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Remember my Creamy French Toast Pancakes recipe from a  few weeks back? Well, my husband is in love with it. He makes them 4-5 times a week, maybe more. Most days he follows the recipe as I wrote it but some days he gets all wild and crazy and creates new variations. Hence the reason he is a better cook. I stick with the safe bet and he likes to kick it up a notch, ala Emeril. If he got to set something on fire while cooking these they would probably be all he ever made.

Anyway, this week he came up with two kick ass, new versions of these paleo/primal pancakes. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe them. Essentially he added some coconut flour to make the pancakes more dense and bread-like and he added either pickled ginger or orange zest to give the recipe a whole new flavor. We eat pickled ginger by the bucket load around here but I never ever would have thought to add it to pancakes.

Coconut Ginger Primal Pancakes

4 pastured eggs
8 ounces (one package) organic full fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon pickled ginger
1 cap full pure vanilla
Coconut oil for cooking (we use Tropical Traditions coconut oil)
Pure maple syrup

Mix up in a good blender (I am partial to the Vita-Mix) and pour on to your cast iron skillet or griddle, aiming for pancakes about six inches in diameter. Use cooking oil to grease your pan/griddle if need be. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. They will be a glorious golden brown. Top with grass fed butter and pure maple syrup.

To make the orange zest version just remove the pickled ginger and substitute the orange zest. Enjoy!

Stuff I am Reviewing…

Nature Box – This is another one of those monthly box deals and it is all about healthy snacks. We enjoyed our box and would have enjoyed it much more prior to going paleo since a couple of snacks were grain based. The dried cherries were phenomenal though, yum! My husband also really liked the dried veggie crisps and my kids did enjoy some non paleo snacking for a time. My kiddos never had a fig newton before trying the ones in this box, LOL. That kind of blew me away.

This concept is really awesome if you have a hard time sticking to your guns when it comes to healthy snacks. I don’t think they are organic but they are pretty natural and without artificial sweeteners, HFCS, food dyes, and other nasty stuff. The promo code HEALTHY may be used for 25% off your first month of subscription, if you care to give them a try.

Full Circle Fresh Air Kitchen Compost Collector - We got this shortly before Earth Day and I gave it a try. I didn’t realize at the time that it relies on bio plastic baggies to collect the kitchen scraps and I am not a fan of that but it it is still a good kitchen option for those who are not composting. It sits on your counter and you just drop the scraps in as you collect them. Every 3 to 4 days you are supposed to remove them but we typically went longer than that. There was no smell, which is a bonus, but it did attract fruit flies. I will be donating or freecycling mine as I just don’t like having to use plastic bags.

A Hadaki Cosmopolitan Tote bag – They consider it an eco-friendly option because their products are AZO free, contain no Phthalates / DEHP or DBP. I think we differ somewhat in our definition of eco friendly but I do not mind plastic based tote bags so much because they are durable and reusable. This particular bag is quite awesome in size and I can see myself taking it to the farmer’s market, the local pool, and to BlogHer12 in New York City (only 3 months away!) to carry all my goodies.

Astroglide Natural - Got some of this last week. I am not going to go into how I personally like it since that’s none of your business. :) I do however like that so many of the companies that make these personal lubricants are removing the toxic ingredients! Astroglide has no glycerin, fragrance, parabens, or alcohol. I also ran the ingredients list through the Skin Deep database and all scored a 1 or 2. Pretty good.

Books I am Reading…

The Other Baby Book: A Natural Approach to Baby’s First Year was one of my recent reads. I am not expecting nor will I ever be again, or that’s the plan at least, but I still enjoyed reading this book. I think it would have been much more beneficial to read a book like this when I was newly pregnant instead of the standard What to Expect books. It challenges many of the conventional ideas on birthing and baby care and it is so refreshing! It really takes a look all aspects of bringing a life into this world and caring it, and re-frames normal. I liked that it strongly advocates for attachment parenting and using your intuition as a guide, keeping birth interventions to a minimum, breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping, and elimination communication among many other things. The tone was also very upbeat and encouraging, not scary. A+

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think - Just finishing this book. It basically addresses the fact that we all have 168 hours a week to work with and that most of are not actually crunched for time we are just not using that 168 hours wisely and in ways that make sense for our dreams and goals. If we make sure to fill those hours only with things that deserve to be there, we build the lives we want. I really enjoyed this book.

Fifty Shades of Grey - Had to read it after all the media buzz and I was kind of surprised to find that I was not the least bit shocked by this book. I adored it actually and ordered the next two pronto. The author has been quoted as saying it is like the grown up version of Twilight (but with BDSM instead of vampires?) and I agree.

Other Link Worthy Stuff…

Love this Kickstarter Project for an iPad Sustainability story.

Hoping to make and eat soon… these Raw Lemon Pie Bars and these grain free Cake Batter Balls.

This Climate Change Carnival at Big Green Purse has many awesome links including one of my own articles. Check it out when you get the chance.

BlogHer Green also featured my stinky towels post.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Ever come across a product that you may have hesitated to buy at first and then it ends up changing your life and you cannot imagine life without it? The Diva Cup is one of those for me. I think I first wrote about this wonderful product about 7 or 8 years now. The concept of reusables came into my life via cloth diapers and then cloth pads for moms. While I have lots of love for those too it was the Diva Cup that ended up being the real game changer. After the second month using it I knew that I would be using a menstrual cup until I no longer needed them anymore (menopause). Also being the big fan that I am, I will happily introduce these to my daughter from the get-go. I only have a few more years until I am likely to do that. Yikes! Where does the time go?

My motivation in trying the cup was to reduce waste and eliminate the need to buy disposable pads and tampons. I also HATED both of these products with a passion. They are more like modern day torture devices and I can see why so many women refer to that time of month as a curse when those are the standard options. Who wants to deal with adult diaper rash from pads and the dryness and possible Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) from tampons? Not me, thank you. Cloth pads I found, were infinitely more comfortable but they also required more work. Storing them until wash day and then actually washing them was not going to make my top ten favorite things to do list. Then I came across a mention of menstrual cups on a cloth diapering message board and I ordered one. We have been likes peas and carrots ever since.

If you are not familiar with The Diva Cup, it is a cup that is inserted just like a tampon is. The “cup” catches your monthly flow and when it is full you simply empty it, wash with soapy water, and reinsert. It is made of soft medical grade silicone, which is latex-free, 100% hypoallergenic and odorless. It comes with a lovely carrying case so that you can keep it clean between uses and hidden away so kids won’t be inclined to steal it and play with it in the tub like it some kind of toy. Not saying that has ever happened but it could…hypothetically. I will say that it is really fun to explain to any male child that happens to be handling the cup, what it is and what it does. ;) This may be why I recently had to replace mine though. After one such conversation it mysteriously disappeared after bathroom cleaning duty. I think it disappeared into the trash. I wasted no time buying a new one and if you need one in a hurry you can find them at Whole Foods usually.

Reusable menstrual products are healthier to use and infinitely more comfortable.  They may take some adjustment as some women/girls may be uncomfortable dealing with menstrual blood because of years of using disposable, traditional products. I will admit that I am not squeamish in that regard. Caring for them is pretty easy too.

Have you tried a menstrual cup yet? What are you waiting for?

Related: Alternative Menstrual Products – Ditch the Disposables

This is the time of year when you are bombarded with all kinds of local summer camp offerings. Summer time isn’t vacation time for many parents and you either have to find ways to keep kids occupied or maybe you just want to occasionally. No parent wants to hear the dreaded “Mom, I’m bored!” from their kids. I am one of those mean moms that tells my kids to get creative and use their imagination if they are bored. I don’t feel as though it is my job to entertain them. Yet, I do want to facilitate some special moments and memories during the summer and summer camps are usually out of our budget, at least for all three kids. The next best option may be a co-op.

What is a co-op, and what does it have to do with child care and/or child entertainment during the summer? A co-op can be various things, from a homeschool organization to a group of people who share similar interests. But we are talking about summer co-ops that will act as child care if you need to work or child entertainment if you just want to give your kids some fun summer experiences. This kind of co-op is basically a conglomeration (or co-operative) of parents who get together and share child care/entertainment duties. It’s very much like a do-it-yourself summer camp!

How Can You Start a Summer Co-op?

First, you’ll want to decide what the co-op is all about. Will it have a theme that changes weekly? Are you going to integrate learning, educational projects, fun activities, or a combination of these? Is there a point besides just babysitting? Other parents might be more inclined to commit if you have a general plan in place for what the co-op will look like. However, it may be off-putting if you have every detail worked out and other parents feel as though they have to follow your blueprint without any input of their own. The best approach is probably a loose outline or idea and a request for ideas and feedback.

Next, you will need to start contacting parents in your area. You can start with close friends, then move into your child’s school directory if possible. Based on a 5-day work week, you will need at least ten families who are willing to commit to once a week care (with at least two adults present at each co-op). Invite parents via email, phone, letter, or whatever works best for you. You can also create a private Facebook group for all involved parties so that you can organize better and stay up to date on planning and schedules.

What Activities Should We Offer?

There are all kinds of activities you can offer during your summer co-op! Because of the favorable weather, outdoor activities are possible. You might find it works best to have a theme for each day (Monday is Art Day, Friday is All About Animals, Wednesday is Water Fun, etc.) Here are some ideas.

* Birds – Bird-watching, crafts, and art projects are just the beginning with bird-oriented activities. You could also visit an aviary, collect feathers, make bird feeders, and go on hikes to watch birds in the wild. A field trip to a farm to look at chickens would be fun, or the kids could do a bird theme scavenger hunt.

* Art – This is a broad and almost endless subject for activities! You can paint outside (try throwing washable balls at a big sheet of paper!) and use the hose to clean off. Create a sidewalk or driveway mural with paints and chalk. You could make your own sidewalk chalk as a project. You could also plan a visit to a museum and create artwork inspired by what you observe. Use colored water to spray-paint the surface of sand in a sandbox, sculpt with clay, and create nature crafts like twig picture frames. There are so many ways you could do art with kids that you could incorporate it into all kinds of other activities.

* Water – Make sure that water play is safe; if some kids can’t swim, a trip to the pool could be disastrous. Instead, have a water day with hoses, sprinklers, wading pools, and, to help out parents, car-washing. If the cost of water is a concern, parents can pool their money to cover the cost of the water use. Alternatively there many localities that have parks with water features and splash areas you could take the kids to visit.

* Picnics – Plan an outdoor meal or cookout, and then include games like Frisbee, hopscotch, badminton, horseshoes, cornhole, and other move-about games.

* Parks – Groups of kids can have a great deal of fun at a state forest or park. You can take them all on a wildflower walk, wading in streams and creeks, or just let them play on the playground equipment and partake in the park’s resources (such as miniature golf, paddle boats, etc.).

If you need or want help with daycare this summer or you just want an affordable summer fun experience for your kids, a co-op may be just what you are looking for.

Further Reading: The Kids Summer Games Book & The Kids’ Summer Handbook

Attn: Giveaway at the end of this post!

A few weeks back Mountain Rose Herbs sent me a few of their Epicurean Organic Seasonings and the husband and I were excited to get cooking with them! I have been a fan of the store for a very long time and have bought their bulk herbs and essential oils in the past. They are one of my top sources for quality herbal ingredients for natural remedies. I never even thought about buying spices and cooking herbs there, not sure why exactly. Probably because I am not very adventurous with spices and herbs. I kinda stick to those I know and don’t deviate. My husband on the other hand loves to use herbs and spices, the more exotic the better. I can totally admit that he is a much better cook than I.

We ended trying four of the Epicurian Organics – Thai Curry, Herbs De Provence, West Indies Rub, and Grilling Herbs.

Grilling Herbs – This blend packs a punch with its bold flavor and penetrating aroma which holds itself well against high heat and direct flame. It is perfect for grilling those steaks outside and that is what we used it for. Contains the following ingredients: organic garlic, organic rosemary, organic black pepper, organic thyme and organic herbs. It was nice to have these all in one bottle as opposed to many and we love to use our grill so these will go fast.

Herbs de Provence –This one ended up being my favorite! From the birthplace of Gastronomy and fine cooking comes this flavorful and floral blend used for most dishes which need a “high-lifting” flavor. Best reserved for pastas, fish and most seafood. Contains the following ingredients: organic thyme, organic rosemary, organic marjoram, organic lavender and organic herbs. I used it for salmon (yum!) and in homemade chicken soup (double yum!).

West Indies Rub – A tasty and alluring blend which has been popularized by traditional Caribbean and Jamaican dishes, and is best in stir fry entrees, on fish, and as a seasoning base for gumbo. Will also enhance the flavor of traditional Thai dishes. Contains the following ingredients: organic garlic, organic black pepper, sea salt, organic ginger, organic fenugreek, organic coriander, organic mustard seed and organic spices. I made baked chicken legs with this selection and also some tacos. They were quite tasty!

Thai Curry Blend – A traditional seasoning used for the entire spectrum of Thai, Indonesian, or Szechuan dishes. Any lover of Thai or Indonesian food will rejoice in the splendor that this deeply penetrating blend provides. Contains the following ingredients: organic garlic, organic onion, organic lemon peel, organic red pepper, organic black pepper, organic herbs and organic spices. My husband used this a few times for some Asian dishes that incorporated kelp noodles. He doesn’t use a recipe as he just prefers to throw everything together and hope it works out well. Everything was delicious though.

In addition to coming from a very ethical and reputable company the spices are certified organic, Kosher certified, fairly traded, non GMO, irradition free, and chemical free. You could spend hours on their site reading up on their mission, ethical trading, their sustainability projects, and their commitment to a healthy world and planet. 2% of the proceeds from this line is donated to the Organic Consumers Association. These spices/herbs are also packaged in beautiful recycled glass bottles with post-consumer waste paper labels and original botanical watercolors. They are 100% organic and eco friendly goodness. It must also be said that they are VERY reasonably priced.

I hope my pictures above look mouth watering because one reader will get the exact same herbs/spices I did! You can see them below…

To enter just follow the prompts on the Rafflecopter form below, you have many options/chances to enter. The giveaway closes on May 16. Good luck and happy cooking!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One of the things I miss about living in the Southwest is the fact that we never, ever had to deal with things like mildew and stinky towels. As a child, bathing suits and towels could be tossed on the carpet all willy nilly and only an hour or two later they would be crunchy and bone dry. Mildew didn’t stand a chance. Later when I was cloth diapering my babes I had the luxury of being able to let the diapers sit in the diaper pail for a week or longer with no smell and no mildew. The first time I tried that after moving to Ohio…well let’s just say it didn’t end well. There was a noxious smell, there was mildew, and there were bugs. Argh!

We also learned that you don’t leave wet bathing suits and towels lay around and every so often your towels start to smell mildewy no matter if you wash and dry them on hot repeatedly. The first time this happened we ended up throwing them out because I thought it was hopeless without the use of something harsh like bleach. Well, we started to notice the same issue with our towels recently and since so many are organic and/or a super luxurious bamboo I did not want to throw them out. Didn’t want to bleach them either. Time to get creative!

With some tips from my Natural Living Facebook community I had a game plan, and it worked! Yay for clean smelling towels!! But why in the heck do they get stinky in the first place?? We do let our towels sit wet in the bathroom between showers/baths so that doesn’t help, even though they are on a hanging rack. I also think that they have a tendency to get stinky for the same reason cloth diapers do…a detergent buildup. Cloth diapers need to be “stripped” every so often to get rid of detergent scum/buildup and so do towels.

How to Get Rid of the Mildew Smell in Bath Towels

• Wash with hot water, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 10 drops tea tree oil
• Rinse with 1 cup vinegar
• Repeat wash/rinse (tea tree oil optional for the 2nd go round)
• Dry on hottest setting or dry outside in direct sunlight

This method worked wonders for me! Even after using the same towel over several days, no mildew smell. Now I just need to use this method every time I wash towels over the next 1-2 weeks to make sure I got them all.

Do you ever have this issue? How do you handle it?

Loving my shopping cart baskets from Reuseit.

Relying on reusable bags can be hit or miss because you may not remember to take them. If you keep them in your car that can be messy if you need a lot (like we do). These baskets, however, are easy to use at the store and don’t take up much room in the car. We just fit them inside the shopping cart and fill the cart up as we usually would. Then you, or the person bagging the groceries, just skips the whole bagging part and puts them back in the baskets after ringing them up. The full baskets sit nicely in the trunk or car seat and can be carried inside using the carrying handles. Empty them and return them to the car for next time. You can also store reusable produce bags in them so that you can bag your loose apples and lettuce and keep them separate. The baskets also have built in pockets for your shopping list, coupons, rewards cards, etc. They get an A++ from me.

Just had to share this amazing Eversave deal. You pay $20 for $40 to use at Abe’s Market. They sell lots of natural and organic foods as well as all kinds of natural green products from beauty items to toys. It is very much like a Whole Foods store and I have shopped there several times. When I saw this deal I immediately bought it up and knew exactly what I would buy. I got two bags of my fave grain free cereal Nutcase Crunch, and since they are $19 a bag (yeah pricey!) I ended up getting one free with this deal. Woot! I also had $2 extra cash to spare so I got one of their sample packages that cost exactly $2. Awesome!

Visit Eversave for the deal, while they last any way…

I have been a LunchBots fan for quite awhile. I have the LunchBots Duo and have used it for years now. I use it to store kiddie snacks on the road, I use it for school lunches, and I use it for my own snacks and lunch on occasion. It was this particular lunchbox that I took with me to a seminar I attended recently in fact. So color me overjoyed to try one of their new lunchboxes. I have eyed the Trio and the Quad with much desire.

The folks at LunchBots kindly sent me the Trio and I have used it steadily this week for post workout snacking. I either take it with me so I can run errands directly after or I sit at my computer desk with it and snack while I work. Whereas some of the other LunchBot options make sense for lunches this box seems to be better for snacks or sides to accompany the main event. Since they are all the same size you can easily stack them and wrap them up in a reusable bag for lunch if just one won’t cut it for you.

I like that they are simple in design, plastic free, and easy to clean and care for. The bento style lunchbox is also what we prefer to use here. The compartments keep the food from touching! My original LunchBot still looks like brand new and I have no doubts this one will stay nice too. I also love the brighter colors they have now. This shade of blue/teal is my favorite!

If you want to try one out LunchBots is offering an exclusive code for my readers this week only. Use code NATURE for 10% off and free shipping. Enjoy!

I just got home from a vigorous CrossFit workout. When I walked in the door my hubby was just about to take off for the golf course but he always asks how my workout was. Today I think he was a little taken aback by my enthusiastic “Awesome!” It was a really tough workout and we had four mini WODs today (WOD=workout of the day). I did squats, pushups, mountain climbers, rope climbing, medball presses, medball wall touches, 100 meter sprints, calf jumps, supermen, bicycles, rowing, sprinters, hip extensions, db floor press, and deadlifts. Most of it AMRAP or as many rounds as possible. Two months ago if I had done this workout I probably would have collapsed in exhaustion. Today though I just marveled at what I can do and how good I felt doing it. Building endurance and muscle has a lot to do with it but I think most of it is due to some other factors, which spurred me to make this top ten list.

Feel free to add your comments about daily health practices in the comments below. I would love to hear how you are staying healthy!

1. Eat Real Food – Everything you eat becomes part of your body because you are constantly rebuilding and replenishing your cells. Every single day your body is rebuilding itself and it is using the “tools” you give it. Those tools are the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you eat. If you are not getting the proper nutrition then your house is being built by a framer who was never given nails, hammer, or wood that has not been infested. Scary thought. Ask yourself, am I made of PopTarts and pizza or healthy whole, real foods? For optimum health we need ample amounts of fresh fruits and veggies/greens, high quality protein, and lots of dietary fat. The ratio that works best for me is 50% fat, 30% protein, and 20% carbs and I get that from grass fed meats, coconut oil, nuts, dairy, fruits, greens, and veggies. I have simply never felt better in my life then I have after going paleo/primal.

2. Get the Bowels Moving – Many people overlook this important aspect of health but I think bowel and gut health is indicative of what your health is like throughout your whole body. If you have a leaky gut then you will likely have food allergies and immunity problems. If you have bowel issues then you also likely have nutrient absorption issues which means your body is not accessing the nutrition it needs for rebuilding effectively. Unhealthy bowels can also set you up for larger problems, like colon cancer. I can attest that you never, ever want to go through that so make sure your bowel health is a daily consideration even if you ARE 28 and think that colon cancer can’t touch you. You should be moving your bowels at least once per day but after each large meal is also a good thing to shoot for. A good book to read is What’s Your Poo Telling You?

My secret weapon of late for colon health is greek yogurt with Spectrum Essentials Ground Flax with Berries. This keeps me regular!

3. Take High Quality Supplements – I am now a big believer that we cannot get everything we need from food, at least not in this modern day. Our soil conditions have fallen so far that it is impossible to expect that our food will have all the vitamins and minerals we need. Also many farms feed animals subpar foods like grains and soy, which means you eat meat from unhealthy animals. You are what you eat and you are what your food eats. We can do better by eating the best quality foods we can but we also need to supplement. I will not do without my magnesium, vitamin D3, fermented fish oils, High Vitamin Butter Oil, coconut oil, milk thistle capsules, chlorella tablets, and greens powders.

4. Break a Sweat – Exercise keeps you healthy, energetic, and happy. Weight training and other strength exercises help you build and maintain bone health as well as good balance to prevent injuries and falls. These same exercises also help you to retain your youthful flexibility. Exercise stimulates your lymph system and brings oxygenated blood to all your cells and it helps to regulate your weight.

5. Get Enough Sleep – Regeneration and healing occurs at night when you are sleeping. This time is very important and must never be shortchanged in favor of a busy lifestyle. Getting sufficient sleep (ala 8-10 hours a night) reduces stress, helps you maintain a healthy weight, improves brain function and clarity, improves physical performance, reduces depression, regulates hormones, reduces inflammation, and generally reduces your risk of disease and illness.

6. Spend Time in Nature – We need to get outside regularly and soak up Vitamin D. It is essential. We should also be spending time outside barefoot or Earthing so that we regulate the electric currents in our body and ground ourselves to the healing power of Mother Nature. Spending time outdoors makes us calmer, less stressed, happier, and it provides a cleaner source of air.

7. Spend Some Time on You – We need to spend time doing things we enjoy. No, it’s not selfish to pursue those things that bring you happiness. In fact it is vital to good mental and physical health. Give yourself frequent time outs from stressful situations and make the time to do the things you love.

8. Get a Mental Workout – Just as we need to exert ourselves physically we also need to break a mental sweat daily. This can mean reading, writing, doing a puzzle or some other activity but you need exercises like this to keep you sharp and active mentally.

9. Take Care of Your Skin – Our cells rebuild us a new meat suit regularly and it is a reflection of our health. Dry brush daily to brush away dead skin cells and encourage new growth as well as get the lymphatic system moving along. Use nontoxic, organic skincare products that will nourish your skin and not poison it. Hydrating with water and green smoothies also bathes our skin cells and plumps them up. Eat foods that protect your skin from exposure and avoid sunburns.

10. Breathe Clean Air – I am a big believer in air purifiers because indoor air can be toxic. Think about all the products that may be off gassing in the home (in a concentrated area) and you will see why you should be cleaning your indoor air and/or opening windows and doors to allow fresh air to circulate inside. Clean, fresh air will also help you keep illness at bay.

What do you do every day for YOUR health?

Today kicks off Screen Free Week. This week is dedicated to turning off various forms of media and turning on real life activities. Every year this event rolls around and many families either turn off their electronics for the week or they reduce the time spent pursuing those activities. We generally do the latter because we don’t actually spend that much time watching TV…though computers are a different story. At an rate I would have a mutiny on my hands if I just flat out said no electronics, but coming up with fun, TV free activities that get them away from these devices without them even noticing is much easier.

One of those activities we did recently was to paint sticks and rocks. It is a completely simple project that gets them outside and handling nature. It is also unique enough and fun enough to keep them interested. We spent about 1-2 hours painting (and allowing to dry) and then the kid splayed outside with their new wares for the remainder of the day. I sat on my fave Adirondack chair and read a book. We now have the prettiest rocks and stray sticks of anyone on the block. What more could you ask for?

We actually did this project a few weeks back but they still play with these rocks and sticks…as do neighborhood kids. What I liked most about it is that we already had the paints in all sorts of bright colors (from when we painted our ice cream truck) and we had all the brushes on hand as well. All we had to do was go looking for rocks and sticks, which are easy enough to find for free. We will definitely do this cheap and fun little project again.

I updated facebook fans recently about my progress with magnesium supplementation. This update came roughly one month after I wrote the original post about my deficiency. I woke up one morning to find that my monthly visitor had arrived with nary a symptom. No PMS at all. No backaches, minimal bloating, no fatigue whatsoever, and no chocolate cravings. My skin also gets a bit oily and I may get a tiny pimple or two this time of month. I had none of that this time. In fact last month I told the kids I was sick and spent two days in bed, dog tired. This month I could literally do cartwheels in the backyard. I am totally sold on magnesium at this point.

What did I do exactly? I started taking a 500mg pill every single day and eating more magnesium rich foods. I sprayed myself with magensium oil almost daily about 20 minutes before my shower because it is more easily absorbed via the skin. After strenuous CrossFit workouts I would soak in magnesium flakes and also drink dark chocolate coconut water or Natural Vitality energy drink products. It was pretty effortless to make these small changes but the benefit has been amazing!

Also, since I mentioned CrossFit I have to share how amazing that as been lately too. In the past few weeks I have gotten bloody knuckles flipping 200 pound tractor tires, I have done handstands like when I was a kid, and just yesterday I did my personal best for pushups… 46! Every day that I go, I learn something new about what my body can do and the experience has just been out of this world. I actually feel a little bit like and athlete and I haven’t felt that way since my school days. It reminds me of this movie quote too:

Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands. - Legally Blonde

Not that my husband has anything to be afraid of but exercise really, really, really does make you happy. It is unfortunate I spent most of my adult life not understanding that fact.

Books I am Reading: 

Small Space Gardening – We definitely have a small space to work with at our house. Really it is just one raised bed and whatever can go in pots on our deck. This book though is full of ideas on where you can plant, in what, and how you can get the most bang for your buck (or space rather). I like all the advice and tips for vertical gardening, because that is really the direction many people have to go, up rather than out.

Seed Saving & Starting – Another timely book as we are pretty much exclusively using heirloom seeds and I want to harvest from what we grow rather than keep buying seeds each year. It also has ideas on cross-breeding and making hybrids but that really doesn’t interest me as much as savings our seeds each year. The info on transplanting, thinning, and hardening off though is very helpful.

Other Links: 

I wrote an article on another blog that I barely ever write on anymore about how to make a decent living as a blogger if that is something interests you.

I like this article from The Greatist about 45 Healthy Foods to Make and Never Buy Again. Very interesting to see the price breakdowns like that.

This article on Get Rich Slowly about Budget Travel In Your Own Town is wonderful. Not only can you save money by being a tourist in your own place of residence it is also really green too!

I am not a big tea drinker and only ever drink hot tea but if you like all kinds of tea you may appreciate Anna’s article about Honest Tea and why they are an ethical choice for tea drinkers.

Also helpful is Deanna’s article about how to keep your Diva Cup looking clean and sparkly. Truthfully mine is looking pretty dang dingy so I need to try some of these tips!

A few months back now my family had its first ever bout with the big bad…head lice. I managed to go through my entire life without ever having had lice or even having it in my house. Luckily, I can still say I have never personally had lice but one of my kids did get a visit from these little guys and I was at a loss about what to do since I have zero experience with this issue. As the digital mom that I am, I sought advice from Facebook about natural – pesticide free – ways to get rid of these scary goobers. I say scary because they managed to reduce my child’s head to a bloody mass of scabs from biting and my child’s scratching. To make matters worse, we actually got the lice from a neighbor kid who had them, spent the night at our house (in my child’s bed), and never bothered to inform us. Ugh!

Anyway, from Facebook I was able to figure out that tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and vinegar would be my go-to resources for this adventure. The oils are hated by lice and they are also helpful in killing them. Vinegar would help dissolve the glue that the lice use to “stick” their nits on your hair shafts. I ended up making a list of all the stuff I found helpful…

Natural Ways to Remedy Head Lice

• Peppermint Oil
• Tea tree Oil
• Oregano Oil
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Coconut oil, another vegetable oil, or mayo – smothers lice – apply to hair and wrap with plastic wrap
• Flat Iron – To melt the nits “glue”
• A nit comb – or as I prefer, a metal flea comb from the pet store

We wanted to avoid conventional lice treatments for obvious reasons. They are pesticide based and if we work so hard to eat foods without pesticides and wear clothing grown from cotton without pesticides then it only goes to follow that putting it on our children’s heads will just not do. We also found that the tiny plastic combs sold as lice combs were nearly useless. The metal flea combs found online or at pet stores are more durable, the spaces between slats are smaller, and the one we chose actually has a double row of teeth. We compared it to the plastic lice comb from the drugstore and it was so much more effective with pulling lice and nits from the hair.

Once armed with our flea comb I made my own lice shampoo and guessed on the proportions.

All Natural Head Lice Shampoo Treatment

• 1 Quart size ball jar
• 1 Tablespoon (1 squirt) Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap
• 8-10 Drops tea tree oil (we use Trader Joe’s brand)
• Fill jar to top with water, shake before each use.
• Rinse with vinegar and let sit in hair for 5 minutes. Plastic wrap is optional (we didn’t use it)
• Comb hair with flea comb or lice comb

We spent 1-2 hours each night doing this whole process and we did it every night for about 2 weeks. Getting that pesticide lice treatment would have been a whole lot easier, I will grant you that. It is not necessary though. Suzanne at Mommy Footprint shared on Facebook a theory that perhaps kids whose hair was washed less frequently and with non-conventional shampoos (no poo) were better safe guarded from lice. Smart Mama kind of confirmed by saying that lice cannot stick as well to hair that is “dirty” or containing the natural oils it is meant to be coated with. Very interesting! Perhaps my kiddo’s no poo hair may have helped us avoid lice until now but when the infestation is on your pillow (thanks to the aforementioned sleepover) I think the deck is stacked against you.

For bedding and stuffed toys we simply washed in hot water with a few drops of tea oil thrown in. We also dried everything on hot. We could have also dried them with a washcloth containing a few drops of tea tree oil or peppermint oil but I did not think of it at the time. If there is a next time though, we will be set!

** A reader also recommended Lice Shield Leave in Spray. It is supposedly made up of natural essential oils but I cannot find a full ingredients list so you may or may not want to check that out. If I see any, I will update.

Have you experienced head lice? Do you have any tips to share?

Global warming and the worldwide results of carbon pollution are like the national debt. It’s an overwhelming problem that lots of people would love to fix, but since most of us don’t know anything we can do it seems incurable. While no one individually feels like they can make a difference, all of us will start experiencing the negative difference it increasingly has on our lives. Carbon pollution won’t stop, or even decrease, unless each of us individually learns how to reduce our carbon footprint.

The good news is that there are lots of things you and I can do. Most of them are simple creative changes we can make in our daily routines that cost little or nothing with minimal effort. Here are 10 creative things you can do to decrease your carbon footprint:

1. Shop Online When Possible – Online shopping is a much greener way to buy, as fuel emissions are among the greatest contributors to environmental degradation. In this digital era you can find almost anything you can think of online. Also consider purchasing green friendly items online around the holidays like solar powered race cars for the kids, rechargeable batteries for your home, and other natural products.

2. Hang Up Your Laundry – Driers may get your laundry done faster, but once again, you can save yourself money and help the environment by hanging your clothes instead. They’ll also last longer and have that clean, fresh, summer-day smell.

3. Regularly Replace Your Air Filters – You might do this once per year, if you remember, but it’s time to keep this on a regular 3 month schedule. As simple as this step is, it can reduce energy bills, saving you money and reducing carbon waste.

4. Reuse Grocery Bags or  Bring Your Own Bags – Those plastic bags at the checkout line add up to thousands of tons every year. Instead of tossing them out after putting your groceries away, set them aside for the next time you go shopping, or find other practical uses for them. Better yet, get a couple reusable canvas bags instead!

5. Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs and AppliancesIt’s very hard to find old-style incandescent bulbs in most stores, but they might still be wasting electricity in your sockets. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a great alternative, and we should all be using them by now!. They require roughly 70% less energy, for almost the same light output, and often last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Make the investment, and you might be surprised by how much energy you save.

6. Recycle Used Ink and Toner Cartridges Instead of Tossing Them Out – Many printer cartridges contain rare earth metals and other electrical components that the suppliers are happy for you to throw out without batting an eye. Instead of carelessly contributing to e-waste, send your empties to one of the numerous recycling programs, and purchase your toner cartridges from companies that sell recycled or remanufactured versions. Again, not only will you help the environment, but you will also save a lot of money on over priced printing supplies.

7. Buy Recycled Paper and Recycle Your Own Garbage – Paper is a huge annual waste of energy. From cutting trees, to processing in paper mills, transporting, and finally disposing waste paper; paper waste adds a huge strain on the environment. For only a slightly higher cost, which you can justify by saving money with other eco-friendly practices, you can protect a huge number of trees and teach your children the importance of being eco-conscious. Recycling your own garbage is a daily reminder to the kids that each person places a burden on the environment, and we should do all we can to minimize that.

8. Pay Your Bills Online – Another way to reduce waste from paper is to sign up for paperless bill pay, and manage your costs online. You can have a similar saving by reading the news online and cutting subscription to your local paper.

9. Grow Your Own Fruits and Vegetables or Buy Locally – Organic foods help reduce harm from pesticides and preservatives, but the ultimate is to grow your own food. This hobby will eliminate transportation costs, and all the pollution it involves. True, maintaining a garden is mentally rewarding, but we all know that fresh ingredients always taste much better!

10. Track Your Carbon Footprint – Everybody knows that counting calories is one of the best ways to lose weight. Some smartphone apps and websites now offer a similar opportunity where you can track your progress with a carbon footprint calculator. Over time you can see if you’re truly making progress or not, and make the necessary adjustments to your lifestyle. Of course, the more people that work on reducing our collective carbon footprint the better, so spread the knowledge to friends and family!

This book was a very important read for me though because it made the issue of climate change very personal and easy to understand. I love to travel and I would love for my kids and I to see all our wondrous National Parks and yet some of them are in very real danger of becoming impassable to hikers and travelers. Climate change is melting the glaciers that make an appearance in some, which not only affects the beauty of these areas it also means less water is making its way down to lower areas. Plants and animal life that rely on this water start to become endangered or extinct. Water sources that hikers need to survive start to dry up, making the area inhospitable. Scenic waterfalls dry up earlier and earlier and may eventually be gone for good. Can you even imagine Yosemite without its grand waterfalls???

The melting glaciers create mud slides and rock slides which make the area too dangerous for hikers and campers. The warmer weather also creates wicked storms the likes of which have rarely been seen before and they happen more and more often. This destroys some of the most scenic areas of the parks and also makes it too dangerous for people to go exploring. Hiking trails that once saw many thousands of hikers each and every year steadily become less grand and less hospitable to all manners of life from humans, to animals, to native plants and trees. The trees are also being devastated by insects that are not being killed off in annual frosts anymore. The pest population is permitted to go crazy and the overwhelmed trees are dying off by the thousands. The are some very real problems facing our parks that get worse and worse each year. Many of the park officials and scientists who have worked in these parks for decades feel that they may be shadows of themselves before long.

This is why Michael Lanza decided that his kids needed to see the most endangered parks NOW and they embarked on the year long adventure contained within the pages of Before They’re Gone. Lanza is a veteran freelance outdoors writer and photographer. He is the northwest editor of Backpacker magazine, where his articles about the impacts of climate change on Montana’s Glacier National Park and other wild lands helped Backpacker win a National Magazine Award. He also runs the website TheBigOutside.

I was invited to participate in the blog tour for his wonderful book and I decided to ask him a few questions about it. His answers are amazing and insightful…a must read for nature lovers! Below is the interview. Enjoy!

1. How did your work as an outdoors writer position you uniquely to see the effects of climate change on our National Parks?

For years, I’ve observed how much natural landscapes are changing. The evidence is recorded on maps, many of which are based on decades-old USGS data. I’ve seen dried, cracked earth in places where my map showed an alpine lake, and new lakes or barren talus in places where my map showed a glacier. I was making an off-trail traverse of the Bailey Range in Olympic National Park one September several years ago and ran into a family (parents with their grown kids in their late teens and early 20s) going in the other direction—the only people we saw out there. As it happened, the father was one of the authors of the Olympic Mountains climbers guide; he knew the mountains very well from decades of hiking and climbing. He pointed to a north-facing mountainside above the lake where we were camped, a slope that had just a few small patches of snow and mostly bare ground, and told me with a tone of disbelief, “I’ve never seen that slope not entirely covered with snow in summer.”

It’s disorienting on a couple of levels when a place does not look like what is shown on your map. I’ve puzzled over my exact location more than once. But then, realizing that I was actually standing where I thought I was standing, I’ve felt sadness and awe, and felt deeply disturbed over the idea that our lifestyles are actually altering the face of the planet. I can’t help but fear where this is leading us.

In April 2007, while researching stories for Backpacker about the impacts of climate change on national parks and wilderness, I skied into the Northern Rockies in Glacier National Park with a leading federal scientist there, Dan Fagre, who was predicting that the glaciers in the park would disappear by 2030. On a return visit to backpack for six days in Glacier in September 2009, I met up with Dan again. He told me they had revised that previous forecast because warming and glacial recession had speeded up faster than anticipated: the projected year for no more glaciers in Glacier National Park was now 2020. I thought, Wow, my kids will be just 19 and 17 then. This is not far off in the future—it’s right around the corner. Changes have been underway for years and are happening quickly, within the lifespans of people.

2. What was your biggest motivator for planning this trip and do you hope to do it again in the future?

Dan Fagre’s revised forecast about Glacier National Park’s glaciers and other research I was doing made me realize that many parks could be very different places by the time Nate and Alex are my age. But we also cleared a big hurdle in 2009 in terms of our ability as a family to make these trips. Our son, Nate, who turned nine that September, had been backpacking with me for a few years. But our daughter, Alex, who was six that summer, showed for the first time that she could handle adult-scale backpacking trips. That summer and early fall, we took a rugged, three-day hike in Grand Teton National Park, and a four-day hike in Zion National Park.

Now that we could take trips like this all together, I started thinking more and more in the fall of 2009 about just cramming in as many trips as we could in a year without the kids missing too much school. As I write in my book’s prologue, it’s easy to get caught up in life and not achieve the goals you set or see the places you want to see. I’ve long believed that you just have to get out and do things, because you never know what’s in store for the future. You can’t wait for opportunity to shake you awake—it’s not going to.

Do I hope to do it again? I’m constantly thinking about the next adventure we can take as a family; in fact, I’m usually planning at least three or four simultaneously, thinking about trips appropriate for their ages and abilities. This summer, as a family we’ll go rock climbing and backpacking or rafting in Idaho, hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and take a nine-day, hut-to-hut trek in Norway. On my tick list for a summer soon: a multi-week Western road trip, a big international trek, and a multi-week backpacking trip on a long trail.

3. After speaking with so many park experts and seeing the effects of climate change yourself, are you pessimistic for the future of our parks or are you optimistic that we can change our current direction?

As I wrote in my book, I choose optimism in part because I think it offers the only hope for the world our kids will inherit. But also, one consistent thread that ran through many of the interviews I did with scientists was the optimism they shared that the parks will always inspire us as much as they did our forefathers who decided to preserve these places. As Dan Fagre told me about Glacier, “It’s still going to be a beautiful park. The notion that it’s being changed ultimately by human activities is something people have to take responsibility for. These are really good things for people to be thinking about.”

I am optimistic that we can change. While there is great resistance to change, there is also great momentum in the right direction. My hope is that increased understanding of what we’re doing to the world our children will inherit, and how our cherished national parks are being affected, will help motivate society to summon the honesty required to do what is necessary and right.

4. What important lesson(s) do you hope that readers of this book will glean from it and what action if any do you hope they will take?

I wrote this book on two levels. On the surface, it’s about my family and the wonderful experiences we shared, which I know have already benefited all of us in many ways—and especially Nate and Alex, because they’re so young. I hope other families will be inspired to take similar adventures that are within their abilities and comfort zones. We too often think our kids can’t do something that’s physically challenging, or we worry that it’s unsafe. Kids are resilient and endlessly curious. Nate and Alex constantly surprise and impress me with how much they can do and how enthusiastic they are about our adventures.

I also hope the deeper message in my book, about climate change, helps motivate people to take action. We aren’t complacent about making sure our kids get a good education or teaching them to make smart, safe decisions. If we’re concerned for their future, we have to be equally engaged in this critical issue of climate. On a personal level, there are many choices we can make to reduce our energy consumption, from walking and biking local errands instead of driving whenever possible, to turning off lights in empty rooms, driving more efficient vehicles, insulating our homes better—there is a wealth of information out there on that subject.

Beyond that, we have to insist that our elected leaders take aggressive action to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels at a societal level. We have to write letters and vote for people who understand how important this is. That’s the kind of change that is really needed to bring emissions down to a level that avoids catastrophic climate change.

*********************************************************************************************

The book: Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks

Photo Credit: Michael Lanza

One of the books I read was All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending. I have read tons of books about personal finance and frugality but I feel as though this book had a lot to offer those who (like me) are sick of the same old regurgitated advice over and over again. I think it also managed to challenge my thinking about money in many ways. You see I am a big David Bach fan. He wrote The Automatic Millionaire among many other books and essentially he talks about giving up those small things that add up (like Lattes) in order to save more over the long term and also making your savings automatic so that you never see much of your money, let alone spend it. After reading his book late last year and putting it into practice I managed to sock away I nice chunk of change. My husband’s 401K went from 2% contributions to 12%, a nice sum also started going from his check into our HSA account and my personal IRA. Amazingly we did not miss the money! I also managed to build up a nice emergency fund and contribute to my IRA from my own income. Woot!

Part of my strategy was to give up those small luxuries and divert that cash to savings. I don’t drink lattes though; my “latte” was my Greek yogurt habit and my love of going to the movies. I gave those up and only ended up feeling deprived and grumpy. Then our savings started to dwindle as we approached the cold weather months. Expenses go up for us that time of year and my husband’s work hours get cut due to lack of seasonal business. That time of year it is typical for him to have weeks at a time off and unpaid. When we came out on the other side of that drought I decided that if that daily yogurt and weekly movie made me happy then I should have them. Most of our money was being saved before we ever touched it and from me taking on extra work projects. That $50 a month spent on stuff I love was not a hardship on us. So I decided to put them back in the budget even if they did represent my “latte factor”.

In All the Money in the World the author, Laura Vanderkam, takes on the notion that money CAN buy happiness and she also disagrees with the idea of giving up those small luxuries that make us happy in daily life. She also thinks that by simply making different choices we can have more of those small luxuries. One of the best examples of this idea in her book is that of the $5300 or so spent on diamond engagement rings on average. She gives several examples of how that money could be spent on things that say “I Love You” and will bring happiness to the couple in daily life… such as date nights every Friday, bouquets of flowers once a month for years, etc. I absolutely loved her ideas on how we can make different choices with our money and that those small choices can bring us lots of happier moments in life. Another idea of hers that I loved was the concept of creating a best weekend ever on occasion and giving yourself $200 to execute it. I planned mine out in my head…

Friday night – Sushi bar, a movie, a margarita (with hubby)
Saturday – One of those local food tours I have been dying to try, Jeni’s Ice Cream, a museum (alone)
Sunday – The zoo or botanical gardens with the kids and steaks on the grill for dinner

I love this idea because it would be just as good as a mini vacation or getaway and yet the cost would be so much less. I know we have a hard time saving for the grand vacations we want and ultimately they would probably be as stressful as they are fun but a grand weekend I could do, easily. We can also do grand weekends that revolve around kiddie stuff.

Okay, so how else do you raise money for these small luxuries? In general most financial books advise you to give them up in pursuit of something bigger, like that Disney vacation or a fully funded IRA. This book doesn’t encourage you to raid your retirement fund or defund it. Rather it encourages you to make more money in creative ways. While some might feel that this is too simplistic, this is actually the route I instinctively took when I decided I wanted a bigger savings and bigger retirement account. When I want more, I work more. I do not decide to eat crap food that there are coupons for, cancel my Netflix, or do without my daily yogurt so I can save money. That ends up being pennies in comparison to taking on a few extra projects and bringing in lump sums of cash.

This past month I decided I wanted to pull the trigger and buy the iPad3 I have been wanting. Instead of seeing what money I could free up or save I went with the option of making that money over and above what I usually make. Doing it that way makes me feel better about spending that kind of money ($600) on myself. I ended up doing it actually with an ample amount to spare but made the colossal mistake of telling my husband I had my iPad money. Suddenly I found myself in an argument for why that money would be better spent by tacking it on to his overtime pay and buying a new-used vehicle instead. I will admit that the argument has merit but I still feel deflated about the iPad. :( I have my doubts that my iPad fund will get paid back as he says. Yet if I had gotten that iPad I would be energized and feel like taking on more work to fund the next thing we wanted…I see so much logic in the reasoning found in this book.

I also liked the advice to think about what you do with a $50,000 windfall or what you would change if you had unlimited money. Personally I would buy a hybrid vehicle, get a 3 bedroom house but stay under 1200ish square feet, hire a house cleaner, and arrange to have sitters more often so I can do date night every two weeks. I would also increase my food budget so we could get the cleanest, greenest, organic, and all around most nourishing food we possibly could. That is about it for my wants and I don’t even need to be rich to have all that. Okay, okay I would also like to take a year or two to travel around Europe and Asia.

If you are looking for better ways to use what you have and you like having your ideas about money challenged, this is a good book to read.

So, what do you think? When you need or want more money do you find all the ways you can scrimp and save or do you go looking for “new” money?

This is a guest post from Carrie…a fabulous minimalist mama with a large family.

At the moment I’m 25 weeks pregnant. So far, my husband and I have purchased the following items for our new little one: a bassinet, a small box of gender neutral newborn clothing, and cloth diapers (all purchased secondhand). Why haven’t we gone all out with a baby registry and/or spending a good portion of the budget on new baby gear? It’s not because this is our 7th child and we already have tons of baby stuff left over from the other kids. We actually got rid of nearly everything after our last baby. And it’s not because we can’t afford to buy baby things.

So why are we acquiring so little? Mostly it’s because we prefer a simple, uncluttered home – and we’ve discovered that babies need so very little by way of material goods. A lot of gadgets sold for babies are in the “marginally helpful but not truly needed” category. What babies really need: warm soft clothing and cotton diapers, food from mom, a safe place to sleep, and the arms of a loving caretaker. (And, an infant car seat for safe travel.) Even diapers are somewhat negotiable if you’re practicing elimination communication.

We’ve found that many things we already have substitute quite nicely for a multitude of expenditures. Here are a few examples:

Babies and toddlers can sleep with mom and dad. You may need to make a few changes to ensure the sleep environment is safe for a baby, but this rarely involves making a purchase. Instead of a crib and play yard/play pen, a soft cloth carrier such as a baby sling can keep baby safe and close (and therefore happy!) during the day. If baby is fussy or colicky due to health problems such as reflux, a sling to keep baby near mom and upright is preferable to many gadgets sold for this purpose.

The only food baby needs for its first 6 months or so is breastmilk. If mom is going back to work full time she will likely need to invest in a high quality pump and BPA free bottles, but some moms are able to arrange their work and caregiver arrangements so as to feed baby straight from the breast.

Once baby is eating, it’s not necessary to buy special bowls and cutlery or food grinders and other “baby food” gear. Most babies will do just fine and may even prefer the texture of simple food mashed with a fork. Babies can start eating banana, avocado, soft cooked carrots, potatoes (and other well cooked mashed vegetables), egg yolks, homemade bone broths and even well cooked meats in their first year of life.

Tons of baby toys are sold each year but many parents have noticed that babies prefer to play with ordinary household objects. Good children’s picture books are a better investment, since they will be loved for years and not quickly “outgrown”. Once you do begin accumulating toys, keep things simple. Classic, open-ended toys like wooden blocks are great for a wide range of ages and are durable and safe.

Having a baby doesn’t have to mean cluttering up your home with tons of stuff. Most parents find that only a small percentage of that stuff is actually useful to them. If this is your first baby and you’re not sure what to buy, ask friends whose values are similar to your own about the things they really needed for their new little one. Resist the siren song of the big box baby stores and buy what you’ll need on Craigslist and eBay, and be vocal about the fact that you’ll accept hand me downs. This way you’ll save money and keep good stuff out of the landfill.

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 6 (soon to be 7) who writes about frugality, minimalism, good books, feeding a family and productivity at: http://www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com. Be sure to check out her free podcast episodes for informative experts on natural family living. 

I make this meal quite often for breakfast or as an after CrossFit “power” meal. This serves one and it is sooooo delicious! I also like that it gives me the opportunity to use leeks because they are a favorite of mine and since potatoes (their favorite playmate) and I are not on such good terms these days, I don’t cook with leeks so much anymore. I also love mushrooms and usually go for baby bellas with this recipe but went with plain white buttons on this day. Often times I will chop enough of the veggies and ham to make two frittatas and then store the unused half in the fridge for a super quickie meal the next day.

Enjoy!

Nourishing Mushroom Leek Frittata

1/2 cup chopped leeks (light and white parts only). Use the dark parts for this soup!
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped, precooked ham
3 pastured eggs
2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Saute leeks, mushrooms, and ham on a cast iron skillet until the veggies are soft. Sprinkle with salt and pepper while cooking them. Beat the eggs together with the Parmesan cheese and pour over the cooked veggies and ham. Tilt the skillet so that the egg coats the pan evenly and then put it in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and eat!