11 ways to feel better this spring

Here are 11 simple things that you can to to live healthier this spring. These are all things that I have incorporated into my life, and I definitely do not feel very good if I don't do them. Some of them are so simple, that you can do them right now. Others take a little bit of time to get used to 

1. Adding lemon juice to your water. This just really helps me feel refreshed, and helps me to drink more water. 
2. Body brush daily. This works wonderful to remove dead skin, increase blood flow,  If you take a shower afterwords you will get clean so much easier. 
3. I limit my sugar intake. After having to much sugar I can feel irritated and moody (sound like drug withdraws to any of you?) Sugar also 
4. drinking kefer and/or kumboocha. I love the probiotics and extra nurients from these drinks. They are great to add to smoothies too. Kumboocha also helps to remove excess toxins from your body. 
5. Switch to drinking more herbal tea rather than caffeine. 
6. Switching conventional foods with organic, free range, and grass fed products
7. Start oil pulling. This easy way to whiten teeth, make your mouth healthy, and to gently detox is great for people who don't want to do anything major but want to look a bit better.
8. Switch out harmful medicine cabinet necessities with homeopathic ones. Stop by your local health food store, the employees are always able to help give you suggestions too.
9.  Just walk more. weather you accomplish that by parking farther from the store or taking the stairs, getting in more daily steps will give you an easy exercise boost.
10. reduce TV time, and spend time on hobbies. It is amazing how much better you will feel after accomplishing something you enjoy doing. If you have had a difficult day, doing something you love to make you actually feel better about yourself instead of just vegging out and putting your low mood in the back of your mind till later can really help you to feel like you can do other tasks better.
11. Daily stretching. Even if its just simple stretches you learned in grade school, stretching daily helps "unclog" your body, helping blood to get places easier, increases oxygen in your body, and not to meantion helping your body feel good, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting. 

cream of chicken stew

So, I made this stew the other day, and it is delicious. It is one of the best stews/soups I have ever had. It has a sweet flavor that is accented by some fabulous herbs and it is wonderful.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (cover in water and cook on low for a day on the stove or in a crock pot substitute chicken broth and cooked chicken)
• 2 cups of chicken broth (from the broth you made or good quality store bought) 
• Meat from 1 whole chicken cut up (you could use 6 chicken thighs)
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• Optional red peppers, mushrooms, corn, peas, other veggies
• 2 tsp-1 Tbsp of sea salt (do not use if substituting store bought chicken broth)
• 1 tsp-1 Tbsp of pepper
• 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 2 tsp of dried rosemary
• 1 Tbsp of dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp of mustard
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• 2 cups of full fat milk (can substitute coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup of cream. This is optional, it tastes great with or without it.

To make the chicken broth and cook the chicken, Place the whole chicken in a stove or crock pot, (Remove the bag from the gizzards and cook them too) cover with water and cook on low for a day. You can add in herbs or veggies to make the broth more nutritious. Remove the chicken from the pot, carefully, into a large bowl. Let cool until you can manage to handle it. Remove the meat and put the bones back into the broth and continue to cook on low for a day. You can either continue to cook the gizzards in the broth, eat them, or put them in the stew. The next day you can strain out the bones and put into jars and keep in the refrigerator. this tastes great to cook rice, veggies, add to sauces or drink by itself. 

To make the stew, melt the butter in a pot (I like my dutch oven) and cook your vegetables until the onions become translucent. (If you are using raw chicken, add them in now and cook before adding everything else)  Add everything else and simmer for about an hour. 

Recipe inspired by the chicken stew recipe in the cookbook, "part time paleo"

Something a little different

Today I woke up to the most darling face.
The most darling face, smiling at me.

I love waking up with Thomas trying to get over to his dad, to attack him. He is such a boy! Already at seven months, he crawls over me up to Jacob, pounces on him and yells like we do when we tickle him. Jacob tickles him back and I take neither side, just to be fair.

We then went downstairs, started breakfast, changed a very full diaper, and Thomas played with a peach while I started breakfast.
We ate, all together. Thomas at his highchair, Jacob and I at the table.
Our morning, full of love and laughter, was beautiful.
Thomas played while I came up with new recipes, and he took a bath while I cleaned.
He had so much fun, as usual.
When he was done his arms came up, reaching for me to hold him.
We played peak a boo while I finished cleaning and had lunch on the kitchen floor. All three of us sat on the cool tile; Jacob and I held hands, Thomas switched from my lap, to Jacobs, to the floor playing with an apple, and back again.
While I cleaned up and Jacob went back to work, Thomas had a couple tantrums letting me know it was time for his second nap.
This one was marvelous! Two hours of reading while he slept in my arms. He slept too long, and woke up cranky and had to be carried in his wrap while I made dinner. He played outside with his dad while I played with plants; and we all ate shortly thereafter.

Jacob and I watched a documentary while Thomas played with his food; he made such a mess that he had to have another bath. We listened to music and relaxed for a while until Thomas nursed before going to sleep. He held my hand and looked into my eyes. It's a funny thing, how a baby can make you feel like they know the reason for everything.

My night is not over yet, Thomas will still wake up too nurse, not to mention the dishes, soon it will be though, and a new day will start with its own blessings and challenges; But what a wonderful, ordinary day it has been.

Crab apple facial toner diy

Its crab apple season where I live, so to take advantage of these marvelous little fruits I decided to try out a new toner that worked surprisingly well. 

This toner uses crab apples to deliver nourishing vitamins like vitamin A and C to your skin. 

Ingredients

4 crab apples, or one small apple cut up
1/2 cup of water
Optional 2 Tbsp of witch hazel or floral water/hydrosol 

Directions

Simmer the apple in the water for 10 minutes. Let cool, add in witch hazel or floral water if desired. Place in either a sparay bottle or apply to the skin using a cotton pad. 

Diy Gelatin hair gel

I like to use this hair gel to keep my hair in place when I put it up or in a braid. It is so easy to make, and costs only pennies. 

1/4 - 1/2 tsp of gelatin mixed with 1/2 cup of water.

Let it heat up for a couple minutes in a sauce pan until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour into a container, and chill in the refrigerator until set. 

Mix it up with a fork to make it easier to use. Keep in the refrigerator. Will last a week or two.

Additional options; use rose, or orange blossom water in place of some or all of the water. Add in some vanilla extract, or essential oils for sent.

Watch how to

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PH Balanced Shampoo

I've been using this shampoo recipe for a couple weeks now, it has transformed my hair for the better. It is so soft and manageable and I love it!

This diy is so easy to do, I use yogurt, which makes this a little more acidic, more like a 4 on the ph scale, where as using coconut milk will make it perfectly balanced with your hair at a 4.5. Coconut milk has a ph of 7, aloe vera a ph of 3, and honey can be anywhere from a 4 to a 6. Raw milk can be substituted, as well as any other non dairy milk. The raw milk and yogurt have probiotics that I find help keep my scalp happy.

Click Here for the original diy from thankyourbody.com

If it's not accid it will make your hair softer. If it is to soft, perhaps try more coconut milk and less aloe vera and don't use yogurt or maybe just a little bit. You could also use c just coconut milk and no yogut and add in a probiotic supliment if you still want some extra bacteria. Apple cider vinegar rinses will also add probiotics, keeping away dandruff, eczema, etc.

I use 1 par honey, 2 parts yogurt (or 2 parts milk), and 3 parts aloe vera. I mix it in an applicator bottle, and simply shampoo my hair with it. It will not suds. I also like to clean my face with it. Currently I need to wash my hair about 2 to 3 times a week with this shampoo, but that might change with the seasons.

I usually post recipes, beauty DIY's and health tips once or twice a week so if you want more then subscribe over on the side bar. :)

Medicine Mama's bee magic review

I have been using Medicine Mama's bee magic for about a month now on my face and my baby. It has worked marvelously on sunburns, dry scaly skin, diaper rash, blemishes, burns, and scrapes. I also use it to repel water from my babies bum since it is a wax and oil base it wicks moisture away nicely. 

These products have fabulous ingredients;

such as, propolis (bees mix their wax with tree resins to make this germicidal "glue" for their hives), healing honey, royal jelly (extremely nourishing, it is used to feed to "baby bees" to make the strongest, healthiest queen possible), anti aging bee pollen, and olive oil and beeswax to moisturize and protect the skin. The ingredients don't change much from that, other than some add avocado oil, and others take away some of the bee ingredients.

I love Medicine Mama's products, it can be a bit oily on my T spot (my forehead, nose, and chin) but other than that I have nothing bad to say at all. 

I usually post recipes, beauty DIY's and health tips once or twice a week so if you want more then subscribe over on the side bar. :)