Stevia – a safe sugar substitute

Sugar, we’re breaking up!  It’s not you, it’s me. 

If you are looking to eat less sugar, we have got an alternative that might be a good fit for your family.  Since going sugar-free (for the most part) our main go-to sweetener has been stevia.  Here’s the lowdown on stevia and how to use it:

• First the bad news about stevia: 
• It does NOT taste just like sugar.  It’s sweet and very concentrated, but it has a somewhat, faintly-licorice aftertaste.  When baking with it, the aftertaste can easily be masked and you will only pick up the “sweetness” of stevia.  But when putting it directly in a cup of tea or coffee, you will notice the aftertaste.  So it’s best to use it when the flavor can be covered with other ingredients.
• It is expensive compared to sugar.  A good quality stevia (and only buy good quality brands!) such as Sweet Leaf, Now & Kal will cost approximately $6-$12.
• Now the good:  
• It is an herb (a member of the of the chrysanthemum family).  If you have a green thumb, try adding this herb to your garden.
• It has a zero glycemic index and zero calories.  Personally, I am not concerned about calories but I am about the glycemic index (I would rather experience a low glycemic response from food). 
• Stevia is very concentrated and much sweeter than table sugar (when baking, it is estimated that you need 1 teaspoon of stevia to replace 1 cup of sugar.  When it comes to replacing stevia with sugar, you will need to fidget with your favorite recipes to get it just right). 
• It is heat stable and can easily be used for cooking and baking.  It takes some time to adjust to the reduced volume compared to sugar and to the taste difference.  I try to bake primarily with stevia (and/or honey – I sometimes use ½ stevia and ½ honey).  I now consider this my go-to sweetener in our household.
• Stevia companies such as Sweet Leaf are making flavored liquid stevia drops to use in everything from your morning coffee to baking.  The drops come in flavors such as chocolate, chocolate raspberry, lemon drop, peppermint, root beer, vanilla crème and hazelnut.  Sold at your local co op, whole foods or natural food store.

Have you tried stevia?  What do you think?

houseplants for a healthy home

Did you know that indoor air can be 12 times more polluted than outdoor air?  There’s an easy and pretty way to clean up ugly indoor airborne toxins (like benzene, formaldehyde & carbon dioxide).  Get some houseplants!   Not only does every home look better with plants, these green sponges can absorb most homes indoor toxins!

Keep your home healthy and your plants happy by:

• Grouping them together!  Plants do better when they are placed close together.  They benefit from each others humidity, moisture and oxygen.
• Playing classical music!  Who knew that your ferns were Bach afficiando’s?  It’s true… soothing music helps plants grow.
• Talking to them!  Plants respond to human voices.  Interestingly, according to Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society, “women’s voices speed growth much more than men’s”.   Plants also react positively to soothing kind words and wither when there is a lot of noise and yelling. 
• Primping!  Keep the leaves dust-free so they can get the air that they need (use a lightly dampened cloth and gently wipe dust off of the leaves). 

Read our "3 cheers for houseplants" article!  We've got 3 more reasons why houseplants make a home healthy! 

Chocolate cherry breakfast cookie

Our children’s easy, go-to breakfast on weekday mornings are organic cereal bars.  They love them and request them every day.  After a little label reading it became very clear why they love them so much!  They are LOADED with sugar.  I am trying to reduce our family’s sugar intake, so I decided to come up with a cereal bar alternative that was low in sugar and high in protein and nutrition (and of course, deliciousness!).  This breakfast cookie fits the bill!  It is so scrumptious that they are almost addictive.  They also are far more nutritious than the average cereal bar sold everywhere.  Made with almond flour, oats, walnuts, cherries and chunks of dark chocolate, this recipe will quickly become a family favorite!  Feel free to tinker with your families personal preferences!  Replace the cherries with cranberries, dates, raisins or banana chips, or the chia seeds with flax, pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds. 

Who knew that a breakfast bar alternative could be this tasty and good for you!

½ cup butter, melted

2-3 Tablespoons honey

2 organic eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup almond flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free)

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup walnuts, broken in half or quarters (I like them chunky, but cut to your preference)

2 teaspoons chia seeds

1.)    Preheat oven to 350°.

2.)    In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, honey, eggs and vanilla.  Add the almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and baking powder until just combined.  Add the oats and stir until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips, cherries, coconut, walnuts and chia seeds until just combined.

3.)    Using a small scooper, drop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Lightly flatten the dough.

4.)    Bake for 11-12 minutes.  Once cooled, store in an air-tight container.  I pop most of these in an air-tight freezer container.  12 seconds in our microwave will thaw and warm them.

heart fruit kabobs with yogurt dip

Your sweethearts will love this snack!  Pull out a heart shaped cookie cutter and use it on apple slices, sandwiches and cheese slices… anything that can be cut. 

1 cantaloupe
1 honeydew melon

1/2 watermelon

1 6 ounce container plain yogurt

1 tablespoon frozen orange-juice concentrate, thawed

1 tablespoon honey

1. Cut fruit into 1-inch-thick slices. Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from melon slices. Poke a hole in each heart with a toothpick, going from top to bottom. Then thread fruit on ice-pop sticks.

2. Make dip: Stir together yogurt, orange juice concentrate, and honey until well combined. Serve with hearts.

recipe & photo courtesy of parents.com

board games help kids learn

Board games are a great addition to structured play!  They combine entertainment and education into one fun experience and it’s the perfect activity on a rainy day or when there’s time to fill and kids saying, “I’m bored”. 

Simple lessons such as taking turns, learning to win & lose, and communication intermixes with lessons about anything from math to astronomy (depending on the game you choose).  There are endless options for children’s games.  Choose ones that are age-appropriate and that would be of interest to your child.

There are so many great games on the market today, but these 5 made our “must play” list!

• Uno – This classic is a favorite for so many reasons!  It’s super fun, fast paced, easy to play and it teaches kids simple (but important) lessons such as colors, numbers, matching and order.  It’s also super portable making it a great game to bring on any trip.
• Trouble – This game is so much fun for all ages!  I love playing this with my 9 year-old nephew.  The bubble can lead to trouble or victory, all depending on how things shake down.  Great skills like counting and taking turns make this game fun and definitely worth playing.
• Bananagrams – build connecting words!  You win when you’ve used all of your letters.  It’s a fast paced and fun way for beginning spellers (and established spellers) to test their skills or show off their quick wit with words.
• Connect Four – literally connect four pieces in either a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction.  Tic tac toe-ish in nature, this game reinforces counting, color recognition and strategy.
• Checkers – An oldie and a goodie!  Kids learn reasoning, logic and pre-math skills with this classic.  It’s a must-play and a wonderful game that your child can play with any adult and as a grown-up J.

All of these games (and more!) are sold on our eco-boutique.  Check them out!

We want to know!  What’s your favorite board game for your family?

switch fabric softeners to something safer

I will admit it, in winter I have cheated on my ‘green’ fabric softeners with traditional ones.  I LOVE my green fabric softener sheets but during the winter, our laundry sometimes has a lot of static.  And static cling clothing drives me bonkers (it’s like nails on a chalk board to me)!  But, after hearing all of the bad news (again) associated with conventional fabric softeners, I have decided to go completely green and not look back.

Conventional fabric softener sheets can contain some really nasty chemicals… chemicals that I DO NOT want touching my children’s skin… remember skin is the largest organ in the human body!  It’s safe to say that bypassing traditional softeners will also avoid the possible exposure to ugly ingredients like:

• A-Terpineol -  Associated with central nervous system disorders
• Benzyl Acetate – A carcinogen linked to pancreatic cancer
• Benzyl Alcohol -  An upper respiratory tract irritant
• Camphor – It’s listed on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list (enough said)
• Ethyl Acetate – Another culprit on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list and an irritant to the eyes and respiratory tract

So what can you do to dry your laundry and keep your clothing from sticking together (and the dreaded electrical charge if you have to pull them apart)?  Try these 5 tips for cling-free & chemical-free laundry:

1. Line dry when possible!  It’s the best choice.
2. Safety pins!  Who would have thunk it?  Place 2-3 safety pins on a cloth or rag and dry with your clothes.  I am not sure how this works, but it does work!
3. ¼ cup of Vinegar added to the ‘fabric softener dispenser’ of the washing machine is a natural fabric softener.
4. Wool dryer balls!  This is a fun new discovery.  The balls bounce around in the dryer and keep the laundry fluffed, static at bay, and it reduces the drying time!  They last for a long time too.  After an initial investment of $20+, you will be good to go for years! 
5. Avoid over-drying.  Additional (and unnecessary) drying time typically leads to additional static cling.  If your dryer has a sensor to automatically turn off when clothes are dry (rather than a set time), use that option!

dryer balls photo courtesy of Clean Sypria

coconut chicken nuggets

“YUM!”  That will be the unanimous response from the family once you make these tasty chicken nuggets!  We got this gem of a recipe from Health Bent (a new favorite of ours!).  This recipe is super easy, family-friendly (even your pickiest little eater will munch away) and quick to come together.  Pair it with their Curry Mustard Sauce for more yumminess!

We modified the curry mustard sauce to be a little more kid-friendly for our two little nuggets.

1 pound organic ground chicken

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup + 1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup dessicated coconut*

1/2 cup coconut oil

salt & pepper, to taste

1.)  In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup dessicated coconut and salt & pepper.  Mix it with your hands.  In a seperate bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/2 cup almond flour, onion and garlic powders, egg yolk and salt & pepper.  Mix with your hands until everything has been incorporated.

2.)  In a saute pan, melt the coconut oil on medium heat.

3.)  Take about 2 Tablespoons worth of chicken mixture and in the palm of your hand, roll it in a ball.  Drop it in the almond/coconut mixture and roll around until completely coated.  Repeat with the rest of the chicken.  Place in the saute pan and cook on each side until nice and brown.

Curry Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1-2 teaspoons mustard

couple dashes of curry powder

Stir all ingredients together and add more mustard and curry powder as desired.

* Dessicated coconut is dried, finely shredded, unsweetened meat of the coconut.  It's the perfect size to replicate a bread crumb.