In my 'old' age (or age of awareness I guess), I've gotten out of the habit of celebrating Christmas. I mean, let's use Dec 25th to celebrate my birthday even though in all actuality it was 6 months ago. That's what the 85ers are doing.
Christmas has never been about Christ and his 'birth' for some time now. If it was, then why do people become so agitated during the Holiday season and trample over innocent store workers because of discounts? With the way our economy is now, the shit that has been on sale since Black Friday still is, maybe even more than it was a month ago.
People like to pull out the 'Baby Jesus in the Manger' card when it gets heavy but there are no thoughts of Jesus when that credit card is being swiped. I'm not stressing myself out to buy an assload of gifts specifically for this day when it could have been bought the day before or day after and still hold the same meaning: at the end of the day it's something new to play with (or flaunt) and there's nothing more or less to it.
When I have a Toys R Us toy catalog flapping in my face (every morning!) at 8 am (while still resting!!) with little red circles, stars and check marks all over it from my then 5 year old daughter, I knew it was getting out of hand. I stopped getting into the Xmas swing of things 3 years ago but only put up half a front for my daughter since she was already accustomed to it.
But my lil' Moon is wise beyond her years so I was able to break it down to her. She's cool with not celebrating this season anymore at home, but if the rest of her 85 family wants to spoil her and buy a pink Nintendo DS then go right ahead. That's $129 I get to keep in my pocket for a little bit longer. Everyday is a holiday in our home.
For your viewing pleasure, I have included a YouTube video going into this post further and in more exact detail. Peace!!!
A lonnnnnnnnnnggggggggg 24 hrs later I have the info in which I know you crave. =^_~=
Aloe Vera Juice!
When I was living in Florida a daily ritual of mine was to take a shot of Aloe Vera juice both first thing in the morning and right before bed. It's an acquired taste, that's for sure but the way I look at it, it's more beneficial than those shots I took of Bacardi 151 in my hey day, right?
Ok, so why is Aloe Vera Juice so good for you?
Improves circulation
Regulates blood glucose levels
Promotes healing of bones and joints
Strengthens the immune system
Defends the body against bacteria
Heals ulcers
Detoxifies your body
Cleanses the colon
Improves/eliminates constipation
Aids in weight loss
The recommended dosage is only 2-4 oz. a day. If you suffer from Crohn's Disease, colitis, appendicitis, or are dealing with any other type of intestinal issues, please consult your holistic physician.
I've even seen some sites where they do not advise using aloe vera juice while menstruating, yet with other sites, it's recommended. I can say for the few months I did take it to the head, I had no problems, even while nursing. Just listen to your body.
I do not remember the brand that I purchased, but it was in an opaque bottle and needed to be refigerated. Again, like with the coconut water, I do not purchase anything that is in an aluminum can or isn't 100% natural.
In other news, I have been reunited with my smoothie/blender cup. I feel so at peace. I was so lost without my smoothies. lol
This song is dedicated to my blender/smoothie cup. I love you...
I left my blender/smoothie cup at someone's house and am completely snowed in. (ok it's more like a foot of snow, but that's more than enough for me at this moment).
If I'm lucky I will be reunited with it tomorrow but that's entirely too long to go without my smoothies. Everytime I open the fridge I have these coconuts, pomegranate juice, greens, and such just staring at me waiting to be used. And unfortunately I'm not in a creative enough mood to do something else with them other than eat or drink them as is. Just salads, simple fruit and more salads.
16 days left and I'm out of here.
But I was going over my most recent Twitters and I found a smoothie recipe I posted that I never dropped here so....this is for Eternal Earth and her cipher of Earths to try out and let me know what you think. I think this one I ended up having as a 'nightcap' of sorts and it was off the glass:
Lemon juice
Watermelon
Banana
Oj
Honey
It's got that tang almost like a pink lemonade or something....mmmmm
Now I want one.
=(
I'm going to live vicariously through whoever drinks and enjoys this.
Tomorrow: Why Aloe Vera Juice is....just so beneficial! (I'll come up with a more creative title by then).
Something random reminded me that I had a picture on file on SoulVegFolk of a salad I used to make during the summer that was so good I ate it three days in a row. My 'Mardi Gras' salad.
Why Mardi Gras?
No reason in particular.
I like to take it to the next level with my salads by creating color themes. In this case it was Green, 'Gold', and Purple. This will ensure that I'm incorporating the variety I need in my daily routine. I've also made an 'Irie' and 'Italian Stallion' salad focusing on red/green/yellow and red/white/green respectively.
So what's in the Mardi Gras salad?
From what I remember:
Spinach
Dandelion greens
Green leaf lettuce
Cucumber
Green and yellow bell peppers
Red cabbage
Red onion (about as purple as I'm going to get)
Grapes (didn't think of it at the time but would pair well)
Dulse flakes
Agave/Dijon dressing with regular dijon mustard, olive oil for consistency, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and agave for sweetness.
There you go!
Get the babies involved too; maybe they have a favorite colorful character on tv that you could emulate and morph into their favorite salad.
I think that'll be on the menu for this upcoming weekend. Try it and let me know what you think!
I don't know why I haven't posted something like this earlier but it hit me while I was in the grocery store about a half hour ago. I want to drop a list to show y'all the staples I have in my fridge or fruit bowl at all times (or I will go crazy). I'll also show you what I would normally have, but do not have access to at this time. *frown*
Lemons
Cucumbers
Red Cabbage
Carrots
Limes
Clementines/tangerines/oranges
Apples (mainly for my Seed)
Spinach, green leaf lettuce, shredded lettuce, romaine
Cilantro, parsley, dill
Sprouts (alfalfa)
O.N.E. Coconut Water or a young thai coconut
Bananas
(Emergency vegan salad dressing for when I'm too lazy to make my own) =^_^=
Red, white, and/or sweet onion
Garlic cloves (fresh)
Bell peppers
Strawberries
Blueberries
Honey or agave (I likes mah honaayyy)
Cinnamon
Purple corn powder
Pineapple
Broccoli
Green Tea or Yogi Teas (try their Detox kind...really really good for you)
Avocado
Sea Salt, cracked black pepper and Mrs. Dash
Now what I can't wait to get my hands back on and 'DO WORK' with like Big Black says is:
Mango
Papaya
Red grapes (I love Sam's Club's grapes..mm mm mm)
Frozen fruit like Mamey, Guayabana, Morada, and Guava (Goya brand)
Coconut butter (need to place another order)
At some point in the near future I will be experimenting with cacao, MSM, E3 Live, and all that good stuff.
I think that's about it...but I know for a fact that list will be expanding soon. I'll have a bigger family to feed. *grin*
Hmmm...I haven't dropped any tunes in a while; I'm going to dedicate this one to all of the Queens and Earths that read this blog. Peace and Thank you for your support and friendship.
I haven't dropped any Science in a bit and I want to briefly talk about one of my favorite herbs: dill!!
When I first starting using dill it was to marinate my salmon many years ago (yeah my Citrus Herb Salmon was the real deal), but since those days are long gone I don't eat a salad without a handful of minced dill in there. I just can't live without it.
Here are some reasons why you should start incorporating dill into your daily routine:
The components in dill oil neutralize the effects of cigarette, charcoal, and trash incinerator smoke.
Dill seeds are highly effective in curing bad breath.
The essential oil in dill also helps aid in digestion by activating secretion of bile and other digestive juices.
Helps with hiccups.
Relieves insomnia.
Cures diarrhea symptoms.
Great for improving lactation in nursing mothers.
Dill can help improve and maintain menstrual cycles.
It is also anti congestive and anti histaminic and will help with allergy issues and congestion.
It's a diuretic.
Enhances the libido (hello!)
Excellent source of Calcium.
Whodathunkit? Some of these I wasn't even aware about until doing some research. All the more reasons why Dill is so bad ass. (LOL)
I've been craving a salad since midnight and I think I'm gonna make good on that craving now.
For an extra green and nutritious salad boost, mince up some flat leaf parsley, throw it in and hook it up!!
I spent all day yesterday trying to flush out my baby's sensitive system and catching baby vomit. He wasn't keeping anything down, not even my milk. (Thanks Grandma Bumpkin!). It really ticks me off that they can feed him whatever they like (against my wishes) and not even care that I have to go through this process for about 2 days until things are right and exact again.
She called yesterday wanting to pick him up and that was not going to happen. Your unsupervised visitation rights have been revoked! I had some Pedialyte on reserve but was really trying to alleviate his issues as naturally as possible. We started off giving him some room temperature lemon water (per the suggestion of my amazing hubby to be heehee) which he didn't entirely keep down but got some in. Then I made a smoothie for myself of:
Coconut water and meat (I found some coconuts @ Meijer's the other day!!!!)
OJ
Banana
Spinach
Cinnamon
Purple Corn Powder
Very simple.
I blended up a juice for him of sorts...not all of the ingredients (mainly b/c there was too much OJ and coconut water), and some banana.
He spit it up a few times but I continued to feed it to him in small sips for a span of an hour or two. Then he started to keep it down. Yay!
Later in the afternoon he had 2 bowel movements so we're now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Phew...you see what I have to deal with!???
Oooh and he slept like Rip Van Winkle last night. I couldn't wake him up if I wanted to so that was a relief to me, even though I went to bed late he was still knocked out.
So after that is said and done...I did enjoy a bangin' salad last night.
Shredded lettuce
Spinach
Red cabbage
Red onion
Dill
Parsley
Sesame Ginger dressing (not raw, but vegan and bangin'!)
And I ate a clementine.
I would've made another smoothie last night but I was wiped out. So I just downed a large amount of water (about a liter maybe?).
For today I'm going to soak some goji berries for about an hour until they plump up and throw them in the blender with some blueberries, strawberries, turnip greens, and maybe some honey or dates.
