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Archive for Health and Garden Tuesday

Natural Mosquito Repellent – Do You Use it?

Posted by html404 on June 17, 2014
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition, Home, Personal Care Products, Seasonal Stuff

Re-posted from July 2013.

I don’t know what it’s like where you live but here the mosquitoes are horrendous. We don’t like to use chemical laden insect repellents. We tend to rely on a natural mosquito repellent, like our essential oils. I’ve taken to putting the essential oil Purification on at the beginning of my paper route and while it does not work 100%, it does deter many of these pesky creatures. We have also used cedarwood, peppermint and lavender.

Mike the Gardener had a little article on what to plant in your garden to repel mosquitoes and I sure wish we had got our lemongrass and marigolds planted! Our daughter did plant a pot of catnip for the cats, which has sprouted. That was more to keep the cats down at the barn rather than at the house – they think they are house cats and try to get inside! But they have a job to do down at the barn – rodent patrol – so we want them to stay down there. Our children love those cats and started feeding them at the patio door and guess where they camped our and hung around? Yep, the patio door! Or any door for that matter. We nipped that in the butt by telling them to stop feeding the cats at the house or the mice would take over!

So do you have a natural remedy to combat the mosquitoes? Have you ever grown your own natural mosquito repellent?

P.S. If you happen to sign up for Mike the Gardener’s Seed of the month, please use our referral code: https://www.averagepersongardening.com/seedsclub/step_2.php?node=R28D4WDCHM so we can get credit for it.

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6 Tips to Healthier Eating

Posted by html404 on October 29, 2013
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition, Organic, Recipes, Uncategorized

This is a featured post.

I was recently in a discussion with some other moms about how to start eat healthier. It made me think back to when we began to revamp our eating habits. It became a blog post idea so I thought I share some of the ways we changed our diet when we started to read labels and take a closer look into our pantry and refrigerator.

6 Tips to Healthier Eating

1. Read food labels. I cannot tell you how important this is. Reading labels will change your food buying habits. Learn what ingredients are bad and what ingredients are good for you to ingest.

2. Eliminate food dyes and artificial flavors from your diet. Dyes and artificial flavors are in a lot of things. So read labels and refuse to buy any food with these dyes and artificial flavors. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. We noticed a huge difference in how our children acted after we eliminated these from our diet.

People are fed by the FOOD industry, which pays no attention to health….And are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to FOOD.

~ Wendell Berry

3. Buy as much organic as your budget will allow. There is a meme out there about organic food. It went something like this, “Think organic food is expensive? Have you priced cancer lately?” Pretty much says it all. Cancer is rather rampant. Organic food is usually non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), if labeled Non-GMO. Organic food also has a lot less pesticides and insecticides used on it. Organic food can be bought in most grocery stores now. Start with a couple of products and slowly increase it over time so the slight increase is only noticeable over time.

4. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Shopping the perimeter of a grocery store generally means buying more fruit, vegetables, dairy, juice, eggs and meat. It reduces the amount of packaged convenience food you buy.

5. Substitute junk food with healthy snacks. We rarely buy potato chips any more. We buy organic tortilla chips or make popcorn on top of our stove. You can also eat your favorite veggies and fruit in place of your favorite junk food.

6. Reduce and eliminate your soda pop intake. Start drinking water. You can add lemon or lime for flavor. Have a glass or 100% juice with your breakfast. Soda pop offers no nutritional value and causes weight gain when used in excess.

There are many other tips I could share but these seemed like the easiest to start with. For recipes to aid you in your healthier eating journey visit apple crisp recipe and this blueberry muffin recipe appeals to my sweet tooth and love of blueberries!

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10 Ways to Beat the Flu Naturally

Posted by html404 on February 26, 2013
in Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

Did you know….

Dr. Richard Schultz (world-renowned Herbalist) calls this “The Deadliest Cold & Flu Season in Decades”

Dr. Joseph Mercola says “vaccinated persons, especially seniors, are still gettting the flu”

We have been fortunate enough to avoid illness this winter, at least so far. That’s amazing since we have eight children…..and we all know how often young children get sick. The only thing I can contribute our healthiness to, besides God’s grace, is to our new health regimen that includes using thieves hand purifier and 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils, which have in turn healed our cells, and diffusing essential oils into the air of our home keeps our air quality good.

Did you know our cells have memories? This explains why in past years we have always got sick at the same time every year. I think we have finally hit a plateau and the essential oils have repaired our cells’ memories. Did you know essential oils could do that? We didn’t until we started learning more about them. This leads me to share our 10 ways to beat the flu naturally before I go off on a totally different tangent, like explaining how the cells repair themselves! Another day….

10 Ways to Beat the Flu Naturally

1. Food and Supplement Supply. Healthy food and the right supplements are very important to staying healthy. We have been trying to keep a steady supply of Ningxia Red in the house but I cannot. We always run out.
2. Healthy Elimination. Lots of water, fiber, fruits and veggies help aid in healthy elimination. A build up in our colon can lead to a build up of toxins in our body.
3. New Toothbrush. If you have been sick get a new toothbrush or at least sterilize the one you’ve been using while you have been sick because it is harboring your cold or flu germs.

4. Pure Water. Not tap water. Make sure you filter your tap water to remove harmful toxins.
5. Clean Air. During the winter months it’s hard to get the air circulating in our homes. This is why we use a home diffuser to diffuse essential oils into to the air as it helps purify it.
6. Daily Exercise. Daily exercise is not only good for the body but your mind and spirit as well.
7. Hand Washing. Frequent hand washing helps eliminate the risk of illness being spread. A good hand sanitizer, like thieves hand purifier, that doesn’t kill the good bacterial is an essential in our home.

8. Changing Out Towels and Washcloths. When illness goes through our home I make sure to wash the hand towels and washcloths once a day, if not more depending on the illness.
9. Avoid Sick People and Crowds. Stay home. We don’t have any trouble staying at home. We stay home so much that a few of our children have become homebodies preferring to be home than going out anywhere. If that is impossible for you then at least stay at home when you know there’s illness at your destination, like a sick relative’s or friend’s.
10. Get Enough Rest. This goes without saying. Getting enough rest helps our body fight off any invasion of viruses and sickness.

Hope these 10 ways to beat the flu naturally helps you consider a healthier alternative to over the counter drugs and prescriptions, which often have harmful side affects. All of the above do not.

How about you, have you been sick yet this winter? What do you do to beat the flu? Leave me a comment telling me about it!

This post contains a link to one of our other businesses.

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Enter Mike the Gardener’s Sweepstakes #Giveaway

Posted by html404 on October 16, 2012
in Contests, Eco Friendly Products, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Food and Treats, Health and Garden Tuesday, Organic

I wrote about Mike the Gardener in the Spring and his great deal for a year worth of seeds. Well, I was just on Facebook and Mike the Gardener is having a sweepstakes to Win 5 Years worth of Vegetable Seeds! Go now and sign up!

Editor’s Note: I signed up too!

Happy Health and Garden Tuesday!

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Hungry for Change Shares Top 10 Food Additives to Avoid

Posted by html404 on June 26, 2012
in Downloads, DVDs & CDs, Food and Treats, Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

Do you know what’s in your food? I mean really know. Do you care what’s put in your food? If you don’t, you should because what’s in your food is or will eventually make you sick.

On Friday I received an email from Hungry for Change. By the way, I love the work they are doing! In the email they shared a link to top 10 food additives to avoid. I think you are going to be surprised! If you go to the link below you can read about the food additives to avoid, as well as download a 1 page shopping guide:

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/top-10-food-additives-to-avoid

You can also check out their documentaries, Food Matters (I am going to re-watch this and post about it next week) and Hungry for Change. They share a little bit about these food documentaries at their other site: http://www.foodmatters.tv/

What’s stopping you from changing your eating habits? Self-discipline and just saying no to the bad stuff is my problem. It helps if we don’t bring junk into the house.

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Copy-Kids Fruits & Vegetables DVD

Posted by html404 on April 17, 2012
in Baby Products, DVDs & CDs, Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition, Parenting

Teaching our children good eating habits is important to my husband and I. Easter weekend my husband even had to convince his mother that our children did not need any Easter candy. Shocking! I know, but that’s who we are. Not that we don’t eat sweets we do but we are selective and try to eat homemade goodies over pre-packaged ones. My husband finally talked his mom into just buying our children a couple bags of apples and told her they’d be happy. She reluctantly relented. But do you know what our children did as soon as they saw their Daddy bring them in? They asked for an apple and after dinner what did they ask for, yep, another apple! If children have access to healthy food, they will eat it. There is far too much “junk” and chemicals in what is offered on store shelves. Over the years my motto has become, “Read the labels!”

Copy-Kids Fruits & Vegetables DVD

The idea that kids will follow other kids and copy what they eat is not new, it’s a given. Monkey see, monkey do…remember that saying? Yep, it goes for kids seeing what their parents and siblings are eating too.

Copy-Kids has created a DVD just for kids to help parents teach their children to eat their fruit and vegetables.

DVD Review

Our little ones really enjoyed this DVD. They liked watching the kids eat their fruit and vegetables. Our older children commented that the kids on the video were playing with their food.

Overall it is a cute video that young children will enjoy watching with their parents.

To learn more visit Copy-Kids.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Balance Complete – Part 3 of the Slique™ Series

Posted by html404 on March 6, 2012
in Health, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

Some comments left last week made me think that there is some misunderstanding concerning how I am doing with the Slique™ Challenge to achieve my weight loss goals. The photo below is the suggested regimen:

This is what my meals may look like on any given day:

Meals

Breakfast: I am big on breakfast. It is pretty much my favorite meal. I start out by having my orange juice with my vitamins and fish oil. Then we usually have cold cereal, oatmeal, toast, eggs or pancakes.

Snack: Slique™ Tea, water with Slique™ Essence, sometimes a piece of fruit or dried fruit like Craisins or Wolfberries. My Ningxia Red, which is a nutritional drink full of antioxidants.

Lunch: Slique™ Tea 15 minutes before. Balance Complete (a meal replacement shake) or a light lunch. Eaten with enzymes (for digestion).

Snack: Slique™ Tea, water with Slique™ Essence.

Supper: Slique™ Tea 15 minutes before. Balance Complete or a light supper. Eaten with enzymes.

For the most part I have not been consistent in doing any of this. It’s been hit or miss and I have mostly been eating what my family eats. I have had no weight loss so far in the last week and three days. Nor have I gained any. I am hoping to up my activity to some walks this week, but we’ll see if I make that goal. I am also an emotional eater, which was taught as a wee one I am sure, so if I have a bad day I tend to eat more. Lots of bad habits to change.

Balance Complete

This is a meal replacement powder. It is vanilla flavored. It smells good and tastes good. I prefer to take it in cold water. I need to start making this one of my meals to see if that helps me drop some pounds.

Inches

I met someone at an essential oils educational class last who is also doing the Slique™ Challenge and she is not only weighing herself but measuring herself. So while she has not dropped any pounds, she has lost inches, which keeps her motivated! Pretty good idea, one I plan to implement as soon as I find my tape measure or purchase a new one!

That concludes Part 3 of the Slique™ Series.

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

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Slique™ Kit

Posted by html404 on February 21, 2012
in All Natural Products, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday, Health and Nutrition

For all of my child bearing years, I have struggled with my weight. Actually, I have struggled since I was a child, I just managed it better in my late teens through mid-twenties with lots and lots of exercise! I am currently at my highest weight ever. I have tried to focus on my mothering more than my weight and protecting my girls from the idea that “I am not good enough” subconscious message that the media pushes on all females. I worked hard to instill in them that beauty comes from within not from what size clothing they wear. It is hard when the “thin” message is everywhere we look and most people have succumbed to those thoughts as the norm. I mean look at me I am still entrenched in it! The thing is even a couple of years ago I was ok, as long as I didn’t gain anymore but I have and don’t want to gain anymore. I am really not happy with my where my weight is now. Yet I still worry if I try to lose weight what message I will be sending to my daughters. It’s a catch-22.

However, my youngest is 18 months old and we have a new product through our Cornucopia Health Scents business, I thought I would try something I have never done before in hopes of getting phenomenal results while giving my body nutrition it needs. This new product just arrived last week and we do sell it, so anyone interested, please visit the Lose Weight tab at the top of the blog or visit our business site.

Slique Kit

The Product Description (credit for this goes to Jeanmarie Hepworth and is used with permission):

A Revolutionary New Weight Management System featuring Slique™ Tea and the New Essential Oil Blend Slique™ Essence!

The products in this collection work together to support effective weight management by:

Suppressing appetite and food cravings while increasing metabolism

Providing low-calorie supplements that are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and catechins

Helping with the breakdown and absorption of food

There are two kit choices non-vegetarian and vegetarian.

Lose weight and improve your health with the Slique Experience!

My Personal Goal

I have tried a box of the Slique™ Tea on its own when it came out in the fall, but sold my other box at a trade show, so I was excited to try it again. It is really very good. Since it has stevia (a natural sweetener that comes from the stevia plant), no other sugar is needed.

If I am brave enough, I will share my journey with you in upcoming posts. Being a private person, I am hesitant to make myself that vulnerable to be honest, so I haven’t quite decided what I will do yet. However, I will take the next few weeks to go through each of the products in the Slique™ Tea kit and let you know how I like them. Then at the end of this series I will be offering a giveaway of one Slique™ Tea kit to one of YOU! ($275/$285 Value) One of the biggest giveaways we have ever had on Faith and Family Reviews! So bring it on, eh!? And be sure to spread the word!

An associate of mine researched other brand name weight loss programs and came to the conclusion that the Slique Tea kit is cheaper than other weight loss programs available. If you have any experience with Nutri System, Jenny Craig or others let me know if $275/month is cheaper.

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The Essentials – A Healthy Tuesday Tip

Posted by html404 on January 31, 2012
in All Natural Products, Health, Health and Garden Tuesday

Why Essential Oils are Essential?

*Immune stimulating *Supportive of the body’s natural defenses *Supportive of the immune, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, digestive, nervous, and other body systems *Aiding in maintaining normal cellular regeneration *Mood elevating *Antiseptic (topical use only) *High in antioxidants *Aromatic *Oxygenating *Boosting to stamina and energy *Helpful in relaxation *Helpful in managing stress and frustration *Helpful in reducing the appearance of aging *Helpful in the improvement of mental clarity *Helpful in promoting overall health, vitality, and longevity.

What Are Essential Oils

Essential oils are the subtle, aromatic and volatile liquids extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, bark and roots of herbs, bushes, shrubs and trees through distillation. According to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts, priests and physicians were using essential oils thousands of years before Christ to heal the sick. They are the oldest form of medicine and cosmetic known to man and were considered more valuable than gold. There are hundreds of references to oils in the Bible. The wise men brought the Christ Child gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Clinical research now shows that frankincense oil contains very high immune stimulating properties.) Some of the precious oils which have been used since antiquity for anointing and healing the sick are: frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, hyssop, cassia, cinnamon and spikenard. Science is only now beginning to investigate the incredible healing substances found in essential oils.

Young Living Essential Oils are 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade

The Frequency of Essential Oils

The effectiveness of essential oils cannot be fully understood without some discussion of frequency. Frequency is the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between any two points. Everything has frequency. Pure Essential Oils have very high frequency. Dr. Robert O. Becker in his book, The Body Electric, establishes that the human body has an electrical frequency and that much about a person’s health can be determined by ones frequency. In 1992, Bruce Tainio of Tainio Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cheny Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. Tainio has determined that the average frequency of the human body during the day time is 62-68 Hz. (A healthy body frequency is 62-72 Hz.) When the frequency drops the immune system is compromised. If the frequency drops to 58 Hz. cold and flu symptoms appear, at 55 Hz. diseases like Candida take hold, at 52 Hz. Epstein Bar, and at 42 Hz. Cancer. According to Dr. Royal Rife every disease has a frequency. He found that certain frequencies can prevent the development of disease and that others would destroy disease. Substances with higher frequency will destroy diseases of lower frequency. The study of frequencies raises an important question concerning the frequencies of substances we eat, breath, and absorb. Many pollutants lower healthy frequency. Processed/canned food has a frequency of zero. Fresh produce has up to 15 Hz., dry herbs from 12 to 22 Hz. and fresh herbs from 20 to 27 Hz. Essential oils start at 52 Hz. and go as high as 320 Hz., the frequency of Pure Rose Oil. Clinical research shows that essential oils have the highest frequency of any natural substance known to man creating an environment in which disease, bacteria, virus, fungus etc. cannot live.

Essential Oils Are Aromatic

Essential oils are highly aromatic and therefore many of the benefits can be obtained by simply inhaling them. This can be done by breathing in the fragrance from the bottle or can be diffused into the room. Essential oils when diffused can be the best air filtration system in the world. They will: (1) Purify by removing metallic particles and toxins from the air. (2) Increase atmospheric oxygen. (3) Destroy orders from mold, cigarettes and animals. (4) Fill the air with a fresh herbal aromatic scent. (5) Increase ozone and negative ions in the house which inhibits bacteria growth.

Essential Oils Penetrate

The penetrating characteristic of essential oils greatly enhances their ability to be effective. 100% Pure, Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils will penetrate into the body when applied to the skin. Essential oil placed on the feet will be distributed to every cell in the body in 21 minutes. They will even penetrate a finger or toe nail to treat fungus underneath.

Don’t expect the same results unless you are using Young Living Therapeutic Grade essential oils and supplements. Also, each person is different so they may not work as well for you as it does for others, So try another oil or supplement that might work better for you.

Essential oil testimonials are an effective way of learning and sharing. With this knowledge, We can take control of our own personal health. However, we are required by law to state:

“These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products and Techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided here is in no way intended to replace proper medical help. Consult with the health authorities of your choice.”

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Planting Garlic

Posted by html404 on November 16, 2011
in Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Health & Garden Tuesday, Health and Garden Tuesday

Farming has its elements of convenience and inconvenience. I love the convenience we have now with living right on the property that we will be farming. It is convenient to grow our own food. The inconvenience comes with weather, the timing of planting and harvesting. For the purpose of this belated Health & Garden Tuesday, I will be covering the inconvenience of planting garlic.

The inconvenience comes in the form of waiting for the first frost and getting the garlic in the ground at the right time. How do I know what the right time is? My timing in most things is not the greatest. In the case of garlic, which is usually planted in the fall for a spring harvest, it is a mixed bag. My timing for ordering our garlic was actually very good. I had fun picking out a few varieties of garlic and making my purchase, but we are just getting to tilling, planting and mulching our 7 or 8 lbs of garlic. I fear if my timing is off it will ruin the quality and quantity of garlic we harvest next year. My inexperience makes me second guess myself no matter how many times I read over the planting recommendations. I am hoping we can complete this little project this week….but at the rate we finish things….hmmm….but it has to get done soon.

Nevertheless, I am excited! I am still a little shell shocked that we are actually farming our “own” land. It still doesn’t seem real. It has been three and a half months since we moved here and the farming aspect is not being lived out in full capacity. After all, we moved at the end of the growing season here in Illinois. At least the growing season for outside. There are many farmers who have high tunnels which allows them to extend their growing season….but that is a whole other topic!

Here’s to hoping the weather stays in the 50’s so we can get our garlic into the ground!