrot all over the counters in the process. I knew that when it came time to clean up my mess, I didn’t have anything in my cleaning arsenol that would be strong enough to get rid of the orange tint.
I knew Soft Scrub would work, but I didn’t want to use it again. The last time I used it in California I accidentally got some on my skin and it burned! It also has an incredibly strong smell and I didn’t like how it made the whole kitchen smell sterile, instead of just smelling clean.
Then I remembered that Marilee from Bend Soap Company shared her homemade Bend Soap Milk Scrub recipe with me. She said it was like a homemade soft scrub, but that it was so much gentler on their skin (since it’s made from their own in-house goat milk soap).
She also said it was really easy to make and worked on a variety of surfaces – toilets, sinks, bathtubs, showers… even stainless steel pots, sinks and stoves!
Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
Taking a look at the ingredients in her recipe, I can see why it works so well:
Baking soda is known to be a natural whitening agent.
Vinegar helps to eliminate germs.
Goat milk soap itself is truly an excellent cleaner.
My daughter helped me make a batch of this homemade soft scrub and we got to scrubbing. Within seconds, the orange tint was gone! I took the homemade soft scrub to our master shower and scrubbed the grout. Then I went to the bathroom sink and scrubbed it too!
Aside from the fact that this homemade soft scrub works amazingly well, I love that it doesn’t have a harsh smell, which would have made cleaning the small stand-up master shower unbearable.
I also love that while the baking soda helps whiten surfaces, it won’t stain your clothes!
I wore a black t-shirt and my jeans when I was cleaning and it didn’t bleach my shirt at all. I know for a fact the hem of my jeans got the cleaner on them (even “short” jeans are a bit long on me) and there’s no stains from the cleaner whatsoever!
I can’t say this about the typical soft scrub – I would purposely put on an old t-shirt and pants that I didn’t care whether or not they got stained, because even the slightest lean on the counter meant a ruined shirt!
Thank you Marilee for this awesome recipe – you bet it’s a keeper!
Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
Bend Soap Milk Scrub (homemade soft scrub)
Supplies
1 cup shredded goat milk soap from Bend Soap Company (Tea Tree, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Tangerine Spice and Lavender all have antibacterial properties which are good for cleaning)
1 quart water (distilled, if your tap water is not suitable)
Boil 1 quart of water. Add 1 cup shredded goat milk soap to a quart mason jar. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water into the jar and stir until dissolved. Cool slightly, but not completely.
Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
Step 2: Make soft scrub.
Add baking soda to a re-sealable container or a bowl. Add liquid goat milk soap concentrate and stir well. Add vinegar and stir until thoroughly mixed. The mixture will thicken as it cools. Either keep in the re-sealable container OR pour back into the quart mason jar for storage.
Allow to cool completely overnight for a thicker cleaner OR add additional water to thin and fill a squeeze bottle. Just be sure the spout opening of the bottle is large so that it doesn’t get clogged.
Note: If the mixture separates as it cools, use an immersion blender to mix it back together. You could probably use a regular blender instead, but I haven’t tried that method myself.
Homemade soft scrub is a must in my cleaning arsenal, and this recipe is made with natural goat milk soap instead of harsh chemicals. With just 3 all-natural ingredients, it's gentle enough to clean stainless steel yet tough enough to clean stained counters and grout. The best part is that it doesn't stain your clothes or have a harsh smell! This homemade soft scrub recipe is definitely a keeper! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com
To Use
Spoon out (or squeeze) and use a sponge or a hard bristle brush (depending on what surface you’re cleaning) and scrub. Rinse with the sponge and wipe dry with a towel.
You’ll Love These Non-toxic Cleaning Recipes Too
What do you use to clean and scrub white surfaces?
This post is brought to you by Bend Soap Company and Crumbs is honored to partner with them. One bar at a time, Bend Soap Company is healing and nourishing skin with their all-natural goat milk soap and lotions.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Bend Soap Company. I love Bend Soap Company’s products and use them daily in my home. As always, I would never recommend anything on Crumbs that I wouldn’t recommend to a close friend or neighbor, and all opinions here are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. By making a purchase through those links, you support the ministry of Crumbs without any additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crumbs in this way! Read my full disclosure statement here.
Original article and pictures take dontwastethecrumbs.com site
I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. - Danielle
Hello friends,
Been thinking, and I just wanted to share.
So much of my life has been spent hungering for the next phase, instead of thriving where I am.
Desperately Seeking Husband
Before I met my amazing husband, I spent the majority of my time, efforts, and energy trying to find “him”. Of course I didn’t know who he was going to be, but by golly I was determined to find him. I searched high and low, obsessed to know who he was and to finally be in love and married.
Now, when I think back on my life, I realize I missed out on so much before I was married, in my great desire and impatience to know him and discover who he was.
The funny thing is, when I finally got FED UP with dwelling on being married and decided to enjoy the status of my life as it was . . . three weeks later, I kid you not, there he was, walking into the coffee shop I was hanging at one evening. I will forever be grateful for meeting him, and anybody who knows us knows I mean it. I’ve never met anyone like him. <3 He is my soul mate, my chosen one.
And I ended up enjoying three weeks of my life as a single woman. [face palm]
Why did it take me so long to enjoy the season I was in? How much could I have gained by realizing this beforehand? By trusting that God had a person for me and I just needed to sit back and thrive until he arrived?
I’m not a fan of looking back in regret. God has trained me to recognize when I’m engaging in this fruitless activity and stop it, turning my thoughts around in thankfulness. But I can use those realizations for future events I encounter.
The Next Phase: Mommyhood
You would think I had learned my lesson. I had spent so much of my life looking for this one, and I found him! We were married, and living together in first-year marital bliss. And in all my happy state, there seemed to be a new goal in sight: motherhood.
A baby. This was something I didn’t have, something I had never experienced before. And . . . I wanted it!
So I became fixated on babies. Mommyhood. Not that that is a bad thing, but again, I wished the season I was in away for the next one. I did spend some time having fun, doing my thing. I sewed purses with bible verses inside and sold them on eBay. It was fun. I got to exercise when I wanted to, stay up as late as I wanted, sleep as late as I wanted . . . but still I was wondering about that next phase.
Any mother will tell you, they will never regret their children coming into their lives. Not for a minute will I ever wish my children had come later or that I had been more ready. But I still think about the fact that I should have been serving others more with my time, doing things that made me feel more productive, before they came.
Continuing On?
Now I am a mother to my wonderful four children, three boys and a girl. My hubby and I think they are just the cat’s meow. They are so full of fun and life and love.
And alas, they are a lot of work! (Moms, are you with me??)
Right now my youngest is still very young – a toddler and all that entails. We all chase her around all day. She’s the bee’s knees. She is a world changer! And yet sometimes, when I’m trying to load the dishwasher and she’s dutifully taking out everything I’m putting in . . . I’m tempted.
When I wake up at 4am, bleary-eyed, to go retrieve her from her crib to join me, sometimes I’m tempted.
When I’ve had it up to here with Handy Manny and just want to watch what I want to watch, I’m tempted.
Tempted to what?
Wish this season away. I do like to look back on my life and the lessons I learned so far. But this one, with God’s help, I think I’ve got. I can’t wish this one away. It would be too painful.
One day they’ll grow up. There’ll be no more tiny footprints dirtying my tile floor [I’m crying as I write this]. There’ll be no size 2T sock without its partner. There’ll be no toys strewn across the living room floor. There’ll be no sippy cups . . . no Curious George . . . no Boxcar Children . . .
True, there won’t be any dirty diapers, car seats, aching back from the constant carrying of a toddler on my hip, and a lot more. But when those things are finally gone, I’m going to look back, bury my head in my pillow, and cry.
I’m going to sob, and my heart is going to ache with a fire it’s not felt before. I will want to pay any amount just to kiss a sweet set of baby toes again. Just to feel the rapture of a tiny hand in mine. To feel peaceful baby breath while napping on my chest.
I’ll be darned if I am going to look back on these years and realize I had wished them all away. I won’t, I can’t let it happen.
I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. I’m going to thrive . . . and be grateful for every minute of this season.
And that’s my battle cry when silly, petty, selfish temptations arise. The days are long, very long sometimes . . . but the years are short – much too short.
I’m living my dream. I want it to last as long as it can.
Love,
Dandy
Original article and pictures take 0fc5cb92f9783431f3abc5cf-ecffocieq.netdna-ssl.com site
This healthy and delicious smoothie will help you beat the winter blues!
Here we are, a week into 2015. Did you make any resolutions? Have you kept up with them so far?
I actually did make a few this year. Normally I don’t bother, because it seems like I just forget about them after a couple of weeks. But this year I’m really feeling the need to make some changes. My two big ones are:
1. Move more – it’s freezing here in the winter, and I tend to just want to hide under a blanket and drink tea or cocoa. Not great, since I don’t want to gain 10 pounds.
2. Drink more smoothies. I like to drink smoothies, but sometimes I just grab some toast instead, which leaves me hungry an hour later.
So far, I’ve been keeping up with these resolutions pretty well! I have a third, frivolous resolution, too…watch all the Harry Potter movies again. Who knows when that will happen. Darryl and I rarely have time to sit down and watch a whole movie, so it will probably happen in 30 minute increments here and there. :)
Anyway, back to the smoothies. This is my current favorite smoothie recipe. It’s such a pretty and vibrant color, and it really brightens up grey winter mornings. Berries and pineapple provide lots of fiber and antioxidants, and the mango is high in Vitamins A and C, and is great for your immune system. We all need strong immune systems right now, don’t we? The flu is running rampant here in Michigan right now.
I add chia seeds for extra calcium and iron. I also use calcium fortified orange juice, but you could use water or cranberry juice if you prefer. If you don’t like one of the fruits in this recipe, just substitute something else! You could add strawberries or chopped oranges, or even some kiwi if you wish!
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The other thing that makes me look forward to my smoothie is my glass straw from Strawesome. I don’t know why, but I just really like having my pink glass smoothie straw to drink out of. Silly, right?
Did you make any resolutions? What’s your favorite kind of smoothie?
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Original article and pictures take www.activateapparel.com site
Balance Your Microbiome With Prebiotics and Probiotics and My Top Probiotic Foods! Balance Your Microbiome with Prebiotic and Probiotic Foods
Learn how to balance your microbiome with prebiotics and probiotics and check out my top probiotic foods!
Information about the critical importance of a balanced microbiome is becoming mainstream. Even some medical doctors are actually reading their medical journals and noticing the explosion in research on the human microbiome.
Nutritionists have been talking about the beneficial bacteria for years and now we have the science to back up what we say.
We know that we can supplement the diet with probiotic foods like fermented vegetables and fermented dairy products. However, there is also new interest in prebiotic foods that are high in fiber and resistant starch.
What are Prebiotic Foods?
Much ado has been made for adding fiber to your diet to improve health in regards to diabetes, heart disease ,cholesterol lowering (questionable value), cancer (also some find it protective, some not) and metabolic syndrome. While there are studies supporting these health claims, there are also studies that indicate that too much fiber can exacerbate certain conditions, such as, diverticulosis, constipation and mineral absorption in general (due to the phytic acid in many fibers).
When introducing more fiber into your diet you must go slowly.
Prebiotic foods have fiber. There are many kinds of fiber, i.e. soluble fiber, insoluble fiber and resistant starch (really just another name for insoluble fiber).
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber refers to naturally occurring fibers from oatmeal, oat cereal, lentils, apples, oranges, pears, oat bran, strawberries, nuts, flaxseeds, beans, dried peas, blueberries, psyllium, cucumbers, celery, and carrots.
This type of fiber is soluble in water and forms a gel in the intestines which slows down digestion. For some, this is a good thing as it delays the emptying of your stomach and makes you feel full, which helps control weight. It may also help with insulin sensitivity and thus help diabetics.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water, but pass through the digestive tract. This serves to bulk up the stools and help with constipation. It also increases the motility of the digestive tract.
Food sources of insoluble fiber are whole wheat, whole grains, wheat bran, corn bran, seeds, nuts, barley, couscous, brown rice, bulgar, zucchini, celery, broccoli, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, dark leafy vegetables, raisins, grapes, fruit, and root vegetable skins. (source).
Added fiber is recognized by officials to benefit human health in three ways:
Fiber helps to keep blood glucose steady by binding with fatty acids and slowing digestion so blood sugars are released more slowly into the body.
Fiber helps to reduce risk of coronary artery disease by lowering bad cholesterol
Fiber improves regular bowel movements by hydrating, controlling pH levels and moving waste through the intestines.
The suggested daily fiber intake is 25 to 38 g for adolescents and adults. It is estimated that most people fall short of that with less than 15 grams a day.
Resistant Starch
Resistant starch is starch that is resistant to human digestion so it ends up in the colon where the bacteria can feed upon it. In this way, resistant starch directly supports the colonic microbiome and is thought to foster diversity.
What are Safe Starches?
Safe starches is a term coined by Dr. Paul Jaminet in his book, written with his wife, Dr. Shou-Ching Jaminet, called The Perfect Health Diet. In this book, Drs. Jaminet outline a diet that resembles the Paleo diet but also allows for more carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tapioca, root vegetables and white rice (white rice is not allowed on Paleo).
From a traditional standpoint, this diet makes a lot of sense as many traditional cultures have been eating root vegetables, potatoes and rice for thousands of years, along with clean animal fats and animal proteins.
Dr. Jaminet cured himself of a very persistent and chronic illness with this diet. If you are ready to come off SCD or GAPS, I highly recommend their book.
Good Bacteria Need Fiber
Another important concept is that pathogenic bacteria survive by feeding on the byproducts of inflammation (becoming a vicious cycle), yet the good bacteria survive on fermentation of fiber.
This suggests that you should eat fiber (and possibly resistant starch) to feed the good bacteria. I would imagine that it is possible, after months or a year or two on the SCD/GAPS, or low carb diets, to transition to a more fiber rich diet in order to nourish the good bacteria.
Interestingly, in this study published in Science in 2013 scientists have revealed that in IBD, where there is inflammation already, bacteria like Enterobacteriaceae (including some E. coli strains) use nitrate to survive. The nitrate is present when there is inflammation in the intestine. Lead author Andreas Baumler, a professor of medical microbiology and immunology at UC Davis said,
Much like humans use oxygen, E. coli can use nitrate as a replacement for oxygen to respire, produce energy and grow… In IBD, nitrate produced by inflammation in the gut allows E. coli to take a deep ‘breath,’ and beat out our beneficial microbes in the competition for nutrients… Determining the reasons why bacteria like E. coli can edge out good bacteria in the gut is crucial for determining new ways to halt the IBD disease process.
Well, there you go. This is exactly the concept the SCD and GAPS diets are founded upon. SCD and GAPS are engineered to starve out the bad bacteria, but plenty of the foods feed the good bacteria and the fermented foods provide bacteria that passes through the system, yet along the way, offer their benefits.
Many foods on the SCD, GAPS and Paleo diets are great sources of both soluble and insoluble fiber, such as yams and sweet potatoes, green leafy vegetables, carrots, winter squash and root vegetables, fruits with an edible peel (like apples and pears), berries, seeds, and nuts.
Jeff Leach of the American Gut project has been living in Tanzania for over a year and studying the Hadza. The Hadza are one of the few thriving and surviving hunter/gatherer tribes left on this earth. They have a lot of fiber in their diet and an amazingly diverse microbiome.
Current studies show that diversity is the key to a healthy microbiome. For good health in general and restoring a better ability to heal the gut, fiber is necessary.
Prebiotic foods provide fiber – eat plenty of root vegetables, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus and resistant starch (if you are not on SCD or GAPS).
Probiotic foods are essential to any good diet.
Top Rebiosis Strategies
Fiber in the Diet
Fiber feeds the bacteria. Some people have conditions that prevent them from tolerating fiber (SIBO, certain individuals with IBD or IBS). There is a gray area here and some people will have to learn how to support the microbes without exacerbating a medical condition.
Microbiome barriers protect us from misfiring of the immune system. When there is barrier dysbiosis – leaky gut, leaky brain and leaky skin can develop. There are also microbial barriers in the lungs. The health of all these microbial barriers must be taken into consideration.
Treg cells dampen the hyper-immune response and are critical cells that help balance the immune response. The immune system can be healed back into balance.
