Follies of Festive Fragrances



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Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas, it seems, without the scents of the season to fill the air!

Around this time of year, our senses are enlivened by fragraces profound and varied: festive perfumes, spicy potpourri, calming scented candles, Glade plug-ins, even Febreze or furniture polish in anticipation of company.

As nice as some of those fragrances may be, they do have a dark side. In fact, they, like the proverbial Grinch, may be working behind the scenes to steal away your gift of health, while you are in the midst of your celebrations. Beware of the word "fragrance" on any household or personal care product, and steer clear of most perfumes. "Fragrance" is a word used to disguise the use of a bouquet of cancer-causing chemicals. Added fragrances can also seriously disrupt the Endocrine system (your hormones: think, thyroid problems, for instance) and over-burden the liver. You really don't want estrogen-mimicking chemicals in your body-- and they WILL be absorbed through your skin!-- Too much estrogen has been linked to a multitude of serious diseases and health conditions. But that's a topic for another post.

According to the Environmental Working Group's report, "Not So Sexy," the average fragrant product tested contained 14 chemicals not listed elsewhere on the label. Many of these chemicals have never been tested for safety. Some of those chemicals actually accumulate in your tissues. The more you use of these products, the higher your body's toxic burden. This does not exactly tip the scale in your favor in your endeavor to live disease-free and healthy.

Things to Avoid?

• Scented toxic household products
• Perfumes
• Scented lotions & potions, shampoos, hairsprays, etc, etc.
• Scented candles
• Potpourris with synthetic fragrance added
• Air fresheners like Glade
• Laundry detergent and dryer sheets
• Anything else that has "fragrance" on the label, rather than plant extracts or oils

The good news? There are healthier alternatives. Be old fashioned. Be GREEN. Use fragrances that occur in nature! Did you know young women used to put a few drops of vanilla extract behind their ears as a perfume? Okay... well, we have improved on options since then!

• Natural household products like the brand Seventh Generation at health food stores, or even some national chains like Target. If you're really ambitious (actually, it doesn't take that much ambition), make your own! You can use basic ingredients like white vinegar and baking soda, and add your own scents with natural essential oils.
• Natural perfumes are not as easy to find locally, but they are available online. One good brand is Miessence, which is actually USDA certified organic, and uses traditional methods of perfumery. While synthetic perfumes have a history of only about a century, traditional perfumery has been in use for 4,000 years! Now, real perfume is not exactly inexpensive... So, if buying perfume ready-made is not in your price range, you can always try making it at home! It involves essential oils, some alcohol, and perhaps some jojoba oil. There are all kinds of how-to's online. Or... if you want a really lazy way... just use a tiny amount of essential oil, dabbed on your wrists or neck. Jasmine or ylang-ylang are nice floral scents that are typically used in perfumes. Voila! No more toxic perfume!
• Natural personal care products are easy to find at health food stores too. Or again, some of the box stores like Target are starting to carry Burt's Bees! Always check for "fragrance" on the label though, just to be safe. Or... just look for the "fragrance-free" variety of whatever you buy. The fragrance-free versions are very popular at the health food store where I work.
• Scented candles just aren't necessary. There are other ways to fill your home with delightful aromas. Check this out, from ehow.com:

Vanilla Spice Air Freshener: To make a vanilla spice air freshener for the holidays, place a cup of water, a cup of white vinegar, one tbsp. natural vanilla extract, one tsp. whole cloves, and one cinnamon stick in a small pot. Bring them to a boil, then turn down the heat, simmering all ingredients for two to three minutes. Allow the liquid to cool before straining out the cloves and cinnamon stick, and pouring into a spray bottle. These natural spray air fresheners should be sprayed into the air in the center of a room, avoiding walls and furniture, to prevent potential staining or other discoloration.

If you want the comforting glow of flickering candles, I recommend beeswax candles. They offer a nice subtle honey scent, and (BONUS) clean the air too! The negative ions they emit actually help remove toxins from the air! So, go support your local beekeeper, and buy a good supply of beeswax candles! You'll find candlemakers often mold candles in a variety of styles, from the traditional honey-comb look, to tapers, to tea lights and votives, to candles made in the shape of bee hives or pinecones! The color is neutral enough to complement any palette, and festively gilded to enhance your Christmas decor!

• There are all kinds of resources online for making your own natural air fresheners, potpourris, naturally-scented cleaning products... etc etc. Just surf the web, and have fun!

Greetings From the "Little Cabin in the Wood"

Christmas is less than two weeks away!

Where did the time go? Goodness, it's been a while since I have done any blogging. Autumn seemed to come and go overnight, and we are now quite in the heart of winter, at least here in the north country! Tonight, the temperature is predicted to drop to -18... a good time to do things like listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" as I am now (We Minnesota Lutherans do get a kick out of it!), and take some leisurely steps toward Christmas preparations.

Things certainly have changed since the days when I would start decorating right after the Thanksgiving dishes were cleared! Cut-out sugar cookies are also a thing of the past, since I started focusing on more healthful eats. However, all is not lost! Traditional Christmas cookies are not requisite for holiday happiness; there are a lot of delicious alternatives to comfort and satisfy. Actually, one of my latest discoveries is cinnamon tea-- quite simple, and quite seasonal!

Cinnamon Tea
For a cup of tea, all you need is one cinnamon stick (preferably Ceylon, which is "true" cinnamon), broken into pieces. Cover with boiling water and steep for ten minutes. Strain out cinnamon sticks, and enjoy!

Cinnamon is great for keeping your blood sugar under control (just in case you DO plan to eat those sugar cookies!), and has been shown to improve brain function-- especially the memory. So, enjoy in good health! In fact, cinnamon tea is the preferred beverage of a gentleman I mentioned in an earlier post, who is now 109 years old, and still in excellent health. He drinks cinnamon tea every morning. Perhaps that's one of his secrets to never being sick a day in his life... It's worth trying! Try some instead of your morning coffee. --After all, "variety is the spice of life" and cinnamon is a good spice to start with!

Conscience-Friendly Christmas Delights: Part II

Merry Christmas!!!!

My gift to you... is the recipe for those chocolate cookies pictured above! They are quick, so you can still make them now for your gathering tonight or tomorrow!

Carob Coconut Truffles:

1 cup virgin coconut oil
1 cup roasted carob powder
1/2 cup Medjool dates (I used dried apricots and prunes)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup water
1 cup almond meal (almonds ground in a coffee grinder)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Melt coconut oil. Combine with carob in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside. In a high speed blender, blend dried fruit and water until it becomes a smooth syrup. Add dried fruit syrup to carob mixture. Stir in vanilla and salt. Add almond meal and remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Using your hands or a small cookie scoop, make walnut-sized balls. Refridgerate for an hour before serving. (Or... if you can't wait... put them in the freezer. They don't freeze solid, so you can even keep them in the freezer to have them on hand).

Conscience-Friendly Christmas Delights: Part I

Christmas Eve is 10 days away! Now the crunch time is on... Christmas baking, Christmas shopping, Christmas programs, Christmas cards, Christmas letters... Christmas PARTIES. There are so many tempting cookies, candies, Christmas drinks, pastries...  And then there are those great Hallmark Christmas movies, where everyone seems to be making delicious sweets and goodies. Who can resist such a heavenly aroma? How can a person survive this time of year without the pounds of butter in those cookies adding pounds on the bathroom scale? After all, Christmas cookies and such are simply part of our Christmas tradition. I guess the January resolutions and weight-loss programs are also part of the tradition! (wink)

This time of the year, people gather for all kinds of parties and family get-togethers. There is generally so much food around, it's difficult to resist! And if you're the host, you'll have left-overs to tempt you for perhaps weeks ahead. We all know that the staples of Christmas baking (white flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, vegetable oil, etc) are not good for us. Is there a way to have some special foods this time of year without sabotaging our health at the same time? Definitely. Here are some simple ideas:

Appetizers:
Crudites! This is simply raw vegetables. Arrange sliced vegetables of a variety of colors on a beautiful platter. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, and Red Bell Pepper make for a festive Christmas display. A delicious dip is the following:

Creamy Basil Brazil Nut Dip:

2 cups Brazil nuts, soaked overnight
1/8 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup water (or as needed to thin)

Add the brazil nuts (discard soaking water), lemon juice, garlic, basil, and salt to a high speed blender, adding water as needed, and blend until smooth. Adjust consistency as desired. (It will thicken once refrigerated). Serve with mixed raw vegetables.

Fresh and Dried Fruit & Nut Arrangement: This can be a beautiful tray. You may want to put the nuts and dried fruits or any especially juicing fresh fruits in smaller bowls on the tray to prevent anything from going soggy. Decorate with greenery, like fresh rosemary. Here are some ideas:

Dried fruits: cherries, white figs, medjool dates, mango, prunes

Fresh fruits: kiwi slices, apple slices (cut horizontally, so that you see the star in the middle) dipped in orange juice (to prevent browning), a small bowl of pomegranate seeds with a spoon, clementine oranges, pineapple chunks
Nuts: whole pecans walnuts, almonds, pistachios (not dyed), hazelnuts-- whatever you most enjoy.

Fruit Bowl: Pile it high with small apples, clementine oranges, baby bananas, and green pears. A centerpiece and healthy snacking all in one!

Pomegranate Punch: A beautiful ruby red festive Christmas beverage, garnished with orange and lemon sunbursts:

Pomegranate Punch
1 organic orange, unpeeled
1 organic lemon, unpeeled
1 bottle (2 liters) seltzer water, chilled
1 1/2 cups unsweetened 100% pomegranate juice
Sweetener (optional): raw honey or organic maple syrup to taste, some stevia, or a combination

Remove ends from orange and lemon and then cut four slices from each fruit. Combine seltzer, juice, and orange and lemon slices in a pretty pitcher or punch bowl.

What are those truffle-like cookies in the picture, you ask? Stay tuned... I'll tell you how to make them in an upcoming post!

10 Easy Ways to Stay Thinner and Healthier Through the Christmas Season

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Well, it's December, and we are only a couple of weeks away from Christmas!

What an exciting time of year! There's so much preparation that goes into these few weeks before Christmas, be it sending out Christmas cards, shopping for gifts, and oh, the food preparation! Cookies, fudge, candy, galore! It's kind of interesting how we spend lots of time shopping for special ingredients and making all kinds of delectable treats, and then eating with no thought to tomorrow or our long term health. Then, come January 1st, we make all kinds of new resolutions for solving the problem we created over Christmas: e.g. eating better, exercising more, etc. Is it possible to delight in some of the delicious food this season has to offer without having to make some major resolutions when we hit the new year?

I think so! Here are a few tips for participating in all the munching that goes on at Christmas parties and gatherings in the weeks ahead:

1. Drink... plenty of water! That will help to keep you from over-doing it when you get into the line for food.

2. Avoid/Limit... the SWEETS, especially made with white or brown sugar. Do what you can with less refined, more natural, sweeteners: dried fruits, honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucanat/rapadura (unrefined cane sugar). However, even these ought to be used sparingly. It's better to stick to whole foods.


3. Indulge... in lots of negative calorie foods. These are foods that require more energy (calories) to digest than they contain in themselves.

• Watch vegetable trays for: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, radishes
• At a restaurant dinner, order a salad.
• For breakfast, have a grapefruit or a fruit salad of apples, mangoes, oranges, and pineapple
• Try frozen berries, especially in a green smoothie.

You'll notice all these things are high in fiber. So, whenever you can choose foods higher in fiber, you will help yourself to maintain (or help shrink) your waistline.

4. Enjoy... the natural whole food delights of the season: fresh pomegranates, oranges, apples, pears.

5. Be FESTIVE... with salads! Just another way to EAT those GREENS! Here's a recipe (more or less) for the festive salad pictured below, full of seasonal flavors:

Orange Spice Spinach Salad (all organic)
for One

Salad mix:
3 cups spinach
1 small apple, chopped
dried cherries and/or cranberries
unsulfured dried apricots, sliced
walnuts

Dressing:
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt to taste

Mix dressing ingredients together. Combine spinach and chopped apples, and toss with dressing. Arrange in bowl and top with dried fruit and nuts. *Tip: Another good addition would be clementine orange sections.

6. Create... eats and treats with coconut oil! Coconut oil helps to speed up the metabolism and aid in weight loss. You can learn all about the benefits of coconut oil at http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/. Some of the ways I enjoy using it are the following:

• Fruit Smoothies with the addition of 1-2 Tbsp of melted coconut oil blended in.
• Coconut oil instead of olive oil on a salad.
• Steamed sweet potatoes with coconut oil (instead of butter) and sea salt, as a side dish.
• Steamed broccoli or cauliflower... "        "as a side dish.
• Organic poporn popped in coconut oil, with sea salt.
• "Mounds" candy bars from the Nourishing Gourmet or Coconut Bark-Almond Joy at Real Food Living

A good resource for recipes is Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight and Feel Great With the Delicious, Science-based Coconut Diet, by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

7. Stop eating at 6:00... on most occasions.  This simple rule will help to keep you from packing on the pounds. To help conquer cravings... have some herbal tea. Licorice and Peppermint are especially nice this time of year. For something more substantial, try some rooibos tea, which is more full-bodied.

8. Spike your drink... (that is, your water) with apple cider vinegar. This can help curb cravings and also help to break down body fat. Add a couple teaspoons to your water bottle and sip throughout the day. It will help keep your blood sugar level.

9. Don't stress it... Stress messes with your hormones, which can contribute to weight gain. Remember what Christmas is really about

10. Play... that is, exercise! Go play in the snow! Make snow angels, meet friends for an afternoon of ice skating, go cross country skiing, build a snow man, go sledding, try snowshoeing, go for a hike in the woods! Join the kids for some old fashioned fun in the snow. Have FUN!!!