Breakfast: Kickstarting my brain with grain

Hmmm, seems I'm talking about tasty stuff a lot these days, let's keep the trend going! I'm not doing a great job with the detox, but the beauty of this one is how forgiving it is. I feel like I can keep going and do the food aspect of it to create healthy habits and redirect my taste buds. Afterward, I can go back and integrate the yoga. In the meantime, I'm trying to remember to do all of it, just not beating myself up if I don't remember/can't find the time to do the morning routine of meditation and yoga.

Sorry for the pitiful picture...all I had on-hand was my cell phone.

This is pretty much what breakfast has looked like for the past week: baked apple quinoa (keen-wah) with a liver-cleansing beverage. Last week I started each day with a lemon drink that I grew pretty fond of: Juice from half a lemon, dash of cayenne, 2 ounces apple cider vinegar and a spoon of honey in 8 ounces of warm water. This week I'm supposed to replace the lemon drink with a detoxifying tea, but I had my lemon drink this morning anyway.  I don't know if it's that my tastes are changing, but I really enjoy starting my day with it!

I've used quinoa a handful of times in the past, but always as something of a rice substitution. Because it's protein-packed and full of fiber, it makes a perfect morning meal. I first tried this version which called for chopped apples, a few other ingredients, and dry grain all mixed together and baked.  It was good, but for texture's sake with the next batch I decided to partially cook the grains before mixing them up and baking them. I went with Gabby's Gluten Free Cinnamon Breakfast Bake, but instead of soy milk used apple sauce, didn't use quite as much maple syrup, and threw in a handful of chopped dates.

Warding off the sugar monster

Tired of my turmeric tea talk? When @ShaynaLaGrace  (aka La La Grace) asked twitters to join her in a 30 day detox, I jumped right on in. The detox, Optimal Health for a Vibrant Life by Tiffany Cruikshank,  reflects the changes I was already making, but having it written solidified my resolve. It also works well as my Wellness Prescription. For week 1 you scale back on caffeine, sugar and alcohol and add a series of yoga sun salutations. I've been doing a yoga work out lately that consists mainly of sun salutations, so that part seemed easy enough. I rarely drink so that's another easy one, but caffeine and sugar have my by the jowls. I'm not sure that's even a saying, but let's pretend it is.

One way to scale back on the sugar is to nix the Starbucks Chai which has 47 g of sugar (in a grande soy).  The only ingredients I found online were for the Chai Concentrate, which I'm not entirely convinced is the same concentrate they use to make the drink behind the bar. The concentrate ingredients are:

WATER, BLACK TEA, BLACK PEPPER, GINGER, CARDAMOM, CINNAMON, CLOVES, STAR ANISE, NATURAL FLAVORS, CANE SUGAR, HONEY, GINGER JUICE, NATURAL FLAVORS, VANILLA EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID

 I think the in-store version must have sugar and honey higher up on the ingredient list.Anyway, to cut back on sugar, I made my own concentrate to make and take with me to work. Basically I used 12 chai tea bags simmered in 4 cups of water for 6 minutes. The spices weren't apparent enough, so I added extra ginger, black pepper, turmeric, and a dash of pumpkin pie spices (mainly to enhance the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom). I then sweetened it with honey and a bit of agave syrup. Serve it up with coconut milk and it's pretty good, but still not spot on. When I get it just right I'll share the exact recipe.

Do you make your own chai concentrate? What's your recipe? Are you a slave to the sugar monster? How do you (or do you even) ward him off?

Green 'n clean carpet follow-up

I meant to spend some time with a few rugs this past weekend, testing out the Earth Friendly Products Carpet Shampoo. Between Fox officially crawling (and trying to crawl up the stairs) and prepping for a 30 day detox I didn't get to all of the rugs, but I did try out the goods.

The EFP shampoo is more concentrated than the Bissell (uses 1.5 oz to Bissell's recommended 2.5 oz). It also uses essential oils for fragrance rather than artificial fragrance, which meant I didn't end up with a migraine post-use. In fact, the EFP fragrance was pretty much undetectable after the rug dried, the Bissell lingered for the next 24 hours or so.

Did it clean as well? Absolutely. I cleaned this small rug from C's and my bedroom, one that sees the most traffic in that room. Though it's relatively new, it needed some attention. For several weeks M had a nighttime cough that I approached with Hyland's Cough Syrup (disappointingly, I realized it has Sodium Benzoate, so out it goes) and raw, local honey. There were spots of gunk across the carpet thanks to the combination of those 2 sticky substances plus nighttime doses.

A quick steam and the dirty water that cycled back into the tank was a murky medium brown. I still had some clean water and shampoo in the tank, so I used it up on an area of the main rug in the den...that very same rug we'd cleaned 2 weeks ago. The 3'x5' area of that rug cycled black water back into the tank. Total yuck to the nth degree.

The visible results: The sticky mess from the bedroom rug is gone. A few of the stains on the larger carpet are significantly less visible than they were after the Bissell round. 

The short of it: I'm glad I researched and decided to try this particular carpet cleaner! While I'm pretty sure nothing can return our carpet to it's new glory, I can definitely breathe easier having little hands and feet playing on it all the time.

Sipping Inner Strength

Not long ago I read a post online somewhere about a woman who was drawn to certain herbs. Really really drawn to them to get to know all sorts of aspects of the plants and their properties. I don't really have that depth of connection with herbs or spices, but I've been a bit turmeric-curious lately.

Every winter I get into a chai latte habit, not the kind of wholesome, whole body warming chai (though I suspect that's what I'm actually craving), but the sugary, dessert-substitute coffee shop variety. It's the spice that I crave, the bite of ginger and pepper combined against the creaminess of milk (soy in my case).

Then I saw turmeric on sale at the grocery store and decided it was time to listen to the whispers. Maybe I'm stirred by the color: the brilliant orange-leaning yellow of an early spring daffodil that reminds me of my MeMa; or the broken-in familiarity of a worn out mustard-colored corduroy jacket, literally threadbare from years of daily wear. There's something about that color.

When cooking with spices I'm more of a garlic and basil gal. The earthiness of turmeric is exotic and unfamiliar but definitely in line with my cold-weather favorite: chai. And no wonder! Turmeric is kin to ginger, but with that earthy familiarity of curry.

If you follow Ayurveda, turmeric is a fiery plant perfectly suited for warming the soul during the winter. I don't know much about Ayurveda, but my friend Rachael does and in a brief discussion with her, I clearly recognized my dosha as Kapha. Turns out, turmeric is a pretty good choice for someone like me. (So are sun salutations, which is a topic for a different strength-focused post.)

Following the draw to turmeric and exploring why has helped me find my Spark: strength. While I usually look towards "rewarding experiences" as inspiration for the new year, rewards are not necessarily the reason to choose a path. The word I need most right now is strength. I could stand to use listen, too, since it's taken me a week to finally accept "strength" as a word to focus on. 

Glad I listened to the whispers. As an anti-inflammatory superfood, guess what turmeric is purported to do? Promote inner strength!

I'm getting to know ways to incorporate turmeric, so a few days ago I made a delicious tea based on this suggestion on 101 Cookbooks :
1/2 T turmeric, a couple shakes of pumpkin spices (though cinnamon or ginger would be just as delicious) 1 T good quality raw honey, mixed into warm (not boiling since you want the honey to keep all its good stuff) coconut milk. Stir every few sips so all the yummy nutrients don't settle to the bottom.

Turns out, I didn't make anything shockingly new or different...search "turmeric milk" and there are recipes all over the place for drinks like this.

Have you been listening to your body lately? What has it been saying?

Green Laundry

My sister-in-law was recently tested for allergies and learned she is allergic to cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB). CAPB is used in many "natural" products because it's derived from coconut oil. Hearing about her allergies has renewed my interest in ingredient reading.

I think I'm pretty aware of what goes in and on my family's bodies, but to be honest I can't police everything. Some things are purposefully overlooked just so I don't beat myself up over the facts that M had a piece of artificial-everything candy or that Fox drinks formula.  Back to the crunchy part of our lifestyle...

My old recipe. The Fels-Naptha is way too fragrant, I switched to

Dr. Bronner's castile bar soap

I alternate between homemade and Seventh Generation liquid laundry soap and making our own, but checking out ewg ratings, I noticed Borax that really brought the score down; boy did I feel ignorant. A quick search for alternatives and found out the possible danger was old news! A little more searching and I found a recipe by Amy Bayliss for a Borax-free version.  After I run out of my current batch (that I just made yesterday) I'll have to try her version.

In the meantime, what else should I try making? What do you DIY or trust a natural brand to do for you?